When the Blues Foundation began in 1980, it held the mission of preserving and promoting blues around the world, and this year’s Keeping the Blues Alive Award honorees demonstrate just how successful the organization has been over the past four decades. The eight individuals and organizations receiving KBAs in 2023 don’t just hail from the blues traditional territory of the American South but from such far-reaching blues outposts as Denmark, Poland, and Colombia.
 

Two of the UK’s most enduring and best-loved bands, The Charlatans UK and Ride have announced plans for a North American co-headline tour, set to begin January 30, 2023 at New York City’s Webster Hall and then continue through a February 18 finale at The Wiltern in Los Angeles, CA. Tickets for all announced dates go on sale Friday, December 2 at 10 am (local).

New York-based musician and traveling storyteller Matt Butler recently unveiled Reckless Son—a one man show of words and music inspired by his experiences performing in prisons across the country, which he debuted at New York’s Rockwood Music Hall a few weeks ago and will continue to perform.

Butler will release an EP of music from the show, Reckless Son, on January 27. The first track, “Time To Be A Man,” is out now.

Drivin N Cryin frontman Kevn Kinney has announced his first solo record in more than a decade, and his first vinyl since 1990’s MacDougal Blues, set for a Dec. 9 release. Featuring R.E.M.

A Philly Special Christmas is excited to announce the release of “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)” featuring performances from NFL Eagles’ Jason Kelce, Jordan Mailata  and Lane Johnson produced by Charlie Hall (The War on Drugs) and executive producer Connor Barwin is out now.  This is the first in a series of holiday classic singles to be released every Friday between now and the album’s official release on December 23rd via Vera Y Records.

The Gibson Generation Collection opens a new evolution in sound for acoustic guitar players. Handcrafted in Bozeman, Montana, by the highly skilled craftspeople who make all Gibson acoustic guitars, the Generation Collection is proud to unveil the new G-Bird--based on the iconic Gibson Hummingbird acoustic guitar--to round out the series which includes the previously announced G-00, G-45, G-Writer, and the G-200.

Folk-Pop trio The Burnt Pines, comprised of singer and lyricist, Kris Skovmand, instrumentalist and arranger Aaron Flanders on guitar and banjo, and piano, keyboard player and arranger Miguel Sá Pessoa, have announced the release of Don’t Look Down, their affecting sophomore album, via CEN/The Orchard.

If this press release is crossing your desk, chances are likely high that you’re a serious music fan. And if you’re a serious music fan, you’re likely obsessed with vinyl: the anxious unwrapping of an anticipated reissue; the gawking at fresh, vibrant artwork; the smell… for some of you, the taste– I dunno, but then that coveted moment when the needle drops to the grooves for the first time, and those moments become manifest. Oh, what a perfect world!

The ‘Healing in Harmony Holiday Auction’ launches tomorrow, November 24 and runs until December 4. The online fundraiser for Make Music Matter will feature a variety of lots, from personalized autographed guitars, never before seen photos, and vinyl to event passes, merchandise, and professional services for musicians.  

Today, Dave Okumu & The 7 Generations announce new album I Came From Love. The album will be released April 14, 2023 via Transgressive Records.

I Came From Love is a tapestry of the Black experience that explores ancestry, the legacy of slavery, what it means to exist in an unjust society, and Okumu’s own family history.