Blues News Home Page (Updated approximately every 2 weeks. Last update 10th June 2009)

Rocking the Blues presents  

Blues & Rock Nights at The

 Limelight

 

Held normally on the 3rd Friday of every month  at The Limelight Theatre, Queens Park Arts Centre, Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire.

www.bluescdstore.com

Providing The Best Blues on The Planet

Next Gig  

Friday 19th June

 

Larry Miller Band 

For more info on Blues & Rock Nights at the Limelight and to buy tickets online  click here

 

Alternatively, to purchase tickets over the phone call 01296 431272 / 424332

If you have any trouble getting through call Rocking the Blues on 01296 634991

www.wegottickets.com 

 

www.bluesmatters.com

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Koko Taylor - 'Queen of the Blues'  Dies Aged 80

 

As a result of complications following surgery to correct a gastrointestinal bleed on May 19 surgery, blues legend Koko Taylor died on June 3, 2009 in her hometown of Chicago. A statement from Alligator Records says  "It’s with a heavy heart and deep sadness that I must inform you of the passing of Koko Taylor -  The Queen of the Blues. There will never be another one like her. That’s all I can say right now except to thank all of you for playing her music all these years. I can only encourage you to keep her spirit, her voice and her timeless music alive. She will be missed forever here."

 

Recently Koko  was the recipient of the Blues Foundation's 2009 Blues Music Award, in the "Traditional Blues Female Artist of the Year" category.  This was her 29th career award, more than any other blues artist to date.  The Awards show was held Thursday, May  7, at the Cook Convention Center in Memphis, TN.

 

Born Cora Walton on a sharecropper’s farm just outside Memphis, TN, on September 28, 1928, Koko, nicknamed for her love of chocolate, fell in love with music at an early age. Inspired by gospel music and WDIA blues disc jockeys B.B. King and Rufus Thomas, Taylor began belting the blues with her five brothers and sisters, accompanying themselves on their homemade instruments. In 1952, Taylor and her soon-to-be-husband, the late Robert “Pops” Taylor, traveled to Chicago with nothing but, in Koko’s words, “thirty-five cents and a box of Ritz Crackers.”

 

In Chicago, “Pops” worked for a packing company, and Koko cleaned houses. Together they frequented the city’s blues clubs nightly. Encouraged by her husband, Koko began to sit in with the city’s top blues bands, and soon she was in demand as a guest artist. One evening in 1962 Koko was approached by arranger/composer Willie Dixon. Overwhelmed by Koko’s performance, Dixon landed Koko a Chess Records recording contract, where he produced her several singles, two albums and penned her million-selling 1965 hit “Wang Dang Doodle,” which would become Taylor’s signature song. Visit Koko Taylor's website to read more www.kokotaylor.com 

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Blues On The Farm - New Band Announced

 

The Festival described by The Times as  "The Friendliest Festival in the U.K." takes place between 

18th  - 21st June 2009

 "Thousands of people....19 bands.....4 days.....one outstanding Festival"

www.bluesonthefarm.co.uk  

 

One of the country’s hottest blues performers has just been announced to appear at this year’s Blues on the Farm at Appledram near Chichester … and he’s bringing some of the UK’s finest players with him.

 

Perhaps best known for his work with the Nimmo Brothers - winners of a coveted British Blues Connection award for Best Blues/Rock Band - Alan Nimmo’s newly unleashed band ‘King King’ are already receiving rave reviews with their electrifying smoking hot blues. Alan’s impassioned vocals and dazzling guitar work now blend with some of the most accomplished players on the scene today.

 

‘King King’ have been booked to play the Friday evening of Blues on the Farm after US bluesman Sean Chambers had to pull-out. Also on the Friday night bill are Sharrie Williams & The Wiseguys from US and Storm Warning.

 

“King King are a cracking band”, commented festival organizer Julian Moores. “While it’s a shame not to be seeing Sean Chambers, we couldn’t have hoped for a better replacement. The Nimmo Brothers played Blues on the Farm several times and always went down a storm. I’m sure our 8,000 festival-goers will not be disappointed with King King!”  

 

The "Buy Nine get One Free" is available again this year and any one who would like to block book more than nine tickets on any one night should e-mail info@bluesonthefarm.co.uk for a special deal. Tickets for all nights are selling fast and with quality bands and artists like Imelda May, Mike Sanchez, Matthew Lee and Ian Siegal, Sharrie Williams & The Wise Guys, Storm Warning, Matt Schofield. 

