I have a new hero!

Ninety-five year old David "Honeyboy" Edwards  was born June 28, 1915 in Shaw, Mississippi. Honeyboy is one of the last living links to Robert Johnson, and one of, if not THE last original acoustic Delta blues players. He is a living legend, and  his story is truly part of history. He is the real deal.

Grammy Award winner 2010 - Lifetime Achievement
Grammy Award winner 2008 - Best Traditional Blues Album
Blues Music Awards 2005 & 2007 - Acoustic Blues Artist
And that's just the recent ones!

In a profession loaded with colourful personalities, Eddy "the Chief" Clearwater fits right in at the top. From his trademark Indian head dress (which may not be politically correct anymore) to his colourful outfits that change with each set, he is certainly one of the most recognizable blues personalities.

He honed his chops on Chicago's West Side right alongside of Magic Sam, Otis Rush and Freddie King. He is equally at home with the most heartfelt blues ballads as he is with the "party time' blues and blues rock. When you think of Chicago Blues, Eddy has to be on your top ten list.

I first saw Bryan “Braille Blues Daddy” Lee on University Avenue in June 2000 when he was part of the du Maurier Downtown Jazz festival. If I remember correctly, he shared a stage that day with C. J. Chenier and our own Canadian piano phenom, Tyler Yarema. I had recently rediscovered the world of blues and, being a guy from the burbs, had finally become comfortable in our local blues scene with our fabulous local talent and venues. But I could hardly wait to see and listen to an international star, even though many of my blues friends seemed to know little, if anything, about Bryan Lee.

One of the best things to ever have happened to Canadian blues comes in the form of amiable, highly-animated, 45-something music aficionado, Andrew Galloway. If he wasn’t a label owner, he’d likely be a record store owner – and he’d probably be making the same amount of money. And he’d be fine with that. He gets his thrills from the music and his proud label, Electro-Fi; it’s never really been about making money. It’s been more of a Love Train for the Grossly Underappreciated as this modern day Robin Hood first zeroed in on those forgotten artists who’d never gotten the recognition ─ or income ─ they’d so justly deserved on their first go-round in the career-crushing business of the blues.

Birthing his fledgling label in 1996, Galloway had two objectives: one, to help bring some of these unsung heroes back into the limelight and, two, in so doing - help preserve the age-old, time-honoured tradition of the blues by keeping these characters in the loop. Ultimately, these associations have built solid credibility for the label amongst blues fans and critics alike. And, as Andrew has endured the pain and heartbreak of losing the old guard - from Mack Simmons to Mel Brown, Sam Meyers and, most recently Dave Thompson - he's been able to translate all he's learned at the hands of these gentle giants and use this knowledge to gradually ease the label into a new generation of blues artists: Julian Fauth, Enrico Crivellaro (Electro-Fi is planning a new studio release with the hot guitarist teamed with famed harpist, Lee Oskar), David Rotundo (another planned release with David & Julian, together again).

Which brings us round to the present. A man of semi-shrouded mystery, survivor of twisted law suits, fan of a super-wide breadth of music, ex-coiffeuse, customs expert and border runner, lover of fine beverages and better cigars......we have many questions to ask:

The Toronto Blues Society will be celebrating its* 25th anniversary *with an exciting line-up of *Shakura S'Aida, Fathead, The 24th Street Wailers*, and *Harrison Kennedy*; as well as live blues painting in the Ballroom by *Mark Smith*, campfire/open mike by *Brian Blain** *in the Art Bar, two blues photo exhibits, blues poetry and blues movies on Friday May 28 at the Gladstone Hotel.

WHO: Shakura S'Aida, Fathead, The 24th Street Wailers, Harrison Kennedy, and more!
WHAT: Toronto Blues Society - 25th Anniversary*
WHERE: The Gladstone Hotel, 1214 Queen St W, Toronto*
WHEN: Friday May 28, 2010, 7pm*
TICKETS: $15 TBS members / $20 public @ www.ticketpro.ca & Soundscapes,
plus FREE concerts
WEB: www.torontobluessociety.com

Edmonton, AB (May 17, 2010):  Marshall Lawrence latest acoustic blues and roots disc, Blues Intervention, is now available. It's a recording that's steeped in Marshall's reverence for acoustic blues masters, yet abandons just enough form to embrace a fresh approach to an old tradition. Featuring Marshall's raw Delta bottleneck & finger style sound, and adorned by the talents of onetime B.B. King bassist Russell Jackson (stand-up acoustic bass) and Sherman "The Tank" Doucette (harmonica), Blues Intervention is a breath of fresh Mississippi juke joint air for blues and roots lovers of all persuasions.

