• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to secondary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Home
  • Event Calendar
    • Submit Event
  • About Us
    • Our Contributors
    • Subscribe
  • Advertise
  • Contact Us
  • Arts & Entertainment
    • Comedy
    • On Screen Dayton
    • On Screen Dayton Reviews
    • Road Trippin’
      • Cincinnati
      • Columbus
      • Indianapolis
    • Spectator Sports
    • Street-Level Art
    • Visual Arts
  • Dayton Dining
    • DMM’s Brunch Guide
    • Restaurants with Private Dining Rooms
    • Dayton Food Trucks
    • Quest
    • Ten Questions
  • Dayton Music
    • Music Calendar
  • On Stage Dayton
    • On Stage Dayton Reviews
  • Active Living
    • Canoeing/Kayaking
    • Cycling
    • Hiking/Backpacking
    • Runners
  • How to Support Dayton Businesses, Nonprofits During COVID-19

Dayton Most Metro

Things to do in Dayton | Restaurants, Theatre, Music and More

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest

From Stratocaster to Stratosphere – Noah Wotherspoon Takes Big Win At 2015 International Blues Challenge!

February 3, 2015 By Dayton Most Metro

[vc_row][vc_column width=”1/1″][vc_column_text]

Noah Wotherspoon band with Rob Thaxton on bass and Brian Aylor on drums

Noah Wotherspoon band with Rob Thaxton on bass and Brian Aylor on drums

Custom Gibson 335 Albert King Blues Guitar

Custom Gibson 335 Albert King Blues Guitar

The legendary Beale Street in Memphis, Tennessee was the scene of an international showdown. For four days in January, (20-24), 250 blues acts from around the world came to compete at the 31st. Annual International Blues Challenge. Daytonian Noah Wotherspoon took top prize, the coveted “Albert King Guitar Award” for best guitarist and placing 2nd. in the band category. To recap, best international blues guitarist, 2nd. best international blues band. That’s “international”, as in, “the world.” He confesses that late night “did that happen?” texts to his mother help to wrap his mind around the experience.

This trip to Beale Street was not the first. Representing the Dayton Blues Society, Noah and his 2 man crew of Rob Thaxton on bass and Brian Ayler on drums, were accepted into the challenge in 2012, 2013 & 2014. As in past years, Dayton and Cincinnati were well represented with area favorites such as Doug Hart. In three days, Performers passing each round of quarter and semi-finals end up on the Orpheum stage for the final showdown. Noah remarked on the ever-present spirit of Elvis inside the Orpheum, a venue where a teenaged Elvis Presely held a job as an usher. Just working on that stage is a prize that many artists dream of.

The take home prize for the “Albert King Guitar Award” included cash for travel reimbursements, billing on prominent blues fest venues, a “Category 5” Amp and the custom Gibson 335 Albert King guitar.

It’s a long way to Beale Street, just ask Dayton native Noah Wotherspoon. A child prodigy, Noah spent much of his teen years sharing the stage with every major blues great you can name. He also spent many years on Dayton stages such as Gillys Bar and Jazz club with his band “Noah and the Stratocasters.”

Noah Wotherspoon, 16 years old

Noah Wotherspoon, 16 years old

Many interviews are archived with a 14 year old Noah. At the time, most questions centered around what it was like to share the stage with legendary blues artists around the world, then come home to play venues that required him to be accompanied by a parent. Even now in his early 30’s, his youthful appearance and humble demeanor add to the shock value for those who are new to the Wotherspoon guitar wizardry. Noah recalled one of his favorite stories of being 16 years old with shoulder length blonde hair and commonly being mistaken for a cute girl. Being blessed with a sense of humor, he shared some of his favorite incidents with me. One such story involved a blues hero of his, Bobby “Blue” Bland. Before taking his turn on the stage, Noah was up front in the crowd, admiring Bland’s set. As any performer might react to a young attractive fan, he was singled out for a very special serenade of “Little Red Hot Mama” from the stage. The audience of blues fans familiar with Noah’s work felt they should inform Mr. Bland of his faux pas by collectively yelling “HE’S A DUDE!” Now, many years later, this is a “family” joke between Noah and one of his closest friends Rodd Bland, the son of Bobby who played drums for many years in the band. Bland and Wotherspoon’s bond deepened over the last couple of years when the two lost their fathers within a short time frame.

