Listen: Back in Business

Grandma’s got groove, and she ain’t about to try and hide it. Ever since I started at Music Maker a year ago, images of Beverly “Guitar” Watkins on stage, on her knees, with her guitar slung behind her head and her face screwed up in concentration have been THE iconic images of the vitality of Southern musicians who have largely been ignored by time and the industry. She’s a talented and powerful personality in our office, even though I’ve only talked with her over the phone – and that vitality is totally apparent in “Back in Business.”

“When we were in our mothers’ wombs, God had decided what he wanted us to be,” says Beverly  in a recent Offbeat magazine interview. “And he wanted me to be a musician.” As soon as the opening licks of “Back in Business” roll through the headphones, speakers or PA system, you know she’s serious: she will rock until the very end. Backed up by a solid bass line and a rollicking piano, Bev picks at the guitar with a familiarity that borders on the indecent. But it still goes down so smoothly that I’m always surprised when the song ends.

Beverly is one of our more active artists and is constantly performing around her hometown of Atlanta and selling CDs. She’s going to be performing at the Crescent City Blues and BBQ Festival in New Orleans this month, continuing to champion her special brand of the blues and Music Maker. Keep on keepin’ on, Bev!

-Whitney Baker