As we’ve done for the past several years, we’re looking to some of the winners of the Blues Music Awards held in Memphis this week. Joe Bonamassa, Samantha Fish, Charlie Musselwhite, Ruthie Foster, and Eric Bibb are but a few of the winners who light up the 377th hour of The Roadhouse. It’s an award-filled hour of blues in this edition and another hour of the finest blues you’ve never heard.
The 376th Roadhouse is filled with music from all regions of the US - North, South, East, and Midwest. Hollywood Blue Flames, Mud Morganfield, Mannish Boys, Cash Box Kings, and Pinetop Perkins will put you in a chair-dancing mood. It’s not an hour of blue blues, it’s an hour of upbeat blues, and it’s an hour of the finest blues you’ve never heard.
It’s another week of The Roadhouse, and, of course, another hour of great blues surprises. With more than 80% of the tracks in the hour ahead released in the past three months, you’d be hard pressed to find fresher blues anywhere else. Geoff Achison & The Souldiggers, Curtis Salgado, Matt Woods & The Thunderbolts, Walter Trout, and Oli Brown pave the road with blues of all styles and hues. The Roadhouse hour 375 is clearly another hour of the finest blues you’ve never heard.
This edition of The Roadhouse is filled with upbeat blues, as is often the case. But there’s something about how all these pieces fit together that will make the hour pass very, very quickey. Billy Boy Arnold, Mississippi Big Beat, Rick Holmstrom, Lil’ Cliff & The Cliffhangers, and Peter Karp & Sue Foley crush the hour, leaving only a big old pile of the finest blues you’ve never heard - the 374th Roadhouse.
The prominent sounds in this edition of The Roadhouse are from nearly opposite ends of the blues spectrum - blues rock and jump blues. The hour features Keb Mo’, Anthony Gomes, Julian Sas, Lance Lopez, and Big Pete, along with lots of new music. It’s the 373rd hour of The Roadhouse, and the 373rd hour of the finest blues you’ve never heard.
I’ve got a fair amount of new music in the 372nd Roadhouse, despite the fact that we seem to be in a bit of a lull week for new releases.Tail Dragger & Bob Corritore, Tab Benoit, Dr. John, Alyson “NightOwl” Shelton, and Curtis Salgado lead the way this week. We’ll range from New Orleans to LA to Phoenix looking for great artists to fill this hour. And fill it, they do. Harp, guitar, piano, and a musical shout-out from the cigar box nation make up the hour this week, and go a long ways toward making it another hour of the finest blues you’ve never heard.
In this edition of The Roadhouse, we span the blues. Jon Lord Blues Project, B.B. King, Mary Flower, Eric Bibb, and Ghost Town Blues Band work the blues from one end to the other. I’m certain you’ll hear a track or two or three that you love in an hour of the finest blues you’ve never heard - the 371st Roadhouse.
The 370th Roadhouse starts rolling at the beginning and doesn’t stop until the hour is done. Mud Morganfield, Wentus Blues Band, Larry Garner, Kipori “Baby Wolf” Woods, and Chuck Leavell dish out tracks with legs that run on forever. It’s another hour of great self-propelled blues and a veritable mudslide of the finest blues you’ve never heard.
The 369th Roadhouse full of great blues with a broad mix of new and old. Debbie Bond, Heritage Blues Orchestra, George “Harmonica” Smith, Erja Lyytinen, and James Booker fill the hour admirably, helping to assure another hour of the finest blues you’ve never heard.
While I normally lean toward upbeat uptempo blues for The Roadhouse, sometimes you just have to slow it down a bit. Otis Taylor, Taj Mahal, Malford Milligan Band, Duke Robillard Jazz Trio, and Carolina Chocolate Drops mix up the tempos in the 368th Roadhouse. But while we slow it down, you can still feel free to crank it up for another hour of the finest blues you’ve never heard.
The 367th Roadhouse is without an official frame. There’s such a variety that I’ve left it to you to decide how the music all fits together. Eddie C. Campbill, Janiva Magness, Big James & The Chicago Playboys, Heritage Blues Orchestra, and Nathan James & The Rhythm Scratchers lead this edition in fine style. Or - a fine variety of styles. But, as always, the varitey adds up to one full hour of the finest blues you’ve never heard.
This edition of The Roadhouse perpetuates the feeling that blues is truly good-time music. Albert Cummings, James Harman, The Sugar Prophets, Doug MacLeod, and Dion move us through the hour. One song leads to the next and before you know it, you’ve experienced another hour of the finest blues you’ve never heard - the 366th Roadhouse.
It’s a full-on hour of guitar blues in the 365th Roadhouse. Freddie King, Mississippi John Hurt, Johnny Winter, Gary Moore, and Hound Dog Taylor show just how entrancing a mastery of wires and wood can be. From all over the map, all over the genre, and all over the hundred-year-plus timeline of the blues, it’s another hour of The Roadhouse.
The final edition of the sixth year of The Roadhouse is squarely in the now. Sistah Monica Parker, D’Mar & Chris Gill, Joel DaSilva & The Midnight Howl, Levee Town, and Grady Champion take the stage to lead us into a new Roadhouse year. We’ll put the old one behind us with another hour of the finest blues you’ve never heard.
The Roadhouse digs deep into the self-released blues of today’s young artists. Paxton Norris., Levve Town, Microwave Dave & The Nukes, Mary Bridget Davies Group, and Jimmy Bowskill are among the artists with a new view of blues, a new view of music technology, or both. They help make 363rd Roadhouse another satisfying hour of the finest blues you’ve never heard.
It’s warm in The Roadhouse Studios with snow just outside the window. And, an hour of new blues can generate plenty of heat. Trampled Under Foot. Carolyn Wonderland, Big Pete, Fleetwood Mac, and Dion help make a great case that the blues is alive and well. If it’s an hour of new blues, you can pretty well bet that it’s also an hour of the finest blues you’ve never heard - the 362nd Roadhouse.
This week, we salute the talent of Etta James, through tracks you may not hear elsewhere. But, it’s not all Etta. Little Freddie King, Studebaker John & The Hawks, Joe Louis Walker, Bryce Janey, and Monkeyjunk are out there waiting to compel uncontrollable chair-dancing. It’s an ubeatable combination and an unbeatable foundation for another hour of the finest blues you’ve never heard - the 36qst Roadhouse.
The 360th Roadhouse is a bag of gems - little surprises and shining moments spread across an hour. Larry McCray, Ruthie Foster, Johnny Nicholas, Shemekia Copeland, and the Reba Russell Band provide some very nice moments in the hour. And, as I always promise, it’s another hour of the finest blues you’ve never heard.
The 359th Roadhouse takes a little different turn, steering away from traditional blues with new blues sounds as the destination. Jason Ricci, Beverly McClellan, Tedeschi Trucks Band, Treasa Levasseur, and Nick Moss deliver that new sound in an interesting hour of our favorite musical genre. It’s another hour of the finest blues you’ve never heard - The Roadhouse.
The final Roadhouse hour of 2011 is filled with smooth blues. Little Hurricane, Shaun Murphy, Big George Jackson, Carolina Chocolate Drops, and Etta James end the year in smooth style. The 358th Roadhouse is an hour of blues with few rough edges and is also, of course, another hour of the finest blues you’ve never heard.
This week, we pay respects to the artists who passed in 2011. Big Jack Johnson, John-Alex Mason, George Mojo Buford, Doyle Bramhall, and Eddie Kirkland light up the little bandstand in the corner in this edition. With all due respect, the 357th Roadhouse really is another hour of the finest blues you’ve never heard.
It’s the final Christmas edition of The Roadhouse for 2011, with a holiday track in every set. I’ve also got music from the Blues Music Awards nominations list that was released this week. Big Pete, Mac Arnold’s Blues Revival, Johnny Rawls, Mary Flower, and Jackie Johnson lay down great blues around some great holiday blues tracks. It’s an ad-free hour fit for celebration and another hour of the finest blues you’ve never heard.
The 355th Roadhouse takes on holiday blues in more ways than one. I include several blues Christmas tracks. And, we express our own holiday blues at the passing of Hubert Sumlin with a full Sumlin set. Omar & The Howlers, Roomful of Blues, Savoy Brown, Oz Noy, and Tracy Nelson stand right out in this edition of The Roadhouse. Yet, they manage to leave plenty of room for a full stable of great blues tracks that fill another hour of the finest blues you’ve never heard.
Time flies in The Roadhouse. Matt Woods & The Thunderbolts, CC Bronson, Johnny Winter, Gary Smith, and Grandpa Elliott fill the hour with tracks that will move us closer to 2012 in great blues style. The end of the year is nearing, but one of the few remaining hours in 2011 is filled with the finest blues you’ve never heard: the 354th Roadhouse.
On a US holiday weekend, a Roadhouse Replay fills the plate. Super Chikan, John Nemeth, Robert Lockwood, Bobby Jones, and Mitch Kashmar escort Thanksgiving into The Roadhouse. And, we're always thankful for the blues. The 353rd Roadhouse is the 210th hour - another hour of the finest blues you've never heard.
The 352nd Roadhouse contains a pile of blues. As always, that pile is comprised of new stuff and a pretty wide mix of music. J.C. Rico, Louisiana Red & Little Victor’s Juke Joint, Harrison Kennedy, Oz Noy, and Eric Lindell round out the hour with debut music you haven’t heard in the show. And, it’s that freshness that makes this hour of The Roadhouse another hour of the finest blues you’ve never heard.
The 351st Roadhosue takes a look at what’s coming down the blues pike with future blues releases. Alexis P. Suter Band, Son Seals, Larry McCray, David Philips, and Eden Brent step up to lead the way. As always, there’s a good variety of styles in the hour, as well. You’re bound to hear something you like in the 351st hour of the finest blues you’ve never heard.
We’re stepping away from the strife and misery of the world to have a ball in the 350th Roadhouse. Keith B. Brown, The Kinsey Report, Matthew Curry & The Fury, Buster Brown, and Nick Moss provide the shelter. Dress to the nines and join the Roadhouse crowd on the dance floor for a wordly escape and another hour of the finest blues you’ve never heard.
The 349th Roadhouse mixes up artists on small labels and large. Many of the tracks are also less than a month old, or less than a month ahead of release. Big Pete, Cash Box Kings, The Sugar Prophets, Sista Monica Parker, and Big Walter Horton pave the way for an hour of blues that I think you’ll find to be a winner - and, of course, another hour of the finest blues you’ve never heard.
We’re finding blues all over in the 348th Roadhouse. From the South, to the Midwest, West, East, and Europe, we fill an hour with great music. Carolyn Wonderland, Popa Chubby, Mike Zito, Big George Brock, and Snooky Pryor light up the map with pushpins from all over in the 348th Roadhouse. It’s a big world of blues, and a big hour of the finest blues you’ve never heard.
This edition of The Roadhouse is clearly upbeat. Nick Moss, Monster Mike Welch, Matt Hill, Mighty Lester, and Monkeyjunk make the point loud and clear that blues is more than just a man with a guitar on a porch. Contrary to what strangers to the form might think, blues can be upbeat, too, as evidenced in this hour of the finest blues you’ve never heard - the 347th Roadhouse.
The 346th Roadhouse is all about music that’s got legs. Each and every track in this edition has an arc and a self-propulsion all its own. Lazy Lester, Johnny Winter, Maria Muldaur, Junior Kimbrough, and Joe Bonamassa & Beth Hart represent a really wide swath of the blues highway and will help hold your attention for the full 60 minutes. It’s another hour of the finest blues you’ve never heard - the 346th Roadhouse.
The variety of blues in this edition is matched only by its newness. Carolyn Wonderland, Joe Bonamassa & Beth Hart, Ian Siegal & The Youngest Sons, Muddy Waters, and Tab Benoit help fill the hour with blues so new it has to be another hour of the finest blues you've never heard - the 345th Roadhouse.
This edition of The Roadhouse is an hour of variety, with new music, pre-release tracks and a wide range of styles. Sugar Ray & The Bluetones, Diana Braithwaite & Chris Whiteley, Rod Piazza & The Mighty Flyers, Eric Bibb, and Johhny Big Moose Walker paint a soundscape of blues that'll stay with you for awhile. The 344th Roadhouse is, as we say around these parts, another hour of the finest blues you've never heard.
Some of my favorite artists and tracks fill the hour in Roadhouse 343. It's an hour in Chicago with Walter Horton, Koko Taylor, Willie "Big Eyes" Smith, J.B. Hutto, Hound Dog Taylor, and a full stage of other artists who helped make Chicago the home of the blues. They're just a slice of that sound, but they're a big enough slice to fuel another hour of the finest blues -- in the 343rd Roadhouse.
The 342nd edition of The Roadhouse features an effortless arc from beginning to end. Mighty Mojo Prophets, Steve Gerard & The National Debonaires, Suzie Vinnick, JP Soars, and Elvin Bishop help us move through the hour. And, the pieces all fit together nicely from front to back. If ever there was one, this is it: another hour of the finest blues you've never heard.
The 341st Roadhouse shows off all the colors of the blues. Even with old and new, acoustic and electric, male and female, it's all music that comes from the same place. Solomon Burke, Lurrie Bell, Garty Primich, Son House, and The Fabulous Thunderbirds lead the hour. That'll tell you a little something about the variety in the 341st Roadhouse. Of course, variety is just one of many elements in another hour of the finest blues you've never heard.
The dog days of summer roll into the 340th Roadhouse, and slow things down just a bit. The heat of the day plays thief to the clock, but it also brings on a more luxurious feel. Jimmie Vaughan, Brandon Santini, Mississippi John Hurt, Catfish Keith, and Eddie Taylor lead the way in an hour of blues that just has the feel of late summer. They also provide a good excuse to kick up your feet, crack open your favorite cold beverage, and wrap yourself in the respite of another hour of the finest blues you've never heard.
The 339th Roadhouse is stacked with tracks - more tracks than any previous edition of the show. Fourteen or fifteen tracks fill out this edition, with three self-released track and five that have been released in the past two months. If you came looking for the finest blues you've never heard, you found it in the 339th Roadhouse.
After a week off, it's good to be back in The Roadhouse Studios rested and refreshed. We move forward this week with another fun blues variety hour. Steve Cropper, Candye Kane, Hadden Sayers, Matt Woods & The Thunderbolts, and Ana Popovic propel an hour that's full of new blues and full of blues styles. Maybe you'll get a refreshed set of eyes on the blues yourself after the 338th hour of the finest blues you've never heard - The Roadhouse.
August means vacation in The Roadhouse and I've vacated The Roadhouse Studios for a week of R&R. Never fear, though - it's one of those joints that never really sleeps. I've dug into the vault this week and pulled out Roadhouse 175 for a fun replay from Roadhouse history. Susan Tedeschi, Downchild Blues Band, Watermelon Slim & The Workers, Oliver Buck, and Rosco Gordon keep the pace moving, with some surprises along the way. It's a vacation edition of The Roadhouse, but still another hour of the finest blues.
In the midst of a brutal Midwestern US heat wave, we're cooling with blues in the 336th Roadhouse. Big Daddy Wilson, Monkeyjunk, The Jeff Golub Band, Larry McCray, and The Alexis P. Suter Band provide blues diversity, but never a diversion from being another hour of the finest blues you've never heard.
There's no special theme in this edition of The Roadhouse. It does, however, stay true to the tagline. The hour is full of new releases, lesser-known cuts from legends, and music submitted directly by the artists themselves. Snooky Pryor, Mike Zito, C.C. Bronson, Johnny Adams, and W.C. Clark lead a no-frills hour of the finest blues you've never heard - the 335th Roadhouse.
Get your chair-dancing cushion adjusted before settling in for the 334th Roadhouse. The blowout ahead includes Terry Hanck, Mighty Sam McClain, Monkeyjunk, Chris Thomas King, and Jimmy Dillon. With a featured artist set plunked into the middle to give your heart a rest, this edition has a little of everything and a lot of upbeat. It's another hour of the finest blues you've never heard - the 334th Roadhouse.
This edition of The Roadhouse brings 27th annual Mississippi Valley Blues Festival into the spotlight, with an hour of music from artists who performed at the festival. Sherman Robertson, Dwayne Dopsie & The Zydeco Hellraisers, Linsey Alexander, Harper, and Chocolate Thunder keep the hour moving right along with the headliners from the festival. The 333rd Roadhouse is another hour - a festive hour - of the finest blues you've never heard.
In the midst of a summer heat wave in the Midwest, the 332nd Roadhouse delivers a big batch of hot blues. Texas Slim, Guy Davis, Lightnin' Malcom, Roy Rogers & Ray Manzarek, and James Harman push the mercury to the top of the thermometer. It's definitely one of the hottest hours in the blues and certainly another hour of the finest blues you've never heard.
