The BluesPowR Blog

It’s beginning to sound a lot like Christmas: Blue Élan charity holiday collection features songs from Janiva Magness, Gary Hoey, and more

Posted on December 10, 2015 by Mike

“What do you get somebody who has everything?”, asks blues/pop singer Janey Street on her jazzy original track “Christmas in Your Eyes”, and one good answer to that question is the new holiday album on which Street’s song appears: a bright, refreshing collection of seasonal favorites and originals entitled A Blue Élan Christmas (Blue Élan Records). In addition to including some great new music such as Street’s smoky, Dee Dee Bridgewater-sounding tune (which fits in rather nicely with the theme of our blog, with the following line to that above being “you can’t wrap up love, to try and hide the blues”), the album also benefits an important cause, with 100% of the label’s profits from the set being sent to the Alliance for Children’s Rights, an organization that provides children with free legal services and advocacy, permanency through adoption and legal guardianship, and access to healthcare and an equitable education.

While much of what you’ll hear on this collection falls into a broader American roots, pop, or R&B style rather than straight blues, there are several songs beyond Street’s that are sure to interest blues lovers, including the rootsy opening “Every Day Will Be Like a Holiday” (which you can hear below) from multiple Blues Music Award-winner and celebrity foster care advocate Janiva Magness that features frequent Magness collaborator Dave Darling on guitar and background vocals in addition to producing, as well as a terrific song from Darling’s own band the Soul Sparrows in the catchy, Fantastic Negrito-like, hip hop grooves of the soulful “Another Year Come and Gone” – with its uplifting lyrics such as “Another year come and gone again/ Let’s lift a glass with all our friends/ We lived and loved and laughed last year; let’s do it all again” and “Hold that door open/ free up those favors/ do something cool and smile at your neighbors” – that elicits a “Tha-a-at’s funky!” from one of its members and ends on a beautiful a cappella verse of “Silent Night” courtesy of Brie Darling.

Continue reading →

Posted in Albums | Tagged Dave Darling, Gary Hoey, Janey Street, Janiva Magness, Soul Sparrows | Comments Off

Buddy Guy, Shemekia Copeland, John Primer among blues nominees for 58th Annual Grammy Awards

Posted on December 8, 2015 by Mike

As usual, there weren’t nearly as many blues names as we would have liked when the nominations for the 58th annual GRAMMY Awards were announced yesterday, but here’s a look at the few lucky blues men, women, and projects that did make the list, with winners to be announced Feb. 15.

Buddy Guy‘s Born to Play Guitar received two nominations, for both Best Blues Album as well as Best American Roots Performance for its title track. In the former category, six-time Grammy winner Guy faces Cedric Burnside Project‘s Descendants of Hill Country, Shemekia Copeland‘s Outskirts of Love, Bettye LaVette‘s Worthy, and John Primer and others’ Muddy Waters 100, while Mavis Staples‘ “See That My Grave is Kept Clean” from her Your Good Fortune release is among Buddy’s competition in the latter category, along with tracks from Béla Fleck & Abigail Washburn, The Milk Carton Kids, and the Punch Brothers.

Other somewhat bluesy nominees include Jon Cleary‘s Go Go Juice for Best Regional Roots Music Album and Jeff Place for Best Album Notes for his work on Lead Belly: The Smithsonian Folkways Collection.

Congratulations to each of these nominees!

Posted in Awards | Tagged Bettye LaVette, Buddy Guy, Cedric Burnside, John Primer, Jon Cleary, Mavis Staples, Shemekia Copeland | Comments Off

Quick takes: latest from blues masters John Mayall, Joe Louis Walker

Posted on December 7, 2015 by Mike

Here are a few more recent releases we just couldn’t let go unmentioned before the new year, from two of the biggest names in the blues!

