Various Artists 50 Years of Genuine Houserockin’ Music Alligator Records Alligator, the Chicago based label, is celebrating its fiftieth anniversary. In 1971 Alligator President Bruce Iglauer started operating out of his efficiency apartment. The first album issued was “Hound Dog Taylor and The Houserockers”. The catalog now contains over 350 titles. Iglauer has stuck to […]
Maria Muldaur Let’s Get Happy Together Stoney Plain Records Six-time Grammy nominee Maria Muldaur was raised in Greenwich Village. In 1963 she began her recording career as a member of The Even Dozen Jug Band. She left the following year and joined The Jim Kweskin Band where she married Geoff Muldaur. As a duo she […]
Bob Corritore & Friends Spider In My Stew Vizztone Label Group/SWMAF Records Bob Corritore was born in Chicago and as an adolescent got hooked on blues harmonica. He studied and received playing tips from some of the cities finest, including Carey Bell, Big Walter Horton, and Junior Wells. Corritore moved to Pheonix when he was […]
Dumpstaphunk Where Do We Go From Here Mascot Label Group/The Funk Garage Art “Poppa Funk” Neville formed the New Orleans Funk band, Neville Sounds, in the early 1960’s and later changed their name to the Meters. With his brothers Cyril, Aaron and Charles, he also formed the Neville Brothers; and The Funky Meters with a […]
Joanna Connor 4801 South Indiana Avenue Keeping The Blues Alive Records Joanna Connor is a Chicago based singer & songwriter who was born in Brooklyn, N.Y. She was magnetically drawn to the blues of The Windy City. She has shared the stage with James Cotton, Junior Wells and Buddy Guy. Connor released her first recording […]
Steve Cropper Fire It Up Provogue Records/Mascot Music Steve Cropper is the Memphis born guitarist, songwriter and record producer who began as a member of the Stax Records house band, Booker T. & the M. G.’s. Besides backing artists Otis Redding, Sam and Dave, Rufus Thomas and Johnnie Taylor; he played on the Mar-Key’s hit […]
Will Porter Tick Tock Tick Gramofono Sound This is a re-issue of Will Porter’s “Tick Tock Tick” one of the most critically acclaimed soul drenched roots albums. Unfortunately, at the time it was a limited release. Will Porter was born in West Virginia in 1959 where as a youngster he sang gospel. He worked with […]
Jimmie Bratcher I’m Hungry Independent Kansas City’s Jimmie Bratcher was first influenced by 1960 guitarist Eric Clapton. Other guitar influences included Jimi Hendrix, Albert King, and B.B. King. He played in several bands but his substance abuse caused them to fail. He divorced but later reunited with his wife, abandoned music, and put his faith […]
Chris Cain Raisin’ Cain Alligator Records Now sixty-seven, Chris Cain was born in San Jose, California to a Greek mother and African-American father. As a teenager he began playing guitar and went on to study music at San Jose City College. Along the way he also mastered piano, bass, clarinet, and saxophone. Cain released his […]
Tomislav Goluban Express Connection Blue Heart Records Tomislav Goluban was inspired by harp masters Little Walter, Paul Butterfield and Gary Primich. The Croatian musician, whose surname translates to Pigeon, formed Little Pigeon’s Forhill Blues Band in 1997. His debut recording “Pigeon’s Flight” was released in 2005. Goluban traveled to Memphis to compete in the International […]
Damon Fowler Alafia Moon Landslide Records Damon Fowler was born and raised a few miles east of Tampa. He first picked up the guitar when he was twelve; and has also mastered both the Dobro and lap steel. Fowler released his debut recording “Riverview Drive”, produced by Rick Derringer, in 1999. Two more independently released […]
Rick Holmstrom See That Light LuEllie Records Rick Holmstrom was born in Fairbanks but later relocated to Southern California. While attending college he joined a local blues band and sat in with Smokey Wilson and Junior Watson. Holmstrom was the guitarist in The William Clarke Band from 1985 to 1988. He joined up with another […]