Tonight, (Tues. 2/3), you can hear Noah recount the experience of the International Blues Challenge, growing up on the stage, and more as he joins Gene Charles during “Blues Corner” on WSWO Oldies 97.3FM and streaming at . Tune in from 7pm-9pm Eastern.

On Thursday, (2/5), from 9am to noon, he will be talking about the Cincinnati Blues Society Winter Blues Fest on WNKU.org.

Keep tabs on Noah, his bands and his side projects, such as “Nowhere Bear” custom guitar straps,
here:

Here is a brief excerpt from an interview Tony Peters of WSWO Oldies 97.3 did with a 14 year old Noah:

http://www.mostmetro.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/Noah-Wotherspoon-with-Tony-Peters-19971.mp3

Filed Under: Dayton Music, The Featured Articles Tagged With: Albert King Blues Guitar, Dayton Blues Society, Dayton Music, Dayton Ohio, International Blues Challenge, Noah Wotherspoon, Nowhere Bear Guitar Straps, WSWO Oldies 973


Comments

Comments

Primary Sidebar

Featured Events

  • Sat
    16
  • Sun
    17
  • Mon
    18
  • Tue
    19
  • Wed
    20
  • Thu
    21
  • Fri
    22

LinkedIn Basics

2:00 pm | online event

WinterFolk (virtual edition)

7:00 pm | Yellow Cab Tavern

3rd Sundays

11:00 am | Front Street Complex

Girls Night In: Charcuterie Board Workshop

3:00 pm | ShaTerra Jenkins Beauty Studio

MLK Dialogues – The Power of Peace

4:00 pm | ZOOM

Virtual Screening: 9to5: The Story of a Movement

4:00 pm | Virtual Event

Wiley’s Sunday Comics

7:15 pm | Wiley’s Comedy Club

MLK JR Day Virtual Event

9:30 am | Virtual Event

25% off Pizza Monday

11:30 am | Oregon Express

Open Mic Monday

6:30 pm | The Barrel

The Road to Effective Estate Planning

7:00 pm | Virtual Event

Monday Night Acoustic MAYHEM

7:30 pm | Good Time Charlie’s

Leadership Dayton Class of 2022 Information Breakfast

8:30 am | Virtual Event

2nd Annual Ice Breaker Fest

4:00 pm | Fifth Street Brewpub

Spaghetti Tuesday

5:00 pm | The Trolley Stop

Burger Night

5:00 pm | Watermark

Jazz with Gail and Larry

5:00 pm | Spirited Goat Coffee House

Tuesday Trivia

7:00 pm | The Dublin Pub

Jan Story Slam

7:00 pm | ZOOM

2nd Annual Ice Breaker Fest

4:00 pm | Fifth Street Brewpub

Trivia w/ DagaTrivia

6:00 pm | Eudora Brewing Company

Wednesday Trivia

6:30 pm | Troll Pub at the Wheelhouse

Open Mic with Blues Breakdown Band

7:00 pm | Hank’s Local

Gem City Market Walking Warriors

7:00 pm | Gem City Market

Wednesday Night Trivia w/ Dan Profitt

7:00 pm | Oinkadoodlemoo & Brew

Marvel Cinematic Universe Trivia

7:00 pm | Toxic Brew Company

2nd Annual Ice Breaker Fest

4:00 pm | Fifth Street Brewpub

Know Your Knots 101

6:00 pm | online

January Salon, Featuring Katie Clark Gabbard

6:00 pm | ZOOM

Jenna Drees Live Music in the Loft

7:00 pm | Moeller Brew Barn

Bingo

8:00 pm | Trolley Stop

2nd Annual Ice Breaker Fest

4:00 pm | Fifth Street Brewpub

Tinned Gourmet Seafoods Tasting Event

5:00 pm | Salt Block Biscuit Company

Latin Dance Party

5:30 pm | The Salvation Army Kroc Center

Route 88

6:30 pm | Mr Boro’s Tavern

Clayton Anderson with Jacob William

7:00 pm | JD Legends Entertainment Complex

Music Bingo!

7:00 pm | Devil Wind Brewing

Derik Zoo

8:00 pm | Wiley’s Comedy Club

Cooking Class: Three Kings’ Day: A Puerto Rican Celebration

8:30 pm | DLM Culinary Center

More Events…

DMM E-Newsletter


Give us your email address and we'll send you our DMM E-Newsletters
Email:  
For Email Marketing you can trust
Back to Top

Copyright © 2021 Dayton Most Metro · Terms & Conditions · Log in