John Mayall, Find a Way to Care (Forty Below Records)

Even after all these decades, John Mayall continues to churn out some remarkably good material, particularly on this latest album, Find a Way to Care. Never mind that several of the songs here are ones you’ve likely heard a time or two before, from such greats as Muddy Waters (“Long Distance Call”), Charles Brown (“Drifting Blues”), Lightnin’ Hopkins (“I Feel So Bad”), and Percy Mayfield (“The River’s Invitation”). That doesn’t make them any less of a delight to hear from “The Godfather of British Blues” and his crack band, along with covers of a few other classics such as Don Robey’s “Mother in Law Blues” (Johnny Winter, Junior Parker, James Cotton) and lesser-known tracks that include Lonnie Brooks’ “I Want All My Money Back” and young UK guitarist Matt Schofield’s “War We Wage”, as well as a handful of new originals.

“Every time I make an album, I always feel I owe it to my fans to come up with fresh and varied interpretations of the blues. With this in mind, I chose an assemblage of songs that includes perhaps some slightly lesser-known bluesmen, and that all had either different beats or special instrumental treatments,” said Mayall in the album’s press materials. Backed by the familiar faces and talents of guitarist Rocky Athas, bassist Greg Rzab, and drummer Jay Davenport, along with the addition of a horn section on several songs, Mayall treats both the new and recycled material with equal affection, making for a truly inspiring and unparalleled set.

One area that certainly helps to set Find a Way to Care apart is Mayall’s keyboard playing, something co-producer Eric Corne of Forty Below “really wanted to feature” on this record, and that early on helps to remind us of just how good Mayall is in this regard. In addition to his work on vocals, piano, Hammond organ, Wurlitzer, and clavinet, Mayall also takes turns on both guitar and harmonica throughout the program, including some strong blowing on the opening “Mother in Law Blues”.

In the end, Find a Way to Care is a nice mix not only in terms of covers and originals, but also in its range of sounds, from the slow and bluesy “Long Distance Call” and “Drifting Blues”, and quiet, creeping “Ropes and Chains” with its subdued harmonica and Spanish-style guitar, all the way to the deep, haunting organ and driving bassline of “Ain’t No Guarantees”. In between, you’ll also find a rich variety of other tunes, from the funky horns and keys of “I Feel So Bad”, to the breezy, swaying title track and a swinging “The River’s Invitation”, to the midtempo grooves of “I Want All My Money Back”, with Mayall finishing the album on the boogie-woogie piano of “Crazy Lady”.

If there’s a blues fan on your shopping list this holiday season, this CD is one you’ll definitely want to find a way to share!

Joe Louis Walker, Everybody Wants a Piece (Provogue/Mascot Label Group)

Fresh off his jump to the Mascot Label Group from a two-record stint on Alligator Records, guitarist and singer Joe Louis Walker delivers another blues-rocking gem in Everybody Wants a Piece. Along with the label move also comes a change in producer, from one Grammy Award-winner – in Tom Hambridge (Buddy Guy) – to another – in Paul Nelson (Johnny Winter) – with the result being an even more solid outing for the Blues Hall of Famer this time around. Not that those previous recordings really left all that much room for improvement, but one area where Walker seems somewhat more in his comfort zone here is his vocals, while his guitar also continues to do plenty of talking of its own.

Lancaster Roots & Blues Festival, Feb. 2015

After kicking off on the rocking title track, Walker turns to harmonica for a fiery, charged-up cover of Taj Mahal’s “Do I Love Her”, followed by a Hambridge co-written, old-time rock n’ rolling “Buzz on You”, one of several songs on the album to feature – in addition to Walker’s Chuck Berry-style guitar riffs in this instance – some terrific playing from pianist Phillip Young. The stinging “One Sunny Day” is another of those tracks, just before Walker and his band take us to church, first with the slow, spiritual grooves of the instrumental “Gospel Blues” and then with a slightly quickened, organ-drenched take on the traditional “Wade in the Water” that includes producer Nelson on rhythm guitar and may be the funkiest version of the song you’ll ever hear. Also worth checking out are a horn-laced cover of Buddy Guy’s “Man of Many Words” and a rootsy, shuffling “Young Girls Blues” that credits the whole band for its writing.

