Ian Siegal to release new live album "One Night In Amsterdam"

You wait a whole decade for one Ian Siegal live album – then two arrive in the space of a year. For any ordinary performer, the release schedule might seem like overkill.  But with this fascinating artist, it’s entirely justified. Shedding his musical skin and bending his back catalogue into bold new shapes each time he hits the stage, every live snapshot of Siegal’s music is authentically communicated from a different angle.

Photo Credit: © Will Ireland

As such, while 2014’s Man & Guitar showcased the award-winning British songwriter as a solo acoustic troubadour, One Night In Amsterdam flicks the power switch, marking Siegal’s first live album with a full-throttle electric band. Chalk up another first for the man that Mojo called, “One of the most innovative, gifted and engaging blues performers on the planet today.”

The new album will be released in the UK on CD and vinyl by Nugene Records (NUG1501) on Monday March 9th 2015. The album dovetails with Ian’s nationwide UK tour which kicks off at the Chester Live Rooms on March 17th (tour date details listed below). Fans can pre-order the limited edition vinyl release here.
Three songs into his set at the North Sea Jazz Club in April 2014, Siegal halts the band to give the Dutch crowd the mission-statement: “We’re going to play some new songs, some old songs, and some songs by great heroes of mine, who were influences on me in my early days, back in the 1930s…”

Photo Credit: © Marco van Rooijen

He’s joking, of course. In reality, Siegal is now in his early-forties, at the top of his game, and able to draw on an astonishing eight-album catalogue that has scored him seven British Blues Awards in five categories (he’s also the only Brit ever to receive two nominations at the U.S. Blues Music Awards).
Likewise, the bar for Siegal’s live albums has been set sky-high by Man & Guitar – recently crowned Blues Album of the Year by Mojo– but from the opening notes of One Night In Amsterdam, it’s clear he’s up for the challenge. 
The new album features Siegal’s relatively new (launched in 2013) Dutch-German contingent and his first band change in ten years. With an average age of 23, Dusty Ciggaar (guitar), Raphael Schwiddessen (drums), and Danny Van’t Hoff (bass), deliver in spades, as though they have been playing with Siegal for as long as they are old. Young Dusty Ciggaar, already well known on the Benelux scene, confirms his status as a guitar god in waiting.

Photo Credit: © Will Ireland

One Night In Amsterdam is the sound of chemistry, of course, but the songs are always the stars. Several of these tracks have never been played live by Siegal before. None have ever sounded quite like this. Before the crowd’s welcoming cheers have even subsided, I Am The Train races out of the blocks, perhaps even more urgent here than when Siegal tracked it in Mississippi for his 2012 album, Candy Store Kid.
Also from Candy Store Kid comes the sad-eyed, slide-powered travelogue of Early Grace, Siegal’s raw vocal exposing the tarnish on the Golden State (“California, where all your dreams come true, your nightmares too”). Plus, don’t miss the extended free bonus track Hard Pressed – unlocked via a download key with every copy of Amsterdam, and available from the release day of March 9. 

Photo Credit: © Marco van Rooijen

Elsewhere, true to his promise of “old songs”, the bandleader digs deep into his oeuvre. He pulls out the funk-blues strut of Kingdom Come (from 2009’s Broadside), with its tough vocal telling of a woman with “the wings of an angel and the eyes of a shark”. He revisits the evergreen Brandy Balloon (from 2005’s Meat & Potatoes), and even dusts off Queen of the Junior Prom (the pick of 2002 debut Standing In The Morning), with the crowd reaction suggesting that Siegal’s earliest fans have never left his side.
In Siegal’s hands, the old is every bit as thrilling as the new. Even dog-eared cover versions can feel like they’re being born right in front of you. At the North Sea Jazz Club, he shows his scholarly appreciation of the masters - whether re-imagining Tom Russell’s classic cockfighting fable, Gallo Del Cielo, or revisiting his own back-pages in Nottingham, England, where local legend Harry Stephenson entranced the crowds. “I just really wanted to do one of Harry’s songs,” explains Siegal, before launching into Stephenson’s gutsy rocker, Writing On The Wall.
For the final two tracks of the album Ian is joined by siblings, Joel and Tess Gaerthe, from the popular Dutch indie band, Ashtraynutz.
One night. A thousand highlights. And yet another reason why Ian Siegal is leading the musical pack in the post-millennium.

Photo Credit: © Will Ireland

IAN SIEGAL
MARCH 2015 UK TOUR
PLUS SPECIAL GUEST
BOOK ONLINE: www.iansiegal.com

CHESTER, LIVE ROOMS
TUESDAY 17th MARCH 2015
Tickets: £16 / Box Office: 0871 220 0260
Book Online: theliverooms.com
1 Station Road, Chester, CH1 3DR
theliverooms.com

GLASGOW, STEREO
WEDNESDAY 18th MARCH 2015
Tickets: £16 / Box Office: 0141 222 2254
Book Online: Synergy Concerts.com
22-28 Renfield Lane, Glasgow, G2 6PH
Stereo Café Bar Website

