Steve Gerard & The National Debonaires will release their third CD on September 13th, this time with Jackson, Mississippi’s 71-years-young blues singer James “Rock” Gray”. Gray, a contemporary and good friend of legendary Jackson singer, drummer and harmonica man, Sam Myers (Anson Funderburgh) is now a permanent member of The National Debonaires. He’ll be featured along with the great Kansas City-based singer Dave “Elmo” Bailey.

 

“James and Mo pack a vocal punch that is really hard to beat,” says Steve Gerard. “I love singers and these two are some of the best blues singers that can be found working today. Our shows have this tremendous variety – you can dance, cry, drink, flirt, cheat and still make it home with a smile on your face.”

 

The National Debonaires first two CDs, New Sounds from Kansas City and Words Are Like Bullets on the SoundGate and Blue Edge labels, have delved into a variety of blues styles, leaning on jump and traditional style shuffles. The new CD, Voodoo Workn’, features three stunning original songs with lyrics by James and music by the band.

 

“The material on Voodoo is so cool. James has this southern gospel, blues, soul sound with a side helping of country tinge that will raise the hair on your arms.

Trent Romens has been surrounded by music all his life. When it came to playing an instrument, he wasn’t interested in a video game—he wanted the real thing!

 

Trent was 11 when he started playing the guitar. One day while jamming in the living room, Trent’s dad observed, "You know what you're playing? That's the blues!" That moment resounds vividly in Trent’s memory; it changed his life. Ever since, Trent has been listening to the blues and the music the genre has inspired.

 

It was obvious that the blues came naturally to Trent. His innate talent and passion did not go unnoticed. By the age of 13, Trent was already performing with some of the Twin Cities’ greatest blues and reggae artists including Wain McFarlane, Barbara LaShore, Willie Murphy, and Jimi "Primetime" Smith.

 

Singing and writing his own songs for a little over a year, Trent continues to discover his own unique and powerful sound. He describes his live show as a form of therapy—for himself, and for his audience. He "rocks their souls ‘til they feel good." His natural stage presence is spell-binding and his music has the ability to absorb the audience; they see and hear nothing but Trent and his guitar.

 

The sixth annual Crescent City Blues & BBQ Festival (www.crescentcitybluesfest.com) takes place Oct. 14-16 at Lafayette Square Park in New Orleans. Admission is FREE.

 

The outstanding lineup includes Shreveport guitar shredder Kenny Wayne Shepherd, legendary soul singer Bettye LaVette, R&B soul man Mel Waiters, Louisiana blues activist Tab Benoit, honky tonk piano queen Marcia Ball, sacred steel heroes The Campbell Brothers, roots supergroup the South Memphis String Band and Mississippi blues original Super Chikan, along with many others.

 

 

 There will also be dozen vendors with the greatest assemblage of home-style barbecue to be found in New Orleans. A huge crafts fair showcases the hand-made works by artisans from throughout the Gulf South. And an interview stage gives fans an opportunity to hear from our performers about their influences.

 

The festival also features a “sports bar,” where fans can keep up with all the latest action on large-screen TVs while enjoying the music. Community radio station WWOZ-FM will broadcast the festival live on the air and on the internet at wwoz.org.

 

 

 

On Friday, Oct. 14, locals and visitors will have the chance to pitch in to the rebuilding of the Crescent City, with a house-building work day organized by the St. Bernard Project.

 

There’s also a contest to submit drawings of original artwork that will be used to grace the festival’s official t-shirt.

 

For complete details, see the festival web site, www.crescentcitybluesfest.com.

 

The Crescent City Blues & BBQ Festival is presented by the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Foundation (www.jazzandheritage.org), the nonprofit that owns the world-famous New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival presented by Shell (www.nojazzfest.com). The Foundation uses the proceeds from Jazz Fest, and other revenues, for year-round programs in education, economic development and cultural events. For info, see www.jazzandheritage.org.

 

The Crescent City Blues & BBQ Festival is sponsored in part of the Louisiana Office of Tourism. Visit LouisianaTravel.com. 

 

 

Keb’ Mo’, the blues guitarist who is well-known for keeping the spirit of his genre alive, chose to go in a different direction for his latest album “The Reflection.” “I was signed during a phase where I was just really into all that – the Delta and fingerpickin’ and just winging it. And so it’s still in me, it’s all there, but I just – I like other stuff too,” he says. Keb’ Mo’ visits Strathmore on Thursday and talked with Click Track about the future of Delta Blues after the death of David “Honeyboy” Edwards, keeping it fresh, and how younger generations are playing the blues.

