Author Archives: Mike

Sean Costello Lives On with At His Best – Live

Sadly, we’ve written quite a bit about death lately, with the passing of both Texas bluesman Doyle Bramhall and the great Hubert Sumlin in recent weeks. It’s been three years now since the blues world lost the guitar and vocal talents of Philadelphia-born, Atlanta-bred … Continue reading

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Texas Cannonball Freddie King shoots into Rock Hall of Fame

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame announced its 2012 inductees on Wednesday, including one pretty terrific bluesman in Texas guitarist Freddie King. Nicknamed the “Texas Cannonball,” King is this year’s sole inductee in the Hall’s Early Influence category, which recognizes “artists whose music … Continue reading

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Nick Moss makes another bold statement on Here I Am

Anyone who didn’t much care for the direction Chicago blues-rocker Nick Moss took on his previous album Privileged – a bit heavier on the rocking side, sans his band the Flip Tops – can probably stop reading here. For the rest of us though, … Continue reading

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Louisiana Red gets Memphis Mojo working on latest CD

We’ve talked here before about the Pittsburgh roots of the bluesman called Louisiana Red, who’s logged countless miles since leaving the Steel City for Chicago many decades ago. Having spent 20 years living in Germany, Red’s latest project actually finds him in yet … Continue reading

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Samantha Fish casts a wide net on Runaway debut

We’ve talked here before of the vocal and guitar prowess of Kansas City blueswoman Samantha Fish, who you may recall as one-third of Ruf Records’ Girls with Guitars Blues Caravan along with U.K. blues/soul singer and guitarist Dani Wilde and … Continue reading

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Johnny Winter recalls blues roots on latest CD

There’s an old Willie Dixon adage you might have heard that “The blues is the roots, and the rest is the fruits.” One timely example of that sentiment is Texas guitar slinger Freddie King‘s inclusion among this year’s nominees for the … Continue reading

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A soulful explanation from Beth Hart, Joe Bonamassa on Don’t Explain

There’s no denying Joe Bonamassa has done some pretty interesting stuff in recent years, between his own best-selling albums such as Dust Bowl, Black Rock, and Live from the Royal Albert Hall, among others, and being a part of the hard-hitting British-American supergroup Black Country Communion. … Continue reading

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In fond memory of Willie Big Eyes Smith

Late last week, the blues world lost another of its legends with the passing of drummer and harmonica player Willie “Big Eyes” Smith, who in death is reunited with such former bandmates as the great Muddy Waters and keyboardist Pinetop … Continue reading

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Blues Lyrics of the Week: September 11th Blues

Ten years ago today, I had just boarded a morning flight in Baltimore when I heard the first report of a plane flying into the World Trade Center. Like so many others that day and in the days that followed, … Continue reading

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Farewell, Honeyboy Edwards

By now, you’ve likely heard about the death of one of the last true Mississippi Delta bluesmen, the talented David “Honeyboy” Edwards, who, as some of you may know, was managed for the past nearly three decades by Pittsburgh native, harmonica … Continue reading

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