This hour might just define "blues crazy." Cash Box Kings, Mike Zito, Elvin Bishop, Carey Bell, and The 44s help to lay down a groove like few we've had in the 700 hours before. I could paint it a whole bunch of different ways, but it comes down to this - this hour is fun. And, because it's another hour of The Roadhouse, you know it's another hour of the finest blues you've never heard.
This week we note 700 shows, 700 hours and roughly 9100 tracks. It does seem just a little ways from 2005. But we do roll on with an hour of great new blues, including Sister Mercy, Buddy Guy, Joe Bonamassa, Bruce Katz Band, and one for my fellow blues presenter Dave Raven. It's the 700th hour of The Roadhouse but, really, it's just another hour of the finest blues you've never heard.
As we roll from July into August, I roll out almost a full hour of new releases. Piper-Hopkins Band, Vanja Sky, Shemekia Copeland, Gina Sicilia, and Doghouse Sam & His Magnatones round things out this week. The selection is eclectic. In fact, it's an hour of eclectricity and definitely another hour of the finest blues you've never heard - the 699th Roadhouse.
This week's edition of The Roadhouse is a Roadhouse Rewind from 2013. I'll be back next week with a new edition. This edition of The Roadhouse is hotter than July, chock full of artists who will keep the temperature high. King King, Greg Nagy, Gina Sicilia, Eddie Taylor, and Kara Grainger shimmer in the heat like an oasis mirage. Protect yourself from the heat or dive right in. You're in for a hot, hot hour of blues and another hour of the finest blues you've never heard - the 438th Roadhouse....
I'm glad to be with you for another hour, another week, deep into year fourteen of The Roadhouse. This week, I've got Johnny Sansone, Victor Wainwright & The Train, Rory Block, Brooks Williams, and The Bruce Katz Band. I've got a little chit-chat in between. And, I've got a little shelter from a rainy Saturday in July in The Roadhouse. But shades or slicker makes no difference. It's another hour of the finest blues you've never heard - the 697th Roadhouse.
For the 696th week, I'll mix up new blues and old to go with the mix of new and old listeners. That includes Dave Hole, Carey Bell, Crystal Shawanda, JP Soars, and Willie "Big Eyes" Smith. New or old, listener or track - I don't think it really makes a difference because, as always, the hour ahead is another hour of the finest blues you've never heard.
Right now is the hour to sit back, crank it up, and just let the blues wash over you. I've got Little Freddie King, Blind Willie McTell, Fantastic Negrito, Original Chicago Blues Allstars, and Duke Robillard ahead. I'm going young and old in consecutive sets to explore where we've been and where we're going - roots of the blues and the next generation. All in all, right now is another hour of the finest blues you've never heard - the 695th Roadhouse.
Right now is the hour to sit back, crank it up, and just let the blues wash over you. I've got Little Freddie King, Blind Willie McTell, Fantastic Negrito, Original Chicago Blues Allstars, and Duke Robillard ahead. I'm going young and old in consecutive sets to explore where we've been and where we're going - roots of the blues and the next generation. All in all, right now is another hour of the finest blues you've never heard - the 695th Roadhouse.
I've got a lot of fun stuff in this hour, including John Clifton, Wily Bo Walker, Watermelon Slim, Little Boys Blue, and Roy Buchanan. I'm sure you won't find anything in this edition to be so different than the norm for the last 13+ years. And, that's a good thing because, just like every week, this hour is another hour of the finest blues you've never heard - the 694th Roadhouse.
I'm excited about this edition of The Roadhouse because the puzzle pieces all fit together so well. Tom Hambridge, Tas Cru, Bryce Janey, Jeff Jensen, and Etta Britt will blow you away with great blues. Blow you away, that is, with the finest blues you've never heard - the 693rd Roadhouse.
In this hour of The Roadhouse, it's all blues, but in some cases it's branched off a bit into blues rock and R&B. Mahalia Barnes + The Soul Mates, Ben Harper & Charlie Musselwhite, Bettye LaVette, Jarekus Singleton, and Eden Brent help make up the hour. We'll just go out exploring and see what we come back with. I'm pretty sure, though, that what we'll come back with is another hour of the finest blues you've never heard - the 692nd Roadhouse.
You may look up at the end of the hour and realize that how you think about blues has changed just a bit. Along with traditional tracks, I've got several that are a little off on the siding of the blues train. Barrence Whitfield & the Savages, Dana Fuchs, Suzie Vinnick, Elise LeGrow, and Buddy Guy - it's an hour that moves in several directions, but it's definitely an hour of the finest blues you've never heard - the 691st Roadhouse.
What's ahead in the next hour of The Roadhouse? Keeshea Pratt Band make their Roadhouse debut while Michelle Malone, Albert Collins, Buddy Guy & Junior Wells, and Kaz Hawkins provide the backbone. Diverse and danceable - I think that's the theme. I'll say it again - it's another hour of the finest blues you've never heard - the 690th Roadhouse.
May in Memphis means the Blues Music Awards and we're going to spend an hour amongst the 2018 winners. Jason Ricci, Victor Wainwright, Doug MacLeod, Taj Mahal & Keb' Mo', and Ruthie Foster get the nod to provide the foundation in this edition. It's an award-winning hour of the finest blues you've never heard - the 2018 Blues Music Awards in the 689th Roadhouse.
It's a pretty solid hour of blues, with one little break for blues rock. Bill Wyman's Rhythm Kings, Magic Slim, Si Cranstoun, Vanja Sky, and Kid Ramos provide a full variety of music. It's an interesting hour of the finest blues you've never heard - the 688th Roadhouse.
