Six Artists, One Stage: Meet the 2025 Telluride Blues Challenge Finalists
The Telluride Blues Challenge has quickly grown into one of the Southwest’s premier music competitions, drawing rising blues talent from across the nation. Each year, musicians submit their best songs for a shot at the finals—and a chance to launch their careers on a bigger stage. Presented by Telluride Music Company and Telluride Blues Society, the Challenge offers incredible prizes: a 20-minute Main Stage set at the Telluride Blues & Brews Festival, a feature on the 2026 Durango Blues Train, a premium Martin guitar, a cash prize, and national recognition.
This year’s response was remarkable—34 entries from across the world poured in, showcasing talent that made the judges’ job anything but easy. After careful review, the specialists at Telluride Music selected six standout finalists. These artists will face off live at the Blues for Breakfast event on Saturday, September 13, from 9:00 am to Noon at the Telluride Elks Lodge judged by the folks from Telluride Music, last year’s winner Shelby Kemp and the 2018 winner Alex Paul.
Meet the Finalists
Oscar Butler
Oscar Butler is a New Mexico-based performing songwriter celebrated for his soulful blend of delta blues and indie folk. With roots in rural New York and a deep connection to Southern blues traditions, his music captivates audiences through masterful guitar picking, uplifting rhythms, and memorable choruses.
Patrick Hagerman
With over 20 years of captivating performances across Florida, singer-songwriter Patrick Hagerman brings a rich tapestry of sound and storytelling to the stage. Originally from Springfield, IL, Patrick’s music is deeply rooted in his Midwest upbringing, blending the heartfelt essence of country, the soulfulness of blues, and the storytelling tradition of folk.
Dwayne Haggins
He’s been described as “the love child of Hank Williams and Otis Redding.” “The John Legend of rockabilly.” And even, “the ‘what-took-you-so-long?’ fusion of Elvis Presley and Marvin Gaye.” At every performance, whether in a venerable metropolitan concert hall or a grimy dive in an anonymous strip mall, Dwayne Haggins is always at work. Adding new subtleties to an obvious melody line. Reinterpreting a time-worn lyrical cliché to imbue it anew with genuine feeling. Unleashing a gentle cascade of vocal acrobatics when least expected (and hence most effective) — never for show alone, but always to express a likewise unanticipated nuance of feeling: a whisper of love, a curse of anger, a groan of pain, a whoop of joy that feels, paradoxically, both surprising and inevitable at the same moment.
Alex Kosenko
Alex Kosenko is a full-time travelling artist from Brisbane, Australia and his music can be described as a unique mix of Blues, Rock and Folk, accompanied by his inventive electric sound. Alex’s one-man band performances include a thumping kick drum and tambourine, howling harmonica solos, bluesy acoustic-electric guitar and soul driven vocals. Alex’s dynamic live shows are high energy performances that leave audiences captivated and wanting more.
Jackson Magyar
Americana-inspired style that channels the blues perfectly out of Durango, Colorado. Jackson Magyar has been a two-time Finalist at the Telluride Blues Challenge and is looking to take home the win.
Nigel Wearne
Nigel Wearne saunters after dark in the music of the night, blending blues, jazz and Americana-noir. Hailing from Gunditjmara country in the deep south of Australia, he's a guitarist and multi-instrumentalist with diverse influences such as Nick Cave, Tom Waits and Rickie Lee Jones. A deep thinker and truth seeker with a penchant for all things peculiar, he sings of human frailty, grace and the cosmos; songwriting that cuts to the bone.
How to Watch
The Telluride Blues Challenge Finals will be held on Saturday, September 13 from 9 am - Noon, at the Telluride Elks Lodge (472 W Pacific Ave). The contest happens as part of Blues for Breakfast, a special event complete with a breakfast spread and full bar including breakfast cocktails during the event. Breakfast menu will feature classics like pancakes, scrambled eggs, hash browns, bacon, sausages, biscuits and gravy. Coffee, orange juice and breakfast bar drinks will also be available.
Admission is free! Breakfast for adults will be $15 and Kids 10 & under are $5, Bloody Mary’s, Mimosas, and other breakfast bar drinks are extra.
This event is a great way to see up-and-comers in the blues genre while starting your Saturday morning off before the music starts in the festival grounds. Watch as competitors perform 20 minute sets that will be judged on the quality of their overall live performance, instrument use, vocals, and presentation.
Prizes
Winner
A premium Martin guitar provided by Telluride Music Company
20 minute performance on the Main Stage at the 2025 Telluride Blues & Brews Festival
60 minute performance on the Blues Stage at the 2026 Telluride Blues & Brews Festival
3 nights to perform on the 2026 Durango Blues Train
$300 cash prize
Runner Up
$200 cash prize
A performance at Blues for Breakfast at 9 am on Sunday, September 14, 2025 at the Telluride Elks Lodge