The Blues Doctor knows what ails you. He’s an expert diagnostician of the many maladies of the heart and soul. He got his education early, being born in the depths of the Depression to the [...]
The blues live on because the blues give people life, not the other way around. Talk about the blues with Taj Mahal or Tim Duffy founder of the Music Maker Relief Foundation – and you will [...]
Pat Sky’s biography reads like fiction. He’s a man of extraordinary gifts. A Southerner of Creek Indian heritage, he helped establish the Greenwich Village folk scene in the early [...]
Music Maker Relief Foundation will be streaming concerts at the Bullpen every Wednesday & Friday night at 7pm EST (unless otherwise note). All shows can be watched via Music Maker Relief [...]
Christmas With Cootie by Cootie StarkGet your holiday swinging with Cootie & the gang on this version of Jingle Bells. Done in the Blues fashion this number is loose as it gets. I wonder if [...]
When I was studying ethnomusicology in graduate school, we sat around a classroom one day debating the question, “What is the most fundamental element of music?” Some argued for pitch. Some [...]
For over 20 years Music Maker has been releasing albums, showcasing the amazing work of the artists we feel are so important to the fabric of our culture. During the CD boom of the late 90s and [...]
This Friday, December 16th is the Grand Opening of The Bullpen and we will be kicking things off with Pat “Mother Blues” Cohen at 9pm. So come on out and get some delicious Heavenly [...]
Albert White & the Rockers by Albert White Albert White has been around the musical block. He started playing in High School, rehearsing with his uncle, the R&B legend Dr. Feelgood. When [...]
The blues live on because the blues give people life, not the other way around. Talk about the blues with Taj Mahal or Tim Duffy—founder of the Music Maker Relief Foundation—and you [...]
Outlaw by Harvey Dalton Arnold “Cold & Lonesome,” a hit for venerable Southern Rock pioneers, The Outlaws, is here performed by its writer, Harvey Dalton Arnold. Just Harvey, a [...]
Cool Yule by Cool John Ferguson Everyone has a favorite holiday song, Come All Ye Faithful is mine. You won’t hear an elaborate symphony or full chorus on this version by Cool John Ferguson [...]
Celebrating a subdued kind of blues By Terence McArdle November 23 Jazz pianist and composer Gerald Clayton will join the Assembly and singer-songwriter Rene Marie for a December concert at [...]
EACH Prize will come with a Bluegrass Situation Hoodie & Coozie Donate HERE! We Are the Music Makers! Book/CD “We Are The Music Makers: Preserving The Soul Of America’s Music,” written by [...]
TWO-TIME GRAMMY WINNER, BLUES HALL OF FAMER & AMERICANA MUSIC LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD WINNER TAJ MAHAL’S STRIPPED DOWN ALBUM ‘LABOR OF LOVE’ OUT DECEMBER 16 ON ACOUSTIC SOUNDS FIRST [...]
I had the pleasure of meeting Albert over the summer when he came up from Atlanta to play at the Freight Train Blues series in Carrboro, NC. Albert and some other artists had just arrived from [...]
Robert Finley got his big break at last year’s King Biscuit Blues Festival when he talked the sound engineer into letting him get on stage in between acts and play a song. He wowed the crowd, [...]
Beaufort Blues by Big Boy Henry This tale of senseless sacrifice reveals the world through a child’s eyes. While still an innocent child, the irony of the “holy kiss” is not lost on this boy who [...]
Cool John Ferguson & Pat “Mother Blues” Cohen will be performing at two venues where Music Maker’s photo exhibit, Our Living Past will be on display. Both of these shows are [...]
N.O.L.A. Rhythum And Booze by Guitar Lightnin’ Lee You take one look at Guitar Lightnin’ Lee and immediately get the impression that this is one of the meanest dudes on the planet. [...]
Read this great feature from the Courier-Journal in Louisville, KY about our photography exhibit at the Clifton Center: Written by: Elizabeth Kramer | @arts_bureau | 7:01 a.m. EDT November 2, [...]
Rainy Day by George Higgs George Higgs is one of the lesser known artists that Music Maker has partnered with. That doesn’t mean that George wasn’t an amazing artist though. His dark [...]
Yesterday our good friend Lonnie Holley came to visit the MM office to say hello. Lonnie is an amazing artist based out of Atlanta, GA. During his visit he showed us his latest video, focused on [...]
Sing It Louder by Cary Morin Cary Morin is one of the most amazing guitar players I have ever seen play the instrument and his songwriting is matches his playing ability. Sing It Louder is all [...]
Robert Finley arrived like it was any other night, excited, grinning from ear to ear, guitar in hand. He wore pressed jeans, cowboy hat and boots and a Western shirt accented by a belt buckle [...]
