Every week our staff of CD Reviewers bring you the best in Independent CD releases. Making a Scene is considered the number 1 resource for the independent musician and the fans that love them.
Artur Menezes Keep Pushing Independent Artur Menezes spent time living in Chicago during 2006, 2007 and again in 2011. He sat in on Jam sessions at clubs like Kingston Mines and Rosa’s and got the opportunity to play with Linsey Alexander, John Primer and Buddy Guy. Menezes released his full length solo debut recording in […]
Madeleine Besson’s “Journey Home” is sultry and soulful. Influences such as Etta James, Otis Redding, and Ray Charles are evident throughout. It is an album that can stand in for your best friend. An album for anyone who’s been going through some rough times and are emerging more trusting and believing and stronger. Those of […]
Billy Price Reckoning Vizztone Label Group Billy Price was born in Fair Lawn, NJ in 1949. Price became Roy Buchanan’s vocalist and appears on Buchanan’s 1975 album “Live Stock”. Price formed the Keystone Rhythm Band in 1979 and released four albums before renaming his band The Billy Price Band. He has since recorded eleven more […]
Lurrie Bell & The Bell Dynasty Tribute To Carey Bell w/special guests Delmark Records As a youngster growing up Lurrie Bell was surrounded by the Blues as his father was the legendary harmonica player Carey Bell. Lurrie first picked up the guitar at the age of six and polished his playing skills with Big Walter […]
Victoria Ginty has recently released her second album, Unfinished Business. The band consists of Ginty on lead vocals, violin, and acoustic guitar, Tim Costello, vocals and lead guitar, Mike Ivey, vocals and bass guitar, Nick Lauro, drums, Chuck Weirch, Trumpet, and Wayne Cornelius, Tenor Sax.’ The album starts out with a fun and sassy title […]
J.P. Soars Southbound I-95 Soars High Productions In 2009 JP Soars and The Red Hots won the band competition at the International Blues Challenge. JP Soars’ 2011 album “More Blues with Honey” resulted in him receiving a 2012 Blues Music Award nomination as “Contemporary Blues Male Artist of The Year”. JP is a blues treasure […]
Lurrie Bell & The Bell Dynasty Tribute to Carey Bell with Special Guests Delmark Almost fifty years after iconic harpsman Carey Bell released Carey Bell’s Blues Harp, his debut album for Delmark, his four sons pay a recording tribute to their dad for the first time. Lurrie Bell, on vocals and guitar, the elder statesman […]
John Clifton Nightlife Rip Cat Records In the late 1980’s harmonica player John Clifton founded The MoFo Party Band with his brother guitarist Bill Clifton. They released their debut recording “Call The Doctor!” in 1999. That album was named one of the “Best West Coast NEW Blues Recordings of 2000” and made numerous other “Best” […]
Kara Grainger Living With Your Ghost Station House Australian Kara Grainger has graced the international blues and roots circuit for a decade now. Originally hailed as mostly a guitar slinger, for her adept picking and slide skills, Grainger proves to be a formidable singer-songwriter on this, her fourth album. Her sultry vocals combined with her […]
Brother Dege Farmer’s Almanac Psysouthern We often loosely throw around certain terms like “haunting sound” and “eerily dark” to describe music. With Brother Dege’s fourth release, Farmer’s Almanac, the Louisiana native creates such a spooky, dark atmosphere with his southern tales of the unique mysteries of small towns, that terms like “haunting” and “dark” don’t […]
Dustin Douglas & The Electric Gentlemen Break It Down Quad-O Dustin Douglas & The Electric Gentlemen (DDEG) have grown since their debut in 2016, that hailed the arrival of the captivating power trio, a regional favorite, from Wilkes-Barre in northeast PA. Numerous live gigs have paid huge dividends as this trio is so tight. The […]
Deb Ryder Enjoy The Ride Vizztone Label Group Deb Ryder got her start as a teenager. She would often perform the opening set at her step-father’s nightclub. Some of the artists she opened for included Etta James, Big Joe Turner, Charlie Musselwhite and Taj Mahal. It’s not surprising then that she calls James her biggest […]