ABERDEEN, JAZZ FESTIVAL
THURSDAY 19th MARCH 2015
Tickets: £15 / Box Office: 0845 111 0302
Book Online: Aberdeen Jazz Festival
Blue Lamp, 121 Gallowgate, Aberdeen, AB25 1BU
www.jazzatthebluelamp.com

HARROGATE, RIPLEY BLUES
FRIDAY 20th MARCH 2015
Tickets: £15 / Box Office: 01423 860340
Book Online: ripleylive.com
Town Hall, Ripley, Harrogate, HG3 3AX
ripleylive.com

DERBY, FLOWERPOT
SATURDAY 21st MARCH 2015
Tickets: £15 / Box Office: 01332 834 438
Book Online: www.rawpromo.co.uk
25 King Street, Derby, DE1 2DZ
www.flowerpotderby.co.uk

SCARBOROUGH, TOP SECRET BLUES FESTIVAL
SUNDAY 22nd MARCH 2015
Tickets: £48 / Box Office: 01723 821888
Book Online: Scarborough Spa
Spa, South Bay, Scarborough, YO11 2HD
Scarborough Blues Festival Website

NEWCASTLE, CLUNY
TUESDAY 24th MARCH 2015
Tickets: £16 / Box Office: 0191 230 4474
Book Online: See Tickets
36 Lime Street, Ouseburn, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, NE1 2PQ
The Cluny Website

BOLTON, RAILWAY
WEDNESDAY 25th MARCH
Tickets: £15 / Box Office: 01204 306 450
Book Online: Railway Venue Website
37 Chapeltown Road, Bromley Cross, Bolton, BL7 9LY
Railway Venue Website

BRISTOL, TUNNELS
THURSDAY 26th MARCH 2015
Tickets: £15 / Box Office: 0845 6050 255
Book Online: thetunnelbristol.co.uk
Bristol/Exeter Mews, Lower Approach Road,
Temple Meads, Bristol, BS1 6QF
thetunnelbristol.co.uk

NORWICH, ARTS CENTRE
FRIDAY 27th MARCH 2015
Tickets: £15 / Box Office: 01603 660 352
Book Online: Norwich Arts Centre Tickets
St Benedict’s Street, Norwich, NR2 4PG
Norwich Arts Centre Website

LONDON, JAZZ CAFÉ
SATURDAY 28th MARCH 2015
Tickets £17.50 / Box Office: 0844 847 2514
Book Online: ticketmaster.co.uk
5 Parkway, Camden Town, NW1 7PG
TheJazzCafeLondon.com

SOUTHAMPTON, TALKING HEADS
SUNDAY 29th MARCH 2015
Tickets: £12 / Box Office: 02380 678 446
Book Online: TalkngHeads.co.uk
320 Portswood Road, Portswood, SO17 2TD
TalkingHeads.co.uk

Photo Credit: © Marco van Rooijen

IAN SIEGAL
BIOGRAPHY & DISCOGRAPHY

Blues album of the Year
MOJO MAGAZINE 2014

“One of the most innovative, gifted and engaging blues
performers on the planet today.” MOJO

Ian Siegal is known as a bluesman, but it’s just one shade in the palette of an artiste who slips between continents, eras and expectations. They say you can’t sing the blues until you’ve lived the life, and when Ian Siegal steps up to the mic, you can hear the slings and arrows. Recent years have seen the songwriter catch fire, with British Blues Awards raining down and consecutive nominations in 2012 & 2013 for Contemporary Album of The Year in the Blues Music Awards - in effect, the Grammys of the Blues.
Ian was born in 1971 in Hampshire. It has been said that had he been performing and recording in the sixties he would today be accorded the same reverence as artists such as Van Morrison and Joe Cocker. Instead, he dropped out of Art College in the late eighties to go busking in Germany. From the streets of Berlin he progressed to clubs around Nottingham, then to London and ultimately to major stages around Europe.
Siegal’s forte is playing to an audience. Whether fronting his band, or alone with just an old acoustic guitar, he takes command of the stage in a way very few artistes alive today can match. Sweat, passion, humour, balls-to-the-wind slide guitar and a soul-infused voice big enough to fell trees!  And as his BBC-recorded 2014 solo release MAN & GUITAR shows, he has a neat line in between-songs banter and humour.