 

Blues on the Farm organisers Julian and Kathy Moores have  joined forces with the Big Lemon Bus Company this year. Those living in Brighton, Worthing, Littlehampton and Bognor Regis who really don't want to bother with the hassle of driving , parking and generally adding to global warming can join the Big Lemon at pre- arranged stops, climb aboard and be chauffeured to and from Blues on the Farm without a care in the world, you can even buy a "Weekend Freedom Ticket" which will take you to and from the site every day. The Big Lemons run on 100% locally sourced used cooking oil which considerably reduces the impact on the environment.  

 

 
New Matt Schofield 

Matt starts his new band/new album tour on Monday (June 15) in Oxford. Click here for tour dates.
You can also hear the session recorded for the Paul Jones Show BBC Radio 2 (7-8pm), on Monday June 15.
An additional London date has just been added for Matt. He will be joining the Ronnie Scott's Blues Experience as their guitarist and featured guest on Sunday, June 21 (at Ronnie Scott's in Frith Street, in case you were wondering!).

Matt Schofield's new CD 'Heads, Tails and Aces' is available from all good record stores and internet sites. Exclusive offer - buy Matt Schofield's new CD from  www.bluescdstore.com and you'll be entered into a prize draw to win other CDs from other Nugene Record label artists. Click here for more details

HOT NEWS……. Matt will be the special guest of SUSAN TEDESCHI and her band at the 100 CLUB in London on July 30. Grab your tickets now!


 

 Simon McBride

 

Simon and his band are playing at the LONDON INTERNATIONAL MUSIC SHOW this Sunday (June 14) on the main stage at 13:50. This is a great opportunity to see the band in a big space with a big sound system (what they were born for!). Note: if you have a flyer for the show that says 11:15, it has moved to the new and prime time of 13:50. Show web site
 

Shades Of Blues Becomes Little Walters Blues Club

The last Shades of Blues Club at The Maltings in St Albans took place recently and Errol Linton's BluesVibe were fantastic ! Check out www.shadesofblues.co.uk which has been updated with photographs from that gig and the Dana Gillespie gig - photo's courtesy of www.photographybygr.co.uk   - have a look at all the other stuff Graham the photographer does besides gigs ! The new club will be run from the same location, monthly by two of the Shades of Blues Club members Mick and Jeff. They are now ready to send out their first "Little Walters Blues Club" Newsletter. If you want to join this mailing contact them on info@littlewaltersbluesclub.co.uk  Check out their new website for the up and coming gigs www.littlewaltersbluesclub.co.uk  Bob Ayre, founder of Shades of Blues Club gave up running the club to concentrate on his own blues band Dr Shades Blues Band. You can see them on Saturday May 23rd  9 - 11pm at the White Hart Tap, Keyfield Terrace, St Albans - the pub does great beer and it is the second May bank holiday weekend !!  New tunes, some more gig footage & photo's have been added to their webpage; www.lemonrock.com/drshadesbluesband

 

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Cambridge Rock Festival

 

 

The Cambridge Rock Festival takes place between 6 - 9th August and includes Asia (with the original line up) , Oli Brown, Barclay James Harvest, The Quireboys, Stray, Jefferson Starship, Focus, Quicksilver Messenger Service, Karnataka, Never The Bride, Mostly Autumn, The Deborah Bonham Band and  Airrace with Jason Bonham on drums. This year they have a blues/rock stage which includes Storm Warning, Larry Miller Band,  The Groove Doctors, The Roy Mette Band, The Nightflies and more to be confirmed soon. There's the usual great beer, camping facilities, CD and merchandise stalls. You can  buy a weekend ticket now and it's only £85! For more information and to buy tickets online visit;  http://cambridgerockfestival.co.uk  

 

 

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Blues Awards News

 

Mess of Blues - rock blues album of the year 2009awards Jeff Healey`s  RUF album 'Mess of Blues' has won the Blues Music Awards 'Rock Blues Album of the Year 2009'. This category has been added as a new catagory for the first time in the history of the BMA.

 Jeff`s widow Christie Healey ,who accepted the award on behalf of Jeff, the Canadian blues-rock icon who passed away suffering cancer in March 2008 said "he would have been very proud to accept this award".

The critically acclaimed blues film M FOR MISSISSIPPI has just collected its highest honor to date: A Blues Music Award for DVD of the Year.

