JW-Jones is one slick guitar slinger from north of the border.  Cut from the mold of a Jimmie Vaughan or the late Johnny Winter, Jones hails from Ottawa, Canada, an unexpected cradle for an artist sure to be recognized for his impressive guitar skills. Somewhat of a prodigy, Jones recorded his first album, Defibrilatin’, in 2000 […]
Duke Robillard – Calling All Blues
Duke Robillard is a blues guitar icon. A multiple Blues Music Award winner and Grammy nominee, if Robillard had stopped at creating the jump blues revival outfit Roomful of Blues in the late 1960s, his contribution to blues music would have been sizable. Jump blues, an up-tempo form of blues often featuring horns that was […]
2014 Americana Music Awards
On September 17th, the glitterati of the Americana Music Scene gathered at the historic Ryman Theater for their annual Awards show and presentation.  Mayer and I were lucky enough to procure a seat to the festivities.  You can get a full list of the award nominees and winners here, but these are the highlights from our […]
E.G. Kight – A New Day
E.G. Kight’s is a unique voice in contemporary music. Her heartfelt, gospel and country-tinged blues blend American traditions into a toe-tapping good time. Her latest album, A New Day, demonstrates what her dedicated following has known since the late 90s – that she is a special talent. Though Georgia native Kight grew up listening to old time country music like […]
Rob Stone – Gotta Keep Rollin’
Rob Stone plays good, honest blues. A Boston native, harpist Stone followed a straight-forward style in the Chicago electric blues tradition on Gotta Keep Rollin’. Stone’s tight band his has put together a first-class selection of rollicking tunes that is sure to enhance their growing reputation in the blues world. Stone has been leading his […]
Sena Ehrhardt – Live My Life
Sena Ehrhardt is a big voice from a smal town. Ehrhardt’s third album, Live My Life, is a polished musical offering that is sure to cement her reputation as a rising star in blues music. Originally from a southern Minnesota town known more for lunch meat than blues music, the dynamic singer inherited her passion for […]
Sugar Ray & the Bluetones – Living Tear to Tear
Sugar Ray & the Bluetones have added an entertaining gem to their long list of album releases with Living Tear to Tear.  From the first notes blown through Sugar Ray Norcia’s harmonica on “Rat Trap,” the album is a pleasure to hear. It’s not surprising that harpist Sugar Ray Norcia, a former member of Roomful […]
Mud Morganfield & Kim Wilson – For Pops: A Tribute to Muddy Waters
Larry “Mud” Morganfield and Kim Wilson have put together a collaboration that features 1950s Chicago Blues akin to Morganfield’s famous father, McKinley Morganfield – Muddy Waters. And the surprisingly good tribute album by Waters’ eldest son and the frontman from the Fabulous Thunderbirds, For Pops: A Tribute to Muddy Waters, captures that Muddy Waters feel without […]
Mayer’s Playlist for July 2014, Part 1
ALBUMS OF THE MONTH Resolution Road, by Easton Stagger Phillips I don’t like to draw direct comparisons between artists but it’s hard not to do so with the latest release from Tim Easton, Leeroy Stagger and Evan Phillips. This talented trio of singer-songwriters conjure up the finer moments of Crosby, Stills and Nash. Resolution Road […]
Monday Morning Video: Johnny Winter (1944-2014)
We lost Johnny Winter last week. Johnny, known for his blistering fast guitar playing, burst onto the national scene as a solo act in the late 1960s. A guitar prodigy, Johnny and younger brother Edgar – both albino – had formed a band as they were growing up in Beaumont, Texas, and had a single released when Johnny […]