Now more than a half-century into his musical career, Walker is showing no signs of slowing down, only getting better, with this latest album being one that everybody will indeed want a piece of.

Posted in Albums | Tagged Eric Corne, Joe Louis Walker, John Mayall, Paul Nelson, Rocky Athas | Comments Off

Mojo Risin’: Julie Rhodes

Posted on December 3, 2015 by Mike

A few weeks back, we premiered our new Mojo Risin’ series with a spotlight on Scottish blues-rocker Lewis Hamilton. For our next profile in the series, we return to the northeast U.S. for a listen to a new vocalist on the blues/roots circuit by the name of Julie Rhodes, a New England native who sounds like she’s been performing a heck of a lot longer than the two years she actually has!

Set to release her debut album this coming February, Rhodes has a voice that already compares to some of the best in the business, from Janis Joplin, Etta James, and Bonnie Raitt to Joan Osborne and Beth Hart. Recorded at the renowned FAME Studios in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, her 11-song Bound to Meet the Devil is bound to be a good one, featuring the gritty, groove-filled opening track “In Your Garden” that you can hear below, as well as a cover of Son House’s “Grinnin’ in Your Face”, with guest appearances from Rock and Roll Hall of Famer and legendary FAME Studios keyboardist Spooner Oldham and guitarist/multi-instrumentalist Greg Leisz (Eric Clapton, Dave Alvin, Lucinda Williams), among others.

Check her out today!

Posted in Mojo Risin' | Tagged Greg Leisz, Julie Rhodes, Spooner Oldham | Comments Off

Quick takes: The Nighthawks throw a Back Porch Party, Sugaray Rayford leads a soulful tour on Southside

Posted on December 1, 2015 by Mike

With the end of another year already in sight, we’re taking a quick look at some other 2015 releases we just couldn’t let go unacknowledged, including these latest offerings from both one of the blues’ most established acts as well as its biggest rising stars!

The Nighthawks, Back Porch Party Live & Acoustic! (EllerSoul Records)

If it’s an acoustic blues party you’re seeking, you’ve come to the right place. A follow-up of sorts to the band’s 2010, Blues Music Award-winning Last Train to Bluesville, the always-entertaining The Nighthawks are back with another damn good time on the live, acoustic Back Porch Party, featuring a dozen lively originals and covers that nicely showcase the band’s rich sound, from the breezy swing of the opening “Rock This House” to the rockabilly “Jana Lea” and creeping country of “Walkin’ After Midnight” to the familiar blues of Muddy Waters on both “Tiger in Your Tank” and “Rollin’ Stone”.

It’s all good, of course, but the tracks that stand out most for us here are probably two that feature the band’s “newest” member – drummer Mark Stutso, who joined The Nighthawks back in early 2010 – on vocals, a shuffling take on the blues classic “Matchbox” and the soulful, Norm Nardini co-written “Down to My Last Million Tears”, as well as the swinging country jazz of the album’s closing “Back to the City”, which includes some delightful stop-time playing from lead vocalist Mark Wenner on harmonica over Johnny Castle’s bass.

Along the way, there’s also the band’s creeping take on Tom Waits’ “Down in the Hole”, the uptempo boogie of “Hey Miss Hey”, and the straight-ahead blues of Otis Hicks’ “Rooster Blues” (Lightnin’ Slim), making this one Back Porch Party you won’t want to miss!

Sugaray Rayford, Southside (NimoySue Records/Delta Groove Music)

Perhaps best-known as one of the voices of blues supergroup The Mannish Boys, multi-Blues Music Award nominee Sugaray Rayford has been making quite a name for himself in recent years through solo projects such as 2013’s Dangerous and, now, Southside, a sometimes soothing (check out the smooth R&B grooves of “Live to Love Again” and “Call Off the Mission”), sometimes scorching (try “Texas Bluesman” on for size) blend of soul and blues that again proves Rayford to be one of the most versatile – and absolute best voices – in the blues today.

