Freckle Bandit Records artist: Sista Jean & CB - Requiem for a Heavy-Weight - New Release Review

I just received the newest release, Requiem for a Heavy-Weight A tribute to Odetta by Sista Jean & CB and it's deep. Opening with Ledbelly track, Alabama Bound, Jean and CB have a very contemporary sound with super resonator slide work by Mark Goldenberg. Another Ledbelly track, Easy Rider, has a much warmer feel with Jean digging in on vocal backed by Vincent Henry & Big Willie B on drums. Very cool! On traditional folk track, House Of The Rising Sun, Jean really shows the richness of her voice paired with nicely articulated guitar work of CB (Carlyle Barriteau). Very nice! Another traditional track, Jack of Diamonds, has a super modern bluesy sound with Jean's vocals right up front and solid drum and bass as well as harp soloing adding texture. With a jazzy approach and a very laid back delivery, traditional track, Deep River, is smooth, supple and rich. Alan Lomax track, Another Man Done Gone, stays the solid blues course acapella with hand claps. Very nice! Leadbelly's Midnight Special has a similar mix as that of CCR's fro the 70's but with a bit more country style guitar work and gospel flavored backing vocals. Very nice! Ledbelly's Take This Hammer really has the feel of an Odetta performance with strong delivery and certain delivery. Strong. Original jazz/blues track, Troubled Man Of Mine, is actually one of my favorite tracks on the release with simple guitar, drum and bass and Jean owning the track. Excellent! Louie Armstrong track, Hear Me Talkin' To Ya has a funky Louisiana feel. CB,s riffs and Vincent Henry's harp work over a super groove gives this track a hot feel and strong radio potential. Ledbelly track, Meet N At The Building, maintains a strong spiritual / blues feel with Davey Chegwidden on percussion and David Piltch on bass. Wrapping the release is the traditional track, Glory Glory. Very cleanly performed and primarily acapella, Jean shows that she really has strong control of her art and CB, joining with a clean accompaniment on acoustic guitar gives the track a polished more modern feel. Excellent closer!

 

  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”

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Provogue Records artist: Supersonic Blues Machine - West Of Flushing South Of Frisco - New Release Review

I just received the newest release, West of Flushing South of Frisco, from Supersonic Blues Machine and it's a smokin' cool release. Featuring the leadership of Lance Lopez (guitar and vocal), Kenny Aronoff (drums and percussion) and Fabrizzio Grossi (bass, Hammond and vocals) this band is cooking. Opening with Miracle Man, a southern influenced blues rocker, the band is really off to a great start complimented by Jimmy Z Zavala on harp, Serge Simic on acoustic guitar, Garrett Hollbrock on lap steel and Francis Bentez and Andrea Grossi on backing vocals. Next up is I Ain't Fallin Again, a sophisticated rocker with a cool back beat and a solid drive. Billy F Gibbons leads the way on vocal and guitar on Running Whiskey a straight up rocker with a definite Gibbons flavor. Remedy, features Warren Haynes and his influence is immediately noticed with a warm, laid back feel. Trading lead riffs and vocals with Lopez, Haynes doesn't dominate the track at all and it actually feels a bit like a cool Marshall Tucker influence with new wind in it's sails. Bone Bucket Blues is a great boogie with Paulo Verdone on lead guitar with Lopez on lead vocal and guitar. This track is hot with Jimmy Z's harp work as icing. Let It Be is a cool soul rocker track with some of Lopez's best vocals on the release. I particularly like Grossi's bass work on this track complimented by Hammond work by Sam Lusting and a solid solo from Lopez. Very nice! That's My Way features Chris Duarte on some flaming hot guitar riffs joined by Lopez on lead guitar and vocal and also featuring some tight bass work from Grossi. Ain't No Love (In The Heart of the City) is one of my favorite tracks on the release with particularly strong vocals from Lopez and strong backing vocal support from Francis and Andrea. Excellent! Nightmares and Dreams takes a heavier swagger and rightly so with guitar monster Eric Gales joining. Lopez, Francis and Andrea handle the vocals really nicely and with a rock solid bottom from Aronoff and lively bass by Grossi, this track is propelled by the guitar pyrotechnics of Lopez and Gales. Can't Take It No More has an almost Wishbone Ash feel with twin guitar leads courtesy of Lopez and Walter Trout. Trading lead vocals and Pink Floyd backing vocals by Francis and Andrea, this track is super. This is a really nice stack up with Trout and Lopez. It isn't as much a slug fest as it is a choreographed joust. Very nice! Whiskey Time is a 2 plus extended jam excerpt from Running Whiskey. You like guitars... this is cool! The king of the melodic blues guitar players, Robben Ford shares center stage for ballad, Let's Call It A Day. Lopez is in the left channel and Ford in the right channel, playing melodically along with Lopez's smooth vocals on this top selected radio track. Wrapping the release is Watchagonnado, a funky track with a super groove. Grossi sets a really nice bottom and Francis and Andrea highlight Lopez's super vocals. Phil Parlapiano adds a grat funky Hammond set and Lopez's guitar riffs really make this the best track on the release. Very cool!

