Category: blues
Legendary blues DJ Tom Marker talks Harlem Avenue Lounge benefit at Fitzgerald’s (Episode 921)
Tom Marker’s been playing the blues on Chicago radio since 1975. He’s probably best known for his time on-air at WXRT radio, where he hosted the “Blues Breakers” specialty show for close to 40 years. These days, you can listen…
‘A skewed cabaret band of blues, jazz and rockabilly’ – The Claudettes (Episode 906)
Car Con Carne is presented by Alex Ross Art. Visit Alex Ross on YouTube to keep up to date with one of the comics industry’s most important and celebrated creators. The Claudettes return for a Chicago show at Old Town…
Delmark celebrates 70th anniversary (Episode 859)
Delmark is the oldest independent jazz and blues label in the world, and it’s celebrating its 70th anniversary this year. I sat down at Delmark’s studio location to chat with President/CEO Julia A. Miller about the milestone and long history…
The band everyone falls in love with on first listen: Rev. Peyton’s Big Damn Band (Episode 639)
Old school blues has been reinvented for the future by Rev. Peyton’s Big Damn Band, who emerges from a debilitating and brutal pandemic year with their best album to date: “Dance Songs for Hard Times.” Rev joins me for a…
50 years of Alligator Records: Owner Bruce Iglauer and award-winning blues musician Shemekia Copeland (Episode 570)
Alligator Records is 50! To celebrate, watch ‘Sweet Home Chicago-An Online Blues Celebration,’ a streaming event featuring Billy Branch and the Sons of Blues, Shemekia Copeland, Li’l Ed Williams and Toronzo Cannon. It’s a ticketed event, and it starts Saturday,…
Blues on a Monday: Dave Specter and Billy Branch (Episode 468)
Internationally acclaimed bluesman Dave Specter and blues harp icon Billy Branch join me tonight to talk about their recent collaboration (“The Ballad of George Floyd”), blues history (Willie Dixon, Little Walter), live gigs and more. Car Con Carne is sponsored…
47 years of blues, now in book form! Bruce Iglauer of Alligator Records (Episode 195)
“There’s nothing like being the hero of a real trainwreck.”
Chicago blues from the west side clubs to Conan O’Brien: Li’l Ed Williams (Episode 91)
Chicago blues treasure Li’l Ed Williams (Li’l Ed and the Blues Imperials) jumps in my car for a burger, as well as conversation about the blues and his career. Before I started rolling tape, I had to shatter Ed’s illusions…
A car-melting live backseat performance from The Lucky Dutch’s Nathan Graham (Episode 74)
You’re going to be blown away by this episode’s in-car performance (“It’s not the weirdest thing that’s happened in a car on Western Avenue”). No fair skipping ahead to hear it! Nathan Graham, frontman of Chicago band the Lucky Dutch,…
From working in a ‘war zone’ to eating diner food in a Mazda: ‘Blues Doctor’ Dan Ivankovich (Episode 73)
This week, I’m joined by one of CNN’s “Heroes of the Year,” “Blues Doctor” Daniel Ivankovich. Wikipedia explains his work better than I can: He’s the “leader of the Bone Squad, a group of medical professionals who treat the city’s…
