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Blues Music Blog & Promotion

Lazy Way To Say Goodbye: Michael Waite knows its time to let go on I Built a Fire

Posted on 30 March 2023

Lighting up the scraps of the past that have to go forever in order to open new doors of love, Michael Waite sings with heightened passion and has shown us all how to simmer away from whatever is holding back new growth on I Built a Fire.

Michael Waite is a Marquette, Michigan-based indie singer-songwriter who loves to fuse various elements of folk, jazz, Americana and blues into his genuine music.

”Raised in Harvey, a small town outside the port city of Marquette, Waite took early influence from his parents’ blues albums and Irish and American folk songs sung by his father, who passed on to Michael his uncommon memory for songs. He studied trombone in college, and picked up the guitar to accompany his singing.” ~ Michael Waite

Guiding us into this cinematic story with experienced aplomb, Michael Waite is the quintessential underground hero who everyone knows is one of the best in the game. His humble nature shines through so brightly on this rather impressive soundtrack.

I Built a Fire from Marquette, Michigan-based indie singer-songwriter Michael Waite is a splendidly created song which shall heat up many hearts and take millions into the precise moment everything ended. Showing us how to move on in order to grow, is a hugely relevant track for anyone who needed to float into calmer waters.

Light up the emotions on YouTube.

Reviewed by Llewelyn Screen

Reverend James Elmore Jenkins keeps the devil at bay in his blues rock jam, Diapsalmata Blues

Posted on 16 March 2023

Few artists do bluesy rock n roll as reverently as Tennessee-born, South Carolina-residing artist Reverend James Elmore Jenkins, as proven by the unadulterated groove-driven swagger in his latest single, Diapsalmata Blues.

His red-hot vintage overdriven tones make The Black Keys sound like cultural appropriation while he’s blazing through the raunch-laced jam riffs that any blues rock fan will want spread across their speakers. If you can tear your attention away from the audible smoky beguile, you’ll hear the minister’s intent to push sermonic gospel through his root-wrapped hits. I may be of the impious inclination, but the uplifting soul entwined with worldly well-intentioned wisdom in Diapsalmata Blues did more than hit the wholesome spot. For your own sake, hit play.

Diapsalmata Blues will be available to stream from March 16th. Hear it on SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

ANGELCONCEPCION is emboldeningly iconic in her RnB Soul instant classic, Like I Was

Posted on 9 March 2023

Here to take to the sting out of retrospective romantic regret is the emboldening RnB icon, ANGELCONCEPCION, with her latest single, Like I Was.

The lyrics may not explicitly verse that deceit and someone degrading you to drag you down to their lowly levels happens to the best of us, but given the elegance and grace of every inch of this elevated instant classic, it’s heavily implied through ANGELCONCEPCION’s heavenly vocal beguile.

Fusing a modernist tonal palette while pulling at the roots of RnB and soul allowed the Philadelphia-residing Filipino artist to reach the crux of the contemporary curve before transcending it through her effortlessly flawless energy. The bluesy guitars shimmering behind the lush reverb is a lesson in aural intoxication. Grab a glass and get your fill.

Like I Was dropped on March 1st; hear it on SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Ringing In My Ears: Wise Woman rises from the deep on Fen Woman

Posted on 28 February 2023

Taken from the recent 4-track EP called Thread, Wise Woman moves mountains and changes the oceans back to a captivating crystal blue on the rather wonderfully sweet new single Fen Woman.

Wise Woman is an East Anglian/ Welsh power-folk foursome who brings back that 90s girl vibrancy which will ignite the spirits within our deepest souls.

With a blend of folk, jazz and blues mixed with that creative musical theatre, Wise Woman takes us to the light and shows us what is possible if strong hearts can join together as one. This is a cinematic-like experience which might calm all fears away in just an instant, just like the truly world-class outfits do.

Fen Woman from East Anglian/ Welsh power-folk foursome Wise Woman is a special song which deserves all the love possible. Projected with so much love and fearlessness, we find a scintillating soundtrack to rise up from all depths. Layered rather expertly and features dynamic energy which will inspire us all to keep on flying upwards, no matter what obstacles are present.

Listen up on Spotify. View more on IG.

Reviewed by Llewelyn Screen

Ariel Skye is a silver-screen sonic dream in her latest bluesy single, Bang Bang

Posted on 26 February 2023

With a prelude of Tarantino-Esque Gretsch-y guitar tones to bring in Ariel Skye’s gravelly demure timbre, the intro to her latest nostalgia-entrenched single, Bang Bang, is nothing short of beguiling.

Finding the middle ground between Angel Olsen and April March, Bang Bang is a sultry feat of bluesy mesmerism from the up-and-coming artist, who has made light work out of carving out a niche in the industry with her evocatively sharp distinction.

Ariel Skye may have only started her music writing venture in 2019, but the Blockbuster-worthy cinematic storytelling never alludes to how recently she has started to perfect her craft. Since making her debut, she has collaborated with some impressive names in the industry, including Jim Stephens and Shaun Martin. She has also toured across Philadelphia, New York and LA with her vulnerably enticing lyricality. We’re sure the best is yet to come for Skye.

