If you ever get the chance to hang out with D.K. Harrell and his band, make sure it's over the breakfast table. The conversation flows fast and thick like our biscuits and gravy and the subject matter ranges from everything family and friends, good times, hard times and all things music. The entire band is well-versed in the latter and all speak fluent blues, jazz, soul, R&B and roots dialects. Not only young and talented, they openly display a shared enthusiasm and serious commitment to the music they love. You see it clearly when they acknowledge influences or when praising those who paved the way, but it grabs you by the throat when they step on stage and you witness it up close and personal with every note they play.

RJ Mischo has been dropping blues records and discs since the 90s and his latest is out right now. The new release was captured ‘live’ in Studio late, last year at Suprovox Analog Recording in Karkkila, Finland. That certainly comes as no surprise when you consider RJ’s popularity and fan base in Scandinavia and throughout Europe is just as wide-ranging as it is across the U.S.

It's a city where anything goes, where everyone feels comfortable. A city of contradictions. It's a city that's part Left Bank, part island getaway. A town where tacky sits comfortably with tropical vegetation on the same barstool, Bacchus, blues and beignets share the same plate.

Lonnie McIntosh was a country boy, born and raised in Southern Indiana. Growing up just an hour west of Cincinnati, Lonnie was drawn toward the guitar very early in life and was musically influenced by every genre in the region. Country music, gospel and bluegrass reigned supreme, but there was a mix of R&B, jazz, blues and Rock & Roll emanating from the Ohio side of the state line. As a teenager in the 50s, he absorbed it all.

The 1993 Long Beach Blues Festival was a phenomenal tribute to the blues of the Delta. It featured Robert Jr. Lockwood and Pinetop Perkins on stage, recreating a live presentation of radio station KFFA’s ‘King Biscuit Time.’ There was also an outstanding homage to the work of Robert Johnson; brought to life by Lonnie Pitchford, Keb’ Mo, Rory Block, and …

Its 2020, so it should be perfectly clear to you there is simply no better way to start the decade than with a new project from Sue Palmer. She continues to mine her four decade, freakishly large catalog of music in order to provide us with Gems: Volume 2.

Sax man extraordinaire Jonny Viau is always in demand. It took four years to get this interview, and before I could ask a single question, his phone goes off. The ringtone is a wailing harmonica solo; just file that away for later in our conversation.

You know it’s going to be a good day when your mailman delivers a big fat CD right to your front door. And it’s extra special when it comes from the reigning Queen of Boogie, Sue Palmer. Sue has put together a collection of 20 songs that she says are “particular favorites” from an immense archive that dates back almost 40 years.

A spectacular trumpet section anchored by John Fick is flying high, the tightly knit harmony electrifying a room packed with music aficionados and the timeless and earthy ambience of a hard-swingin’ 18-piece big band. Cherished sidemen, who should each have a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, sit elbow to elbow, each with a tale to tell. Johnny Vana’s …