Don’t Mess With Miss Watkins by Beverly “Guitar” Watkins Nobody can tear the house down like Beverly. If you ever been lucky enough to see her play you know how it feels to have [...]
Bull Durham Beer Co., the first brewery in America to operate in a Minor League baseball stadium, will add a second, expanded location in late October. The team behind the popular baseball-themed [...]
CD/Vinyl – https://bit.ly/2doUoKZ iTunes – https://apple.co/2cEvruz Spotify – https://spoti.fi/2ccPeAz NPR PROFILES SOUTHERN SOUL MAN ROBERT FINLEY AS HIS DEBUT ‘AGE DON’T MEAN [...]
Spencer Branch by Spencer Branch Anyone that has ever traveled knows the joy it can bring alongside the subsequent heartache of home sickness. Blown Back With the Breeze carries you across the [...]
Several weeks ago the Music Maker staff was making calls to artists impacted by the Louisiana Flood. Upon making these calls we learned that Buckwheat’s house had experienced significant [...]
September 26, 2016 Robert Finley is not your average new artist. At 63, the north Louisiana blues and soul musician has already lived a lifetime. He served as a helicopter serviceman in [...]
Lee Gates and the Alabama Cotton Kings by Lee Gates Lee Gates’ insistent music is always compelling. Between his shredding guitar and pleading vocals, you know he means what he’s singing. Lee is [...]
Outlaw by Harvey Dalton Arnold Harvey Dalton Arnold is a true Southern rocker. A member of the Outlaws for many years, listening to the acoustic sounds on Harvey’s album Outlaw is [...]
You weren’t really worried. This wasn’t a hurricane, not even a tropical storm—no roof-ripping tornado, no tower-toppling earthquake, no fire-spewing eruption—it was just rain. And it doesn’t [...]
ALBERT WHITE’S NEW RELEASE A SWEAT SOAKED NIGHT IN 1970S ATLANTA This album takes recordings from two different sweat-soaked 70s nights. One, The New Palladium on Bankhead Highway, was the [...]
There is no singular event that brings people together around music like fiddler’s conventions. All across the South, every summer and fall, people gather at state parks and fairgrounds to share [...]
Ironing Board Sam and the Sticks by Ironing Board Sam A couple years ago Music Maker had two French interns that helped out at the office for 9 months. They lived right next door to [...]
The Music Maker Relief Foundation works tirelessly to ensure that traditional music lives on, helping to reinforce our country’s musical heritage for future generations. We could not [...]
On Sunday, October 2nd at 1:00pm the Music Maker Blues Revue will take the stage at the Roots N Blues N BBQ Festival in Columbia, MO. Music Maker has been playing Roots N Blues N BBQ since their [...]
High Steppin' Momma by Clyde Langford Clyde Langford hails from town in Texas as Lightnin’ Hopkins and about an hour from where guitar legend Mance Lipscomb is from. While Clyde [...]
Sam Frazier, Jr. Inducted Into the Birmingham Record Collectors Hall of Fame & Honored By His Church
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Two years ago Music Maker received a letter in the mail after a piece about the Foundation aired on CBS Evening News. The letter was from Sam Frazier, Jr.’s daughter-in-law telling us about [...]
Receding floodwaters in Louisiana have revealed the utter devastation left in their wake. News sources are calling the flooding as the worst natural disaster since Superstorm Sandy in 2012. Even [...]
HILLSBOROUGH, N.C., August 27, 2016 — The Music Maker Relief Foundation has created the Baton Rouge Musicians Fund (BRMF). The fund was created in partnership with the Baton Rouge Blues [...]
Born With the Blues by Cora Mae Bryant Cora Mae adorns herself with brightly colored clothes and jewelry. She shined like a bright light in the heart of the Deep South. Her music tells a personal [...]
When we boarded the plane, early in the morning, the flight attendant came on the PA to tell us that the weather in Los Angeles was 62 with 0% humidity. Everyone sighed with relief. The Revue was [...]
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Robert Belfour, lesser known than his fellow Mississippi Hill Country contemporaries like R. L. Burnside, Junior Kimbrough, and Jesse Mae Hemphill, was a powerful guitar player with an intense [...]
Phil Cook (Hiss Golden Messenger/Megafuan) has partnered with Music Maker partner artists, The Branchettes for his Southland Revue project. They will be playing at the Eaux Claires Festival in in [...]
In a late Summer stupor, the heat soaking your clothes on the short trip from the office to the car, what you really need is a little more “cold.” Probably not the kind of cold [...]
