If you’ve ever become a regular in any eating or drinking establishment, you’ll understand the underlying theme in this week’s edition of The Roadhouse. It’s all about the atmosphere that draws you in and keeps you coming back. Though it happens for a bunch of reasons, music is the most important element of the atmosphere in a roadhouse. And, the 123rd edition of The Roadhouse is all about that atmosphere. Patrick Vining, Maria Muldaur, Koko Taylor, Walter “Shaky” Horton, and Harper set a crowde...
Jun 23, 2007•1 hr
Sometimes a mood just falls together as I’m pulling the music for The Roadhouse. That’s the case this week. Every cut I pulled was hard with guitars and bordering on the blues rock side of the crossroads. So, I followed what was clearly a mood in the 122nd Roadhouse Podcast, the “Rock You Right” edition. Omar and the Howlers, Tinsley Ellis, Louisiana Mean Tooth Grin, Popa Chubby, and Tracy Conover are gonna have you at the edge of your seat with devastatingly tough takes on the blues. This editi...
Jun 16, 2007•1 hr
Sunshine fills The Roadhouse this week - summer sunshine. Inspired by an XM Radio set while driving home from work on Friday, I pull out the stops in this edition. Alex Wilson, Johnny "Clyde" Copeland, Charles Avery, Eric Hughes Band, and The Mighty Lester fill the 121st Roadhouse Podcast with a definite summer feel. Some new summer releases add to all-out pursuit of summer fun. It's the 121st hour of the finest blues you've never heard - The Roadhouse Podcast.
Jun 09, 2007•1 hr
In the first full week after the Memorial Day weekend in the US, we’re full-on into unofficial summer, full of sunny skies, long days, and a generally pretty upbeat mood. And, we break out the ‘57 Cadillac convertible of the blues for a long full-speed road trip down Highway 61. Little Charlie and the Nightcats, Robert Ward, Mark Hummel, Roy Rogers, and Rod Piazza and the Mighty Flyers are going to make it nearly impossible to avoid moving around in your seat. It’s a good the the ‘57 has huge be...
Jun 02, 2007•1 hr
Don't let anyone tell you that the blues is dead. The 119th Roadhouse Podcast provides ample proof that great labels continue to release great blues music. Whether they're pushing the blues off into new directions or sticking close to the roots, these new releases provide ample evidence of a thriving genre we call our favorite. E.C. Scott, Anders Osborne, Roxanne Potvin, Rick Holmstromm, and Smokin' Joe Kubek and B'Nois King provide both traditional and new blues in the 119th Roadhouse Podcast, ...
May 26, 2007•1 hr
We return the freewheelin' feel of The Roadhouse this week, with the Blues Music Awards shows behind us. Dave Hole, Hamilton Loomis, Anson Funderburgh, Roosevelt Sykes, and Saffire - The Uppity Blues Women are just some of the artists you'll love in this edition. It may be a tough genre to pin down, but you're sure to find each and every artist in the 118th Roadhouse Podcast deeply rooted in the blues - the finest blues you've never heard.
May 19, 2007•1 hr
This week, we’re focused on the winners of the 2007 Blues Music Awards, though not exclusively. We pull the major winners into The Roadhouse, include some additional new music received this week, and say goodbye to a Chicago blues legend. Any way to you look at it, it’s another fine hour from The Roadhouse Studios in beautiful Iowa City, Iowa – the 117th Roadhouse Podcast
May 12, 2007•1 hr
In the first edition of The Roadhouse Spotlight, who better to turn the spotlight on than an old friend of The Roadhouse, Candye Kane. With a new CD out in two weeks, it's a good time to take a look at the life and career of this blues dynamo. It's a new weekly feature in The Roadhouse - The Roadhouse Spotlight.
May 09, 2007•7 min
It's a tailgate party for this week's Blues Music Awards in the 116th Roadhouse Podcast. This hour features artists nominated for the prestigious awards, including Ronnie Baker Brooks, John Mooney, janiva Magness, Slick Ballinger, and Rod Piazza and the Mighty Flyers. It may not be the finest blues you've never heard, but it is the finest of past year - much of which you heard first here in The Roadhouse. The 116th Roadhouse Podcast - celebrating the best of the best with a tailgate party for th...
May 05, 2007•1 hr
The 115th Roadhouse Podcast is a mish-mash of styles, including some overflow from Roadhouse 114. With just a few exceptions, this edition is less jump and a bit more serious than your normal Roadhouse. Some would call it a bit more blues, but I'd just call it another hour of the finest blues you've never heard. Carey Bell, Hamilton Loomis, Rory Block, Luther Allison, and Roscoe Gordon take center stage in this hour, with several other great cuts rounding out the hour. Overflow or not, you'll kn...
