A Gypsy Woman Told me is a truly stunning album. With the world of contemporary blues so dominated by guitar heroes (and to a lesser extend harmonica stars) its good to be reminded how expressive a blues instrument the piano can be with the right pianist at the helm. While the cities and shires of the British Isles might not hold quite the same mythological status as iconic blues breeding grounds like Mississippi, Chicago or Memphis, theres no denying that theres a lot of talent in the UK right now. It also doesnt hurt that the bands leader (also its singer and chief songwriter) has the shredding skills that guitarists of all ages would understandably envy. List includes The Yardbirds, Eric Burdon & the Animals, more. Despite its challenges 2020 was a special one for him, where the relentless touring had to stop but Joe Bonamassa certainly didn't. Charlie Musselwhite website, Alastair Greenes 2020 effort The New World Blues on Tab Benoits Whiskey Bayou Records is a stripped-down blast of live-in-the-studio blues/rock built on grit, soul, and first takes. Joined by long-time band mates, Pat DeSalvo and Garnet Grimm, Aint Done Yet features well-crafted tracks with catchy hooks, Simmonds smooth vocals, and a band thats as tight as it can be. For now, their 2020 release We Fly Free is a good, but not fully great album. Everybody knows the name . A portrait of Peter Green, guitarist and co-founder of rock band Fleetwood Mac, c. 1968. Did we forget to mention that hes Eric Claptons nephew? Tickets will be on sale in the near future at UKBlues Federation. Shake your Moneymaker packs the albums most powerful punch as Johnny Iguana bangs the keys into impressive submission. His lyrical themes are invariably down to earth, while his guitar playing is absolutely otherworldly. After all, what could be more heartbreaking than a man facing the demise of his car. Review of We Fly Free California-born blues guitarist Kirk Fletcher has the kind of soulful, ebullient vocals that make us briefly forget what an extraordinarily gifted guitar whiz he is. If they're near the top of the best british blues artist list, though, then they should have at least some information available. Since 2016, there's been plenty of chart success and an overabundance of recognition from The BRITs and annual BBC Sound poll, for the likes of NAO, Mabel, Izzy Bizu, Jorja Smith, RAYE, IAMDDB and . Climax Chicago Blues Band. Thanks to missmoke007 for the video Video Website Blue Poets (blues-rock, rock band) Led by Marcus Deml. This is their first release together, but 100 years sounds as effortless and organic as something youd expect from friends with a decades-long history of collaboration. The Allman Betts Band website, Former lead guitarist for The Fabulous Thunderbirds, Kirk Fletcher is widely considered one of the best blues guitarists in the world. Here are the blues players you choose as 2020's standouts. The classic Hellhound on my Trail gets the album off to a rousing start, but things only get richer and more alive from there. If not, you may want to stay away. King King website. } Ordinary Madness is a strong showing from one of the best guitarists, singer-songwriters of the modern era. If youve got a younger blues fan with birthday coming soon, Stand Up would make a lovely gift. Apple Pie and a .45 is the most riveting track, detailing the nightmarish recent tale of a madman who opened fire on a black church. She'll be putting that back into action with live dates in her homeland next year . Megan and Rebecca Lovell on the endless possibilities of slide guitar and playing 21st-century blues. Review of Royal Tea listeners: [], It finds her making John Mayer (opens in new tab)'s Slow Dancing In A Burning Room and Rag N' Bone Man's Human her own, alongside the new song Here Comes The Flood that's sure to transfer well when she returns to the stage. window.mc4wp = window.mc4wp || { Please Help Keep Rock & Blues Muse Alive, Marc Broussards New Single Features Joe Bonamassa Thats What Love Will Make You Do, Review: Feed the Wolf by Miss Velvet and The Blue Wolf. Whether hes playing solo with nothing but his lungs and a road worn Resophonic guitar for amplification or backed by the slightly unusual arrangement of a double bassist and a duo of percussionists, the King Size Slim sound is all about rhythm and groove. Fresh from scooping the awards for Acoustic Blues Artist of the Year and Blues Instrumentalist of the Year at the 2022 UKBlues awards, Northern Irelands Dom Martin is very much a musician breaking into his stride. The set is a back porch session by two of the most famous blues players ever and lets Bishop and Musselwhite do it their own raw-boned way with minimal interference to disrupt the vibe. For anyone who suspected they were a mere novelty, The Juice provides the most vibrant evidence to the contrary. If available, you can also see information about where all british blues bands on this list got started. Keri Leigh & The Blue Devils. Songs like Battleground and what seems to be a Hendrix tribute Kissing the Sky bustle with speaker-rattling vigor, but others simply dont. Hats off to a all that made a well put together list of Artists Congrats to Anthony Gomes once again Blues Rock at its best !!!! Fronted by the American radio and TV personality Robert "Sully" Sullivan and consisting of a host of seasoned musicians including bassist James East who has worked with some of the best including Eric Clapton, Michael