In celebration of the blues festivals filling weekend from now until Labor Day, the 331st Roadhouse contains a nice mixture of live and studio blues. Trampled Under Foot, The Jeff Healey Band, Ruthie Foster, Harmonica Shah, and Harry Manx & Kevin Breit are part of a lineup that will help prime the pump for your attendance at your own local blues festival. There's lots of live music in this hour, and it's another hour of the finest blues you've never heard.
The 330th Roadhouse explores the twisty rood of the blues. Outside the city limits, that road leads to our little club in a way that will keep you guessing. Buckwheat Zydeco, Matt Schofield, South Memphis Sting Band, Taj Mahal, and Sister Monica Parker provide the fuel to get us down the road. It's not necessarily high energy fuel but it is genuine blues and genuinely another hour of the finest blues you've never heard.
The 329th Roadhouse is an exercise in discovery. But, that's what's made it easy to pull together 329 hours of great blues. Eugene "Hideaway" Bridges, Nine Below Zero, Grayson Capps, Eric Bibb, and Super Chikan & Watermelon Slim provide the joy of new blues discovery in this edition. And if it's new you know it's another hour of the finest blues you've never heard - the 329th Roadhouse.
Out on the edge of town, The Roadhouse is feeling a little crowded and dangerous this week. Johnny Copeland, Rosco Gordon, Aretwork Jamal & The Acid Blues, Paul Rishell & Annie Raines, and Matt Schofield take the little bandstand in the corner. Regardless, or perhaps because of the underlying danger, the 328th Roadhouse is truly another hour of the finest blues you've never heard.
This edition of The Roadhouse proves strong evidence that, despite highs and lows, the blues lives on. Elvin Bishop's Raisin' Hell Revue, Grady Champion, Lucky Peterson, Harry Manx & Kevin Breit, and Eric Bibb make the case that the blues is stronger than ever. It's a vibrant and enduring hour of the finest blues you've never heard - the 327th Roadhouse.
There's a special convergence in the 326th Roadhouse - music that's both new and guaranteed to induce chair-dancing. Elvin Bishop, Morry Sochat & The Special 20s, The 44s, Quinn Sullivan, and Theodis Ealey leave barely enough time to catch your breath before the next track rolls in. It's definitely another hour of the finest blues you've never heard - the 326th Roadhouse.
This edition of The Roadhouse features winners from the 2011 Blues Music Awards, held May 5th in Memphis. And, it's a show that honors those who passed in 2010, as well. Robin Rogers, Matt Hill, Bob Corritore & Friends, Pinetop Perkins & Willie "Big Eyes" Smith, and Irma Thomas headline the 325th Roadhouse - the 2011 Blues Music Awards edition of the finest blues you've never heard.
The 324th hour of The Roadhouse is consistent with the plan - a mixture of instruments, regions, tempos, and styles. Tab Benoit, Too Slim & The Taildraggers, Los Fabulocos, Lloyd Jones, and Memphis Gold make up and hour that may not always strike you as blues. But, that might just be part of the fun of spending another hour deep in the finest blues you've never heard.
The 323rd Roadhouse has legs. You'll know what I mean when you hear how the hour propels itself down the dusty road. Super Chikan, Tab Benoit, Tracy Nelson, Ruthie Foster, and Johnny Rawls will have you moving for another hour of the finest blues you've never heard - the 323rd Roadhouse.
In this edition of The Roadhouse, the music clearly does the talking. Rather than set a theme in the intro, I let the music create its own. Johnny Rawls, Doug MacLeod, Long John Hunter, Hound Dog Taylor, and Trampled Under Foot share the little bandstand in the corner. They set the stage well for all the others who follow in the hour - another hour of the finest blues you've never heard.
This edition of The Roadhouse proves the statement we've been making for six years of Saturdays - that the blues isn't just about the old guy on his porch, an acoustic guitar in his lap. Blues can be upbeat, too. The Chris O'Leary Band, Kelley Hunt, Hamilton Loomis, Janiva Magness, and The Juke Joints set the tone for a chair-dancin' hour of the finest blues you've never heard - the 321st Raodhouse.
This edition of The Roadhouse contains chunks of music that make sense when standing on their own. Lurrie Bell, Billy Boy Arnold, Hamilton Loomis, Ben Prestage, and Carolina Chocolate Drops help fill out the hour. There's a chunk of urban, a chunk of youth, a chunk of acoustic, and it's all up to you to make the connections - that is, of course, beyond being another hour of the finest blues you've never heard.
We walk the line between traditional and contemporary this week with Byther Smith, Rory Block, John Mayall, Earl Thomas, and Son Seals. They give a nod to the ancestors by shoving the old right in with the newand draw the links from one to the other by the music alone. It's another hour of the finest blues you've never heard - the 319th Roadhouse.
We mark the passage of blues legend Pinetop Perkins in this edition of The Roadhouse. Shaun Murphy, Todd Sharpville, Robert Nighthawk, Earl Hooker, and Joe Bonamassa help fill out the show around a set of Pinetop and his blues friends. It's another hour of the finest blues you've never heard - the 318th Roadhouse.
Spring cleaning in The Roadhouse means new tables and chairs, and new sawdust on the dance floor. But appearances don't matter too much, as The Roadhouse is really all about the music. Big Jack Johnson, Marcia Ball, Pauyl Lamb, North mississippi Allstars, and The 44s will suffle on and off the bandstand in another hour of the finest blues you've never heard.
The 316th Roadhouse features more female blues artists than you'd normally expect, and these ladies in blues keep the hour moving right along. Diana Braithwaite & Chris Whiteley, Byther Smith, The John O'Leary Band, Peter Green Splinter Group, and Kelley Hunt propel the '57 Cadillac convertible of the blues about another hour down the road - another hour, of course, of the finest blues you've never heard.
This edition of The Roadhouse outdoes itself for diversity of blues. Tab Benoit, Gina Sicilia, Morry Sochat & The Special 20s, Sonny Boy Williamson, and Melvin Taylor all deliver the variety of blues you look for each and every week. It's another hour of the finest blues you've never heard - the 315th Roadhouse.
This edition of The Roadhouse is in full recovery mode from the 6th anniversary, two more snowstorms in Iowa, and a half-century birthday. Shaun Murphy, Matthew Stubbs, Kelley Hunt, Los Fabulocos, and Colin James help set a tone I think you'll find compelling. It's another hour of the finest blues you've never heard -0 the 314th Roadhouse.
The 313th Roadhouse marks another milestone - the show's 6th anniversary. On the suggestion of a listener, we celebrate with a full show of opening songs. Paul Reddick, Curtis Salgado, Phillip Walker & Lonnie Brooks, Johnny Jones, and Kilborn Alley Blues Band guarantee that this celebratory show is an hour of uncontrollable chair-dancing, and another hour of the finest blues ... period.
There's a good variety of blues in the 312th Roadhouse, with a stronger-than-usual emphasis on Chicago blues. The hour features Luther Allison, Big Bill Morganfield, Smokey Wilson, Todd Wolfe Band, and a great live track to remember Gary Moore. From Chicago to New Jersey to Georgia to Ireland, it's a well-rounded hour of the finest blues you've never heard.
There's no question about the blues in the 311th Roadhouse. Nancy McKean Bluez Machine, Diana Braithwaite & Chris Whiteley, North Mississippi Allstars, Doug MacLeod, and Paul Reddick deliver a range of styles I think you'll find appealing. It's obviously all blues and definitely another hour of the finest blues you've never heard - the 311th Roadhouse.
The 310th Roadhouse is filled with music that might not immediately strike you as blues - but you'll catch up. Walter Trout, Damon Fowler, Kirsten Thien, Otha Turner, and Chainsaw Dupont take us right to the outer edge of the blues. Along with tracks that leave no doubt about their origins, they'll definitely help propel you from the core on out, and straight through another hour of the finest blues you've never heard.
The 309th Roadhouse features blues you've never heard, both from well-known and relatively unknown artists. Chris Cain, Geoff Bartley, Blind Boy Fuller, Roomful of Blues, and Buddy Guy provide a very solid foundation for that premise. But whether they're new artists or old, known or unknown, every one provides a solid chunk in another hour of the finest blues you've never heard.
The broad range of blues in this edition includes The Johnny Max Band, Shemekia Copeland, Jimmy Bowskill, T-Model Ford, and Roomful of Blues light up the stage in the 308th Roadhouse. The beauty of blues is that you don't have to like all of it, but there's enough of some of it to keep people listening for a lifetime. And it makes the 308th Roadhouse another hour of the finest blues you've never heard.
It's an in-between week in The Roadhouse - a week between the start of the year and the first batch of new releases for 2011. But I manage to get quite a bit of new music in, anyway. James Kinds, Chicago Rhythm & Blues Kings, Elmore James, Jr., Jay Gaunt, and Homemade Jamz Blues Band help fill the hour in a fine way. Not even the lack of new releases can prevent another hour of the finest blues you've never heard in the 307th Roadhouse.
Though blues has made many migrations, few are quite as distinctive as the one that started primarily in Texas and ended up on the West Coast. That's where we're headed in the first 2011 edition of The Roadhouse. Tommy Castro, Pee Wee Crayton, Big Mama Thornton, Roy Hawkins, and Frank Goldwasser take the stage front and center. The big sound and great entertainers make for another hour of the finest blues you've never heard.
We're continuing the theme we started last week of looking back at the new blues releases from 2010. All in all, I think you'll walk away from this hour with a good feeling about the blues and the state of blues this year. Pinetop Perkins & Willie "Big Eyes" Smith, Kilborn Alley Blues Band, The Nighthawks, Magic Slim & The Teardrops, and Nick Moss provide a great mix of older blues artists and new. They also deliver on the promise of another hour of the finest blues you've never heard as we close out 2010 in the 305th Roadhouse.
It's the last show of the Christmas season for 2010. I've got plenty of holiday blues and we're looking back at the year in blues releases. Chris James & Patrick Rynn, Robin Rogers, Jimmie Vaughan, Mannish Boys, and Junior Wells set the stage for a holiday revue in the 304th hour of the finest blues you've never heard - The Roadhouse.
The 303rd Roadhouse is a free-form mix of blues of all types. Eddie Turner, Dave Specter, James Cotton, Johnny Max Band, and Eric Bibb stay right up front in this edition, with other great artists filling out the hour with great tracks. It's definitaly another hour of the finest blues you've never heard - the 303rd Roadhouse.
We kick off this holiday season with several great Christmas blues tracks. Unlike other Christmas songhs, they're not light as the snow, but do reflect the realities of life. Joe Louis Walker, Buddy Guy, The Kenny Wayne Shepherd Band, The Preston Shannon Band, and The Holmes Brothers help decorate the blues tree with another hour of the finest blues you've never heard.
The 301st Roadhouse stays true to the tagline. Independent artists and a listener request make up the bulk of this edition. Darren Watson, Marshall Lawrence, Phantom Blues Band, Patrice Moncell, and Wes Jeans round out the show. It really is another hour of the finest blues you've never heard.
A big thanks to all who have made the 300th Roadhouse possible - listeners, labels and artists. This milestone edition stretches things out with fewer songs but plus-size creativity. The Chris O'Leary Band, Mel Brown, Lance Lopez, Lucky Peterson, and Buddy Guy provide more than enough propulsion to move through the hour with toes tappin', hands slappin', and full-on chair-dancin'. There's another hour of the finest blues you never heard in the 300th Roadhouse.
The 299th Roadhouse focuses on one of the bigger slices of the many blues genres - contemporary blues. Mississippi Heat, Roomful of Blues, Lynwood Slim & The Igor Prado Band, Jay Gaunt, and Monkeyjunk showcase some of the best contemporary blues going and provide the basis for another hour of the finest blues you've never heard.
In the 298th Roadhouse, you're encouraged to haul yourself out onto the sawdust-covered dance floor to generate some heat and sweat. But that's not much of a task. Biscuit Miller, Jackie Scott & The Housewreckers, Cash Box Kings, Buddy Guy, and Joe Louis Walker make it hard to resist the urge to dance in another hour of the finest blues you've never heard.
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 fine music - the 280th Roadhouse.
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.
The 267th Roadhouse will move you to the fresh sawdust on the little dance floor. The bandstand is loaded and the talent level off the scale. Mannish Boys, Matt Schofield, The Hollywood Fats Band, T-Model Ford, and The Holmes Brothers headline the show with new music and old, hard electric and pure acoustic. You know by now - the 267th Roadhouse is another hour of the finest blues you've never heard.
The 267th Roadhouse will move you to the fresh sawdust on the little dance floor. The bandstand is loaded and the talent level off the scale. Mannish Boys, Matt Schofield, The Hollywood Fats Band, T-Model Ford, and The Holmes Brothers headline the show with new music and old, hard electric and pure acoustic. You know by now - the 267th Roadhouse is another hour of the finest blues you've never heard.
The 266th Roadhouse is chock full of new blues - perhaps more than any single show before. They take blues from R&B to Gospel to Rock and back, Kirk Fletcher, Joe Bonamassa, Jimmy Thackery & The Drivers, Nasty Ned, and Peter Karp & Sue Foley take the lead in this edition. It's truly another hour of the finest blues you've never heard - the 266th Roadhouse.
The 265th Roadhouse is all over the map; from Texas to the West Coast, Chicago to New York, it's the universality of the blues that brings more than 10,000 of us together weekly in the dark little club we call The Roadhouse. Kirk Fletcher, Popa Chubby, Mannish Boys, Nick Moss, and Kilborn Alley Blues Band bring new blues that touch the past and reach for the future. It's another hour of the finest blues you've never heard - the 265th Roadhouse.
The 264th Roadhouse provides an escape hatch from the world. It provides a means to move away from trouble and difficulty and into a far better state of mind. Toni Lynn Washington, Wayme Baker Brooks, Coco Montoya, Teresa James, and Johnnie Bassett open the door to that comfortable world and keep the tough stuff at bay. Pass through the escape hatch for another hour of the finest blues you've never heard - the 264th Roadhouse.
The 263rd Roadhouse marks a change of mood and attitude in The Little Blue House on the Wetlands. A hard winter is finally breaking and this edition of The Roadhouse reflects the change in the weather. Canned Heat, Hollywood Blue Flames, Tail Dragger, Nick Moss, and Shirley Johnson are just a few of the great artists in another hour of the finest blues you've never heard - the 263rd Roadhouse.
The 262nd Roadhouse gets back to the normal weekly groove. It's a well-rounded groove full of new music. Jimmy D. Lane, The Holmes Brothers, Moreland & Arbuckle, Chris Beard, and Shakura S'Aida are sound and solid, providing the base for another hour of the finest blues you've never heard.
It's the 5th anniversary of The Roadhouse, and the artists in this edition have helped define the sound of the show. Doug MacLeod, Joe White, Kelly Richey, Tinsley Ellis, and Watermelon Slim gather with listeners to share congratulations. It's an hour of great friends in the 261st Roadhouse.
The blues propulsion is strong in the 260th Roadhouse. The Radio Kings, Paul Reddick, Carlos Del Junco, Lonnie Brooks, and Legendary Rhythm & BLues Revue push us through the final hour of year five. Consistent with the mood and we've always tried to develop in the show, Roadhouse 260 is another hour of the finest blues you've never heard.
Like a big blue boulder at the top of a hill, the 259th Roadhouse starts strong and finishes even stronger. Michael Powers, Fiona Boyes, Hollywood Blue Flames, Sam Lay, and Junkyardmen set the tone and help assure we keep moving forward. It's a strong hour of the finest blues you've never heard - the 259th Roadhouse.
The 258th Roadhouse keeps the Northern Hemisphere warm and the Southern Hemisphere cool. Phillip Walker, Junior Watson, James Cotton, Duwayne Burnside, and The Hollywood Blue Flames lead this edition. With plenty of new blues, legendary artists and classic tracks, it's a well-rounded edition of The Roadhouse, and one that really never takes a break. It's another hour of the finest blues you've never heard - the 258th Roadhouse.
Though some might not believe it, blues can be fun music. The 257th Roadhouse proves out that theory with fun tracks from J.B. Hutto, Monkeyjunk, Moreland & Arbuckle, Roy Rogers & Norton Buffalo, and Little Arthur Duncan. You'll be smiling at the end of the hour - another hour of the finest blues you've never heard.
The Roadhouse focuses on blues guitar. To do only an hour is tough. Bluesbreakers with Eric Clapton, Junior Kimbrough, T-Bone Walker, Mississippi John Hurt, and B.B. King bring the touch and feel of dedicated musicians expressing the blues with six strings. It's "Wire and Wood III" in 256th Roadhouse - another hour of the finest blues you've never heard.
