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 […]
Keb’ Mo’: The Breakdown and the Long Way Home
Keb’ Mo’ has been making music for more than half a century, but he still approaches a song like there is something left to figure out. Born and raised in Compton, California, he came up listening to Nat King Cole, church singers and the blues guitarists who traced the music backward toward Mississippi. At 21, […]
AmericanaFest 2026, Mayer’s Picks (Part 1)
BOY GOLDEN I caught Boy Golden twice, and both sets were terrific in song and stagecraft. At the second show, I recognized a guy in a Boy Golden t-shirt from the previous set. I struck up a conversation and it turned out to be Dad Golden. Boy Golden also had to follow the reunion of […]
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 […]
Afton Wolfe & the Snake Hunters Video Premiere – Cyclone
I think everyone knows someone who, when they enter the room, starts to add color to the discussion. Not the primary color, Jackson Pollack splat of conspiracy or disproven theory, but the rich tint that binds various hues together into a well-formed montage. Nashvillian, by way of several points in the Deep South, Afton Wolfe […]
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 […]
The Family – Delusions of Grandeur
Some records feel assembled; Delusions of Grandeur feels inherited. The Family is Dylan LeBlanc, his father James LeBlanc and James wife and stepson Angela Hacker and Bay Simpson. The album carries the unmistakable weight of shared history, where blood ties matter less than the lived experiences that shape every lyric and harmony. Recorded at Muscle […]