Over the last couple of years, an amazing number of blues and blues rock artists from the Pacific Northwest have made their way onto my DJ playlist.  Here are three of them:

Lisa Mann

Fresh off her second Blues Music Foundation award as a blues bassist this past May, Lisa has released a great album that has shot to the top of the charts: Hard Times, Bad Decisions.

A gifted gutsy singer and bass player, she is also a talented songwriter.   The title cut is a bad ass blues tune and a gritty tale of an abused girl struggling in the modern world.  Judge a Man Forever is a thoughtful song about fateful life decisions and the consequences.  Based in Portland, Oregon, Lisa has a sterling future….I can’t wait to see her sometime soon!

Lisa Mann – Hard Times, Bad Decisions

Cee Cee James

I have been a fan of Cee Cee for several years, Dubbed the “Vocal Volcano”, she has a gritty sweat dripping vocal style; she isn’t just writing and singing songs, she is living them.  She got her first big  breaks in the Pacific Northwest where she won blues performance and songwriting competitions in 2010/11. Her defining song to date is the title cut from the album Low Down Where the Snakes Crawl.  It is a deep blues tune that has drawn the inevitable comparisons with Janis Joplin.  She has a new album due out next month, Stripped Down & Surrendered…..I will keep you posted!

Cee Cee James – Low Down Where the Snakes Crawl

The Harpoonist & the Axe Murderer

This Vancouver based duo with the strangest of names is a great contemporary blues band. A cross between Jack White and the Black Keys, Shawn “the Harpoonist” Hall and Matthew “the Axe Murderr” use a variety of harmonicas, foot percussion, and guitars to turn out infectious blues based tunes with enormous crossover potential between genres.  Shake It, Wake Up, Roll with the Punches, and They Don’t Make Them Like They Used To are some of my favorites from their first four albums.

The Harpoonist & The Axe Murderer – They Don’t Make Them Like They Used To

Hope you enjoyed listening to these great artists!  You can hear them and other blues and blues rock tunes on my 24 hour stream Ben Vee Roadhouse Blues.