2016 Living Blues Awards Wee Willie Walker wins Comeback of the Year and Best Blues / Southern Soul Album Awards! Critics’ Poll Blues Artist of the Year (Male) Buddy Guy Blues Artist of the Year (Female) Shemekia Copeland Most Outstanding Blues Singer Otis Clay Most Outstanding Musician (Guitar) Lurrie Bell Most Outstanding Musician (Harmonica) Sugar [...]
Mississippi-born musician John "Blues" Boyd is The Real Deal when it comes to blues music. The soulful septuagenarian, now based in California, just released a new album staked on this swaggering attestation of showmanship. Boyd plays the San Jose Jazz Summer Fest this month to back up his artistically audacious claim. The Real Deal, recorded [...]
I wanted to be bigger than Bill Gates — but I fell in love with the blues Credit: Ola Carlvik This story is based on a radio interview. Listen to the full interview. DOWNLOAD HERE Aki Kumar moved to Silicon Valley at the age of 18. His goal, like many others, was to be a [...]
Though the official start of the final day of the Safeway Waterfront Blues Festival doesn't happen until noon, bands and fans were there very early. The Mariachi Mestizo group arrived early and showed their style and support. It also isn't hard to find people who regularly attend all 4 days of the Safeway Waterfront Blues [...]
HARD TIMES LVF NIGHT AT THE FREIGHT & SALVAGE 2018 SEAN WHEELER "I'M GLAD" XÓCHITL MORALES INTERVIEW MARIACHI MESTIZO AT CAPITOL STUDIOS, HOLLYWOOD, CA JOHN BLUES BOYD INTERVIEW AIREENE ESPIRITU “DOWN BY THE RIVERSIDE” MARIACHI MESTIZO (JUVINAL) MARCH 2016 WEE [...]
California-based troubadour Aireene Espiritu has been a favorite on the folk circuit for some years, releasing several acclaimed CDs of her own original music and touring extensively throughout the US and in Europe. Now she's putting her mark on the blues, having been tapped by Jim Pugh, founder of Little Village Foundation, a non-profit producer [...]
Aireene Espiritu Jim Pugh, the veteran keyboard player who toured the world with Etta James and Robert Cray and now roams the Central Valley and Bay Area byways looking for unknown musicians to savor and record, first heard the Filipino American singer Aireene Espiritu a few years ago at the Folk Alliance conclave [...]
Jim Pugh, the veteran keyboard player who toured the world with Etta James and Robert Cray and now roams the Central Valley and Bay Area byways looking for unknown musicians to savor and record, first heard the Filipino American singer Aireene Espiritu a few years ago at the Folk Alliance conclave in Oakland. She was [...]