Blind Boys of Alabama Nominated For Two Gospel Music Association Dove Awards

The Blind Boys of Alabama have just been nominated for two Gospel Music Association Dove Awards, for Best Traditional Gospel Recorded Song: "Free At Last" and for Best Traditional Gospel Album: Down In New Orleans, a category they have won twice. The coveted nominations come directly on the heels of The Blind Boys' 5th Grammy win as well as their 2009 Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. The 40th Annual Gospel Music Association Dove Awards will be held April 23 in Nashville and broadcast on the Gospel Music Channel. The Blind Boys of Alabama will be touring worldwide throughout 2009 >>

Bettye LaVette's Moving Story Featured On SoulfulDetroit.com

An extensive history of Bettye LaVette is featured on the website SoulfulDetroit.com. The story details Bettye's beginnings as a performer in the 1960's through her present day success. After one of music history's longest waits, things just seem to be getting better and better for Bettye. December saw her perform at the The Kennedy Center Honors, broadcast on CBS, where she gave a stunning performance of The Who's "Love Reign O'er Me" in tribute to the band. In January she was a featured performer in the Inauguration celebration We Are One: The Obama Inaugural Celebration At The Lincoln Memorial, broadcast by HBO. Bettye joined with Jon Bon Jovi for a stirring version of "A Change Is Gonna Come". Now watch Bettye in her Tonight Show debut on March 3rd, where she will be performing "I Still Wanna Be Your Baby (Take Me Like I Am)," from her Grammy nominated CD The Scene Of The Crime.

Marcia Ball Wins Blues Critic Award

Marcia Ball has won the award for Best Blues Keyboards in the Blues Critic Awards 2008 Readers Poll for Contemporary Blues.  This comes on the heels of Marcia's 4th Grammy nomination this year and precedes the Blues Music Awards where Marcia is  once again nominated for both Contemporary Blues Female Artist of the Year and for the Pinetop Perkins Piano Player of the Year award.  In the meantime Marcia celebrated her still upcoming 60th birthday by hosting three days of sold out music events with a wide array of her famous friends to benefit Health Alliance for Austin Musicians (HAAM) and Sweet Home New Orleans.

See Marcia performing live, please see tour dates>>

Trombone Shorty Film Featured In The Beverly Hills Shorts Festival

A short film about Trombone Shorty (Troy Andrews) will be featured in The Beverly Hills Shorts Festival, taking place February 26 - March 1, 2009. The film was produced by FXS Productions and gives background from Trombone Shorty's unique upbringing in the Treme neighborhood of New Orleans to collaborations with Lenny Kravitz, Green Day and U2 as well as accolades from legendary New Orleans figures, Allen Toussaint and Wynton Marsalis. It will screen as part of the Documentary Program on February 28 at 2:30pm at the Fine Arts Theatre in Beverly Hills, CA.

Catch Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue live, please see tour dates>>

The Best of Bill Frisell, Vol. 1: Folk Songs Out February 24

The Best of Bill Frisell, Vol. 1: Folk Songs will be released by Nonesuch Records February 24, 2009. This first release in a series of compilations drawn from Bill Frisell's catalog spotlights his idiosyncratic excursions into country and traditional folk. "It's hard to find a more fruitful meditation on American music than in the compositions of guitarist Bill Frisell," says the New York Times. The collection features appearances by frequent collaborators Viktor Krauss, Wayne Horvitz, Kermit Driscoll, Joey Baron, Kenny Wollesen, Jim Keltner and Ry Cooder. In late January 2009, Bill was the subject of a feature article in the The New Yorker, which describes him as "the fearless and adaptable guitarist Bill Frisell, whose varied endeavors have drawn him into free-form extemporizations, symphonic collaborations, hard and soft rock, country, and accompaniments for Buster Keaton silent films ..." Watch for Bill on tour in his ever varied presentation formats.

Marcia Ball's Most Generous and Fun Birthday

Marcia Ball is turning 60 - who would believe that? To celebrate, she is hosting a three day Great Big Birthday Bash in Austin, TX over this Valentine's Day weekend to benefit the Health Alliance for Austin Musicians (HAAM) and Sweet Home New Orleans. The shows will feature an extensive list of Marcia's musician friends including Steve Riley and the Mamou Playboys, Geno Delafose and French Rockin' Boogie, Sonny Landreth, Angela Strehli, Maria Muldaur, Tracy Nelson, Lavelle White, Lou Ann Barton, Sarah Brown and more. On Sunday there will be a five keyboard "Pianorama Brunch" featuring Floyd Domino, Johnny Nicholas, Nick Connolly, Riley Osborne and Marcia on five keyboards all at the same time. All of the shows take place at Antone's. If you cannot make it to the shows but would like to donate to the causes, please click here and scroll down to the Marcia Ball Birthday Fund. Happy Birthday Marcia and what an exemplary way to celebrate by helping those less fortunate!

