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Jimmy Carpenter

Jimmy Carpenter is on a roll. For over 40 years Carpenter has plied his trade as Saxophonist, singer-songwriter, and arranger. Having won the 2021 and 2022 Blues Music Award for Best Instrumentalist/Horn, he is nominated again in ’23, his 8th nomination overall. He is also a Grammy-Winning Composer, for a composition he contributed to the New Orleans Nightcrawlers’ winning album, Atmosphere. After many years living and working in New Orleans, Jimmy now resides in Las Vegas, where he serves as Musical Director of The Big Blues Bender.

Praise for The Louisiana Record, Released September 2022 on Gulf Coast Records:
The Louisiana Record is the kind of set that will get your whole neighborhood dancing if played loud enough. Get it and get going! Mike O’Cull, Rock and Blues Muse

“I enjoyed this album from start to finish. Carpenter does a great job on vocals and tenor saxophone throughout and the bands does an exceptional job, too!” Steve Jones, Blues Blast Magazine

“Carpenter’s singing seems to get more soulful with every outing..” Grant Britt, No Depression

“This has really become an album that can really get a party started.” Bluestown, The Netherlands

“Tenor sax man Jimmy Carpenter reminds me of 50s and 60s R&Ber King Curtis, with his big sound grooving through vintage juke box tunes of that period.” George W Harris, JazzWeekly.com

“I have been a Jimmy Carpenter fan for 20 years, from the first time I heard him play with Jimmy Thackery. He’s always been one of the premier sax players around. But Jimmy is also a stellar songwriter and singer. His voice is at its best on ‘Soul Doctor’, Jimmy’s best record to date. This album oozes cool and rocks hard with a classic sound that only Jimmy Carpenter can bring to the table.” — Mike Zito

Mary Chapin Carpenter

Mary Chapin Carpenter (born February 21, 1958 in Princeton, New Jersey) is a highly successful country music singer, guitarist, and songwriter. According to Songfacts, Carpenter had a fairly privileged upper middle class upbringing. Her father was at least partly responsible for her embarking on a musical career. The song “House of Cards” was inspired by the divorce of her parents when she was sixteen.

One of her most widely known singles is “Passionate Kisses” (written by fellow singer-songwriter Lucinda Williams), a song with a rock flavor musically and lyrics listing simple desires such as “a comfortable bed”, “food to fill me up”, and “time to think”. Another big hit was “Down at the Twist and Shout“, which she performed in January 1997 at Super Bowl XXXI in New Orleans.

A number of Mary Chapin Carpenter’s songs speak to women, urging them on through hard times or troubled relationships. In “He Thinks He’ll Keep Her“, co-composed by Carpenter and Don Schlitz, the singer makes the case for strength and self-respect. Another common theme in her music is that of taking life at your own pace, rather than rampant goal-driven materialism, such as “The Long Way Home” from her 2001 album Time*Sex*Love, which pokes fun at a man who “retire(s) at thirty to his big-ass house next to the putting green.” The album has a relatively different feel musically, incorporating elaborate orchestra melodies, but with her characteristic lyrical depth.

Her album Between Here and Gone, was released in 2004.

Carpenter’s 2007 album, The Calling, on Rounder Records’ rock/pop imprint Zoë, features commentary about contemporary politics, a reaction to the impact of Hurricane Katrina on a track entitled “Houston,” and an incendiary track entitled “On with the Song“, dedicated to the Dixie Chicks, and addressing the visceral reaction to the trio. In less than three months after its release, The Calling sold more than 100,000 copies in the US.

Carpenter has won five Grammy Awards and is the only artist to have won four consecutive Grammy Awards for Best Female Country Vocal Performance, which she received from 1992 to 1995. On October 7, 2012, Carpenter was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame.

Carpenter is a fifth cousin of the late singer and humanitarian Harry Chapin, along with his brothers Tom Chapin and Steve Chapin.

John Jennings

Editor Note: The wonderful video of Down at the Twist and Shout was filmed at the Spanish Ballroom, Glen Echo Park, Glen Echo, Md. Take note of both John Jennings and Pete Kennedy on guitar and the wonderful BeauSoleil. Also special because I was there.

