Here, in no particular order, are more favorites from 2020.
Mayer’s Picks – Best of 2020, the Albums
What a year it has been! Thankfully there’s been some great music to help sustain us. Here are my picks for the best albums of 2020. 11. Consider the Speed by Terra Lightfoot Another rock and roll tour de force from Terra Lightfoot. Consider the Speed is brimming with fervent guitars and musical bravado, not […]
Nathan Singleton of The Sideshow Tragedy on Peanut Butter and Why Artists Shouldn’t Compromise
The Sideshow Tragedy’s Nathan Singleton talks about some of his favorite rehearsal spaces and his least favorite thing about being a guitar player.
Nora Jean Wallace – Blueswoman
From her first utterances on Blueswoman, it is clear that Nora Jean Wallace is in charge. Her big Chicago-style vocals dominate this new release reminiscent of post-war leading ladies like Big Mama Thornton and Koko Taylor. Wallace is no stranger to the blues world, having broken out in 2004 (as Nora Jean Bruso) with the […]
Dave Alvin on Keeping a Low Overhead and Going Where the Love Is
Dave Alvin talks about working as a fry cook and the most important night of his life.
Mayer’s Playlist for Fall 2020, Part 4
Called Out Your Name, Terra Lightfoot (from the Sonic Unyon Records release Consider the Speed) If you’re anything like me – especially in a year like this one – sometimes you just want a healthy dose of electrifying rock and roll. Thankfully Terra Lightfoot is back to fulfill that desire and, perhaps, melt a few faces […]
Ronnie Earl & the Broadcasters – Rise Up
Ronnie Earl is has long been regarded as being among the best blues guitarists alive today, having won the Blues Music Award for “Guitar Player of the Year” four times. But Earl is also an earnest cheerleader for advancement of the human condition. Rise Up effectively lashes his interests in social justice with great music. […]
New Moon Jelly Roll Freedom Rockers – Vol. 1
There are jam sessions, and then there are JAM SESSIONs. When you get blues masters Charlie Musselwhite and Alvin Youngblood Hart together with former Squirrel Nut Zipper Jimbo Mathus, North Mississippi Allstars brothers Luther and Cody Dickinson and their father Jim, you’re gonna have a JAM SESSION. That’s what happened in the fall of 2007, […]
Savoy Brown – Ain’t Done Yet
With Ain’t Done Yet, Savoy Brown frontman Kim Simmonds lays down the statement that his blues mastery will be around a while longer. And that’s saying something, since Savoy Brown have been around pretty much since the middle years of the British Invasion. In its original form, the band was comparable to the early Peter Green-led Fleetwood Mac, Cream and […]
Mayer’s Picks – The Best of 2020 (So Far), the Songs
No Time for Love Songs, The Mastersons (from the Red House Records release No Time for Love Songs) I love you so much but it’s no time for love songs We’re starting to unravel at the seams Maybe I care too much and this world is hard enough How come everybody’s gotta be so mean? […]