 

  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”

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Rose Cottage Records artist: Peter Karp - The Arson's Match - New Release review

I just received the newest release (March 1, 2016), The Arson's Match (live In NYC with Mick Taylor), from Peter Karp and it's hot! This was originally recorded live at a sold-out performance in NYC and broadcast on Sirius XM. All proceeds of sales of this CD go to Ovarian Cancer Research. Opening with the title track, Arson's Match, Karp takes the lead on vocal and and Elmore James style slide guitar, with Dennis Gruenling on harp and Mick Taylor with his blues style making this a smoking opener. With a lighter hand and an almost Van Morrison feel, Gee Chee Gee Chee Wawa, is a pop rocker with Jim Ehinger on keys, Daniel Pagdon on bass and Paul "Hernandez" Unsworth on drums. Y'All Be Lookin' is a cool track with a great driving bass line. Karp rips the slide on this one and the crowd is definitely revved. The Turning Point starts as an acoustic ballad building throughout with a solid melody and a funky southern rhythm. Rocker, The Nietsche Lounge, has a great driving boogie feel. This is one of my favorite tracks on the release with rumbling bottom, rolling guitars and an country swing twist. Latin rhythms take Your Prettyness to a different space featuring Dave Keyes on piano, and Jim Ehinger on keys. Hernandez sets the rhythm and Karp tells the story. With it's swinging break this is a smoking cool track with a really nice piano solo from Keyes, a smoking swing from Gruenling. Very nice! Rolling On A Long has a smooth jazziness to it. Gruenling really lays down a hot harp solo on this track and Karp's best vocal efforts are on this track as well. Bluesy ballad, I'm Not Giving Up, in 3/4 time has definite radio feel and organ work by Ehinger. Again, I particularly like Karp's vocals on this track and use of the neck pickup on this track gives the rhythm guitar a cool contrast to the expressive guitar soloing taking the track to the end. Very nice! Treat Me Nice is a cool boogie with a good blend of vocal, guitar and harp. Wrapping the release is Train O'Mine, featuring the harp wizardry of Gruenling and a straight rock beat. Karp and Taylor get a super rock guitar riff going with rudimentary drum and bass work setting a great base for Gruenling to take it home. Very nice!

 

  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”

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Coffegrinds artist: Blue Largo - Sing Your Own Song - New Release review

I just received the newest release, Sing Your Own Song, from Blue Largo and it covers the gamut from Louisiana swamp grooves to acoustic country. Opening with Walkin' On A Tightrope, vocalist, Alicia Aragon takes the lead with solos by Eric Lieberman on guitar, Taryn Donath on keys and solid bass work from Joey Jazdzewski and drums from Marcus Bashore. A smooth sax solo by Dave Castel de Oro on Kindness Love and Understanding hits the target and provides a nice bridge to solo guitar work from Eric L. Title track, Sing Your Own Song, has that gospel revival sound reinforced by Dave on sax and Rafael Salmon on organ. On Latin infused R&B track, Tears of Joy, the familiar feel of an old Ben E King track with tight percussion work by Ron Felton. Earl Hooker's Guitar Rhumba is one of my favorites on the release with Lieberman taking the lead with authentic Cuban style piano rhythms from Donath and Johny Viau on percussion. With a break into a more swinging beat the track takes on a chameleon style but then again back to Spanish. Very cool! Prisoner of the Night has a great swing and strong sax work from Jonny and Dave. Eric slips in a fluid bluesy guitar solo of his own with 50's style men's vocal chorus. Very nice! Evening is a slinky, easy swing track with clean piano work from Donath. There is strong sax and guitar interplay on this track which gives a nice groove. Nothin' To Prove has a pop rock feel and a catchy melody, always with strong sax work. Willie Dixon's You Know My Love is one of my favorites with a dark soul sound. This is possibly Aragons best showcase for her vocals and the heavy horns really punctuate it nicely. Okie Dokie Stomp is always a favorite, featuring Eric on guitar and a big band horn pump and Bashore and Jazdzewski holding tight. Elevator To The Gallows has a super feel with dissonant guitar chords, bright piano riffs and sexy sax lines. A nice blend of sweet and sad like St James Infirmary and clean sax and guitar solos highlight the track. Magic Sam's, I Need You So Bad, has a great feel with some of Aragon's best vocal work and also including some of the more memorable guitar riffs on the release. Donath lays down some real nice piano work and Viau really hits the sax hard on this track. Very nice! Steel guitarist Herb Remington's, Remington Ride has a country (cowboy 2 step) feel and Lieberman does a real nice job pulling it off with simple piano, bass and drums accompaniment. Very cool! Wrapping the release is the classic, Sitting On Top Of The World in stripped down form, featuring Aragon on vocal and Lieberman on acoustic slide for a real nice closer.



