Discovering John McCutcheon’s Passage – 15 Years Later and Still Powerful
Back in November 2010, while browsing the Folk DJ Chart, I came across an artist I somehow hadn’t given enough attention to: John McCutcheon. His album Passage was sitting at #19, and I thought: it’s time. So I loaded it up on Rhapsody (yes, Rhapsody!) and the result? That familiar feeling of *What was I thinking?*—how had I missed this?
A Wisconsin native now living in Avondale Estates, Georgia, John is what Southerners might call a “Damn Yankee” — one who came and stayed. He’s a master of the hammered dulcimer but also plays guitar, banjo, autoharp, mountain dulcimer, fiddle, and Jew’s harp. And let’s not forget: he’s a terrific songwriter.
About John McCutcheon’s Passage
Passage was recorded in both Decatur, GA and Nashville and features an impressive list of guest musicians and friends: Kathy Mattea, Suzy Bogguss, Tim O’Brien, Mollie O’Brien, Stuart Duncan, and John Jennings, to name a few.
The album covers everything from mining life (“One More Day,” “Your Age”) to father-son relationships (“With My Father,” “Iowa”) to friendship (“Friendly Competition”), to those ever-resonant themes of love and loss. McCutcheon’s voice, both musically and lyrically, is a steady, soulful guide through it all.
Two standouts from the album—“Glory Hallelujah” and “One More Day”—appeared on the Folk DJ list that year, and with good reason. As his website once said:
“No one explores the uncharted, unspoken territories of the grown-up heart like John McCutcheon.”
🎶 Watch: “Step by Step” – Hammered Dulcimer Brilliance
Postscript – July 2025
This week, John McCutcheon’s latest album Field of Stars made it onto my Folk Monday rotation. Revisiting Passage reminded me just how long he’s been writing songs that matter. The topics may evolve, but the heart and craft never waver. Time to go re-listen — and maybe catch up on a few of those 24+ albums I missed the first time around!385″
This week has been a Granddad week for me. It started on Sunday when i went to my first dance recital. I raised three boys and one girl and that one girl is the mother of Emma. Emma turned 3 in February and has been taking both tap and ballet lessons. Sunday was her first recital. I must say overall it was very good and Emma did great … Here is the picture they used in the introduction of the students.
Later that night we babysat Emma and Lucas for several hours as their parents went to a photo shoot for their business Rego Photography. Monday my son and Logan the son of my third son Peter came and we played cards from 2:45 to 4:45.
Finally, last night we went to my oldest grandson Oliver’s Spring Band Concert. Oliver is 12 and is in 6th grade. The concert was very good.
The result of all of the above is that we missed Senior Tuesday and its 15% off this week. But we still made a trip to the Audoubon NJ Goodwill this morning, The vinyl today was the same ones I left last week after my pretty good haul and the books were the same too. I did find some that I must have passed over last week.
Today’s Goodwill Book Mini-Haul – Four Mystery Series Temptations
“I” is for Innocent – Sue Grafton
While I have never read a Kinsey Milhone book, I acknowledge the groundbreaking nature of her work. Wuthout her work I may never have read books from the likes of Laura Lippman, Carol O’Connell, Kathy Reichs or even Karin Slaughter!
And that’s why I have been collecting the Kinsey Milhone series. With the addition of “I” is for Innocent I ever have 11 of the series books!
The Eighth Sister – Robert Dugoni
Robert Dugoni is another of those authors whose books I should be reading but haven’t. Dugoni has two main series the Tracy Crosswhite series and the David Sloane series. The Eighth Sister appears to be a standalone featuring former CIA case worker Charles Jenkins.
Hundred-Dollar Baby – Robert B Parker
I read my first Spenser novel back in 1987. It was The Judas Goat Spenser #5. I also read Taming a Sea-Horse in 1987 it was Spenser #13. Subsequently I have never read another Spenser book even though I enjoyed the books ans characters!
Hundred Dollar Baby is Spenser #34! It was released in 2006 four years prior of his sudden death in 2010. The last Spenser novel written by Robert B Parker and his assistant was SixKill published in 2011. From 2012 t0 2022 Ace Atkins wrote 10 Spenser books. In 2023 Mike Lupica began writing the books and has since added 4 books to the series. The latest released in 2026 is Framed (Spenser #54)! Anyway I hope maybe Hundred Dollar Baby can get me back into the series!
