Charlie Parr is a signature folk (and blues) musician, typical of many who have risen up in the Minneapolis folks scene. Parr’s music is simple, straight forward, and tells a story worth telling. A longtime fixture in the Twin Cities music scene, Parr counts “Spider” John Koerner (1938-2024) among his influences. Koerner, along with Dave […]
Max Hightower – The Blues Chooses You
Max Hightower likes a good rhythm section. Hightower is a harmonica ace who captures a primal sound that echoes decades of gruff, growling bluesmen that probably started with Howlin’ Wolf. Hightower, who hails from South Carolina, says he’s been enthralled with the Blues since he heard a Muddy Waters cassette when he was 12. By […]
Joanna Connor – Live on 11/11
Joanna Connor is scary good. I caught her live show in Hagerstown, Maryland some years ago and will never forget her commanding presence. Her new live album, Live on 11/11, shows just how awesome she can be. I’ve gushed over her work before. Connor is an absolute star. Known for her commanding vocals and brazen […]
Johnny Rawls & Dave Keller – Tribute to Soul
Johnny Rawls and Dave Keller want you to know how much fun soul blues can be. In their collaboration this summer, Tribute to Soul, the two put together a celebration of the music that hits the mark. Rawls has been a fixture on the blues festival circuit for decades. Once a sideman for the great […]
GA-20 with Charlie Musselwhite – Blues Now
It’s chemistry. Matthew Stubbs and Charlie Musselhite have worked together off-and-on for at least 15 years, with Stubbs initially a sideman in Musselwhite’s band. Now, with Stubbs new role as lead guitarist for GA-20, the pair are once again tearing it up on their new album, Blues Now. Musselwhite himself, at age 82, has ascended […]
Greg Piccolo & Heavy Juice – Who Knows What the Future Holds
Tenor sax player Greg Piccolo is another in a long line of Roomful of Blues alumni who have gone on to great solo careers, along with the likes of Duke Robillard, Ronnie Earl, Curtis Salgado and Sugar Ray Norcia. Roomful of Blues has long been the gold standard for jump blues, which is a horns-heavy […]
Taj Mahal & The Phantom Blues Band – Time
Taj Mahal just keeps doing great music. This master, at 83, continues to show that he, like his namesake building, is a wonder of the world. To say that Taj Mahal has been around for a long time is an understatement. He was raised in Massachusetts in a musical household and gained an appreciation not […]
Corey Harris, Alvin Youngblood Hart & Guy Davis – Fight On! True Blues Vol.2
A niece once pronounced to me that all the great blues musicians are dead. Alvin Youngblood Hart, Guy Davis and Corey Harris show that’s not true, as they are among the best blues masters of my own generation. With Fight On! True Blues Vol. 2, these masters have created an acoustic blues timepiece that is […]
Rick Vito – Slidemaster
If you’re like me, and you love some slide guitar, commsummate musician and sideman Rick Vito has an offering for you. Vito, who was a member of Fleetwood Mac from 1987 until 1991, and who toured or sat in on recordings with the likes of Bonnie Raitt, John Mayall, John Fogerty, Bob Seger (Vito played […]
GA-20 – Orphans
About 12 years ago I caught a Charlie Musselwhite show at Blues Alley, DC’s great jazz club (that occasionally features blues artists lately). Musselwhite of course was great, but the young lead guitarist, Matthew Stubbs, piqued my intrest so much I sought out his early solo albums – Soul Bender and Medford & Main. What […]