Nataniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats
Nathaniel David Rateliff is an American singer and songwriter based in Denver, whose influences are described as folk, Americana and vintage rhythm & blues. Rateliff has garnered attention with Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats, the soulful R&B combo he formed in 2013. Wikipedia
His record label includes this in his notes:
Like his heroes, Rateliff has always been an omnivorous listener and player. Growing up in Hermann, Missouri, a small town with a booming tourism industry as well as a rampant meth epidemic, he started his music career playing in his family’s band at church, but that came to a tragic end when his father was killed in a car accident. Music became an obsession for him and his friends. “We would walk around these deserted country roads and talk about music all the time, how it can change the world and how it could change our world,” recalls Night Sweats bassist Joseph Pope III. “Music was what we thought would save us.”
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Ryan Montbleau
Ryan Montbleau
Montbleau’s been pouring his heart out in song since the early 2000’s, when he first began performing around his native Massachusetts. He’d go on to collaborate with Martin Sexton, Trombone Shorty, and Galactic among others, and share bills and stages with artists as diverse as Tedeschi Trucks Band, Ani DiFranco, The Wood Brothers, Rodrigo y Gabriela, and Mavis Staples, but it was Montbleau’s ecstatic headline shows—often more than 200 of them a year—that solidified his reputation as a live powerhouse and an inexorable road warrior. NPR’s Mountain Stage compared his “eloquent, soulful songwriting” to Bill Withers and James Taylor, while Relix hailed his “poetic Americana,” and The Boston Herald raved that “he’s made a career of confident, danceable positivity. (from Ryan Montbleau.com)
See more great videos from latest recording “Woodstock Sessions” on Ryan’s website.
For a relationship smile check out YES DARLING
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Blues Time with Bill Wax
Bill Wax on the Blues
For those who are unfamiliar with me, I was the Program Director and Host of Bluesville on XM Satellite Radio. The channel was renamed B.B. King’s Bluesville in 2008. I managed the channel from its inception until 2013, when I retired. I also have over 35 years of experience in non-commercial radio, both as a host on various Blues and Rhythm and Blues shows and as Program Director at two stations: KOPN in Columbia, MO, and KBOO in Portland, OR.
I never thought much about writing until they reached out to me about working on Roaming The Arts. They were quite convincing, and I loved the concept for the website. So here I am. I hope to promote contemporary blues musicians, as well as recognize those who have already left the stage.
Watch Bill tell his story on Time Signatures with Jim Ervin ( from Capital Area Blues Society – Lansing, Michigan)
There are two men in the music I want to highlight in our first post.
The first is David Earl, founder and owner of Severn Records, a label located near Annapolis, MD. David passed on September 7, 2025, at the age of 57. I first met David in the early to mid-1990s, when he started showing up at open mics with his guitar and eventually played in a couple of DC/Baltimore Blues bands. In 1997, David began Echo Records and changed its name to Severn Records in 1998. The catch phrase for the label was ‘Roots Music for the 21st Century, and that is just what his label became. His first three releases were Darrell Nulisch’s “The Whole Truth”, Big Joe Maher’s “I’m Still Swinging”, and Benjie Porecki’s “Servin’ It Up”. His label has since issued over 60 discs. Some of the artist who have recorded for Severn, an incredible roster, include: Steve Guyger, Sugar Ray and the Bluetones, Lou Pride, Mike Morgan and the Crawl, Tad Robinson, Jimmy Earl, Kim Clark Organ Trio, Ola Dixon, Roy Gaines, Louisiana Red, J Street Jumpers, Nora Jean Burso, Roy Carrier, Bruce Katz, Alex Schultz, Buck Hill, Clarence Spady, Charles Wilson, Johnny Moeller, Mud Morganfield, The Nighthawks, The Fabulous Thunderbirds, Bryan Lee, and Ursula Ricks. Below is a starter list of some of my favorite tunes from Severn’s catalogue:
Roy Gaines – Hind Ends and Elbows
Darrell Nulisch -Leaving On the Morning Train
Clarence Spady – Just Between Us
Sugar Ray and the Bluetones – The Last Words of a Fool
Tad Robinson – Broken Hearted Man
Mud Morganfield/Kim Wilson – I Love the Life I Live
Ursula Ricks – My Street
The Nighthawks – Damn Good Time
Big Joe and the Dynaflows – How Come People Act Like That?
Steve Guyger – I’m Shakin’
Happy 100th Birthday B.B. King – September 16, 2025 (click link for a welcome rememberence)
The second musician I want to highlight is Sherman Holmes, the last man standing from the Holmes Brothers Band. They were a roots blues music group that was active between 1975 and 2015. They recorded 11 discs and won two Blues Music Awards. Sherman turned 86 on September 29, 2025. One of the most rewarding benefits of doing a radio show is that you never know who is listening. Sherman’s cousin is a fan of my radio show on WPFW. He heard me announce that I was going to play several tunes featuring Sherman and contacted Sherman so he could listen. I, of course, was both honored and touched that Sherman might be listening. I was also a bit intimidated that he might be listening. After the show, I got a note to call Pinky Sherman, who lives with Sherman. They called to thank me for playing the tunes and remembering Sherman and the Holmes Brothers. It made my week, and when Pinky told me Sherman was smiling, well, that makes it all worthwhile. Below is a starter list of some of the songs that Sherman sings lead on with the Holmes Brothers or from his solo disc called “The Richmond Sessions”:
Sherman Holmes/Joan Osborne – Dark End of the Street
Holmes Brothers – There’s A Train
Holmes Brothers – Promised Land
Holmes Brothers – If I Needed You
Holmes Brothers – If I Had a Boat
Holmes Brothers – Something Is Missing
Thanks for reading and listening.
More About Bill
Search for Bill’s on air shows at: “Roots and Fruits” on WPFW
Click here for posts of Roaming the Arts’ collection of Blues artists.
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John Prine
Read Obit from Rolling Stone Magazine
John Prine
was an American country folk singer-songwriter. He has been active as a composer, recording artist, and live performer since the early 1970s, and is known for an often humorous style of country music that has elements of protest and social commentary. His legacy is being noted in every corner of the globe. Evidenced by the hundreds of recording on Facebook and Youtube by musicians covering his songs almost daily since his passing from Covid-19 in April 2020.
Check out long time lead guitarist Jason Wilber
Check out John’s son, Tommy Prine, carrying on the legacy.