Apr 28, 2007•1 hr
The 114th Roadhouse Podcast provides shelter from the storms of life in a world that seems to get tougher by the day. And, isn't the blues all about a little shelter? The walls of The Roadhouse are strong and the foundation firm with Billy Jones, Solomon Burke, Earl King, Watermelon Slim, and Anders Osborne. You can step right inside, pull up a chair at a table with some friends, and shed the cares of the world for another hour - the 114th hour - of the finest blues you've never heard.
Apr 21, 2007•1 hr
With the grass getting greener, the temperatures rising and Major League Baseball into its third week, the things of most importance come to the forefront in The Little Blue House on the Wetlands. I call them the four Bs: blues, baseball, bikes, and my babies. Closing the gap on all four brings a very upbeat mood to The Roadhouse Studios. And that mood is refected in this edition of The Roadhouse. Roy Rogers, Lady Bianca, Henry Gray, Brad Wilson, and Ronnie Earl and The Broadcasters all lift the...
Apr 14, 2007•1 hr
The 112th Roadhouse Podcast is all of a style - a rough edge to the blues. Whether it's music from old sources or new, it's all got that edge. Holland K. Smith, Koko Taylor, Kansas City Joe and Memphis Minnie, Kokomo Arnold, and R.L. Burnside take the lead with a handful of other great artists included. It's another hour of the finest - and toughest - blues you've never heard: the 112th Roadhouse Podcdast.
Apr 06, 2007•1 hr
Old, new, it’s all blue in the 111th Roadhouse Podcast. This hour is chock full of fine blues, including some overlooked classics and cuts that have yet to be released. It’s also got some big names, including Solomon Burke, Johnny Copeland, Johnny Shines, Curtis Salgado, and John Hammond. Whether it’s new music to The Roadhouse or just plain new, these great cuts make for another hour of the finest blues you’ve never heard – the 111th Roadhouse Podcast.
Mar 31, 2007•1 hr
It's been a huge week in The Roadhouse. With the addition of five more visionary blues labels to the permissions-base family of Roadhouse labels, the catalog of available music has increased by roughly 2,500 songs. That also means a boatload of music in this edition that I haven't been able to play until now, including Freddie King, Mike Morgan & The Crawl, Slick Ballinger, Dr. John, and Reverend Gary Davis. The 110th Roadhouse is, in fact, almost completely music new to the show from great ...
Mar 24, 2007•1 hr
The 109th Roadhouse Podcast pays tribute to the visionaries - the labels who have made The Roadhouse possible by providing permissions, and the artists who make the music. Bernard Alliison, Carey Bell, Muddy Waters, Hound Dog Taylor, and George "Harmonica" Smith are among a full slate of both contemporary and classic blues artists. It's visionaries all around - both labels and musicians - in the 109th edition of The Roadhouse Podcast.
Mar 17, 2007•1 hr
Once again, we brush up against what might actually be a theme show in the 108th Roadhouse Podcast. It's a boogie blast, full of rolling piano, growling harps and all the uptempo jump blues you'll need to get through the week. This week's edition features Roy Rogers and Norton Buffalo, Charlie Wood, John Long, Charlie Musselwhite, and The Twisters. Chair-dancing and steering-wheel-pounding is encouraged for this hour of the finest blues you've never heard - the 108th Roadhouse Podcast.
Mar 11, 2007•1 hr
The music of the 107th Roadhouse Podcast came as a series of small surprises throughout the week - cuts that popped up in the iPod and just stayed with me. They lead us down a bit mellower path than the past few shows, diverting us away for a week from the harder edge of recent shows. Sunset Travelers, Sue Foley, Doug Cox and Sam Hurrie, Dave Gross, and Harry Manx take the lead in yet another hour of the finest blues you've never heard.
Mar 04, 2007•1 hr
A brutal winter storm sweeps into the Midestern US this weekend, leaving The Roadhouse Studios encased in a solid block of ice. But, the music keeps the place hot an hopping. Luther Allison, Rory Block and Bob Margolin lead the way, with additional new music from Billy Jones, Tommy Castro and JJ Grey and Mofro. If you're in a cold clime, stay inside and chair dance. If it's warm where you live, take it outside and think of the frozen Roadhouse Studios when you do. It's another hour of the finest...
