Tomislav Goluban Memphis Light Spona It seems as if harmonicists are intent on being the first ones heard in this new year. This is the fourth review this writer is written for a harmonicist led group across two different outlets and we’re only in the first full week of the new year. Each certainly has […]
NuffyoStuff Andy Lindquist If you like your southern rock done Skynyrd style, or you’re partial to some classic “Free”, or Vintage “Whitesnake”, Well have I got a treat in store for you. NuffyoStuff sounds the the title of the latest album offering from some aspiring rap artist. Now knowing Andy’s huge pool of creativity I’ve […]
The Jimmys Gotta Have It Brown Cow Productions The Jimmys are an R n’ B band formed by Jimmy Voegeli in 2008. By day the Wisconsin native works on his family’s fifth generation dairy farm with 200 Brown Swiss dairy cows. At night Voegeli is an award winning musician. In the liner notes Voegeli thanks […]
Making a Scene Presents an Interview with Jacqui Brown! Jacqui Brown has never really been afraid of change based on her multiple careers, her many talents, and her insatiable energy to take on challenges like her life depends on it. At 22-years-old, she moved from Ontario, Canada, to California to begin a career with the […]
Chris Shutters with Jimmy Burns Good Gone Bad Third Street Cigar This is odd combination that works evenly and unevenly, depending on the tune. but guitarists/vocalists Chris Shutter and veteran Chicago bluesman Jimmy Burns (billed as Special Guest) have plenty of high moments on this collaboration. To the plus side, there is ample variety with […]
Guy Belanger Eldorado Bros From the North comes the most sought-after harmonica player in Quebec, releasing his sixth and perhaps best album. Guy Belanger brings a mix of originals, both vocal and instrumental, as well as inspired takes on covers. Following the opening “Carving the Wind” he makes Van Morrison’s “Bright Side of the Road” […]
Brian Scanlon Brain Scan Self-released Even before listening to Saxophonist Brian Scanlon’s debut album, this writer couldn’t help but chuckle at the album title, knowing how often “Brian” has resulted in the typo “Brain.” That alone was a good omen. Scanlon is a first call studio musician, who has worked on dozens of movies and […]
Warren Storm Taking The World By Storm APO Records Warren Storm was born Warren Schexnider in Abbeville, La. in 1937; not far from Lafayette. Storm learned to play both drums and guitar from his father, a Cajun musician. He befriended fellow Abbeville native Bobby Charles and they would visit New Orleans to listen and learn. […]
HOME PAGE Making a Scene Presents an Interview with Mark Hummel Grammy Nominee, Blues Award Winner, Author, Harp Man Mark Hummel had a banner year in 2014. Grammy Nominated for his Remembering Little Walter CD he produced and performed on, Mark also won Best Blues CD and Best Traditional Blues CD at the Blues Music […]
Angel Forrest Hell Bent with Grace Independent In 1988 Canada’s Angel Forrest began a musical career that would span three decades. Her debut recording 1996’s “Secondhand Blues” featured her versions of selected covers including Robert Johnson’s “Crossroads”; Ruth Brown’s “Mama He Treats Your Daughter Mean”; Howlin’ Wolf’s 1969 single “Evil”; and B. B. King classics […]
HOME PAGE Making a Scene Presents an Interview with Matt Isbell of the Ghost Town Blues Band! GTBB’s new album Shine debuted at #1 on the Billboard Blues Chart. Recently headlining the blues stage at The Montreal Jazz Festival, Beale Street’s latest success story, 5-time Blues Blast Music Award Nominee and International Blues Challenge Runner-up is Ghost Town […]
Making a Scene Presents Rhetta’s Top 50 Indie Blues Releases for 2019! In No Particular Order Tennessee Redemption Tennessee Redemption Tullie Brae Revelation JP Soars Let Go of the Reins Eliza Neals Sweet or Mean Eddie 9V Left My Soul In Memphis Jimbo Mathus Incinerator Mike Zito Rock N Roll: A Tribute to Chuck Berry […]
