NorthernBlues announces the debut album by The Homemade Jamz Blues Band. They are the youngest blues band ever to debut on a major blues label.

"They do the genre proud" -- B.B. King


The band consists of three siblings: Ryan (16), Kyle (13) and Taya (9). Their combined ages total 38. The CD entitled PAY ME NO MIND arrives in stores worldwide on June 10th, 2008.

True to its name, the band recorded PAY ME NO MIND in their Tupelo, MS home over three days. The album is produced by Miles Wilkinson, who also produced NorthernBlues' Doug Cox & Salil Bhatt's SLIDE TO FREEDOM, the critically acclaimed fusion CD of Blues and Indian music. Wilkinson's career credits include Emmylou Harris, Guy Clark, Marcia Ball, John Hammond and The Band's legendary LAST WALTZ.

Fred Litwin, President of NorthernBlues, first saw the band perform in the 2007 International Blues Challenge in Memphis TN where he was a judge. Out of 157 competing adult bands, they placed second.  He contacted them soon thereafter in interest of signing them.

The 11-track PAY ME NO MIND features ten originals (penned by father Renaud) and a rejuvenated interpretation of the John Lee Hooker classic, "Boom, Boom." The collection of songs offers the listener a snapshot of a raw, organic and youthful perspective of blues music. It captures passion over digitalism, raw talent over mechanics, and presents the same unadulterated sounds of the siblings astonishing audiences in front of festival stages worldwide. the band has already been the subject of a CBS Morning News segment. Click Here to view.

In 2008 the members of the Homemade Jamz Blues Band will be homeschooled in order to accept invitations to perform at festivals throughout Europe and North America as well as special engagements such as the grand opening of the B.B. King Museum in Indianola, MS in September 2008.

For more information on The Homemade Jamz Blues Band CLICK HERE

Click the LISTEN button to hear "Who Your Real Friends Are"

Singer, songwriter, guitar, harp.  Born Chicago 3/24/50.  He was raised in the Lockport, Ill. corn fields in the 1950’s. One night while cruising the dial Paul Filipowicz pulled in a radio station out of Tulsa, OK. They played Howlin Wolf, Sonny Boy (II)
and Muddy Waters back to back.  That was his first exposure to blues.  He first witnessed live blues in 64 or 65, whilewaiting outside a club on Chicago’s South Side “It was boiling hot about 2p.m. and these people were all dressed up and
going into this air-conditioned club.” Otis Rush and his band were tearing it up right there in broad daylight.  Electric guitar was it!   Learning by ear was about the only way to go about a blues education in those days. “I was playing without a pickand the first time I heard Magic Sam it clicked.  The phrasing was what I was hearing.”

Over the 30 plus years of fronting his own band, Filipowicz has played venues from the mid-west to Denver to stints in Texas.  

This is Paul's first "Live-No Jive" recording. Captured live on7/7/7 at the Cuda Cafe in Deerfield Wi, Smokin' hot blues guitar with solid backing just jumps off the disc. You can feel the Saturday Night Juke Joint July heat sizzle as they bump, grind, slide and shuffle through.

photo credit: Stanton Smith

Marshall Chess will commemorate the late Bo Diddley, who recorded for Chess Records and laid the foundations of rock ‘n’ roll in their studios.  Chess’ tribute to Bo Diddley will be broadcast during his weekly show, The Chess Records Hour, on SIRIUS Blues channel 74 on Sunday, June 8 at 12 noon ET, and rebroadcast on Tuesday, June 10 at 5 pm ET and Thursday, June 12 at 12 midnight ET.

Bo Diddley visited SIRIUS many times in recent years.  To listen to highlights of these interviews with the late guitarist and for more information, please visit www.sirius.com/SiriusBlues.

On June 17, 2008 three time Grammy Nominee Tab Benoit will represent South Louisiana’s Wetlands, the Voice of the Wetlands, and the Friends of New Orleans at a Congressional Briefing on Capital Hill in Washington, DC.

Benoit’s original style of Roots music has given him the opportunity to take Louisiana’s message to the world.  In May, Tab was awarded the Blues Music Associations  “Best Contemporary Male Performer” where he again uses his platform to inform people that not much if anything at all is being done to preserve or rebuild the Wetlands and therefore South Louisiana’s wetlands and river towns  are more venerable then ever to storm surges, levee breaches, and flooding.

“Every recording I do and/or award gives me the opportunity to let people know that we are not safe and if we get the slightest storm it could be more detrimental then ever to people’s lives, livelihoods, and the little wetlands that we have left” says Benoit.