Feb 24, 2007•1 hr 2 min
The 105th Roadhouse Podcast starts year three with a broad view of the blues. Those broad stylings start with great cuts from Mitch Woods and His Rocket 88s, Blind Willie McTell, Tommy Castro, Snooky Pryor, and Clarence “Gatemouth” Brown. Strong and lean from that starting point, the 105th Roadhouse Podcast is a little more than an hour of the finest blues you’ve never heard.
Feb 18, 2007•1 hr 2 min
Two years on, the Roadhouse rolls on with an edition that rolls back the calendar. The two-year anniversay of The Roadhouse is an hour of some of my favorites fro the previous 103 editions, but certainly not all. Some of the great artists include Joe White, Susan Tedeschi, Kelly Richey Band, Shannon Boshears, and Johnny Nicholas. Thanks to everyone who has subscribed, listened, mentioned, or written about The Roadhouse since its inception. It's not the finest blues you've never heard, but it's s...
Feb 11, 2007•1 hr 5 min
A chance meeting this week provides strong motivation to smoke the place up this week. We’re rolling with Formerly Brothers, Double Trouble, Louisiana Bob Kirkpatrick, and new music from Tommy Castro and JJ Grey & Mofro. The next to last show of the second year of The Roadhouse is the 103rd hour of the finest blues you’ve never heard.
Feb 03, 2007•1 hr 2 min
Temperatures in beautiful Iowa City, IA are headed toward single digits Farenheit. That means we need fuel for the blues furnace. And, we've got it this week in the form of Koko Taylor, Eddie C. Campbell, Billy Boy Arnold, Smokey Wilson, and Lowell Fulson. I've got details on a Roadhouse event upcoming this week, as well. You can easily participate, so listen closely. Hot blues and a great community - it's the stuff of another hour of the finest blues you've never heard: the 102nd Roadhouse Podc...
Jan 27, 2007•59 min
Things are still winding down in The Roadhouse from the excitement of the 100th edition. Since we just can't maintain the pace of that edition in every show, I'm mixing it up in the 101st edition with more variety in tempo and style. Pee Wee Crayton, Tom Doughty, Otis Taylor, E.C. Scott, and Chris Beard set the varied pace. Mixin' it up in the 101st Roadhouse Podcast, another hour of the finest blues you've never heard.
Jan 20, 2007•1 hr
The 100th Roadhouse Podcast is a party. Hop in as we roll the '57 Cadillac convertible of the blues, top down and full speed, straight down highway 61. Double Trouble, Tommy Castro, Roscoe Chenier, and Lil' Ed and the Blues Imperials headline the party, without so much as a break in the pace. It's the 100th party in The Roadhouse - 100 hours of the finest blues you've never heard.
Jan 14, 2007•1 hr 2 min
The 99th Roadhouse Podcast digs up some blues gems to fill your hour. Deborah Coleman, Willie “Big Eyes” Smith, Mitch Kashmar, Frankie Lee, and John Jackson lead us through another hour of the finest blues you’ve never heard. Be sure to leave your comments on the show at (501) 588-2251 for inclusion in the upcoming 100th edition of The Roadhouse Podcast.
Jan 07, 2007•1 hr
The 98th Roadhouse Podcast puts 2006 to rest with a review of some of the great music you've heard over the past twelve months. Eddie Turner, Johnny Nicholas, Rory Block, Candye Kane, and Guitar Shorty help user out the old year. It's a party in the 98th Roadhouse Podcast - a full hour of the finest blues ... you've heard in 2006.
Dec 30, 2006•1 hr 2 min
As I'm off work for two weeks, I've had plenty of time in the past few days to dig up some great music for the year-ending 97th Roadhouse Podcast. Billy Boy Arnold, Kelly Pardekooper, Kirk Fletcher, Coco Montoya, and The Holmes Brothers lead the finest blues you've never heard. It's the usual broad mix and, as always, the finest blues you've never heard.
Dec 23, 2006•1 hr
The Christmas edition of The Roadhouse Podcast rolls from The Little Blue House on the Wetlands this week. 096 Is a mixture of Christamas music, rewound cuts, brand new music, and listener requests. The lineup includes W.C. Clark, Dave Gross, Carey Bell, Candye Kane, and Calvin Owens, among other great artists. Enjoy another hour of the finest blues you've never heard, and have a safe and happy holiday week.
Dec 17, 2006•1 hr
The mixture of blues styles in this week's Roadhouse Podcast might just qualify it as a blues mashup. Eddie Turner, Big Bill Morganfield, Chris Juergensen, Lonnie Brooks, and Muddy Waters lay the foundation that lets you escape from the big world for another hour of mystical musical therapy. It's the finest blues you've never heard - the 95th Roadhouse Podcast.
Dec 10, 2006•58 min