 

 

The Blues Foundation recently took a historic step towards implementing its vision of an international home for blues music, one where the artists and music will be celebrated.

 

The Board of Directors approved plans to create a dynamic visitor’s center and blues music hall of fame in the building the organization purchased late last year to house its offices. Plans for the building include a striking exterior façade, visitor’s center, gift shop, temporary exhibit gallery and, most prominently, a permanent gallery honoring the artists and recordings that have been inducted into the Blues Music Hall of Fame. The purchase, move and planned renovations are all designed to enhance the ability to serve our mission, to preserve blues music history and expose it to a wider audience.

 

The Blues Foundation is currently in the early stages of a fundraising campaign. Construction is expected to take approximately 14 months. The project has also been endorsed by a long list of luminaries, including Dan Aykroyd, Dusty Baker, Marcia Ball, Jim Belushi, Steve Berkowitz, Congressman Steve Cohen (D-Memphis), Dion, Billy Gibbons, Peter Guralnick, B.B. King, Bettye LaVette, Shelby County Mayor Mark Luttrell; Steve Miller, Joe Perry, Bob Porter, Bonnie Raitt, Keith Richards, Bobby Rush, Hubert Sumlin, George Thorogood, Memphis Mayor AC Wharton and James Woods. More supporters are being added all the time and will continue as the campaign moves forward. For more information click here.

 

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Kim Matthews, an Arkansas farmer who supplies Walmart and Sam’s Club with sweet potatoes, owns Matthews Ridgeview Farms. She and her family have grown their business over the years by working with Walmart. Today Kim also owns Delta Blues Farms, a 900-acre co-op of 12 sweet potato farmers in Phillips County, Ark., eight of whom are minority farmers. In addition to the 12 farmers, Delta Blues Farms also employs 25 - 40 people year round, adding jobs to the local economy.

 

Through Delta Blues Farms, Kim has assisted the farmers in getting their produce Euro/Global-GAP Food Safety Certified and in selling their products to Walmart and Sam’s Club. Kim has also been very involved in the local community and donated to food shelters and local churches. Currently, Kim is working with the University of Arkansas-Pine Bluff to add more growers to the Delta Blues co-op.

 

 

Did you know that I do Custom Comic Strips and Comic Pages as gifts?

 

 

 

Songwriting, Short Videos, Photography, Poetry, Fine Art, and Functional Art

 

$1,000 CASH TO EACH FIRST PLACE WINNER

 

The primary selection criteria to win in any of the categories will be based on the inspired, innovative approach to the Ecology theme. Of
course, all the skills and techniques required to create a good work in any of these categories will be necessary to be effective. Eco Arts Awards has an excellent panel of highly qualified jurors specific to each category, including A&R representatives from major record labels. Eco Arts Awards is particularly proud of procuring Lloyd Herman, the founding director of the Renwick Gallery, which is the Smithsonian's Museum of American Art. He will judge the Functional Art category, which is now called 'Repurposed Materials in Art & Design'. in that genre there is no higher authority than Lloyd Herman!

 

Eco Arts Awards' mission is to promote higher artistic vision. The goal is for professionals, as well as amateurs, to have fun pushing their edges to their greatest potential. Why? The world needs their inspiration. Human beings are the stewards of this planet, and artists have a very important contribution to make.

 

The early bird deadline offers a discounted entry fee of $25 per individual work up to midnight, September 30th! The regular entry fee is $30 per individual work through to the final deadline of November 30th, 2011.

 

Kathryn Edwards
Managing Director
828 575 3979
www.ecoartsawards.com
mgrdir@ecoartsawards.com

      

Elwood celebrates an avalanche of brand new Jimi Hendrix releases. There’s a four CD boxed set of The Experience, recorded live at the legendary San Francisco venue, Winterland, in October, 1968. That set also includes a rare interview, recorded backstage in Boston in 1968. Plus, the long out of print 1972 live album, Hendrix in the West, re-released and re-mastered. Samples will be played. Plus, in anticipation of next week’s hour, which will be spent with Robbie Robertson, a tune from his first new album in over ten years, How To Become Clairvoyant. Eric Clapton joins him on the album. Here on the website, Provogue Records has five copies of Sticks and Stones to give away – the first CD in three years from Florida bluesman Eric Sardinas and his band Big Motor. Finally, thanks to our friends at hellomusic.com, we have an Epiphone electric guitar and Fender amplifier to give away. Register to win right here.

 

More on our radio and video streams can be found here.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 House of Blues Streaming Audio Here