Harvest's first-ever Early Bird Online Sale of tickets and passes will begin at 9:00a.m. on Saturday, May 15th.

You can visit our website now to see the Early Bird Schedule and read artist bios to perfectly plan your own personal Harvest experience!

The remainder of tickets and passes will go on sale, as usual, on Saturday, July 17th at 8:30am, online, by phone and at Harvest Central at 81 Regent Street.  (Please note that NO tickets or passes will be sold from Harvest Central UNTIL July 17th.)

Avoid waiting IN LINE by buying ONLINE! Available for purchase at www.harvestjazzandblues.com, www.ticketpro.ca, or by calling the Ticketpro call centre at 1-888-311-9090.

Little Walter Jacobs, born on May 1, 1930, had a revolutionary approach the harmonica that found him compared to artists such as Charlie Parker and Jimi Hendrix when it came to innovation and his impact on succeeding generations. In 2008 it earned him a spot in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the only artist ever to be inducted specifically for work as a harmonica player.

He arrived in Chicago in 1945 and garnered instant attention for his harp work. Reportedly, he grew frustrated with having his harmonica drowned out by electric guitarists, and adopted a simple, but previously little-used method of cupping a small microphone in his hands along with his harmonica, plugging the microphone into a guitar amplifier. While he is sometimes credited with being the first to amplify the harp, Sonny Boy Williamson and Snooky Prior might also claim the same honour. One thing for sure, though, Jacobs was the first to purposely try to push his amplifiers beyond their technical limitations, using the amplification to explore and develop radical new sounds, previously unheard from a harmonica.

Jacobs joined Muddy Waters' Band in 1948, and by 1950, he was playing on Muddy's recordings for Chess Records. He was also frequently utilized as a sideman behind artists like Jimmy Rogers, Memphis Minnie, Johnny Shines, Bo Diddley, Otis Rush and Robert Nighthawk.

In February 1968, he was involved in a fight while taking a break from a performance at a nightclub on the South Side of Chicago. While he received relatively minor injuries, they aggravated damage he had suffered in a previous encounter and he died in his sleep. He was only 37.

But why all this talk about Little Walter?

HARMONICA SHAH "rode the dog" all the way up from Detroit to join the great JACK DE KEYZER (fresh off his 2010 Juno Award win for Best Blues CD Of The Year) for a 2 night stand at BLUES ON THE RIDEAU @ THE COVE INN, Westport April 23 & 24 and their performances left the crowd literally blown away. Backed by consummate bass man/Producer Alec Fraser and dynamite drummer Al Cross (Big Sugar, Great Big Sea) the band tore it up all night long to the great pleasure of sold out crowds (both nights).

MonkeyJunk based in Ottawa were the only Canadian artists nominated at the prestigious Blues Music Awards presented by The Blues Foundation in Memphis, TN. They were even invited to perform at the Awards gala. This tremendous recognition crowned a great year filled with nominations and awards in Canada as well a prize for Best New Artist in Memphis. Their first CD Tiger In Your Tank is getting a lot of mileage!

The Blues Foundation is Memphis-based, but world-renown as the organization dedicated to preserving our blues music history, celebrating recording and performance excellence, supporting blues education and ensuring the future of this uniquely American art form. Founded in 1980, the Foundation has 3500 individual members and 185 affiliated local blues societies representing another50,000 fans and professionals around the world. Its signature honors and events - the Blues Music Awards, Blues Hall of Fame, International Blues Challenge and Keeping the Blues Alive Awards -make it the international center of blues music.

It was a red letter evening for Canada’s Stony Plain Records label at the annual Blues Award ceremonies in Memphis last night (Thursday May 6).

The “Album of the Year” award went to Joe Louis Walker for Between a Rock and the Blues, his second album of the label. And guitarist, bandleader, songwriter and producer Duke Robillard earned “Traditional Blues Male Artist of the Year” honours.