HOME PAGE Making a Scene Presents an Interview with Nancy Wright! Nancy Wright is one of the most highly respected and in-demand sax players on today’s blues, Americana and R&B scene. Major music writers have hailed her big-toned tenor and compared her to the all-time greats. Though she’s called the Bay Area home for 30 years, […]
Tennessee Redemption Jeff Jensen and Brandon Santini Endless Blues Records By Rhetta Akamatsu Before Tennessee Redemption, the album and the band, Jeff Jensen once played in Santini’s band. Then, Jensen broke off to start his own solo career and then to form the Jeff Jensen Band with bassist Bill Ruffino and drummer David Green. Both […]
Billie Williams Hell to Pay Billie Williams’ second album, Hell To Pay, shows that she is is a fantastic soul and blues singer, and like many of the best, she is tuned in to the world around her. So whether it’s political issues in “Hell To Pay” and “Ten Million Sisters” or a bad, bad […]
HOME PAGE Making A Scene Presents an interview with Chris Carroll For most kids, a broken radio in the family van might get in the way of singalongs. But Chris Carroll’s dad loved John Prine, and she’d fill the dead air with “Sam Stone,” entertaining a pair of younger brothers. Carroll was born in Toronto, […]
HOME PAGE Making A Scene Presents an Interview with Kerry Kearney! Kerry Kearney (pronounced “Car-Nee”), a slide guitar master, plays and works his instrument to limits that amaze even the most seasoned musician or cultured music fan. The sounds Kerry creates from his vintage, stock and custom made guitars are as unique as his song writing […]
HOME PAGE Making a Scene Presents an Interview with a Pro Songwriter, Drummer, Producer, Engineer Twist Turner! During the course of his 55 year musical career Songwriter, Producer, Drummer Twist Turner has worked with over 40 Grammy winners and or nominees and countless W.C.Handy/BMA winners. Twist was raised in Seattle and began his musical career […]
Ricardo Peixoto Scary Beautiful Self-released Guitarist and composer Ricardo Peixoto originally hails from Brazil but has developed a cross-pollinating music style that encompasses different cultures and genres. Scary Beautiful, his third CD as a leader, is an ambitious project involving 27 musicians in the credits, playing just about all modes of woodwinds, brass, and strings, […]
HOME PAGE Making a Scene Presents an Interview with Heather Newman! Heather Newman had picked up a bass guitar only six months prior to her bands first on stage appearance at Knucklehead’s Saloon in Kansas City, MO March 17th, 2017, where she introduced her music to the stylings of Keith Ladd on the guitar , […]
HOME PAGE Making a Scene Presents an Interview with Terri Hendrix! Terri Hendrix is a pioneering independent Texas songwriter who spins sorrow into joy and wrings wisdom from the blues with a poetic grace and engaging melodic flair that has endeared her to three generations of loyal fans around the globe. A classically trained vocalist […]
HOME PAGE Making a Scene Presents an Interview with A.G. Weinberger! AG Weinberger is a central figure on the Romanian blues and jazz scene. He is headlining all the major festivals in the country, constantly touring and sought after by the media. AG is a multi-award winner and the recipient of the President Medal – […]
HOME PAGE Making a Scene Present an interview with “The HawtThorns”! An Americana band whose sun-kissed songwriting, fiery electric guitar, and lush vocal harmonies evoke the California coastline as much as the Bible Belt countryside, the HawtThorns are rooted in the collaborative chemistry of husband-and-wife duo KP and Johnny Hawthorn. Before forming their band in […]
Antonio Adolfo Samba Jazz Alley AAM Music We’ve brought you plenty of Latin jazz on these pages in the past year, but Antonio Adolfo is one the founders of Brazilian jazz from the early ‘60s, taking the bossa in a slightly different direction with samba, and thus, should not go unnoticed. On Samba Jazz Alley […]
