Watch

The legendary James Cotton played the TLA on Friday, September 6th for the final concert of XPN’s Mississippi Blues Project. The 78 year old blues man performed with the energy of a twenty-something to a sold out crowd, playing songs from his new album, Cotton Mouth Man, along with some classics including “Got My Mojo Workin'” that you can watch below. Listen to the entire concert here. The Mississippi Blues Project has been supported by The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage.

[click to continue…]

{ 0 comments }

Below, from our session with David Bromberg, watch him perform “Kind-Hearted Woman,” and “Wee Midnight Hours.” You can listen to the full session here.

{ 0 comments }

Mississippi blues legend Robert “Wolfman” Belfour performed a concert at World Cafe Live for WXPN’s Free At Noon on February 15th, 2013. You can see photos and listen to the audio of the full sets here. Below, watch Belfour perform “Big Road Blues” from the show.

Robert Belfour performs “Big Road Blues” from WXPN FM on Vimeo.

{ 0 comments }

Few Philadelphia blues fans were aware that Magic Slim was in Philadelphia in February, in the intensive care unit at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, where he died on February 20. The great bluesman had been hospitalized in January when he arrived in Phoenixville to play a gig with Johnny Winter, and was transferred to Jefferson as his condition worsened.

Magic Slim was born Morris Holt in Torrence, Mississippi in 1937. He grew up on a farm, and learned piano before guitar. After losing most of a finger in an accident with farm equipment, he switched to guitar. Holt got the name Magic Slim from the famed Magic Sam, whom he met when he went to Chicago in the 1950s. Slim’s rise to prominence was slow and the result of long, hard, deliberate work. He was not well regarded as a player in the 1950s, and returned to Mississippi from Chicago for a while, where he recruited his brother Nick Holt to play bass. Later he established his band, The Teardrops. In the 1960s and 1970s he played in very small clubs in Chicago and released a couple of singles, finally coming out with a full album on a French label, MCM Records in 1977. He also recorded for the Austrian Wolf label.

In the 1980s, Slim finally became better known here in the U. S., and had albums released on the Alligator and Rooster Blues labels. Later he recorded for Delmark and also for many years for Blind Pig. His brother Nick remained in the band until his death, and his son Shawn “Lil Slim” Holt also played with him. Slim was a tireless performer, playing at countless festivals and clubs, and recording about three dozen albums over the past three decades. Slim had a crowd-pleasing performance style and a huge repertoire of blues songs, both well-known and not. He never ran out of material or energy. His obvious joy at performing was no doubt a big part of the reason for his long-standing popularity.

In 1994 he quit Chicago in favor of Lincoln, Nebraska, reportedly because he felt Chicago was too dangerous a place for his son to grow up. He regularly performed at The Zoo Bar in Lincoln and was recorded live there several times.

Slim performed at The Pocono Blues Festival in three different years, and at The Pennsylvania Blues Festival in 2011. His most recent album is called “Bad Boy” and it includes a high-spirited version of J. B. Lenoir’s song “How Much More Long.” Magic Slim was a familiar figure for blues fans in this area, a testament to his extensive touring, frequent gigs here, and always highly enjoyable shows.

Check out these performances by Magic Slim at the Pennsylvania Blues Festival in 2011.

{ 0 comments }

Possible New Photo Of Robert Johnson? by Jonny Meister

February 4, 2013
Possible New Photo Of Robert Johnson? by Jonny Meister

The British newspaper The Guardian is reporting that a new photograph of Robert Johnson has been authenticated. The photo shows him with longtime traveling companion Johnny Shines. The two known photos of Johnson, one which showed him with a cigarette […]

Read the full article →

Blues Beyond The Blues by Tom Moon: A video companion (part one)

January 9, 2013
Blues Beyond The Blues by Tom Moon: A video companion (part one)

For Tom Moon’s essay on the Blues Beyond The Blues (read it here we put together a Spotify playlist that you can listen to here. Below, watch part one of the video companion to the essay by Moon.

Read the full article →

Watch: Terry “Harmonica” Bean and Jimmy “Duck” Holmes in concert at World Cafe Live

December 10, 2012
Watch: More videos from the Terry “Harmonica” Bean and Jimmy “Duck” Holmes Mississippi Blues Project concert at World Cafe Live

Jimmy “Duck” Holmes and Terry “Harmonica” Bean performed in a Mississippi Blues Project concert at World Cafe Live on October 22nd, 2012. You can listen to the concert here. Below, watch a few more videos from the concert. Listen to […]

Read the full article →

Watch Jimmy “Duck” Holmes perform “Hard Time Killing Floor” in concert from World Cafe Live

December 5, 2012
Watch Jimmy “Duck” Holmes” perform “Hard Time Killing Floor” in concert from World Cafe Live

Jimmy “Duck” Holmes and Terry “Harmonica” Bean performed in a Mississippi Blues Project concert at World Cafe Live on October 22nd, 2012. You can listen to the concert here. Below, watch Jimmy Duck perform “Hard Time Killing Floor” from the […]

Read the full article →

Watch: A visit to Red’s Lounge in Clarksdale, Mississippi featuring Red Paden and Robert “Bilbo” Walker

November 30, 2012
Red Paden, owner of Red's Lounge - photo by Lou Bopp

World Cafe Travel Adventures went to Memphis and Clarksdale, Mississippi in October. While in Clarksdale, as part of WXPN’s Mississippi Blues Project, we visited Red’s Lounge, a legendary juke joint featured in the documentary, We Juke Up In Here!. In […]

Read the full article →

Watch Jimmy “Duck” Holmes sing “Devil Got My Woman” from the Mississippi Blues Project concert at World Cafe Live (review by Jonny Meister)

November 19, 2012
Photo by John Vettese

Jimmy “Duck” Holmes sang “Devil Got My Woman” at his Mississippi Blues Project concert on October 22, 2012. At the beginning, he notes that he is unsure of the song’s origin, citing Nehemiah “Skip” James, Jack Owens, and Henry Stuckey. […]

Read the full article →

Watch: our favorite Howlin’ Wolf classics

November 6, 2012
Watch: our favorite Howlin’ Wolf classics

The legendary Howlin’ Wolf, was born in West Point, Mississippi as Chester Arthur Burnett on June 10th 1910. Wolf’s mentor was Charley Patton, who Wolf met when he was 18 years old. After spending several years in the army, Wolf […]

Read the full article →

Watch Big George Brock perform at the Philadelphia Folk Festival

September 17, 2012
Watch Big George Brock perform at the Philadelphia Folk Festival

Bog George Brock performed on a bill with the Cedric Burnside Project at the Mississippi Blues Project kick-off concert on Sunday, August 19th, at the Philadelphia Folk Festival. Below, watch Big George perform “Hoochie Coochie Man,” and “Bedroom Door Locked.” […]

Read the full article →