Rory Block’s acoustic guitar chops are unmatched. Her recent series of tribute albums to country blues greats continues with Ain’t Nobody Worried, but this time with a twist. Instead of dedicating the whole album to a single blues artist, she mixes it up, covering iconic songs by iconic women. And the usually faithful blues master […]
Blue Moon Marquee – Scream, Holler & Howl
The unique Canadian duo Blue Moon Marquee is at it again with Scream, Holler & Howl, a release that proves that the duo owns the recipe to a fun, fantastic, genre-bending stew of their own design. The duo, which features A.W. Cardinal on vocals and guitar and Jasmine Colette on vocals and upright bass, captures […]
Shemekia Copeland Is All About the Blues
Even when Shemekia Copeland was a student at Teaneck High School in New Jersey, she was already committed to the blues. Born into Blues royalty (her father was blues guitarist Johnny Copeland), Copeland has become perhaps the most prominent woman performing blues and roots music today. “It was always going to be the blues,” she […]
Mike Stevens – Breathe In the World, Breathe Out Music
At the next Twangville town council meeting I’m making a motion to adopt “Municipal Harp Day” in honor of the best new recordings by blues and roots harmonica players. Along with Charlie Musselwhite’s new release, Canadian harmonica virtuoso Mike Stevens in May released his remarkable Breathe in the World, Breathe Out Music. Stevens has been […]
Charlie Musselwhite – Mississippi Son
Stand Back! Here Comes Charlie Musselwhite … again! At 78, Musselwhite shows with Mississippi Son that he is still in peak form and not ready for retirement any time soon. In fact, this simple, unvarnished effort may rival his best releases ever. The grand master of living blues harp players, Musselwhite’s first album, Stand Back! […]
Taj Mahal & Ry Cooder – Get On Board: The Songs of Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee
Taj Mahal and Ry Cooder have a history going back nearly 60 years, which officially makes Get On Board a long-awaited reunion – and something to cherish. With the profound contributions and pedigrees of Mahal and Cooder, we expect brilliance, and the album more than meets those expectations. In the mid-1960s, when Ry Cooder was […]
Ronnie Earl and the Broadcasters – Mercy Me
There are a few people whose artistry separates them from the many excellent artists plying their trade and lifts them to a level of their own. With every brush stroke, word written or note played, their mastery shines through. Ronnie Earl is such an artist. The son of two Holocaust survivors, Earl was born Ronald […]
Bill’s (Belated) Blues-based Best of 2021
Well, here it is again … my inexpert, incomplete review of the best blues albums of 2021. Better late than never. 1. Selwyn Birchwood – Living in a Burning House. A mature masterwork of a young(ish) musician carrying the torch for the next generation of blues greats. 2. Eric Bibb – Dear America. Bibb takes […]
Corey Harris – Insurrection Blues
Corey Harris long ago established himself as one of the most important and innovative bluesmen of his generation. He is an amazing musician. With Insurrection Blues, his first album in over three years, Harris has added yet another to a long line of fine albums. As a musical adventurer, Harris can be compared with Taj Mahal […]
Sue Foley – Pinky’s Blues
Throughout this past year-and-a-half-going-on-two, it’s been hard to find much to get excited about. If you’re like me, it seems, much like with coronavirus, everything has lots its flavor. Sue Foley’s Pinky’s Blues may just be part of the antidote. A native of Ottawa, Canada transplanted in Austin, Texas, Foley says she had an epiphany […]