Bang Bang is now available to stream on YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Mike Blue gazed into the twilight of the soul in his jazzy feat of soulful folk, Saphire

Posted on 24 February 2023
Mike Blue

The soulful rhythmicality of the folk singer-songwriter, Mike Blue’s latest single, Saphire, will tattoo itself to your memory from the first euphonically melodic meeting. As a departure from his previous sound, along with his band, Blue melded elements of blues, jazz, prog and rock to construct a track visceral in authenticity and sticky sweet in emotionally balanced sentimentality.

The first single taken from his forthcoming album, The Unbearable Weight of All Things Considered, stands as a soul-stirring testament to his ability to envelop you in the stories he eloquently weaves atop his acoustic guitar strings. The sax solos, which soar as high in the mix as the electric guitar riffs, amplify the intimacy of the lyrical expression while never compromising the resonant impact.

If the singer-songwriter was born decades ago when folk raconteurs were celebrated in modern culture, there would be few names as revered as Mike Blue. After the release of Saphire, the luminary artist will take his full band on tour across the UK, which also featured on the accordantly-bodied release that has the capacity to captivate a stadium.

Saphire will officially release on February 24th. Hear it via Mike Blue’s website.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Jason Graham grunged up blues in his viscerally heightened melodic alt-rock hit, Trust

Posted on 9 February 2023

Tucson, AZ born, New Orleans-based singer-songwriter, guitarist and producer Jason Graham added a refreshingly melodic vernacular to grunge with the bluesy standout single, Trust, taken from his LP, Soul for Sale.

With touches of Nine Inch Nails in the sporadically distorted vocals and Godsmack in the viscerally heightened outcries, which hammer home the intensity of the frustration stemming from dishonesty and deception, Trust amplifies the evocative immersivity with every high-gain progression.

The seamlessness of the tonal and vocal transitions stand as a monumental testament to Graham’s songwriting ability, which has already seen him go far in his career. The classic rock outro solo is yet another affirmation of his virtuosic flair that is nestled within his songwriting chops that are discernibly at the core of who he is as an artist.

Stream Trust, with the rest of Jason Graham’s LP, Soul for Sale, on YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Shake, Rattle and Roll Away the Blues with Mark Nunis’ Riotously Euphoric Jazz Infusion, I Don’t Mind It

Posted on 20 January 2023
Alrighty Then! by Mark Nunis

Melbourne songwriter Mark Nunis eked soul out of the ivories in his jazzy instrumental amalgam of blues, gospel, and New Orleans RnB in the standout single, I Don’t Mind It, taken from his solo album Alrighty Then!

With glitzy glissandos by the smorgasbord, smoky horn stabs, the percussive shake rattles and rolls, all topped off by the shimmering organ timbre, few will be immune to the vibrantly cultured euphoria in I Don’t Mind It.

The accoladed and accomplished multi-instrumentalist, composer and producer has toured the world with his superlatively sophisticated pianist skills and smooth vocals, which sadly you won’t get to hear on his new 9-track album. But when the instrumentals are as riotously enlivening as the ones barely sonically caged on his LP, words can go unspoken at no detriment to the multi-sensory experience that unfolds under the duress of his unparalleled artistic reverence.

I Don’t Mind It is now available to stream and purchase on Bandcamp. If you want to treat your sonic tastebuds to the LP, it will be available to stream in full from January 20th.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Californian solo artist, Beau James Wilding, put the grit in folk with his reverently fervid single, SET MYSELF ON FIRE

Posted on 13 January 2023

With the choppy discord in the acoustic guitar strings against his gravelly punk blues vocals, the Californian solo artist, Beau James Wilding, orchestrated a roots rock masterpiece with his latest single, SET MYSELF ON FIRE.

We didn’t need his bio to inform us of his intense emotional relationship with sound and music. But learning that the relationship was strengthened after he was left legally blinded by a disease at eighteen made the fierily ardent passion in SET MYSELF ON FIRE burn with even more reverence.

Any fans of Dogs D’Amour and The Quireboys won’t want this fervidly impactful single to pass them by. The dark poetic imagery in the lyrics paired with the frenetic pace of the guitar rhythms that consume the instrumental arrangement with their ragged timbre is a sobering multisensory experience that reaches the pinnacle of gritty folk.

SET MYSELF ON FIRE will officially release on January 13th. Stream it on SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Terry Blade warns even unconditional love has its limits in his Country-Blues single, ‘Won’t Be Around’

Posted on 6 January 2023

Two-time recipient of the Global Music Awards, Terry Blade, lined himself up for more prestigious accolades by recording his latest single, Won’t Be Around. The stripped-back simmering melting pot of Gospel-Esque Soul, Blues and Country commands your adoration from the first gravelled in feisty-fervour vocal note.

From there on out, the lyrics compel you to take stock of the protagonists in your life as you’re reminded that unconditional love always has its limits. With his voice commanding the soundscape, which paid homage to the roots of Americana with the minimalistic trickle of bluesy keys and strummed acoustic guitar notes, you’re left with no option but to be arrested.

During his career, which sheds light on his experience as a black gay artist, Terry Blade has picked up over 40 awards, And something tells us his glory days are far from behind him.

Won’t Be Around will officially release on January 6th. Hear it on SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast