Vince Gill

 

One of the most popular artists in modern country music, Vince Gill is famous for his top-notch songwriting, world-class guitar playing and warm, soaring tenor, all wrapped up in a quick and easy wit. Gill achieved his big breakthrough in 1990 with “When I Call Your Name,” which won both the Country Music Association’s (CMA) Single and Song of the Year awards as well as a Grammy for Best Country Vocal Performance, Male. Since then, Gill has won 17 additional CMA Awards, including Song of the Year four times – making him the most-awarded artist in that category in CMA history, and a total of 22 Grammy Awards, his most recent one for Best Country Solo Performance – “When My Amy Prays.”  The Academy of Country Music has conferred on Gill eight awards, including its Home Depot Humanitarian Award and the Career Achievement Award.

A gifted songwriter, Gill’s compositions earned him the prestigious BMI Icon award in 2014, and entry into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2005.

In 2007, Gill was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame, and in 2012 he was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame which was placed in cement right next to his wife Amy Grant’s star. In 1991, Gill was invited to become a member of The Grand Ole Opry, a position he treasures. He continues to perform on that historic stage on a regular basis.

Throughout his career he has released 20 albums, sold over 30 million albums, and charted 45 singles.

Known for his many collaborations, Gill has made guest appearances on more than 1000 albums, and has performed and/or recorded with artists such as Barbra Streisand, James Taylor, Sting, Emmylou Harris, Diana Krall, Jimmy Webb, Bruno Mars, Willie Nelson, Dolly Parton, and George Jones. His collaborative efforts also include albums he has produced for Amy Grant, Ashley Monroe, The Time Jumpers and Wendy Moten.

Always considering himself a musician above all else, Gill has over the years been a part of some iconic bands including Pure Prairie League, The Cherry Bombs, and The Time Jumpers. In 2017 Vince was asked to join the Eagles on the road and continues to be a part of that historic band’s tour.

Gill’s current album, the critically acclaimed OKIE, is his most personal album, as he sings about his wife in prayer, about kindness and forgiveness, about his heroes in death, and about his own loves, joys, and regrets.

https://vincegill.com/

The Kabooms

 

 

The Kabooms are a band based in Barcelona and founded in 2014 with members of several well-known groups in the field of 50's rock and roll, Matt Olivera on vocals (Matt and The Peabody Ducks) El Lega on guitar (Legacaster, Locos del Oeste) , Xavi Carajillo on bass (Los Torontos, Los Locos del Oeste) and Jesús López on drums (Pike Cavalero, The Ragtones) form this combo of surf rock and late 50's rock and roll sound that have made their live show wild and full of energy by festivals and stages around the world such as: Viva Las Vegas, Fuss and Holler (USA), The Rockabilly Rave and Hemsby (UK) Let's Get Wild, Get Rhythm Go Wild (Germany), High Rockabilly and Rockin Race (Spain) And a long etcetera.

Their latest full-length “Right Track, Wrong Way” collects another discharge of pure energy, fun and quality as the band has accustomed us, the combo goes a step further to meet the tastes of a wider and more eclectic public, but equally demanding. Matt, the singer, leads the action providing the required claw at all times. Javier and Alex put the precise rhythm and strength to each song. And El Lega on guitar is a phenomenon. In fact, there are four phenomena. Directly. Music that gets you excited, with a catchy rhythm of drums and double bass, a guitar bordering on perfection and outstanding voice work. “50's cut rock played at full blast, furiously, as it should be”.

 https://www.facebook.com/thekabooms

 

Screamin' Jay Hawkins

 

 

 Jalacy Hawkins, better known as Screamin' Jay Hawkins (Cleveland, Ohio, United States, July 18, 1929 - Neuilly-sur-Seine, France, February 12, 2000), was a popular African-American American singer. He had a major hit during the rock explosion of the mid-1950s. Known for his circus performances and (sometimes macabre) aesthetic, he recorded one of the biggest hits of the era, I Put a Spell on You, in 1957. He learned to compose music and play the piano as a child at the Ohio Conservatory. At the age of 14, he drops out of school and lies saying that he has one more year to join the army and fight in World War II. In the army he began to play the sax entertaining the troops. He fell into enemy hands on the island of Saipan when he was parachuted, being rescued a year and a half later.

