Maple Blues Archive

September 2022 – Garnetta Cromwell

August 2022 – Jay Douglas

My two major intersections with Jay are touchstones of his career that tell you a lot of about his Jamaican  roots.  In the nineties I was able to connect Jay with one of his inspirations in a Harbourfront Centre Soul ’n Blues concert with Memphis soul master Rosco Gordon.  This revealed how much American radio travelled into Jay’s youth in Jamaica.  Sadly Rosco passed away only a couple years later.  Our second occasion was a more obvious Jamaican collision given that guitar innovator Ernest Ranglin was at the heart of reggae, ska, mento and his own blend of jazz.

August 2022 – Top Blues

This month’s recommended listening by Brad Wheeler, music writer for the Globe and Mail Twitter: @bwheelerglobe

August 2022 – Loose Blues News

Festival Fever: If you didn’t get to a summer blues festival yet, the night is young. Coming up August 4, the world-class Kitchener finds its legs and even though it might not have the long list of American superstars that we have seen pre-pandemic, they’re bringing in a slew of top-notch blues greats from the States and beyond

August 2022 – Sandra Bouza

Sandra Bouza plays Blues Mondays at Union Station August 15

July 2022 – Steve Marriner

Steve Marriner Swept The Maple Blues Awards taking home four

July 2022 – Hogtown Allstars

The Hogtown Allstars is not just a group of musicians all having a high level of performance in their field, in effect a musical All Star team. They are all well established artists in their own right, with a musical pedigree that some players could only dream of having. Each player in this band is an award winner that represents the finest in his chosen instrument.

July 2022 – Steve Strongman

Over the course of seven previous albums, Hamilton guitar slinger and singer/songwriter Steve Strongman has steadily climbed the Canadian blues ladder. He’s the winner of a Juno (in the 2013 Album of the Year category) and multiple Maple Blues awards, and his signing to Stony Plain/Linus Entertainment in 2020 is further fuelling his career ascent.

July 2022 – Loose Blues News

Festivals in Full Swing:  The Toronto Jazz Festival is happening as we go to print with a smattering of blues content

July 2022 – Top Blues

This month’s recommended listening by Brant Zwicker, host/executive producer of At the Crossroads syndicated blues radio. Website: atcblues.ca