Allman Betts Band

Devon Allman and Duane Betts unite in this exciting band.

Back on the Road. (Somtimes with friends)

The Allman Betts Band includes Devon Allman & Duane Betts on guitars and vocals, Berry Oakley Jr. on bass, Johnny Stachela on slide guitar, John Ginty on Hammond B3 (Robert Randolph/Dixie Chicks) and Devon Allman Project percussionists R. Scott Bryan (Sheryl Crow) and John Lum. The show features original music from their two recent BMG albums, songs from their solo projects as well as classic songs by The Allman Brothers Band, the legendary group founded by Devon and Duane’s fathers, Gregg Allman & Dickey Betts.

Their sophomore album, Bless Your Heart, was released on August 28, 2020. Like their debut album, Bless Your Heart was recorded at the legendary Muscle Shoals Sound Studios and produced by Matt Ross-Spang (Jason Isbell, Margo Price, John Prine and Elvis Presley).

“This is The Allman Betts Band’s best offering yet, showcasing a band still tethered to their legacy but finding their own way with a sound that honors their roots without stepping all over them.” – No Depression

Willie Porter

Willy Porter is a contemporary American rock musician and singer-songwriter from Mequon, Wisconsin. He is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire. In April

Willy Porter Biography

by Richard Skelly – from Allmusic.com

Like Greg Brown, John Hammond, Leo Kottke, Stephen Fearing, Richard Shindell, Kelly Joe Phelps, and so many others, Willy Porter is often at his strongest as a solo act. He does work with a band periodically, but given the economics of touring in recent years, he seems to perform more frequently accompanying himself with guitar and mandolin. Porter honed his chops the natural way, busking across Europe and playing every little coffee house and dive bar on both sides of the Mississippi. He’s a veteran performer who takes his audiences with him on the journey. He elicits a rare kind of communication between artist and audience, mostly because he’s able to read his audiences so well.

Porter was raised near Milwaukee, and his first big breaks were playing theater-sized shows there and in Madison. As could be expected from someone from this part of the country, there’s an element of blues in Porter’s singing and songwriting and in most of his live shows, although he’s best thought of as a contemporary singer/songwriter, straight out of the world of folk music. He began playing viola, a notoriously difficult instrument to master, in his youth, but found he lacked the discipline for classical music as a career path. He had a revelation in his teens when he found Leo Kottke’s album, “6 & 12 String Guitar.” Kottke‘s playing opened up new vistas for Porter, who began playing guitar after dropping his viola studies.

As the occasion or tour dictates, you can catch Porter solo or with a backing band of veterans from Wisconsin.

I’m With Her (Sarah Jarosz – Aoife O’Donovan – Sara Watkins)

I’m With Her – three talents, indivdually and collectively…

I’m With Her is a band rooted in a rare alchemy: three celebrated songwriters coming together to create music that reveals entirely new possibilities in their distinct and deep-seated talents. Since forming in 2014, Sara Watkins, Sarah Jarosz, and Aoife O’Donovan ,(also of Crooked Still) have imbued their songs with a sharply detailed lyricism, graceful musicianship, and—perhaps most powerfully—mesmerizing harmonies that endlessly reflect their extraordinary chemistry.

Check out their performance: NPR Tiny Desk Concert

The Beat Farmers

The Beat Farmers played an alternative, roots rock version of blues rock with raucous live shows and half a dozen album releases during their heyday. They formed in 1983 in San Diego and released their debut album Tales of the New West in 1985. The band was initially comprised of Buddy Blue – guitar & vocals, Rolle Dexter – bass, Country Dick Montana – vocals & drums and Jerry Raney –guitar & vocals. Their music was raw and gritty and featured irreverently witty lyrics. They toured relentlessly and gained a reputation as being an entertaining live act. Unfortunately, key member Country Dick Montana died in 1995 of a heart attack while performing in Whistler, British Columbia, Canada marking the end of the band.

As of 2025 The Beat Farmers are back on stage. Click Visit Site below and let them tell you their story.