On June 17th Tab Benoit will be joined by author CC Lockwood and Head of Environmental Defense Paul Harrison in Washington DC to talk about the conditions and importance of the Wetlands prior to and following the 2005 storm season.

On August 24 Tab Benoit and the Voice of the Wetlands All-stars will open the Democratic Convention in Denver Colorado and continue with a string of non-partisan fund- raisers that will end on September 1st in Minneapolis for and invitation only non-partisan Republican Convention after party.

Tab Benoit and the band will use this opportunity to speak to guest about the importance of the Wetlands and New Orleans to the entire country.

Blues music will be the focus when Players by the Sea presents this season's final main stage show, Blues in the Night. The dramatic musical revue conceived by Sheldon Epps opens Friday, June 13, at the Jacksonville Beach (Florida) community theater.

Blues in the Night is set in a rundown Chicago hotel in the late 1930s. With little spoken dialogue, the show features 26 blues songs that expose three women's relationships with the same man, who is described as a lying, cheating snake. Director Jason Collins is weaving their stories through the music.

"The actors' voices and songs will carry this show," Collins said. "The great thing about this show is that it allows the actors to take all these songs and read in-between the lines as to who their characters are."

Blues in the Night features songs from the 1920s and '30s by the giants of blues and jazz, including Duke Ellington, Bessie Smith, Johnny Mercer, Harold Arlen, Vernon Duke, Gordon Jenkins, Alberta Hunter, Jimmy Cox and Ida Cox, among others. Aaron Marshall, the show's musical director, said the music reflects the era.

"I expect the audience will come out of the show with a better understanding of what people were going through in America at that time," Marshall said.

The characters sing about the pain and misery that results from life and love. The songs also reflect the determination that is the essence of the blues.

The cast features Eugene Lindsey as the man, Amy Allen Farmer as the woman, Nina Waters as the girl and Melody Jackson as the lady.

The songs in this show have been specifically chosen to accomplish several things.

Cast members say their most important function is to celebrate a great period and style of music.

The show will feature a live band performing on stage with members of the University of North Florida's jazz band.

The International Songwriting Competition (ISC) is now accepting entries for the 2008 competition. More than $150,000 in cash and prizes will be shared among the 62 winners, including an overall Grand Prize of $25,000 (US) cash and $20,000 in prizes. This year's competition includes many new celebrity and industry judges and the inclusion of a Music Video category.

Go to http://www.songwritingcompetition.com to enter songs via mail or online.

Since its inception, ISC is renowned for having the most prestigious judging panel of any songwriting competition in the world. Entering ISC offers songwriters and musicians an unprecedented opportunity to have their songs heard by many top celebrity recording artists and influential music industry executives.

Robert Smith, lead singer of The Cure and an ISC judge for the past three years, says, 'I am astounded at the quality and range of abilities - the originality, honesty, and depth of so many of the words, the charm, vivacity, and catchiness of the tunes, and the often staggering energy, skill, and intensity of the performances - the talent has left me at times breathless!'

Monte Lipman, President of Universal Records, talks about his role as an ISC judge: 'We're always been impressed with the talented songwriters who participate in the ISC. This is a great A&R source to find new artists.'

The list of 2008 ISC judges include:

Recording Artists:
Rob Thomas (Matchbox 20); Chaka Khan; Tom Waits; KT Tunstall; Robert Smith (The Cure); Loretta Lynn; Neil Finn (Crowded House); Buckcherry; T-Pain; James Cotton; Jerry Lee Lewis; Craig Morgan; Ray Davies (The Kinks); Darryl McDaniels (Run DMC); Michael W. Smith; Chris Hillman (The Byrds); John Scofield; Mario; Black Francis (The Pixies); Youssou N'Dour; John Mayall; DJ Tiesto; 'Weird Al' Yankovic; and Paul Van Dyk

Music Industry Executives:
Monte Lipman (President, Universal Records); Nick Burgess (Head of A&R, Virgin Records UK); Angel Carrasco (Sr. VP of A&R, Latin America Sony BMG and President, Discos 605); Cameron Strang (President, New West Records); Amy Doyle (Sr. VP of Music and Talent, MTV); Kim Buie (VP of A&R, Lost Highway); Jon Pikus (Director of A&R, MySpace Records); Mitchell Cohen (VP of A&R, Verve Music Group) Bruce Iglauer (Founder/President, Alligator Records); Dan Storper (President, Putumayo World Music); Peter Strickland (Senior VP, Jack Records/Warner Bros.); Steve Lillywhite (Producer - credits include U2, The Rolling Stones, Morrissey, Peter Gabriel, and more); Douglas C. Cohn (Sr. Vice-President, Music Marketing & Talent, Nickelodeon); Cory Robbins (Founder/President, Robbins Entertainment); Betty Pino (DJ, WAMR Miami); Paul Majors (CEO/Founder Majors Music); Leib Ostrow (CEO, Music for Little People); and Dr. Demento (Radio host of The Dr. Demento Show).