His career got under way in 2003/04 with two successive European tours as the opening act for ex-Rolling Stone Bill Wyman’s Rhythm Kings (Wyman also invited Ian to record with the Rhythm Kings). This was followed by UK tours as a duo with Big Bill Morganfield (son of Muddy Waters). During this time Siegal was also capturing the hearts of audiences in Holland, Belgium, Austria and Hungary. In 2005 he topped the Soul/Blues/Jazz charts in Holland. And hasn’t looked back.
RECORDINGS
His 2005 album Meat & Potatoes – the first to gain a full retail release - has been universally praised and gained a maximum four star (excellent) rating in the Penguin Book of Blues Recordings. Ian is one of only two living British Blues artists to gain this distinction. Meat & Potatoes was later re-released as a limited edition together with a DVD of his stunning 2005 performance on the main stage at the North Sea Jazz Festival.
That was followed by Swagger his 2007 release, which again received universal praise, “No less of a testament to the talents of one of the most innovative, gifted and engaging blues performers on the planet today.” MOJO magazine ranked Swagger as their no.2 Blues album of 2007.
In response to fans’ requests for an acoustic album The Dust was released at the end of 2008. A collection of new songs and some old favourites (with noted pedal steel guitarist B.J. Cole appearing on some tracks), the CD quickly entered HMV’s roots chart, and again made No.2 in MOJO magazine’s Blues album chart – this time for 2008.
His 2009 release Broadside finally gave Ian the top spot in MOJO’s annual Blues album chart, the first non-American to achieve this status.
Having previously recorded exclusively in the UK, for his 2011release The Skinny Ian went to America to work with Grammy nominee Cody Dickinson of the North Mississippi Allstars as producer. A band was assembled from musicians in the North Mississippi area including Gary Burnside, Robert Kimbrough and Rodd Bland, all offspring of notable bluesmen. The Skinny gained Siegal his first Blues Music Awards nomination for Contemporary Album of the Year and he performed at the 2012 Awards ceremony in Memphis.
Ian returned to north Mississippi in 2012 to collaborate with another dream-team of local legends that he collectively coined The Mississippi Mudbloods. Joining Ian and Cody Dickinson were Cody’s brother, Luther Dickinson, and Alvin Youngblood Hart. Ian first met Alvin during The Skinny sessions, when the Grammy-winning guitarist swung by the studio and ended up tracking some guitar and backing vocals.
The end result of this second visit to the Dickinson’s Zebra Ranch Studio was Candy Store Kid released at the end of 2012, which quickly reached no.1 in the iTunes UK blues chart and garnered a swathe of awards in the UK and another nomination in the Blues Foundation’s Blues Music Awards.
2014 saw two album releases. Man & Guitar (May, 2014), showcases Siegal’s supreme ability as a solo performer and his force-ten charisma. Recorded by the BBC at the Royal Albert Hall London Bluesfest, it is Siegal at his belt & braces best – a world-class performer bleeding into his favourite songs. This scored Ian another no.1 spot in MOJO’s annual chart of Blues recordings.
That May release was followed in November by THE PICNIC SESSIONS, a low-fi back-porch project with friends in the USA. What was intended to be a fan-club-only side project quickly gained momentum, resulting in a label-backed full release in January 2015. The album has Ian, Luther Dickinson, Alvin Youngblood Hart and Jimbo Mathus sitting semi-circle around an old ribbon microphone, simply chatting, singing and playing. Recorded in two afternoon sessions, The Blues magazine made it their Jan/Feb 2015 featured album, saying “The strength and feel of Siegal’s voice shows just how effectively and legitimately he can inhabit the vocal traditions of Mississippi.”
In 2013, after 10 years of touring Europe with an unchanged band, Ian recruited entirely new personnel, three young players based in Holland (average age 23). It was, he says - “one of the best decisions I have made in a long while.” The band brought a new energy and a fresh approach to Ian’s songs. Eager to let the world hear the results, ONE NIGHT IN AMSTERDAM was recorded at the North Sea Jazz Club in Amsterdam and releases March 9, 2015.
MEMORABLE MOMENTS
Ian has become established in Europe as one of the most natural, exciting and vibrant talents on the Blues-roots-Americana scene. Each year the stages get bigger, but what sticks most in Ian’s mind is his guest appearance with then 92-year old Pinetop Perkins and some of the other remaining members of Muddy Waters’ band. This was at London’s Jazz Café in 2005 to a packed house. Then later at a festival in Norway, in a role reversal, these legends of post-war Blues spontaneously joined Ian on stage for what turned into a memorable hour-long set.
In a twist to his career, Ian performed for several years (2009-12) with France’s Orchestre National de Jazz in a program of Billie Holiday songs entitled “Broadway in Satin.” Backed by a 12-piece orchestra of young hand-picked musicians and accompanied by the French singer, Karen Lanaud, Broadway in Satin has performed at major festivals across France and as far afield as South America and east Africa.

Blues Album Of The Year
MOJO MAGAZINE 2014

British Blues Awards Hall of Fame
2013

Male Vocalist Of The Year
BRITISH BLUES AWARDS 2013, 2012 & 2011
EUROPEAN BLUES AWARDS 2013

Album Of The Year
BRITISH BLUES AWARDS 2013

Best Song
BRITISH BLUES AWARDS 2013

Best Contemporary Album
BLUES MUSIC AWARDS NOMINEE 2013 & 2012
BLUES BLAST MUSIC AWARDS NOMINEE 2013

Acoustic Artist Of The Year
BRITISH BLUES AWARDS 2012

Band Of The Year
BRITISH BLUES AWARDS 2010

Blues album Of The Year
MOJO magazine 2009

Photo Credit: © Christie Goodwin

Ian Siegal Online
Official Website | Facebook | Twitter | YouTube

 