M FOR MISSISSIPPI, which is a co-production of Broke & Hungry Records, Cat Head Delta Blues & Folk Art and Mudpuppy Recordings, was one of five nominated movies. Its competition included films featuring platinum-selling rock legend Carlos Santana, blues icon Albert Collins, guitarist Ronnie Earl and Chicago bluesman Little Arthur Duncan.

“Considering the competition, we were truly surprised and humbled to receive this amazing recognition,” said Roger Stolle, one of the film’s creators. “It’s a testament to the great music that continues to flow from Mississippi and to the incredible artists who create it.”

M FOR MISSISSIPPI has been described as “part road trip, part buddy film.” It follows Stolle and fellow blues producer Jeff Konkel on a weeklong journey through Mississippi as they visit a dozen of the state’s most fascinating blues figures. The duo’s road trip, captured by cinematographer Damien Blaylock, led them to rustic environments ranging from juke joints to cotton fields and placed them face-to-face with such fascinating artists as James “T-Model” Ford, Robert Belfour, Robert “Bilbo” Walker, Jimmy “Duck” Holmes and more. Completing the production team were co-producer Kari Jones and sound engineer Bill Abel.

“It’s mind-blowing to think that just over a year ago, we were piling into Roger’s van to start this journey and now here we are holding Blues Music Award statues,” Konkel said. “We’re so grateful to everyone who voted for the film and to all of the artists, individuals and organizations who supported us on this labor of love.”

For more information on M for Mississippi, visit the film’s official web site at www.mformississippi.com  You can buy the DVD in the UK from www.bluescdstore.com 

Since its inception 30 years ago, the Blues Music Awards – formerly known as the Handy Awards – have been the genre’s gold standard. Through the years, Blues Music Awards have been bestowed on such seminal figures as Stevie Ray Vaughan, John Lee Hooker, Robert Cray, Buddy Guy, Etta James and B.B. King. King himself was in attendance at last night’s award ceremony, as were such rock luminaries as Bonnie Raitt and Steve Miller.

 

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Sign the Petition - Keep Music Live and Venues Open

A new piece of bureaucracy will force licensees to reveal a mass of information about performers. Publicans and managers of other small venues are forced to comply with a new piece of bureaucracy called Form 696

The form demands that licensees give police a mass of detail, including the names, aliases, private addresses and phone numbers of all musicians and other performers appearing at their venue, and the ethnic background of the likely audience. Failure to comply could mean the loss of a licence or even a fine and imprisonment.

Please sign the petition on the 10 Downing Street website against 696.
http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/Scrapthe696/

 

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Digital Blues Awards Winners Announced
 
The winners of the Digital Blues Awards have been announced. Taking the award for best band of 2008 jointly was The Heaters and The Groove Doctors. Best album award of 2008 went to Storm Warning for the album 'Something Real'.  Best personality was Tim Aves for the third time in four years and best female blues artist was Kyla Brox. For all the winners and runners up places go to;
www.digitalblues.co.uk

 

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More Blues On The Radio

Martin Clarke presents a two hour Blues show every Friday on Radio Wey from 9pm. For more details visit; www.thebluessession.co.uk

 

 

Second Digital Blues  Radio Programme  

The second Digital Blues on IndieTalent.ca show was posted on 28th April 2009 and includes a world exclusive first airplay of a track from the Shakey Vick Blues Band's forthcoming CD featuring the legendary Chris Youlden and also an unreleased track by the Barcodes recorded for the Paul Jones Blues show on BBC Radio 2 featuring a galaxy of star names! Also featured are the Nightflies, Hokie Joint, Nuno Mindelis from Brazil, Papa George, King King featuring Alan Nimmo, Guy Tortora and the Jamie Williams Band. You can listen at www.indietalent.ca/showsmenu.shtml#Digital  and you can see details of the playlist on the Digital Blues website. www.digitalblues.co.uk  Ashwyn Smyth by emailing ashwyn.smyth@btopenworld.com 

 

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New Crawdaddy Club  10th Birthday Gig 

 

10th Birthday gig takes place on September 24th when the Club is proud and delighted to present Sherman Robertson as the headliner.  70 tickets have already been sold for this gig already so it looks a fair bet that the gig may well be a sell out well before the actual date.

 

Full details can be found at www.newcrawdaddyclub.co.uk or by calling 01702 347007. The Club also has its own MySpace site at www.myspace.com/newcrawdaddyclub  

 

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New Blues Podcast

 

Go to our Limelight page of this website click here and hear the latest blues podcast detailing up and coming blues at The Limelight Theatre in Aylesbury illustrated with tracks from the artists appearing in May, June and July.

