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Blues Music Blog & Promotion

Need Some Peace: Harrisonburg’s Who Shot John sing with such soul on ‘Big Mean Light’

Bringing us the story about needing a few extra winks in bed before rising again, Who Shot John sing so passionately on their new single taken off their debut album called ‘Big Mean Light‘.

Who Shot John is the unassuming Shenandoah Valley, West Virginia-based indie Americana/blues/rock-fusion four-piece act, who organically formulate a humbly lovable sound, as they sing about true life stories of how crazy this world really is.

Their true love for the rock, soul, blues, and Americana music shines through their bones, as they effortless charm flows like the stream of your beating heart, your body uplifted by their soulful music.

With a likable sound and vocals that has you in raptures, this is a band with a classic feel that absolutely love what they do when they are together, playing their hearts out and telling stories that inspire them each day.

Big Mean Light‘ from Harrisonburg, Shenandoah Valley-based Who Shot John, is an escape from the current world of heartache, as they tells us their disgust with the sun filtering in, that has interrupted their sleep to barge into the door unannounced. The day has begun with a flick of a switch, as they try and get those extra five minutes before rising up, to see what the world has in store.

Hear this top new song on Soundcloud and see their story on IG.

Reviewed by Llewelyn Screen

Eyes Put a Spell: Branndon flows in the love time machine when he is with ‘Tiana’

Whilst he feels like he is definitely catching feelings when he is around her, Branndon tries to keep it cool on his catchy new single about a special woman in his life called ‘Tiana‘.

Branndon Onyemem aka Branndon is a lyrically skilled Nigerian/American hip-hop artist/singer-songwriter born in Greensboro, North Carolina, who brings the funky grooves with him on a vibe that has you nodding your head in appreciation of his growing skill set.

“I use my art to connect to my fans, portray themes, and uses words to paint pictures for my listeners. My music takes lots of influence from my poetry, including my Spoken Word poetry which I post on my Instagram for my followers to enjoy.”- Branndon

He raps with consistent skills, each word seems to flow with the next and his quality wordsmith skills are quite impressive. The lyrics are all about his huge crush on this sweet girl, that he can’t seem to stop thinking about.

Tiana‘ from Nigerian-American rapper/singer Branndon, shows us his love for fusing his love for blues, funk, hip hop, soul and boom-bap all into one pot of tasty goodness, as he is put under a spell from a girl who has his heart beating rather quickly.

Stream this track on Spotify and see more on his IG.

Reviewed by Llewelyn Screen

Push yourself forward: Buenos Diaz aims make amends through heartbreaking loss on ‘Beautiful’

His passion evident on this personal single about losing a friend recently to horrifying heroin addiction, the incredibly talented Buenos Diaz sends out a ‘Beautiful‘ tribute on this deep new single, which is taken off the new five-track EP called ‘Remember‘.

Buenos Diaz is a seven-piece team that is lead by self-taught Austin, Texas-based indie lofi-pop/blues singer-songwriter Nick Diaz and Grammy Award winning producer Beto Martinez, who somehow make that personal story type of music that fills your heart with sadness, love and thoughtfulness all at the same.

This is a fascinating mixture of wondrous sounds that perfectly encapsulates modern day society. The unimaginable story that you thought couldn’t happen but actually did. He sings with all the experience gained from being in various bands and genres all over the USA, his life as a travelling musician is a movie-like experience that needs to be shown on the big screen for all to learn.

Beautiful‘ from the Texas alt-pop wonder Buenos Diaz, is a special story about making sure that you look after your sobriety, as you want to live a better life and not go down that dark road. He sings with such passion and deep reasoning, each word and story meaning something special for us to embrace.

This is a truly remarkable single that will have your mind a trance for a while, as you gaze outside and wonder where you will end up in this crazy world.

Hear this stunning tribute on Spotify and see his future travels on IG.

Reviewed by Llewelyn Screen

 

Stand for something: MDG4EVA sparks the passion inside your soul with ‘Shiny Man’ (Ft. J. Harvey)

Bringing the heat with a catchy track to beat the blues, MDG4EVA is back with the smoothly ear-blessing ‘Shiny Man‘ (Ft. J. Harvey).

Marcus Gilmore aka MDG4EVA, is an American producer, engineer and musician from Dallas in Texas, who illuminates positive energy through his music, to inspire and teach us that you can do anything you set your mind to.

This is the soulfully enhanced story about not selling your soul to get to where you need to go in life. You will meet some fake people from time to time who want you to lose, but if you stay strong and brush that off, you can really shine so bright if you want it enough.

Their raps are flamboyant and stunningly energetic, the magnetically positive nature illuminates up your speakers as you are filled with a new sense of purpose, on this wonderful hip-hop track that has that special conscious feel attached.

Shiny Man‘ (Ft. J. Harvey) from Texas emcee MDG4EVA, gives you hope during this dark time to follow you plan with real humans and to not deviate due to current fads of undesirables, who put you off your rhythm due to their own selfish plans.

Life is all about being happy and creatively stimulating after all.

Stream this top track on Spotify and follow his IG to hear more releases.

Reviewed by Llewelyn Screen

Find the optimism in existentialism with Bill E Daly’s latest single, ‘All We Have’.

‘All We Have’ is the fourth single to be released by Irish singer-songwriter Bill E Daly, an artist in the habit of shifting perspectives with the lyricism cased in their constantly in-flux sound. The only constant is the assurance that you’ll be drawn in by introspection that dares you to embrace the dark while seeing the light.