The Avett Brothers

The Avett Brothers are an American folk rock band from Concord, North Carolina. The band is made up of two brothers, Scott Avett and Seth Avett along with Bob Crawford and Joe Kwon. Mike Marsh and Bonnie Avett-Rini are touring members of the band. Wikipedia

The band has gotten much exposure over the last few years and need no further introduction. Explore their site.

Neal Francis

Liberated from a self-destructive past and born anew in sobriety, Francis has captured an inspired collection of songs steeped in New Orleans rhythms, Chicago blues, and early 70s rock n’ roll. His music evokes a bygone era of R&B’s heyday while simultaneously forging a new path on the musical landscape. Colemine Records

“The reincarnation of Allen Toussaint.” Craig Charles, BBC Radio 6

“Think New Orleans meets the Midwest with a little bit of California sun shining in the background.” -TwinCitiesMedia.net

“There’s a good chance you’ll have heard of Francis by the time the year is over…classic Funk, Soul and R&B.” Cincinnati CityBeat

“…gleefully mired In 70s style funk.” – NPR

“Soulful style…uplifting vibe…” – Dusty Groove

“Instant Americana-funk classic…R&B, blues and touches of gospel and good old fashioned funk merge into pure beauty and soul here, making the appetite and excitement for whatever Francis does next all the more intense.” – Record Crates United

The Cactus Blossoms

“Hey baby, do you wanna take a trip with me? / I’ve got a feeling there might be a silver lining all around.” So begins One Day, the captivating new album from critically acclaimed Minneapolis duo The Cactus Blossoms. Written and recorded during the COVID-19 pandemic, the record explores the tension between optimism and despair that’s defined much of the past few years of American life, examining the power (or naïveté, depending on your perspective) of positive thinking in the face of chaos and uncertainty. The songs here are tender and timeless, with straightforward arrangements centered around brothers Jack Torrey and Page Burkum’s airtight harmonies, and the performances are warm and intimate to match, delivered with a soulful, ’70s-inspired palette of playful Wurlitzer, breezy guitars, and muscular percussion.

The Cactus Blossoms broke out nationally in 2016 with their JD McPherson-produced debut, You’re Dreaming. Dates with Kacey Musgraves, Jenny Lewis, and Lucius followed, as did raves from the New York Times and NPR, who praised “the brothers’ extraordinary singing.” The band was further catapulted into the spotlight in 2018, when David Lynch tapped them to perform in the return of Twin Peaks, and continued to build on their success with their 2019 sophomore LP, Easy Way, which led Rolling Stone to laud the duo’s “rock-solid, freak of genetics harmonies.” High Road Touring

If you love the harmonies of the Everly Brothers, do not miss listening to The Cactus Blossoms. Brothers, they are.

The Wood Brothers

The Wood Brothers are an American roots band consisting of brothers Chris and Oliver Wood, as well as multi-instrumentalist Jano Rix. Their music is a combination of folk, gospel, blues and jazz. Wikipedia

The Wood Brothers have learned to trust their hearts. For the better part of two decades, they’ve cemented their reputation as freethinking songwriters, road warriors, and community builders, creating a catalog of diverse music and a loyal audience who’ve grown alongside them through the years. That evolution continues with Heart is the Hero, the band’s eighth studio album. Recorded analog to 16-track tape, this latest effort finds its three creators embracing the chemistry of their acclaimed live shows by capturing their performances in real-time direct from the studio floor with nary a computer in sight. An acoustic-driven album that electrifies, Heart is the Hero is stocked with songs that target not only the heart, but the head and hips, too.

The video embedded above shows them clever and joyful.

Try a couple of Live videos for more flavor……When I Was Young

and Luckiest Man

A few years back The Wood Brothers’ sixth outing, ‘One Drop of Truth,’ dives headfirst into a deep wellspring of sounds, styles and influences. Whereas their previous outings have often followed a conceptual and sonic through-line, here the long-standing trio featuring brothers Oliver and Chris Wood along with Jano Rix treat each song as if it were its own short film. The plaintive, country-folk of the album’s opening track “River Takes The Town” gives way to the The Band-esque Americana soul of “Happiness Jones.”

They have several new recordings since and continue to create wonderful music and tour the country.

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