The 255th Roadhouse is dark and dangerous and exciting, much like the place it was named for. Billy Flynn & Chris James, Jimmy Rogers, Mike Dowling, Samuel James, and Little Mack Simmonsa will have you seeing the blue lights and hearing the clink of glasses by the end of the hour. You might even shake around unexpectedly in the midst of another hour of the finest blues you've never heard.
The 254th Roadhouse is the fifth first - the fifth first show of a new year. We kick of 2010 with John Lee Hooker, Freddie King, Melvin Taylor & The Slack Band, Otis Taylor, and Michael Burks. Though you've heard the artists, the new year starts with another hour of the finest blues you've never heard - the 254th Roadhouse.
From the Rounder CD "Essential Recordings: Jump Blues Classics", Roomful of Blues provides the extra content for this week's Roadhouse app with "I Tried."
It's a tweener week in The Roadhouse - the week between Christmas and New Years. With a freewheeling feeling, the 253rd Roadhouse fills an hour with a big variety of blues. Lonnie Brooks, Siegel-Schwall Band, Dave Spector & The Bluebirds, Peter Green, and Cyril Neville create a mixture you might not hear anywhere else. But you'll agree it's a mixture that makes for another hour of the finest blues you've never heard.
The 252nd Roadhouse closes out the Christmas season with a good mixture of holiday and normal blues. Koko Taylor, Indigenous, Luther Allison, Gina Sicilia, and Sonny Boy Williamson take front and center in this edition. They're backed by a full bandstand of other artists that will leave you with no doubt that this is another hour of the finest blues you've never heard.
The nominations for the 2010 Blues Music Awards lead us into a year-end review of the blues in Roadhouse 251. The Mannish Boys, Monkeyjunk, Carolina Chocolate Drops, Billy Branch, and Ruthie Foster help us split the time between BMA nominees and holiday blues music. It's another hour of the finest blues you've never heard - the 251st Roadhouse.
The 250th Roadhouse takes on an old blues tradition - the rent party. Roy Gaines, Johnnie Marshall, Sugar Ray & The Blue Tones, Memphis Clim, and Nick Moss & the Fliptops front a selection of music that would make any tenant, landlord or neighbor get up and dance. It's the 25th hour of the finest blues you've never heard - The Roadhouse.
After the biggest food holiday of the year, it's a feast of blues in the 249th Roadhouse. Moreland & Arbuckle, Sue Foley, Bob Brozman, Doug MacLeod, and The Holmes Brothers help to serve up enough blues to fill you up for a week. It's another hour of the finest blues you've never heard - the 249th Roadhouse.
The 248th Roadhouse cuts a wide swath through the varying styles of blues. Elvin Bishop, Harrison Kennedy, Bessie Smith, Arthur Adams, and JJ Grey represent a lineup that's diverse style, in era and in feel. Though there's no real theme in this edition, it is, as always, another hour of the finest blues you've never heard.
The blues had a baby and left it in The Roadhouse. Gary Moore, Joe Bonamassa, The Black Keys, Mike Zito, and Bugs Henderson provide a departure into the world of blues rock. There's a lot of guitar and a tougher edge, but it's still the finest blues you've never heard in the 247th Roadhouse.
It's a perfect fall day in The Little Blue House On the Wetlands. Though you won't find blue in the fall leaves, you'll find blue aplenty in the 246th Roadhouse. Arthur Adams, Samuel James, Rob Paparozzi, Snake Charmers, and Son Seals compliment the sunshine for an upbeat edition of The Roadhouse.
The 245th Roadhouse is a rainbow of blue, featuring the range of styles and artists that's made for the most popular shows. Kilborn Alley Blues Band, Jack Bruce and Robin Trower, Meantooth Grin, Keb Mo', and Eden Brent paint the picture that guarantees fun for all. It's another hour of the finest blues you've never heard - the 245th Roadhouse.
We've got no particular place to go in the 244th Roadhouse Podcast. Instead, we put together a lot of little puzzle pieces to create a coherent hour. Fiona Boyes, Aynsley Lister, Blueskillet, Kilborn Alley Blues Band, and Bluff City Backsliders provide the mile markers with a whole lot of great blues scenery in between. It's another hour of the finest blues you've never heard - the 244th Roadhouse Podcast.
Take a place on a barstool, at a table or on the dance floor. Mark it as your own territory. But, know you won't be there long. The 243rd Roadhouse provides the motivation to move, whether on your feet or in your chair. Carolyn Wonderland, Big Walker, Mike Zito, Tinsley Ellis, and James "Thunderbird" Davis provide that motivation. Whether on your feet or in your chair, the dancing will be a sign that you're fully engaged in another hour of the finest blues you've never heard - the 243rd Roadhouse.
We continue in the theme established last week - a full hour of new blues. With the labels on a new release roll, nearly every track in this edition was released in the past three months. B ig Joe Maher & Jeff Sarli, Roomful of Blues, Delbert McClinton, Tinsley Ellis, and Little Arthur Duncan step out with brand new tracks. It's truly another hour of the finest blues you've never heard - the 242nd Roadhouse.
After a bit of a break for the past few weeks, it’s good to be back in familiar territory. And, with new releases stacking up, I feature more new music than perhaps any other single edition of The Roadhouse. Rob Paparozzi, Aynsley Lister, Mike Zito, Boo Boo Davis, and Eddie C. Campbell step forward to testify that the blues is alive and well in 2009. And a younger generation steps into the spotlight with several other new releases. It’s the newest hour of the finest blues you’ve never heard – the 241st Roadhouse.
In the 240th Roadhouse, I turn the mic over to my Dad through his intro, liners, and a comment for Roadhouse 025. It's full of the music he loved from the show - big jump blues and female blues singers. They're all artists and tracks he commented on when they originally aired in The Roadhouse. It's a Roadhouse by and for Dave Moore, in memory of a great blues fan, old radio man and loving father.
The excellent weather around The Little Blue House On the Wetlands brings a sense that's everything's going to be alright. The music in this edition of The Roadhouse carries that feeling, as well. If you can't imagine how an hour of blues can do that, listen up. Jeff Healey, Charlie Musselwhite, Gina Sicilia, Buckwheat Zyedeco, and Jay Gaunt bring some humor, some calm, and some general feelgood to The Roadhouse. You'll feel good, too, at the end of another hour of the finest blues you've never heard - the 239th Roadhouse.
We take a trip to the Windy City in this edition of The Roadhouse. We'll visit the South Side, the West Side, reach back to the early days of Chicago blues, and run straight into the more modern sound from the Windy City. Eddie Boyd, Buddy Guy, Hound Dog Taylor, Willie Dixon, and Johnny Shines - it's a who's who of Chicago blues for the next hour. And it's clearly another hour of the finest blues ... period.
We tear down the two-lane in the '57 Cadillac convertible of the blues in this edition of The Roadhouse. The momentum propels us past the corn and small towns without a worry. Erick Hovey, Bugs Henderson, Jeff Healey, Dan Treanor, and Shemekia Copeland help us burn through a full tank of gas as the world slides by. But, we're not worried about the world or the gas. It's all about the blues in the 237th Roadhouse and it's another hour of the finest blues you've never heard.
Painted with a variety of brushes, the 236th Roadhouse is a blues free-for-all without the usual sub-theme. Hubert Sumlin, Tommy Castro, Professor Longhair, Omar Kent Dykes, and Marcia Ball provide the basic palette from which the different shakes of blues take shape in this edition. They fill the canvas with a solid hour of the finest blues you’ve never heard.
In this edition of The Roadhouse, we unspool the huge bundle of connections between blues artists, families and regions. Alex Dixon Band, Braithwaite & Whiteley, Slick Ballinger, North Mississippi Allstars, and Boo Boo Davis make up the highway of the blues in the 235th Roadhouse - a highway that's fed by innumerable two-lane and dirt roads. There's a lot of interconnection in this edition, and it's still an hour of the finest blues you've never heard.
In this edition of The Roadhouse we get re-acquainted with some old friends in The Roahdouse - artists who were fixtures in the early days and helped shape the sound of the show. And, with all the new music of late, I'll also get you up to speed on what's going on now with the blues. Dennis Jones, BB Chung King & The Buddaheads, Shannon Boshears, Freddie King, and Susan Tedeschi propel us through a show that looks both backward and forward, welcoming back some old favorites and welcoming in some great new blues. It's another hour of fine blues; the 234th Roadhouse podcast.
This edition of The Roadhouse proves a few things. First of all, that a lot of the music in The Roadhouse might not be exactly what you think of when you think of blues. And, that the sawdust on the dance floor is there for a reason. Bobby Jones, Ana Popovic, Watermelon Slim, Memphis Minnie, and The Twisters are side by side, speaking to the broad range of the blues. They clearly declare that you're in for another hour of the finest blues you've never heard - the 233rd Roadhouse.
This week I'm going to throw out any pretense of a formal theme. Let's just have fun! Mostly new blues - a lot of stuff that's yet to be released, listener requests. Not only will this edition of The Roadhouse have you chair-dancing, it's probable that it's also going to have you on your feet dancing, and maybe uncontrollably. Chris Cain, Curley Bridges, The Twisters, Watermelon Slim, and Tommy Castro are - well, let's just call them the carbohydrates for the 232nd Roadhouse. They provide all the energy you'll need to move around for the next hour of the finest blues you've never heard.
The 231st Roadhouse focuses on some classic blues artists, at the request of Roadhouse listeners on The Roadhouse Facebook group. There's a full set of classic artists, with others sprinkled in throughout the hour. Buddy Guy & Junior Wells, Eddie C. Campbell, Jenni Muldaur, Lonnie Mack, and Nucklebusters Blues Band will keep you moving while providing the foundation for another hour of the finest blues you've never heard.
The 230th Roadhouse is a veritable sampler of styles. Jump blues, Chicago, contemporary, acoustic - it's all broken out by set for your convenience. Louis Prima, Greg Nagy, Mississippi John Hurt, Aaron Moore, and Mary Flower represent the big picture of the blues. They set the stage to guarantee that you'll find some new favorite music in the 230th Roadhouse - another hour of the finest blues you've never heard.
In this edition of The Roadhouse, I'm once again sprinkling in some of the artists from the Mississippi Valley Blues Festival to give you a taste of my weekend. Long John Baldry, James Wheeler, Bo Ramsey, Fiona Boyes, and Robin Rogers lay the foundtion upon which we build another hour of the finest blues you've never heard - the 229th Roadhouse.
I'm warming up for a full weekend of blues at the Mississippi Valley Blues Festival over the July 4th weekend. Many of the artists in this edition of The Roadhouse will take the stage in Davenport next weekend as I feed real-time reports and pictures to Roadhouse listeners. Junior Watson, Matt Schofield, Duke Robillard, Magic Slim, and Saffire - The Uppity Blues Women make for a short festival in this edition. But, it's no less an hour of the finest blues you've never heard - the 228th Roadhouse.
It's officially summer in the northern hemisphere. The days are as long as they'll be all year, the temperature's rising and blues festivals are popping up all over the country like popcorn. Accordingly, the 227th Roadhouse has a decidedly summerlike feel. Candye Kane, Byther Smith, James Wheeler, Homemade Jamz Blues Band, and Jenni Muldaur deliver on the promise I make each and every week, season and season out: another hour of the finest blues you've never heard.
The waitresses and the bartender are working hard in this edition of The Roadhouse. The place is packed with patrons dressed to the nines, cutting loose on Saturday night before church on Sunday morning. Homemade Jamz Blues Band, Louisiana Red, Candye Kane, Zac Harmon, and The Mannish Boys lead the way for another hour of new music in The Roadhouse. It's the finest blues you've never heard - the 226th Roadhouse.
The blues suffered a monumental loss this week with the passing of Koko Taylor. An entire segment of this edition is dedicated to Koko, the first time I've done so. Also on tap, a continuation of the new music roll we've been on for a few weeks. Zac Harmon, Alex Dixon Band, Jason Ricci & New Blood, Rick Estrin & The Nightcats, and Koko Taylor build a sold wall of blues in the 225th Roadhouse. It's definitely another hour of the finest blues you've never heard.
What started out as a traditional jump blues show took a turn while pulling the music. While the 224th Roadhouse isn't an hour of jump blues in the purest sense, you'll likely see it as nouveau jump by the time this hour has passed. Rick Holmstrom, Mighty Lester, Roomful of Blues, Chicago Rhythm & Blues Kings, and Big Joe Turner will help you stir up the sawdust on The Roadhouse dance floor. It's an hour of upbeat blues in the 224th Roadhouse Podcast - another hour of the finest blues you've never heard.
The week brings another broad mix of new blues. Jason Ricci, Nick Moss & The Flip Tops, Bog Maceo, Doug MacLeod, and Mia Vermillion lead the mix. Well more than half the music in this edition is new or yet to be released. Come chair-dance with me in another hour of the finest blues you've never heard - the 223rd Roadhouse.
The 222nd Roadhouse proves that blues is alive and well, with an hour nearly full of brand new music. Roy Rogers, Buckwheat Zydeco, The Alex Dixon Band, Zac Harmon, and Big Daddy Wilson lead the hour with the freshest blues you'll find. It's truly another hour of the finest blues you've never heard - the 222nd Roadhouse.
We finish the two-show salute to the artists of the Blues Music Awards in Roadhouse 221 with an hour-long look at the 2009 winners. Billy Gibson Band, Willie "Big Eyes" Smith, Jeff Healey, Marcia Ball, and BUddy Guy lead the class of 2009 - the 2009 Blues Music Awards winners in the 221st Roadhouse Podcast.
Continuing an annual tradition in The Roadhouse, I'm featuring nominees for this week's Blues Music Awards in Memphis. Many of the artists made their debut in The Roadhouse in the past year. And, you heard new music here first from those who are more established. Cedric Burnside & Lightnin' Malcom, Buddy Guy, Curtis Salgado, Paul Rishell & Annie Raines, and Homemade Jamz Blues Band are just a few of the top nominees. We're skimming the cream from a large pool of blues in the 220th Roadhouse - another hour of great blues.
There's a common groove in the 219th Roadhouse, but you have to immerse yourself in the music to find it. Roy Rogers, Buckwheat Zydeco, Joe Price, Johnny Littlejohn, and Root Doctor propel this hour past faster than you might realize. And they're all building a groove that will sweep you up in another hour of the finest blues you've never heard, the 219th Roadhouse.
The 218th Roadhouse is packed full of new stuff - new music, new artists and a new radio affiliate. Albert Castiglia, U.P. Wilson, Shirley Johnson, Buckwheat Zydeco, and Tas Cru lay out the basic music framework. KJZA in Prescott, AZ joins the Roadhouse Radio family. All in all, the 218th Roadhouse is as new as the spring blossoms and another hour of the finest blues you've never heard.
The 217th Roadhouse takes a turn down a narrow gravel road to ... a roadhouse. The selections in this virtual roadhouse would fit perfectly in any real roadhouse anywhere in the world. Walter Trout, Cyril Neville, Keb Mo, Muddy Waters, and W.C. Clark headline the bill in the 217th Roadhouse with a full slate of other great artists in support. It's an hour of blues bor and best experienced in the dark, hot, crowded little club we call The Roadhouse.
Rising temperatures, longer days and the upcoming baseball season opener mean it's spring - and time for spring training. That little pile of songs that didn't get used in other shows perfectly fits the flow of the 216th Roadhouse. Junior Wells, Bobby Jones, Rod Price, Michael Bloomfield, Tad Robinson, and listener comments make for a great spring cleaning and another hour of the finest blues you've never heard.
New music and new listeners define the 215th Roadhouse. The hour is full with several blues label releases this week and the addition of another radio station to The Roadhouse Blues Network. Ronnie Earl & The Broadcasters, Mitch Kashmar, Bennie Smith, Billy Boy Arnold, Floyd Dixon, and several other great cuts from both new and old releases make for another hour of the finest blues you've never heard.
The Roadhouse stretches out a bit this week. We dig deeper than the usual 3- to 4-minute cut to uncover some great blues jams. John Mayall's Bluesbreakers, Damon Fowler, Howlin' Wolf, Bobby Parker, and Eric Lindell fill the hour, alongside listener comments. We stretch it out and mix it up in the 214th Roadhouse - another hour of the finest blues you've never heard.
88 keys fill the 213th Roadhouse with true roadhouse blues. The tradition of piano in the blues stretches from the Delta to St. Louis, Chicago and beyond. We bring the beat-up old upright to center stage in this edition with Champion Jack Dupree, Big Maceo, Otis Spann, Speckled Red, and James Booker. The 213th Roadhouse lights up the blues by tickling the ivories for another hour of the finest blues you've never heard.
