As a bandleader and composer, Stubbs has earned himself a reputation for penning soul-drenched Roots & Blues guitar instrumentals.  His well-crafted songs are melodic and original; echoing the sounds of historic greats such as Booker T and the MGs, Earl Hooker, Lonnie Mack, and Freddie King. Blues guitarist Rick Holmstrom sums it up best: "The thing I like best about Matt Stubbs playing is that he leaves space. There are plenty of young blues guitarists who can play a whole lot of guitar, and Matt can hang with 'em all, but there are very few who understand that it's important to let it breathe. I dig the economy and simplicity of Matt's playing. He's got an old soul."

  

Matthew Stubbs released his first solo record “Soul Bender” on the VizzTone label group in August 2008, which received much critical acclaim. He has just released “Medford & Main” on Chicago based label Blue Bella Records.

 

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Jeff Turmes  new CD, "Five Horses, Four Riders", comprised of thirteen original songs. "Five Horses" is produced by Jeff, engineered by Peter Malick at Chessvolt Studios (Norah Jones, Otis Spann), mixed and mastered by John Whynot (Lucinda Williams, Bruce Cockburn, Blue Rodeo), and features an array of brilliant Los Angeles-based musicians including Rick Holmstrom (guitar), Stephen Hodges, Don Heffington, and Steve Mugalian (drums), and Janiva Magness and Donny Gerrard (backing vocals). Jeff sings and plays acoustic and electric guitars, bass, banjo, saxophone, bass clarinet and dumpster. "Five Horses" traverses the country between acoustic folk and raw electric blues, and Jeff's singing and writing achieve new heights. In addition, the CD packaging features his photographs and distinctive artwork. "Five Horses, Four Riders" is coming. Be ready.

 

The South Florida Blues Society informed members in an e-mail recently that Internet transactions for the group had been inadvertently blocked as Paypal listed the site as online gambling. The attempts by payment processors to meet the looming stipulations of the UIGEA has caused chaos for legitimate sites more so than the targeted online casinos.

 

SFBS says it has raised money legally for the organization for almost ten years by selling raffle tickets on its website, with winners getting a trip on the Blues Cruise through the Caribbean. But now, all sales from the site, including music, shirts, and other merchandise, are denied by Paypal, which has identified the music fan club as a gambling organization.

 

Even memberships to the society are blocked from payment, as the prediction by financial experts of the overblocking likely to occur when financial institutions are made responsible for UIGEA enforcement is realized. And SFBS President Blues Bobby writes that only checks mailed to the club will presently be processed, as Visa and Mastercard also look to screen sites for Internet gambling connections.

 

Treasury hearings into the implementation of the UIGEA were dominated by representatives of banks, credit card companies, and even experts from the Federal Reserve testifying that the Internet gambling block would disrupt normal business. State lotteries and horse racing sites have already been categorized as illegal gaming sites, despite wording in the law specifically exempting them.

 

Now, sites with only the most legitimate and tenuous connections to gambling are finding their commerce blocked by payment processors worried of running afoul of the vague law. If merchandise by a blues music site can be disrupted, then almost any Internet site is in danger of being caught up in the online gambling ban.

 

Springing The Blues is a free outdoor blues music festival designed to celebrate America's indigenous musical form and promote support of the arts. The three-day oceanfront event features a number of renowned blues performers as well as numerous displays and activities geared for the entire family. It is held at Jacksonville Beach, Florida's Oceanfront SeaWalk Pavilion on the 1st weekend of April each year.

• Named by Downbeat Magazine as one of the top 50 Music Festivals in the World

 

• Named by SouthEast Tourism Society as one of the top 20 destination events in the country

 

• Voted in 1997 as "Best Festival in Northeast Florida" by the popular Folio Weekly Magazine annual poll.

 

• Known as Florida's largest free outdoor blues festival, Springing the Blues will feature performances from renowned blues artists.

 

This year's headliners include such heavyweight blues stars as:

*Magic Slim & The Teardrops

*Lil Ed and the Blues Imperials

*Jo Ann Shaw Taylor

*Shane Dwight

*Michael Burkes

*John Nemeth

*Cedric Burnside and Lightnin’ Malcolm

For more information visit their website www.springingtheblues.com

 

Steve Miller hasn't released a new studio album in 17 years, but he plans to make up for lost time with a pair of blues and R&B cover sets that will come out this year and next.

 

BINGO!," Miller's first Steve Miller Band release on his own Space Cowboy Records label, comes out June 15 and features songs by the likes of B.B. King ("Rock Me Baby") and Lowell Fulson ("Tramp"), Jimmy Reed ("You Got Me Dizzy") as well as three Jimmie Vaughan compositions. Miller plans to put a companion album out in the spring of 2011.

 

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RBA Publishing Inc is based in Reno, NV with a satellite office in Beverly Hills, Florida. We produce the annual Blues Festival Guide magazine (now in its 7th year), the top-ranking website: www.BluesFestivalGuide.com, and this weekly blues newsletter: The Blues Festival E-Guide with approximately 20,000 weekly subscribers. We look forward to your suggestions, critiques, questions, etc.

Reach the E-Guide editor, Gordon Bulcock, gordon@bluesfestivalguide.com

or contact our home office at 775-337-8626, eguide@bluesfestivalguide.com
 

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