Bettye LaVette Makes Tonight Show Debut March 3rd

Bettye LaVette continues to build her profile on national TV as she makes her debut performance on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno on March 3rd, 2009. Bettye was recently featured at We Are One: The Obama Inaugural Celebration At The Lincoln Memorial, the opening event for the Presidential Inaugural on January 18, 2009, broadcast on HBO. She delivered a stirring rendition of "A Change Is Gonna Come" with Jon Bon Jovi. Just weeks earlier she had stunned the Kennedy Center audience and viewers at home with a standout performance of The Who's "Love Reign O'er Me" at The Kennedy Center Honors, broadcast on CBS. According to Who guitarist Pete Townshend, "My favorite moment was when Bettye LaVette sang a very fine version of 'Love Reign O'er Me' at the Gala and Barbra Streisand turned to ask me if I really wrote it." Catch Bettye on The Tonight Show and on tour...

Allen Toussaint's The Bright Mississippi, Follows Grammy Honors and Grammy TV Appearance

The Bright Mississippi, Allen Toussaint's first solo album in more than a decade, will be released by Nonesuch Records on April 21, 2009. Noted producer, Joe Henry, has become a trusted collaborator of Allen's in recent years and he helmed the unique project on which Toussaint reinterprets classic jazz and blues tunes by jazz greats like Jelly Roll Morton, Django Reinhardt, Thelonious Monk, Duke Ellington, and Billy Strayhorn. Allen's featured band on the disc are guitarist Marc Ribot, bassist David Piltch, clarinetist Don Byron, trumpeter Nicholas Payton, and drummer Jay Bellerose, plus Brad Mehldau and Joshua Redman on one track each. The CD comes close on the heels of Allen's recent high profile presence at the 2009 Grammy Awards where he was a featured interviewee in the Grammy Legends series as part of Grammy week. At the Grammys themselves, Allen was honored with the prestigious Trustees Award and participated in the worldwide broadcast in a segment also featuring Lil Wayne, Terence Blanchard and The Dirty Dozen Brass Band.

Catch Allen live, please see tour dates>>

Grammy Congratulations! Allen Toussaint, The Blind Boys of Alabama, BeauSoleil avec Michael Doucet, The Dirty Dozen Brass Band, Marcia Ball, Bill Frisell, Trombone Shorty, and James Burton

Grammy Congratulations to Allen Toussaint who was awarded the Grammy Trustees Award, performed on the live TV broadcast and was the featured public interviewee Thursday for the Grammys Legends series! Allen's song "Fortune Teller" is also featured on the Robert Plant / Allison Krauss Raising Sand CD - the big winner at the Grammys this year. The Blind Boys of Alabama were honored with the Grammy Lifetime Achievement award and also won their 5th Grammy for their Down In New Orleans CD. BeauSoleil avec Michael Doucet were also Grammy winners for their Live CD from the 2008 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival. The Dirty Dozen Brass Band joined Allen Toussaint and Lil Wayne on the Grammy telecast. Also nominated for Grammys were Marcia Ball, Bill Frisell and Michael Doucet for his solo CD. Trombone Shorty was featured on Dr. John's Grammy winning City That Care Forgot and James Burton, who performs in Jim Lauderdale's Dream Payers band, shared the Grammy for Best Country Instrumental for Cluster Pluck. In addition, the Grammys Louisiana luncheon featured appearances and performances from The Blind Boys of Alabama, The Dirty Dozen Brass Band, Allen Toussaint and Michael Doucet. Congratulations All!

Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue and BeauSoleil avec Michael Doucet Win Big At New Orleans' 2008 Best of the Beat Awards

BeauSoleil avec Michael Doucet won their record 13th Best Cajun Band or Performer award at New Orleans' Best of the Beat Awards. Michael Doucet himself was also honored with the award for Best Cajun Album for his solo CD, From Now On,, as well as winning the award for Best Violin/Fiddle. Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue won Best R&B/Funk Band or Performer for the second year in a row. Trombone Shorty himself picked up an award for Best Trumpet and is a featured guest on Dr. John's City That Care Forgot album which won for Album of the Year and Best R&B/Funk Album. Congratulations to all the winners!

The 2008 Best of the Beat Award Winners were announced Saturday, January 31, 2009 at the House of Blues in New Orleans. The awards recognize the best in New Orleans music. Nominees are selected by the editors and writers of OffBeat magazine and the public votes for the winners.

Catch Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue live, please see tour dates >>

See BeauSoleil avec Michael Doucet touring in support of their newly released album, Alligator Purse, please see tour dates >>