Brad Hatfield - For A Change - New Release review

I just received the newest release, For A Change, from Brad Hatfield and it's got quite a sting. Opening with That's My Home, a blues rocker, Hatfield handles lead vocals and Bob Britt is hot on guitar. Kevin McKendree (keys), Tommy MacDonald (bass) and Tom Hambridge (drums) round out the package. This track brings to my mind the late great Bill Perry, too soon gone. Back Door Scratchin' has a funky under tone but it's really blues with edge and again love Hatfield's vocals and Britt's guitar work. Excellent! On easy shuffle track, Behave Yourself, it's McKendree who shines instrumentally with really nice piano work and Britt's solo work had a bit more of an acoustic feel. Smarter Than I Was has a heavier rock feel , still with a blues base. I grinding rhythm and swirling guitar riffs proliferate this track. Very cool. Devil On Both Shoulders is a country rock 2 stepper led by Hambridge on drums and the slide work of Britt. Hatfield has plenty of swagger, heavy bottom by MacDonals and prominent piano work of McKendree gives this track plenty of roll. So Much, So Little has a real nice bluesy feel with Hatfeld on both lead vocal and harp. With hot drum work from Hambridge, this is one of the coolest tracks on the release. Slow blues number, Never Finished Nothin' allows Hatfield to show his soulful side and Britt throws down some absolutely excellent guitar riffs. MacDonald sets the course with a strong bass line and again McKendree's piano work is stellar. Excellent! Good Love After Bad is a cool boogie track with a sound of modern Cream with organ. Quite a nice track. Drink, Drank, Drunk has a has a super cool boogie rhythm and a great pace that keeps you moving in your seat (or more). Britt puts together an unusual guitar solo really emphasizing the country nature of the track (by juxtaposition) and the keyboard rhythm is cool. Title track, For A Change, has more of a casual "radio" feel with an easy to like melody and warmly matched instrumental accompaniment. Swamp Poker is another track with plenty of kick. An easy country feel, say like Lay Down Sally, with simple guitar riffs makes it universally appealing. McKendree really kicks the last track, Burbank's Boogie off with an incredible piano roll. Hatfield kicks it into gear sounding like a new era Little Richard. Not only vocally but pn harp, Hatfield is on fire. This is a great track to wrap up the release. Super release with a lot of something for everyone!  

If you support live Blues acts, up and coming Blues talents and want to learn more about Blues news and Fathers of the Blues, Like ---Bman’s Blues Report--- Facebook Page! I’m looking for great talent and trying to grow the audience for your favorites band! -  ”LIKE”

Delta Groove welcomes Tony Braunagel Delta Groove welcomes Tony Braunagel to our prestigious team of industry professionals who make themselves available on our DELTA GROOVE SERVICES PAGE. Tony will be available along with Randy Chortkoff to service musicians and bands involved with Delta Groove Music and Eclecto Groove Records on a selective basis.  We are proud to welcome Tony Braunagel aboard.

Tony Braunagel Bio Raised on a healthy diet of rhythm and blues, drummer Tony Braunagel began playing around his hometown of Houston, Texas in the mid-sixties, eventually hooking up with such blues luminaries as Lightnin’ Hopkins, John Lee Hooker and Jimmy Reed. Later in life he performed with Charles Brown and Etta James, as well as landing opportunities to record with B.B. King and Otis Rush, just to name a few. Tony left Houston in 1971 and followed his musical calling to New York and later to London. In 1979 he relocated to Los Angeles and joined forces with the likes of Eric Burdon, Rickie Lee Jones, Bonnie Raitt, Taj Mahal, and Robert Cray. His playing and recording experiences are very extensive. Braunagel produced a Grammy Award winning record on Taj Mahal called “Shoutin’ In Key” and has produced three CDs on Eric Burdon, “My Secret Life”, “Soul of a Man”, and the most recent “Until Your River Runs Dry”. Tony has also co-produced  two CDs on Curtis Salgado that received multiple nominations for Blues Music Awards, including a win for Contemporary Blues Album of the Year, and is currently working on a third one. Additionally Braunagel has produced two CDs on the breakout band Trampled Under Foot, the latter one winning a Contemporary Blues Album of the Year Award, and he’s co-produced two records for Eclecto Groove, including Mike Zito’s debut with the label, “Today” and Ana Popovic’s release “Blind for Love”. Tony Braunagel currently lives in Los Angeles and still plays and records with the Phantom Blues Band.

Canadian Blues Legend Big Dave McLean Is "Faded but Not Gone" on Label Debut CD for Black Hen Music, Due March 3

Big Dave McLean Is Faded but Not Gone on Label Debut CD for Black Hen Music, Due March 3

Producer Steve Dawson Assembles All-Star Cast to Back the Legendary Canadian Bluesman, Along with Special Guests Colin Linden, Colin James and The McCrary Sisters

NASHVILLE, TN – Black Hen Music announces the signing of legendary Canadian bluesman Big Dave McLean, and will release his label debut CD, Faded but Not Gone, on March 3. Produced by Black Hen label main-man Steve Dawson, who also adds his award-winning guitar talents throughout the album, Faded but Not Gone was recorded at The Henhouse in Nashville, Tennessee, and engineered by the acclaimed Bil VornDick. Besides Dawson, the all-star cast of players backing McLean for the sessions features Kevin McKendree (Delbert McClinton, Brian Setzer) on keyboards, John Dymond on bass and Gary Craig on drums. Special guests include Colin Linden, Colin James and The McCrary Sisters. The organic qualities of the music on Faded but Not Gone extended even to the cover shot, taken at the old school photo booth in Jack White’s Third Man Records store in Nashville.