Melbreeze Amethyst MCC This is the second release for avant-garde vocalist Melbreeze, following the success of her last year’s largely Latin Animazonia. This writer is usually not interested in an album of covers, especially one that hits so many familiar tunes but Melbreeze’s approach is just so refreshingly different that it merits some commentary. First […]
Maryjo Mundy The Fourteenth Confession – Songs of Laura Nyro Bluejazz Sometimes it takes a tribute or interpretations from another artist for one to truly appreciate the beauty and power of the songs left behind by the original. Thus is the case for this live performance by Maryjo Mundy last year at the Gardenia in […]
Ben Winship Toolshed + Acorns (two complete and separate albums) Snake River Most musicians have their own kind of tool shed we suppose. Roots musician, recording engineer and in-demand sideman Ben Winship is perhaps titling one of these two albums about his backyard studio in Idaho that he calls The Henhouse. Like most studios, contrary […]
Freeloader The Path of Least Resistance Rumbar Those of you that long for the days of blaring, crunch rock n’ roll will enjoy these veteran rockers from Boston, Freeloader. Theirs is down and dirty, no frills rock, the kind that gets you shaking, sweating, and maybe even screaming. And, for whatever reason, it’s a sound […]
Terry Hanck I Still Get Excited Vizztone Label Group Chicago born Terry Hanck, saxophonist, singer and songwriter, was influenced by the blues and jazz of the late fifties and sixties. Hanck moved to California in 1967. Hanck formed the Grayson Street Houserockers before appearing on Elvin Bishop’s “Struttin’ My Stuff” in 1975. Hanck joined the […]
HOMEPAGE Making a Scene Presents an Interview with Alice Howe! When Alice Howe wants to unlock a memory or understand an emotion, she steps outside. “There’s something about the stillness,” she says. “When I’m sitting with my guitar and looking out at a forest or the ocean, I have the space to reflect to on people and places. My […]
HOMEPAGE – GRIFF HAMLIN HOMEPAGE – Griff Hamlin and the Single Barrel Blues Bland Blues Guitar Unleashed Making a Scene Presents an Interview with Griff Hamlin! I’ll Drink To That” is the first release from Griff Hamlin & The Single Barrel Blues Band, but it’s certainly not the beginning of a career that has already […]
HOMEPAGE Making A Scene Presents an Interview with Bobby Messano! Bobby Messano is a legendary guitarist and Contemporary Blues Artist who has released seven solo CDs, placed songs in many TV and cable shows and played on over 50 Major label and indie albums. His music has been heard on everything from MTV jingles to […]
HOME PAGE Making a Scene Presents an Interview with Jose Ramirez At 30 years old, Jose Ramirez is Costa Rica’s Premier Blues Artist and has played with some of the biggest names in the Blues industry including Anson Funderburgh, Mark Hummel, Marquise Knox, Bryan Lee, Shawn Holt and Albert Castiglia, to name a few. Jose […]
Delbert McClinton and Self-Made Men + Dana Tall, Dark, & Handsome Hot Shot Records The Texas troubadour Delbert McClinton was born in 1940. He worked in a blues band that backed Sonny Boy Williamson II, Lightnin’ Hopkins, Howlin’ Wolf and Jimmy Reed. In 1962 McClinton played harmonica on Bruce Channel’s “Hey Baby”. Ten years later […]
Jason Ricci and the Band Kind My Chops Are Rolling EllerSoul Records Jason Ricci and the Bad Kind have a new album, My Chops Are Rolling, out July 19 and what a difference this one is for them! Their very popular Approved By Snakes was brilliant but sometimes brutally dark. This one is much lighter […]
Diana Rein Queen of My Castle Gulf Coast Records Diana Rein is the daughter of Romanian immigrants who migrated here in 1981 when she was three years old. At the age of eight her parents brought her to a Chicago Blues Club where she fell in love with the music; her primary influence is Stevie […]
HOME PAGE Making a Scene Presents an Interview with Tullie Brae The soulful Blues singer and multi-instrumentalist credits her musical gift to Gospel music like so many great soul singers before her. Tullie’s musical journey started when she began singing in church where her Daddy was a preacher near the Louisiana cotton fields and wetlands […]
