Brittany Howard/Alabama Shakes
Alabama Shakes is an American blues rock band formed in Athens, Alabama, in 2009. The band currently consists of lead singer and guitarist Brittany Howard, guitarist Heath Fogg, bassist Zac Cockrell, and drummer Steve Johnson. Wikipedia
In 2019 Bruttany Howard released a solo album, Jaime, adding a second dimension to what Alabama Shakes had accomplished.
See both web sites for updates and video collections.
Brittany
Alabama Shakes
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Annika Chambers & Paul DesLauriers
Chambers DesLauriers embodies love, resilience, and the stirring power of blues, soul, and rock ‘n roll. Fronted by the magnetic duo Annika Chambers and Paul DesLauriers, this band unites two celebrated artists whose music and story inspire audiences worldwide.
Their love story began in 2018 with a moment straight out of a movie. During a busy music conference in Memphis, TN, in a jam-packed lobby at the Orpheum Theatre, “we immediately locked eyes,” Annika muses simply about their first magical meeting. But fate had other plans—they wouldn’t cross paths again for another year, and their connection was undeniable when they did. A whirlwind romance, quick engagement, and marriage followed, and now, six years later, their love continues to shine—on stage and off.
Annika Chambers cut her teeth singing in church as a child and led her first song at age 15. Influenced by Mahalia Jackson, Aretha Franklin, Yolanda Adams, and Mavis Staples, she hit the stage in her hometown of Houston for the first time as a professional singer in 2008.
Her strength and determination stem from her 7 ½ years in the U.S. Army, where she served two tours of duty. During this time, she first discovered the blues, and from there, her musical path was set. Annika has cemented her place as a force to be reckoned with in the blues world, earning three Blues Music Awards for Soul Blues Female Artist of the Year (2019, 2022, 2024), with another nomination in 2025.
Hailing from Cornwall, Ontario, Paul DesLauriers picked up his first instrument at age five and never looked back. Studying the greats—B.B. King, Robert Johnson, Bukka White, and Peter Green—he immersed himself in their playing while developing his own distinct style. By 15, he was gigging professionally and, soon after, touring the world under his name. A six-time Maple Blues Award winner, DesLauriers has earned his place as one of Canada’s premier blues-rock guitarists.
A survivor of a traumatic brain injury in 2018, Paul’s experience only reinforced one truth: music was his anchor. “No matter what life throws at you, when you pick up a guitar, it reminds you who you are. I’m blessed that it wasn’t taken away from me. I just had to keep moving forward through the fog.”
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Snarky Puppy
Snarky Puppy
After a decade of relentless touring and recording in all but complete obscurity, the Texas-bred/New York-based quasi-collective suddenly found itself held up by the press and public as one of the major figures in the jazz world. But as the category names for all three of the band’s Grammy® awards would indicate (Best R&B Performance in 2014, Best Contemporary Instrumental Album in 2016 and 2017), Snarky Puppy isn’t exactly a jazz band. It’s not a fusion band, and it’s definitely not a jam band. It’s probably best to take Nate Chinen of the New York Times’ advice, as stated in an online discussion about the group, to “take them for what they are, rather than judge them for what they’re not.” (website)
Snarky Puppy joins another Roaming the Arts favorite Mingo Fishtrap as a band formed out of the wonderful music program at the University of North Texas.
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Band of Heathens
Band of Heathens
Performance Video — Heaven Help Us All
When The Band of Heathens decided to dub their sixth studio album of original material Stranger (its first since 2017’s Duende), the veteran band, formed in Austin, TX nearly 15 years ago, had no idea how prophetic that title would turn out to be. Although the name references the famed existential Albert Camus novel and Robert Heinlein’s sci-fi classic Stranger in a Strange Land, it also touches on the “strangers” who make up the band’s loyal fan base, who supported the band during this period with all touring canceled.
As co-founder Ed Jurdi acknowledges, it is certainly an unusual time to release a new album. “The strangest,” he says. “Maybe no time stranger. Since we started, there have been sweeping, revolutionary changes in the music business, but, in this global pandemic, we’re just a microcosm.”
“We’re really fortunate that we have been able to turn directly to our fan base during the pandemic,” adds fellow co-founder Gordy Quist. “The last few months we’ve spent four nights a week live-streaming personal private concerts to fans, and one night a week publicly live-streaming with the whole band Zooming in from their respective homes in California, Texas, North Carolina and Tennessee. At first it seemed very strange until
these walls started coming down and we realized how connected we are by the fabric of music.”Extending the metaphor of Stranger even further. The Band of Heathens traveled to another city, Portland, OR, with a brand-new producer, Tucker Martine [The Decemberists, My Morning Jacket, Modest Mouse, Camera Obscura], and the result is something different – a more airy, intimate atmosphere, with added emphasis on songcraft and intricate arrangements set in a spacious sonic landscape that reinvents the band’s sound. These are songs stripped of pretense, but teeming with the emotion borne of personal experience, as has been The Band of Heathens’ method from the very start. Stranger moves off into a new place, but still echoes the group’s artful songwriting and multi-layered narrative observations.
The Stranger was released in 2020 and is a top ten roots rock album riding high in the charts.
