By Nick Loss-Eaton The book was a graduation gift from a fan of my blues radio show on WVKR, the student radio station at Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, New York, and it changed my life. “Music [...]
MusicMakerRelief · A Living Past – Episode 2 From Jerry Garcia to Bob Dylan, Etta Baker’s influence on American music was profound. Born in 1913 in Caldwell County, NC, her [...]
Learn about Music Maker’s partner artists, mostly unknown musicians that have shaped American culture through their blues, gospel and folk music. The first episode of A Living Past, [...]
Every year since 1991 Music Maker artists have toured Europe. In 2005 we formed a partnership with Dixie Frog Records and Nueva Onda booking. Dixie Frog went on to produce 16 records of Music [...]
“The blues is the truth. It’s an everyday reminder of your life, a different type of Gospel,” says Music Maker discovery artist Charles Jacobs. For 25 years, and usually 6 nights a week, Charles [...]
Music Maker next generation artist Lakota John will be play at the Coolidge Auditorium on Wednesday, August 7th at 12pm and at the Kennedy Center’s Millennium Stage at 6pm as part of the [...]
Sadly, Beverly “Guitar” Watkins passed away the morning of October 1st, 2019 due to complications from a stroke. Though she has captured the rapt attention of audiences across the [...]
Double Bang: Hot Bang! by Ironing Board SamIroning Board Sam will make another return to Jazz Fest at 2:50pm on Sunday, May 5 to celebrate their 50th Anniversary. His zany performance style has [...]
Dr. Burt from Birmingham, AL was a dear friend and a great bluesman that only played house parties in and around his home. He was a Buddha like kind of man, his spirit soared, you felt like [...]
Blue Muse by Theotis Taylor Theotis Taylor is from Fitzgerald, Georgia and made his living harvesting turpentine. His singing and piano playing are utterly stunning. He is among the greatest [...]
Blue Muse by Eddie Tigner Eddie Tigner began his career as a young comedian in the famous Peacock Lounge in Atlanta, GA, a vestige of the fading Vaudeville circuit. Drafted into the Army and [...]
Blue Muse by Robert Finley Robert Finley has been one of our greatest success stories, and the moment Music Maker founder Tim Duffy heard Robert playing Age Don’t Mean a Thing on the street [...]
Things haven’t been easy for Ironing Board Sam over the past couple of years. After partnering with Music Maker, Sam’s career got a phenomenal rebirth and he started playing shows all [...]
Not many people have had careers as long and as varied as Sandra Hall, “The Empress of the Blues.” Her career in the music industry began when she was just 12 years old, and it has never [...]
Last week we posted on the blog about Robert Finley’s incredible journey and his recent performance at the Beacon Theatre and just when you think things have gotten as good as they can get [...]
Robert Finley’s talent is undeniable. Music Maker founder Tim Duffy knew this the second he spotted him playing on the street at the King Biscuit Blues Festival. After working to address [...]
For over a decade now Music Maker has been partnered with the Roots N Blues N BBQ Festival in Columbia, MO which has featured many iterations of the Music Maker Blues Revue on it’s main [...]
Tim and Denise Duffy founded Music Maker because the musicians we partner with, who our society has cast away, are actually rockstars. Pictures of Guitar Gabriel, Precious Bryant, Ironing Board [...]
Music Maker needs your support now to ensure that our collective culture lives on and remains vital for future generations: Your support identifies and serves artists who are an important part of [...]
Thomas O. “Pee Wee” Hayes can tell a story about one of the greatest seismic shifts in American history, and it’s the story of his own life. As a child, Pee Wee’s family uprooted their lives and [...]
The Music Maker Minute was created using interviews from the Music Maker Relief Foundation Archive. Each episode features a Music Maker partner artist and their personal experience with [...]
Exclaim! wrote a raving review for Robert’s performance with Dan Auerbach at the Vogue Theatre in Vancouver on Feb. 10th. This was the first show in for Robert’s tour with Dan [...]
Algia Mae Hinton was a national treasure. Guitars and songs and tap shoes were her tools but resilience and joy were her currency. We were deeply saddened to learn of her passing on February 8th, [...]
The Music Maker Minute was created using interviews from the Music Maker Relief Foundation Archive. Each episode features a Music Maker partner artist and their personal experience with race in [...]
Ironing Board Sam’s sudden stroke in October of 2015 pulled him away from the stage just as his career was taking a turn towards stardom. But even if things have gotten a bit quiet in his life [...]
On Monday WRAL’s Scott Mason aired a piece about the Glorifying Vines Sisters, their home church and their trip to Switzerland in August. Watch the piece – HERE!
The good news just keeps on coming for Music Maker partner artist Robert Finley. Last week Robert announced that he would be embarking on a 20-date cross country tour with Dan Auerbach & the [...]
We are deeply saddened to learn of the loss of longtime friend and partner Norman Hewitt. In 1991, Norman took a chance booking an unknown bluesman named Guitar Gabriel for the Blues to Bop [...]
In August, Music Maker booked a show for the Glorifying Vines Sisters in Lugano, Switzerland at the Blues to Bop Festival. Music Maker first played this festival in 1995 with founding artist [...]
Music Maker partner artists Guitar Lightnin’ Lee, the Como Mamas, Little Freddie King and Robert Finley will all be playing at the 12th annual Crescent City Blues & BBQ Festival, [...]
Tuesday night was incredible–Robert Finley played at the eTown Hall in Boulder, CO to a sold out audience and absolutely killed it! He performed alongside country rock music legend Delbert [...]
Bob Stephens is a “road warrior.” Forty-eight years of performing and countless miles on the road are what separates Bob from what he and fellow touring musicians call the rest of us: [...]
Last week I had the honor of accompanying the Glorifying Vines Sisters on their errand to the Rocky Mount post office in order to get their passports for their upcoming tour in Europe. We would [...]
Last month I received an unusual phone call from a mysterious woman. There was a lot of commotion in the background as she asked if I knew where Ironing Board Sam was and how she could get in [...]
As we the cold starts to fade and the plants start to bloom and we head out of a dreary winter our glee is elevated by the best part about the forthcoming warmth – Music Festival [...]
For this year’s Black History Month I have decided to write about what I feel is one of the boldest institutions celebrating Black History in America at this time: The National Museum of [...]
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 [...]
It is always interesting when stories are told and there is no photographic evidence to validate the story. This is particularly true when the story is so outrageous that it is borderline [...]
