In late March of 2014, I decided to supplement my DJ shows by starting to write about my love affair with the blues and all of the fabulous contemporary blues artists and music that I was spinning. ( You can still read that article by scrolling down the right hand side of this post.) I believe that I have remained true to what I wrote then and over the last decade I have averaged one article a week telling the story of what I term the “roadhouse blues”.
A lot has changed over the last 10 years. Back then the upbeat style of rockin’ blues that I tend to favor was looked down on a bit by a number of traditional devotees of the blues. Artists like Joe Bonamassa, Beth Hart, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Albert Cummings, Mike Zito, Albert Castiglia, Joanne Shaw Taylor, Walter Trout and Ana Popovic were respected by not necessarily accepted as part of the blues family. Now they are clearly identified as blues artists and many have won major blues awards. There are literally dozens of blues artists following in their footsteps and forging a new more upbeat blues sound that pays respect to the Chicago and Delta blues but builds on the all the music they have grown up listening to on radio, television, and social media. The blues they are creating contains elements of rock, classic R&B and even a bit of country….all of which were also reflected in the early electric blues of Muddy Waters, John Lee Hooker, and other stars of the golden age of the blues! Your home is where your heart is and though many contemporary blues artists also drift into rock, country, jazz, and even Pop music on their recordings, when interviewed most gladly identify as blues men and women and that is pretty cool.
As I noted in an article this past week, the blues is in a state of transition. While blues stars have tended to be much older than those in other music genres, the most lauded blues artist of the last several years is a 25 year old from Mississippi by the name of Christone “Kingfish” Ingram. He is well spoken, talented and a great representative to a new emerging generation of young listeners. It bodes well for the contemporary blues going forward. And he is not alone! Even a cursory glance at a Blues Top 40 weekly or monthly chart over the last two years will show names like Eddie 9V, Meghan Parnell of Bywater Call, AJ Fullerton, Tyler Bryant, and Ben Levin. All are emerging stars of a new generation of blues artists…some are traditional and others rattle the windows with their music!!
I am 70 years old now but I am not slowing down. In fact, I hope to pick up the pace and post my 1000th article within three years! I will not only post articles here on my blog but I have been asked to write weekly articles and reviews for BluesMusic Fan Radio starting in the next week. My love affair with the blues continues. Thanks for reading my articles and listening to my shows!!
Ben Vee Blues 