Van Morrison

 

 Born in 1945, Van Morrison heard his Shipyard worker father’s collection of blues, country and gospel early in life. Feeding off musical greats such as Hank Williams, Jimmie Rodgers, Muddy Waters, Mahalia Jackson and Leadbelly he was a travelling musician at 13 and singing, playing guitar and sax, in several bands, before forming Them in 1964. 

Making their name at Belfast’s Maritime Club, Them soon established Van as a major force in the British R&B scene. Morrison’s matchless vocal and songwriting talents produced instant classics such as the much covered ‘Gloria’ and ‘Here Comes The Night’. 

Those talents found full astonishing range in Van’s solo career. After working with Them’s New York producer Bert Berns on beautiful Top 40 pop hit ‘Brown Eyed Girl’ (1967), Morrison moved to another realm.

 Recorded over 3 days with legendary jazz musicians Astral Weeks (1968) is a still singular album combining street poetry, jazz improvisation, Celtic invocation and Afro Celtic Blues wailing. 

Morrison would weave these and myriad other influences into the albums that followed in quick succession. 

Reflecting on new life in America on the joyous Sinatra soul of Moondance (1970) and the country inflected Tupelo Honey (1971) he summoned old spiritual and ancestral life in the epic St Dominic’s Preview (1972) closer track Listen To The Lion. 

Double live album Too Late To Stop Now (1973) highlighted Morrison’s superlative performing and bandleader skills. Mapping out a richly varied musical course throughout the 70s he shone among an all-star cast including Bob Dylan and Muddy Waters on The Band’s Last Waltz. 

Indeed, borne of his Irish Showband instincts, the magic of the live performance has been a consistent feature of Morrison’s career. 

Settling back into life in the UK in 1980 he released Common One an album centring on Summertime In England an extraordinary invocation of literary, sensual and spiritual pleasure the song would often become a thrilling improvised centrepiece to his live shows. 

Steering his own course throughout the 80s on albums such as No Guru, No Method, No Teacher he claimed Celtic roots with The Chieftains on Irish Heartbeat. Teaming with Georgie Fame brought new impetus to his live show while Avalon Sunset saw him back in the album and single charts by the decades end. 

Van Morrison continued to advance on his status as a game- changing artist through the 90s and into the 21st century. 

Awards and accolades - a knighthood, a Brit, an OBE, an Ivor Novello, 6 Grammys, honourary doctorates from Queen’s University Belfast and the University of Ulster, entry into The Rock n Roll Hall of Fame and the French Ordres Des Artes Et Des Lettres - attested to the international reach of Van’s musical art. 

Yet there was never any suggestion that Morrison, one of the most prolific recording artists and hardest working live performers of his era, would ever rest on his laurels.

 The breadth and reach of his collaboration work continues in 2015 with the release of his new album ‘Duets: Re-working The Catalogue’. Featuring singers as influential and diverse as Bobby Womack, Gregory Porter, Mavis Staples and Michael Bublé, the album re-works songs handpicked from Morrison’s catalogue of over 360 tracks across his career. Including songs such as Real Real Gone, Higher Than The World and Irish Heartbeat, the album was recorded in his home town of Belfast and London over the last year, using a variety of musicians and fresh arrangements.

With one of the most revered catalogues in music history and his unparalleled talents as composer, singer and performer Morrison’s past achievements loom large. But, as throughout his extraordinary career, how that past informs his future achievements and still stirs excitement and keen anticipation. 

And so in 2017 Van released his 37th and 38th studio albums, the first of which, Roll With The Punches, is a blues flavoured offering. The 15 track album reconnects Morrison with artists such as Leadbelly, Lightnin’ Hopkins, Little Walter and Bo Diddley…musicians he first heard at home on the family radiogram. But more so, it brings Van together with musicians he encountered on the road during his time with Them in the ‘60s blues boom as Chris Farlowe, Manfred Mann’s Paul Jones and The Yardbird’s Jeff Beck all make contributions to the recordings. The rich jambalaya enjoyed on Roll With The Punches is Van Morrison both looking back, and moving forward. And though he references the past, Morrison always makes it his own, stamping his unmistakable spin on what has gone before.