 

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Guitar Masterclass

 

One of the world’s greatest acoustic guitarists, Pierre Bensusan, is the next legend to headline a series of masterclasses hosted by the Guitar Institute (part of the Institute of Contemporary Music Performance ) in London , in association with Guitar Getaways Awaydays.  

 

Pierre is a guitarist, singer and composer who constantly explores the depth of his own voice in a way that transcends his instrument.  As a supremely talented fingerstyle player, his inventive approach has projected him into the music community with a reputation for producing both creatively and technically challenging compositions.  A frequent contributor to Acoustic Guitar Magazine, Pierre ’s fusion of folk and jazz styling allows him to be recognized as one of the most eloquent and diverse world musicians of our time.

 

This exclusive event, to be held at the Bedford in Balham, London , on the evening of Wednesday June 3rd, will also feature an in-depth “fundamentals” lesson delivered by Guitar Institute teacher Max Milligan . This will be followed by the headline guitar masterclass with Pierre designed for all guitarists who wish to enhance and improve their fingerstyle playing.

 

This is a rare opportunity to hear Pierre Bensusan talk, play and demonstrate his craft which should not be missed. To book a place at the masterclass, contact Guitar Getaways on: awaydays@guitargetaways.com  www.guitargetaways.com     Tel:01326 211945

 

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New Blues website From The US

 

A website that brings the best of the blues world together. Designed for Blues fans old and new to explore the roots of the blues world, it's people, music, stories and legends of. Use it as a research tool, find music, clubs, festivals, equipment etc, watch video or just plain keep up with what's going on. www.bluespipe.com  

 

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Rupe's Gig Guide

New June dates have been added for the High Wycombe and surrounding areas. To view go to www.rupesgigguide.co.uk

 

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TICKETS -2008 PRICES HELD...

 

 

Tickets are going on sale, at last. On Friday April 24th tickets will be available on line from Ticketline and, on May 4th, from The Carnegie Theatre, Workington or our Festival Office in Maryport. For the first time the Festival Office can accept credit cards. Also, we are delighted to announce that we have been able to hold the ticket prices at last year’s level. Check the website for details of prices and outlets.

 

Artists confirmed for the main stage are headliners Jethro Tull, John Mayall, and Taj Mahal with supporting acts Ruby Turner and The Blues Band with Paul Jones. Over the next couple of weeks, we will announce the other main stage artists representing established and emerging acts from the UK and US. As usual the winner of the Battle of the Bands competition,  local band Nine Lives, will launch the festival on the Friday evening.

 

 

Jethro Tull & Blues ...

 

There were a few raised eyebrows amoungst Maryport blues fans when we announced Jethro Tull as a headliner, but they have been repeatedly suggested as a band many would like to see at the festival in our “Audience Feedback Forms”. With their roots in blues & the celebrated musicianship of charismatic frontman Ian Anderson, we didn’t hesitate to take the opportunity to book this legendary British rock band. This week, we asked Ian what he thought about playing Maryport and this is what he said:

 

"Always fun to go back to basics with the music form which shaped my teenage years and offered me a musical career. We will play some selections of blues-based material from the early days of Tull and maybe a couple of pieces from the traditional blues repertoire too. But, in keeping with the spirit of Jethro Tull, we will also throw in some more eclectic material which would have sent Muddy waters off to the beer tent....."

 

 

Keep checking the festival website www.maryportblues.com   for news on the rest of the line-up.

 

 

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New Album Reviews on the Reviews Page

 

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New Website Address For Route 666

New website address for Route 666 is now www.route666rock.co.uk

 

Darth Vader Plays The Blues

Darth Vader plays the blues. Have a look at this - superb; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WJqPNpUhxPY   

 

Great Site For Playing The Blues www.desktopblues.lichtlabor.ch

 

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Blues CD Store

To receive either by post or email the bi monthly Bluesletter from Blues CD Store, call 01296 634991 or email info@bluescdstore.com  

If you are in a blues or blues/rock band and you want to sell your CDs on the fastest growing website for blues bands  click here  for more info.  

 

www.bluescdstore.com

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Rocking the Blues does its best to ensure information is accurate but does not accept liability for any inaccurate information that may appear within its pages or on any third party links. All information published is to help promote mainly blues and blues/rock music and is published in good faith.