I have been writing about the contemporary blues for almost 10 years now and this past week marked the single largest release of singles that I can ever recall!!! A literal who’s who of the roadhouse blues are bringin’ new music your way! I hope you get a chance to follow the links and listen!!
The 2010 decade was to feature the emergence of a new more energetic and upbeat style of contemporary blues. The blues highway expanded lanes with new accelerated on ramps for blues rock, roots blues, gospel, and both soul and R&B artists. But all of these artists, no matter the sub genre of the blues that they love, had the ultimate respect and admiration for one man…the King of the Blues…. B.B. King.
B.B. King released no studio albums after the 2008 One Kind Favor but he continued to tour relentlessly up until the time of his death on May 14, 2015 at the age of 89. From his humble birth on a cotton plantation in Mississippi, B.B. King would rise to the very heights of blues stardom. With his beloved guitar Lucille in his hands, he enchanted audiences first on the “Chitlin’ circuit” in the deeply segregated southern United States in the 1950’s and then over the next sixty years he toured the world playing a brand of the blues that still has no equal. Affable and always willing to share his stage (even with a child prodigy by the name of Joe Bonamassa), B.B. King is still, to this day, the most popular and recognized name in the history of the blues. B.B.’s live version of How Blue Can You Get recorded at the Cook County Jail in 1971 is among my favorite B.B. King recordings.
Other giants of the blues also passed away during the 2010 decade. One of them was a lady who grew up in South Central Los Angeles by the name of Etta James. She recorded her first song in 1954 at the age of 15, is said to have dated B.B. King at 16, and in early 1955 shared a stage in Memphis with an up and coming artist by the name of Elvis Presley. In 1960, Etta released her first album, At Last. The title cut, written and performed originally by Glen Miller, is considered by music critics to be her signature song. However, her rendition of I’d Rather Go Blind on the 1968 album Tell Mama is the defining song of her career in my opinion. For over sixty years, she belted out blues, R&B, soul, jazz, and even a little doo-wop. In November of 2011, she released her last album, The Dreamer. Her voice had grown husky with age but the recording contains some fabulous songs including a stellar version of Otis Reddings’ Cigarettes and Coffee. Etta passed into blues history on January 20, 2012 at the age of 73.
Some other giants of the blues who passed on during the 2010’s:
Though rightfully acknowledged as the father of Rock ‘n’ Roll by John Lennon, Chuck Berry started out as a bluesman. In 1955, the legendary Muddy Waters introduced him to Leonard Chess of Chess Records, the premier blues label in the United States. From his early recordings with Chess Records like the 1957 Wee Wee Hours and on through his career, Chuck continued to perform blues numbers during his shows and on his albums. He died at the age of 90 on March 18, 2017.
Magic Slim first started recording in 1977 and issued a final career defining album Bad Boy in 2012 just before passing away the following year at the age of 75. Groomed as a young man to be a piano player, a cotton gin accident in his native Mississippi changed the course of his musical life. Losing a pinky finger, Magic switched to guitar and developed a driving rhythm style of the blues that can be typified on the song I’m a Bluesman. In his band was another up and coming guitar player and singer John Primer who would emerge as a star of the blues in the 2010’s.
Gary Moore, an Irishman, is considered by many to be one of the greatest blues rockers of all time. After his early days with the rock band Thin Lizzy, Gary migrated to the blues full time by the early nineties. His live performance of Parisienne Walkway in 1993 is one of my favorite live recordings of all time. Gary died of a heart attack on February 6, 2011 at the age of 58.
Alvin Lee helped to define the Blues Rock genre as a member of Ten Years After in the late 1960’s. In the 1970’s and 1980’s, his style of “rockin’ blues” won him audiences across the world. And on the recording I Hear You Rockin’ (US release 1994), Alvin recorded one the greatest blues rock ballads of all time, Bluest Blues. Alvin died from unexpected complications from a routine surgery on March 6, 2013 at the age of 68.