The dozen tracks on the new CD include a healthy dose of Big Dave McLean originals, as well as cool covers of songs from Skip James (“Devil Got My Woman”), Tampa Red (“Dead Cat on the Line”), Tom Waits (“Mr. Siegal”), Ray LaMontagne (“Devil’s in the Jukebox”) and The Wood Brothers (“One More Day”), plus Dave’s gritty take on the traditional title song. Throughout the album, McLean’s well-worn vocals, soulful guitar playing and mean harmonica wails permeate each track with an authority and passion that is palpable.

“It has been an extreme pleasure and privilege to work alongside such incredibly talented and gifted musicians and singers,” said Big Dave McLean about the recording sessions. “I feel we set out to make a great recording, and we totally accomplished our goal.”

With a voice and delivery that recalls the great Long John Baldry, Big Dave McLean has been the heart and soul of the Winnipeg, Canada, music scene and been singing the blues better than anyone there for decades. A Juno and Western Canadian Music Award-winner, McLean channeled the recent loss of his mother and brother into a vital, deeply heartfelt expression of loss and recovery on the songs from Faded but Not Gone, making it his most personal album to date.

That soulfulness truly manifests itself in particular on two of Dave’s original compositions: “Shades of Grace,” a lovely and poignant tribute to his mother, who used to sing “Amazing Grace” to him when he was a child; and “The Fallen,” an elegy to his brother, who passed away the week before the song was recorded.  

“Everything about this project blew my mind – especially Steve Dawson,” recalled McLean. “Spending a week down in Nashville with his family was an amazing experience. I visited an old slave plantation, went to the Grand Ole Opry and sat in with Colin Linden’s regular jam session. I have always been into Delta blues and early Chicago blues, but it was nice to step it up and play in a more of a country blues style on songs like ‘Devil in the Jukebox’ and ‘One More Day.’ The whole experience touched me deeply.”              

Tas Cru - You Keep The Money - New release Review

I just received the newest release from Tas Cru and it builds nicely on the foundation of his last release. Opening with You Keep The Money, a Latin flavored rocker with a blues twist, Cru on vocal and guitar is accompanied by Dick Earl Ericksen on harp, Ron Keck on percussion, Dave Olson on drums and Bob Purdy on bass. Next up is A Month of Somedays, a nicely executed blues ballad. Cru shows his patience on a nicely executed guitar intro and Guy Nirelli warms the bottom with smooth organ work. A really nicely executed guitar solo caps the track. Very nice! Half The Time is a country rock fused blues track (think Jimmy Rogers). Snappy guitar riffs and cool backing vocals by Mary Ann Casale and Alice "Honeybea" Ericksen give this track that extra kick. La Belle Poutine is a really nicely executed blues ballad a la Gary Moore. Clean and nicely articulated guitar lead by Cru and nice electric piano work from Chip Lamson and again Nirelli on organ makes this my favorite on the release. Excellent! Funky, Heart Trouble had a nice feel and snappy drum work from Olson. Again, clever guitar riffs, piano lines and backing vocals from Casale and Ericksen balance the track. A Little More Time has a pop feel with easy jazz like guitar riffs and backing vocals. Could be a radio wonder. One Bad Habit is a easy stepping shuffle with nice harmonies. A feel good track it is surely a crowd pleaser. Take Me Back To Tulsa is driving track with great bass riffs. Cru leads the way on this one vocally with nice backing and lamson does a really nice job on piano. Ericksen blows a nice harp solo on this track and Cru sticks a country infused guitar solo giving it a real Tulsa flair. Cool track! Count On Me is a real swingin blues shuffle with a solid bass line. Nicely blended vocals and strong construction make this another track that could get good airplay. Holding On To You is a simple ballad with warm backing vocals and nicely blended harp overtones and a warm bed of organ. Bringing Out The Beast has a nice swagger and kind of reminds me of an old Little Feat track. Simple clean guitar riffs and harp work over a gritty vocal track and suspended organ work gives this track it's bite. Wrapping the release is Thinking How To Tell Me Goodbye, a country 2 stepper. With authentic country styling, harp and acoustic riffs, this track gets er done.

  If you support live Blues acts, up and coming Blues talents and want to learn more about Blues news and Fathers of the Blues, Like ---Bman’s Blues Report--- Facebook Page! I’m looking for great talent and trying to grow the audience for your favorites band! -  ”LIKE”

 

Willie "Popsy" Dixon, Drummer/Vocalist Of The Holmes Brothers, Diagnosed With Cancer

WILLIE "POPSY" DIXON, DRUMMER AND VOCALIST OF ACCLAIMED SOUL/BLUES BAND THE HOLMES BROTHERS, DIAGNOSED WITH CANCER

Willie "Popsy" Dixon, drummer and vocalist of the critically acclaimed soul/blues band The Holmes Brothers, has been diagnosed with stage four bladder cancer. He is celebrated for his soaring, soulful multi-octave vocals and his driving, in-the-pocket drumming. Shortly after performing with the band on December 6, Dixon was hospitalized with pneumonia. Doctors then discovered the cancer. He is currently in hospice care in Virginia.