A Cold Day for Murder – Dana Stabenow
One of the author’s who may have benefited from the success of Sue Grafton was Dana Stabenow. A Cold Day for Murder is the first book in the now 23 book series featuring Kater Shugak. This is another series that I should have read but didn’t I blieve I have a copy of this book but where it is I know Not! Anyway the copy i bought was released in 2023 so it has the feel of a new book! So maybe I can trick myself into reading it!
But considering that Kate is a native Alaskan ex-DA investigator who lives on a 160 -acre homestead in a generic nationa park in Alaska with her half-wolf, half-husky dog named Mutt; I should love this series!!
Links For Futher Exploration of the Four Mystery Series Temptations Authors
I am now finishing this post on Thursday after working this morning at Target! I din’t finish it last night becasue Zoe my sceond oldest grandchild only 6 months younger than Oliver had HER Spring Band concert. She plays saxophone and had a short solo in the third song! She was also named The Rising Star of the 6th grade band by the Music Teacher. Go Zoe! The best thingabout last night’s concert though is that the school is in the same block as our house so it was a short trip home!
Quite simply, I’ll be wearing the Fitbit Charge 5for the next 30 days to see if it can help get me back on the road — and eventually running again. But first, a little context on how I got here…
After running high school cross country, I was an on-again, off-again runner for many years. I remember running around Athens, Georgia when we lived there from 1975–1979, along with a couple of 5Ks here and there.
I didn’t run much — if at all — during most of the 1980s. Can you say four kids and a pretty demanding full-time job? Add in part-time work at both a convenience store and Waldenbooks, and running pretty much disappeared.
The Running Reboot
I may have dabbled a bit in the late ’80s, but the real reboot came in the 1990s when my son started running cross country. Before long, I was back out on the track, struggling to run a mile again.
I started training seriously, and from there running became a regular part of my life. For many years — well into my late 60s — I was running about four miles twice a week, with six to eight miles on weekends.
From the Garmin Forerunner to the Fitbit Charge 5 — and Back Again
When I first started running again, I used a plain old watch and measured my routes with the car. Then, in 2003, Garmin introduced the Forerunner 101, one of the first GPS watches aimed at runners.
Here’s what it looked like.
(Yes, it was big and bulky — and heart rate was measured with a chest strap.)
From about November 2015, when Target provided Fitbits to employees, until March 2023, I used various Fitbits to track my workouts and running. I upgraded early on to a Charge HR and used that for several years.
Somewhere along the way, my daughter handed down her Fitbit Versa, which I also used for a few years. When the Charge 5 came out in 2021, I switched back to the Charge line.
Babysitting, Balance, and Reality at 74
In March 2023, my son-in-law handed me his Garmin Epix Gen 2, which is a terrific smartwatch — especially for accurate GPS distance.
The problem wasn’t the watch. Since September 2023, when we started babysitting Emma full-time (until this past April), my running took a serious nose-dive. Add in the reality that I’m now 74, and that probably didn’t help either.
Why I’m Back to the Fitbit Charge 5 (For Now)
Even while babysitting, I kept up a short workout most mornings. But days where I really moved the needle from Recovery to Productive were few and far between.
So, in an effort to ease my way back toward running shape, I decided to return to the Fitbit Charge 5.
Yes, I know Fitbit tends to estimate higher calories burned than Garmin. But I got tired of finishing what felt like a solid workout, only to have the Garmin label it Recovery. And when I did push harder, it often told me I needed 72 hours of recovery — which felt a bit discouraging.
Last night, I used the Charge 5 while working out on my walking pad, which can go over 4 mph. Until last year, I’d never used a treadmill in my life.
I always joke that treadmills are hard for me because when I run, I run and the ground doesn’t. As a 74-year-old with balance issues, I hold onto the bar. I know that’s not ideal form — but it beats falling.
I also discovered that when I use the treadmill with the Garmin, it only tracks steps and distance if my arms are swinging.
A week or so ago, I tried walking slowly and swinging my arms, and the Garmin worked fine. But last night, wearing the Fitbit, I decided: forget steps and distance — I’m holding on and upping the speed. My real goal was to elevate my heart rate and burn calories.
To my surprise, when I finished, Fitbit recorded steps, distance, and calories burned anyway.
Note
After reading the following article TREADMILLS & SENIORS: THE RULES OF ENGAGEMENT I decided that I will go back to what I was doing when I first started reusing the treadmill. I will start at low speeds that I can handle comfortably without holding on. As I get more comfortable I will increase my speed to where I am jogging comfortably without holding on. Wish Me Luck!