In between the jazzy, swaying R&B soul of the opening “Southside of Town” and crawling, seductive blues of the closing “Slow Motion”, you’ll also hear the powerful vocals of songs like the gritty “Miss Thang” – with lyrics such as “she rocks like an old fishin’ boat, baby, in a very, very, very rough sea/ I like it when you walk into me, baby/ I love it when you turn and walk away” – and the aforementioned “Texas Bluesman” that begins on a booming “six foot five, 300 pounds… I come all the way from Texas, baby, just to sing the blues for you” before Rayford proceeds to remind us of some of the many other blues greats who have hailed from the Lone Star State, including Freddie King, Lightnin’ Hopkins, Blind Lemon Jefferson, Albert Collins, Stevie Ray Vaughan, and T-Bone Walker, accompanied by some stinging Texas-style guitar from Gino Matteo.

Rayford’s hearty laugh can be heard throughout the album, particularly on the funky R&B soul number “All I Think About” with its Ironing Board Sam-like keyboards, some of the most passionate – and even, on occasion, squeaking – vocals Rayford has to offer, and horns and female backing vocals, and on the boisterous, down-home blues acoustic sit-down “Take It to the Bank” featuring Bob Corritore on harmonica.

All nine songs here are Rayford originals, although “Live to Love Again” could easily be mistaken for a cover of a 70s or 80s R&B hit, while the dark, swaying “Take Away These Blues” – with its slow surf-style riffs – sounds like something that might have been lifted from a Tarantino soundtrack, demonstrating that Rayford is capable of going in a multitude of directions. As highly entertaining and superb as this one is, and following Rayford’s earlier Dangerous, there’s no question that one of those directions is up!

Posted in Albums | Tagged Sugaray Rayford, The Nighthawks | Comments Off

Joe Bonamassa is living his dream Live at Radio City Music Hall

Posted on November 20, 2015 by Mike

By now, you’ve probably figured out from this blog that nearly everything that blues guitarist Joe Bonamassa puts out is good stuff, and his latest CD/DVD set Live at Radio City Music Hall (J&R Adventures) is certainly no exception. Recorded in January during a sold-out, two-night run, the set captures Bonamassa’s first time playing the famed Radio City Music Hall, fulfilling one of the New York native’s lifelong dreams.

Coming at the conclusion of a lengthy tour made up of shows that were half-acoustic, half-electric, the CD includes tracks from across several of Bonamassa’s recent albums, including blues classics like “Hidden Charms” and “I Can’t Be Satisfied” from his Muddy Wolf project, many of the songs from his latest studio album Different Shades of Blue, and both a few slightly older (“Dust Bowl”, “Happier Times”) and brand new numbers, backed by two different bands, with the one that accompanied him on his An Acoustic Evening at the Vienna Opera House recording (Gerry O’Connor on fiddle, Mats Wester on nyckelharpa and mandola, Reese Wynans on keyboards, and Lenny Castro on percussion) joining him here for the acoustic portion of the show and his regular touring band of bassist Carmine Rojas, keyboardist Wynans, and drummer Tal Bergman playing on the electric tracks, along with Lee Thornburg, Nick Lane, Paulie Cerra on horns.

Kicking off with a swinging, horn-filled cover of Muddy Waters’ “I Can’t Be Satisfied”, Bonamassa keeps things moving at a high level with the first of two newly recorded songs, a groovy, spitting “One Less Cross to Bear” containing such lyrical zingers as “I feel for Jesus, and what He went through/ thank God He didn’t have someone like you” and “got a brand new car/ you got the dog too/ I can’t believe there’s ever a day that I loved you/ it ain’t fair, I got one less cross to bear”, followed by the racing “Living on the Moon” and in-your-face “I Gave Up Everything for You, ‘Cept the Blues” off Different Shades of Blue.

