The first confirmations for BluesCazorla

Magic Slim 70Th anniversary with Big Time Sarah and Billy Branch.

BluesCazorla provides the first happy moments and already we can confirm at least a small appetizer of what will be the Edition XXIII of the Cazorla festival. On Friday night we her dedicate to Chicago and of step we blow of candles in the concert 70 Anniversary of the "Bad Boy" Magic Slim. The great guitarist turns two years later to Cazorla in a concert honoring and for that we have prepared a guests' couple of luxury for this one " Chicago Blues Revue ", so as the same price we will have to Magic Slim and The Teardrops, Big Time Sarah and Billy Branch in a very special concert for the midnight of Friday, the 27th.

Rick Holmstron, New CD

Stay tuned for news of Rick's upcoming studio release on MC Records...scheduled for spring 2007...a raw, stripped down recording with Stephen Hodges on drums and glockenspiel, Jeff Turmes on bass, guitar, sax and backing vocals. The record was recorded, mixed and mastered in a matter of days and represents the Rick Holmstrom Band in all its greasy glory!
More info www.rickholmstrom.com

Blues Revue, new magazine Feb-Mar

Our February/March 2007 issue features a cover story on Ike Turner, whose deep legacy as a blues and rock 'n' roll performer extends far beyond the chaos that's characterized his personal life. We also interview Irma Thomas, Michael Powers, Fruteland Jackson, and Kenny Wayne Shepherd. And you'll get all the news, commentary, and album reviews you've come to expect from the world's leading blues publication. It's available now!

Mavis Staples, welcome again

Soul/gospel legend Mavis Staples recently completed work on her new CD We'll Never Turn Back produced by Ry Cooder and set for release April 24, 2007 on Anti- Records. Ry also plays on the record which features backing from the original Freedom Singers, Ladysmith Black Mambazo and others. The CD started off as an homage to a period in which everyday citizens exhibited incredible bravery and, in the process, wrought incredible changes to American society. It ended up being a deeply personal account of Mavis' life from childhood days, through the Civil Rights era and on up to her current anger and indignation over the fact that many Americans are still treated as second class citizens. We'll Never Turn Back combines raw, emotional, contemporized versions of some of the freedom songs that provided the soundtrack to the civil rights movement of the 1950s/60s, along with other traditional songs, and new originals written by Mavis and Ry

Tommy Castro’s new CD

Tommy Castro will release his new CD, Painkiller on January 30. The album features nine new Tommy Castro original songs with Tommy and the band sharing the spotlight with special guests Coco Montoya, Angela Strehli, David Maxwell and Teresa James. The CD was produced by John Porter, who has previously spearheaded projects with Santana, Los Lonely Boys, B.B. King, Elvis Costello and Keb Mo. Painkiller is the follow up CD to Soul Shaker, which spent 19 weeks in the Billboard Blues Charts and was nominated for a Blues Music Award.
Tommy Castro is currently nominated for Blues Wax Artist of the Year Award and will be touring worldwide in support of the new release..

2007 Blues Music Awards Nominees

Online Voting Opens for Blues Foundation Members. Tickets on Sale Now; will be mailed in April. In a year that has already witnessed the passing of past Blues Music Awards recipients Ruth Brown, Jessie Mae Hemphill, Robert Lockwood, Jr., Sam Myers and Snooky Pryor, the nominee list for The Blues Foundation’s 2007 Blues Music Awards offers a mix of the genre’s pillars and prospects, and just about everything in between. The 2007 Blues Music Awards ballot features timeless nominees like harpist Charlie Musselwhite