HOMEPAGE Making a Scene Presents an Interview with Chuck Hawthorne! On July 26th, Austin songwriter Chuck Hawthorne will release the follow up to his critically acclaimed 2015 debut, Silver Line…the long awaited full length album, Fire Out of Stone. Stories of Hawthorne’s military career and his chance meeting with Silver Line producer Ray Bonneville may have originally drawn listeners to […]
HOME PAGE Making a Scene Presents an interview with David G Smith! “I’m a songwriter first and foremost. I like to think I write with intention tempered with abandon. Let the song say what it wants to say. It’s that simple. It’s that hard.” Raised in a musical family in northeastern Iowa, David G Smith […]
Zac Harmon Mississippi BarBQ Catfood Records Zac Harmon is from Jackson Ms. where he grew up in a musical family. His father, a pharmacist, played harmonica while tending to the needs of local musicians including Muddy Waters, BB King, Albert King, Ike & Tina Turner, and Little Milton. Young Zac began his professional career as […]
HOME PAGE Making A Scene Presents an Interview with Cheyenne James! Cheyenne James is a young, multi-faceted entertainer with a deep passion for blues music. She began singing on stages all-across Texas at a very young age and has continued to fuel her passion for music and performing in adulthood. Among her many other stage […]
Joe Restivo Where’s Joe? Blue Barrel Records Joe Restivo was raised in Memphis, the son of a local mom and Brooklyn born navy veteran. At the age of twelve he was playing guitar in punk bands, but by the time he graduated high school he was hanging out on Beale watching the legendary blues and […]
Lyn Stanley Favorite Takes – London With a Twist- Live at Bernie’s ATM We introduced you to jazz vocalist Lyn Stanley back in December 2017 with her double CD-set of the Great American Songbook classics., Moonlight Sessions Vol. 1 and Vol 2. You may want to reference that for her amazing back story. In 2018 […]
HOME PAGE Making a Scene presents an interview with Lauren Anderson! Lauren Anderson had recently returned home from a trip to Los Angeles — a trip involving meetings with music industry executives, vocal rehearsals, record contracts, and ultimately a whole lot of empty promises — when she began writing songs for her third EP, Won’t […]
HOME PAGE Making a Scene Presents an interview with Bryan Haraway! Bryan Haraway blurs the lines between Americana and melodic rock & roll on his self-titled solo debut. It’s a celebratory record, stacked with layers of electric guitar, horns, pedal steel, and the observations of a sharp songwriter who’s learned to appreciate the little things […]
Chris Bergson and Ellis Hooks Live in Normandy 2 Shirts Records New York born Chris Bergson grew up in Somerville, Ma. He began taking guitar lessons at a young age and developed his appreciation for jazz and blues. He listened to everything from Muddy Waters to Miles Davis. Bergson moved back to New York City […]
HOME PAGE Making a Scene Presents an Interview with Laura Repo Toronto songwriter, singer and guitarist Laura Repo’s folk-pop fourth album, This Is My Room, stakes a claim to space devoted to creativity. Following a long wait after 2011’s critically acclaimed Get Yourself Home – which was produced by the Foggy Hogtown Boys’ Andrew Collins […]
Tom Euler Blues Got My Back Independent Although only in his early twenties Tom Euler has been compiling quite a resume. In 2014 the Hartfield, Virginia native entered jazz legend Lee Ritenour’s “Six-String Theory” Guitar Competition, with entries from 48 countries, and finished in the top five among blues players. As the lead guitarist in […]
HOME PAGE Making a Scene Presents an Interview with J.P. Reali A veteran of the DC music scene, J.P. has evolved from his early days as lead guitar for the psychedelic blues band The Next Step, to half of the acoustic blues/roots duo The Reali Brothers in the 90’s, to his current solo career. While J.P.’s repertoire is steeped […]
