Blues | Musicosity

Blues

Big Jay McNeely

Cecil James ("Big Jay") McNeely (born on April 29, 1927, in Los Angeles, California) is an American rhythm and blues tenor saxophonist. He grew up in the community of Watts, California, where he occasionally observed Simon Rodia constructing the Watts Towers. McNeely is known for his intense playing and his energetic and acrobatic stage performances. For example, at a 1949 concert in the old Wrigley Field baseball stadium in Los Angeles, he played while walking through the stands and then while crawling from home plate to first base on his back.

Kenny Wayne Shepherd

Kenny Wayne Shepherd and his group exploded on the scene in the mid-'90s and garnered huge amounts of radio airplay on commercial radio, which historically has not been a solid home for blues and blues-rock music, with the exception of Stevie Ray Vaughan in the mid-'80s. Shepherd was born June 12, 1977, in Shreveport, LA. The Shreveport native began playing at age seven, figuring out Muddy Waters licks from his father's record collection (he has never taken a formal lesson).

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Alabama Shakes

Brittany Howard,
Heath Fogg,
Zac Cockrell and
Steve Johnson .... make some soul happen.
WATCH AS THE SHAKES PULL SHAPES AND BEND SPOONS WITH 42 DECIBELS OF STEEL,TUBE AND RAW HUMAN LUNG POWER. WATCH AS THE SHAKES TEACH YA WHAT YOU DON'T KNOW HOW: THE MATADOR, THE BOOT KNOCK, THE HIP DIP, THE FULL BODY SEIZURE, THE ONE-LEGGED FOX TROT,THE THUNDERBIRD,THE COBRA SNAKE,THE PRE-APOCALYPTIC STRUT, THE POST-APOCALYPTIC STRUT, THE REVERSE RAIN DANCE AND MORE.... WATCH AS THE SHAKES WATCH YOU FOR MOVEMENT, READING YOUR MIND, GIVING YOU WHAT YOU WANT RIGHT ON TIME.

Hurray For The Riff Raff

Hurray For the Riff Raff is currently a 4 piece folk band out of New Orleans, Louisiana. Alynda Lee leads the band with her all-star banjo skills and deep, aching voice. Walt McClements plays accordion, fiddle & toy piano, Aubrey Freeman plays double bass, and Shae Freeman plays the saw, autoharp & vocals. They sometimes collaborate with other local artists or long-time friends, including Brooklyn-based Amelia Jackie.

Dire Straits

Dire Straits was a british rock band, formed in 1977 by Mark Knopfler (guitar and vocals), his brother David Knopfler (guitar), John Illsley (bass), and Pick Withers (drums), and subsequently managed by Ed Bicknell. Dire Straits emerged during the post-punk era of the late '70s, and while their sound was minimalistic and stripped down, they owed little to punk. If anything, the band was a direct outgrowth of the roots revivalism of pub rock, but where pub rock celebrated good times, Dire Straits were melancholy.

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The Tallest Man On Earth

Behind the name The Tallest Man On Earth is Kristian Matsson (born April 30th, 1983 in Dalarna, Sweden). He plays guitar, banjo and piano and has released two full length albums, the first entitled Shallow Grave and the second entitled The Wild Hunt. He has also released a self-titled 5-track EP on the Swedish label gravitation, as well as a second 5-track EP entitled Sometimes The Blues Is Just A Passing Bird, recently released on Dead Oceans.

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The Thomas Oliver Band

Wellington 5-piece The Thomas Oliver Band have spent the past few years touring and playing live throughout New Zealand with the likes of Fat Freddy’s Drop, Gin Wigmore and Britain’s Oli Brown. Within this time the band have also written and recorded their debut full-length album ‘Baby, I’ll Play’ to be released in early 2011.

“From the sexy, dirty blues/rock of ‘Nothing Left’ and ‘In My Bones’ to the glorious, perfect-pop balladry of ‘A Letter’, Every Penny is flawless.

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Jeff Lang

Singer-songwriter Jeff Lang has built up a reputation for startlingly original performances, working without a set list, allowing the unique energy of each night to shape the songs. While Lang will talk of his admiration for the elemental blues of Skip James, the raw gospel of Blind Willie Johnson, the devastating guitar work of Jimi Hendrix, the masterful slide guitar of Ry Cooder, and the sublime songwriting of Bob Dylan and Richard Thompson, comparisons to these artists fails to paint an adequate picture.

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