Following shortly after the release of Roll with the Punches was the aptly titled Versatile. This album sees Morrison cross the genres of blues, soul and reconnect with his love of jazz. Across Versatile’s sixteen tracks, Van Morrison interprets some of the very building blocks of modern music in his own utterly unique style.  As well as songs originally made famous by the likes of Chet Baker, Frank Sinatra, the Righteous Brothers, Tony Bennett and Nat King Cole, Versatile features the stunning new Van composition Broken Record – a timeless piece of late-night swing – and new interpretations of classics from his back catalogue (I Forgot That Love Existed from the 1987 album Poetic Champions Compose, Start All Over Again from 1990’s Enlightenment and Only A Dream from 2002’s Down the Road).

2018 is a significant year in Morrison’s career, marking 50 years since the release of the iconic Astral Weeks album in 1968. To date, the year has been full steam ahead for Morrison beginning with a string of shows in the USA and further shows scheduled for Europe later in the year. Morrison shows no sign of slowing things down, continuing to work on new material and exciting upcoming projects.

 https://www.vanmorrison.com

 

 

Othar Turner

 

 

Othar "Otha" Turner (June 2, 1907 – February 26, 2003) was an American blues musician, best known as one of Fife's leading musicians and a performer of the Fife blues and drums tradition.

Turner was born in Madison County, Mississippi, and spent his entire life in the northern part of the state, working as a farmer. In 1923, at the age of 16, he began playing fiffari made of bamboo canes here. The Rising Star Fife and Drum Band, consisting primarily of Turner's family and friends, played primarily at farm parties. Wider success was achieved only in the '90s, when the band appeared on Mississippi Delta Blues Jam in Memphis, Vol. 1 (where Napoleon Strickland and the Como drum band, other fife and drum lineups also appear) and other collections. of traditional blues. In 1998 Turner and his band released Everybody Hollerin' Goat, often well received by critics. The title refers to a tradition Turner began in the late 1950s, which he planned to host at his De La Granja picnic on May 1, during which he personally slaughtered and cooked a goat. The rest of the Rising Star Fife and Drum Band provided musical entertainment. This first album was followed by From Senegal to Senatobia in 1999, which also featured some members of Turner's family this time accompanied by professional musicians. The formation is called Afrossippi Allstars. "Shimmy she wobble" also appears in Everybody Hollerin' Goat, which appears in the Martin Scorsese film Gangs of New York. The same director, in his miniseries The Blues, interviews Otha Turner, considered one of the living witnesses at the time of the Delta and country Blues tradition, closely related to the traditional music of West Africa. The project was carried out by Corey Harris, in 2003, with the album Mississippi to Mali. The album is dedicated to Turner, who disappeared a week before the scheduled recording date. His niece, Shardé Thomas, then twelve years old, filled in for him for the recording sessions. Othar 

 

Turner died in Gravel Springs, Mississippi, at the age of 95. His funeral was held on March 4, 2003 in Como, Mississippi, along with his daughter, who died the same day as his father. The procession was led by the rising star Fife and Drum Band, at the head of which Shardé Thomas played the same instrument as her grandfather.

Blue Moon Marquee

 

Multi-award-winning Canadian roots-blues duo Blue Moon Marquee are ready to “Scream, Holler & Howl” with the release of their soul-shoutin’ new single — available now! 

Bursting with a loose, let-it-all-hang-out kind of groove, the song is the opening and title track of their forthcoming album set for release this September 9th via their own label, Blue Moon Marquee Music. 

“”Music is a release, and we encourage expression of the spirit with this tune,” co-front A.W. Cardinal says. “It’s a song to honour what music provides for so many — an escape.” 

“We have written many esoteric, dark songs,” co-front Jasmine Colette adds. “This was a surrender to a fun, goes-down-easy, hard-hitting groove tune about the ultimate: to love, and be loved.” 