  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”

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Kokako artist: Karen Lovely - Ten Miles of Bad Road - New Release Review

I just received the newest release, Ten Miles of Bad Road, from Karen Lovely and I think it's her best yet! Opening with Low Road, a mix of blues, country,R&B and pop, is a great showcase of Lovely's voice. With Alan Mirikitani throwing down some sweet guitar riffs, Tony Braunagel on drums, James Hutchinson on bass and Jim Pugh on B3 are joined by Julie Delgado and Kenna Ramsey on backing vocals making a solid opener. Company Graveyard has a more driving rock beat along the lines of Radar Love but with a boogie twist and again featuring a hot guitar riffs from Mirikitani. A Better Place is really stripped down like a primitive blues with Johnny Lee Schell on guitar and bass. Very cool! Ignorance (It Ain't Bliss) is a solid pop rocker with a bluesier approach but similar approach to rock as China Girl with smooth organ work and a flashy guitar solo. Cross The Water is a really nice ballad with country influences. This is a track that could easily make cross radio appeal featuring solid keys by Pugh and backing vocals by Delgado and Ramsey. Title track, Ten Miles Of Bad Road, has a bright jazzy style with Joe Sublett on sax, Les Lovitt on trumpet and with Pugh on keys, Hutch on bass and Braunagel on drums, this track has a strong hook. Quiet ballad, I Want To Love You, is another nice showcase for Lovely vocal with only minimal backing from Pugh, Hutch and Braunagel and a melodic guitar solo from Schell. R&B track, You Stole My Heart, is smooth with Lovely in duet and an easy set instrumental backing. Always Love You is a seductively sweet ballad with Lovely's vocals carrying the track with only minimal keys and percussion. Very nice! Blues Valentine has a strong country rock feel with resonator reinforcement from Schell and a cool key solo from Pugh. Save Me blends rock, country, blues and R&B for a strong radio entry. With a cool guitar bridge from Mirikitani, this is another track that could get strong radio play. I'm Over Goodbye has a special feel with duet blending with Melodye Perry. A reinforcing melody line on B3 from Pugh and continued strong vocals from Lovely make this one of the hottest tracks on the release. Wrapping the release is Frank The Spank, a hot boogie rocker. Lovely really gets it hopping on this track and Kim Wilson, featured on harp hits the target. This is a great clean up track for a very solid radio oriented release.

 

  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”

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Jason Vivone and the Billy Bats - The Avenue - New Release Review

I just received the newest release, The Avenue, from Jason Vivone and the Billy Bats and it's raw and fun. Opening with a Bo Diddley style track, The Vivone Song (pronounced Viv O Nee), a musical chant with heavy tom tom rhythm and thick warm lower octave guitar melody on vibrato, a cool opener. Jim Jackson's, Kansas City Blues, is a rumbler with Vivone on wild slide guitar and lead vocal, Matt Bustamante on drums, Rick Maclvor on piano and Jeremy Clark on bass, topped off by Joanna Berkebile, Ben Hoppes and Paula Crawford on backing vocal. A solid boogie woogie and absolutely camaraderie among the band makes this a great track. Title track, The Avenue, tells the story of the gritty part of town where the dirt goes down. With the band in common vocal style and with very cool vibrato glistened guitar work, this track shimmers. Very nice. Hello Mrs Radzinsky is a driving boogie with a great walking bass line complimented nicely by MacIver on keys and featuring Vivone on slide. Ray and tasty! Train Musta Jumped The Tracks is a really cool track with a north Mississippi feel (to me). It's a loose blues with rag tag slide work and tightly organized vocals. Very cool! Calendar is an easy paced blues with thick slide work framing the seedy calendars known to grace men's garages and offices. With it's deliberate bass line, slashing slide and backing vocals, this is certainly a crowd pleaser. My Heart Is In The Right Place is a cool rocker with a bit of funk and jazz. A hard line is set down by Clark and Bustamante giving a nice platform for soloing by Vivone and MacIver. His Honor, The Mayor is a super closer with reverb saturated guitar work only in a perfectly clean environment. I solemn introspective track, this track hits dead on. Excellent! 