Jackson and Elton John. Captured live at a packed music club in Germany, this live set is a raw and real set of blues mixed with rock, R&B, jazz and funk from Allisons collection since he began his solo career in the 1990s. No point in listening to them if they aren't actually good or even half-way decent british blues bands. We do not believe there is a best or least best. Armed with a loop station, a briefcase full of harps and a bag of slightly homemade looking percussion instruments, Son of Dave is a one-man blues explosion. Rock and Blues Muse, LLC. Born in Michigan in 1946, Lavettes vocal stylings owe as much to mainstream R&B that the blues, but her sweet, silky voice belongs as much in this genre as her harder-edged sisters. Song Starter Kit: Bluesdaddy from Bluesdaddy, Never Rains from Hooks & Lines, Last Page from Something Old, Something New. Walter Trout website, Guitar Superman Joe Bonamassa pays tribute to his British blues/rock heroes Jeff Beck, John Mayall and The Bluesbreakers, Eric Clapton, Led Zeppelin, and Cream on his epically cool record Royal Tea. Theres so much energy and life to Bernard Allison and his crew of A-list band of musicians on this album that highlights some of his best cuts from several of his albums. We Fly Free, released by One Road Records, is their follow up to EP, Innocence of Youth, also released in 2020, When Rivers Meet possess a clear talent for songwriting as well. Pulling in musicians from all over the world, this record features blues/rock, R&B, and Soul. His guitar playing is both tasteful and energetic and he possesses a particularly wild vibrato, no doubt modelled on that of his hero, BB King. Theres attitude by the fistful in everything the band has released to date, which is perhaps unsurprising when you consider that the heavily tattooed, Telecaster-wielding Barras is an ex-MMA cage fighter. The songs that most attest to this are The high-octane Groovy Goddess and the plaintive Many Worlds.. Its often said that every blues song is basically about a good man feeling bad. Review of Aint Done Yet Ordinary Madness may well be five-decade blues/rock survivor Walter Trouts finest recorded hour. Zitos guitar work shines most on the hard-driving Dont Touch Me, but the standout track may be the closing track, What it used to be a soft and poignant ballad at a time when such a thing is desperately needed. Shemekia Copeland website, British blues/rock duo, When Rivers Meet is made up of husband and wife outfit, Grace and Aaron Bond. Featuring a dazzling array of talent including Jason Isbell, Steve Cropper, Christone Kingfish Ingram, Jerry Douglas, and Duane Eddy, Uncivil War is both compelling and incredibly moving. At just 17 years old, Toby Lee has already packed tonnes into his musical career. 2021 saw Lee release his first full-length album and his vocal capabilities, although perhaps not as developed as his playing, stand him in good stead for a long career ahead as a killer frontman. Song Starter Kit: Bringing It Home from Bringing It Home (single), Shake a Bone from Shake a Bone, Devil Take My Soul from O2. The man sounds every year his age and his latest effort works precisely for this reason. Theres gusto and redemption on One Shot, with Jackaman channeling anguish and grit into bold, swinging tunes. Review of 100 years of Blues English blues band, Savoy Brown has been proving this belief wrong since the mid-sixties. This set of 10 originals penned by Simmonds, is energetic blues with spirit and vitality plus serious guitar chops. Brox possesses and commands a vast vocal range and is also a highly accomplished flautist which works surprisingly well in a bluesy context. Having spent most of his career as an R&B songwriter (The Ann Peebles hit I cant stand the Rain is his best known song) the 78-year-old from Memphis, Tennessee has also dabbled in releasing vocal albums. Pair this with his undeniable on-stage charisma and its a winning combination. One of the very finest slide guitar players the UK has to offer, Martin Harley has been releasing music for 20 years and is a virtuoso in both laid back acoustic Weissenborn and fiery electric styles. Just listen and let his sound wash over you. We also learn that the wounds of his upbringing, far from killing his spirit, has fueled it. (1) Black Cat Bones was a British heavy blues rock group from London. These artists/bands are in no particular order. Releases from stalwarts like Savoy Brown and Robert Cray as well as newer voices like Whitney Shays and Shemekia Copeland shone as brightly as ever. Troy Redfern Having said all that, Dions friends do a more than capable job of compensating for the weaknesses of the the albums star. Rhode Island isnt typically thought of a hotbed of the blues, but the strong presence of Roomful of Blues, a revival jazz/blues band plants a giant feather in the cap of Americas tiniest state. Each album is just as great as the other. But the title track isnt one of them. England and Wales company registration number 2008885. })(); 2023. This is double-strength blues/rock that will cure what ails you. Christine Perfect (McVie) Keef Hartley. Peter Green (1946 - 2020) Peter Allen Greenbaum (29 October 1946 - 25 July 2020), known professionally as Peter Green, was an English blues rock singer-songwriter and guitarist. Kings previous albums and EPs include Carolina Confessions, Due North, The Marcus King Band and Soul Insight. Boy Sit Down is very much a