se Making a Scene Presents Viola Krouse’s Best Releases of 2019 Viola Krouse lists her favorite releases for 2019 and they made the list for three important reasons; first, they are damn good, second, the music crossed her record player at some point during the year, and third, they made an impact. The top of […]
Frank Bey All My Dues Are Paid Nola Blue Records Frank Bey was born in Georgia in 1946 and started singing gospel in the family band at the age of four. Being brought up in a strict household the young Bey had to sneak out of the house to sing secular music. When he was […]
HOME PAGE Making a Scene Presents an Interview with Andrew “Jr. Boy” Jones! Andrew was born October 16, 1948 in Dallas Texas. Both parents loved music. His mother Gladys was a vocalist with an orchestra headed by close family friend Adolphus Sneed who his brother, sister, and he would call uncle. Andrew’s mother bought his […]
HOME PAGE Making a Scene presents an interview with Chris “Bad News” Barnes! Chris ‘Bad News’ Barnes is a live performer. After logging over 2,000 stage shows with Chicago’s legendary Second City comedy troupe, Barnes has brought that expertise to the Blues concert stage. On the Legendary Rhythm & Blues Cruise #32, along with a […]
HOME PAGE Making a Scene Presents an interview with Kern Pratt! Kern Pratt grew up with the blues. Living it. Breathing it. Experiencing it. Becoming it. Playing it. You can feel the emotion in every note he sings; every strum of the guitar. Kern Pratt has the blues and he shows it off in every […]
Sugar Blue Colors Beeble Music James Joshua “Jimmie” Whiting better known as Sugar Blue was born in Harlem in December 1949. His mother was a singer and dancer at the Apollo Theater. His aunt gifted him with his first harmonica and he wailed along with Bob Dylan and Stevie Wonder songs. He was further influenced […]
Who by The Who In the history of popular music many legends have been born. Some shone so brightly they lit up the entire heavens. But sadly their flame blew out all too soon. Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin and Jim Morrison to name but a few. There are also those who have survived the changes and […]
Soul Box Good Stuff The band Soul Box is everything that the name implies. Simply put this band lays down some grooves that, uhm, well, are really great tunes to, ah… do it to. Soul Box has just released their second offering “Good Stuff” and yeah, you’re going to want to dig out the candles, […]
Jimmy “Duck” Holmes Cypress Grove Easy Eye Sound Jimmy Charles “Duck” Holmes was born in Bentonia, Mississippi in 1947. The seventy-two-year-old Holmes is the last torchbearer of the rural style known as Bentonia Blues. He is also the proprietor of the Blue Front Café on the Mississippi Blues Trail and the oldest surviving juke joint […]
Brandon Hudspeth Levee Town Making a Scene Presents an Interview with Brandon Hudspeth of Levee Town Guitarist, singer, and songwriter Brandon Hudspeth was born in Muskogee, Oklahoma. He began taking guitar lessons at an early age after hearing Johnny Cash on Sesame Street. In high school, heavily influenced by the Blues, he started playing […]
HOME PAGE Making a Scene presents an Interview with Rae Gordon! Rae began her singing career in the piano bars and comedy clubs of Los Angeles, where she honed her ability to relate to any audience – from a small wine bar with a few people sipping libations, to a big festival attended by thousands. […]
Making a Scene Presents Richard Ludmerer’s Top 40 Blues CD’s of 2019 (in no particular order) Chris O’Leary Seven Minutes Late Watermelon Slim Church of the Blues Sugaray Rayford Somebody Save Me Christone “Kingfish” Ingram Kingfish The Texas Horns Get Here Quick Jimmie Vaughan Baby Please Come Home Albert Castiglia Masterpiece The Cash Box Kings […]
HOME PAGE Making a Scene Presents an Interview with CW Ayon! CW Ayon may call the Southwestern deserts of New Mexico home but his soul is deeply rooted in the Blues and grooves of the Mississippi Hill Country. With a rather simple kick/snare and tambourine setup he lays down solid beats while picking out some […]