Joe slows it down with the crawling, percussion-laced “Dust Bowl”, then returns to his latest album with a slightly more uptempo visit to “Trouble Town”, before arriving at the second new song of the program in the tender, Celtic-tinged (thanks to Wester’s nyckelharpa) “Still Water”. A nice take on the similarly quiet title track from Bonamassa’s Different Shades of Blue album still works, but by the time the band hits “Happier Times” (off The Ballad of John Henry) that comes next, some listeners may begin to feel that the set has slipped into something of a lull, which is either a rare misstep from Bonamassa and his longtime producer Kevin “Caveman” Shirley or a bit of genius, considering the reward that follows, with the band bursting from there into a driving “Never Give All Your Heart”. (This also happens to be one of our favorite parts of the accompanying DVD, as the shot widens from a sole spotlighted Wester playing the nyckelharpa to a fully-lit stage revealing Bonamassa’s entire electric band with the first licks of guitar.)

Keeping things uptempo, the band first hits on Howlin’ Wolf’s “Hidden Charms” and then the funky “Love Ain’t a Love Song” before closing the night with a jazzy take on the soft, powerful, Ray Charles-inspired “So, What Would I Do?”.

As we’ve come to expect from such projects from Bonamassa, there are plenty of solos not only from Joe but also from many of the other members of the band(s), and the mixing from Shirley is some of the best you’ll hear, allowing Joe’s guitar and vocals and the keyboards, percussion, and horns all to be heard at the right levels at precisely the right times.

The DVD of course includes all of this plus an additional two numbers in the slow, smoking “Double Trouble” and the edgy “Black Lung Heartache”, the latter of which happens to fall – along with the introductions of Joe’s acoustic band – between “Different Shades of Blue” and “Happier Times”, thus eliminating that lull some listeners might find on the CD. The video is sharp and clear, filmed from an interesting variety of angles, and presented here with some neat split-screen effects showing from two to four angles at once, often of the same player.

With two new songs and seven other unreleased live tracks (most from Bonamassa’s latest studio album), Live at Radio City Music Hall makes for a nice addition to the collections of both the most casual and most loyal Bonamassa fans.

Posted in Albums | Tagged Joe Bonamassa, Kevin Shirley, Lenny Castro, Reese Wynans | Comments Off

Thorbjorn Risager delivers again with Songs from the Road

Posted on November 17, 2015 by Mike

A little while back, we told you about the Ruf Records debut of Danish bluesman Thorbjorn Risager and his band The Black Tornado, a doozy of an album called Too Many Roads. If you didn’t get a chance to read that earlier review, we encourage you to take a few minutes to go ahead and do so now (we’ll still be here when you get back)… Then imagine most of the songs off that great album receiving a live treatment, adding in a bunch of fine blues classics and other originals along the way, and what you have is another terrific recording for both Risager’s outfit and Ruf’s often-impressive Songs from the Road series, which has previously spotlighted such other artists as Luther Allison, Royal Southern Brotherhood, Joanne Shaw Taylor, Oli Brown, Jeff Healey, Canned Heat, Coco Montoya, Mike Zito, Dana Fuchs, Savoy Brown, and the Spin Doctors.