The 212th Roadhouse Podcast puts a tap in your toes with a selection of upbeat blues cuts. Duke Robillard, Eric Lindell, Jimmy Dawkins, Lightning Hopkins, and Michael Burks lead the hour. If you're new to The Roadhouse and a little unsure of what to expect, this edition reflects the founding philosophy of the show. It's a cutting-edge hour of the finest blues you've never heard - the 212th Roadhouse.
The tiny bandstand in the Roadhouse lights up with a range of blues broad enough to suit everyone. Big Jack Johnson & The Oilers, Joanne Shaw Taylor, Kelly Joe Phelps, Sugarcane Collins, and John Nemeth take the stage as the bartender pours shots, scowling at anyone who leaves the bar without leaving a tip. Before the waitresses put the chairs up on the tables, you'll have no doubt you've experienced another hour of the finest blues you've never heard - the 211th Roadhouse Podcast.
The 210th Roadhouse Podcast takes on a medicinal quality. Super Chikan, John Nemeth, Robert Lockwood, Bobby Jones, and Mitch Kashmar bring sunshine and warm temperatures to The Roadhouse even as the snow continues to fall outside. It's a perfect cure for late winter cabin fever - another hour of the finest blues you've never heard.
The fifth year opens for The Roadhouse with a great variety of blues. Joanne Shaw Taylor, Elvin Bishop, Charlie Musselwhite, Paul Rishell & Annie Raines, and Rod Piazza & The Mighty Flyers peg the meters in the 209th Roadhouse Podcast. And, they'll keep you chair-dancing with another hour of the finest blues you've never heard.
208 shows, 2000 songs, 175 hours of music, 33 hours of talk, 1400 hours of show preparation, 1,463,000 downloads, 90 gigabytes of shows. It all adds up to the 4th anniversary edition of The Roadhouse. Candye Kane, Rod Piazza, Watermelon Slim, Siegel-Schwall, and Marie Knight are among the favorites in this special edition. Their music and your words comprise the 208th Roadhouse - 4 years of the finest blues you've never heard.
The 207th Roadhouse is a good mix of past and future. I dig into the vault of the early shows, warming up for next week's anniversary show, and come up with some real gems. There are also four tracks from new releases and requests from Twitter and Facebook, the future of Roadhouse interaction. Joanne Shaw Taylor, Paul Rishell & Annie Raines, Ian Siegel, Toni Price, and Lonnie Brooks crank things up for the 207th Roadhouse Podcast, another hour of the finest blues you've never heard.
Though I often mix blues styles in a show, I don’t often mix blues eras. The 206th Roadhouse brings in a few more pre-war blues cuts, mixing them with artists who are clearly influenced by these early blues. Sparks Brothers, Bo Carter, Muddy Waters, Kim Wilson, and Willie Kent highlight the hour. We’re sticking a few pre-war milemarkers in the ground to mark our passage up the long road of the blues in the 206th Roadhouse Podcast.
We've got the sawdust on the dance floor, the spots shining on the little stage in the corner, the bartender pouring drafts and mixing drinks, and everyone dressed to the nines. It is Saturday night in The Roadhouse and we're going back to the roots of the show. Albert Collins, Elmore James, Jr., Jimmy Burns, Mighty Joe Young, and Saffire-The Uppity Blues Women headline the bill from that little stage in the corner, inviting you one by one to get up and dance in the 205th Roadhouse.
In this edition of The Roadhouse, we go completely green, eschewing alternative fuels for a full hour of acoustic blues. Orville Johnson, Dion, Freddie King, Carey & Lurrie Bell, and Mississippi Fred McDowell power the hour - an hour of green blues, if you will - completely unplugged and acoustic in the 204th Roadhouse.
The 203rd Roadhouse welcomes 2009 with a mix of blues from both the center and the edges. Frank Morey, The Holmes Brothers, Ryan Reardon & The Levee Breakers, Delbert McClinton, and Sleepy John Estes provide some great tracks. It's all in a year's work - a new year and a new hour of the finest blues you've never heard: the 203rd Roadhouse Podcast.
The 202nd Roadhouse Podcast closes out the year on a high note. Johnny Dyer, Canned Heat, Kinsey Report, Sue Foley, and Chris Cain lead the charge out of 2008 and into 2009. And, everyone gets an ad-free version of the show, as has been the tradition for the past few years. It's another hour of the finest blues you've never heard - the 202nd Roadhouse Podcast.
As the end of the year rolls closer, the mood of The Roadhouse shifts to one that's completely laid back. Aaron Morre, Mel Brown & The Homewreckers, R&B Bombers, Koko Taylor, and Shannon Boshears lead us through this edition with piano, guitar, harp, and great vocals. That makes for another hour of the finest blues you've never heard - the 201st Roadhouse Podcast.
The 200th edition of The Roadhouse Podcast marks a strong year in the blues, with a look at my top 10 blues releases of 2008. We hold the milestone show celebration for the 4th anniversay in February and, instead, keep the spirit festive with more great blues Christmas cuts. It’s a celebration of the holidays and the best of 2008 in the 200th Roadhouse Podcast.
We mark the passing of a musical treasure in the 199th Roadhouse. In style and substance, we're making connections to Odetta. We also pick up the December Roadhouse tradition of holiday blues music. We feature Braithwaite & Whiteley, Frank Morey, Scrapper Blackwell, Sue Foley, and Charlie Musselwhite in this edition. Folk blues and Christmas blues make for another hour of the finest blues you've never heard - the 199th edition of The Roadhouse.
After two weeks of blues rock shows, The Roadhouse returns to basics this week with a strong hour of pure blues. Mighty Lester, Paul Rishell, Dave Fields, Cedric Burnside, and Aaron Moore are all part of the big broad picture of the blues and make for another hour of the finest blues you've never heard: the 198th Roadhouse Podcast.
The response to last week’s blues rock edition was so strong, I’ve got a follow-on this week. With some warm leftovers from last week and a few additional cuts from the library, the 197th Roadhouse is another strong blues rock edition. Omar and the Howlers, Bernard Allison, Robin Trower, Stephen Dale Petit, and Webb Wilder and the Beatnecks will propel you through 60 minutes with hardly any room to take a breath. Blues had a baby, you know, but it’s pretty much grown up into the music in this edition of The Roadhouse Podcast – a full hour of great blues rock.
It's a blues rock edition of The Roadhouse, complete with some great harder cuts from Jason Ricci, Elvin Bishop, Tommy Castro, Oli Brown, Time Bomb. This is about as rock as we're ever gonna get in The Roadhouse, but it does make for an upbeat and pretty powerful hour of the finest blues -- rock -- you've never heard - the 196th Roadhouse Podcast.
It's been a big week in the US. The election of a new president would put smiles of surprise and joy on the faces of many of the artists who laid the foundation of our favorite musical genre. With new music from Dave Gross, Super Chickan, Paull Reddick, and Shannon Boshears, the 195th Roadhouse is a celebration of the musical form that's truly and originally American, but played and loved throughout the world. It's another hour of the finest blues you've never heard - The Roadhouse Podcast.
The 194th Roadhouse Podcast is another high-variety edition, with a full hour of new and interesting blues. Son Seals, Matt Schofield, Super Chickan, Scrapper Blackwell, and Eddie "The Chief" Clearwater mark the diversity of this edition. It features artists who are new to The Roadhouse as well as a few old friends. It's another hour of the finest blues you've never heard - the 194th Roadhouse Podcast.
The 193rd Roadhouse Podcast is one solid groove; a show that came together as if struck by a muse. With Elvin Bishop, Byther Smith, Smokey Wilson, Cedric Burnside, and Marie Knight, the pieces all fit together seamelssly for another hour of the finest blues you've never heard.
The 192nd Roadhouse features blues that transcends a region or a specific time. Consistently popular and continuously updated, swing blues was the early basis for The Roadhouse. This edition features some of the best, including Big Joe Turner, Jackie Payne, Johnny "Big Moose" Walker, The Paladins, and Jay McShann. Just like me, you'll be grinning like a fool and chair-dancing throughout as the 192nd Roadhouse Podcast swings another hour of the finest blues you've never heard.
The 191st Roadhouse is another edition featuring the physics of wire and wood. Elvin Bishop, Otis Rush, Ronnnie Earl, Paul Reddick, and Guitar Shorty pour pure physics into pure blues and, like alchemists, create pure gold. It's another hour of the finest blues you've never heard - the 191st Roadhouse.
The 190th Roadhouse features music from Canada to San Francisco, from Minneapolis to New Orleans, Chicago to Arkansas. Also, quite a bit of new blues - including 5 cuts that were either released in the past two weeks or have actually yet to be released. Keep you right out at the cutting edge of the blues. It's another hour of the finest blues you've never heard - The Roadhouse Podcast.
With the equinox occurring in the past week, The Roadhouse moves into its sixteenth season. And, consistent with years past, autumn and spring seem to bring the most new blues releases. Chris Juergensen, Magic Slim, Glen Terry, Elvin Bishop, and Rory Block supply new tracks to a show that's nearly all new tracks. Another season rolls in and The Roadhouse rolls on with the 189th hour of the finest blues you've never heard.
After a trip to Chicago, The Roadhouse takes on a nice relaxed feeling. Albert Cummings, Carlos Del Junco, David "Honeyboy" Edwards, Big Jack Johnson & The Oilers, and Curtis Salgado reflect a certain distance from the world and a nice revitalization. It's another hour of the finest blues you've never heard - the 188th Roadhouse Podcast.
The Roadhouse takes on the feel of a smooth shuffle beat like a steady guitar with a little harp for coloration. No big bumps and no sharp edges. We've got Smokin' Joe Kubek and Bnois King, new music Albert Cummings and Eddie Turner, Corey Stevens, Sean Costello. It's another hour of the finest blues you've never heard - the 187th Roadhouse Podcast.
This week, we dig back into the vault for music from early editions of The Roadhouse. Artists from Garageband.com (now iLike) take a prominent role and prove to be as strong as ever. David Rotundo, Steve Johnson, Carlos Del Junco, Son House, and Eric Bibb propel us through this edition. Some old, some new but all blue in the 186th Roadhouse.
As summertime in the US winds down and the presidential election season gears up, we build a little shelter from the world in the 185th Roadhouse. Jay McShann, Elvin Bishop, Lil Ed, JJ Grey, and Carlos Del Junco are the mortar between those bricks in that shelter, helping to hold together a solid hour of the finest blues you've never heard. Come on in - the blues will protect you in the 185th Roadhouse Podcast.
This hour of The Roadhouse is chock full of great blues by artists you've heard of and artists you haven't. It's music from Chicago and Dockery Farms, from St. Louis and Dallas, from the 1920s and 2008. Sometimes the essence of a thing is so clear it needs no further explanation or exploration. That's the deal in the 184th Roadhouse - it's blues, unaffected, pure and simple. Big George Jackson, Lil' Ed & The Blues Imperials, Magic Sam, Charley Patton, and EG Kight paint the deepest shades of blue you can imagine. Deep and fine and simple: the 184th Roadhouse Podcast.
The 183rd Roadhouse Podcast is an hour of brand new music. Music from the past few months and the months ahead make up a nice snapshot of the state of blues during four months in 2008. The hour includes Walter Horton, Alexis P. Suter Band, Carlos Del Junco, Legendary Rhythm & Blues Revue, Big Dave McLean and some other surprises, including a few pre-release cuts from the Roadhouse family of participating blues labels. It's an hour of the finest blues you've never heard - the 183rd Roadhouse Podcast.
We hop on a train in Chicago's Union Station this week, heading for points west. Crossing through the plains, the mountains and the desert, we arrive at the place where the Pacific meets the land, and blues meets jazz. West Coast blues fill the hour of the 182nd Roadhouse Podcast, with Jimmy McCracklin, Lowell Fulson, Johnny Otis, T-Bone Walker, and Sonny Rhodes welcoming us to the fine tradition of show blues. It's an hour of the coolest blues you've never heard on the California Zephyr - the 182nd Roadhouse Podcast.
There's a full range of styles in this edition of The Roadhouse. Travis "Moonchild" Haddix, Percy Strother, Liz Mandeville, Erja Lyytinen, Holmes Brothers. It's all the marbles - the cat's eyes, the aggies, the jaspers, the steelies. Though you had to be a marbles player as a kid to understand from those terms, you'll certainly understand the variety of blues in this edition of The Roadhouse. It's another hour of the finest blues you've never heard - the 181st Roadhouse.
There's no particular place to go in this edition of The Roadhouse - no real plan or theme. There is, however, a solid hour of blues with a surprise around every corner. I've got Lonnie Brooks, Hubert Sumlin, Dave Gross, Bo Ramsey, Erja Lyytinen - just an indication of the variety of artists in the 180th Roadhouse. They may be diverse, but the artists all fit together nicely to form another hour of the finest blues you've never heard - the 180th Roadhouse Podcast.
It's the tiny instrument that most closely resembles the human voice in range, timbre and emotion. The harmonica takes center stage in the 179th Roadhouse, and it's an hour of hot blues harp. Watermelon Slim, Mississippi Heat, Big Dave McLean, Junior Wells, and Mannish Boys takes center stage as the backbone of the blues. It's an hour of fine harp playing, and another hour of the finest blues you've never heard.
We top off the tank this week to provide the necessary fuel for the upcoming 7 days. But don't worry - it's not nearly as expensive as the gas pump. We're pumping Jimmy Burns, Carol Fran & Clarence Holliman, Junior Wells, Jolly Jumper & Big Moe, and Robin Rogers into the tank of the '57 Cadillac convertible of the blues. It's a 98 octane edition of The Roadhouse and another hour of the finest blues you've never heard.
The 177th Roadhouse maps new territory – new artists to the show and blues styles I’ve not included in previous shows. JD & The Straight Shot, Steve James & Del Rey, Carolina Chocolate Drops, JJ Grey & Mofro, and a little Professor Longhair take us off in those different directions. Though the styles are different, the feel is the same – another hour of the finest blues you’ve never heard.
As blues festival season gears up in the US, we create a festival of our own. Long days and bright sunlight create a perfect mood for Bluesiana Hurricane, Buddy Guy, Elmore James, Jr., Robin Rogers, and Oli Brown. In anticipation of my own trip to the Mississippi Valley Blues Festival, the 176th Roadhouse is a festival all its own, and another hour of the finest blues you've never heard.
We shift up a gear in this edition of The Roadhouse, back to the hallmark of the show – the upbeat, uptempo blues that will keep you moving in your chair. Susan Tedeschi, Downchild Blues Band, Watermelon Slim & The Workers, Oliver Buck, and Rosco Gordon keep the pace moving, with some surprises along the way. It’s another hour of the finest blues you’ve never heard – the 175th Roadhouse Podcast.
In the face of a 500-year flood in Iowa City, we ratchet up the defiance of Mother Nature with an hour of great blues. Songs about floods, rain, rivers, and water fill the hour, bringing a sense of determination and resolve. Cuts from Bernard Allison, Big Mama Thornton, The Holmes Brothers, Toni Lynn Washington, Kansas City Joe and Memphis Minnie allow us to stare straight into the water this week and resolve that we will not be defeated. In defiance of Mother Nature - the 174th Roadhouse Podcast.
The 173rd Roadhouse provides a little shelter from a tough old world. And, it's a lively shelter this week with Kenny "Blue" Ray, Big Jack Johnson, Joe Louis Walker, Eric Bibb, and Michael Burks. Throw in a little blues knowledge, a little conversation with that stoic man behind the bar, and a new member of The Roadhouse family of permissions-based labels, and you've got the perfect hour-long weekly escape. It's truly the finest blues you've never heard - the 172nd Roadhouse Podcast.
The 172nd Roadhouse Podcast features new music from Homemade Jamz Bues Band and Janiva Magness, public domain music from Sister Rosetta Tharp, and great cuts from Elvin Bishop and John Hammond. With a groove from start to finish, it's truly another hour of the finest blues you've never heard - the 172nd Roadhouse Podcast.
The 171st Roadhouse is a free-for-all of blues, featuring new music by Homemade Jamz Blues Band and Janiva Magness. Albert Castiglia, Duke Robillard and John Nemeth round out an hour of blues that will have you busy in your chair. It's another hour of the finest blues you've never heard - the 171st Roadhouse Podcast.
The Little Blue House on the Wetlands is swathed in perfect summer sunshine this week. As a result, The Roadhouse takes a turn toward the youth and carefree attitude of the season. JW-Jones, Dani Wilde, Homemade Jamz Blues Band, Mike Zito, and John-Alex Mason provide a view of where the blues might be in the next few decades. It's a summer youth edition of The Roadhouse, and another hour of the finest blues you've never heard.
The 169th Roadhouse looks back at this week's Blues Music Awards, held in Tunica, MS on Thursday. Tab Benoit, Bubby Rush, Rod Piazza & The Mighty Flyers, Mike Zito, and Koko Taylor take the stage. Some new artists also get to share the spotlight with the legends and 2008 BMA winners. It's an award-winning edition of The Roadhouse and another hour of the finest blues you've never heard.
