Back Porch Blues, an acoustic Delta blues-styled band, consisted of founding members Sheila Wilcoxson (vocals), Jeffrey Dawkins (harp), and Whit Draper (guitar). The trio (no drums) created quite a stir in the northwest corner of America from 1988 to 1995 by serving up down-home, traditional blues with gobs of soul. The Portland, OR-based band played select dates throughout the States, including the Riverbend Festivals of Chattanooga, TN; the Mississippi Crossroads Blues Festival; and the Centrum Hot Jazz Festival of Port Townsend, WA, but burned brightest in the NW area. Their seven-year itch for success produced only one CD, Back to Basics, on Burnside Records, and a spot on a live recording of the Portland Waterfront Blues Festival. (The CD was released in 1993 by Burnside.) Recipients of accolades galore, the band garnered the Cascade Blues Association's Muddy Award for Best Traditional Blues Act (five years straight from 1989 to 1993), induction into the CBA Hall of Fame for Best Traditional Blues Act in 1991, a Muddy for Best New Blues Band in 1989, another for Best New Blues Album in 1990, and a Crystal Award from the Portland Music Association for Outstanding Blues Act in 1992. Never completely focused on music, Wilcoxson earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Michigan and a doctorate from Williamette during the BPB experience. But mad support from a vociferous legion of fans wasn't enough to keep the fire burning. Failing to secure a deal with a major recording company nailed the coffin shut for BPB. They disbanded in 1995, leaving only a morsel of recorded material to remember them by. Wilcoxson -- who also sang with the acoustic blues band Sheila Backwater Blues toward the end of BPB -- now performs solo. ~ Andrew Hamilton, Rovi