Making a Scene Presents Gerry Casey’s Top 10 Indie Songs of 2019 Although this list contains 10 songs that really impressed me in 2019. The ranking does suggest the importance of one song or artist over another however it’s rather that these artists have shone brightly on my musical radar. So let’s get started. Spain […]
It: Chapter 2 (DVD release) It’s difficult to adapt a Stephen King story to the screen. I take that back. It’s often almost impossible to do so. That’s why most of his best reviewed and most popular film adaptations rely more on story and character and less on special effects, CGI and general cosmic, shapeshifting, […]
HOME PAGE Making a Scene Presents an Interview with Hamilton Loomis Hamilton Loomis has released his first-ever Christmas album, This Season. With covers of five Yuletide classics and five originals destined to become seasonal classics, the album offers something for everyone. “When I was a kid,” he recalls, “my mom always had Christmas records playing in […]
Neil Young and Crazy Horse Colorado Colorado finds Neil Young reuniting with his past. l It has been 50 years since Young first collaborated with Crazy Horse. This is their 12th collaboration over the years. One original member has died and Nils Lofgren fills the void, playing with Young for the first time since 1982. […]
Diane Blue Look for the Light Regina Royale Records Diane Blue had shared the stage with Luther Guitar Jr. Johnson; Irma Thomas; Big Jack Johnson and others. She released her independently produced debut recording in 2006. Four years later she won the Massachusetts Blues Challenge and went on to compete in the International Blues Challenge […]
Making a Scene Presents Jim Hynes’ Top 30 Jazz Releases of 2019! These are in no particular order Click on the Album art to purchase on Amazon .. Click on the Artist’s Name to read the review! Betty Bryant Project 88 Beverley Church Hogan Can’t Get Out of This Mood Charlie Dennard Deep Blue Clifford […]
Making a Scene Presents Jim Hynes’ Picks for Top 20 Roots Releases for 2019! These are in no particular order.. Click on the Release image to purchase on Amazon – Use the artist name to go to the Review of the Release Benny Turner and Cash McCall Going Back Home Jason Ringenberg Stand Tall Adam […]
Making a Scene Presents an Interview with Hudspeth and Taylor Brandon Hudspeth Guitarist, singer, and songwriter Brandon Hudspeth was born in Muskogee, Oklahoma. He began taking guitar lessons at an early age after hearing Johnny Cash on Sesame Street. In high school, heavily influenced by the Blues, he started playing weekend gigs around the Tulsa […]
Making a Scene Presents an Interview with Whitey Somers “High energy Roots and Blues, with soaring solos and infectious grooves that will have you dancin’ in your shoes!” Since the age of 16 guitarist, Motorhome Records recording artist, singer, songwriter Whitey Somers has been performing internationally at festivals, concerts and clubs, on the bill with […]
Jack Mack & The Heart Attack Live From Centennial Park, Atlanta 1996 SSR Free Roll Records The Eagles had just broken up and Glenn Frey hadn’t yet started his solo career. In 1982 he found some friends to have fun with and the R n’ B cover band Jack Mack & The Heart Attack were […]
HOME PAGE Making a Scene Presents an Interview with Josh Gallagher Josh Gallagher writes songs destined to root themselves inside your brain and bring you back to the first moment you heard them every time you listen; he’s not just making music, he’s crafting memories. Doggedly likeable and unashamedly himself, the Pennsylvania native has a ‘no-bullshit’ […]
HOME PAGE Making a Scene Presents an Interview with Andrew Kastner and Bill Bergman of Jack Mack and the Heart Attack! Jack Mack’s sweet and funky soul music has earned a critically acclaimed thirty-nine year legacy of success in the music business that includes: ten records, blockbuster movie soundtracks, and hundreds of global television and […]
Van Morrison Three Chords and the Truth Van Morrison is a wonder. Three Chords and the Truth is his 41st album and he is 74 years old, and he sounds marvelous! The album is all straightforward music with no fancy effects. The backing band, including Astral Weeks guitarist Jay Berliner is part of the reason […]