Dixon, born in Virginia Beach, Virginia on July 26, 1942, met brothers Sherman and Wendell Holmes at a New York gig in 1967. Dixon sat in with the brothers and sang two songs. "After that second song," recalls Wendell, "Popsy was a brother." They played in a variety of Top 40 bar bands until 1979, when the three officially joined forces and formed The Holmes Brothers band. The band has toured the world, releasing 12 albums starting with 1990's In The Spirit on Rounder. Their most recent release is 2014's Brotherhood on Alligator. The New York Times calls The Holmes Brothers "deeply soulful, uplifting and timeless."

In September 2014, The Holmes Brothers were honored with a National Endowment For The Arts National Heritage Fellowship, the highest honor the United States bestows upon its folk and traditional artists.

Fans can leave messages for Dixon at The Holmes Brothers Facebook page.

IBC Artist Announces European/UK Tour

Dan Phelps Northern Illinois Bluesman Chosen to Represent Crossroads Blues Society at IBC Memphis Bluesman Announces Return Tour to UK/Europe   These are exciting times for Dan Phelps and his lovely wife Sarah.  Together they share a dream, a hope, and they see the dream coming alive.  Nothing is greater in this world then when you can light up a room with a song and someone you love is whole heartedly supporting your efforts as you deliver everything you’ve got on the stage and in the studio.  It's with that level of support that Dan entered and was chosen to represent The Crossroads Blues Society in Northern Illinois.  In fact he's just announced a seventh tour to the UK and Europe and has enlisted the assistance of John Roberts of Barking Spider Productions UK to do it all again.  Dan’s previous offshore engagements have taken him to the Dorchester Arts Centre in Dorchester, The Navy Club in Mayport England, The Borderline in London, Monroe's Tavern in Galway Ireland, The Howlin' Wolf in Glasgow Scotland, and The Blues House in Milan, Italy.  Additionally, Dan just played a house concert hosted by the famous bluesman Tom Doughty in the UK.  Today, armed with great hope fueled by the tremendous support of his wife, their local blues society, his fans, a brand new CD, a shot at the title in Memphis, along with the upcoming show dates Dan has never been more excited about his future.  The key influences on Dan's career are none other than Son House, Blind Willie Johnson, Charley Patton and in his on stage performances you note a touch of the famed Tom Waits coming through as well.  Dan will be the first to tell you of his unwavering love of Delta Blues and how these incredible influences made an indelible mark on his very being.  As a bluesman once stated, "You either is or you ain't"  and as so many other bluesman have said - you must feel the blues and not just play the blues.  Dan's live performances reveal that the man has the feeling.  Just in 2014 alone he performed on stage at three American blues festivals: Chicago Blues Fest, Bay Front Duluth, Minnesota and Field of Blues Rockford, Illinois.  Plus Dan performed abroad as well in 2014 and don't forget his new CD, "Going Home".  It’s obvious when you see him live that he loves what he is doing and on more than one occasion, working in conjunction with The Crossroads Blues Society, they have taken the blues to music students in their schools.  The blues is either in you or it ain't and if it is then you automatically want to let it out, you want to share it.  Doesn't matter if the bluesman's performance is in front of a clap board building with a kitchen chair with your name all over it or if you find yourself laying it down for thirty kids in a classroom - you either is or you ain't.  If you are going to IBC Memphis you might want to check out this man's performance.  Dan Phelps will be billed on the solo act roster.   Dan Phelps Website  www.danphelpsblues.net FaceBook https://www.facebook.com/pages/Dan-Phelps-Music/1401784250068605?ref=bookmarks YouTube  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MwIwd_wD--0&feature=youtu.be&list=UUcZXBlRzIps9zdAZPp5brzw Dan Phelps photo courtesy John Connell

You know you want to go - you know you want to go big time! Dan Phelps returns to the UK and Europe! Watch for the exact dates, cities, and clubs on Dan's website and FaceBook page This is Dan's third CD. Going Home is on the Vincent Records label and available at CD Baby and iTunes

Gutsy Soulful Blues-Rocker Dana Fuchs Heads Home For US Tour Dates

Gutsy Soulful Blues-Rocker Dana Fuchs Heads Home

From Europe to Conquer The U.S.!

Dana answers her Fans’ Pleas!

“To look at, Fuchs is willowy flower-fairy with a head of Titian curls…Her voice, though is juke-joint dirty and illicit, evoking Joplin, Jagger, and a fag butt bobbing in a glass of bourbon.”

- Classic Rock UK

Atlanta, GA – Ruf Records recording artist Dana Fuchs has become a powerhouse vocal sensation in Europe with her Robert Plant meets Janis Joplin vocals, along with a Mick Jagger stage-like swagger, her songs and lyrics come straight from the depths of her tortured yet joyous soul to her audiences. Fuchs is now set to conquer the U.S, as she continues her World Tour in support of her latest release Songs From The Road with a string of key US dates in 2015. 

