By Trial by Fire by Fran Drew and the Lucky Strikes on April 16, 2025 Image MCAD alum Frances Drew ’81 and her band Fran Drew and the Lucky Strikes' newest CD, Trial by Fire, was voted Best Self-Produced CD for 2024 by the Connecticut Blues Society. The album was also showcased in the Memphis Self-Produced Challenge during the 2025 International Blues Challenge.Trial by Fire is a Texas-style blues album told from the female perspective, covering classic songs from Memphis Minnie, Etta James, Tina Turner, Wanda Jackson, and more. They reimagine these songs with a new energetic bounce that as the band says “will make you want to shimmy and shake whether your in a honky tonk bar or cruising down a dusty highway.”Learn moreFran Drew and the Lucky Strikes(frandrewandluckystrikes.com)