HOME PAGE Making a Scene Presents an Interview with George Ducas Four albums (and countless songs written for other artists) into one of country music’s more esteemed careers, country recording artist/songwriter George Ducas continues to evolve. His latest evolution comes in the form of YELLOW ROSE MOTEL, a project that stands as his most comprehensive […]
HOME PAGE Making a Scene Presents an Interview with Rebekah Meldrum! Rebekah Meldrum delivers the blues with deliberate precision. Every track on her self-titled debut, is steeped in the love and the passion she has for the genre. It’s almost a religious reverence, which makes perfect sense considering she’s a preacher’s daughter who grew up […]
HOME PAGE Making a Scene Presents an Interview with Matty T Wall! The blues is music that traveled on trains and steamboats from the Mississippi Delta to the neon streets of Memphis, Chicago and St. Louis. For Matty T Wall – a guitarist, vocalist, songwriter and bandleader – it is the supernatural sound that crossed […]
Louis Anthony deLise The Professional Songwriter The Professional Songwriter is a textbook aimed at writers who are dedicated to being successful as a songwriter. It is essential reading for anyone in that position, although it might have been better divided into two books, one about music theory and one about the music business. This is […]
HOMEPAGE Making a Scene Presents an Interview with Barbara Stephan She classifies herself as a super nerd. She geeks out and freaks out over all things Alan Watts, Ram Dass, Terrance Mckenna and Timothy Leary to name just a few. And if it weren’t for the inspirations from these incredible renegades, she might not have […]
Big Dave McLean Pocket Full Of Nothin’ Black Hen Music Big Dave McLean has been active on the Canadian blues scene since releasing his 1989 debut recording “Muddy Waters for President”. In 1992 Mclean was a Juno Award winner; the Juno Awards are Canada’s equivalent to our Grammys. The veteran bluesman has been an influence […]
Dom Martin Spain to Italy Where do I start as it’s all been said before about this young man from Belfast, Northern Ireland. The right place at the right time springs to mind. My first time to meet Dom was on the 7th of March this year at renowned rock venue Whelan’s in Dublin. Dom […]
HOME PAGE Making a Scene Presents an “Interview with a Pro” Kenny Neal Booga Music Acclaimed American Bluesman Kenny Neal is launching his new label, BOOGA MUSIC, in partnership with the VizzTone label group and Brat Girl media label management. Booga Music’s flagship release is Brody Buster’s One Man Band/Damn! I Spilled the Blues, released through Redeye Worldwide distribution on October 18, […]
Whitney Tai Sleepwalking to the Moon Patrick O’Heffernan Sometimes Whitney Tai’s music is fragile, delicate, barely entering your ears. At other times it is fierce, dense, demanding of every one of your senses. But either way, it touches your heart with a power that is hard to define but instantly recognizable. “Sleepwalking to the Moon” […]
Yasser Tejeda & Palotré Kijombo Self- released Surely, you’ve already identified this as Latin music and possibly Latin jazz. Yet, that’s only partially right. it’s broader than either one. Yasser Tejeda’s music on Kijombo is, at least in the U.S. and many countries, the seldom heard roots music of the Dominican Republic, here re-imagined by […]
Raquel Cepeda Passion – Latin Jazz Self-released Houston-based jazz vocalist and songwriter Raquel Cepeda is a multi-talented artist with an interesting story and an auspicious debut. She uses the word ‘passion’ liberally. It’s the name of her band, her album, and her life force. From the liner notes, these excerpts from Cepeda will provide a […]
Katy Hobgood Ray Featuring Dave Ray I Dream of Water Out of the Past You may have already read about Katy Hobgood Ray on these pages with Richard’s interview. If so, (and even if not) you realize that she’s a versatile artist, probably most conveniently labeled as a folk-blues artist but that term does not […]
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