Blues Society of Central, Pa. Backyard Blues Blue Heart Records The Blues Society of Central Pa. has been hosting a weekly Thursday night jam for more than twenty-years. The 2020 pandemic forced the cancellation of the weekly event. The society switched gears to broadcast the sessions on their facebook page and to keep the blues […]
New Moon Jelly Roll Freedom Rockers Volume 2 Stony Plain Records Luther Dickinson explains how this 2007 recording session came to be. “The New Moon Jelly Roll Freedom Rockers …was conceived in the back of a tour bus…Alvin Youngblood Hart, Jimbo Mathis, and Charlie Musselwhite had hit the road together with the North Mississippi Allstars […]
Joe Lewis Band Up Next Independent James Joseph Lewis hails from Picayune Mississippi, an hour north of New Orleans. Most of the music he heard growing up was either blues or gospel and he started playing guitar at the age of ten. After struggling with the ups and downs of the music industry Joe was […]
JP & Ekat JP Williams Blues Band featuring Ekat Pereyra Gizzifter Records New York City born JP Williams attended Wilkes University in Wilkes-Barre, Pa. It was there that he began moonlighting at college coffee houses playing a mixture of folk, blues and soul. After college JP returned to the city and performed at open mikes, […]
Curtis Salgado Damage Control Alligator Records Curtis Salgado was born in 1954, in Everett Washington, approximately 200 miles from Portland. By 1976 Salgado was already a member of The Robert Cray Band and helped to launch Cray’s career as he plays harp on Cray’s 1980 debut “Who’s Been Talkin’”. Salgado is also credited for turning […]
Wildroots Sessions Volume 1 Wildroots Records Victor Wainwright was born in Savannah. He attended college in Daytona and moved to Memphis where he was employed during the day as an Air Traffic Controller at Memphis International Airport. At night Wainwright honed his piano skills in the clubs along Beale Street. He met bassist Stephen Dees […]
Dave Thomas One More Mile Blonde On Blonde Direct (Records) Limited Welsh born Dave Thomas is a veteran of the 60’s British Blues boom. By 1970 he had become the lead singer in the South Wales rock band “Blonde On Blonde”. He spent ten years as leader of the house band for England’s Shake Down […]
The Bluesbones Live On Stage Naked/Donor Productions The Bluesbones are a five-piece Blues-Rock band from Belgium first formed in 2011. The following year they released their debut album “Voodoo Guitar”. In 2012 and 2016 the band was the winner of the Belgian Blues Challenge, and finished second in 2017’s European Blues Challenge held in Denmark. […]
Neil Barnes Bald Guy With A Lot On His Mind Bar-B-Q Sound Recordings The San Francisco Bay Area’s Neil Barnes is a harmonica player strongly influenced by Paul Butterfield, Muddy Waters, Charlie Musselwhite and Lee Oscar. He was able to hangout, up close and personal, and witness Freddie King, Albert King and Albert Collins. During […]
Trevor B. Power What Is Real Farm 189 Records New Jersey’s Trevor B. Power began playing the guitar when he was fifteen. He was inspired by the rock n’ roll of the sixties and seventies, and spent most of his adult life playing solo acoustic at coffee houses and bars in the northeast and Arizona. […]
Stratcat Willie & the Strays On The Prowl Independent Stratcat Willie Hayes was first influenced by guitarists Michael Bloomfield, T-Bone Walker, Johnny Winter, and B.B. King. He founded the band “Blue Plate Special” in 1995, and released the album “Hot n’ Tasty” in 2002. Hayes has been keepin’ the blues alive in New York State’s […]
Early Times & The High Rollers The Corner Dealer’s Choice Records/Vizztone Label Group Sacramento raised Early Times is a blues guitarist who started playing professionally when he was sixteen. He formed his first band in 1990 and released his debut “Society for the Misunderstood”. His follow-up recordings include 1993’s “Hobo-Deluxe; and 1995’s “The Comedown”. He […]
Veronica Lewis You Ain’t Unlucky Blue Heart Records/Nola Blue Veronica Lewis hails from Haverhill, Ma. located thirty-five miles north of Boston on the New Hampshire border. Encouraged by her mother (and manager) Nancy Leotta she began playing piano when she was 6 years old. The performer has been honing her rhythmically complex piano chops and […]
