Headline, Shows »

High temperatures and near-recovery from the Mississippi Valley Blues festival make for the perfect reasons to stay indoors and listen to some great blues. The summertime mix includes Meena, Lightnin’ Hopkins, Magic Slim & The Teardrops, Luther Allison, and Chris James & Patrick Rynn. The 281st Roadhouse is one quick hour of the finest blues you’ve never heard.

Headline, Shows »

We’re in a festive mood in the 280th Roadhouse. I took the show on the road this week to the 26th annual IH Mississippi Valley Blues Festival in Davenport, IA. Tight to the banks of the Mississippi, it’s one of the longest-running and most well-respected festivals in the country. Bernard Allison, Ana Popovic, Billy Branch, Hubert Sumlin, and Legendary Rhythm & Blues Revue fill the 280th Roadhouse with festival music. It’s blues you’ve probably heard, but it’s still an hour of undoubtedly fine music – the 280th Roadhouse.

Odds And Ends »

Though you may not know it, The Roadhouse is available in four versions: regular, premium, deluxe, and radio. Each is a little bit different than the others. Because of those small differences, it’s actually easier to record the voiceovers separately than to do the show “live.” And, it offers me the opportuntunity to listen through each segment before adding the voiceovers to the music. It’s actually a pretty streamlined process that makes putting the show together each week as much an editing task as anything else.

Sometimes, though, it’s a two-edged sword. Inattentive editing this week pushed me right up against the business edge of that sword. As you’ve probably heard, the show actually had two intros. Or, more correctly, the same intro twice. I think that’s happened only once before and not quite as obviously as it did this week.

So, it’s an error that’s out there for the world to hear. I doubt that I’ll go back and correct it. I will try to stay more on-task in the future.

Headline, Shows »

The 279th Roadhouse is a showcase edition for some fine young blues musicans. Heavy on guitar and bordering, at times, on rock, these artists reflect but a few of the new directions for blues in the next several years. Anni Piper, Joe Bonamassa, Jonny Lang, Cedric Burnside & Lightnin’ Malcom, and John Nemeth help fill another hour of the finest blues you’ve never heard.

Headline, Shows »

The 278 Roadhouse pulls out all the hues of the blues. Jump blues to acoustic, guitar and harp, old names and new faces, big blues labels and small. Daddy Mack Blues Band, Janiva Magness, Ghost Town Blues Band, Chris James & Patrick Rynn, and Eddie C. Campbell represent the full spectrum and stand right out in front for another hour of the finest blues you’ve never heard.

Headline, Shows »

The 277th Roadhouse continues with the recent trend toward an hour nearly full of new music. The labels, big and small, are pushing lots of new releases and you get the benefit. Daddy Mack Blues Band, Mark Hummel, Jeff Turmes, Rory Block, and Watermelon Slim round out the hour. The 277th Roadhouse is another hour of the finest blues you’ve never heard.

Headline, Shows »

This hour of The Roadhouse is full of surprises – tracks that you might think of as blues until we put them in context. Sugar Blue, Johnny Iguana, Sandy Mack, Toni Price, and Treasa Levasseur will broaden your blues horizons. They prove that blues is the foundation for more music than most realize. The 276th Roadhouse is an hour of ubiquitous blues – the finest you’ve never heard.