In addition to superb live versions of songs like “If You Wanna Leave”, “Paradise”, “Drowning”, “High Rolling”, “Through the Tears”, and of course the title track off Too Many Roads – all made even better (if you can believe it) by more pronounced and dynamic instrumentation and backing vocals than allowed by the studio recordings – Songs from the Road also offers blazing takes on the classics “Baby Please Don’t Go” and an 11-minute, audience participation-filled “Let the Good Times Roll”. Those tracks alone make this set well worth its cost, but the band also throws in a handful of songs from their earlier projects, among them, the hard-driving “Rock ‘N’ Roll Ride”, which you can’t help but to like with its chorus of (if we’re understanding Risager’s Copenhagen accent right) “I wanna’ rock, I wanna’ roll, I wanna’ ride/ I wanna’ swing these rhythm & blues into the night”; a creeping “On My Way”; the rocking “All I Want”; and the groovy, horn-laced closer “Opener”, as well as a slow, tender duet with backing singer Lisa Lystam in the stripped-down “I Won’t Let You Down”, while the accompanying DVD adds even a few more in the boogeying “Straight and Narrow Line”, the powerful, swinging “I’m Tired”, and a funky “Get Up, Get Higher”.

As with the earlier videos in this series, there’s nothing too fancy or elaborate about the camera work, but it does help capture the band’s show in an intimate, no-frills but professional manner, giving folks like us in the States a much-appreciated opportunity to see the band in action long before we’ll probably ever have the chance to catch them live. In the meantime, this is one we’ll be watching and listening to quite a bit.

Posted in Albums | Tagged Thorbjorn Risager | Comments Off

Mojo Risin’: Lewis Hamilton

Posted on November 11, 2015 by Mike

Today, we’re pleased to help bring a little more mojo into your life with the launch of Mojo Risin’, an occasional series that will focus on recognizing and helping to spread the word about some of the rising stars and lesser known names of the genre that come across our radar. Some of those acts may be quite well known in their own regions but not all that familiar to others around the world, such as is apparently the case with our inaugural featured artist, 22-year-old blues-rocker Lewis Hamilton, who has already been nominated for multiple British Blues Awards since forming his band in 2010 and has just released his fourth album, Shipwrecked.

Here’s one of the bluesiest tracks from that album, a cover of the classic “John the Revelator” that features some stinging guitar from Hamilton, although we have to confess to also really digging a few of the other tunes here, including the breezy, rootsy Trigger Hippy-ish closer “Water’s Edge” that’s guaranteed to lure you in with its harmonious vocals and uplifting acoustic guitar strains that together give this song just as refreshing a sound as its lyrics, and the catchy, Oli Brown-like “Sticks and Stones”. The latter is just one of several simmering rockers you’ll hear on the album, along with, for example, the opening “Old Faces” and easy-on-the-ears ballad “Head for the Hills”, with other tracks ranging from the quiet, acoustic “Blame” and slow drifting blues of “Stormy Seas” to the harmonica- and effects-laced grooves of “Iceberg Blues” and alt-rocker “Long Way Home”.

Filled with Hamilton’s smooth vocals and captivating grooves, this is a strong, balanced outing that’s plenty energetic but never too heavy or otherwise over-the-top, allowing Hamilton to show a maturity beyond his years. Fans of acts such as Davy Knowles/Back Door Slam, King King, John Mayer, Bad Company, and Oli Brown especially will want to check this one out, although we’d have to think that Shipwrecked is one that just about anybody wouldn’t mind being stranded on a desert island with.

Posted in Mojo Risin' | Tagged Lewis Hamilton | Comments Off

Blues Blues Lovin’

Posted on November 6, 2015 by Mike

We haven’t done quite as good a job of keeping up with our BluesPowR Radio Hour as we would have liked in recent months, but the upside is that we’ve got a slew of great music to send your way! Hopefully we can start making up for our hiatus by offering a little something extra this time around, as we present this talk-free, nearly two-hour edition of our show, featuring music from both a son and a daughter of the blues in Bernard Allison and Shemekia Copeland, respectively; a double-shot tribute to the recently departed Grove City, PA native Smokin’ Joe Kubek; and a track from rising contemporary blues star Fantastic Negrito. And all that’s just in the show’s first 30 minutes!

You’ll also hear new and recent music from the likes of Ronnie Earl, Sugaray Rayford, Samantha Fish, Ironing Board Sam, Ian Siegal, and The Nighthawks, as well as classic tracks from John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers and Lead Belly, plus a whole lot more.

