This December edition of BLUES JUNCTION is our first year end, holiday spectacular. Hallelujah! With the spirit of the season in mind, we have three very distinctive features that evoke the most wonderful time of the year.

We have a holiday Jukebox all queued up with The Twelve Songs of Christmas: A Jukebox of Joy. Enjoy some holiday gift ideas as I pull twelve tunes from twelve Christmas albums in my personal library.  I urge you to enjoy my musings on this time of year in a feature entitled David’s Got a Brand New Bag. If that weren’t enough (and it probably is) I have a Year End Message reflecting back on the last twelve months here at BLUES JUNCTION.

Our monthly artist spotlight is a blues man who was born on December 25, 1949. He is San Francisco’s Christmas gift to the blues world, Joe Louis Walker. Read a fine piece on this guitar slinger who grew up in the shadow of the Golden Gate by Mark Hedin. We are especially thankful to the good folks at the Golden Gate Blues Society (TGGBS), and their excellent communications director Deb Lubin, for making this contribution to BLUES JUNCTION possible. Deb is an editor who publishes a very informative, thoughtful and well written news letter that goes to their members every other month. Please learn more about this fine organization by visiting our links page on this site.

There was a time when you had to go to a juke joint to hear blues music. While that was never a big sacrifice for yours truly, today you can make the pilgrimage to hear the great American Music on a luxury cruise ship. Alex Gardner hit the high seas and was on his inaugural Legendary Rhythm and Blues Cruise a few weeks ago. He has some thoughts on that experience, and as you might expect, some first class photography as well.

Erwin Boseman has made yet another fine contribution to BLUES JUNCTION. His piece entitled Blues Musician as Entrepreneur is a fascinating look at the entomology of the blues man in the early part of the 20^th century.

In December, for the first time, every one of Erwin’s fine essays, along with every article and every photo essay from all of our contributors is available in our completely overhauled and upgraded archive section. Also, you will find many of the pieces I have written, including some missives that were written back in 2010 before BLUES JUNCTION became a monthly magazine and only 100 or so readers were visiting the site each day. We will continue to try and tweak this section so as to make it as user friendly as possible. We want our archives to be easy to access and make it convenient to reference the articles that are of interest to you.

Check the tab that reads World Class Blues in the O.C. for info on Kim Wilson’s All–Star Blues Revue's upcoming gig at the Tiki Bar in Costa Mesa, CA.  If you have attended one of these monthly extravaganzas in the past you know what to expect and if you haven’t, you have probably heard you always get more than you bargained for. This month’s show on the 11^th will be no exception as Kim will be joined by Chicago blues veterans pianist Barrelhouse Chuck and guitarist Billy Flynn. The rhythm section of Larry “The Mole” Taylor and Richard “Big Foot” Innes round out this stellar band. Also there will be a surprise special guest or two.

This is a time of year for giving so with that in mind I would like to direct your attention to the tab entitled Ruff Kutt Blues Band & The HART Fund. BLUES JUNCTION Productions is making available to our readers this holiday season, an album entitled The Mill Block Blues by the Ruff Cut Blues Band. The Ruff Cut Blues Band is an all-star assemblage of musicians from Texas who came together for this one time special project. These limited edition CDs have been autographed by the album’s producer and guitarist, the legendary Anson Funderburgh.  Proceeds from this CD go to the Handy Artist Relief Trust (HART) that is administered by the Blues Foundation. HART as many of you know is a trust fund to help blues musicians with their medical expenses. Anson himself is a cancer survivor.  Remember, the purchase of one of these limited edition albums gives you the ability to give two gifts for the price of one. You give the album to a friend or loved one and you give a gift to a very worthwhile cause at the same time. That is one serious stocking stuffer. You may even want to keep one for yourself as it is a darn good, down home blues album with a big slab of Strat, Texas style, courtesy of the one and only Anson Funderburgh.

Speaking of worthwhile causes, on November 12^th, many Southern Californians participated in a benefit concert called Slim Jam. The event was a fundraiser for Lynwood Slim who has been suffering in recent months from some very serious health problems. Read about this very special show and enjoy a photo essay by Alex Gardner and Chris Corbett.

In the early morning hours of November 13^th, I received a phone call from a very dear friend who had just been diagnosed with a very aggressive form of brain cancer. In November she had a malignant tumor removed and will soon be undergoing radiation and chemotherapy treatments. During this season of thanksgiving and reflection, I feel particularly blessed to have so many dear and wonderful friends. She has asked me to ask you to include her in your thoughts and prayers.

I hope each and every one of you has a joyous and fulfilling holiday season.

- David Mac