Ragtime is a Russian blues band from Nalchik. A Maple Blues Awards nominee, guitarist, songwriter and singer Arsen Shomakhov is an electric blues performer truly dedicated to the style’s roots yet never hesitating to borrow means of expression from other genres. He established himself as a blues-devoted virtuoso musician in his native Russia making it to the International Blues Challenge (IBC) in Memphis in 2005 and winning the new talent contest at the King Biscuit Blues Festival in Helena, AR in 2007.