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Ghalia Volt honed her skills busking on the streets of her native Brussels, singing and playing guitar, while a foot tambourine marked the beat. Growing up, she was influenced by garage rock and punk music, then came to blues though Skip James and J.B. Lenoir. Now, on the heels of two acclaimed albums — Let the Demons Out and Mississippi Blend — where she was supported by other musicians, she’s back with a twist. In her new release, One Woman Band, Volt returns to her original format and decisively demonstrates that she won’t be silenced by the limitations of the pandemic.

A true stalwart of the Toronto blues scene, Gary Kendall is best known as the longtime bassist in Downchild, former co-leader of the Kendall Wall Band, and music director of the ace Maple Blues Revue. He is also a highly talented songwriter and producer, skills that were showcased on his only solo album to date, 2004’s Dusty & Pearl.
Kendall recently returned to the material on that compelling release, selecting four highlight tracks that have been Remixed & Remastered by award-winning engineer L. Stu Young (Downchild, David Wilcox, Prairie Oyster).

Shuffling Along: The Southside Shuffle has been challenged like all festivals but will be proceeding with a slightly downsized event on September 9,10 and 11 with an all-Canadian line-up due to restrictions getting acts from US and Europe. Meanwhile, Artistic Director Chuck Jackson has programmed a series of livestream concerts to be aired on consecutive Sundays in July starting with “Ramble on the Rez” with Mark Laforme and Joel Johnson, followed by “Ladies Sing the Blues” with Suzie Vinnick and Miss Emily, “Pianorama – Remembering Michael Fonfara,” with Lance Anderson and Jenie Thai and finishing off with”Mannish Boys” with Jimmy Bowskill & Steve Marriner. The shows will be recorded at the Moonshine Café in late June and will include a short chat with Chuck. This will be a fundraising initiative for the festival, though fans can donate anytime at www.southsideshuffle.com

This month’s recommended listening by Greg Torrington, programmer of Stingray’s blues channels.

Jay Douglas is this month’s Pioneer Profile, watch his conversation with Rudy Blair on the TBS Facebook Page.

Toronto Blues Society’s Pioneer Profile Series continues on Thursday, May 6th at 8pm ET with Jay Douglas! The local legend will be joined in conversation with renown music interviewer Rudy Blair.

Toronto Blues Society will continue to its online (Zoom) & free workshop series, with a Live Streaming Bootcamp with Guillermo Subauste, on May Tuesdays (4th, 11th, 18th, and 25th) between 1pm – 3pm ET. The last hour being reserved for Q&A.

Legendary producer Christian Mousset of France’s Musiques Metisses festival in Angouleme provides a quote on the jacket of the new release by the unlikely duo: “Haunting and melancholic melodies delivered with subtle and spicy elegance, Piment Bleu, Tao Ravao and Vincent Bucher’s new album takes us on board for a trip to landing on the shores of southern creole Blues, Malagasy infectious beat and African echoes. An authentic and unique blend of today’s musical landscape.”

Northern Ontario blues singer/songwriter Sunday Wilde has certainly been a prolific recording artist over the past 14 years, with new outing Peace In Trouble being her ninth full-length release. She frequently collaborated with her partner Reno Jack (Rennie Frattura), a renowned roots/blues/rockabilly bassist, and their excellent joint album, Two, was released in 2017, just before Frattura’s passing.

What I love most about the blues is that every performer has a unique story – a story usually woven into their life’s work. Cain, from San Jose, grew up in a musical family with blues-loving parents and a Dad who encouraged him to play his guitar from age 8. The household was filled with the sounds of Albert and BB King, Ray Charles and Big Joe Williams. It stuck. Further schooling opened his eyes to jazz sounds and, after mastering the guitar, Cain experimented, learning tenor sax, piano, clarinet and bass. This may account for the full rich sound he brings forward in his brand of the blues, given the added sax (Michael Peloquin, tenor & Doug Rowan, baritone), trombone (Mike Rinta) and trumpet (Jeff Lewis) on half of the tracks.