News Archive:

Mary Flower's newest studio album, Bridges, is another chapter in the acoustic guitarist's narrative of the diversity of American roots music, deftly melding ragtime, country blues, swing, folk styles, and hot jazz through the mastery of her fingerpicked and lap-style guitar playing.

It's also a love letter of sorts to her adoptive home town of Portland, OR -- the "bridges" of the title allude to the many crossings of the Willamette River that give the city its unique character, as well as metaphorically referencing the connections to many different musical genres that give Mary's distinctive sound its own unique character.

As Terry Currier, owner of indie-music cornerstone Music Millennium, summarizes in the album's liner notes, "Throughout her career, Mary has brought her own roots and blues sensibility to a wide variety of genres. Bridges is a unique, only-in-Portland blend that could only have been created by the versatile Mary Flower."

• More details and sound samples
• Official press release (PDF)
  
• Album shipping now! Visit the Order page to get your copy.

Labels: Mary Flower

2009 Blues Music Award voting is coming to a close... we hope you will join the Blues Foundation and participate!

We are thrilled that Eden Brent is nominated in four categories: "Acoustic Album of the Year", "Acoustic Artist of the Year", "Best New Artist Debut", and "Pinetop Perkins Piano Player of the Year". (Is four nominations a record for a "new artist"?)

Fiona Boyes is also nominated, for the third consecutive year, for her acoustic album "Live from Bluesville".

To mark the occasion, we've posted Eden's entire album "Mississippi Number One" for preview from our "YDR Radio" player - visit http://yellowdogrecords.com/radio to check it out and enjoy the music!

Important: voting ends early Monday morning (8am EST March 2) so if you want to vote, or need to revisit your ballot to make any final choices, please do it by the end of this weekend! Visit http://www.blues.org/bluesmusicawards/vote.php4 to get your ballot.

And while we are at it... voting is also coming to a close in the Independent Music Awards! Eden's song "Mississippi Flatland Blues" has been nominated as one of five finalists for "Blues Song of the Year". The general public is invited to vote for their choice of best song in the IMA's "Vox Populi" award -- visit this link to preview the finalist songs and vote.

• Festival and tour dates for Eden Brent
• Sound samples, press reviews, and more about Eden Brent

Labels: Blues Music Awards, Eden Brent

Fiona Boyes is honored to be the 2009 Ambassador for the Australian Blues Music Festival, held annually in a variety of venues throughout the historic NSW city of Goulburn. The Festival showcases the very best of emerging and established blues acts from around Australia.

• Festival Program
• Other tour dates for Fiona Boyes
  
• More information and sound samples for Fiona Boyes
  

Labels: Fiona Boyes

Five roots music masters... Thirteen Blues Music Award nominations... One lineup... Zero cover!

Yellow Dog Records presents an afternoon of blues excellence, this Friday Feb 6 2009 during International Blues Challenge weekend. We'll be at King's Palace, 162 Beale Street, downtown Memphis. It's free to the public, so please join us as we present:

• 12:30 William Lee Ellis
  
• 1:15 Eden Brent
• 2:05 Mary Flower
• 2:55 Rich Del Grosso
• 3:45 Fiona Boyes

Eden Brent will perform songs from her 2008 album Mississippi Number One, nominated as "Acoustic Album of the Year" in the 2009 Blues Music Awards.

Rich Del Grosso and Fiona Boyes will perform songs from their 2008 album Live From Bluesville, also nominated as "Acoustic Album of the Year" in the 2009 Blues Music Awards!

And, Mary Flower and Fiona Boyes will each premiere songs from their upcoming albums Bridges and Blues Woman, set for spring releases from Yellow Dog Records.

See you there!

Labels: Eden Brent, Fiona Boyes, Mary Flower, William Lee Ellis