“MORE THAN CONVINCING” (NY TIMES) MAJOR NEW SOUL VOICE ROBERT FINLEY MAKES RECORDED DEBUT AT 62 ON FAT POSSUM IMPRINT BIG LEGAL MESS FORMER US ARMY SERVICEMAN & LOUISIANA CARPENTER TURNS TO [...]
Turn Off the Fear by Carl Rutherford Carl Rutherford was a coal miner from West Virginia that played deep country music and gospel. Carl’s guitar pickin’ is some of the finest around [...]
The Como Mamas are a lifelong gospel trio from Como, MS. They have been working with Music Maker for over 2 years and have since played on some of the biggest stages in the world, including the [...]
One evening last fall, Tim Duffy, my wife and I were chatting at an event featuring bluesman John Dee Holeman. I mentioned that I liked to build, troubleshoot and repair electric guitars, and Tim [...]
July 14th, 2016 / BY BRITTNEY MCKENNA It’s no secret that the South is home to some of the greatest musicians around, past and present. From early bluesmen like Robert Johnson to country [...]
Biscuits For Your Outside Man by Sam Frazier, Jr. When we first met Sam Frazier, Jr. and recording some of his songs he told us that one of his favorite Country Music tunes he wrote is about [...]
On August 11, Music Maker’s longtime partner artist and original Inkspot, Eddie Tigner turns 90. In a recent discussion with Eddie we asked him about how his house was doing. When we got down to [...]
Blue & Lonesome by Alabama Slim Alabama Slim plays Deep Blues. Originally from Vance, AL but Slim has lived in New Orleans since the late 60s. Standing tall at around 6’7″ [...]
The Music Maker Blues Revue featuring Robert Finley, Alabama Slim, Robert Lee Coleman, Albert White, Nashid Abdul-Khalliq will be heading to Belgium to play the Swing Wespelaar Music Festival on [...]
Blues Sweet Blues by Pat Sky Last week we introduced new Music Maker Recipient artist, Pat Sky. So this week we are Diggin’ on his classic “traveling” song, Many A Mile. Many A [...]
Albert White began playing guitar in the late ‘50s with his legendary uncle, Piano Red, and his group “Dr. Feelgood & the Interns. Since then, Albert has performed with Joe Tex, The Tams, Ray [...]
In October 2015, just as Big Legal Mess was set to release Ironing Board Sam’s “Super Spirit,” Sam suffered a stroke that left him hospitalized for the better part of the [...]
Outlaw by Harvey Dalton Arnold Harvey Dalton Arnold is one of the musicians that we are lucky to have local to the Music Maker office, so we see him often! Harvey is a part of the Music [...]
While I was attending the Folklore graduate program at UNC in 1989, I was introduced to folk musician, Pat Sky. Born in Georgia and raised in Louisiana, Pat and his guitar headed north in the [...]
Piedmont Blues is a live concert presentation led by celebrated jazz pianist / composer / bandleader Gerald Clayton that explores the essence and impact of the Piedmont blues. The project [...]
Route 66 by Eddie Tigner If you’ve ever driven through downtown Hillsborough, NC you might’ve noticed that there are several signs reflecting the historical significance of past [...]
Help Save Our American Roots – Sign Up Today! Join us in the Listener’s Circle and get exclusive releases curated by the MM staff every other month. You can preview last April’s [...]
Big Bertha, Magdalena, Theresa, Melvina; names tossed around with such affection you’d think they were referring to wives, lovers or children. Nope. BBQs. Bernice, Louisiana (pop. 1,648) has as [...]
Guitar Lightnin’ Lee exudes an indescribable exuberance. A couple weeks ago he came to visit NC to play for our Freight Train Blues Series presented by Carrboro Parks & Recreation & [...]
Hold The Rain by Pura Fé Pura Fé is one of the most mystical artists I have ever met. When you see Pura Fé perform you instantly see that her physical emotion matches her voice. A Love Like Mine [...]
We are so excited to share that our long-time partner, Cathead, is now selling their craft vodka in NC restaurants and ABC stores! Read below to find out more. What do you get when you combine a [...]
Railroad Bill by Etta Baker As someone who is a “beginning blues” listener, I can’t speak much to the technical aspects of Etta Baker’s talent. If I knew better, I might [...]
Get your free download here In the month of May Music Maker received a $5,000 matching gift from a generous donor. With contributions from donors like YOU we were able to meet the match! Without [...]
Biscuits For Your Outside Man by Various Artists Order Your Copy Today! Physical – https://bit.ly/1VYyAta iTunes – https://apple.co/27rMVlH Bandcamp – https://bit.ly/1Xf6uJn [...]
For the past year and a half Music Maker has been working with luthier Freeman Vines. Freeman resides in Eastern, NC and fashions guitars from found wood. By hand carving each guitar into [...]