New blues reverberate throughout The Roadhouse this week. Unlike last week's edition, the 168th Roadhouse is primarily new blues releases. With new music from Eden Brent, Dani Wilde, Doug MacLeod, Julian Fouth, and JW-Jones, it's a good hour-long ride of cutting-edge blues music. And, it's another hour of the finest blues you've never heard.
For this edition of The Roadhouse, I've got an hour of introductions for you - a show full of artists who have never been featured. They're not necessarily new artists, but they're all brand new to The Roadhouse, and they're a good indication of the big broad world of blues lying out there on the horizon. Chicago Rhythm & Blues Kings, Kevin Gordon, Grayson Capps, Darell Nulisch & Texas Heat, and Joe Calicott set the stage for another great hour of blues - an hour of introductions to artists brand new to The Roadhouse.
The 166th Roadhouse is a mess o' blues. It's pretty heavy on guitar and harp. It features youngsters and veterans, artists previously featured in The Roadhouse, and some new to the show. Sue Foley, Jason Ricci, David "Honeyboy" Edwards, Sugar Blue, and a moving track from the final Sean Costello CD. It's an hour packed with blues - a mess o' blues - the 166th Roadhouse Podcast.
After a week away, The 165th Roadhouse starts at the beginning, runs through the middle, and ends at the end. It's a puzzle of blues that fell together seemingly on its own, including King Biscuit Boy, Sean Costello, Marcia Ball, Eric Bibb, and Cold Blue Steel. Those are just the milemarkers, though, in an hour-long trek through the finest blues you've never heard: the 165th Roadhouse Podcast.
While I take care of some family business in Colorado, we rewind one of the most popular Roadhouse shows posted. Enjoy the big guitars, and I'll be back to new shows next week.
We roll into the streets of Chicago for a one-city edition of The Roadhouse. In the city where electric blues was born, we grab Johnny Shines, Muddy Waters, Big Bill Broonzy, Buddy Guy, and Koko Taylor to lead the show, with ten more great cuts from legendary Chicago blues artists. It's all about Chicago in the 163rd Roadhouse, and it's another hour of the finest blues you've never heard.
The Little Blue House on the Wetlands moves officially into spring this week, and the music in this edition reflects the volatility of spring in the Midwestern US. Johnny Nicholas & Little Walter, Cold Blue Steel, Michael Burks, Johnny Winter, Odetta are the featured artists. We're in little clubs, big studios, acoustic, electric, male, female. The perfect selection of music to match the wild moods of spring. Seasons may change, but the 162nd Roadhouse is another hour of the finest blues you've never heard.
There's plenty more new music in the 161st Roadhouse Podcast. Two more new releases from Alligator, a couple of tracks released in the past few weeks, and cuts from upcoming Northern Blues. Slick Ballinger, Marcia Ball, Samuel James, Jason Ricci, Michael Burks - a full picture of the blues, and much of it brand new. It's another hour of the finest blues you've never heard - the 161st Roadhouse Podcast.
The 160th Roadhouse Podcast is a veritable showcase of new blues music. Fully one-third of the cuts in this edition are pre-release, or released only in the past week. Eddy "The Cheif" Clearwater, Roman Carter, Smokin' Joe Kubek & Bnois King, Bob Brozman, and Samuel James put the sawdust on The Roadhouse dance floor to good use: you'll want to move and dance for the full hour. It's an hour of the finest new blues you've never heard - the 160th Roadhouse Podcast.
The 159th Roadhouse Podcast is an upbeat affair. You might call it jump, you might call it swing, you might call it boogie. There's even a liberal sprinkling of West Coast blues. But if you follow the walking bass, you'll know that's it clearly a jumpin' edition of The Roadhouse. Mark Hummel, Jay McShann, Ana Popovic, William Clarke, and Rick Holmstrom will make you move and groove for another hour of the finest blues you've never heard - the 159th Roadhouse Podcast.
The Roadhouse takes a twisy road this week. It's one of those editions where I started screening music and just let it lead wherever. Ivory Joe Hunter, Curtis Salgado, Calvin Owens Blues Orchestra, Ian Siegal and Matt Schofield, and Joe Louis Walker take the driver's seat to no place in particular. Destination or not, the 158th Roadhouse is yet another hour of the finest blues you've never heard.
The Roadhouse 157 is chock full of new music, catching up on new releases from the past few months. Taking us deep into the Roadhouse atmosphere, Smokin' Joe Kubek and Bnois King, Ian Siegal, Honeyboy Edwards, Rick Holmstrom, and Charlie Musselwhite encourage plenty of chair-dancing. It's the first edition of the fourth year of The Roadhouse, an hour of the finest blues you've never heard.
The 156th edition of The Roadhouse celebrates three years of the finest blues you've never heard. The focus is on artists you probably heard first in The Roadhouse; some great music from Garageband.com, some artists who have taken the blues world by storm in the past three years, and some who had a great reputation among their peers but not a wider following. Artist, listeners and fellow podcasters participate in the celebration, as well. It's the third anniversay of The Roadhouse - the finest blues you've never heard.
923 miles straight south of Iowa City lies the biggest party in the country this week. We're heading to Mardi Gras in New Orleans for a celebration of all things zydeco, cajun, swamp, and boogie. Beau Jocque, Katie Webster, Clifton Chenier, Professor Longhair, and James Booker are part of the revelry of Fat Tuesday in New Orleans. Come on along for the king cake on Bourbon Street, the Krewe of Trucks parade on Canal Street, dubloons, beads, and total immersion in another hour of the finest blues you've never heard - the 155th Roadhouse Podcast.
The 154th Roadhouse investigates the mystery of a number pair: 6 and 3. It lies at the heart of the blues, but it's simplicity is deceptive. Son Seals, Johnny Winter, Robert Cray, Robert Johnson, Michael Bloomfield - all have mastered the essence of the blues that lies in these numbers: 6 strings and 3 chords. It's a mystical blues guitar edition of The Roadhouse, another hour of the finest blues you've never heard.
The 153rd Roadhouse slips off into the no temp zone. Temperatures in beautiful Iowa City, IA are hovering at 0 degrees Farenheit, with temps in The Roadhouse Studios at 58 F. But I've found few better ways to warm up the room than an hour of the finest blues you've never heard. This week, those cuts include Big Jack Johnson with Kim Wilson, Joe Pitts, Mason Casey, John-Alex Mason, and Carlos del Junco. New and old, hot and cool - it's the 153rd hour of The Roadhouse Podcast.
The 152nd Roadhouse heads down the road to destinations unknown, stopping at every little greasy spoon along the way. The blue plate special this week includes Big George Jackson, Hubert Sumlin, Bee Houston, Z-Da, and Bo Ramsey. Of course, a great meal doesn't happen with morsels alone. There's plenty of other sustenance on the plate to fill you up in this, the 152nd hour of the finest blues you've never heard.
The 151st Roadhouse starts 2008 with an eclectic mixture of blues. Artists of all ages, from all regions, and representing many styles make for a solid mix of the finest blues you've never heard. Harmonica Red, Eli Cook, Doug MacLeod, James "Thunderbird" Davis, and Roman Carter represent the broad range of the blues in this edition - the 151st hour of The Roadhouse Podcast.
It's the last show of 2007 and the 150th edition of The Roadhouse Podcast. We merge those two milestones in this edition: a party feel to close out the year comprised of some of my favorite artists from the first 149 shows. As an added gift, subscribers to the ad-supported version of The Roadhouse get the ad-free Premium edition to ring in the new year. Kevin Mark, Billy Jones, Janiva Magness, Marie Knight, 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. Have a great New Year with the 150th Roadhouse Podcast.
The 149th Roadhouse falls into a time warp, with the clock moving through the hour with surprising speed. Joe Pitts, Son House, Mike Morgan & The Crawl, Roomful of Blues, and Memphis Minnie will leave you wanting more at the endo of another hour of the finest blues you've never heard - the 149th Roadhouse Podcast.
The breadth of blues in the 148th Roadhouse Podcast might come as a surprise to new listeners, but the regulars know just what to expect. A great mix of music from David Wilcox, Watermelon Slim, Magic Sam, The Rounders, and Carey Bell. Plus, two new pre-release cuts from our friends at Alligator Records. It's a broad hour, but still the finest blues you've never heard - the 148th Roadhouse Podcast.
The 147th Roadhouse speaks the global language of the blues. Liquid Groove Mojo, Calvin Owens Blues Orchestra, Grady Gaines and the Texas Upsetters, Shemekia Copeland, and Chris Michie Band provide great blues music that everyone can appreciate and understand. We're counting down the shows remaining in 2007 with another hour of the finest blues you've never heard - the 147th Roadhouse Podcast.
In the midst of a typically nasty snow and ice storm, The Little Blue House on the Wetlands heats up with a near-full slate of independent artists. B.C. Read, Bluesman Tom, Chainsaw Dupont, Chris Bell, and Long John Baldry are but a few of the great artists featured in this edition. It’s another hot hour of the finest blues you’ve never heard - the 146th Roadhouse Podcast.
The 145th Roadhouse mixes it up between new artists and old. The Rounders, Big Maceo, Big Bill Broonzy, Delbert McClinton, and Angela Strehli represent a full scope of blues. It's another hour of the finest blues you've never heard - the 145th Roadhouse Podcast.
After a few weeks of tearing it up with electric guitars and jump blues, The Roadhouse slows down a bit. This edition is more acoustic, less electric. Anson Funderburgh and the Rockets, Kenny Neal and Billy Branch, Doug MacLeod, Mississippi John Hurt, and the Joanna Connor Band bring a mixture of the blues to the 144th Roadhouse Podcast that will carry you straight through another hour of the finest blues you've never heard.
Blues doesn't have to be about an old guy on his front porch. Just to prove the point, this edition of The Roadhouse is chock full of upbeat jump and boogie blues. Lil' Cliff and the Cliffhangers, T-Bone Walker, Mighty Lester, Nappy Brown, and Peppermint Harris provide some of the best upbeat blues from yesterday and today. It's an uptempo hour of the finest blues you've never heard - the 143rd Roadhouse Podcast.
The 142nd Roadhouse is an hour of big blue guitars. Acoustic, electric, uptempo, laid back, hard, soft - it's all here. Albert Cummings, Tommy Castro, Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown, Robert Cray, Peter Green - some of the finest blues guitars you'l ever hear in another hour of the finest blues you've never heard, the 142nd Roadhouse Podcast.
Some small format changes in this edition of The Roadhouse - all intended to keep me out of the way of the music. But that doesn't diminish the fine quality of the music. Johnny Laws, Mofro, Memphis Minnie, Long John Hunter, and Susan Tedeschi lead the way in another hour of the finest blues you've never heard, the 141st Roadhouse Pod cast.
This edition of The Roadhouse returns, in part, to the roots of the show. More than half the artists featured are truly independent. They’re the artists that are out every night, gigging in your local clubs, and scraping to put together the funds to finance the next CD. With Harrison Kennedy, J.D. and The Straight Shot, Brad Wilson, Paul Reddick, and The Deb Rhymer Band on tap, it’s truly independent’s day in the 140th Roadhouse - another hour of the finest blues you’ve never heard.
This edition of The Roadhouse is served up as a series of seemingly unconnected threads. Step back, though, and it all starts to make sense. A little blues rock, some acoustic blues, some jump blues, a couple of cuts with a gospel tinge to them, maybe a little R&B. I can’t really pick out a theme, but they do seem to fit together pretty well under the ramshackle roof of The Roadhouse. James Harman, Saturday Night Fish Fry, Marie Knight, Hound Dog Taylor, Albert King - all great artists the 139th hour of The Roadhouse.
You can ride the blues highway all week long, but the regular Saturday stop is a little dive with a small stage, a friendly barkeep and sawdust on the dance floor. You know that when the houselights go down, the temperature comes up and the opening chords fill the air, you’re in for another hour of the finest blues you’ve never heard. That little dive is The Roadhouse. Johnny Copeland, Buckwheat Zydeco with Sonny Landreth, Roman Carter, Roxanne Potvin, Mavis Staples crowd the little bandstand in this edition to bring you the 138th Roadhouse Podcast.
The 137th Roadhouse is one of those editions that starts on high and never lets up. Great blues music is a tough taskmaster. And the toughest taskmasters leave no mercy. So, brace yourself, because the hour ahead is driven by the merciless pace of the music. Henry Butler, Big Jack Johnson, Roman Carter, Louisiana Red, and James “Thunderbird” Davis show no mercy and take no prisoners as we roll through another hour of the finest blues you’ve never heard – The 137th Roadhouse.
With the final summer colds invading The Roadhouse Studios, it’s time to call on the music to cure all ills – blues, blues, blues. Mason Casey, Kim Wilson, R.L. Burnside, Marie Knight, and Solomon Burke provide such a great motivation for chair-dancing that you might just anything that’s ailing you. It’s blues medicine in the 136th Roadhouse Podcast – the finest blues you’ve never heard.
The Roadhouse takes on an international flavor in the 135th edition. Artists from Canada, Australia, Great Britain, and The Netherlands take center stage, proving that the great road of the blues is worldwide. Bill Wyman’s Rhythm Kings, Kate Meehan, Sam Myers and Anson Funderburgh, Mike Andersen Band, and Angela Strehli lead the pack in an international hour of the finest blues you’ve never heard – the 135th Roadhouse Podcast.
As we roll into September, baseball rolls into the final divisional races of the season. September in The Roadhouse always reminds me of the 7th inning stretch: a time when you hunker down for the final few innings of the game. September in Iowa is the time when you really become aware that hunkering down for the remainder of the year is just around the corner. This week, we prepare for the final months of the calendar with R.L. Burnside, Walter “Shakey” Horton, Larry McCray, Rory Block, Doug MacLeod. It’s the 7th inning stretch for 2007 in the 134th Roadhouse Podcast – another hour of the finest blues you’ve never heard.
This edition of The Roadhouse celebrates some big events in the past week. A new Roadhouse version (The Roadhouse Deluxe), the addition of M.C. Records to The Roadhouse Family, and a new terrestrial radio station pickup in KPVL, Postville, IA. To follow the big events, I’ve got big blues. Big Jack Johnson, Teresa James, Kim Wilson, Marie Knight, and The Bluesbusters will keep you rolling along for a full hour, completely immersed in yet another week of the finest blues you’ve never heard.
I can’t really put a single frame around the mood of this edition of The Roadhouse, so let’s just say we’re diving into the cool deep pond of the blues. Nick Curran and the Nightlifes, Omar Kent Dykes and Jimmy Vaughan, Stacy Mitchhart, High Octane, and The Insomniacs provide the perfect backdrop to crack open a cold one, sit back and enjoy another hour of the finest blues you’ve never heard – the 132nd Roadhouse Podcast.
It's another boogie blast edition of The Roadhouse. While some don't think of it right away, boogie blues are as integral to the genre as a lone man on his porch with an acoustic guitar. Saffire-The Uppity Blues Women, Pee Wee Crayton, James Solberg Band, George Smith, and Jimmy Yancy give you the perfect opportunity to scuffle the sawdust on The Roadhouse dance floor. The 131st Roadhouse Podcast will leave you with no reason to act anything but the fool.
It's time to open up the vault in The Roadhouse, and feature classic blues. This edition features classic artists, classic cuts and classic styles, all while still providing the musical motivation to keep your toes tapping. Big Mama Thornton, Fenton Robinson, Freddie King, Memphis Minnie, and Son Seals throw the classic vault wide open for another hour of the finest blues you've never heard - the 130th Roadhouse Podcast.
A Roadhouse perfect for chair-dancing is also the ideal accompaniment to your cardio routine. This upbeat edition features great cuts from Maurice John Vaughn, John Mayall's Bluesbreakers, Roxanne Potvin, Slick Ballinger, and R.L. Watson. A two-and-a-half-year labor of love rolls on with another hour of the finest blues you've never heard - the 129th Roadhouse Podcast.
I do love it when we get to introduce new labels to The Roadhouse family. This is one of those weeks, with the addition of Arhoolie and Fuel 2000. Both have great traditional and acoustic blues catalogs, and the 128th edition of The Roadhouse Podcast follows that trail. The tough tradition of the blues is showcased with Earl Hooker, Mance Lipscomb, Chris Bell, Etta James and Reverend Gary Davis. They were and visionaries, as are the newest labels to The Roadhouse family. It’s a tough tradition, but one that’s maintained and honored in the 128th Roadhouse Podcast.
