LISTEN: The Reverend Shawn Amos, “Baby Please Don’t Go”

Artist: The Reverend Shawn Amos
Hometown: California immigrant, Texas resident
Song: “Baby Please Don’t Go”
Album: The Cause of It All
Release Date: May 21, 2021

In Their Words: “‘Baby Please Don’t Go’ is quintessential blues. Ours is an amalgam of various versions, and closest to Muddy Waters’. This is another example of us bringing blues back the parlors of the 1920s and ‘30s. What if Muddy Waters was more of a contemporary of Scott Joplin than Little Walter? It’s proof the blues dresses up nicely while keeping its outsider status.” — The Reverend Shawn Amos


Photo credit: Fred Siegel

LISTEN: Christone “Kingfish” Ingram, “662”

Artist: Christone “Kingfish” Ingram
Hometown: Clarksdale, Mississippi
Song: “662”
Release Date: May 11, 2021
Label: Alligator Records

In Their Words: “‘662’ is an ode to my roots, a nod to the area where I was born and raised. This is a track that encompasses how a small corner of the Earth influenced my view of life and music. This song also points to the growth I have had since my debut album. As much as I have been fortunate to get ‘Outside of This Town’ [his breakout single], I do want people to know that the ‘662’ will always be a major part of who I am.” — Christone “Kingfish” Ingram


Photo credit: Laura Carbone

LISTEN: Amy Helm, “Sweet Mama”

Artist: Amy Helm
Hometown: Woodstock, New York
Song: “Sweet Mama”
Album: What the Flood Leaves Behind
Release Date: June 18, 2021
Label: Renew Records/BMG

In Their Words: “‘Sweet Mama’ was written by the wonderful Steve Salett and features killer harp by the one and only Phil Cook. This track is a rock and roll cut made for you, with love, in Woodstock, New York!” — Amy Helm


Photo credit: Ebru Yildiz

The Show On The Road – Charlie Parr

This week on The Show On The Road, Charlie Parr — a Minnesota-based folk blues lifer who writes novelistic, multi-layered stories that shine a kaleidoscopic light on defiant, unseen characters thriving in the shadows all around us.

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Parr has a new record with only his name on it, and it isn’t shiny and perfect and commercial and catchy. It’s him. It’s pure Charlie Parr and maybe that’s enough. He hasn’t moved to LA or Nashville; he’s stayed in the cold grey north of Minnesota, because that’s his home. Take a second wherever you call home right now and listen to his episode — and his new record. You might hear something different every time.

The String – Keb’ Mo’

Launching a career in the blues in the mid 1990s seems in retrospect a bit audacious and foolhardy, but when LA songwriter and studio musician Kevin Moore became Keb’ Mo’, his blend of reverence for tradition and his contemporary flair proved hugely successful.


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For 25 years he’s been a beacon of consistency, delivering strong songs that feel fresh and timeless. He’s followed up his Grammy winning 2017 duo with Taj Mahal with the album Oklahoma. And since that title track was co-written with Nashville’s eclectic and under-rated singer/songwriter Dara Tucker, we pulled her in to this episode as well. The hour represents two very different journeys that intersected in Music City.

The Show On The Road – Sunny War

Z. speaks with folk/blues guitarist and singer/songwriter Sunny War.

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Turns out that while Sunny War was playing her poetic brand of punky blues on the rowdy boardwalk in Venice Beach, host Z. Lupetin was living just up the block and walking past her every day without noticing. She’s come quite a long way since those days, having released three albums since 2014, culminating with 2018’s breakout, “With the Sun.”