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The Actual Goal: Health, Not Numbers
This morning, I did my usual workout — resistance bands, light weights, and calisthenics. The result? More calories burned in the same amount of time.
Sure, it may partly come down to how Fitbit calculates calories, but honestly, I don’t care. I feel motivated, ready to do it again, and maybe even push a little more.
Back when I used Fitbit regularly, I knew that if I hit 3,000 calories burned in a day, I’d lose weight. My hope is to get back to that level again.
So here we go. For the next 30 days, I’ll be using the Fitbit Charge 5 exclusively to see if it can help me rebuild fitness — and lose some weight. Maybe by spring, I’ll be outside again and back to running.
I’m not exactly sure how I’ll keep you posted — probably a few check-in posts here and there — but I’ll figure something out.
One final note: back in November, I started using a CPAP to address my sleep apnea. Over the last 90 days, my apnea events have dropped significantly, and I feel better during the day.
Hopefully, better sleep and renewed movement together can move the needle toward better overall health.
A Random Album Pick – The Kingston Trio – Nick Bob John
This morning I randomly picked out an album from a crate of vinyl that was near me. The album was The Kingston Trio‘s album Nick-Bob- John. Released in 1964, the album was their first recording on the Decca label. The trio was extremely popular from 1958 through 1963 There first 5 albums peaked at No. 1 on the charts and were certifed Gold Records.. That explains why their albums are so numerous at Goodwills.
When I first realized that good albums could be found at Goodwills I started to search out folk music from the 1950s and 1960s. And The Kingston Trio albums were the easiest to find. I found this album interesting because by this time John Stewart had joined the trio.
The First Spin
I put the album on and started to do write a blog post. The first song was “Midnight Special” a song I have heard countless times over the years. My ears really perked up when I heard the third song “Someday Soon” an Ian Tyson song that has been covered by many of my favorite artists. My favorite cover though is by Judy Collins!
Down the Folk Music Rabbit Hole
Then came “Gotta Travel On” and this is when the ground started to split and a rabbit hole emerged! When I first went to Google to find out more about the song I saw a result that said Gotta Travel On words ad lyrics by Bob Dylan I thought that’s not right. When I looked back at the back of the album I saw that the songwriter was Paul Clayton.
Now that makes sense Clayton was very active in the early folk scene in Greenwich Village and I knew Dave Van Ronk had written about him in Van Ronk’s he Mayor of MacDougal Street
So I searched Google for info on the relationship between Van Ronk, Clayton and Dylan.. Here’s what i found out
Further Down the Folk Music Rabbit Hole…….
Next, I discovered that the song went back a long way and that while some say The Kingston Trio introduced the song. However, The Weavers had actually recorded it several years earlier. The sent me down the rabbit-hole to find my Weaver albums to see if I had one with “Gotta Travel On”. Bingo! And it’s even in the slightly referenced in the album title Travelin’ On with the Weavers. The song ends the album! Here’s What they wrote about the song.
Here again was the fragment of a song with an appealing rhythm we wanted to preserve. We wrote new lyrics to tell a lonesome tale: who has not felt.
What the Liner Notes Taught Me
Finally, when I pulled out the Weaver album I also pulled out The Weavers Greatest Hits. When I looked at the songs I recognized the majority of them including the likes of: “Kisses Sweeter Than Wine” “Wimoweh” and “Rock Island Line” Hey is that the Johnny Cash song? Yep.
Anyway I saw that many of these songs were written by Paul Campbell. and Kisses Sweeter than Wine and Rock Island Line were written by Paul Campbell and Joel Newman. Who were these songwriters??? Off again to Google, etc
Paul Campbell is a pseudonym used by The Weavers (Pete Seeger, Lee Hays, Fred Hellerman, and Ronnie Gilbert) between 1948 and 1953 to copyright their arrangements of traditional folk songs. It allowed the group to claim songwriting credit for adapted material, such as “Kisses Sweeter Than Wine”
Now the question is who is Joel Newman? The answer Huddie Ledbetter aka Lead Belly.
Another of the things I learned from the liner notes on Travelin’ On with the Weavers involved “Kumbaya.” When they first encountered it, all they had was the word “Kumbaya,” brought back from Africa, and a rhythm that sounded like a lullaby. So they wrote it as a lullaby.