Skylar Rogers Firebreather Independent Skylar Rogers was born and raised in Chicago. Her main influences include Koko Taylor, Tina Turner, Whitney Houston and B.B. King. Rogers’ listened to these and other soulful artists whom she credits for becoming as passionate a vocalist as she is. Rogers’ released her debut EP in 2018, and began touring […]
Joyann Parker Out of the Dark Hopeless Romantics Records Joyann Parker is a classically trained pianist with a degree in music from the University of Wisconsin. Before 2014 she had only sang with a wedding band. After hearing her sing Aretha Franklin’s soul classic “Chain of Fools” she was asked to join a Minneapolis based […]
Greg Sover Band The Parade Grounded Soul Records Pennsylvania based Greg Sover has been influenced by multiple genres including classic rock, blues, and reggae. He released his debut album “Songs of a Renegade” in 2016. His follow up recording was 2018’s “Jubilee”. “The Parade”, an EP completed during the pandemic, is only Sover’s third release. […]
Alabama Slim The Parlor Music Maker Relief Foundation/Cornelius Chapel Records Milton Frazier a.k.a. Alabama Slim was born in Vance, Alabama in March of 1939. His father worked at the Pullman Plant, the manufacturer of railroad cars, and his mother a housekeeper. His parents listened to 78’s on an old Victoria turntable, and as a youngster […]
Selwyn Birchwood Living In A Burning House Alligator Records Selwyn Birchwood first picked up the guitar at the age of 13; by seventeen he was into Jimi Hendrix, Albert King, Freddie King and Albert Collins. Birchwood was befriended by Sonny Rhodes who became his mentor and took him on the road. In 2014 Birchwood released […]
Ghalia Volt One Woman Band Ruf Records Belgian born Ghalia Vauthier spent her days busking the streets of Brussels, and the nights playing that cities clubs and venues. As a lover of U.S. R n’ B and blues, the singer-songwriter was drawn stateside. Visiting Chicago, Memphis and Nashville she finally found her groove in New […]
Jack de Keyzer Tribute Blue Star Records Jack de Keyzer is a Canadian blues guitarist, songwriter, vocalist, producer and multiple award winner. He recorded his debut album “Hard Working Man” in 1991. He has received four Juno Award nominations winning “Blues Album of the Year” in 2003 for his album “6 Sting Lover”; and winning […]
The Mountain Goats Getting Into Knives Merge Records The Mountain Goats are an Indie Folk Rock band and the brain-child of singer-songwriter John Darnielle. Currently the band is based out of Durham, North Carolina. The band’s name is derived from the Screamin’ Jay Hawkins song “Yellow Coat”. Despite their plural moniker, their earliest home recordings […]
Steve Strongman Tired of Talkin’ Stony Plain Records/Ontario Creates Steve Strongman didn’t start playing guitar until he was sixteen when he was mentored by the Mississippi born Mel Brown. Brown both a sideman, and bandleader with thirteen albums of his own, was asked to play a gig in Kitchener, Ontario; fell in love with the […]
J.T. Lauritsen & The Buckshot Hunters Blue Eyed Soul Vol. 2 Hunter Records Jan Tore Lauritsen, better known as JT, hails from Lillestrom, Norway. He began playing piano at an early age but soon switched to the Hammond B-3. Lauritsen had his first paying gig at the age of fourteen. Because the B-3 was too […]
John Fusco & The X-Road Riders John The Revelator Checkerboard Lounge Recordings Vermont bluesman John Fusco is also a screenwriter, and producer. His 17 movies include 1986’s semi-autobiographical “Crossroads” on which he collaborated with Ry Cooder and blues harp legend Sonny Terry. He was also screenwriter for “Young Guns”; “Young Guns II”, and 2019’s Netflix […]
Brian Smalley Chosen Independent Brian Smalley grew up in a military family; by the time he was eighteen, he had moved over twenty times. Smalley’s father played accordion, and his brother piano, and so he acquired his first guitar at the age of nine, and it became his best friend. Smalley’s music includes multiple genres. […]
