Welcome to the pumpkin and spice edition of BLUES JUNCTION. Maybe we should call it our fall follies.

As our readers know we are a feature driven “publication.” Blues music has a timeless quality which lends itself to this style of journalism. There are plenty of “Blews Newz U Can Uze” types of silliness floating around the web. What is newsworthy often doesn’t have much of a shelf life. Having said that, we have some news for you. We’ll keep this info to the Letter from the Editor section.

Let’s start here:

It is my pleasure to report that the 2021 San Diego Blues Festival was a resounding success. The benefactors of this event were the San Diego Food bank. With the Delta variant of the Covid-19 pandemic on the minds of many, including myself, attendance was a concern. San Diego with its huge military presence is likely one of the most vaccinated cities in America. That and a stellar line-up which included Rick Estrin & The Nightcats, Nikki Hill, Tia Carroll, Aki Kumar and others made for a lovely day of music. Carroll and Kumar are part of the Little Village Foundation’s family of artists.

The Little Village after party was a kick in the pants; thanks to Jim Pugh for the invite to that event held at a private home in the exclusive Sunset Cliffs section of San Diego. It was there that many of the festival artists made encore appearances in front of a small gathering. It was great to get out and hear live music again at the festival and at this more intimate setting. For me, being out in public for the first time in a very long time, due to my concerns regarding the pandemic, was simply wonderful. It was great to catch up with so many old friends. It was also fun to visit with so many of our readers down San Diego way. I have missed you dearly.

*****

Way back in 2014, one of our readers sent me a story from the Chicago Sun Times that announced the city of Chicago’s plans to demolish the South Side home of Muddy Waters. I shared that sad info with our readers in a feature entitled, My Historical Marker. Since then, the fate of this house was a drama that played itself out in public. Finally, we have some very happy news for anybody who respects history. Last week, Chicago’s City Council voted unanimously to preserve the historic two-flat building at 4339 S. Lake Park Ave in North Kenwood. Muddy Waters' South Side home has officially earned Chicago landmark status.

 "What's significant about landmark status is that this building will never be demolished. It's going to be forever protected. This was an essential step to preserve blues culture and for the legacy of African American history," said board president, Chandra Cooper.

*****

With concerns about product availability due to supply chain issues, Charlie’s got you covered. That’s right our friends at Blue Beat Music have imported 32 separate titles of vintage blues. These are complete original vinyl albums in the popular compact disc format. They come in an old LP format with original album art. Many of these Japanese imports on the Oldays label come with bonus tracks. Great original albums from some of blues music’s most iconic labels like Verve, Vanguard, Specialty, Peacock and others are represented in this treasure trove of old noise. Click here…

*****

In other record (CD) news, the Crystal Thomas release on vinyl, previously discussed in our Recommended Listening feature here at the JUNCTION is now available on CD. It is also available at Bluebeat Music.

­­*****

This brings us to the Harvest Edition of BLUES JUNCTION and our Recommended Listening feature.  Enjoy the commentary on these brand-new recordings. Remember that by clicking on the album cover art you will be taken directly to the Bluebeat Music website.

The Blues world has been celebrating the 70^th birthday this year of one of its most revered ambassadors, Jimmie Vaughan. With the release of a massive box set, entitled The Jimmie Vaughan Story we again shine our Monthly Artist Spotlight on this seminal figure in modern blues.

Dave Spector also has a brand-new career retrospective out on Delmark Records. It is entitled Six String Soul: 30 Years on Delmark. It is absolutely spectacular. That album sits in our Monthly Album Spotlight.

Our autumnal spectacular wouldn’t be complete without a nod to our National Pastime. Enjoy a piece entitled Baseball and Blues Music.

Remember to explore the rather voluminous Archive section of our site. This should come with some kind of warning, as I have had readers tell me they started rooting around in there and were reported missing by loved ones.

Thanks always for your kind words of encouragement. As you know I try very hard to return all the letters to the editor that I receive. I should point out it has been one year since our National election. With that seven million vote victory by Joe Biden, I stopped writing political editorials. As a result, the death threats from Trump supporters have also stopped. I can live with that.

I want to welcome all of the new readers who statistical info has told us have found the JUNCTION. I would like to tell you that I take requests. I don’t honor them, but I take them.

Also, I want you old timers and newbies to stay healthy and stay in touch.

- David Mac



Want to support our ongoing efforts to provide relevant music reporting?  Click here ->