All of this from pulling one random album off a shelf.
Folk Monday kicked off with Endless Wire spinning on the turntable — Gordon Lightfoot sounding as warm and familiar as ever. Something about Lightfoot always puts me in a good place, and today it set off a whole chain reaction.
While the album played, I started revising older posts, and the first one that surfaced was my write-up on Dave Gunning’s Lift. I’d forgotten how much I liked that record — and how many East Coast voices Gunning pulls into his work. Here’s the updated post if you want to take a look:
Lightfoot led to Gunning, and suddenly I realized how many Canadian voices have shaped my listening over the years. They’re not all alike, but they share that same mix of storytelling, heart, and wide-open Northern landscapes:
Gordon Lightfoot – the foundation
Dave Gunning – modern East Coast voice with Stan Rogers’ storytelling DNA
Ian Tyson – I may need to pull out Cowboyography next
James Keelaghan – one of the finest storytellers working today
Stan Rogers – I knew I had one of his albums somewhere… turned out to be two
And just like that, I was all the way down the Canadian folk rabbit hole — the good kind — which led naturally to putting Stan Rogers on the turntable next.
By this point, I was fully down the Canadian folk rabbit hole — the good kind.
Stan Rogers First on the Turntable
Once I dug a little deeper into my shelves, I found the two Stan Rogers albums I’ve picked up over the last couple of years. First on the turntable: Fogarty’s Cove.
Fogarty’s Cove was Stan’s debut, released in 1977 on Barnswallow Records — a label he later purchased and turned into Fogarty’s Cove Records. My copy is the 1979 pressing on that very label, which feels just right for the music.
While the needle dropped, I realized I never really knew how young Stan was when he died — only that I’d heard Gene Shay mention it years ago. A quick stop at Wikipedia filled in the gaps:
About Stan Rogers
Stanley Allison Rogers (November 29, 1949 – June 2, 1983)[1] was a Canadian folk musician and songwriter who sang traditional-sounding songs frequently inspired by Canadian history and the working people’s daily lives, especially from the fishing villages of the Maritime provinces and, later, the farms of the Canadian prairies and Great Lakes.[2] He died in a fire aboard Air Canada Flight 797, grounded at the Greater Cincinnati Airport, at the age of 33. Wikipedia
Before his death in 1983, Stan — with his brother Garnett often co-producing — released five albums. He stayed a staple of the folk community long after, with live releases, tribute concerts, and, of course, the annual Stan Rogers Folk Festival up in Canso, Nova Scotia.
Listening again, it’s easy to be reminded why Stan’s music has stuck around. His baritone, that hint of Celtic phrasing, the DADGAD-tuned guitars — and the songs themselves. “Northwest Passage,” “The Mary Ellen Carter,” “White Squall,” “Make and Break Harbour”… they all still land.
Barrett’s Privateers – from Fogerty’s Cove – Stan Rogers
But the one that always leaps out, no matter how many times I hear it, is “Barrett’s Privateers.” Before I wander any farther down this Canadian trail, here it is — the perfect way to wrap up this Rogers detour.as Remembering Stan Rogers, which peaked at number 36 on the RPM Country Albums chart.
If the day stays at this pace, who knows where I’ll end up — maybe ending the night with Tyson’s “Four Strong Winds” or Keelaghan’s For now, I’m calling this the first stop on what’s turning into a full-on Canadian Folk Monday. I’ll circle back soon with Tyson, Keelaghan, and maybe a few vinyl surprises I dig out of the stacks.
Ally Venable Band Starts This Week’s Blues Music Rotation
Yesterday, I had a chance to take a good look at the Roots Music Report Blues Charts. After reviewing the charts I listened to a few minutes of many albums to see if they match my taste. I ended up with thirteen albums to listen to over the rest of the week. The album that intrigued me the most yesterday was Puppet Show from the Abby Venable Band. Currently, the album is number 23 on the Contemporary Blues Album Chart.
Evidently I have been doing a lousy job of keeping up with hot new blues artists from Texas. Because Abby is one of th hottest.t young blues artists (she’s 19 years old) in the Lone Star State.‘Ms Venable was named East Texas Female Guitarist of the Year in both 2014 and 2015. And her band was named East Texas Music Awards Blues Band of the Year in 2015,2016 and 2017.
