R.D. Olson Band's award winning blues on tap Jan. 10 in Flagstaff

Arizona Blues Showdown winners the R.D. Olson Blues Band hit the stage Jan. 10 at Charley’s in Flagstaff. Submitted photos

Arizona Blues Showdown winners the R.D. Olson Blues Band hit the stage Jan. 10 at Charley’s in Flagstaff. Submitted photos

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. - The best blues band in Arizona will perform from 7 p.m.-midnight Jan 10 at Charley's in Flagstaff.

Admission will be $10 per person. This performance is sponsored by the recently formed Northern Arizona Blues Alliance. The Bresnan Blues Band will open for the R.D. Olson Band.

R.D. Olson's Blues Band won the Arizona Blues Showdown and will represent Arizona at the International Blues Challenge in Memphis, Tennessee, Jan. 20-24. More than 200 blues bands will compete for the world title with contestants from many states and countries.

R.D. Olson's Blues Band has been holding fundraisers at several locations throughout the state to raise enough money to go to Memphis.

Olson's band held a fundraiser at the Drunken Lass in Prescott Nov. 30 and three days before Christmas the band performed at the Rhythm Room in Phoenix. The five piece band needs $3,500 to get to Memphis and has about $1,000 to go. The Phoenix Blues Society has backed Olson's band with $1,000 and sponsoring fundraisers.

Road 1 South, Sweet Baby Ray and other guest performers took the stage to help with the fundraiser.

Olson said the Drunken Lass used to be Nolaz, where several great blues musicians played including Coco Montoya and James Harmon.

Olson first moved to Prescott in 1994, but then moved out of state. In 2007, he moved to Oak Creek, but in May he moved back to his beloved Prescott. When he lived in Prescott in the 1990s, he wrote a song about his love "Sheila" and that was one of the songs his band played this year when they won the Arizona Blues Showdown. His band also performed a song about Whiskey Row.

He has already brought more blues to Sedona through the Marketplace Cafe where he works with Blues Hall of Famer Hans Olson to bring top flight blues musicians to the area.

Olson is the frontman with his vocals and harmonica. The other members of the band are slide guitariest James Robertson, bassist Jamie Waldron, Michael Reed on sax, piano and guitar and Bob Sellani on drums and percussion.

Olson's biggest influences are Elmore James and Muddy Waters. His band plays Chicago blues and West Coast Swing Blues.

Olson wasn't surprised that his band took first place because two years ago they took third place and last year they finished second.

Olson's band has taken the state by storm. Now, they want to bring the blues storm to Flagstaff.

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