Recorded live to tape, Scream, Holler & Howl captures their most sophisticated collection of songs yet — all while blazing forward with a full band featuring some of Canada’s finest veteran players. Recorded at Vancouver, BC’s Afterlife Studios, and produced by the band with multi-Blues Music Award-winner Duke Robillard and Erik Nielsen, both the song and its namesake album shine a bright spotlight on the prodigious talents of Cardinal’s vocals and guitar, and Colette’s upright bass and vocals alongside guests Darcy Phillips, Jerry Cook, Matt Pease, Paul Pigat, Bonnie Northgraves, and Señor Erik; Robillard adds his stellar legendary guitar work on several tracks, too. 

The album’s ‘Baker’s Dozen’ 13 tracks include 11 original songs plus two distinctive takes on songs written by the legendary Lonnie Johnson: “Another Night to Cry” and “Long Black Train.”

Born of the wild rose country in Alberta, Canada, both Cardinal and Colette played in punk, metal, and rock and roll bands. Leaving home at a young age, they both spent years traveling on their own, working a variety of jobs and touring with different acts. At one point Colette was hitchhiking throughout North America performing vaudeville with her act of hula hooping, skateboarding, and playing trombone simultaneously, while Cardinal was living in New York City working as a bike mechanic and performing at open mics every night. 

It was in 2012 that they came together in Vancouver to record Cardinal's original material for his album, Stainless Steel Heart; a mutual old friend was engineering the project and they connected deeply on their taste and obsession over music. 

With their distinct energy and style, this acclaimed duo writes and perform original compositions influenced by anything that swings, jumps, or grooves. Carving a path through blues, jazz, jump jive, folk, country, swing, and Indigenous soul with an authentic spirit, their sound does not idle easily in one certain category. Also known as ‘Badlands Jass,’ Colette not only commands the upright bass but also brings the rhythm with her feet on a custom foot drum kit — all while singing in her signature honey-dipped tones — while Cardinal’s distinctive and soulful vocals barrel out like a raging bull and his guitar crackles with the swinging energy of jazz-tinged blues.

Their gift is bringing all these elements together without anything sounding out of step. They collect the roots and smoothly braid them with lyrics that often touch on the underbelly of society, woven with elements of Indigenous storytelling and poetic cadence. 

"Blue Moon Marquee have their own completely original style,” American Roots UK writes. “Modern Blues doesn't really get any better than this. This is a tremendous sound by a hugely talented duo.” 

“To say A.W. and Jasmine are old souls is an understatement, to say the least,” Robillard pens in the album’s liner notes. “They are poised for worldwide recognition in an amazing genre-bending ride through American blues and folk, gypsy jazz, Native American themes, jump blues, swing, and more. These century-old traditions have been redefined and delivered in a new light here. They are astounding in their depth, groove, and soul on this recording. Written, played, and recorded here in a heartfelt and natural old-school way for the world to hear, feel, dance, drink or be alone with. 

“For me, working with them in the studio was inspiring and a re-confirmation of my own belief in the power of roots music,” he continues. “Special thanks go out to Afterlife Studios, with their long history of great recordings and real echo chambers, vintage gear, and great engineer Erik Nielsen, who converged magically with all these musicians to make some damn memorable music.”

While they have primarily performed as a duo since 2013, Blue Moon Marquee have recently also performed as a trio or quartet with Darcy Phillips (Jann Arden) on piano and Jerry Cook (Colin James) on tenor and baritone saxophone.  

With 2019’s release of Bare Knuckles and Brawn, they were nominated as Blues Artist of the Year at the Western Canadian Music Awards and Indigenous Songwriter of the Year at the Canadian Folk Music Awards. With a “totally unique approach…such a powerful original mix of swing styles with jazz and blues, west coast swing and New Orleans feel” (Sound Guardian) the record topped both the Earshot National Folk/Roots/Blues Charts simultaneously with the National Jazz charts — a rare feat. 

Appreciated for their lyrical candor, outstanding musicianship, and vivacious live performances, Blue Moon Marquee was the most-requested band in the country for the Canadian International Jazz Festival Circuit following their 2017 release, Gypsy Blues. That full-length album of original material also garnered the Indigenous Artist of the Year nomination from Western Canadian Music Awards as well as Best New Artist nomination at the Maple Blues Awards. 