Until next time (which we hope won’t be quite so long in coming), enjoy!

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Playlist
Brandon Santini – No Matter What I Do (Live & Extended!)
Bernard Allison Group – Move from the Hood (In the Mix)
Shemekia Copeland (w/ Alvin Youngblood Hart) – Cardboard Box (Outskirts Of Love)
Smokin’ Joe Kubek & Bnois King – Lone Star Tap Dance (Fat Man’s Shine Parlor)
Smokin’ Joe Kubek & Bnois King – Done Got Caught Blues (Fat Man’s Shine Parlor)
Clarence “The Blues Man” Turner – C.C. Rider (The Caster Blaster)
Fantastic Negrito – It’s a Long Long Road (Deluxe EP)
Samantha Fish – Jim Lee Blues, Pt. 1 (Wild Heart)
Sugaray Rayford – Texas Bluesman (Southside)
Ronnie Earl & the Broadcasters – Right Place Wrong Time (Father’s Day)
Texas Horns (w/ W.C. Clark) – Cold Blooded Lover (Blues Gotta Holda Me)
Angela Lewis Brown – Blues Blues Lovin’ (Set Me Free)
TBelly – Respectable Man (Dead Men Don’t Pray)
Lead Belly – DeKalb Blues (Lead Belly: The Smithsonian Folkways Collection)
Billy Price & Otis Clay – All Because of Your Love (This Time for Real)
Lara & the Bluz Dawgz – Uh Huh (Howlin’)
Markus James – Woke Me (Head For The Hills)
The Nighthawks – Matchbox (Back Porch Party)
Corte’ – That’s What Love Will Make You Do (Seasoned Soul)
James Day & The Fish Fry – Time & Money (Southland)
Joe Stanley – Ode to Billy Joe (Legend)
D’Mar & Gill – Dancin’ Girl (Take It Like That)
John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers – So Many Roads (Live in 1967)
Deb Ryder – Can’t Go Back Again (Let It Rain)
Ironing Board Sam – I’m Gone (Super Spirit)
Cheryl Lescom & the Tucson Choir Boys – Dime Store Lover (1953)
Urban Hill – Saturday Night (The Real Deal)
Ian Siegal – How Come You’re Still Here (The Picnic Sessions)

Posted in BluesPowR Radio Hour | Tagged Alvin Youngblood Hart, Angela Lewis Brown, Bernard Allison, Billy Price, Bnois King, Brandon Santini, Clarence "The Blues Man" Turner, Corte', D'Mar & Gill, Deb Ryder, Fantastic Negrito, Ian Siegal, Ironing Board Sam, James Day & the Fish Fry, Joe Stanley, John Mayall, Lara & the Bluz Dawgz, Lead Belly, Markus James, Otis Clay, Ronnie Earl, Samantha Fish, Shemekia Copeland, Smokin Joe Kubek, Sugaray Rayford, TBelly, The Nighthawks, the Texas Horns, Urban Hill, W.C. Clark | Comments Off

Walter Trout prize pack winners

Posted on November 4, 2015 by Mike

Congratulations to Anne Foster of Clear Lake, Iowa, and John McClain of Fort Worth, Texas, who each pick up a Walter Trout prize pack featuring a copy of both Walter’s biography Rescued from Reality: the Life and Times of Walter Trout and Walter’s new CD Battle Scars (read our recent review here)!

Anne told us her favorite song from Trout is “Blues for My Baby”, while John’s is “The Reason I’m Gone”. Check them out today if you’re not familiar with them – or just to get your Walter fix.

Thanks to all who entered our contest as well as to our friends at the Mascot Label Group for supplying the great prizes. Anne and John, your packs are on the way! Everyone else, you can preview and get Walter’s new album here – this is one you definitely don’t want to miss.

Posted in Contests | Tagged Walter Trout | Comments Off