Roaming Artist’s Studios
Music gets airplay and bands appear live. Authors’ books make best-seller lists and get promoted through Bookbub and other media. Visual artists create their work in a studio. The artist hopes that people will see and appreciate it. This post serves to create an online presence to further that goal. Roaming the Arts wishes to be a patron, visit studios, and drive traffic to websites. We will not comment on the art. Indeed, “the eye of the beholder” applies here. Click either the name or the image and visit the site.
Kirsten Angel Lambert
Atizana Inspired – Haitian Art
Creating art from metal, including oil drum lids.
Kelsey
Originals and prints from an artist working in the Arts Warehouse in Delray Beach, FL
Deborah Kozak
Hand-made, original woodcut, linocut and drypoint prints.
Jess Burbridge – Ceramics
Artist in Residence at Arts Warehouse in Delray Beach, where she works in porcelain and stoneware.
For more artist posts – click here
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.
Raj Bunnag
Raj Bunnag is a Thai American artist living and working in Durham, North Carolina. He received his BFA from the Maryland Institute College of Art in 2012 with an emphasis in Printmaking, and an MFA from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2022. Bunnag’s practice examines systematic racism inherent to the foundations of the United States, its institutions and domestic/global policies, through themes in the lineage of print. In his more personal work, he is researching the ideas and baggage that come with self-identity as the son of immigrants and what it means to be a non-white body existing in white spaces. He has shown work nationally and internationally as well as received numerous awards for his relief printed work.
Bunnag uses references from pop culture, news headlines, government policy and legislation, and historical research to take a searing look at the failures of the War on Drugs. Various illegal substances and major participants of the War on Drugs are represented as fantastical monsters in a style reminiscent of master printers such as Jacques Collet, Francisco de Goya, and others.
Whether it is teaching printmaking and drawing to Duke students or teaching local high schoolers, Raj finds his inspiration in spreading the gospel of print and educating people on how the printed world is still powerful in a digitally dominated society.
Sierra Hull
Sierra Hull is a virtuoso mandolinist and singer-songwriter who has redefined the boundaries of modern bluegrass. Originally from Byrdstown, Tennessee, Hull was a child prodigy who made her Grand Ole Opry debut at age 11 alongside her mentor, Alison Krauss. She later became the first bluegrass musician to receive the Presidential Scholarship to Berklee College of Music.
In 2025, she released her first independent album, A Tip Toe High Wire, which earned four nominations at the 2026 Grammy Awards, including Best Bluegrass Album. Beyond performing, she mentors the next generation as an instructor at ArtistWorks, cementing her status as a leading creative force in contemporary acoustic music.
Cayamo 2026
A week of music immersion on board a mid-sized cruise ship.
That is a description of Cayamo, or of other amazing music cruises that cover many genres.
Spending a week with Dawes, Jason Isbell, Kathleen Edwards, Paul Thorn, Rickie Lee Jones, Sierra Hull, Della Mae, and Rodney Crowell featured Roaming the Arts’ favorites. And also allowed us to discover new artists, which is our mission.
Among the artists we came to know, check out these: Watchhouse, Milk Carton Kids, Brandy Clark, Bronwyn Keith-Hynes, Crys Matthews, Judy Blank. Click below for others.
To check out the complete lineup with a link to each artist, click here.
Sixthman‘s tagline, “LIVE LOUD,” speaks to the audience and appears thoroughly appreciated.
Watch this video. It shows off the vibe and the wealth of talent.
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.”