By channelling the Doors and Cash into All We Have, it boasts the perfect contrast between tonal accordance and swampy lyrics. The dark folk imagery takes your psyche to a macabre school while Southern bluesy soul reaches out with a touch of compassion.

With their next single ready for official release on April 22nd, it will be more than worth making room on your radar for the singer-songwriter – especially given their tendency to pull optimism out of existentialism.

All We Have is now available to stream via Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Echo Wants Her Voice Back explores the complexities of grief with her sermonic folk noir single ‘Blue Lament’

Echo Wants Her Voice Back

Even with a moniker which sounds like it seeped out of David Lynch’s imagination, singer-songwriter, Echo Wants Her Voice Back’s artful folk noir sound subversively surpasses all expectation.

Any artist who can leave you arrested with acapella vocals is definitely worth getting acquainted with. The perfect introduction is her latest single, Blue Lament, which was released on February 12th. The sombre blues-inspired single explores the complexities of grief in a powerfully sermonic style and celebrates that sweet moment when grief and loss finally relinquish their grip.

Check out Echo Wants Her Voice Back via Bandcamp and Facebook.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Award-winning bluegrass singer, Kevin Serey is set to release their wisdom-driven single ‘Old Man’s Eyes’

Singer-songwriter, Kevin Serey has been raking in the accolades since making their debut. As an Ohio Music Award Winner and an International Acoustic Music Awards finalist, his highly-anticipated forthcoming album holds plenty of promise. On the basis of the standout single, Old Man’s Eyes, he’s discernibly delivered.

As we’re collectively living through some of the most isolating times in living history, wisdom-fuelled singles, such as Old Man’s Eyes are priceless. Serey’s consoling words melodically shove you in a positive direction while his timeless bluegrass country folk tones leave you enraptured by evoking just as much emotion as the lyrics.

You’ll have to wait a little longer before you can check out Kevin Serey’s new album, in the meantime, hear their award-winning previous releases via Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Mark Millar sings the psych-tinged blues in the standout single from their sophomore album ‘Killer’

After honing-in on their craft in popular UK touring bands, Mark Millar finally made their debut in 2019 with the solo album ‘On the Journey’. Inspiration has been flowing ever since, leading to the release of their sophomore album, ‘Take Me to the River’, featuring the stunning spin on psych-tinged blues rock ‘Killer’.

Lofty blues guitars perfectly complement the 70s style rock vocals which bring a Jim Morrison kick to the soundscape which allows Mark Millar to humbly show his lifetime of experience perfecting blues bends.

You can practically hear vultures circling above the deserty full-bodied semi-orchestral instrumental arrangement which allows classical strings to pull off the intricate soulful progressions which will serenade you as much as the vocals.

You can check out Mark Millar’s album Take Me to the River via Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Catt Christine, lead singer from The Freedom Ledges, shares debut solo single ‘Let’s Begin’

Catt Christine

If a CV fronting LA blues/rock mainstays The Freedom Ledges, your own Catt and the Haunted Blues, and Mojo Sonic, isn’t enough, on ‘Let’s Begin’ Catt Christine teams up with LA Funk/Soul artist and multiple award winner Cliff Beach and producer Alex Romero for this powerful slice of soul-inspired blues rock. Christine’s Grace Slick/Alannah Myles/Alison Mosshart rich vocal tears from the speakers, alternately gruff and raucous and soft and sensual, sitting atop the distorted guitar, grooving bassline, and brushed Texas shuffle drums.

Having to resort to remote recording due to the pandemic restrictions is never easy, but to get a genre like this to sound this organic, fluid, and spontaneous takes some doing; making it sound as if all the musicians are jamming in one room requires some serious production skill, yet with ‘Let’s Begin’ you can imagine the groove, Persian rugs, candles and throws, and some serious grins from the players. That’s the vibe the track conjures up, all down-home swagger and serious soul-groove. If this is just the ‘beginning’ for Christine then it bodes extremely well for what comes next.

You can hear ‘Let’s Begin’ across all major streaming platforms from February 12th, with a pre-save via Distrokid. In the meantime, check out Catt Christine on Instagram.

Review by Alex Holmes

Only Love: Melbourne six-piece band Rambal heat up our anxious mood with funky new album ‘Hold Your Fire’

Stylishly bringing us their freshly squeezed positive groove vibrations that soothes all worries away, Rambal are back with their highly-awaited new album called ‘Hold Your Fire’.

Formally known as Justin Yap Band, Rambal, is the ambitious six-piece soul/funk/blues outfit from the creative shores of Melbourne in Australia. They inspiring make that unifying music that asks for acceptance from us all to peacefully alter the world to a state of peace and love, no matter who you are or where you are from.

This fantastic ten-track socially conscious release has so many gems inside, the glow feels quite right as your senses are alive again. Particular highlights-there are no fillers here-has to be ‘Follow Me Down‘, ‘Another Tomorrow‘ and ‘Step In‘.

Your body grooves with their energy as they take you on this exciting journey with a smile, each track made with care and purpose as you float into another world, that is so much better than the one we are in right now.

Hold Your Fire’ from the lovable Ozzies Rambal, is a soulful journey through their fascinating world, as they tell us to get rid of unnecessary weapons and negativity, remembering that we can indeed live in a peacefully content world, with so much love and calm energy illuminating from our bodies.

Stream this wonderfully crafted album on Spotify and see their IG for more.

Reviewed by Llewelyn Screen