Peter Roland I Don’t Like What’s Going On Bluzpik Media Group Ex-New Yorker and multi- Instrumentalist Peter Roland has had a varied career. He opened for John Mayall, Eric Burdon, and Buddy Miles. As a Jazz Society member he played with John McLaughlin, Tony Williams, Jaco Pastorious, and Herbie Mann. He has also played in […]
Stax ’68: A Memphis Story Various Artists Stax Records/Craft Recordings One of my favorite holiday gifts was the nine cd box set, produced by Steve Greenberg, “The Complete Stax/Volt Singles, 1959 -1968” issued in 1991. This new box set rivals that as it features 134 songs on five cds. In fact, the set includes every […]
Jimmie Vaughan The Pleasure’s All Mine The Last Music Co. While his younger brother Stevie was forming Double Trouble, Jimmie Vaughan was founding The Fabulous Thunderbirds. The T-Birds released their debut album “Girls Go Wild” in 1979, and Vaughan stayed with them for ten years. In 1990 he partnered with his brother to record “The […]
Kenny Wayne Shepherd Band Straight To You Live Provogue/Mascot Label Group Kenny Wayne Shepherd first heard Stevie Ray Vaughan when he was only seven. His father encouraged him to study the guitar and Shepherd was invited onstage by Bryan Lee when he was thirteen. Shepherd released his debut album “Ledbetter Heights” on the Giant imprint […]
Dave Keller You Get What You Give Tasty Tone Records Montpelier, Vermont’s Dave Keller has been schooled by the very best. He studied acoustic blues with guitarist Paul Rishell; and soul blues with guitarist Robert Ward. After releasing the Dave Keller Band debut in 1998 he began to be mentored by Mighty Sam McClain who […]
Andy Cohen Tryin’ To Get Home Earwig Records Andy Cohen grew up in a household where his parents listened to a lot of Dixieland Jazz. Cohen got hooked on the finger-style guitar stylings of the Reverend Gary Davis when he was only sixteen. Now considered a blues-roots music historian he has devoted his life to […]
Tom Mason Under A Mistletoe Sky Gas Station Music Born in Minneapolis, Tom Mason now makes his home in Nashville where he has been a sought after guitarist since 1993. He divides his time between playing solo shows; playing pirate festivals with his band Tom Mason and The Blue Buccaneers, and touring with several Americana […]
Hamilton Loomis This Season Ham-Bone Records Texas born Hamilton Loomis’ early influences include Johnny Copeland, Clarence “Gatemouth” Brown, Albert Collins and especially Bo Diddley. In fact, he named his son Bo Jordan Loomis in honor of his mentor. Loomis released his debut recording in 1994. His 2007 Blind Pig Records “Ain’t Just Temporary” reached number […]
Richard Ludmerer’s Top Indie Blues Albums of 2020 In no particular order Read the Review! Read the Review! Read the Review! Read the Review! Read the Review! Read the Review! Read the Review! Read the Review! Read the Review! Read the Review! Read the Review! Read the Review! Read the Review! Read the Review! Read […]
A Gulf Coast Christmas Various Gulf Coast Records Gulf Coast Records was founded by Mike Zito and Guy Hale in 2018. In a relatively short period of time the label has amassed a fine roster of blues artists. Like other labels have done in the past, Gulf Coast Records has created a holiday album that […]
Alastair Greene The New World Blues Whiskey Bayou Records Southern California’s Alastair Greene was first influenced by seventies guitarists Duane Allman and Stevie Ray Vaughan. He found work backing James Harman before releasing his debut album “A Little Wiser” in 2001. He followed up with 2003’s “Bootleg: Live in L.A”. Greene also appeared on albums […]
Sam Barlow Faith in The Blues Montrose Records Twenty-six-year-old Sam Barlow is a West Texas based guitarist, harmonica player and vocalist, who started by sitting in with Austin legend Jimmie Vaughan and Blues Hall of Famer Elvin Bishop. In 2010 Barlow competed in the El Paso Guitar Center’s “King Of The Blues” competition winning first […]
Terminal Station Brotherhood Hard Rain Records Terminal Station is a Vancouver based blues-rock band. They released their debut recording “Burnout Blues” in 2007. Their follow-up recording “Rolling All Night” was first released in 2009. “Brotherhood” is their third album. But who are these guys? The four principal players in Terminal Station are some of Canada’s […]