You have to see Dana live to believe it and she has just delivered her fierce live show to her fans’ living rooms with her new live CD/DVD combo, captured at Highline Ballroom in New York City on March 14^th 2014 in front of a sold-out, hometown crowd. The reviews have been stellar.

“It’s the voice that grabs you first. That big, whiskey-flavored tonsil showdown that can kick your butt one minute and soothe your ills the next. Once she has caught your attention, Dana Fuchs will proceed to give you a piece of her heart with her arsenal of songs that were built from feelings, experiences, some good times, some bad times and a lot of soul searching in a world that can be loving and cruel. Fuchs definitely knows her way around a totem pole of emotions.” - Glide Magazine

(To view the trailer of SFTR please

click on the CD art above)

Songs From The Road is jam-packed with material spanning the years since Dana left her home in Florida at age 19 to pursue her music career full time and pay her dues in NYC. Dana took NYC’s gritty blues scene by storm garnering attention that led to her first big break under the bright lights of Broadway playing Janis Joplin in the critically acclaimed Love, Janis. Her role got the attention of world-renowned film and stage director Julie Taymor, who cast Dana to star as Sadie (a part written specifically for Dana by the director) in the 2007 Academy Award nominated Sony Pictures Beatles musical, Across The Universe.

In 2009, Dana Fuchs cemented herself as a world-class singer & songwriter with the release of her second critically acclaimed studio album Love To Beg on Ruf Records described by Relix Magazine as a “must buy.”   Proving she had staying power, her third studio album Bliss Avenue (Ruf Records 2011) was hailed by critics with Classic Rock Magazine UK describing her “ash tray battle cry” as getting its “best canvas to date.”

Dana’s life story is not one for the faint of heart. Arriving in NYC alone and broke, clawing her way out of poverty, addiction, the seedy life of strip joints and enduring the tragic suicide of her sister, gave Dana the will to purge her soul through music and invite her audiences to share and bare their souls with her. Dana says, “Each show is about my connection to the audience. They are half of the show and a huge part of the whole experience.  We all share the same desire for joy and we have lived our own pain. My goal at every show is to make sure we connect and celebrate life in all its beautiful, painful glory.”

Now Dana takes Songs From The Road on tour in the U.S.A. where audiences will get a supercharged two hour show as Fuchs exhibits “blisteringly raw vocals” and “gut-wrenching honesty” to forge a true “emotional connection” with them according to Blues & Soul Magazine UK.

Dana is booked by Intrepid Artists out of Charlotte, NC and her radio is handled by Mike DeUrso with Ruf Records at the following email:  tunefulguy@hotmail.com

Publicist: Jill Kettles – Miss Jill PR – T- 404-213-8542 and Email: jill@missjillpr.com

To download a hi-res photo of Dana: Dana Fuchs color photo

DANA FUCHS INTINERARY 2015

1/16                      Narrows Center For The Arts                          Fall River, MA 

1/17                      Sellersville Theater 1894                  Sellersville, PA 

1/18                      Brooklyn Bowl                                                  Brooklyn, NY

2/6                        Gypsy Sally’s                                                     Washington, DC 

2/7                        Lancaster Roots and Blues Festival Lancaster, PA 

3/13                      3rd Annual Blues Summit                Plymouth, NH

3/14                      Sugarloaf Mountain Resort                            Carabassett Valley, ME

3/17      Jazz Alley                                                           Seattle, WA   

3/18                      Jazz Alley                                                           Seattle, WA     

3/19                      Jimmy Maks                                                     Portland, OR

3/21                      Jazzbones                                                          Tacoma, WA     

3/22                      The Seasons                                                      Yakima, WA

3/27                      Redwood Coast Music Festival                      Eureka, CA USA 

3/28                      Biscuits and Blues                                            San Francisco, CA

3/29                      Sainte Rocke                                                     Hermosa Beach, CA 

4/02                      Ram’s Head                                                       Annapolis, MD

