If you weren't at The Evening Muse last night for the first edition of the Crowntown Showdown, you missed out!

The monthly open mic series kicked off strongly and it's going to be tough to compare in the coming editions.

Based on the famous open mic series at Eddie's Attic in Georgia, it's held on the first Monday of each month and finalists will compete at the end of the series for prizes.

As one of the judges, last night's competitors were tough to compare.

The night got started with Russell Howard who used some looping in his second song to show off some of his guitar skills.

Greenville, S.C.'s Wasted Wine showed a good dichotomy of vocals, brought in the fiddle and Harmonium and found themselves in the top three of the night.

Ben Henry was another highlight for all of the judges. We definitely had a tough time not getting him and Kevin Brawley in the top three.

Joshua Panda, clad in purple pants and rainbow jacket, showed off his bluesy acoustic style and vocal range. I hope to hear a lot more out of him in the future.

The evening's winner was Marshall Ruffin of Columbus, Ga. Dude can sing and play! To say I was amazed by his songwriting talent, instrumental abilities and vocals would be an understatement.

The highlight of the night was the final performance as Ruffin was joined onstage by Panda for a hilarious, soulful and amazing — and spontaneous — song.

Can't wait to see what those two bring to the finals in July.

Get out to the next one - being held on May 5!