Unless you are a die-hard blues enthusiast, Ronnie Earl is probably the best guitarist you’ve never heard of. A sensitive, masterful guitarist, he has been laying down magical licks for close to 35 years. He is totally in love with his instrument, and, as evidenced by his expressive playing, he has a special connection to […]
Cash Box Kings – Black Toppin’
The Cash Box Kings are the real deal. These Chicago musicians have dedicated themselves to playing in the tradition of 1950s Chicago blues. From the first guitar licks on Black Toppin’, the band’s sixth offering and second for Blind Pig Records, it feels as though you could be listening in on a studio session at Chess Records, with the […]
Southern Hospitality – Easy Livin’
Southern Hospitality has served up a southern fried delicacy with its debut album, East Livin’. Produced by Louisiana blues guitar-slinger Tab Benoit, “SOHO” members J.P. Soars, Damon Fowler and Victor Wainwright, have followed a swampy gumbo recipe reminiscent of classic southern rockers Little Feat (during the Lowell George years) with a selection ranging from soul-inflected blues, to country, to […]
The Rev. Jimmie Bratcher – Secretly Famous
Upon learning that the “Rev.” Jimmie Bratcher is an ordained minister, those of us who prefer our entertainment to be taken separately from our religion might become a little skeptical.  But Bratcher’s Secretly Famous provides straight-forward blues-rock with some inspired guitar, keeping the preaching down to a bare minimum and letting the music instead do the talking. […]
Corey Harris – Fulton Blues
After many years experimenting with roots music styles from reggae to ragtime, Corey Harris has emerged as a master.  Fulton Blues, a self-produced collection of mainly acoustic blues, represents a return to Harris’ musical roots. As a musical adventurer, Harris can be compared with Taj Mahal and Ry Cooder. He first gained notice with a pure Delta blues […]
James Montgomery Band – From Detroit to the Delta
Veteran blues rocker James Montgomery has put together a varied, solid collection of songs on From Detroit to the Delta.  As the album title implies, the collection ranges in styles from uptown to urban to a Delta crossroads. Originally from Detroit but based in Boston, harmonica player and singer Montgomery has been a presence on the blues […]
Skinny Molly – Haywire Riot
Welcome to 1978. Hardworking, hard rocking Skinny Molly’s new release, Haywire Riot, is an unabashed throwback in the tradition of southern rock bands Molly Hatchet and Lynyrd Skynyrd. Led by frontman Mike Estes, a member of latter-day iterations of Lynyrd Skynyrd since the mid-1990s, the band was intended as a fun diversion but Estes said it became his […]
John Hartford – Aereo Pain/Morning Bugle
Normally a reissue of an old record isn’t such a big deal, but the December 2012 reissue of John Hartford’s Aereo Plain/Morning Bugle CD was a big deal for bluegrass fans because Aereo Plain, one of the most important records of the bluegrass – or “New Grass” – revival in the 1970s, had been almost impossible […]
Eric Bibb & Habib Koite – Brothers in Bamako
Bluesman Eric Bibb is the latest in a succession of American musicians to get his passport stamped in Mali since Ry Cooder and the late Ali Farka Toure won the Grammy for Best World Music Recording in 1994. Bibb’s fine collaboration with Malian Habib Koite, Brothers in Bamako, stands up well next to Cooder and Toure’s Talking Timbuktu; […]
Craig Chaquico – Fire Red Moon
Craig Chaquico has made the transition from ethereal to earthy in his first blues album, Fire Red Moon. Chaquico has successfully joined the legion of ex-rockers-turned blues musicians with his latest effort. But he may be the only one whose path to the blues led through new age music after having spent almost two decades churning out […]