Blues Arcadia – Now or Never www.bluesarcadia.com Self-Release 11 songs – 41 minutes It has been four long years since Blues Arcadia’s Carnival Of Fools was warmly reviewed in Blues Blast Magazine. Thankfully, Now Or Never shows no signs of being that “difficult second album”. Instead, we have 11 well-crafted and self-written tracks that tread …
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Richard Ashby – Arkadia Blues Self – Released www.richardashbymusic.com 8 tracks – 28 minutes Born and bred in the deep south of New Zealand, Richard Ashby has been working as a musician and teacher for over 20 years. After relocating to Sydney in 2008, he has established himself as a performer, composer and educator. He is …
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Larry McCray – Blues Without You Keeping The Blues Alive Records – 2022 www.larrymccraylive.com 12 tracks; 66 minutes This album is one of the outstanding releases of 2022. Larry McCray came to prominence in the blues revival of the early 90’s, his debut album Ambition being the first release on Virgin’s Pointblank label. After several …
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Angela Strehli – Ace of Blues Antone’s/New West Records ANT-2513 www.angelastrehli.bandcamp.com/ 12 songs – 39 minutes Once a prime mover in the Austin music scene, where she reigned supreme as the Queen of Texas Blues, Angela Strehli is 77 years old and hasn’t released a solo album in 17 years but does so in style …
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Dave Keyes – Rhythm Blues & Boogie Blue Heart Records BHR 037 www.davekeyes.com 10 songs – 49 minutes One of the busiest pianists in the world since winning the International Blues Challenge in 2000, Dave Keyes has been touring giants for the past 30 years but shines like a diamond every time he puts out …
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Alice Faye Duncan and Chris Raschka – Yellow Dog Blues Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co. www.eerdmans.com 32 pages Hardcover edition If you are searching for something with a music theme for the younger members of your family, here is a book that will undoubtedly delight children ages 4 to 8 years old. Mixing …
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Rusty Stone – The Blues In Me RevStone Music www.rusty-stone.de 8 tracks Munich, Germany, is home to Rusty Stone where he’s been a fixture on the blues scene since the 1980’s. Like most musicians, Stone found the pandemic to be full of angst and pressure, but it also became an opportunity to write songs and …
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Prakash Slim – Country Blues from Nepal DeVille Records www.prakashslim.com 13 tracks/37 minutes Prakash Slim (born Ram Prakash Pokharel) was born in Nepal in 1980. Raised by his mother after his father’s early passing, his life was basically focused on survival. His hand me down bicycle was his treasured worldly possession, and he sold it …
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Buddy Guy – The Blues Don’t Lie RCA Records https://www.buddyguy.net/ 16 tracks/63 minutes “And the winner of the 2023 Blues Blast Music Award for Best Traditional (or Contemporary or whatever category you’d like to put it in) Blues Album of the Year is…Buddy Guy– The Blues Don’t Lie!” Any year Buddy Guy releases a new …
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Crystal Shawanda – Midnight Blues True North Records http://crystalshawanda.co/ 10 tracks/39 minutes Crystal Shawanda’s eighth album offers a nice, stylistic diversity on tunes for the listener to savor. Featuring six originals and four covers, Shawanda varies the styles and tempos of the songs to give the listener a smorgasbord of musical delights to enjoy here. …
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