The hoppin’ little juke joint we call The Roadhouse is full of customers dressed to the nines. The crowded bandstand will keep you dancing on the sawdust dance floor for another hour of the finest blues you’ve never heard. As the bartender pours a steady stream of draws and shots, you’ll be entertained by North Mississippi Allstars, Memphis Minnie, Arthur Adams, Tinsley Ellis, and Sam Myers with Anson Funderburgh. There are just enough slow blues to pull that special person close for a dance. Otherwise, it’s all upbeat in the 127th Roadhouse Podcast.
A crossroads is a place where traffic can be pretty heavy, and where diversity converges. Traffic in The Roadhouse crossroads this week was heavy enough to bring down the database for a few days. The 126th Roadhouse is a real crossroads – a place where musicians from all over the world have converged for another hour of the finest blues you’ve never heard. New music from Mem Shannon, Ana Popovic, Elvin Bishop, and Matt Schofield. Plus some great cuts from Willie “Big Eyes” Smith, Earl King and Debbie Davies. Welcome to the crossroads – the 126th Roadhouse Podcast.
Only three words can describe the weather in Iowa this week: hot, hot, hot. Temperatures in 90s F have definitely influenced the 125th Roadhouse Podcast. Though I spent the morning pulling music in the air-conditioning with a huge glass of sun tea on the desk, the heat crept into the musical selections. Jimmy Witherspoon, Snooks Eaglin, Junior Wells, Chris Cain, and Curtis Salgado provide the weekly blues fix you’ve come to expect from The Roadhouse. A little guitar, a little harp, some big horns – all in all, another hour of the finest blues you’ve never heard in the 125th Roadhouse Podcast.
We’re following the mood of the music in this edition of The Roadhouse. Twelve great contemporary blues cuts that blaze a path all their own. And, it’s a fine chair-dancing mood from start to finish. Tommy Castro, Duke Robillard, West of Memphis, Shemekia Copeland, and Charlie Wood lead the way in a show that’s filled with new blues music. Don’t let your co-workers look at you too funny when they catch you rocking in your own world to another hour of the finest blues you’ve never heard – the 124th Roadhouse Podcast.
If you’ve ever become a regular in any eating or drinking establishment, you’ll understand the underlying theme in this week’s edition of The Roadhouse. It’s all about the atmosphere that draws you in and keeps you coming back. Though it happens for a bunch of reasons, music is the most important element of the atmosphere in a roadhouse. And, the 123rd edition of The Roadhouse is all about that atmosphere. Patrick Vining, Maria Muldaur, Koko Taylor, Walter “Shaky” Horton, and Harper set a crowded stage and fill the place with a mood that will draw you back regularly. It’s the 123rd hour of the finest blues you’ve never heard – The Roadhouse.
Sometimes a mood just falls together as I’m pulling the music for The Roadhouse. That’s the case this week. Every cut I pulled was hard with guitars and bordering on the blues rock side of the crossroads. So, I followed what was clearly a mood in the 122nd Roadhouse Podcast, the “Rock You Right” edition. Omar and the Howlers, Tinsley Ellis, Louisiana Mean Tooth Grin, Popa Chubby, and Tracy Conover are gonna have you at the edge of your seat with devastatingly tough takes on the blues. This edition of The Roadhouse might make a good case for iPod volume limiting. Don’t say you weren’t warned. It’s another hour of the finest blues you’ve never heard – the 122nd Roadhouse Podcast.
Sunshine fills The Roadhouse this week - summer sunshine. Inspired by an XM Radio set while driving home from work on Friday, I pull out the stops in this edition. Alex Wilson, Johnny "Clyde" Copeland, Charles Avery, Eric Hughes Band, and The Mighty Lester fill the 121st Roadhouse Podcast with a definite summer feel. Some new summer releases add to all-out pursuit of summer fun. It's the 121st hour of the finest blues you've never heard - The Roadhouse Podcast.
In the first full week after the Memorial Day weekend in the US, we’re full-on into unofficial summer, full of sunny skies, long days, and a generally pretty upbeat mood. And, we break out the ‘57 Cadillac convertible of the blues for a long full-speed road trip down Highway 61. Little Charlie and the Nightcats, Robert Ward, Mark Hummel, Roy Rogers, and Rod Piazza and the Mighty Flyers are going to make it nearly impossible to avoid moving around in your seat. It’s a good the the ‘57 has huge bench seats, because you won’t be able to sit still. Don’t buckle in, just let it all out for another hour of the finest blues you’ve never heard.
Don't let anyone tell you that the blues is dead. The 119th Roadhouse Podcast provides ample proof that great labels continue to release great blues music. Whether they're pushing the blues off into new directions or sticking close to the roots, these new releases provide ample evidence of a thriving genre we call our favorite. E.C. Scott, Anders Osborne, Roxanne Potvin, Rick Holmstromm, and Smokin' Joe Kubek and B'Nois King provide both traditional and new blues in the 119th Roadhouse Podcast, from the early 20th century straight through to the early 21st. We honor the traditions in the 119th Roadhouse - another hour of the finest blues you've never heard.
We return the freewheelin' feel of The Roadhouse this week, with the Blues Music Awards shows behind us. Dave Hole, Hamilton Loomis, Anson Funderburgh, Roosevelt Sykes, and Saffire - The Uppity Blues Women are just some of the artists you'll love in this edition. It may be a tough genre to pin down, but you're sure to find each and every artist in the 118th Roadhouse Podcast deeply rooted in the blues - the finest blues you've never heard.
This week, we’re focused on the winners of the 2007 Blues Music Awards, though not exclusively. We pull the major winners into The Roadhouse, include some additional new music received this week, and say goodbye to a Chicago blues legend. Any way to you look at it, it’s another fine hour from The Roadhouse Studios in beautiful Iowa City, Iowa – the 117th Roadhouse Podcast
In the first edition of The Roadhouse Spotlight, who better to turn the spotlight on than an old friend of The Roadhouse, Candye Kane. With a new CD out in two weeks, it's a good time to take a look at the life and career of this blues dynamo. It's a new weekly feature in The Roadhouse - The Roadhouse Spotlight.
It's a tailgate party for this week's Blues Music Awards in the 116th Roadhouse Podcast. This hour features artists nominated for the prestigious awards, including Ronnie Baker Brooks, John Mooney, janiva Magness, Slick Ballinger, and Rod Piazza and the Mighty Flyers. It may not be the finest blues you've never heard, but it is the finest of past year - much of which you heard first here in The Roadhouse. The 116th Roadhouse Podcast - celebrating the best of the best with a tailgate party for the Blues Music Awards.
The 115th Roadhouse Podcast is a mish-mash of styles, including some overflow from Roadhouse 114. With just a few exceptions, this edition is less jump and a bit more serious than your normal Roadhouse. Some would call it a bit more blues, but I'd just call it another hour of the finest blues you've never heard. Carey Bell, Hamilton Loomis, Rory Block, Luther Allison, and Roscoe Gordon take center stage in this hour, with several other great cuts rounding out the hour. Overflow or not, you'll know you've spent another hour with some fine, fine blues - the 115th Roadhouse Podcast.
The 114th Roadhouse Podcast provides shelter from the storms of life in a world that seems to get tougher by the day. And, isn't the blues all about a little shelter? The walls of The Roadhouse are strong and the foundation firm with Billy Jones, Solomon Burke, Earl King, Watermelon Slim, and Anders Osborne. You can step right inside, pull up a chair at a table with some friends, and shed the cares of the world for another hour - the 114th hour - of the finest blues you've never heard.
With the grass getting greener, the temperatures rising and Major League Baseball into its third week, the things of most importance come to the forefront in The Little Blue House on the Wetlands. I call them the four Bs: blues, baseball, bikes, and my babies. Closing the gap on all four brings a very upbeat mood to The Roadhouse Studios. And that mood is refected in this edition of The Roadhouse. Roy Rogers, Lady Bianca, Henry Gray, Brad Wilson, and Ronnie Earl and The Broadcasters all lift the spirits with some great uptempo blues. We're looking toward the summer in the 113th Roadhouse - rolling out the '57 Cadillac convertible of the blues and heading out on the highway for an hour-long cruise through the finest blues you've never heard.
The 112th Roadhouse Podcast is all of a style - a rough edge to the blues. Whether it's music from old sources or new, it's all got that edge. Holland K. Smith, Koko Taylor, Kansas City Joe and Memphis Minnie, Kokomo Arnold, and R.L. Burnside take the lead with a handful of other great artists included. It's another hour of the finest - and toughest - blues you've never heard: the 112th Roadhouse Podcdast.
Old, new, it’s all blue in the 111th Roadhouse Podcast. This hour is chock full of fine blues, including some overlooked classics and cuts that have yet to be released. It’s also got some big names, including Solomon Burke, Johnny Copeland, Johnny Shines, Curtis Salgado, and John Hammond. Whether it’s new music to The Roadhouse or just plain new, these great cuts make for another hour of the finest blues you’ve never heard – the 111th Roadhouse Podcast.
It's been a huge week in The Roadhouse. With the addition of five more visionary blues labels to the permissions-base family of Roadhouse labels, the catalog of available music has increased by roughly 2,500 songs. That also means a boatload of music in this edition that I haven't been able to play until now, including Freddie King, Mike Morgan & The Crawl, Slick Ballinger, Dr. John, and Reverend Gary Davis. The 110th Roadhouse is, in fact, almost completely music new to the show from great new additions to The Roadhouse label family. It's another hour of the finest blues you've never heard - the 110th Roadhouse Podcast.
The 109th Roadhouse Podcast pays tribute to the visionaries - the labels who have made The Roadhouse possible by providing permissions, and the artists who make the music. Bernard Alliison, Carey Bell, Muddy Waters, Hound Dog Taylor, and George "Harmonica" Smith are among a full slate of both contemporary and classic blues artists. It's visionaries all around - both labels and musicians - in the 109th edition of The Roadhouse Podcast.
Once again, we brush up against what might actually be a theme show in the 108th Roadhouse Podcast. It's a boogie blast, full of rolling piano, growling harps and all the uptempo jump blues you'll need to get through the week. This week's edition features Roy Rogers and Norton Buffalo, Charlie Wood, John Long, Charlie Musselwhite, and The Twisters. Chair-dancing and steering-wheel-pounding is encouraged for this hour of the finest blues you've never heard - the 108th Roadhouse Podcast.
The music of the 107th Roadhouse Podcast came as a series of small surprises throughout the week - cuts that popped up in the iPod and just stayed with me. They lead us down a bit mellower path than the past few shows, diverting us away for a week from the harder edge of recent shows. Sunset Travelers, Sue Foley, Doug Cox and Sam Hurrie, Dave Gross, and Harry Manx take the lead in yet another hour of the finest blues you've never heard.
A brutal winter storm sweeps into the Midestern US this weekend, leaving The Roadhouse Studios encased in a solid block of ice. But, the music keeps the place hot an hopping. Luther Allison, Rory Block and Bob Margolin lead the way, with additional new music from Billy Jones, Tommy Castro and JJ Grey and Mofro. If you're in a cold clime, stay inside and chair dance. If it's warm where you live, take it outside and think of the frozen Roadhouse Studios when you do. It's another hour of the finest blues you've never heard - the 106th Roadhouse Podcast.
The 105th Roadhouse Podcast starts year three with a broad view of the blues. Those broad stylings start with great cuts from Mitch Woods and His Rocket 88s, Blind Willie McTell, Tommy Castro, Snooky Pryor, and Clarence “Gatemouth” Brown. Strong and lean from that starting point, the 105th Roadhouse Podcast is a little more than an hour of the finest blues you’ve never heard.
Two years on, the Roadhouse rolls on with an edition that rolls back the calendar. The two-year anniversay of The Roadhouse is an hour of some of my favorites fro the previous 103 editions, but certainly not all. Some of the great artists include Joe White, Susan Tedeschi, Kelly Richey Band, Shannon Boshears, and Johnny Nicholas. Thanks to everyone who has subscribed, listened, mentioned, or written about The Roadhouse since its inception. It's not the finest blues you've never heard, but it's still the finest.
A chance meeting this week provides strong motivation to smoke the place up this week. We’re rolling with Formerly Brothers, Double Trouble, Louisiana Bob Kirkpatrick, and new music from Tommy Castro and JJ Grey & Mofro. The next to last show of the second year of The Roadhouse is the 103rd hour of the finest blues you’ve never heard.
Temperatures in beautiful Iowa City, IA are headed toward single digits Farenheit. That means we need fuel for the blues furnace. And, we've got it this week in the form of Koko Taylor, Eddie C. Campbell, Billy Boy Arnold, Smokey Wilson, and Lowell Fulson. I've got details on a Roadhouse event upcoming this week, as well. You can easily participate, so listen closely. Hot blues and a great community - it's the stuff of another hour of the finest blues you've never heard: the 102nd Roadhouse Podcast.
Things are still winding down in The Roadhouse from the excitement of the 100th edition. Since we just can't maintain the pace of that edition in every show, I'm mixing it up in the 101st edition with more variety in tempo and style. Pee Wee Crayton, Tom Doughty, Otis Taylor, E.C. Scott, and Chris Beard set the varied pace. Mixin' it up in the 101st Roadhouse Podcast, another hour of the finest blues you've never heard.
The 100th Roadhouse Podcast is a party. Hop in as we roll the '57 Cadillac convertible of the blues, top down and full speed, straight down highway 61. Double Trouble, Tommy Castro, Roscoe Chenier, and Lil' Ed and the Blues Imperials headline the party, without so much as a break in the pace. It's the 100th party in The Roadhouse - 100 hours of the finest blues you've never heard.
The 99th Roadhouse Podcast digs up some blues gems to fill your hour. Deborah Coleman, Willie “Big Eyes” Smith, Mitch Kashmar, Frankie Lee, and John Jackson lead us through another hour of the finest blues you’ve never heard. Be sure to leave your comments on the show at (501) 588-2251 for inclusion in the upcoming 100th edition of The Roadhouse Podcast.
The 98th Roadhouse Podcast puts 2006 to rest with a review of some of the great music you've heard over the past twelve months. Eddie Turner, Johnny Nicholas, Rory Block, Candye Kane, and Guitar Shorty help user out the old year. It's a party in the 98th Roadhouse Podcast - a full hour of the finest blues ... you've heard in 2006.
As I'm off work for two weeks, I've had plenty of time in the past few days to dig up some great music for the year-ending 97th Roadhouse Podcast. Billy Boy Arnold, Kelly Pardekooper, Kirk Fletcher, Coco Montoya, and The Holmes Brothers lead the finest blues you've never heard. It's the usual broad mix and, as always, the finest blues you've never heard.
The Christmas edition of The Roadhouse Podcast rolls from The Little Blue House on the Wetlands this week. 096 Is a mixture of Christamas music, rewound cuts, brand new music, and listener requests. The lineup includes W.C. Clark, Dave Gross, Carey Bell, Candye Kane, and Calvin Owens, among other great artists. Enjoy another hour of the finest blues you've never heard, and have a safe and happy holiday week.
The mixture of blues styles in this week's Roadhouse Podcast might just qualify it as a blues mashup. Eddie Turner, Big Bill Morganfield, Chris Juergensen, Lonnie Brooks, and Muddy Waters lay the foundation that lets you escape from the big world for another hour of mystical musical therapy. It's the finest blues you've never heard - the 95th Roadhouse Podcast.
There's nothing like a little technical adversity throughout the week to bring out a full appreciation of the musical part of The Roadhouse. After a hosting change, we're back on track to deliver another hour of the finest blues you've never heard. This week's headliners include Phantom Blues Band, Billy Boy Arnold, Jessie Mae Hemphill, Curly Bridges, and Lowell Fulson. Tap your foot, snap your fingers, nod your head, or chair-dance wherever you might be - it's the 94th edition of The Roadhouse Podcast.
The 93rd Roadhouse Podcast is full of blues of all shapes and sizes. But the cuts are tied together by one common color: electric blue. If they're not full electric blues cuts, they're definitely electrifying. Michael Burks, The Teague Stefan Band, Duke Robillard, Walter Trout, and Boo Boo Davis put a drain on the local power company and leave your mp3 player gasping for juice. It's the Electric Blue edition of The Roadhouse Podcast - the finest blues you've never heard.
A boogie mood sweeps over the 92nd Roadhouse Podcast, punctuated by the occasional approving squeals of my daughter. Gary Primich, Ronnie Baker Brooks, Diana Braithwaite and Chris Whiteley, and Ronnie Earl set the tone. We also welcome a new label to The Roadhouse family - Stony Plain Records. Be prepared to boogie in the 92nd Roadhouse Podcast - the finest blues you've never heard.
With the cold weather of an Iowa winter starting to set in, Saturday afternoons mean a hot pot of coffee and some of the hottest blues around. This week’s heat: Shane Pruitt, Dave MacKenzie, Lightnin’ Hopkins, Shemekia Copeland, James Solberg, and other great blues artists. Whether or not you live in a cold-weather area, this edition will keep you warm and dancing in your chair. It’s another hour of the finest blues you’ve never heard – the 91st Roadhouse Podcast.