  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”

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Texas '51 Records artist: Van Wilks - 21st Century Blues - New Release Review

I just received the newest release, 21st Century Blues, by Van Wilks and it's quite good. Opening with Strange Girl you immediately hear strong,Texas blues rock framing and pop styling. Singer, songwriter, guitarist, Van Wilks is joined by Tommy Taylor on drums, Reggie Witty on bass and Billy Mason on keys for a clever opener. Billy Gibbons penned, Drive By Lover, has a lot of the drive of ZZ Top and there is actually quite a bit of similarity between Wilks' and Gibbon's voices. With a driving bass line and fluid blues guitar riffs, Wilks shows his stuff. On Golddigger, the band has a strong swagger and warm guitar rhythm. This is a super track and sans a few hot pinched harmonics and other stylistic guitar tricks, this could be ZZ Top. Very nice! One of my favorite tracks on the release, Just Walk Away, is a bluesy ballad with a lush melodic melody and nice guitar underpinnings. There's A Sin In There Somewhere has a much more primitive feel on the intro with an acoustic resonator and vocal but cranking to a full blown rocker. Cutting loose with super bass runs and hot rock guitar riffs, this track is smoking. Title track, 21st Century Blues, has a pop style melody with a strong chorded structure. Wilks keeps the overall guitar work and airy with harmonics and light slide. Who's Foolin' Who is a strong rocker with a cool hook. Never shy on interesting guitar riffs and solid rhythm from Dave Ray on bass and Charlie Fountain on drums, this track is consistent with the overall feel of the release. Hot Texas rock. She Makes Me Crazy is a straight forward rocker with additional guitar work from Christopher Cross and Manford Milligan on vocal. Fluid guitar runs, drums by Scott Linningham and bass by Andy Salmon and keys by Stefano Intelisano, another solid rocker. Quiet ballad, If I Were A Rich Man, shows off some of the most sensuous guitar riffs on the release, with howling slide work and easy paced vocals. Can't Stop Thinking is really straight down the middle pop rock in the vein of 38 special or such. It has a solid beat, a catchy tune (and you can dance to it) with some hot guitar riffs to close it. Living On Borrowed Time is a polished rocker with twin guitar leads and a solid melody. Wilks takes his guitar for a nice walk on this one backed by Tommy Taylor on drums and Reggie Witty on bass, with nice vocal harmonies between Wilks and Witty. Wrapping the release is Midnight Crossing, a surreal track with lots of space and guitar reverb and added percussion by Wilks . A cool melody on this one with only the voice of a Mexican Angel, Maria Estela Rafffone, creates a cool and unique closer.

 

  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”

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Tom Waits Streams New Track From Blind Willie Johnson Tribute Album

TOM WAITS STREAMS SOUL OF A MAN FROM NEW COMPILATION

GOD DON'T NEVER CHANGE: THE SONGS OF BLIND WILLIE JOHNSON

AT HIS FACEBOOK PAGE

Legendary artist Tom Waits is streaming his new recording of Soul Of A Man from the forthcoming album God Don't Never Change: The Songs Of Blind Willie Johnson at his Facebook page. Waits also recorded John The Revelator for the album.

The album -- to be issued on CD on February 26 and soon after on vinyl -- features newly recorded versions of the iconic slide guitarist/vocalist's most seminal material. In addition to Waits, Lucinda Williams, Derek Trucks and Susan Tedeschi, Cowboy Junkies, Blind Boys Of Alabama (with Jason Isbell on guitar), Sinéad O'Connor, Luther Dickinson featuring The Rising Star Fife & Drum Band, Maria McKee, and Rickie Lee Jones all deliver deeply moving interpretations of Johnson's otherworldly "gospel blues" music.

