Author Archives: Mike

2022 Blues & Heritage Festival scores high marks with performances from Fantastic Negrito, Shemekia Copeland, Ruthie Foster and more

Posted on September 28, 2022 by Mike

We weren’t able to take in quite as much of the recent two-night Highmark Blues & Heritage Festival at Pittsburgh’s Highmark Stadium as we had hoped, but the bit we did catch was certainly impressive, thanks to the likes of … Continue reading →

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Four decades later, Nine Below Zero unearths band’s first-ever studio recording on Back in the Day

Posted on August 18, 2022 by Mike

Speaking of UK blues-rockers (as we were in this semi-recent post regarding Catfish‘s acoustic EP Bound for Better Days), this next release is from a band that’s been around for quite a few decades now, having opened for the likes of … Continue reading →

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Blues-rockers Catfish move on from lockdown with acoustic EP Bound for Better Days

Posted on July 13, 2022 by Mike

One of the many bands that helped get us through the long pandemic with their livestream performances was UK blues-rockers Catfish. While an earlier album and DVD, Exile – Live in Lockdown, allowed fans to hear and see the band … Continue reading →

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Now posted: our pics from the inaugural Maple House Festival

Posted on June 3, 2022 by Mike

We’ve just posted a few (okay, a whole bunch of!) pics from the Maple House Festival that took place in Pittsburgh a few weeks back to our BluesPowR gallery, featuring dedicated albums for Eric Gales and the Ghost Hounds, as … Continue reading →

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Tune into the Weekend: Murali Coryell unfurls Ukraine War Cries

Posted on May 27, 2022 by Mike

Guitarist and singer Murali Coryell, the son of late jazz fusion guitarist Larry Coryell, delivers a subdued but powerful message on his latest single, “Ukraine War Cries”. Along with Coryell’s usual emotive playing and soulful vocals, the slow blues grooves of … Continue reading →

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Ghost Hounds, Eric Gales help bring the blues to Pittsburgh’s first Maple House Festival

Posted on May 25, 2022 by Mike

We don’t know what Pittsburgh-based blues-rockers the Ghost Hounds might have had planned for the rest of their set at this past weekend’s inaugural Maple House Festival at Hartwood Acres Park, but we’re pretty sure it would’ve been good, judging … Continue reading →

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Ghost Hounds are anything but broken on blues album You Broke Me

Posted on May 7, 2022 by Mike

A few weeks back, we told you about the second single from Pittsburgh-based blues-rock sextet the Ghost Hounds‘ upcoming blues album You Broke Me (Maple House Records): an electrifying cover of the Howling Wolf classic “Smokestack Lightning“. So, while we … Continue reading →

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Tune into the Weekend: Ghost Hounds unleash Smokestack Lightning, announce upcoming blues album

Posted on April 8, 2022 by Mike

We’ve been meaning to write something about the Pittsburgh-based blues-rockers Ghost Hounds for some time now, and for once procrastination may actually have worked in our favor: not only do we get to tell you about the band, with whom … Continue reading →

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Tune into the Weekend: Joe Louis Walker remembers B.B. and Lucille with some Regal Blues

Posted on November 19, 2021 by Mike

Veteran blues guitarist and singer Joe Louis Walker has a new album out this month on Cleopatra Records, which, as acknowledged by its title of Eclectic Electric, is indeed an eclectic collection of tracks ranging from originals like the chugging … Continue reading →

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Latest Jazz Festing in Place offers classic performances from B.B. King, John Lee Hooker, Dr. John and more

Posted on October 11, 2021 by Mike

If you didn’t tune in for the first weekend of this fall’s edition of WWOZ’s Jazz Festing in Place the past weekend (with the live, in-person version of the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival once again cancelled due to … Continue reading →

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