Just as spring brings a fresh new feeling to things, this hour of The Roadhouse is chock full of fresh new releases. Lurrie Bell & The Bell Dynasty, Van Morrison & Joey DeFrancesco, Marcia Ball, Ben Harper & Charlie Musselwhite, and Dana Fuchs - all releases from just within the past few weeks. It's a fresh hour of new music and, of course, a fresh hour of the finest blues you've never heard - the 687th Roadhouse.
The hour ahead might have the most female blues artists of any edition of The Roadhouse. There's no particular reason - it's just the way the playlist fell as I pulled it together. Peter Parcek, Ray Manzared & Roy Rogers, Michelle Malone, Suzie Vinnick, and JJ Grey & Mofro fill out the hour. It's a lot of female voices and a lot of the finest blues you've never heard - the 686th Roadhouse.
There's a bunch of new music in this hour, along with a live set and a set of blues rock. Rockwell Avenue Blues Band, Kris Barras Band, Love Light Orchestra, Original Chicago Blues All-Stars, and Carlos Del Junco all deliver tracks from just the past few months. It's the usual mix of blues styles, voices and instruments. And, as always, it's the kind of mix that makes for another hour of the finest blues you've never heard - the 685th Roadhouse.
With an abundance of female voices, a set of swing blues and some great piano to close the hour, this edition of The Roadhouse pulls on several themes. Adrianna Marie & Her Roomful of All-Stars, Bettye LaVette, Kid Ramos, Mud Morganfield, and Victor Wainwright & The Train make for a fun and varied hour of the finest blues you've never heard - the 684th Roadhouse.
A Roadhouse Rewind fills the bill this week. I'll be back next week with a new edition. The 523rd Roadhouse is an hour of varied instruments, styles and voices. Chris Daniels & The Kings, Danny Bryant, Mahalia Barnes & The Soul Mates, Ian Siegal, and Tinsley Ellis bring the sum total of all the tracks in the hour to the usual spot - another hour of the finest blues you've never heard.
As the seasons roll into the 14th spring of The Roadhouse, I've got an hour with a fresh feel. That includes quite a few young artists along with the usual compliment of well-established blues stars. Vanja Sky, Derrick Dove & The Peacekeepers, Brian Spencer Blues Project, Peter Karp, and Ian Siegal all lie ahead in the hour. It's a spring edition that brings a fresh new hour of the finest blues you’ve never heard - the 682nd Roadhouse.
With four inches of new snow around The Little Blue House on the Wetlands, it's a good day to stay inside and stay warm with some great blues. I've got Johnny Tucker, Louis “Gearshifter” Youngblood, Miss Freddye, Victor Wainwright & The Train, and Jim Riley’s Blues Foundation in the hour. That’s just part of the hour – the kindling, if you will, to stoke a hot blues fire into another hour of the finest blues you’ve never heard – the 681st Roadhouse.
This hour of The Roadhouse stays pretty much straight down the middle with contemporary blues, with the exception of one set. I’ve got John Mayall, Harrison Kennedy, Chris Smither, a little advance taste of Ben Harper & Charlie Musselwhite, and new music from Ian Siegal. With a couple of tracks of world blues in the middle, I’ve definitely got another hour of the finest blues you’ve never heard – the 680th hour of The Roadhouse.
It’s back to the norm this week after a special anniversary review of show openers. Of course, the norm is to mix up blues styles and push out a lot of new blues releases. Sue Foley, Danielle Nicole, Mud Morganfield, John Mayall, and Teresa James & The Rhythm Tramps definitely support that approach. Of the 15 tracks in the hour, 12 are from 2018. So, it looks from here like another fun hour of new variety – a variety of the finest blues you’ve never heard – the 678th Roadhouse.
I’ve got some Roadhouse debuts this week in Velma Powell & Bluedays and Burton Brothers Blues Band. I’ve also got Paul Thorn, Jimmie Vaughan and Reverend Raven. And, I’ve thrown in a set that centers around a single artist. That’s all in the hour ahead – the next hour of The Roadhouse and the next hour of the finest blues you’ve never heard - the 679th Roadhouse.
This edition of The Roadhouse celebrates 13 years with our tradition - a review of the opening tracks from the previous year. Altered Five Blues Band, Cash Box Kings, Johnny Mastro & Mama's Boys, Wee Willie Walker, and Tommy Castro step out front and center. It's not so much the finest blues you've never heard - because if you've been listening, you've heard it. But, it's definitely an hour of foot-stompin', chair-dancing blues - the 677th and 13th anniversary Roadhouse.
We're getting winter-weary at The Little Blue House on the Wetlands. But, however cold it is outside, the Macbook is hot with blues this week. Billy Boy Arnold, Eric Bibb, Jimmie Vaughan, Sue Foley, and Lucky Peterson warm the hour. We'll just forget about the snow and focus on the accumulation of the finest blues you've never heard - the 676th Roadhouse.
Whether you call it all blues or not, the hour has a clear mix and a definite feel. John Campbelljohn, James Hunter Six, Duke Robillard, Curtis Salgado & Alan Hager, and Reverend Shawn Amos provide the variety. Call it what you want. I'll call it another hour of the finest blues you've never heard - the 675th Roadhouse.
It seemed so much rockier when I started putting it together - then it all smoothed out across the hour. Delta Wires, Janiva Magness, Laurie Morvan, Little G. Weevil, and Peter Karp take the lead. It's an hour that shows yet another face of the blues and certainly stands as another hour of the finest blues you've never heard - the 674th Roadhouse.
It seemed so much rockier when I started putting it together - then it all smoothed out across the hour. Delta Wires, Janiva Magness, Laurie Morvan, Little G. Weevil, and Peter Karp take the lead. It's an hour that shows yet another face of the blues and certainly stands as another hour of the finest blues you've never heard - the 674th Roadhouse.