Produced by Jeffrey Gaskill (producer of the twice Grammy-nominated compilation, Gotta Serve Somebody: The Gospel Songs of Bob Dylan), God Don't Never Change: The Songs Of Blind Willie Johnson highlights the music of one of the greatest and most influential slide guitarists and vocalists who ever walked the Earth. Johnson sang his sanctified gospel lyrics with overwhelming intensity, his deep, raspy voice accompanying his haunting, blues-drenched guitar playing. Rock fans will no doubt recognize many of his songs which have been recorded over the years by artists ranging from Led Zeppelin to Eric Clapton to Bob Dylan. Johnson's recording of John The Revelator was included in the Anthology Of American Folk Music, archivist Harry Smith's 6-LP collection released in 1952 that set the folk revival of the 1960s into motion. God Don't Never Change: The Songs Of Blind Willie Johnson is, according to Gaskill, "my life's work." The project was years in the making, and Gaskill is thrilled it's ready to be released. "You gotta serve somebody," he says, referencing his earlier compilation, "and I got the songs of Blind Willie Johnson."

Blind Willie Johnson, whose life remains shrouded in mystery, was born in Pendleton, Texas in 1897 and grew up around Marlin, Texas, He recorded a total of 30 songs between 1927 and 1930 for Columbia, leaving behind a priceless legacy of the unforgettable music he created by marrying the raw, gospel fervor of his voice with the steely blues fire of his guitar. His songs were mostly traditional or came from hymnals, but when Johnson performed them, he transformed them with his soul-shaking voice and amazing slide guitar. Johnson was among the best-selling black gospel artists of the era, but the Great Depression ended his recording career. He continued traveling as a street singer, moving between Dallas, Galveston, Houston, Corpus Christi, San Antonio and finally to Beaumont, where he thundered out his street corner evangelism, spreading his sacred message through his transfixing music. He died in 1945 in Beaumont, Texas at the age of 48.

God Don't Never Change: The Songs Of Blind Willie Johnson

1) The Soul Of A Man (Tom Waits)

2) It's Nobody’s Fault But Mine (Lucinda Williams)

3) Keep Your Lamp Trimmed And Burning (Derek Trucks and Susan Tedeschi)

4) Jesus Is Coming Soon (Cowboy Junkies)

5) Mother’s Children Have A Hard Time (Blind Boys of Alabama)

6) Trouble Will Soon Be Over (Sinéad O'Connor)

7) Bye And Bye I’m Going To See The King (Luther Dickinson featuring The Rising Star Fife & Drum Band)

8) God Don’t Never Change (Lucinda Williams)

9) John The Revelator (Tom Waits)

10) Let Your Light Shine On Me (Maria McKee)

11) Dark Was The Night--Cold Was The Ground (Rickie Lee Jones)

11th Annual Ventura County Blues Festival: New Location, All-Day Headlining Acts, All-Star BB Chung King Tribute Jam