Robin McKelle Melodic Canvas Doxie Robin McKelle debuted as a big band jazz singer twelve years ago and has since tried blues, pop rock and smatterings of soul and gospel. Melodic Canvas marks her return to jazz, this time in a small ensemble. This is McKelle’s album – she wrote six of the ten tunes, […]
Malo Latin Bugaloo: The Warner Brothers Singles Omnivore When most people think of Latin blues-based Bay Area bands, Santana is almost always the first one mentioned. That Santana is the surname for band leader Carlos Santana but his younger brother, band leader Jorge Santana, led an equally impressive group in the Bay Area, the horn-infused […]
Tas Cru Memphis Song Subcat Records In 2014 Tas Cru won a “Keeping The Blues Alive” Award in education. For the past twenty years he has been teaching about the blues and its history, and about how to play. He self funded the production of 2009’s “Even Bugs Sing The Blues” and it’s follow-up “Doggone […]
Dana Fuchs Love Lives On Get Along Records Dana Fuchs is a soulful blues rocker whose primary influence is Janis Joplin. In 2001 she starred in New York City’s off-Broadway production of “Love Janis” as one of several singers who alternated in the role. During her downtime Fuchs would often play the now closed B.B. […]
There’s nothing like a great Texas storyteller. Tarrant County combines masterful songwriting and refreshingly accomplished musicianship with a voice that’s as comforting as your best childhood memory. Tarrant County is the newest album by Texas Heritage songwriter finalist Mark Currey. Tarrant County is a songwriters delight. This album is an essay in Americana. The songs […]
Mike Zito First Class Life Ruf Records Mike Zito signed with the Delta Groove subsidiary Eclecto Groove in 2008. The album “Today” co-produced by David Z and Tony Braunagel was his first internationally distributed recording. The title track on his follow-up, “Pearl River”, co-written with Cyril Neville, received a 2010 Blues Music Award for “Song […]
Dany Franchi Problem Child Station House For his third album, Italian singer/guitarist Dany Franchi enlisted high profile support from Anson Funderburgh and Andy T. Anson and Andy recognized the talents of one of today’s emerging bluesmen and surrounded him with top notch players in Austin to record this genuine blues effort. Funderburgh says, “it was […]
Colette McLafferty lived through an unbelievable, yet true, experience and Confessions of a Bad, Ugly Singer is her account of that time. She is a professional musician, and at the time of this experience she was working as a session singer and singing in several tribute bands. but then in 2011, she was hired to sing […]
Jeff Jensen’s new album. Wisdom and Decay is a marvel. It seems impossible that it can be better than his previous albums, and yet I believe it is. The production, certainly, is the best yet. That, too, is done by Jensen. The work of his band, Bill Ruffino on bass and David Green on drums, […]
Michael Kaeshammer Something New Linus Entertainment Michael Kaeshammer grew up in Germany where he studued Classical piano. At a young age he developed an interest in the boogie – woogie and stride piano of Meade Lux Lewis, Albert Ammons and Pete Johnson. He moved with his family to Canada and began playing at festivals. He […]
The Lucky Losers Blind Spot Dirty Cat Records The Lucky Losers are a vocal duo performing blues with a soulful 60’s retro sound. This is the third album for Cathy Lemons and Phil Berkowitz. Lemons, is originally from the Dallas area where she used to run with Stevie Ray Vaughan and Anson Funderburgh. She also […]
DADDY “Let’s Do This” What would it sound like if Mick Taylor and Keith Richards were in a juke-joint, rock-‘n’-by-god-roll band, a band that preaches the gospel according to Muddy Waters? It would sound like Let’s Do This, the newest album from the Americana supergroup “DADDY”. DADDY is Will Kimbrough and Tommy Womack at their […]
Gretchen and the Pickpockets Falling Rising Self-released Yes, the name is a bit odd – but apparently it comes from a hometown road with a history of larceny. The Boston-based Gretchen and the Pickpockets have a horn-infused sound they describe as “Soul/Jazz/Rock.” The six-piece unit sounds somewhere between Lake Street Dive and a swinging horn […]
