Area duo heads to Memphis for prestigous blues contest
February 2nd, 2008, 4:20 am Hobbies Ideas
The DBS Challenge, known as the Motor City Smackdown, is
the largest blues competition in the nation and sends a
winner in two categories to Memphis, band and solo/duo.
In Memphis, the duo will compete against more than 60 other
single and duo acts, representing 12 countries.
“The Metro area is truly blessed with ultra-talented
blues musicians,” said Steve Allen, president of the
Detroit Blues Society. “Mike Espy and Yakety Yak
represent the very best of the very best.”
For Espy, who lives in Fenton with his wife, Mary and their
4-year-old son, the trip to Memphis this weekend will be a
lot like going home.
The couple lived there from 1989 to 1994 while Mary
attended optometry school and Mike attended the University
of Memphis.
Born and raised in Kalamazoo, Espy started playing guitar
when he was 19. In 1985 he formed a blues band called
“7th Son” that still plays in the Kalamazoo area,
but Espy didn’t get serious about music until he moved
to Memphis and started spending time on the city’s
famed Beale Street.
“I tell people I got my official degree from the
University of Memphis, but I got my unofficial degree on
Beale Street,” Espy said.
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