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 [...]

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 [...]

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 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. W-Jones, Dani Wilde, Homemade Jamz Blues Band, Mike Zito, and John-Alex Mason provide a view of where the blues might be in the [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

Just a quick heads-up about show 164. For the first time in the life of The Roadhouse, 164 will be a repeat of a previous show.

My grandmother passed away in Loveland, CO Saturday afternoon. I’ll be spending the week driving between a service in CO and a Saturday graveside service in IA. For the first [...]

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 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 & Walter Horton, Cold Blue Steel, Michael Burks, Johnny Winter, Odetta are the featured artists. We’re in little clubs, big studios, acoustic, electric, male, female. [...]

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. [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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 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 [...]