Aretha Franklin was at a crossroads in the mid 1960’s. Management kept trying to turn her into a classy ballroom singer. A trip to Muscle Shoals Alabama and the FAME studios in 1967 transformed her career with the song I Never Loved A Man (Like I Love You) and the Queen of Soul would reign until her death on August 16, 2018 at the age of 76. Though many of you reading this may not associate soul music with the blues, it is a recognized sub-genre of the Blues Music Awards ceremonies held each year in Memphis……good enough for me!
This is my second article on the Contemporary Blues in the 2010 decade. You can find the link to the first one here. I hope to publish more as the weeks go by in 2024.
Ben Vee started out spinning songs on terrestrial radio and at nightclubs back in the 1970’s in his home state of Louisiana. After a career in the construction business, he returned to DJing in 2011. He now hosts two shows each week on http://www.bluesmusicfan.com and writes about the blues at http://www.benveeblues.com from his home in Connecticut. He also has a personal 24 hour stream devoted to the Roadhouse Blues… WRHB as well as a Youtube channel.
As the dawn rose on January 1st 2010, few could have guessed that the contemporary blues would experience a vibrant revival during the decade with the emergence of dozens of new popular artists that were reinterpreting the blues and appealing to a broader audience. The previous two decades had been a blues doldrum period with very few blues artists signed to major record labels and the blues music being played on the radio was largely consigned to Sunday mornings. The brief heyday of pop culture attention to blues music in the 1980’s ended with the death of Stevie Ray Vaughan in the spring of 1990. If you didn’t frequent blues clubs in your local market, you heard very little contemporary blues at all!
But two things emerged during the 2010 decade that breathed new life into the blues; the advent of cheap internet streaming and the Do It Yourself blues recording artist. Low cost internet streaming services began to flourish and “mini stations” began to pop up all over North America and Europe spinning contemporary blues. Each individual station only reached 100 to 1000 listeners but as the number of stations grew (largely manned by non profit organizations and individuals), the aggregate audience by my estimation grew to 500, 000 listeners or so per hour worldwide. Not major numbers by terrestrial broadcast standards but more than enough to attract the interest of local blues artists looking for an audience other than the local blues circuit of clubs. And, as the decade wore on, streaming music on your phone became easier and the ability to listen through your car speakers freed urban workers from the drudgery of repetitive classic rock, country, hip hop, pop, and talk radio on the drive to and from work. And to top it off, for a premium, you could listen to the blues on the SiriusXM B.B. King Blues Channel.
At the same time that new audiences and markets for the contemporary blues were emerging in the 2010’s, the costs for artists to record, produce, and release their own music were dropping dramatically. Low cost digital software that works on any computer tied together a slew of instruments and microphones and allowed blues artists to create, produce, and control their own music…..the holy grail of artistic freedom. One of the early adopters of this method of recording is also one of the current stars of the contemporary blues…Joe Bonamassa.
After releasing two studio albums for a major record label but being dissatisfied with the pressure to produce music that he didn’t want to record, Joe set up his own company in 2003. Combining savvy marketing with world class recording and a relentless commitment to touring, by 2009, Joe Bonamassa had attracted the attention of Eric Clapton and laid the groundwork for the explosive growth of his popularity during the 2010’s.
Who were the contemporary blues artists that emerged in the 2010 decade besides Joe Bonamassa? And what artists from the golden age of the blues in the 1950’s continued to thrill audiences 60 years later? I will begin to write about them in the next of a series of articles about the contemporary blues in the 2010’s. I hope you will read along with me!! And PLEASE comment on the article. Were there other major factors that I missed? Are there artists from the 2010 decade that deserve special mention in upcoming articles? Do you think a book about blues artists from the 2010’s would be interesting?
Ben Vee started out spinning songs on terrestrial radio and at nightclubs back in the 1970’s in his home state of Louisiana. After a career in the construction business, he returned to DJing in 2011. He now hosts two shows each week on http://www.bluesmusicfan.com and writes about the blues at http://www.benveeblues.com from his home in Connecticut. He also has a personal 24 hour stream devoted to the Roadhouse Blues… WRHB as well as a Youtube channel.