ISC welcomes original songs from musicians, artists, and songwriters at every level from amateur to professional. Entrants may submit songs in any of the following categories: Pop/Top 40, AAA (Adult Album Alternative), Rock, Country, Americana, R&B/Hip-Hop, Blues, Folk/Singer-Songwriter, Jazz, Gospel/Christian, Latin Music, Instrumental, Dance/Electronica, Comedy/Novelty, World Music, Children's Music, Lyrics Only, Teen, Performance, and Music Video.

Jack de Keyzer took top Blues Category honors in 2007 for his song "That's the Only Time"

Please visit http://www.songwritingcompetition.com for an entry form or more details.

Through a new arrangement between Wolfgang's Vault and Universal Music Group, vintage concert recordings from such acts as Lynyrd Skynyrd, Bob Marley and Jimi Hendrix will soon join the nearly 500 recordings already available for download purchase at the popular live music and memorabilia site.

The recordings include live performances by UMG artists culled from thousands of Bill Graham-promoted concerts, along with gems from other catalogs and archives dating back decades.

"This is a far-reaching agreement to make available what I would consider previously unreleased live performance recordings of Universal Music Group artists from the mid-'60s on through today," Wolfgang's Vault founder Bill Sagan tells Billboard.com. "It covers hundreds of UMG performers and thousands of live performance concerts."

Sagan launched the Web site in 2003 after acquiring the late promoter Graham's cache of memorablila and concert recordings for $5 million. The downloadable content deal is for 10 years, with a streaming deal stretching "into perpetuity," Sagan says.

If the concert is longer than 30 minutes, a full download is priced at $9.98, with concerts of less than 30 minutes at $5.98. Some one- or two-song performances cost $3.98. The site will continue to offer free streaming. 
  
"Of the 1,434 concerts that are up on the site, 488 can be downloaded right now," says Sagan. "And some very major artists will be downloading within the next 30 to 60 days."

Eventually the product will be offered as CDs and vinyl under Universal's direction. "There will be physical product," Sagan says.

A quick run through the site shows vintage performances for sale by artists including the Alarm, Fleetwood Mac, the Kinks, Billy Joel, Iggy Pop, James Taylor, Linda Ronstadt, Lou Reed, Mott the Hoople, Poco, Steve Miller, the Tubes, Uriah Heep, Warren Zevon and many others.

(Press Release) The Jus` Blues Music Foundation will host an interactive Technology Conference along with the annual Jus` Blues Music Awards. The Technology Conference will take place August 6th in downtown Memphis. The location site will soon be announced.  Register by June 30th to get the discounted rate. Tickets are limited and are available through the www.jusbluesmusic.com website.

This is a must-attend event for music and music technology professionals as well as artists interested in promoting, marketing and driving sales via new technology. You'll get informed hands on with the movers and shakers in the music and technology worlds, as well as a chance to interact with others in a great environment.

Additionally, a panel discussion featuring music and technology experts will discuss and conduct a Q & A regarding using the Internet to expose new music projects, marketing and driving sales.  We will be announcing speakers and agendas shortly.  The Technology Conference will discuss issues particularly of interest to the Blues & Soul music community, along with a focus on the evolving musical experience.  Topics will focus on marketing, fan behavior, trends and future forecasts, and an examination of the ways people discover, purchase, interact and are exposed to artists and music.

The $125 registration fee gets you in The Technology Conference, The Music Note Ceremony honoring the legendary Joe Simon, The Night of the Legends featuring the 2008 Jus` Blues Music Awards Honorees, the 2008 Jus` Blues Music Awards Show, VIP entry to the After Party and one year membership dues in the Jus` Blues Music Foundation. 

WOW!  Join us in Memphis in August 2008 for a great lineup of speakers, information, networking and a fun night with Blues & Soul music legends that'll make this event a must attend. For more info, go to www.jusbluesmusic.com.

