I’ve been telling my friends about how much I like Amadou & Mariam’s music. Since they’re not well-known in the U.S. yet, the question that inevitably comes up is, “What sort of music is it? Who do they sound like?” After trying several weakly descriptive, “it’s-sort-of-like-this-and-sort-of-like-that” responses, I’ve settled on, “It’s just great, fun music. You should give it a listen.” Read the rest of this entry »

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There must be something about the blues that keeps its disciples young. B.B. King turned 83 last September (16th). I saw him last June at the Chicago Blues Festival, when he headlined the festival on a rainy Sunday night. We were getting soaked, but the crowd kept growing, right up until show time. He walked onto stage very slowly and he performed sitting, as he has for a few years. Old age might make walking difficult, but it hasn’t silenced his booming blues growl and it sure hasn’t weakened his guitar skills. Read the rest of this entry »

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 Jimmy Hall, the lead singer for the Mighty Jeremiahs, described their music as, “ZZ Top meets Mountain and goes to church.” It’s not often that you find music that’s as elemental and powerful as The Mighty Jeremiahs’. These guys truly makes a “joyful noise.” It’s raw, passionate and fun. If you like guitar-driven rock and blues, you should enjoy this music, whether you’re more spiritual or more secular. OK, so you might say that gospel music isn’t your thing. I can accept that, but if you don’t give this CD a chance, you’ll miss one of the best “plug-in-your-electric-guitar-to-a- stack-of-amps-and-let-it-wail” records in years. If you crank up the volume on the first cut and leave it there, you just might get closer to God. Read the rest of this entry »

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