stand-out track with Change with the Time coming in a close second. Their fifth studio album, the songs are intense and moody with hints of the Delta. event : evt, British husband and wife duo When Rivers Meet have been riding high since they cleaned up at the 2021 UKBlues Awards, taking home four trophies in one night. The set comes across as a tribute to and a step forward from some of the most important rock music to ever hit a microphone and proves that new, meaningful guitar music is still being made. Tracked in Nashville and produced by Ellis and his longtime co-producer Kevin McKendree, the sessions show the influence of Albert King, Peter Green, and Hound Dog Taylor but are jam-packed with Ellis own hard-edged style. Uncivil War would not have been possible by a less time-tested voice. In addition to the buoyant title track, stand outs include the inspirational One Thing Every Day and Beys stunningly poignant cover of John Lennons Imagine. The Georgia-born singer may be gone, but the music he left behind will undoubtedly inspire an army of future blues fans. As with any time-tested blues star, Landreth only grows in stature with each passing release. Bernard Allison website, Toronto native and #1 Billboard artist, Anthony Gomes is a blues/rock guitarist, singer-songwriter who propels blues/rock into the contemporary music culture. Some amazing talent here, I cant wait to dig deeper. Song Starter Kit: Ghosts from The Fire Cosmic, Waiting for Your Love from The Fire Cosmic, John the Revelator from Island. The (Male) Singer You Most Wish You Could Sound Like. King, often come up. If you enjoy our site, you can help with a small donation. Welcome to the UK Blues Awards This is the home of the blues awards scheme created by the UK Blues Federation to give the blues community in the UK the opportunity to recognise and applaud those involved with the blues in the UK. If you buy it, enjoy at its best, but prepare for a release that doesnt always stay there. Meanwhile the equally rollicking I Thought She Wouldnt Do it adds some funky drums into the mix. A comprehensive rundown of the best guitarists of all time, featuring the trailblazers, the early innovators, the best jazz, rock, indie, blues, metal and acoustic players - and the top guitarists around today. But their latest release contains a number of songs that could have only seen life in the current day. It sure would be at or near the top of my personal top 20 list of albums released in 2020. Fleetwood Mac. Let it Go is an almost painful listen. Bryant is a rhythm and blues singer who doesnt leave the blues behind. The Kris Barras Band The list is of 2020 albums we have reviewed. British Americana might sound like a bit of a contradiction in terms, but its not a bad way to sum up the sound of Bristols Elles Bailey. There's the jazz end of the blues; folk blues; blues rock; straight forward, honest to goodness, down home blues; Chicago blues; British blues; country blues; as well as white men. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Wille and The Bandits are UK festival favourites whose brand of uplifting, rootsy blues rock has been working fields full of music lovers into jubilant frenzies for over a decade. If youre ready to dive into something out of the ordinary, its close to a masterpiece. Many people consider King King to be the strongest blues/rock band out there these days and Maverick proves the band is worthy of such profound praise. Future Publishing Limited Quay House, The Ambury, The result is a kind of authenticity that smacks of hard graft and a lifelong love affair with the music. Joe Bonamassa website, Grammy nominated roots/rock duo Larkin Poe released Self Made Man on their Tricki Woo Records and it rocks with powerful vocals, guitar and lap steel riffs, and a roaring rhythm section. Released by Provogue Records / Mascot Label Group and produced by Eric Corne, the record brings us Trout playing better guitar than ever and writing songs that are right on target for the year that 2020 has been. Song Starter Kit: Dead Horses from Death Valley Paradise, Hail Mary from The Divine and The Dirty, Ignite (Light It Up) from Light it Up. Song Starter Kit: The Search for Happiness from Aquarius, Take The Wheel from Aquarius EP, Lie To Me from Lie To Me (Single). Adept at acoustic and electric styles, he imparts a natural, unlaboured charm to his guitar playing, and hes been blessed with an innate gift for storytelling that allows him to side-step lyrical cliches at every turn. But somehow Zitos blues make us feel better. Until then, this effort will serve as a solid building block for what may someday become a brilliant career. { #705 of 880. Hope these guys continue their stellar start to their career. Alastair Greene website, Legendary blues/rock veterans, Savoy Brown, released Aint Done Yet on Quarto Valley Records, much to fans delight. ); The plaintive voice of Chris Smither has served him well for decades. In 2020, Robert Cray sounds as much like Robert Cray as he did in 1990. Memphis Loud is not album without flaws. The year started strong with Joe being joined by a host of talent for his Keeping the Blues Alive at Sea V cruise in February, but when COVID changed the landscape for musicians he rallied for touring players in need from loss of earnings with his Fueling Musicians program. Keary, 8. forms: { 2,625,527 listeners. And it's vital in bringing the blues to new ears and carrying the fire forwards.