Kevin Burt – 2019 INDUCTEE
Waterloo native Kevin B.F. Burt was working to finance his intended graduate degree at the University of Iowa, but after his boss invited him to a dinner, that in fact turned out to be an audition for the blues band her son was forming, Kevin left the job behind and began a musical odyssey that has become his career. That audition got him a spot in the Blues Instigators, who later went on to win the 1995 Iowa Blues Challenge and provide Kevin his first opportunity to perform in Memphis at the International Blues Challenge. Over the years as a band leader and solo performer Kevin has performed over 300 gigs a year to make a living playing the music he loves. He has also become a prolific blues educator, including currently serving as master clinician for Central Iowa Blues Society’s Blues in the Schools program. 22 years after that first appearance Kevin returned to Memphis, as the 2017 Iowa Blues Challenge Solo/Duo champion. It was there that he became an overnight international sensation, almost 30 years in the making. He not only won the Solo/Duo category at the International Blues Challenge, he was also the recipient of the Cigar Box Guitar award and Lee Oskar Harmonica award. Kevin is currently playing and singing just as he has for the last three decades, the only difference is that the rest of the world is now in on Iowa’s best kept secret.
