Jeff Plankenhorn is a versatile lap steel guitarist, well established in the Austin, Texas music scene, who delivers a funky, crusty and soulful performance on his unique new solo album, SoulSlide. Plankenhorn, who has collaborated with artists like Joe Ely and Ray Wylie Hubbard, says he found his voice while singing in the church choir growing up in […]
Luther Dickinson – Blues & Ballads (A Folksinger’s Songbook Volumes I & II)
When I caught Luther Dickinson’s show last month in Philadelphia, it was in the smaller of the two halls at World Cafe Live. There were maybe 100 or so patrons there, and the tickets were reasonably priced under $20. He and his “Cooperators” couldn’t have walked away with more than $2,000 from the evening. After […]
Van Wilks – 21st Century Blues
Van Wilks is a Texas-based blues rocker who plays a mean guitar. His newest release, 21st Century Blues, is a solid testament to Wilks’ blazing skills. A longtime fixture in the Austin, Texas music scene, the Galveston-born Wilks recorded his first solo album – Bombay Tears – in 1980. Â His straight-forward blues-rock echoes Texas musical […]
Professor Louie & the Crowmatrix – Music From Hurley Mountain
Americana music encompasses many different strains of homegrown sounds. Professor Louie and the Crowmatrix have tapped into a number of those sounds on their compelling new album, Music From Hurley Mountain. Denizens of Woodstock, NY, the Crowmatrix, featuring Aaron Hurwitz – “Professor Louie” – and his songwriting partner “Miss Marie” Spinosa, grew together in the […]
Bill’s Blues-Based Best – 2015
There’s no way we can claim to track all the new music that comes out in a year. But we’re wired to find what we like. While I certainly enjoy the alt. country artists so popular on Twangville (caught Jason Isbell’s show at the Electric Factory last summer – fantastic!) I tend to write more […]
Mike Zito – Keep Coming Back
Mike Zito throws all of himself into his music.  With Keep Coming Back, Zito & The Wheel has taken Zito’s gritty recipe of blues-rock and country and stirred in a bit more country than in his 2013 release, Gone to Texas, and some classic rock to cook up a strong collection of songs. A St. Louis native now […]
Eric Bibb & JJ Milteau – Lead Belly’s Gold
Huddie Ledbetter, aka “Lead Belly,” wrote some of the most familiar folk and blues songs of our musical heritage. Discovered by father and son folklorists John and Alan Lomax in 1933 while an inmate in Louisiana’s infamous Angola prison farm,  Lead Belly’s music was a critical link in popularizing folk and blues and, eventually, lead to […]
Charlie Musselwhite – I Ain’t Lyin’ …
Charlie Musselwhite is one of those guys who has been around so long it’s difficult to picture a blues scene without him. Once among the first American white musicians to embrace the blues, Musselwhite now stands among the top living blues musicians of any color, and, along with James Cotton, one of the most accomplished blues harp […]
Colin Linden – Rich In Love
Canadian roots rocker Colin Linden is one of those musicians’ musicians who has seemingly played with everyone during his long career, including Bob Dylan, Emmylou Harris, Lucinda Williams, Bruce Cockburn and several members of The Band. His latest album, Rich In Love, demonstrates why he is in demand as a guest musician in his adopted home of Nashville. […]
The Acoustic Blues & Roots of Duke Robillard
Duke Robillard has pretty much reached a point in his career when he knows he doesn’t have to try to impress anyone. He can play what he wants, and if you want to come along for the ride, so much the better. With the Acoustic Blues & Roots of Duke Robillard, which releases Friday, Robillard […]