It's time to just tune out the world for an hour, and the 90th Roadhouse Podcast provides the perfect opportunity. Toni Lynn Washington, Bernard Allison, Buddy Guy & Junior Wells, North Mississippi Allstars, and the Billy Gibson Band provide a perfect escape from politics, strife - even the boss. It's a little more than an hour of the finest blues you've never heard - the 90th Roadhouse Podcast.
The Roadhouse Studios are infused with joy this week at the World Series win of the St. Louis Cardinals. That joy makes for an upbeat show, with little room for slow blues. New music from Inside Sounds leads the way with Charlie Wood, The Billy Gibson Band and The Daddy Mack Blues Band. Professor Longhair & Jimmy Thackery with The Cate Brothers also take the bandstand with loads of great music to follow. It's a home run in the 89th Roadhouse Podcast - the finest blues you've never heard.
Boosted by a prime placement on the front page of the iTunes podcast directory, The Roadhouse listenership is taking off like a rocket. Fueled by great artists like Eric Burdon, Katie Webster, Creighton Lindsay, Arthur Adams, and Plainfield Slim, we'll just call this "The Rocket 88 Edition." To the thousand-plus new Roadhouse listeners, welcome. It's the 88th hour of The Roadhouse Podcast - yet another hour of the finest blues you've never heard.
There's been a cold snap in beautiful Iowa City, Iowa this week. But that only marks the passage of the calendar and the start of the baseball playoffs. With my beloved St. Louis Cardinals in the National League Championship Series, I stack The Roadhouse lineup card with Lonnie Brooks, David "Honeyboy" Edwards, The Teague Stefan Band, Erskine Oglesby, and Buddy Guy and Junior Wells. It's a lineup that makes for another hour of the finest blues you've never heard - the 87th Roadhouse Podcast.
The home of The Roadhouse Studios, beautiful Iowa City, Iowa, really is beautiful this time of year. The temperatures are perfect and the foliage is alive in reds and greens and golds. The foliage in this edition of The Roadhouse is great, as well, with Guitar Shorty, Teresa James, Hubert Sumlin, Jimi "Prime Time" Smith, and Mem Shannon.The seasons are changing but, as always, The Roadhouse delivers another hour of the finest blues you've never heard.
No theme shows, here, but this one could be. It's loose and light - built to roll and tumble right on through an hour of the finest blues you've never heard. Ronnie Baker Brooks, Rory Block, Steve Arvey, Mean Gene Kelton, and Lonnie Mack will keep you dancin' in your chair. It's the 85th Roadhouse Podcast - the 85th consecutive week of the finest blues you've never heard.
It's a good time to be a blues fan. With 84 editions of The Roadhouse, satellite radio channels dedicated to the blues, and new blues podcasts coming online every month, you're likely to hear more blues in a week than in any time in the past 40 years. But this is the week that will make you crank up the iPod, crack open a brew and chair-dance to your heart's content. The Teague Stefan Band, Ronnie Baker Brooks, Doug MacLeod, Saffire - The Uppity Blues Women, and Larry Garner will make you glad to be a blues fan. It's another hour of the finest blues you've never heard - the 84th Roadhouse Podcast.
With fall on the way in the midwestern US, the landscape is about to reveal its amazing diversity of foliage and colors. Likewise, I roll out a colorful diveristy of blues styles in the 83rd Roadhouse Podcast including Roy Rogers, Tommy Castro, Cephas and Wiggins, Janiva Magness, and Mike Andersen Band. It's electric and acoustic, traditional and contemporary, male and female, smooth and rough. All in all, it's a full hour of a converging diversity of styles and sound, but it's all blue - the finest blues you've never heard.
It's a monumental edition of The Roadhouse - the official unveiling of The Roadhouse Premium. In celebration, we climb into the unofficial '57 Cadillac convertible of the blues and make a coast-to-coast road trip. Leading the way: Oscar Jordan, Boo Boo Davis, Rita Chiarelli, Marcia Ball, and the JW-Jones Blues Band. The scope of styles is breathtaking, but it's all part of the fabric of the blues. It certainly makes for another hour of the finest blues you've never heard.
It's the Labor Day Weekend in the US. In The Roadhouse, we're celebrating the labor of love of some top-notch blues musicians. Lil' Ed and the Blues Imperials, Shemekia Copeland, Sleepy John Estes, The Smokehouse Ramblers, and Larry Garner take the stage for the benefit of your mental health. There's new sawdust on the dance floor and cold beverages for your enjoyment. It's the 81st Roadhouse Podcast - the 81st hour of the finest blues you've never heard.
I've taken a long weekend to sail Lake Michigan off Racine, Wisconsin. But, you know I'd never leave you without The Roadhouse. I'm the blues pusher-man who fixes your weekly jones. And, this week, it's the high-grade stuff. Jimi "Prime Time" Smith, Charlie Musselwhite, Lightnin' Hopkins, Luther Allison, Elvin Bishop and nine other artists fill out the hour. Fourteen cuts, one full hour of the finest blues you've never heard.
The 79th edition of The Roadhouse Podcast is tough and loose. Let's just say we're chair-dancing on the ragged edge in this edition. Alvin Youngblood Hart, Stephen Dale Petit, Big Bill Broonzy, John Long, and The Love Dogs step out front and center. I've also got some news about The Roadhouse for you. Tough and loose, old and new, show news - it really is another week in The Roadhouse. Another week of the finest blues you've never heard.
The 78th edition of The Roadhouse Podcast provides a little shelter from the storm - the storm of a tough old world that seemed to get even tougher and colder in the past week. Though The Roadhouse might be a little rundown shack at the end of the street, the roof doesn't leak and the wind doesn't race through the windows. That's because it's built on a foundation of great blues, including Ronnie Baker Brooks, Son Seals, Ian Siegel, Sister Rosetta Tharpe, and Stephen Dale Petit. We re-glaze the windows this week, too, with another Roadhouse Rewound segment, and introduce yet another new member of The Roadhouse family of permissions-based blues labels. Come on inside and escape the world for another hour of the finest blues you've never heard.
This edition of The Roadhouse Podcast is like a solid wooden floor: every tongue fits perfectly into the groove next to it, and it all provides a solid foundation to keep your weekly blues jones satisfied. Quite a few artists who provided the solid foundation for blues into the 21st century participate this week, including Hubert Sumlin, Dave MacKenzie, Luther Allison, Mavis Staples, and The Paul Butterfield Blues Band. While you've heard of the artists, you might not have heard the cuts included in this week's show. And, since I've always said this is your show, we'll roll through a fully listener-requested Roadhouse Rewound segment and share a great audio comment from a fellow listener and podcaster. It's the 77th Roadhouse Podcast - the finest blues you've never heard.
For the fourth week in a row, the temperatures outside The Roadhouse Studios are well into the 90s, with no less than 80% humidity. In fact, the entire US is gripped in a heat wave that just won't stop. But, the 76th Roadhouse Podcast is like the ice cubes in your sweet sun tea. Bo Ramsey, Boogie Woogie Red, W.C. Clark, Coco Montoya, and Glamour Puss are the cool oases in the heat. With opressive and unchanging weather around The Little Blue House on the Wetlands this week, the summer plan remains unchanged - delivering the full range of blues: the finest blues you've never heard.
It's the 75th edition of The Roadhouse Podcast - the diamond edition. And, diamonds are a fitting analogy. The world outside The Roadhouse creates great pressure, pushing out all but the purest blues carbon. The result is music that's as tough and beautiful as the world's hardest mineral. This week, the carbon is comprised of Debbie Davies, Bo Ramsey, Steve Arvey, Henry Gray, and Gonstermachers. The Roadhouse Rewound segment will definitely have your toes tapping. And, for the second week in a row, we have audio comments from a Roadhouse listener. Like any good diamond would, the 75th Roadhouse Podcast will leave you with a smile on your face and a twinkle in your eye.
After a 60-hour work week, it's great to be back in The Roadhouse Studios. Though life can be a tough road, The Roadhouse offers a bit of shelter from the world and a way to relax after your own trying week. I did manage to bring a bit of that tough edge into the show, though. Hard urban blues by folks like Pete Cornelius, Roy Buchanan and Walter Trout are counterbalanced by Watermelon Slim and Archie Edwards. A listener comment, another Roadhouse Rewound and a little useful information round out the 74th Roadhouse Podcast - another hour of the finest blues you've never heard.
The 73rd Roadhouse Podcast is as hot as the July summer weather in The Little Blue House on the Wetlands. The sun is beating down and the blues are just cooking. From the brassy pipes of Candye Kane and Janiva Magness, to the hard-edged grit of Bob Kirkpatrick, to the fat wall of sound of Chris Cain's horns, this edition is squarely under the sun-drenched skies of blues heaven. It's the 73rd Roadhouse Podcast - the finest blues you've never heard.
The 72nd Roadhouse Podcast is another hour of the finest blues you've never heard. But, what does that really mean? The Beat Daddys, Dave Gross, The Gonstermachers, Magic Slim and the Teardrops, and Rich DelGrasso for starters. But they're just five of the thirteen artists in this edition, nearly half of whom are truly independent. We'll roll those right in with great artists from blues labels that have provided permissions to The Roadhouse. Your mission in this edition? Crack open a brew, crank up the headphones and chair-dance to your heart's content.
We're running the rainbow in this edition with a full view of all the hues of the blues. Blues Rock, jazzy blues and, of course, the traditional sound of this amazing musical form. If you're new to The Roadhouse, you might be a bit surprised by the range of styles. But it's all blues - the finest blues you've never heard. You'll hear great cuts from The Beat Daddys, Tommy Castro, Fat Vinnie and the Wiseguys, Larry McCray, and Clarence Gatemouth Brown. We'll flash back on a couple of cuts played in previous shows in the Roadhouse Rewound segment and I hope you'll walk away with an interesting fact or two about many of the artists. It's the 71st Roadhouse Podcast, a rainbow of styles that all resolve to blue.
Let's just call this the cool blues edition of The Roadhouse. It's a little slower with a few less horns and a few more harps and acoustic guitars. Maybe it's just my way of pulling in and slowing down a bit in the sweltering heat of June at the little blue house on the wetlands. In any case, it's the perfect mix of blues to settle in with a cool drink and let the world roll by. This week, we invite in West of Memphis, Gianfranco Segatto, Chris Beard, Ryan Reardon and the Levee Breakers, and Cephas and Wiggins. With 70 shows in the rear-view mirror, we just continue rolling along with one hour after another of the finest blues you've never heard.
At 69 hours of the finest blues you've never heard, it sounds like a marathon. That's 2.875 continuous days of the blues. Or a work-week and a three-quarters. Or, about the number of hours it would take to drive straight through from New York to Los Angeles and back to Chicago, averaging 69 mph. Larry McCray, Kenny Neal and Billy Branch, Tony Deziel, Luther Allison, and Rod Piazza are just some of the 13 artists ahead. As promised, I'll also announce the winner of the Chris Juergensen CD. There's another Roadhouse Rewound segment and, in general, just a little club full of fun. So, crank up the headphones, crack open a brew and chair-dance to your heart's content - we're top down and rolling.
Blue skies, brilliant sunshine, brand new artists, outstanding new labels - all converge right here, in a little dotpoint on the blues-time continuum that I like to call an hour of the finest blues you've never heard. Like a theoretical physicist searching for the beginning of time, you've managed to stumble across the singularity known as the 68th Roadhouse Podcast. It's a refreshing summer breeze in the form of the Backalley Blues Band, Blues Caravan, the Siegel-Schwall Band, Eric Lindell, and Tommy Castro. So, whether you see blues as universal, or something very, very personal, I think we've got it covered in this edition of The Roadhouse Podcast - the Summer Sunshine edition.
It’s a holiday weekend in the US - the Memorial Day weekend. Marking the unofficial start of summer, The Roadhouse 067 definitely has the summertime blues – with no desire whatsoever to cure them. If you mashed up your images of summer with a great batch of blues, you might come up with Michael Burks, Memphis Gold, Chumslick Nick and The Sharks, Chris Juergensen, and Sam Cox and Doug Hurrie. It’s a little BBQ, a little travel, and another hour of the finest blues you’ve never heard – the 67th Roadhouse Podcast.
Like a sweatin' Southern Baptist preacher, this edition comes at you full throttle. If you've never visited The Roadhouse, you'll quickly find that it's about more than crying in your beer and bemoaning the sad state of your life. With artists like Mel Brown and the Homewreckers, Clifford Bivens, Shy Guy Douglas, The Holmes Brothers, and Tab Benoit, this edition is really about getting up off the barstool, dancing up a sweat, socializing, and celebrating the fact that we've all made it through another week. It is, indeed, another hour of the finest blues you've never heard - The 66th Roadhouse Podcast.
This edition is a tip of The Roadhouse snap-brim to the 2006 Blues Music Awards and the friends of the podcast who won them. Where we features the indies last week, this week we look to the big time in the bright lights of Memphis. And, that's not to say that these award-winning artists are the only great blues artists around. The entire hour is a solid selection of blues. Throw in a Roadhouse Rewound segment and a new Roadhouse contest, and you're standing at the front edge of another hour of the finest blues you've never heard - the 65th Roadhouse Podcast.
The 64th Roadhouse Podcast is a return to the roots of the show, powered primarily by truly independent blues artists. While a few big blues labels pepper this week's edition, the bulk of the music is collected from online independent music sources and from the submissions of artists themselves. As such, there are a few names you've not heard of in this edition: Michael Packer Blues Band, Sandy Carroll and Gianfranco Segatto, for example, along with old favorites like Matt Schofield and The Paul Wood Band. Open your chair-dancing beverage of choice and enjoy another hour of the finest blues you've never heard, the 64th Roadhouse Podcast.
On a cold and rainy Saturday at the Roadhouse Studios, I bring the music that'll keep you warm and chair-dancing. It's music you'd expect on any bandstand in any roadhouse in the world, from Hubert Sumlin, The Billy Gibson Band and Saffire, to Glamour Puss and Greg Martinez. Round it all out with a Roadhouse Rewound segment and listener comments, and you've got the perfect reason to stay inside and take another step closer to blues nirvana. It's the 63rd Roadhouse Podcast - the finest blues you've never heard.
This edition of The Roadhouse Podcast definitely has a Friday night feel - a little tougher, a little harder-edged. Even at that, the balance between tough and smooth is pretty even. Rollin' and tumblin' in this week's edition: Michael Burks, Carolyn Wonderland, Louisiana Bob Kirkpatrick, Dave Hole, and Candye Kane. Roll up your sleeves, watch your back and break a sweat on the sawdust dance floor. It's another hour of the finest blues you've never heard - the 62nd Roadhouse Podcast.
This edition ends a week of big events in The Roadhouse. Between a tornado on Thursday and day five of life without cigarettes, it's a good time to hide away from the world and get lost in an hour of the finest blues you've never heard. Gene Hardy, Back Alley Blues Band, Bobby Parker, Blind Slim, and Diego Garcia take the independent lead. I've also got a Roadhouse Rewound segment in the queue that's 100% listener-requested. All in all, we're 14 cuts deep this week - pushing right on past an hour. It's the 61st Roadhouse Podcast - the finest blues you've never heard.
There's definitely a theme to this edition - let's just call it road music. It's the perfect blend of upbeat uptempo blues cuts to make your drive - wherever that may be - a little bit more sane and enjoyable. Percy Strother, Lonnie Mack, Johnny Nicholas, Candye Kane, and Holland K. Smith lead us down the road, with seven other great artists and another Roadhouse Rewound bringing up the rear. So, let's put the troubles in the rear-view mirror, even if only for an hour of the finest blues you've never heard.
The Roadhouse 059 is as broad a range of blues styles as you'll find. This edition features JoAnne Redding, Lister, Lyytinen and Parker, Mavis Staples, Doug MacLeod, and Candye Kane in a full hour of total blues diversity. The dark months are nearly at an end and the mood is giddy in The Roadhouse Podcast - the finest blues you've never heard.
New sources, new artists and new music bring a fully chair-danceable feel to the 58th Roadhouse Podcast. This edition features Chicago Blues Reunion, Ana Popovich, Bobby Parker, Sean Costello, and Algia Mae Hinton. A very diverse Roadhouse Rewound segment and a little talk about "Conversations in The Roadhouse" round out another hour of the finest blues you've never heard - the 58th Roadhouse Podcast.
