GARRET T WILLIE – BILL’S CAFÉ: Album review
Gulf Coast Records Garret T Willie is a twenty-five-year-old guy from Alert Bay, British Columbia. Now, this is not where you would normally find a Blues artist, and especially not one so young. In his short career, he has opened for the likes of Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Kingfish, John Fogerty, plus Joe Bonamassa. So even […]
B.B. KING – BLUES SUMMIT 100: Album review
CELEBRATING THE KING OF THE BLUES KTBA Records In all my years as a Blues fan and writer, I can honestly say that, hand on heart, I’ve never heard a collection of artists such as these record what, in my opinion, is the best album of 2026. There, I’ve said it. Thirty-two tracks spanning the life and career of one of, if not […]
TINSLEY ELLIS – LABOR OF LOVE: Album review
Alligator Records Labor Of Love finds Ellis circling back to the marrow of the music no frills, no polish, just wood, wire, and worn-in truth. Stripped of the studio sheen and big-band punch that coloured his recent work, this album stands as Ellis’s most soulful excavation of acoustic blues yet, raw, direct, and heavy with lived experience. It also marks […]
DUKE ROBILLARD – BLAST OFF: Album review
Nola Blue Records Duke Robillard has spent a lifetime immersed in the deep currents of American roots music, and his newest release, finds the veteran guitarist and blues historian sounding as vital and assured as ever. This is not an album concerned with reinvention or trend-hopping. Instead, Robillard leans fully into his strengths, delivering a richly played […]
ALBUM REVIEW: KIRK FLETCHER – KEEP ON PUSHING
Vizztone Alongside a career as a top sideman to the likes of Joe Bonamassa and Charlie Musselwhite, as well as stints with The Mannish Boys and The Fabulous Thunderbirds, Kirk Fletcher has been steadily releasing solo albums since 1999. Keep On Pushing is his eighth solo album and his most accomplished yet. He began recording it in […]
ALBUM REVIEW: THE ZAC SHULZE GANG – STRAIGHT TO IT
Ruf Records It’s hard to believe that The Zac Shulze Gang only came together five years ago in Gillingham, England. In that short space of time, the trio have stormed stages across the UK, Europe, and even America – a feat many bands never achieve in a lifetime. Now, with their debut album Straight To […]
V&BT Album Review
Scandinavia is a noted European blues-music hotspot; Sweden and Norway are particularly known for their love of the music and both have a thriving, enquiring and impressive blues pedigree. Here we have one of those unexpected and pleasant surprises with a Norwegian outfit that clearly knows and understands the tradition and the genre all too […]
CITIZEN JONES – DOWNTOWN WAYS (album review)
Bringing a not entirely new meaning to the term ‘stripped back, Citizen Jones is just two musicians – Daniel Jones on guitar, and Tim Douthit on harmonica. The band claim to bring, quote, ‘fresh power to the old-school front porch country blues’. Singing mostly original songs, with occasional classics in their live set so the […]
ALLY VENABLE – Money & Power album review
Ruf Records Ally Venable roars back onto the scene with her sixth studio release. A bold, electrifying statement, this cements her status as a blues-rock powerhouse, blending fierce guitar work with messages of strength and resilience, especially for women in a historically male-dominated genre. The album explodes to life with Brown Liquor, a swaggering opener […]
THE TOO BAD JIMS – OVER THE HILL
The Too Bad Jims are a three-piece band, Little Victor (Guitar and Vocals, Son Jack Jr (Guitar and Vocals, and Nick Simonen (Drums ). They have all played with many other musicians such as Hubert Sumlin, Charlie Musselwhite, and Chuck Berry. Getting together for the first time on this album was because of their shared […]