IBC OFFICIAL RULES & SCORING CRITERIA

IBC judges are Blues professionals and aficionados with a deep understanding and historical perspective of all blues forms. Any given three-judge panel will include members with varying opinions of Blues, covering the spectrum of Blues from the most traditional to soul/blues and rock/blues.

Scoring Categories and Definitions

  • Blues Content: The sound and feel of the music should be true to any of blues sub-categories: traditional blues, country blues, soul blues, blues rock and/or contemporary blues. Judges will be listening for inspired and original song selections or new takes on blues standards. Creative reach is encouraged.
  • Originality: Original work is encouraged. Cover tunes are allowed but playing the recorded rendition lick by lick is discouraged, will not be looked upon favorably by the judges, and will be reflected in scoring.

Acts must indicate if their songs are their own original material (this can be done at the start of the set or before each song as appropriate) and/or identify the covers that they are playing and acknowledge the originator.

  • Vocals: The act’s vocal skills to include concepts of tone, musicality, meaning, and expression.
  • Instrumental Talent: Ability level on all instruments featured within the act.
  • Stage Presence: The ability to command the attention of the audience by the impressiveness of one’s manner and appearance on stage. Judges will consider how an act connects with and engages the audience in the music. Proper use of microphones and amplification will be considered.

SCORING SYSTEM FOR JUDGES

  1. Each judge will indicate his or her Raw Score, between 1 and 10, in each category and turn that information over to the Scorekeeper using the following scale:
  • 1-3 – Typical of a beginning blues band
  • 4-5 – Typical of a local weekend band
  • 6-7 – Typical of an advanced local band but not yet ready to headline a major blues club
  • 8-9 – Typical of the quality of blues artists who headline major clubs
  • 10 – Typical of those who play the main stage at major festivals

2. The Scorekeeper will multiply the Raw Score in each category by the established multiplier to get each judge’s Individual Weighted Score in each category for each act

Basic Scoring Calculation

Judges will score acts on a 10 point scale, with 10 points being the highest score received and 1 point being the lowest. The following weights will be used in calculating final scores:

  • Raw scores for Blues Content will be multiplied by four
  • Raw scores for Originality will be multiplied by three
  • Raw scores for Talent and for Vocals will be multiplied by two
  • Raw scores for Stage Presence will be multiplied by two

The maximum Total Weighted Score an act may receive is 130.

Penalty Points

An act will be penalized one point from its Total Weighted Score for each of the following:

  • Missing the online application deadline or not completing online application steps completely or accurately by the deadline.
  • Missing act check-in or act registration.
  • Excessive time loading-in before and/or loading out after a competition performance
  • Failing to acknowledge that a song is a cover and/or not giving credit to its originator
  • Each ten seconds that it runs overtime during a competition performance.
  • Finishing 3 or more minutes before its allotted performance time expires.
  • Showing up late and/or not being ready to perform on time at the Finals