by Rhetta Akamatsu Nina Ricci is a very contemporary folk singer. Her voice often sounds very similar to Dolly Parton’s, but her style is entirely her own. With power and control, she filters everything through an artist’s perspective, mixing images, colors, and emotions to create seven strong songs for Designs On Me. The first song, […]
Joe Goldmark Blue Steel Lo-Ball Records Joe Goldmark grew up in Tucson, Arizona where he studied cello and guitar. He moved to San Francisco and started playing bass in soul bands. He became enamored with the San Francisco Sound and got bitten by the pedal steel bug after seeing Jerry Garcia play with The New […]
Late Blossom Blues The Journey of Leo “Bud” Welch City Hall Records/Red Monster DVD Leo “Bud” Welch was born in Sabougla, Mississippi in 1932. He first picked up the guitar at the age of twelve; whenever they could he and his brother would play on their cousin’s guitar. He played two kinds of music, gospel […]
J.T. Lauritsen & The Buckshot Hunters Blue Eyed Soul Volume 1 Hunters Records Jan Tore Lauritsen hails from Lillestrom, Norway. He began playing piano at an early age but soon switched to the Hammond B-3. Early influences included B.B. King, Charles Brown and Ray Charles. Because the B-3 was too big to haul around from […]
Kris Lager Band Love Songs & Life Lines Self-released The Kris Lager Band have made their mark in the Midwest by playing searing blues, rock n’ roll and jam band music. However, if that’s what you were expecting from this release, be ready for a big surprise. This is at heart a folksy feel good […]
Walter “Wolfman” Washington My Future is My Past Anti Records Walter “Wolfman” Washington is a New Orleans icon. He learned by working with Ernie K. Doe, Lee Dorsey, Irma Thomas, and Johnny Adams among others. He is a blues, R n’ B, soul, jazz and funk master. Washington is usually heard with his band The […]
The Barrett Martin Group Transcendence Sunyata Don’t let the name fool you. The Seattle-based Barrett Martin Group is not a law firm or a real estate office. Of course, it’s not but the staid nature of the name unfortunately conjures up those boring references when the music is anything but. It’s demonstrative, thrilling, exotic, and […]
Mike Zito is about to release his 14th Album, First Class Life, and in it, he celebrates two things: his rise above addiction and his absolute love for the blues. and he does ur in first-class style! The album begins joyously with some amazing slide guitar and Zito enthusiastically singing about “Mississippi Music.” Them the mood […]
Back to the Basics, the newest album of original bluegrass music from multi-instrumentalist Pappy Biando is everything you expect and a few things that find you searching your own soul. Pappy’s music is consistently fresh, new, and familiar. His new album “Back to the Basics” is exactly that. Pappy is a young man with an […]
Andy Watts Blues On Fire Independent Andy Watts started playing the guitar when he was twelve years old. He was drawn in after first hearing American blues. Watts formed his band The Blues Rebels in 2012 and has played with them all over Israel and Europe. They released their first album “Open Road” in 2015. […]
By Rhetta Akamatsu Grayson Capps is certainly the epitome of Americana, shuffling influences effortlessly. You can hear a bit of Buffet, more than a little Hank Williams. some Southern rock, a bit of gospel, all boiled down to something rare and original by Capps’; way with words. His imagery is so vivid that just a […]
Little Freddie King Fried Rice & Chicken Orleans Records Fread Eugene Martin a.k.a. Little Freddie King was born in McComb, Mississippi, in July of 1940. He was a cousin to Lightnin’ Hopkins and moved to New Orleans when he was seventeen where he honed his guitar skills playing with Slim Harpo and Champion Jack Dupree. […]