The Music Maker catalog has some of the deepest grooves you can ever hope to come across. If you’re lucky, you’ve experienced these rhythms live in person at a Revue Show and know exactly what [...]
Sawmill Worker by Preston Fulp “Little Darling” is one of the sweetest songs in the Music Maker catalogue. The tale of unrequited love is a familiar one, but Preston’s tender and delicate voice [...]
Music Maker is in the process of developing a partnership with piano player, Wilbur Tharpe. Wilbur has played for many years with Lena Mae Perry of the Branchettes, but since a house fire which [...]
We still have a few more weeks of cool mornings. In some places they follow still nights all summer long. Here in North Carolina, the summer is not that gentle. With the long days come heat, damp [...]
Hallelujah Boogaloo by Drink Small Last week Aaron, myself and a food writer traveled down to visit 83 year old Drink Small in Columbia, SC for our upcoming food themed compilation album, [...]
More Than $82 Million Awarded for Arts Projects Nationwide Includes $15,000 awarded to Music Maker Relief Foundation Hillsborough, NC —National Endowment for the Arts Chairman Jane Chu has [...]
BY SUZE UTTAL MAY 13, 2016 Music and food is a perfect combination of sensual pleasures, and how better to honor that relationship but to create an album of songs related to food! Music Maker [...]
Lee Gates grew up in Pontotoc, MS, his father African-American, his mother a Native American. He is first cousin to the blues legend Albert Collins. In his 20s he migrated up to Milwaukee, WI [...]
Route 66 by Eddie Tigner A song about traveling is more than appropriate for pianist Eddie Tigner. Eddie traveled his whole life as a US Army band member and as a member of the original [...]
About the Program Celebrate the twentieth anniversary season of the Skirball’s annual Sunset Concerts, a series dedicated to drawing music fans from across greater Los Angeles by showcasing both [...]
A couple of weeks ago I got my hands on some footage that Tim and Abigail shot of David Bryant in his home town in Oxford, GA singing “Cold and Rainy Day,” a song David learned from [...]
Little Freddie King was recently featured in Beyoncé’s new visual album Lemonade. Lemonade was filmed in New Orleans and features many people and places that represent New Orleans culture [...]
Spencer Branch by Spencer Branch “Things in Life” by Don Stover, sung here in beautiful harmony by Kelley Breiding and Martha Spencer with simple accompaniment is a sentimental reflection on [...]
Sunday May. 8 2016 8:30 PM Ring The Golden Bells CELEBRATING 101 YEARS OF SISTER ROSETTA THARPE Brookfield Place Winter Garden 230 Vesey St, New York, NY 10281 [...]
When Music Maker’s Executive Director, Tim Duffy, heard that partner artist Albert White’s laptop had “died,” Tim realized it was an issue that required an immediate solution. Thanks to Music [...]
Now here’s a gritty yawp of angst and regret combined with a soulful rhythm of resolution and wisdom. Two Trains Runnin’ by John Dee Holeman will grab you and get you rolling to its strong and [...]
Purchase Spencer Branch Here! Spencer Branch by Spencer Branch Recorded in Whitetop Mountain, Virginia Spencer Branch features siblings Kilby Spencer and Martha Spencer along with North Carolina [...]
Cedar Grove by Red Rover Tim and Susan Wells, a married couple who also perform as a folk duo, released this album as part of Music Maker’s Next Generation program. Listening to Cedar [...]
Clarksdale began to rumble with energy as all of the bands plugged in their guitar amps at 9am last Saturday, the start of Juke Joint Festival. Every year Music Maker travels down to Mississippi [...]
Earlier this week beloved Music Maker artist passed away. Boo Hanks, a descendant of Abraham Lincoln on his mother’s side, is the greatest Piedmont Blues rediscovery in many years. He sings and [...]
One More Mile by Robert Lee Coleman Robert Lee Coleman is the distillation of the cool 70s soul style that born out of Macon, GA. Playing for James Brown and Percy Sledge for many years, Robert [...]
Over the years, Music Maker has had many incredible interns pass through our doors, helping us with a wide array of projects from graphic design to event support and helping to find community [...]
Gail Ceasar, of Pittsville, VA is Music Maker’s newest Next Generation Artist partner. A country blues phenom and distinct singer, in her playing she honors and celebrates the music of her family [...]
A Living Past by Guitar Gabriel & Lucille Lindsay Lucille Lindsay was the first artist page on the Music Maker website I clicked on. I had just been invited to interview for the [...]
Music Maker is a small organization that does big things. As a result, the bond that Music Maker’s small team share with one another and our talented artists is strong and deep. We are [...]
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