Author Archives: Mike

First listen: Shortnin’ Bread from Taj Mahal’s Labor of Love

With blues master Taj Mahal‘s new vinyl-only release Labor of Love (Acoustic Sounds) hitting stores next week, we thought you might enjoy a little taste of “Shortnin’ Bread” that pairs some plucky banjo from Mahal with crisp, whooping vocals and … Continue reading

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Guitarist Harvey Mandel slithers back onto scene with Snake Pit

Back in October, we gave you a preview of Chicago blues guitarist Harvey Mandel‘s new album Snake Pit (Tompkins Square) in the form of the tasty title track. Now, we’re happy to report that the rest of the album is … Continue reading

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Sugar Ray and the Bluetones offer reason to believe with Seeing is Believing

They say that “seeing is believing”, and far be it for us to argue that seeing Sugar Ray and the Bluetones perform live when you have the chance is the smartest way to go. But the good news for blues … Continue reading

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Let the Good Times Roll

This latest edition of our BluesPowR Radio Hour features three tracks from Joe Bonamassa’s tribute to the Three Kings, plus other great music from Mighty Sam McClain, John Mayall, the Nick Schnebelen Band, Supersonic Blues Machine, and more! Playlist Let … Continue reading

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Lurrie Bell just Can’t Shake This Feeling on latest release

If the title of this post were a Jeopardy! clue, the question would of course be “What is the blues?”, not only because Lurrie Bell is one of the best-known of those second-generation blues players about whom we frequently talk … Continue reading

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My Feelings Won’t Be Hurt

With All Hallows’ Eve already upon us, here’s another frighteningly good, talk-free episode of our BluesPowR Radio Hour to help get you through the witching (or any other) hour, this time featuring music from Sugar Blue, the Nick Moss Band, … Continue reading

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Ronnie Earl and The Broadcasters take sentimental stroll down Maxwell Street

Guitarist Ronnie Earl and his band The Broadcasters deliver another superb offering in this latest release, dedicated to the memory of their longtime friend and former Broadcaster, keyboardist David Maxwell, who died in February 2015. Like previous albums from The … Continue reading

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Armed with arsenal of axes, Joe Bonamassa conquers monster tribute to “three Kings of the blues” on Live at the Greek Theatre

Although we’d of course heard of him by then, it wasn’t until quite a few years into blues-rocker Joe Bonamassa‘s career that he really caught our ear for the first time, when, in June 2010, we were fortunate enough to … Continue reading

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Mojo Risin’: Robert Finley evokes old soul on debut Age Don’t Mean a Thing

It doesn’t matter what other soul-blues albums you’ve heard this year; chances are, Robert Finley‘s debut Age Don’t Mean a Thing (Big Legal Mess Records) will have most, if not every single one of them, beat, with the 62-year-old Louisianan … Continue reading

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Back into the Snake Pit with Chicago blues guitarist Harvey Mandel

A while back, we gave you this update on the great Chicago blues guitarist Harvey “The Snake” Mandel, who you may recall has played with and alongside such greats as John Mayall, Canned Heat, the Rolling Stones, Howlin’ Wolf, Michael … Continue reading

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