Marcia Ball Shine Bright Alligator Records Marcia Ball was born in Vinton, Louisiana, on the Texas borderline. As a child she began playing piano but it wasn’t until she witnessed a live performance by Irma Thomas that she discovered the power of soul music. She soon enrolled at Louisiana State University where she began her […]
Beth Hart Front And Center Live From New York Provogue / Mascot Label Group Beth Hart has eight solo studios albums and four collaborative albums with Joe Bonamassa. Her last studio album “Fire On The Floor” has resulted in three 2018 Blues Music Award nominations; Contemporary Blues Album, Contemporary Blues Female Artist, and Best Instrumentalist […]
Markey Blue and Ric Latina are a true performing and songwriting team, and recently changed the name of their group from just Markey Blue to Markey Blue Ric Latina Project to reflect that. They also recently signed with EllerSole Records, and on April 20 they will release their newest album, “Raised in Muddy Water.” This […]
Savoy Brown You Should Have Been There! Panache Records Kim Simmonds formed the British blues band Savoy Brown in 1965. Their first album released in the UK was 1967’s “Shake Down”. They began to achieve success in the U.S. in 1971 with the release of their seventh album “Street Corner Talking”. The following year they […]
Marcia Ball Shine Bright Alligator It’s hard to believe that the hard-working, effervescent Marcia Ball is now fifty years into her career. Surely, she’s been honored and recognized. There are not many who can claim this kind of resume: ten Blues Music Awards, ten Living Blues Awards, five Grammy nominations, and induction into the Gulf […]
A Tribute To Deborah Deborah Coleman What about Love? Telarc Records Deborah has often said she is more comfortable “live” but this is her best studio recording yet and I’m sure it will be her most commercially successful album. Her effort is augmented by a crackerjack band. Per Hanson, the drummer who has played with […]
Marie Knight The Gospel Truth Live MC Records “Madame Marie Knight was born Marie Roach on June 1st, 1920 in Sanford, Fl. but she was raised in Newark, N.J.” Knight rose to fame by recording an arrangement of “Didn’t It Rain” with Sister Rosetta Thorpe in the late 1940’s. After recording with Tharpe, Knight spent […]
Paul Thorn Don’t Let The Devil Ride Perpetual Obscurity Records Paul Thorn was born the son of a preacher. The first music he was ever exposed to excited him and it was gospel music. “Thorn spent his youth singing in his father’s Pentecostal church…but his most memorable musical experiences were at an African American branch…the […]
Kid Ramos Old School Rip Cat Records David “Kid” Ramos just turned fifty-nine years old. He was born in Fullerton, California. On March 7th, 2014 Ramos received the Orange County Music Awards Lifetime Achievement award. Ramos played guitar with The James Harman Band from 1980 to 1988. Ramos came to national attention as the lead […]
Joyann Parker Hard To Love Hopeless Romantics Records The classically trained pianist Joyann Parker has a degree in music from the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse. Parker had previously sang in church and with a wedding band but only discovered the blues four years ago. After singing Aretha Franklin’s soul classic “Chain of Fools” Parker received […]
Teresa James & The Rhythm Tramps Here in Babylon Jesi-Lu Records The original Rhythm Tramps were formed in 1970 by Terry Wilson and Tony Braunagel. Teresa James is originally from the Houston, Tx. area but has long resided in Los Angeles. In 2000 she released her first recording “Teresa James and the Rhythm Tramps: Live”. […]
Guitar Jack Wargo Keepin’ It Real Independent Guitar Jack Wargo has toured with Screamin’ Jay Hawkins, Hank Ballard, Billy Preston and Solomon Burke. He has also recorded with Preston, Ray Charles and others. His solo debut was “Guitar Jack Losin’ Hand” recorded in 2000. He has also “Recorded Live at B.B. Kings” and opened for […]
Peter V Blues Train Running Out of Time Independent Peter Veteska was born in Manhattan and grew up in Jamaica Queens. As a youngster Peter delivered newspapers in order to save enough money to purchase a used Les Paul guitar. He learned to play by listening to Eric Clapton and The Allman Brothers. He played […]