4/04                      Funk n’ Waffles  

RC and The Moonpie Band - Individually Wrapped - New Release Review

I just received the newest release, Individually Wrapped, from RC and the Moonpie Band and it's a lot of fun. Opening with F in Funk, Robert "RC" Christian (lead vocal), Robert Marlow (guitar), T Bone Betourney (drums), Mike Logiovino (bass) and Russell Pleasants (backing vocals) throw down a mix of blues and R&B. Gary Pope sits in on slide guitar and Dale MacPherson on harp along with RC's vocals giving an Al Green style track a bluesy feel of Muddy Waters. On shuffle track Country Girl, Marlowe handles a tasty guitar riff over slick vocals from RC. Pope is back on slippery slide for Squeeze Play Blues but I really like a grinding rhythm work of Marlowe working with Logiovino on bass on this track. Hope In A Hopeless World is a strong R&B track and RC has his best opportunity to show is vocal capabilities joined by Lorette Christain on backing. Again Marlowe plays some tasty riffs and Debby Gore contributes nicely on keys. My favorite track on the release. Sweet Tooth digs in the funk and Logiovino and Marlowe are pushing it down. Another smooth R&B track, I Wouldn't Treat A Dog That Way, again features RC at his best with vocal backing by Lorette Christian. Marlowe's guitar work is reminiscent of the Isleys. Very cool! Hey Yeah is a rocker with a tip of the hat to the Stones. Again Marlowe is upfront on guitar and Logiovino and Betourney hold down the bottom. Lonesome and Then Some is a straight up rocker with an Eric Clapton feel. Jeff Cochran adds guitar and vocal to this catchy track again featuring the fleet guitar work of Marlowe. Prince's Kiss gets a heavy swamp bottom and delicate spanish guitar work giving it a totally different feel from Prince or Tom Jones. Actually quite cool. Viagra is a easy funk track with a slower James Brown rhythm. Debby Gore is back on piano for this track. Like A Puma has a Chuck Berry rhythm and Marlowe has it running. David Hood steps up with a hot sax solo and the track a hot compact rocker. Wrapping the release is Dixon's Wang Dang Doodle with a little funk on the bottom. MacPherson adds some cool blues harp along with RC's blues vocals giving it an updated blues feel.

  If you support live Blues acts, up and coming Blues talents and want to learn more about Blues news and Fathers of the Blues, Like ---Bman’s Blues Report--- Facebook Page! I’m looking for great talent and trying to grow the audience for your favorites band! -  ”LIKE”

 

Real Gone Music: Grateful Dead - Dick's Picks 13 - Nassau Coliseum 5/6/81 - New release Review

I just received the newest release, Volume 13 of Dick's Picks from the Grateful Dead and the concert is quite entertaining. Opening with Alabama Getaway Garcia wastes no time getting the crowd on its feet and hopping. A wide open guitar solo in this one sets the pace. Continuing with the high energy rock of Greatest Story Ever Told, Weir leads the way. Settling down into a groove with They Love Each Other Lesh has his bass popping and Brent Mydland opens the door with some cool piano. Garcia uses the funky beat of the track to play some otherwise uncharacteristic riffs. Cool! On Cassidy, the easy country rock feel that the Dead developed so well gives Garcia and Weir the opportunity to get a little more progressive in their approach. Jack-A-Roe has a strong country flavor and is one of my favorites on the release. lead by Garcia on guitar and vocal it has that pure feel. Excellent finger work by Garcia on this track is icing on the cake. The Dead's take on Burnetts' Little Red Rooster maintains much of the original blues feel with some over driven guitar tones. Mydland takes a nice organ interlude nicely complimenting Garcia's guitar work and Wier's vocals. Classic Dead track, Dire Wolf is always a favorite with Garcia back on lead vocal. Although not prolonged, Garcia's guitar work on this track is spot on. One of Weir's extended ballads, Looks Like Rain follows with quiet emotion and Weir on lead vocals. On hopped up Big Railroad Blues, Garcia rocks out in a near Chuck Berry style for a refreshing rocker. Weir's Let It Grow has a nice quick moving pace and a twist of Mexico with nice drive by Hart and Kreutzmann on drums and crisp riffs from Garcia. Wrapping disc one is another all time favorite of the Dead, Deal. Garcia leads this track as fresh as the first time. Mydland and Lesh carry the bulk of the load with Garcia on vocal and light guitar riffs. Cutting in at over 7 minutes a good closer. Opening disc two is New Minglewood Blues, a traditional blues track similar to Rolling and Tumblin, with underlying blues riffs but with modern attributes. Mydland takes a nice organ solo on this track and Garcia lays down some pretty hot slide riffs of his own. A nice quiet bluesy ballad, High Time, is up next with Garcia showing some really lush guitar work. Another Weir track, Lost Sailor, has that unique blend of jazz, progression and ballad. Excellent writing. A 42 minute version of Saint of Circumstance is the first really extended jam by the gang on this recording and as a somewhat mid point of the release... very nice. Opening disc three is He's Gone with a Dead style boogie. Weir and Garcia harmonize nicely with sufficient cool guitar work to keep your ears on alert. On Caution/ Spanish Jam the Dead wanders through many different themes from driving rock to jazz. Hart and Kreutzmann take an extended (7 plus minute) drum excursion satisfying that drum itch and leading back into a loose guitar jam. With it's unusual rhythm pattern, The Other One seems a perfect sleigh to ride for yet another instrumental jam. Well constructed and moving, it's over in a moment. Back to the blues roots with Going Down The Road Feeling Bad, Garcia leads the way with a Delaney and Bonnie style. Pulling out all of the blues riffs, this track hits the note. A heavy shot of Wharf Rat is up next with Garcia leading on vocal and guitar. As has become customary, Weir takes the mic for a rocking version of Good Lovin'. On encore is another Dead favorite, Don't Ease Me In. This is a great terrific track to wrap up this mostly rockin' concert.

If you support live Blues acts, up and coming Blues talents and want to learn more about Blues news and Fathers of the Blues, Like ---Bman’s Blues Report--- Facebook Page! I’m looking for great talent and trying to grow the audience for your favorites band! -  ”LIKE”