Blues Festival Junior Showcase Finalists Announced

LONGVIEW – Several East Texas youth are among the finalists for the 2018 youth blues guitar competition at the Big Pines Blues Festival Junior Showcase in Longview. The finalists will will face off in head-to-head competition to determine winners in two age groups on Saturday afternoon, May 26, on the Heritage Plaza stage. Among the Junior Showcase contestants in Grades 6 through 8 are Ethan Rivers, 11, of Athens; Austen Walls, 12, of Chandler; and Cody Lattis, 13, of Murchison. The grade 9-12 hopefuls include Grant McInnis, 16, Bullard.

The young performers will each have a maximum stage time of five minutes, during which time their performances will be rated by a panel of professional musicians, including Tyler Lenius of the Tyler Lenius Band, Nathan Tubb of Hubcap and the Loose Nuts, and Andrew Greear, 2016 Junior Showcase finalist. The winners in each category will receive electric guitars. Runner-ups will receive guitar pedals.

Performances begin at 4:00pm and admission is free and open to the public.