Billy Branch & The Sons Of Blues Roots And Branches: The Songs of Little Walter Alligator Records Billy Branch was born in Chicago in 1951, and raised in Los Angeles. In 1969 when he was eighteen Branch moved back to Chicago to attend The University of Illinois. That summer he attended the first Chicago Blues […]
Patrick Barnitt Sway Self-released Vocalist and actor Patrick Barnitt is releasing his second album, Sway, backed by the 17-piece Paul McDonald Big Band and featuring a varied collection of swing, pop, and blues tunes. At times Barnitt, with his robust tenor voice, will remind you of those classic male singers of the Great American Songbook. […]
Lauren Desberg Out for Delivery Self-released Out for Delivery is a different kind of jazz vocal album because songstress Lauren Desberg wants to be anything but predictable You may not even think it’s jazz as you know it. It’s an album that doesn’t rely on standards although there are two of them transformed into almost […]
Scott Ramminger Rise Up Arbor Lane Last time out Singer/songwriter saxophonist Scott Ramminger was playing with top shelf New Orleans musicians and vocalists Bekka Bramblett and Francine Reed with The McCrary Sisters as well for his 2017 Do What Your Heart Says To. Since 2011, over the course of four previous albums, Ramminger has been […]
Ross Osteen Band Williwaw Independent The Ross Osteen Band is a blues band out of Hendersonville, North Carolina. The band formed in 2014, is a power trio led by favorite son Osteen on guitar and vocals. Osteen has shared the stage with Jimmy Thackery, Kim Wilson and Buddy Guy. Rounding out the band is the […]
HOME PAGE Making a Scene Presents an interview with Michael Lee! It’s not often that blues breaks the internet. But after six million-plus YouTube views for his jaw-dropping rendition of the B.B. King classic, “The Thrill is Gone”, an unforgettable highlight from the popular TV show, The Voice, it’s no wonder that Michael Lee has […]
HOME PAGE Making a Scene Presents an interview with Bill Bloomer! If you’ve been wondering, “Where are all the good lion-wrestling, Buddhist monk, Americana singer-songwriters?” It’s time you meet Bill Bloomer. The singer, guitarist and songwriter is keeping the troubadour tradition alive, performing on two or three continents a year. He may be playing at a festival in Terlingua […]
Blind Lemon Jazz After Hours OFEH Sometimes a format change can make a big difference. James Byfield aka Blind Lemon Pledge has made several straight-ahead blues albums that this writer deemed ordinary. After Hours, as the name implies, is a set of late night jazzy fare, with all tunes written by Byfield but mostly sung […]
Heather Newman Rise From The Flames Vizztone Label Group Omaha’s Heather Newman got her start as second guitarist and vocalist with The Nick Schnebelen Band and she appears on his “Live At Knucklehead’s Vol. 1” released in 2016. When Newman left that band she decided to switch to bass. Six months later she made her […]
Nancy Wright Alive & Blue Vizztone Label Group/Direct Hit Records Nancy Wright is a west coast saxophonist, a highly respected and in-demand session musician, and former member of The Frank Bey Anthony Paule Band. In 2016 she released her third solo album, the critically acclaimed “Playdate!”, also on Vizztone. Since 2017 Wright has received three […]
HOME PAGE Making a Scene Talks with Rod Picott! July 19th 2019 finds Rod Picott releasing his eleventh album, titled Tell The Truth & Shame The Devil. The new album is completely acoustic, featuring only guitar, harmonica and Picott’s weathered vocals. Many of the songs on Tell The Truth & Shame The Devil are influenced […]
HOME PAGE Making a Scene Presents an Interview with Adam Holt! Muddy Waters once said, “The blues had a baby, and they named the baby rock n’ roll.” Well if Muddy Waters and Tom Petty had a baby, they’d name the baby Adam Holt. And with an array of Gibson guitars, an old Ampex tape machine, and an unassuming […]
Bobby Messano Lemonade by Rhetta Akamatsu Guitar ace, songwriter and singer Bobby Messano is about to release a new album, Lemonade, and it lives up to the high standard you would expect for a man who has spent 43 years perfecting his craft. Full disclosure: Bobby and I have been friends for years. I am […]