Narrowed from a record 255 acts from 40 states and 16 countries spanning four continents, the 8 solo/ duo and 9 band finalists vied for the top prizes. The Band competition 1st place went to Mr. Sipp from the Vicksburg Blues Society in Mississippi USA. Mr Sipp also won the Gibson Guitarist award. For the Solo / Duo competition 1st place went to Tim Williams from the Calgary Blues Music Association Alberta Canada.

It has been an amazing experience for Mal, Milena, Stan & Tony which will stay with them for a lifetime.
Mal Eastick, Milena Barrett, Stan Mobbs & Tony Boyd would like to thank each & everyone of you that have sent messages of support & congratulations, together with our sincere thanks and appreciation to the Sydney Blues Society.

NEWS UPDATE Jan 26: Whilst Mal Eastick – Milena Barrett Blues Project were happy & proud of their performance tonight in Memphis, unfortunately they did not make it through to the final round. The band was set first in the performance order for their Semi-final, with the final act DieDra & Ruff Pro Band from Magic City Blues Society who were judged the winners.

NEWS UPDATE Jan 25: Exciting news.. the band are into the IBC SemiFinals to be staged early Friday evening. Thanks to everyone for you all your messages and support. All the best from us here in OZ – check out Mal Eastick & Milena Barrett Blues Project facebook page.

Australian blues guitar legend Mal Eastick – Milena Barrett Blues Project recently won the Sydney Blues Society Memphis Blues Band Challenge with his new band, featuring Milena Barrett on vocals, Tony Boyd (drums) and Stan Mobbs (bass).

This competition won them a place at the 30th International Blues Challenge to be held in Memphis Tennessee USA, commencing Tuesday January 21st.

The band leaves for Memphis on January 17 to compete in the IBC 2014 Band Competition.

On behalf of Mal, Milena, Tony & Stan, I would like to express our sincere appreciation and gratitude to our friends, families, and volunteers one and all, who helped make both the Bald Faced Stag and Sunset Cruise fundraisers such overwhelming success. These were truly amazing events and the audience had nothing but praise for the magnitude of entertainment, quality of raffles and merchandise not to mention the simplicity in which the events program flowed. Congratulations to everyone !

We would also like to thank the Guitar Factory Parramatta for their continued support. The Guitar Facory is the western suburbs’ longest continuously trading music store and located at 255 Church St. Parramatta NSW.

Thank you for helping us make our dreams come true and to give the band this tremendous opportunity to show the world that Australia knows the blues.