The New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival lineup for April 25-28 & May 2-5 is out now. Pretty impressive list of Roadhouse blues artists!!
The Rolling Stones, Chris Stapleton, Bonnie Raitt, The Revivalists, Ghalia Volt, Irma Thomas, George Thorogood & the Destroyers, The Allman Betts Band, Christone “Kingfish” Ingram, Anders Osborne, Marcia Ball, Ruthie Foster, Marc Broussard, CJ Chenier & the Red Hot Louisiana Band, Toronzo Cannon, Selwyn Birchwood, The Radiators, Tab Benoit, Robert Cray Band, Samantha Fish and Sonny Landreth
Released today, the new album is a nice chill mix of blues rock, jazzy and funky instrumentals. Long considered one of the all time great guitar players, I was surprised at the keyboard focus of a number of the tunes. Oh yeah…Robby still has the music magic!
A young talent, Hannah Wicklund, is still finding her place in the musical constellations. With a strong voice full of conviction and passion, she is a natural blues rocker. Her collaboration with Sam Kiszka of Greta Van Fleet (producer) on The Prize yields several tunes that I love. Give her a listen and understand why I think she will end up residing in the Roadhouse Blues galaxy of artists…..time will tell!
Due Out February 2024
GeminiiDRAGON – “3” (Feb 1st)
Emanuel Casablanca – Strung Out on Thrills (Feb 2nd)
Tinsley Ellis – Naked Truth (Feb 6th)
Albert Cummings – Strong (Feb 16th)
The Immediate Family – Skin In the Game (Feb 16th)
Jeff Rogers – Dream Job (Feb 16th)
Elles Bailey – The Night Owl and the Lark (EP) (Feb 23rd)
JJ Grey & Mofro – OLUSTEE (Feb 23rd)
Mike Zito – Life is Hard (Feb 23rd)
Upcoming releases in 2024
Walter Trout – Broken (March 1st)
Dion – Girl Friends (March 8th)
The Wicked Lo-Down – Out of Line (March 8th)
Sean Riley – Stone Cold Hands (March 8th)
Rick Vito – Cadillac Man (March 22nd)
Altered Five Blues Band – Testifyin’ EP (March 22nd)
Join us today on http://www.bluesmusicfan.com from 12-2 pm. I will start it rollin’ with an instrumental from one of Billy Gibbons first bands, Moving Sidewalks. Then we will hear from 4 artists that will be stars of the Winter Blues Fest in Iowa in a couple of weeks. Got some new Foghat…Walter Trout…Doug Duffey..Wayne Nicholson. And I’ll talk a bit about Coco Montoya…interesting background!
This is the intended playlist:
ARTIST
TITLE
Moving Sidewalks
Headin’ Out [Instrumental]
Tony Holiday
Just As Gone
JD Simo
Mind Trouble
Indigenous
Jealousy
Carolyn Wonderland
Palace Of The King
Blackburn Brothers
She’s A Heartbreaker
Foghat
She’s Dynamite
Coco Montoya
Natural Born Love Machine
Doug Duffey And Badd
Let ‘er Rip
Sue Foley
Stop These Teardrops
Wayne Nicholson
Gin House Blues
Tim Woods
Are You Kind?
Omar and The Howlers
Magic Man (Live)
KA & The Blue Devils
Dey Story
Sunny Bleau and The Moons
King of Hearts (Album Version)
Albert Cummings
Barrelhouse Blues (Live)
Big Wolf Band
Rolling With Thunder (live)
Walter Trout
Bleed (feat. Will Wilde)
Joe Bonamassa
Well, I Done Got Over It
Joanne Shaw Taylor
Just No Getting Over You (Dream Cruise)
Popa Chubby and the Beast Band
69 Dollars
Dana Fuchs
Almost home
Bywater Call
Left Behind
Gov’t Mule
The River Only Flows One Way (Feat. Billy Bob Thornton)
Chris O’Leary has a soulful voice and mastery of the blues on a harmonica. He combines the talents on his label debut The Hard Line (released today) for the legendary Alligator Records. The recording is full of soul ballads, some piano boogie, and a bit of New Orleans style blues.