It's another week in The Roadhouse Podcast, featuring upcoming music, new music, cuts from artists who've never been in The Roadhouse, and some music from artists we haven't heard from in awhile. The combination of Watermelon Slim, Daddy Mack Blues Band, The Whiskey Imperials, Ian Siegal, and William Clarke make for, possibly, the most chair-danceable edition of The Roadhouse ever. Plus, I've got an annoucement about an addition to your Roadhouse feed starting this week. Crank up the player and raise your heart rate. It's the 57th edition of The Roadhouse Podcast - the finest blues you've never heard.
It's unseasonably warm in The Little Blue House on the Wetlands this week, and it's lifted the spirits in The Roadhouse Studios. I think the 56th edition of The Roadhouse Podcast will lift your spirits with The Billy Gibson Band, Matt Schofield, Precious Bryant, Carlos del Junco, and Shemekia Copeland. There's so much music in this edition that plowed right on through this week's listener comments just for the sake of getting it all in. There is a Roadhouse Rewound segment featuring NorthernBlues artists and a few hints at things to come. It's another hour of the finest blues you've never heard - the 56th Roadhouse Podcast.
The 55th Roadhouse Podcast ignores the speed limits for a fast hour-long cruise of the blues. Like a '57 Cadillac convertible, we roll with Watermelon Slim, Sue Foley, Shannon Boshears, West of Memphis, and The Mike Andersen Band. Plus, a little spring cleaning means The Roadhouse is feeling more spacious and sounds even better. More indie artists and you suggestions make for a fun hour of the finest blues you've never heard - the 55th Roadhouse Podcast.
The 54th Roadhouse Podcast is the number edition. Divide 2,340 by 52 weeks and you’ll know the birthday I’m celebrating today. Michael Burks, Matt Schofield, Dan Treanor, Saffire – The Uppity Blues Women, and Holland K. Smith provide the music. Listener comments, a Mardi Gras Roadhouse Rewound, and an update on the HART Fund contributions provide the potables. It’s an hour of the finest blues you’ve never heard, in the making since 1961 – the 54th Roadhouse Podcast.
A frigid winter blast sets in on the Midwestern US, but the 53rd Roadhouse Podcast will help generate enough body heat to keep you warm. Omar and The Howlers, Rory Block, Erskine Oglesby, Ruthie Foster, and Mike Anderson easily outpace the overworked Roadhouse furnace. Six other artists keep the fire going alongside a hot Roadhouse Rewound segment, some very warm listener comments and the addition of yet another outstanding blues label to the cookin' Roadhouse roster. It may be cold outside, but the 53rd Roadhouse Podcast turns out to be hotter than a French Quarter Jambalaya. It's yet another hour of the finest blues you've never heard.
It's a year-ending edition of The Roadhouse Podcast - 52 consecutive editions of the finest blues you've never heard. I'll look briefly in the rear-view mirror at some of the highlights, then roll on forward with Hubert Sumlin, The Teague Stefan Band, Johnny Flash and the Rockets, Eddie Turner, and Marcia Ball. The Roadhouse Rewound features two cuts from Roadhouse 001, and the listener comments provide a place to fill in some backstage details from this week. So, celebrate your role in keeping the blues alive and keeping our little hour rolling forward through thick and thin.
The Roadhouse 051 is a puzzle of diverse styles, moods and artists. As a whole, they make up a perfect picture of the diversity of the blues from modern to traditional, electric to acoustic, upbeat and downtempo. Musical pattern recognition rules the day as we piece this puzzle together to produce an hour of the finest blues you've never heard - the 51st Roadhouse Podcast.
The blues is in the house and that house is the point of departure for the 50th Roadhouse Podcast. Slide behind the wheel, point the grill to the south and let the tail-fins leave the turbulence behind. We're rolling down Highway 61 with the top down and the music cranked. With more to cover than an hour will allow, we roll out with Ian Siegal, Byther Smith, Sean Costello, Alvin Youngblood Hart, Matt Schofield, and seven other great artists. And, the Podshow deal comes up so you'll know just where The Roadhouse stands. It's another week, delivering the finest blues you've never heard – The Roadhouse Podcast.
The Roadhouse 049 is more fun with ones and zeroes than humans should be allowed. Dan Treanor, Mem Shannon, Hubert Sumlin, Roomful of Blues, and The Holmes Brothers trace the clear blue line from the early 20th century to the early 21st. If W.C. Handy and Robert Johnson were here right now, they'd be wearing earbuds. The 49th Roadhouse podcast is another hour of the finest blues you've never heard.
The 44th edition of The Roadhouse Podcast shovels a wide swath through the landscape, a picture-perfect Christmas postcard of the best the blues has to offer. Rita Chiarelli, Junior Wells, Guitar Shorty, The Curbfinders, and Ross Neilsen are the bulbs on The Roadhouse Christmas tree. And the power source to light those bulbs? It’s definitely alternative power. No, it’s not bio-diesel, or solar, or wind, or methanol. It’s one of the strongest power sources on the planet, guaranteed to make you move: the power of an hour of the finest blues you’ve never heard. The Roadhouse 044: no need to shake the package. It’s delivered and opened especially for you.
Come on in, brush off the snow, take of your coat and hat and gloves, and sit right down in the 43rd edition of The Roadhouse Podcast. It’s been a cold, cold week at The Little Blue House on the Wetlands. But, there’s no shortage of heat in our little virtual Roadhouse. Whether you’ve been good this year or not, this edition packs your stocking full of gifts, including Chris Beard, Steve Cohen Blues Band, Homegrown Blues, Lonnie Brooks, and Rod Piazza and The Mighty Flyers. With another Roadhouse Rewound segment and listener comments, the 43rd Roadhouse Podcast is yet another hour of the finest blues you’ve never heard.
The Christmas lights are up and the tree’s ready to trim in this edition of The Roadhouse. The gift-giving season starts with Harpdog Brown, Tommy Z, Don’t Harass Betty, Pat Coast and Out Of the Blue, and C.J. Chenier and the Red Hot Louisiana Band. Other trimming include seven other great blues cuts, another Roadhouse Rewound segment and some great thoughts from Roadhouse listeners. Escape from the long lines of shoppers, the parking hassles and the overworked store clerks with an hour of the finest blues you’ve never heard: the 42nd Roadhouse Podcast.
A virtual cornucopia of blues awaits you in this week’s Roadhouse – a full range of styles from hard-edged to sweet acoustic, and every note the blues. Front and center: Bernard Allison, Jimmie Bratcher, The John Baldwin Group, Toni Lynn Washington, and P. W. Fenton and The Second Ward. Six other cuts, listener comments and a look back at some great music from previous shows fill out that horn-shaped basket of plenty on this long weekend. The waitresses are clearing the tables, the bartender is washing the beer mugs and the acts are pacing backstage, waiting to take the bandstand. It’s the 41st edition of The Roadhouse Podcast – the finest blues you’ve never heard.
It’s the Thanksgiving holiday week in the US, but you don’t have to be a US listener to be thankful for great music and a great medium from which to enjoy it. So, join in the Thanksgiving feast of great blues music served up by the 40th Roadhouse podcast. The main course includes John Hammond, Margarette Evans, Tinsley Ellis, Byther Smith, and Susan Tedeschi. That’s just the turkey and stuffing. I’ve also got side dishes and desserts galore in the form of a Roadhouse Rewound segment, listener comments and a few holiday-related surprises during the meal. There’s no better way to kick off a short work week than with the finest blues you’ve never heard.
It’s all about cool in the 39th edition of The Roadhouse: cooler weather in the Little Blue House on the Wetlands and a raft of cool blues. With music from Stingray, Michael Heyman, Ryan Reardon, Harrison Kennedy, and Mavis Staples, you’ll want to don your coolest Wayfarer sunglasses and turn up the volume. The story of a great blues encounter from a listener and another Roadhouse Rewound segment make this edition just that much cooler. Nearly an hour, The Roadhouse 039 is the finest – and coolest – blues you’ve never heard.
The 38th Roadhouse Podcast is a road trip that covers nearly the entirety of the North American continent – from Canada to Texas, the Great Northwest to California, Chicago, the Upper Midwest, New Orleans and all the way back to the East Coast. Like any good road trip, it’s full of surprises, but the known itinerary includes Johnny Nicholas, The Holmes Brothers, King Robbie, Mick Sterling, and James Booker. The Roadhouse Rewound and listener comments provide plenty of room for the unexpected – those little musical suprises that drop a smile right in between your headphones. The Roadhouse 038 is 62 minutes of the finest blues you’ve never heard.
There’s a certain bounce to this week’s Roadhouse Podcast. It finds a groove and stays there right on through to the end. With artists like Mike Dugan, The Siegel-Schwall Band, Danny Eyer, J. B. Hutto, and Johnny Hoy and The Bluefish, it’s impossible to refrain from chair-dancing, snapping your fingers, and generally annoying your co-workers. Seven other artists round out the show along with a wild Roadhouse Rewound and an audio comment from a terrestrial listener. The Roadhouse 037 is just a shade under one hour of the finest blues you’ve never heard.
Like the variety of colors in the trees outside The Roadhouse, Roadhouse 036 provides all the hues of the blues. The Fabulous Thunderbirds, The Jeff Fetterman Band, Teresa James, Archie Edwards, and Marchia ball provide the reds and golds, with nine other great blues artists filling in the rest of the foliage. The Roadhouse 036 is fourteen cuts, one hour that all resolve to the deepest shade of blue and the finest blues you’ve never heard.
As close to a theme show as we ever come in The Roadhouse, this edition features great guitar cuts from heavy overdrive to sweet slide. It’s a reminder of the amazing emotion to be coaxed from a slab of wood and six strands of wire. Guitar Shorty, Kelly Richey, Janiva Magness, Rita Chiarelli, and Edwin Holt take the wheel, bringing along seven other artists on the tour bus. The Roadhouse Rewound and a little commerce talk round out the show as we fuel the trip with wire and wood. 35 editions deep, it’s still the finest blues you’ve never heard.
This is the show the doctor ordered, providing your minimum weekly requirement of golden guitars, hip horns and happenin’ harp. Byther Smith, The Mitchell Blues Band, Tab Benoit, Glamour Puss, and Johnny Nicholas step out from the pack this week. But, don’t fool yourself – any of the other seven artists are fully capable of stealing the show. Throw in listener comments and a snappy Roadhouse Rewound segment, and you’ve got one full hour of the finest blues you’ve never heard.
We’re taking our radio back from the suits this week with Robin Sylar, Chainsaw Curtis & The Creepers, Brian Blain, Otis Taylor, Jim Suhler and much more. I’ve also got a nice story about The Roadhouse and Rita plus lots of information about the world of blues podcasting. The 33rd edition of The Roadhouse is guaranteed to entertain and enlighten with the finest blues you’ve never heard.
We get back to the full sound of big guitars, big horns and big beats this week. Thanks to NorthernBlues, Alligator and Vanguard, there’s new music aplenty in this edition. Kenny Traylor, Charlie Musselwhite, Toni Lynn Washington, Guitar Shorty, and The Holmes Brothers take the fore, while seven more great blues artists bring up the rear. We’re having a ball this week in The Roadhouse – the finest blues you’ve never heard.
Twelve cuts strong, The Roadhouse 030 is a bit more acoustic than the norm. Credit that to the dog days of summer at The Little Blue House On The Wetlands. Billy Jones, The Turnarounds, Louisiana Bob Kirkpatrick, Susan Tedeschi, and Johnny Nicholas lead the music. Listener comments, best wishes to Derek and thoughts on Katrina round out the 30th edition of The Roadhouse – the finest blues you’ve never heard.
An even dozen fits the bill this week, as we move toward a full hour of the finest blues you’ve never heard – the best independent blues artists from around the world. Kenny Traylor, The Will Derryberry Band, Hubert Sumlin, Mike Dugan, and Fabulous Thunderbirds lead the charge. I’ve also got listener comments and information on how you can help the survivors of the devastation in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. It’s another wide-ranging edition of The Roadhouse Podcast.
In a return to The Roadhouse Studios, Roadhouse 028 is an eclectic mix of acoustic, electic, jump, old-time, and borderline roots rock tunes. Ryan Reardon and the Levee Breakers, Michael Heyman and The Powerhouse, Paul Rishell and Annie Raines, Johnny Nicholas and the Texas All-Stars, and Jim Suhler set the mood. It’s a full hour of the finest blues you’ve never heard – The Roadhouse.
The second phantom podcast - vacation, week 2. That won't stop the music, though, with Roomful of Blues, BlueShot, Tinsley Ellis, Mike Dugan,and Harrison Kennedy. While the vacation rolls on, you get the finest blues you've never heard.
It’s the podcast in absentia. I may be away for a two-week vacation, but the blues and The Roadhouse roll on. Louisiana Bob Kirkpatrick, The Whiskey Imperials, Stingray, Lil’ Ed and the Blues Imperials, and Marcia Ball play while I’m away. Whether I’m here or not, it’s still the finest blues you’ve never heard.
This week, it’s an official party to celebrate the 25th show of The Roadhouse. I’ve selected some of my favorite music from the first 25 shows, and we’ve got guests galore. Bring your noisemakers and party hats, because we’re kicking up our heels in celebration of the finest blues you’ve … heard and loved.
It’s the body heat edition, guaranteed to raise your temperature with Stingray, The Paul Wood Band, Teresa James and the Rhythm Tramps, The Dare Ya Blues Band, and Boo Boo Davis. Listener comments, blues news and podcasting news allow your heart rate to drop below aerobic levels. Don’t tell the fire marshall, but we might be nearing capacity. It’s The Roadhouse – the finest blues you’ve never heard.
Roadhouse 023 serves up Blue Steele, Big George Jackson Blues Band, Danny Eyer, Lil Charlie and the Nightcats, and The Guzzlers. Listener comments, blues news and a load of news about The Roadhouse. It's 50 (ok, 57) minutes of the finest blues you've never heard.
The 22nd edition of The Roadhouse provides cool shade from a hot summer day. The Blues Persuaders, Blue Steele, Mark David Group, Suspects, and Carol Camille lead the cool-down edition. Also, listener comments, blues news and podcasting news. Help celebrate the upcoming 25th edition – leave your comments at 214-594-1301. It’s 50 minutes of the finest blues you’ve never heard.
This week, you get all the ingredients for the perfect blues cocktail – shaken, not stirred, of course. Roscoe Chenier, Janet Ryan, The Curbfinders, Danny Eyer, and Daddy Long Legs make a great blend of blues. If a pearl onion’s your thing, listener comments, blues news and podcasting news should do just fine. It’s fifty minutes of the finest blues you’ve never heard.
It’s all about independence this weekend – the perfect time to support the great independent blues artists on GarageBand.com. The fireworks display is led by The Kelly Richey Band, Pat Coast and Out Of the Blue, The Skyla Burrell Band, Papa Kreak, and Big Steve and The Trainwreck. Like a big brass band, I’ve also got listener comments, blues news and podcasting news. It’s the finest independent blues you’ve never heard.
It’s officially summer in the US - time to go fishing for the biggest fish in the big pond of blues. The catch o’ the week includes Kimbel Street, Red Hot Blues Sisters, Kisen, Farkle, Nuthin’ Special and many more. We roll it all in a deep beer batter, fry ‘em up and serve them with heaping side dishes of listener comment, contact information, podcasting news, and blues news. A veritable feast of the finest blues you’ve never heard – the best independent blues artists from garageband.com.
Sample the home-brewed blues from Roadhouse 018. There’s a big variety to choose from. King Robbie, Slop House, David Rotundo and the Blue Canadians, Thirsty Blues Band, and Spoonful James are cold from the tap. I also provide some palate-cleansing mushrooms in the form of listener comments, contact information, podcasting news, and blues news. A new member of the Association of Music Podcasting, The Roadhouse has a barstool reserved just for you.
The 17th edition of The Roadhouse is pure butt-shakin’ music. Johnny Flash and the Rockets, Brother Chunk and the Chicken Funk, Joe White, Nobby Reed Project, and Juke House Kings sit at the very front edge of the musical wave. A little talk, a little information and the finest blues you’ve never heard – that’s edition 17 of The Roadhouse Podcast.
The Curbfinders, KingRobbie, Naked Soul, Suspects, and Secret Agents head up this week’s edition of The Roadhouse. We peer beyond the horizon to listener comments, blues news, contact information, and podcasting news. As always, it’s the finest blues you’ve never heard – the best independent blues artists from garageband.com.
It’s the Memorial Day holiday weekend in the US, time to hit the road and welcome the unofficial start of summer. This week features music perfect for road-tripping. Steve Pierson, BB Chung King and the Buddaheads, Kelly Bell Band, Billy V and the Smoking Section, and Delta Chuck lead us down the highway. Listener comments, contact information, podcasting news, and blues news serve as the mile markers. It’s the finest blues you’ve never heard – the best independent blues artists from garageband.com.
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