“As a long-time fan of Blue Moon Marquee, I've had the pleasure of following and appreciating their development over the years,” says Holger Petersen, Founder of Stony Plain Records and longtime radio broadcaster. “The combination of A.W. and Jazz with Duke Robillard takes their music to another inspired level. 'Scream, Holler & Howl' is a wonderful hybrid of their combined swing, blues, and gypsy jazz influences and unique songwriting often inspired from A.W.'s Metis Cree heritage. It's a joy to hear and to see their on-stage chemistry and natural showmanship. I encourage everyone to get to know them by checking out their website, videos, and original artwork.” 

“Their presentation is spellbinding and their original songs are unforgettable,” legendary award-winning American blues pianist David Vest vouches. “To me, they represent the real core of the folk-blues tradition. They would not seem out of place if they were on stage beside Lonnie Johnson or the young Memphis Minnie.”

“They embrace the retro vein celebrated for decades between ragtime blues, shady mambo, and vintage swing,” Paris Blues Magazine writes from France. “With a smoldering live performance and outrageous vocals… Welcome to the baroque cabaret, where the Charleston disjoins itself!”

"The sound of Blue Moon Marquee is delicious and sacrosanct cross-border blues,” Keys and Chords’ Philip Verhaege adds. 

“Scream, Holler & Howl” is available now. Scream, Holler & Howl, the album, is available September 9th, 2022 via Blue Moon Marquee Music. 

https://bluemoonmarquee.com/

Revolution Rabbit Deluxe

 

Revolution Rabbit Deluxe (RRD) evolved from a solo project into a four-piece band from Blackwood, in the South Wales valleys. Their brand of melody-driven innovative alternative rock has garnered great reviews, along with regular airplay on the internet. They’ve been played on the BBC and are poised to conquer mainstream radio. They signed to SWND records in Swansea  at the beginning of 2022.

RRD’s main influences are The Beatles and Eels for melodic inspiration. The Pixies and Smashing Pumpkins for rawness, power and drive of the rhythm section. The lyrical twists of Divine Comedy and XTC are also prominent influences. Comparisons to Feeder, early Manic Street Preachers, Super Furry Animals have been suggested by reviewers. RRD are not content with sitting back. Their fourth album, The Great Divide, is heading into uncharted seas with experiments in form and content. Due for release in May 2022, this album is more nuanced and delicate in places but retains the hard edge of the early albums. Tales from Armageddonsville, their debut album, came about when the producer of Goldy Lookin’ Chain, approached RecRock for artists suitable for release on Amazon, Spotify, and iTunes. RRD were put forward.

Like the Monkees, RRD live in one house and between writing, recording and gigging, they tour the world looking for crimes to solve. They lost their summer jobs as archaeologists on Time Team after a drunken lunchtime argument with Tony Robinson led to an unfortunate incident with a toilet, some dynamite, and a livid TV host. To this day, Tony twitches violently when he passes a lavatory.

http://www.revolutionrabbitdeluxe.com

Casey Maunder

 

Casey Maunder was born and raised in Swansea and as the son of a local musician was immersed in music from an early age. By twelve years old he was performing with his father’s band and at 14 was writing and performing with local rock bands.

At 19 Casey joined The Cherry Thieves and inspired by the Los Angeles glam rock scene they toured the UK extensively and featured regularly in music publications such as Kerrang and Melody Maker. After the demise of The Cherry Thieves Casey linked up with a childhood friend and formed Four Stories High. The band kept the energy of Casey’s earlier rock projects but fused it with a more imaginative and creative approach to song writing. The band gigged extensively across the UK and their single “Another Day” gained radio play, Welsh TV slots and was released on a compilation of the best emerging UK talent.
 
 2021 saw Casey decide to go it alone and take sole control of his song writing and releases. His sound is defined by overdriven guitars and a dedication to melody that means every track has a huge chorus that will not quit! His first three solo singles have had extensive radio play, including the track “Rolling at The Rathouse” being played on esteemed station Planet Rock. The upcoming album “Until Your Heart Stops Beating” showcases Casey’s vocal, lyrical and song writing range and delivers an eclectic collection of songs that range from hard edged rock to harmony laden power pop.

 https://www.instagram.com/caseymaundermusic/

https://www.facebook.com/Casey-Maunder-107189461940597