Out of Germany, the new INGVAY album ONE MAGIC MILE is a chill recording featuring a healthy mix of roots blues and blues rock. Replete with influences from JJ Cale (including a cover of Call Me the Breeze), the recording morphs the “Tulsa Sound” into some badass 21st Century roadhouse blues!
On the third album released by HeavyDrunk this past June, Rob Robinson continues to crank out soul, gospel and R&B infused tunes with insightful and captivating lyrics. His graveled vocal delivery is reminiscent of Levon Helm and his story telling style is engaging. You Don’t Know Me is one of the hidden gems of 2023 and well worth a listen.
Due Out January 2024
Miss Freddye – Let It Burn (Single) (January 15th)
Robby Krieger – Robby Krieger and the Soul Savages (Jan 19th)
Due Out February 2024
GeminiiDRAGON – “3” (Feb 1, 2024)
Emanuel Casablanca – Strung Out on Thrills (Feb 2nd)
Tinsley Ellis – Naked Truth (Feb 6, 2024)
The Immediate Family – Skin In the Game (Feb 16, 2024)
Jeff Rogers – Dream Job (Feb 16, 2024)
Elles Bailey – The Night Owl and the Lark (EP) (Feb 23, 2024)
Hope you get a chance to listen in today on http://www.bluesmusicfan.com for a great mix of the contemporary blues from 3-5 pm ET. Below is the intended playlist.
ARTIST
TITLE
ALBUM
Frenchie Moe
Furry Slippers
Soul Full Tonight
Jeff Beck, Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page & Steve Winwood
There are times, such as when I am writing articles like this one, that I just like to put on instrumental music to inspire me.. move me…get my fingers tappin’ as I write. I have done it for years; perhaps you do also. But I have never taken the time to actually write about all the great instrumental music I listen to each year. So at the beginning of 2023 I made a resolution to note the great instrumentals on albums that I listened to and included in my shows during the year. This list is the result of that effort. It is not an exhaustive list and is drawn from the singles and albums that were submitted to me or available to me through my association with Blues Music Fan Radio. But I think it is representative of the fabulous blues, jazz, R&B, Soul, blues rock, and Roots instrumentals released during 2023 that fall under the “Roadhouse Blues” that I love to spin. I will comment on some of my favorites and I invite you to listen to all 40 via a Spotify play list that I have created at this link.
#1 Mindi Abair – Fly (Single release)
Mindi Abair is one of her generation’s great saxophone players. She is also a gifted singer and songwriter who has been nominated for several Grammys over the years for her artistry. Mindi only released one song during 2023 and it is an instant classic. FLY soars and floats in a musical stratosphere that many artists aspire to reach but few do. If you need a song to chill you out or inspire you to go out and face the cold cold world, this is it!
#2 Christone “Kingfish” Ingram – Mississippi Night (Live In London)
The prince regent of the blues is a 24 year old young man from Mississippi by the name of Christone “Kingfish” Ingram. Mentored by both Buddy Guy and Keb’ Mo’ at the start of his career, Christone has emerged as the first superstar of a new generation of young blues men and women. His instrumental version of Mississippi Nights is simply the electric blues at its finest.
#3 Jason Ricci & the Bad Kind – Hip Hug-Her (Behind the Veil)
Jason Ricci & the Bad Kind’s instrumental Hip Hug-Her is a throwback to the golden age of R&B in the 1960’s and 1970’s. I put this song on par with the Booker T & the MG’s classic Green Onions. Jason is based in my hometown of New Orleans and is acknowledged as one of the great contemporary harmonica players. Combine his talent with the organ playing of Joe Krown and you get one of the great instrumentals of 2023!
