Please join us for an exceptional lineup on the afternoon of Thursday May 10, before the big Awards event later that evening.

Our good friend Colin Linden will kick things off at 12:45.  We’re all in for a treat as Colin showcases the combination of exquisite songwriting and deeply rootsy blues guitar that has earned him accolades both as a solo artist and in-demand collaborator as sideman and producer.

At 1:45, gentle virtuoso Mary Flower will demonstrate her distinctive blend of ragtime, acoustic blues, and folk styles, boasting more stylistic diversity than just about any other artist currently performing under the “acoustic blues” banner. Mary is nominated as both “Acoustic Artist of the Year” and “Acoustic Album of the Year” in this year’s Blues Music Awards.

At 2:45, our own “Little Boogaloo”, Eden Brent, will take command of the stage to demonstrate why she’s been praised with superlatives such as “jaw-dropping”, “jubilant”, and “sultry”, earning nine Blues Music Awards nominations including this year’s nomination for “Pinetop Perkins Piano Player of the Year”.

We’ll be at B.B. King’s at 143 Beale Street.  It’s free to the public so please stop by, say hello, and enjoy the music!

In addition to the traditional “unisex” t-shirt, we now have ultra-soft women’s cut shirts, all with a new retro-inspired logo that evokes our distinctive musical character — tradition mixed with innovation.

Full size and color choices are depicted in our online store – please drop by and pick your flavor!

Bonus Update – we now have brand-new Eden Brent shirts available as well!  Again in unisex as well as women’s styles, we have both light and dark colors to choose from.  Don’t be left out as the only person on the Blues Cruise without one!  Double Bonus – this shirt comes bundled with a download of an unreleased music track by Eden Brent.  Check it out in our online store!

Mary Flower’s Misery Loves Company has been receiving quite a lot of recognition this year, including two Blues Music Award nominations for Acoustic Album of the Year and Acoustic Artist of the Year. Adding to her honors, the IMA’s have chosen her latest release as a finalist for Americana Album.

The Soul of John Black’s latest release, Good Thang, has been nominated as a finalist for R&B Album, and the track “My Brother” is nominated for Blues Song.

The general public is invited to vote in each of these categories for the IMA’s “Vox Populi” award — visit the links below to check out songs from these albums and vote! Voting goes through July 11.

• Mary Flower – Misery Loves Company – Americana Album
• The Soul of John Black – Good Thang – R&B Album
• The Soul of John Black – “My Brother” – Blues Song

It seems to be the season of nominations for Mary.   She is also up for “Best Female Artist” at the Portland Music Awards, scheduled to announce winners on January 22.  This comes on the heels of Mary’s recent Muddy Award for “Acoustic Guitar” by the Cascade Blues Association.

Congratulations also go out to Eden Brent for her 4th Blues Music Award nomination for the Pinetop Perkins Piano Player of the Year, as well as Jimi Bott (of Woodbrain) for his 13th (!) nomination as Blues Drummer of the Year and to The Bo-Keys for their nomination as Blues Band of the Year.

The Blues Music Awards (formerly known as the W.C. Handy Awards) are universally recognized as the highest honor given to Blues artists. And best of all, you can vote in the awards process! Visit The Blues Foundation to join, and then this link to vote once you are a member. Voting is open now through March 1.

The Blues Foundation will present the 33rd Blues Music Awards on May 10 at the Cook Convention Center in downtown Memphis, TN. Stay tuned!

The holidays are upon us!  And The Soul of John Black has baked up some new treats for this holiday season, a few homemade jams, if you will.  He’s mixed up his own style of blues, R&B and soul to give a new interpretation to that old holiday cheer.  Take a listen and get ready to enjoy The Soul of Christmas.

• Or, prefer a more acoustic bent to your unconventional holiday music?  Revisit an old favorite – A Christmas Spanking by the Asylum Street Spankers.

Mary performs a set together with Pat Donohue, including songs from her latest album, Misery Loves Company, songs from Donohue’s repertoire, and one brand-new tune that the two wrote together just before the show!

The program airs on NPR stations nationwide in a time slot scheduled by each local station. Check here to see when the show airs in your town this week.

• UPDATE:  NPR has posted audio from the set – hear it here!

Calling upon the talent pool in her home town of Portland OR, Mary sat down with ten instrumentalists — and one singer — to make her most intimate record to date.  Along with Mary’s dazzling guitar and unmatched lap steel, Misery Loves Company features a staggering variety of great players, from jazz pianist Dave Frishberg to multi-instrumentalist Colin Linden. It’s a testament to Mary’s ability to bring out the best in her collaborators.

• Mary talks with Minnesota Public Radio , Western Michigan Public Radio, and Oregon Music News about the album
• More details and streaming previews
• Official press release (PDF)
• CDs and downloads available now! Visit the Order page to get your copy.

Voting closes this Wednesday in this year’s Blues Blast Music Awards, sponsored by the weekly Blues Blast Magazine.

Eden Brent is nominated for “Female Blues Artist of the Year” – her third year to be nominated in the awards.

In addition to the streaming previews of Eden’s latest album, Ain’t Got No Troubles on our artist pages, Chicago-area radio station WGLT has also put together a page with sound samples of all BBMA nominees at http://www.wglt.org/programs/blues/blues_blast/blues_blast.phtml.

Voting closes on August 31st, so please visit http://www.thebluesblast.com/bbma/2011/11bbmavote.php today to support Eden with your vote! While you’re there, we can recommend Blues Blast Magazine as a high-quality source of blues-genre music news, so don’t hesitate to sign up for their weekly newsletter.

This comes on the heels of USA Today’s pick of the album’s title song as one of ten “intriguing tracks” in their Playlist feature.

Read today’s article and hear the track at NPR Music .   To download or get your CD copy, visit our music page for The Soul of John Black.