This edition of The Raohdouse is a relentless rolling and tumbling of up-tempo blues. Morry Sochat & The Special 20s, Tip of the Top, Lynwood Slim & The Igor Prado Band, Travis Haddix, and Robin Rogers lead a high-thrust, full-push, steady-velocity hour of the finest blues you've never heard - the 297th Roadhouse.
A great lineup of artists lead us down the two-lane roads from Baltimore to Texas, Chicago to the West Coast. Big Daddy Stallings, James Kinds, Grady Champion, Kim Wilson, and Harmonica Hinds take us all over the country, through the hills and valleys in search of another hour of the finest blues you've never heard - the 296th Roadhouse.
While Habitat for Humanity rehabs a house next door to The Little Blue House on the Wetlands, we spend an hour building a solid blues structure. Hubert Sumlin, Jimmy Burns, Mark Robinson, Slim Harpo, and Bob Corritore lay the foundation upon which we build another hour of the finest blues you've never heard - the 295th Roadhouse.
The cool fall air infiltrates the 294th Roadhouse, bringing with it all the colors of the blues. Big Moose, Wild Child Butler, Jimmy Yancy, Melvin Taylor, Andrea Marr - they'll hit you like the snap of a cool fall morning - or a 300 lb linebacker. So, brace yourself. You're clearly in for another hour of the finest blues you've never heard, the 294th Roadhouse.
Even with no particular plan for the 293rd Roadhouse, the hour comes together nicely. Ronnie Earl & The Broadcasters, Robin Rogers, Eden Brent, Kenny Neal, and John Primer are all within earshot, as are many more great artists, filling out the hour with the finest blues you've never heard.
This week's edition of The Roadhouse holds true to its tagline with some older tracks and new, some straight-up blues and some blends, some old familiar names and some you've not heard. Monkeyjunk, Lucky Peterson, Jimmy Bowskill, Son Seals, and Freddie King roll out another hour of the finest blues you've never heard - the 292nd Roadhouse.
We're in the middle of a cycle that's dropped a bunch of new blues harp releases into my lap. The 291st Roadhouse drops at least a single harp cut into every set. The Nighthawks, Hound Dog Taylor, Charlie Musselwhite, Magic Slim, and Jay Gaunt headline an hour that features the best in new blues on the Mississippi saxophone. It's clearly another hour of the finest blues you've never heard.
Contrary to popular belief, the blues is not all about the bad in life or a genre of exclusively sad songs. But, it is about life and is presented with a broad spectrum of views and styles. Mitch Kashmar & The Pontiax, Eden Brent, Jay Gaunt, Dave Specter, and JW-Jones play songs about life in this hour. It's all part of the real picture of blues - big and small, diverse and defiant. And it definitely builds to another hour of the finest blues you've never heard - the 290th Roadhouse.
This week provides solid pavement for our '57 Cadillac covertible of the blues with fewer but longer songs. Charlie Musselwhite, Ronnie Earl & The Broadcasters, Albert Castiglia, Pinetop Perkins & Willie "Big Eyes" Smith, and Dutch Tilders stretch it out and move it along for another hour of the finest blues you've never heard - the 289th Roadhouse.
The 288th Roadhouse provides a bit of an escape from the rest of the world. New music from The Nighthawks and Jeff Turmes, some pre-war blues from Rev. Gary Davis and Big Bill Broonzy, and a live track boiling over with passion from Luther Allison create a blues getaway. It all takes the form of another hour of the finest blues you've never heard - the 288th Roadhouse.
As we roll toward the unofficial end of the sixth summer of The Roadhouse, the 287th edition is full of artists who definitely deliver on the blues. Bob Corritore, Duke Robillard, Treasa Levasseur, Barbecue Bob, and Albert Castiglia provide everything you need for another hour of the finest blues you've never heard.
The 286th Roadhouse runs like a blues train from The Little Blue House On The Wetlands to All Points Blue. Albert Castiglia, Angela Strehli, Dr. John, Meade Lux Lewis, and John Primer lead the way in an hour with a big variety of blues and plenty of blues harp. It's another hour of the finest blues you've never heard - the 286th Roadhouse.
Week 285 in The Roadhouse brings a strong variety of blues to the hour. Rob Stone, Little Johnny Christian, Stevie Paige, Mississippi Sheiks, and Bob Corritore propel us through this edition. 285 hours of The Roadhouse make for eleven and a half days of non-stop shows, each comprised of the finest blues you've never heard.
The 284th Roadhouse presents a typically strong mix of blues. New tracks, classic artists and a full set of pre-war blues light up the bandstand in the corner of The Roadhouse. Robert Cray, Eddie Turner, Lonnie Johnson, Pinetop Perkins & Willie "Big Eyes" Smith, and Mavis Staples are just a few of the artists providing another hour of the finest blues you've never heard.
Summer vacation takes over The Roadhouse this week, with an archived show taking the stage. From late 2007, show 150 brings Kevin Mark, Billy Jones, Janiva Magness, Marie Knight, and Mavis Staples. They’re all important threads in the tapestry of The Roadhouse, and they set the stage for another hour of the finest blues you’ve … heard.
The tagline I've used through the life of the show is beginning to take on yet another meaning. In the 292nd Roadhouse, "the finest blues you've never heard" are brand new blues. Nearly 80% of the tracks in this edition have been released in the past 3 months. Teeny Tucker, Matt Schofield, Eddie Turner, Vance Kelly, and Elvin Bishop help provide 60 minutes of new blues in the 282nd Roadhouse.