Wednesday, August 6
 8:00 am     Registration
10:00 am    Jus` Blues Music Foundation Technology Conference
 6:30 pm     "Night of the Legends" featuring the 2008 Jus` Blues Music Awards Honorees.  Dinner, Networking and Fun.
Late           After Party
 
Thursday, August 7
12:00 pm   Music Note Ceremony in front of The Historical Daisy honoring the accomplishments of Joe Simon on the Beale Street Walk of Fame
 7:00 pm    2008 Jus` Blues Music Awards Show
 Late         Jus` Blues Music Awards After Party

Nobody captures the flavor and history of the Blues like Holly Harris. For more than 25 years, Holly has been delivering the Blues to listeners across New England. Now she’s reaching listeners coast to coast and around the world on Ultimate Blues Radio – www.ultimateblues.com .

“The Blues is about life,” says Harris. “It delivers the universal themes of love, loss, joy, fun, and sadness inside some of the most amazing music. That’s why we love the Blues.”

Holly brings her unique DJ style to her weekly web radio show where she features the music of established and emerging Blues musicians, interviews with Blues artists and celebrities, and insights into the tales, passions, and inspirations behind the songs.

Working with established media production house, Realization Pictures, Holly will be serving up video podcast interviews with a variety of Blues artists this summer, as well as delivering a one-hour downloadable show to our troops around the globe.

So, as Holly always says – "Get out and hear as much Blues music as possible. Or log on to ultimateblues.com where there’s always something worth listening to!"

                                                                    [paid advertisement]

Blind Pig recording artist Nappy Brown, one of the first R&B stars in the mid-50s and one of the last classic blues shouters, has been  hospitalized in Newton, New Jersey following a performance at the Crawfish Festival in Augusta, NJ this past Sunday, June 1st.

The 79 year old performer, renowned for his crowd-pleasing stage antics, was just beginning his set when he experienced a sudden weakness and was unable to continue. After being examined by medics at the scene, he was transported to the hospital. Initial indications  were that Brown was suffering from extreme dehydration, but medical tests are continuing to determine the full extent of Brown's health issues.

The singer, who recently stole the show with his performance at the Blues Music Awards ceremony in Tunica, Mississippi, was forced to cancel a West Coast trip scheduled for next week that included shows in San Francisco and the Live Oak Music Festival in Santa Barbara.

The rhythm and blues pioneer has been enjoying a heady career resurgence since the release of his universally acclaimed CD, Long Time Coming, last September, culminating in two recent Blues Music Award nominations.

It is hoped that after being discharged from the hospital and having a chance to rest and recuperate at his home in North Carolina, Brown will be able to resume his touring schedule, beginning with the Cisco Systems Blues Fest in Ottawa, Canada on July 11th.

Well-wishers can send Nappy their words of support and encouragement in care of Blind Pig Records (via email to info@blindpigrecords.com or by post to P.O. Box 2344, San Francisco, CA 94126).

On July 29, Smithsonian Folkways Recordings will release RICHMOND BLUES by guitarist-singer John Cephas and his harmonica-player partner Phil Wiggins as part of the African American Legacy Recordings Series. RICHMOND BLUES traces the traditional Piedmont blues through its origins in the southeast Appalachians, from Richmond, Virginia, to Atlanta, Georgia, and showcases its thriving modern embodiment in the hands of Wiggins and Cephas, the most respected and well-known Piedmont blues musicians today.

M.C. Records announced that it has signed "The Georgia Songbird" EG Kight to a deal. Her new CD IT'S HOT IN HERE (MC-0062) will be released on August 19th. To stream tracks from the upcoming CD go to
http://www.mc-records.com/html/eg_kight.html

ZZ Top - Live From Texas was shot at NOKIA Theatre Grand Prairie in front of a packed house of over 6, 000 fans, with 9 cameras in HD. The acclaimed and hugely successful ZZ Top bring their distinctive Southern blues-influenced rock back to their home state of Texas in this electrifying live concert. With a tracklist spanning their entire career from the early seventies to date, including Got Me Under Pressure, Waitin For The Bus, La Grange, Gimme All Your Lovin, Legs, Pin Cushion, Tush and many more!

ZZ Top - Live From Texas will be released simultaneously on DVD and Blu-Ray on June 24 via Eagle Rock Entertainment.