#4 Tony Wessels and the Revolvers – Walking With Jody (Reloaded)
I do my best during the year to give all the “indie” blues artists their due during my shows on BMFR. Independent artists have no label support. They raise the money to go into the studio from friends and family. Most have day jobs or independent sources of income that allow them to devote their time to their passion for the Blues. They market themselves as best they can and I write about them to get word out about their music. Tony Wessels is an indie artist from near Atlanta that put out a great album this year, Reloaded. Tony assembled a cast of supporting musicians he calls the Revolvers. Together they recorded a great upbeat instrumental entitled Walking With Jody.
#5 Vargas Blues Band – Blues The Healer (Stoner Night)
The Vargas Blues Band song, Blues the Healer, is my favorite blues rock instrumental of 2023. With soaring guitars solos and some awesome saxophone playing, this is another of those tunes that can just lift your day up after listening. This Spanish group led by Javier Vargas is well known in Europe and with songs like this one, they should make a big impression on listeners and audiences here in the USA and Canada.
#6 Blood Brothers (ft. Mike Zito & Albert Castiglia) – Hill Country Jam (Blood Brothers: Live in Canada)
I got to see the Blood Brothers perform this song live in Connecticut this past April. Mike Zito and Albert Castiglia trade guitar licks effortlessly, the dual drummers Ephraim Lowell & Matt Johnson drive the beat and Matt Johnson lays down some badass bass riffs. I put this Live instrumental on par with some of the best jams by the Allman Brothers and Gov’t Mule.
I hope you enjoy looking through the entire list of 40 of my favorite roadhouse blues instrumentals for 2023. All these artists deserve a listen….give them one!!!
ARTIST
TITLE
ALBUM
1
Mindi Abair
Fly
Fly (single)
2
Christone “Kingfish” Ingram
Mississippi Night (Live-Instrumental)
Live In London
3
Jason Ricci and the Bad Kind
Hip Hug-Her
Behind the Veil
4
Tony Wessels and the Revolvers
Walking with Jody
Reloaded
5
Vargas Blues Band
Blues the Healer
Stoner Night
6
Blood Brothers (ft Mike Zito and Albert Castiglia)
Ben Vee started out spinning songs on terrestrial radio and at nightclubs back in the 1970’s in his home state of Louisiana. After a career in the construction business, he returned to DJing in 2011. He now hosts two shows each week on http://www.bluesmusicfan.com and writes about the blues at http://www.benveeblues.com from his home in Connecticut. He also has a personal 24 hour stream devoted to the Roadhouse Blues… WRHB as well as a Youtube channel.
Kevin Burt & Big Medicine – Thank You Brother Bill: A Tribute to Bill Withers( Gulf Coast Records)
After seeing Kevin Burt being asked to come up on onstage with Albert Castiglia in November and then watching him blow us all away, I couldn’t wait to get my hands on this album which was released today, January 5th!! Kevin dominates a stage with his voice and he pays a fitting tribute to Bill Withers on this recording. Based out of Iowa, Kevin has been paying his dues for over 30 years and is the recipient of numerous blues awards. Hopefully this recording, his third album, will bring more attention to his powerful vocals and talent on the harmonica!
Due Out January 2024
Chris O’Leary – The Hard Line (Jan 12, 2024)
Robby Krieger – Robby Krieger and the Soul Savages (Jan 19, 2024)
Due Out February 2024
GeminiiDRAGON – “3” (Feb 1, 2024)
Emanuel Casablanca – Strung Out on Thrills (Feb 2nd)
Tinsley Ellis – Naked Truth (Feb 6, 2024)
The Immediate Family – Skin In the Game (Feb 16, 2024)
Jeff Rogers – Dream Job (Feb 16, 2024)
Elles Bailey – The Night Owl and the Lark (EP) (Feb 23, 2024)
Ben Vee Blues 