High temperatures and near-recovery from the Mississippi Valley Blues festival make for the perfect reasons to stay indoors and listen to some great blues. The summertime mix includes Meena, Lightnin' Hopkins, Magic Slim & The Teardrops, Luther Allison, and Chris James & Patrick Rynn. the 281st Roadhouse is one quick hour of the finest blues you've never heard.
We're in a festive mood in the 280th Roadhouse. I took the show on the road this week to the 26th annual IH Mississippi Valley Blues Festival in Davenport, IA. Tight to the banks of the Mississippi, it's one of the longest-running and most well-respected festivals in the country. Bernard Allison, Ana Popovic, Billy Branch, Hubert Sumlin, and Legendary Rhythm & Blues Revue fill the 280th Roadhouse with festival music. It's blues you've probably heard, but it's still an hour of undoubtedly fin...
The 279th Roadhouse is a showcase edition for some fine young blues musicans. Heavy on guitar and bordering, at times, on rock, these artists reflect but a few of the new directions for blues in the next several years. Anni Piper, Joe Bonamassa, Jonny Lang, Cedric Burnside & Lightnin' Malcom, and John Nemeth help fill another hour of the finest blues you've never heard.
The 278 Roadhouse pulls out all the hues of the blues. Jump blues to acoustic, guitar and harp, old names and new faces, big blues labels and small. Daddy Mack Blues Band, Janiva Magness, Ghost Town Blues Band, Chris James & Patrick Rynn, and Eddie C. Campbell represent the full spectrum and stand right out in front for another hour of the finest blues you've never heard.
The 277th Roadhouse continues with the recent trend toward an hour nearly full of new music. The labels, big and small, are pushing lots of new releases and you get the benefit. Daddy Mack Blues Band, Mark Hummel, Jeff Turmes, Rory Block, and Watermelon Slim round out the hour. The 277th Roadhouse is another hour of the finest blues you've never heard.
This hour of The Roadhouse is full of surprises - tracks that you might think of as blues until we put them in context. Sugar Blue, Johnny Iguana, Sandy Mack, Toni Price, and Treasa Levasseur will broaden your blues horizons. They prove that blues is the foundation for more music than most realize. The 276th Roadhouse is an hour of ubiquitous blues - the finest you've never heard.
It's unofficially our sixth summer in The Little Blue House on the Wetlands. As the days grow longer, blues is the perfect soundtrack for travel, baseball, family gatherings, and barbecue. Mississippi Heat, Anders Osborne, Robert Belfour, Seth Walker, and Gina Sicilia take on the spirit of sunshine and great weather, propelling us through a summer hour of the finest blues you've never heard - the 275th Roadhouse.
The 274th Roadhouse keeps the new music roll rolling. With the number of new releases in 2010, you might think blues is a recession-proof commodity. Music from Chanisaw Dupont, John Nemeth, Oli Brown, Hollywood Blue Flames, and Smokin' Joe Kubek & B'Nois King is among the new releases featured in this edition. Whether or not blues is recession-proof really doesn't matter, though. Neither would change the fact that the 274th Roadhouse is another hour of the finest blues you've never heard.
The 273rd Roadhouse features new music from Chicago and an underlying theme that's not revealed until late in the show. Matt Schofield, Willie Buck, Susan Tedeschi, Billy Boy Arnold, Eric Bibb and seven or eight other great artists are just enough to fill another hour of the finest blues you've never heard.
The 272nd Roadhouse puts a wrap on the 2010 Blues Music Awards with some big winners. I also fill the hour with great new blues, some from the past week, most from the past few months. Kilborn Alley Blues Band, Nick Moss, Oli Brown, Jonkeyjunk, and Peter Karp & Sue Foley help provide a well-rounded edition of The Roadhouse and another hour of the finest blues you've never heard.
There's not much room on The Roadhouse stage, but the sound coming off it is huge, broken only by the occasional reminder to tip your waitresses. With the lineup of acts in the 271th Roadhouse, they deserve the tips, because they're working hard. Cadillac Pete & The Heat, Reunion Blues Band, Moreland & Arbuckle, Koko Taylor, and Ruthie Foster take the spotlight for the hour. It's another hour of the finest blues you've never heard - the 271st Roadhouse.
The dark little dive we call The Roadhouse is home this week to the broadest range of blues you might find anywhere. Smokey Wilson, Frank Goldwasser, Snooky Pryor, Anders Osborne, and Bluesmasters featuring Mickey Thomas mix it up with various takes on the blues. The spotlight is on the multeity of the blues in the 270th Roadhouse, and it's definitely another hour of the finest blues you've never heard.
In the 269th Roadhouse, We roll out the '57 Cadillac convertible of the blues for the first time in 2010. We've got blues destinations all along the two-lane roads. Teresa James & The Rhythm Tramps, The Alex Dixon Band, Nick Moss, Jessie Mae Hemphill, and Coco Montoya provide the soundtrack as the world of blues rolls by another hour of the finest blues you've never heard.
The 268th Roadhouse reflects the onset of spring in the Northern Hemisphere with a show that carries a light and easy feeling. Billy Lavender, Janiva Magness, Delta Moon, Lonnie Johnson, and Perry Weber & The Devilles deny the myth that blues is all sad music. They set the cornerstone for another hour of the finest blues you've never heard - the 268th Roadhouse.