Blind Pig Records has announced a June 24, 2008 release date for a new studio CD from vocalist Robin Rogers, and audiophile 180-gram LP releases from Johnny Shines and Snooky Pryor, Charlie Musselwhite, and Jimmy Thackery.

Lockside Trading Company’s 5th Annual Blues Festival (Young's Point, Ontario, Canada) will take place on Saturday, June 14 with all proceeds benefitting the Lakefield Primary Healthcare Centre campaign.

Held on the grounds of Lockside Trading Company in Young’s Point, the all-day music festival runs from 11:00 a.m. until 5:30 p.m.

Saturday’s audience will be treated to a free afternoon of blues featuring great Canadian performers including Richie and the Poorboys, SAB, the Kevin Carley Band, the Channel Cats and Young’s Point’s own Luke Nicholson and Royal Wood.

Held in memory of the store’s late founder, Brian Holmes, this hugely enjoyable annual event marks the continuation of Lockside’s ongoing campaign to support health care initiatives within the community.

The 2006 event capped off a three year, $30,000 campaign to name an Oncology Treatment room after Brian at the new Peterborough Regional Health Centre.

Proceeds from audience donations and the sale of T-shirts, mugs, food, silent auction and raffle tickets will be directed to the campaign to build the Lakefield Primary Healthcare Centre.

Last year’s event raised $7,500 towards their $20,000 commitment to name a patient treatment room after Holmes at the soon-to-be constructed centre.

“The support of our friends, community and families has really been incredible,” said Sue Mattucci, owner of Lockside Trading Company.

“Brian was such a huge fan of music and such a people person, he would love this. It’s really wonderful to see so many people come out to honour both his memory and his passion for the blues.”

The 29th annual Long Beach Blues Festival (Long Beach, California), set to take place Saturday and Sunday, August 30 and 31, 2008 at a brand new venue location. The Festival will relocate from its long-time home site at the Cal State University Long Beach (CSULB) athletic field to a breezy new ocean-front location, the Rainbow Lagoon at Linden Ave. and Shoreline Dr., downtown and adjacent to the Long Beach Marina.

In its nearly three decades of existence, the Long Beach Blues Festival has become one of the nation’s pre-eminent blues celebrations. As a major fundraiser for publicly supported radio station KKJZ-FM, the Festival serves not only as an annual weekend devoted to a classic American music form, but also to help sustain both jazz and the blues on the air all year long.

“We see moving the Blues Festival to downtown Long Beach as another way for Cal State Long Beach to partner with the city in ways that lend more vibrancy and excitement to important community events,” said CSULB President F. King Alexander. “We believe this move will enable more community members to take advantage of what is one of the most popular events in Long Beach every year, and in the process, businesses in the downtown area will benefit as well.

Mick Fleetwood is celebrating his blues heritage with his new group The Mick Fleetwood Blues Band and is the final name to be added to the program for the 21st. International Notodden Blues Festival (Norway).

Together with the festival, Mick Fleetwood will present his new band for the first time in Europe. 
 
Mick Fleetwood Blues Band featuring Rick Vito is replacing Bill Wyman’s Rhythm Kings as a festival headliner.

The Bayfront Blues Festival (Duluth, Minnesota) will likely return to Duluth this summer, and Bayfront Park could be its home for several years to come. Duluth Mayor Don Ness and festival organizer Chris Mackey say they're working on a deal to keep the festival at Bayfront Park.

Last year, bluesfest relocated to a site in Midway Township.

A dispute between the city and the festival culminated last year when the city, under then-Mayor Herb Bergson, filed a lawsuit claiming that the festival owed it more than $50,000.

Ness says he hopes both sides can reach a settlement on the issue.

Visit Duluth spokesman Gene Shaw says the blues festival is the second-biggest draw and moneymaker after Grandma's Marathon, attracting about 40,000 visitors and $8 million in tourist revenue each year.

The Sacramento Blues Society (Sacramento, California) in partnership with Creative Cats is hosting and presenting the 2008 Northern California Blues Festival (June 21 & 22) to benefit and support the "Through The Mind" program. A non-profit program providing free alternative mental health services to our war veterans.

The festival is featuring Northern California blues artists: Elvin Bishop, Maria Muldaur, "Mighty" Mike Schermer, Mick Martin & The Blues Rockers, The Delta Wires, Leo Boots & Southside Shuffle, Strictly For Kicks, The Steve Foster Band, Equinox Blues Review and The Jeff Watson Band.

2008 Festival T-shirt sales will benefit the Sacramento Blues Society's "Blues In The Schools" program.