11TH ANNUAL VENTURA COUNTY BLUES FESTIVAL FEATURES NEW LOCATION; ALL-DAY HEADLINING ACTS; FESTIVAL-ENDING ALL-STAR "JAM SESSION" DEDICATED TO MEMORY OF THE LATE BB CHUNG KING                                Saturday, April 30, 2016     (Camarillo, CA)  - An exciting, new location; all-day headlining acts; festival-closing All-Star Jam dedicated to the late BB Chung King; enlarged Food and Craft Vendor area; a powerful, diverse lineup - all these factors promise to make the 11th Annual Ventura County Blues Festival the best festival ever produced by its presenters, the Ventura County Blues Society. Save the date: Saturday, April 30, at Studio Channel Islands, 2222 E. Ventura Blvd., in Camarillo. Gates open 10:00 am, music begins at 11:00 am. Tickets $30. (Pre-Sale), $40. (Day of Show). Kids 12 and under, free with paid Adult General Admission. V.I.P. Tickets $125. (online only). Festival proceeds benefits Food Share and other Ventura County area charities (please bring a food item to donate). Info: (805) 501-7122.   "We're really excited about the Festival's new location this year, and being able to have The Delgado Brothers perform, fresh from their recent IBC victory", says Michael John, Ventura County Blues Society President. "The jam (for the late) BB Chung King at the end of the Festival will also be amazing. Looks like all of BB's former band-mates and some very special guests will be there to honor BB's memory". The Delgado Brothers (pictured recently in Memphis, TN after winning the 2016 IBC award for "Best Band"), perform as part of the 11th Annual Ventura County Blues Festival on Saturday, April 30 in Camarillo.     HEADLINERS AT 11TH ANNUAL VENTURA COUNTY BLUES FESTIVAL     All-Star Jam Session: A star-studded lineup of musicians will take the stage to close out this year's Festival, all to honor the memory of the late guitarist, BB Chung King. This is sure to bring down the house!        Delgado Brothers: No longer just "L.A.'s Best-Kept Secret" after winning the coveted 2016 IBC "Best Band" award, The Delgado Brothers are driven by fierce independence, unified by family, and fortified by the brotherhood of music. Their topical anthem-worthy songs are  complemented by call-to-action lyrics, and East L.A. Soul. For over thirty years the Delgado Brothers have been music makers, collaborators and ordinary citizens; raising children, grieving the loss of parents, marrying & divorcing.  All of this life experience may explain their flare for illuminating every-man's joys, sorrows, triumphs and losses. The Brothers' music has long been embraced both locally and globally by a wide spectrum of people undivided by culture, age or socio/economic status. delgadobrothers.com/.    Karen Lovely: Powerhouse vocalist and 2016 BMA (Blues Music Awards) "Best Blues Female Artist" nominee makes her Ventura County Blues Festival debut. Known for her passionate, driven performances, Karen delivers a blistering mix of contemporary & old school blues. Lovely's standout performances have garnered awards and critical acclaim at festivals and venues throughout the US, Canada and Europe. With the release of her latest album TEN MILES OF BAD ROAD,  Karen Lovely has established herself as a singer/songwriter with a style uniquely her own. karenlovely.com/.   Dallas Hodge Band: This Veteran Detroit, MI musician is perhaps best known for fronting the legendary band, Canned Heat, Hodge first rose to fame in the mid-70's when teaming with guitarist Steve Marriott of Humble Pie renown. In 2009 Hodge began a working affiliation with Bob Seger's sax-man, Alto Reed, and Reed's West Coast Blues Entourage. Hodge's sound is best described as "Motor City-style rockin' rhythm & blues", and never fails to fire up a crowd! dallashodge.com/.    Pete Anderson: Multi-platinum, Grammy Award-winning producer and ground-breaking guitarist who melds blues and country to forge a style all his own. Long considered one of the world’s best-of-the-best Tele-twangers, Anderson has never been satisfied with maintaining the status quo. The last ten years have found Anderson focusing on his solo career – perfecting his craft and honing his musical vision. On BIRDS ABOVE GUITARLAND the Detroit native delivers a set of rich roots music gumbo, blues/funk/swing/country twang with a splash of surf music and a dash of jazz. While Anderson’s work as a producer/arranger/guitarist has resulted in acclaimed records in the Country, Folk, Singer-Songwriter, Rock, Pop, R&B, and Red Dirt genres of music, his focus as a solo artist has always been his first musical love – The Blues. peteanderson.com/.   Deb Ryder: Widely regarded as one of the best up-and-coming singer/songwriters in the blues world today. Born outside Chicago, Ryder was influenced at an early age by the music of the city, and by her father, a Chicago club sensation. She began appearing onstage as a young teen at her stepfather's famous Southern California-based nightclub The Topanga Corral, where she opened for blues legends like Etta James, Big Joe Turner and Taj Mahal, to name a few. Ryder's latest album Let It Rain, produced by Grammy award-winning producer Tony Braunagel, features eleven Ryder originals and an A-List of renowned players in the genre who bring a fresh energy and a powerful sound. debryder.com/.    Rae Gordon: The Rae Gordon Band brings together award-winning and nominated musicians and is fronted by Rae Gordon, the 2014 Muddy Award Winner for Best Female Vocalist (Cascade Blues Association). Gordon and company have played the big and little stages of the Northwest’s favorite clubs, dance floors and festivals, helping to mold their signature sound that spans from a danceable get-up-and-groove to a haunting slide tone - the latter a sound that will make you want to find a back porch and sit a spell. Rae Gordon Band performances are not only a show, but a celebration, as Gordon follows the policy that a stranger is just a friend you haven’t met…yet. “Add equal parts of Janis Joplin’s pain, Aretha Franklin’s soul and Grace Slick’s power; mix them thoroughly, and add a big gob of gooey molasses and you have Rae Gordon’s voice”– Positively Entertainment and Dining. raegordon.com/.