About the Ally Venable Band
Ally Venable is both the leader, and lead vocalist and of course lead guitarist. Ally started singing in church at your age. In recent years though she picked up the guitar and found her passion.
Ally’s band mates Bobby Wallace and Elijah Owens provide a solid rhythm section. Wallace is the bassist and Owens the drummer. Wallace has tons of experience and is a master at his craft. While Owens is a classically trained musician.
Puppet Show is the band’s third album. Train Wreck Blueswas the band’s debut album and No Glass Shoes was their sophomore release. There are some helping hands on Puppet Show. Guitarist Gary Hoey provides his great guitar work on track one “Devil’s Son”. While Ally’s mentor Lance Lopez adds his guitar to “Bridges to Burn” track two. Steve Krase plays harmonica on the album and Eric Steckel adds some keyboards.
Final Thoughts
Bottom Line : Based on a limited number of listens Puppet Show is a winner and will stay in my rotation for a while, so check it out!
Links for the Further Exploration of the Music of Ally Venable Band
“The Dutchman,” written by Michael Smith, is one of my all-time favorite songs. In addition to Steve Goodman, the song has been covered by two of my favorite artists — Jerry Jeff Walker and John Gorka — along with Liam Clancy. Steve’s version is still my favor
Now, why a 20-year-old fell in love with this song back in 1971, I don’t really know. I guess it’s the universality of the lyrics — the tenderness, the quiet devotion, the way it captures a love that endures through time and frailt
What I do know is that as I approach my 74th birthday and my 50th year married to the love of my life, my eyes are misting up just thinking about it.
I’ve always loved story songs — songs that introduce you to real people, or people who feel real, whose stories stay with you. Here’s a short playlist of some of the folks I’ve met through songs over the years.
The Playlist
“The Dutchman” – Steve Goodman
I met The Dutchman back in 1971 via Steve Goodman’s album Somebody Else’s Troubles. The song has stayed with me all these years and now feels even more meaningful. A tale of enduring love and quiet devotion.
“Mr. Bojangles” – Jerry Jeff Walker
The story of a street performer Walker met in a New Orleans drunk tank. The song reminds us that everyone has a story, even if it’s not immediately visible. And yes, the waltz beat has helped rock all five of my grandchildren to sleep at one point or another.
Bonus: Check Out a Birthday post I did For Jerry Jeff a while back here
“Mr. Tanner” – Harry Chapin
A powerful story about a man who dares to dream. It makes me wonder: is it better to chase your dream and fall short, or to keep the dream alive in your imagination? I’ve asked myself that many times.
“Corey’s Coming” – Harry Chapin
The story of old John Joseph and his beloved Corey. Is Corey real, or only alive in the old man’s mind? Either way, it’s a tale of love, longing, and the stories we choose to believe.
“Mr. Schwinn” – Daryl Purpose
The quiet, touching tale of a bicycle repairman and the two bikes he maintains — one for himself, one for his wife. Did they ever take that honeymoon ride? We may never know, but it stays with me.
“Stoney” – Jerry Jeff Walker
Another unforgettable character from Walker’s travels. I first heard this in the early ’70s, and it’s been with me ever since. While at the University of Florida, I once recited it (along with “Waist Deep in the Big Muddy”) as part of a class assignment. I got applause for “Stoney.” It’s also one of those songs I’ve used to rock a grandchild t
Listen to the Playlist
Here’s a playlist of the songs and characters I’ve carried with me all these years. Each one tells a story — some tender, some wistful, all unforgettable.
The Bonus: Not a PArticular Person just two people who may resemble people we know…..
hese are the people I’ve met in songs — and somehow, they’ve stayed with me longer than some folks I’ve met in real life.
For several years, I kept two journals. One was a small dot-grid Bullet Journal that eventually morphed into a daily logbook — a place to track my runs, my meals, and sometimes my mood. Somewhere along the way, I let it go. Life got busy, the dots blurred, and the routine slipped through the cracks.
But here I am again, notebook in hand, pen ready, restarting the habit. Why?
Because I know — and let’s be honest, I’ve known for a while — that I likely have ADHD. It’s never been formally diagnosed, but I know the feeling of 137 thoughts trying to speak at once, of starting five things and finishing none, of opening a cabinet and forgetting why I’m standing in the kitchen.
So how does journaling help?
It externalizes my thoughts. When my mind is racing, writing helps me slow it down and make sense of the noise.
It creates visual order. A checkbox. A line across a page. A timeline. These simple things calm the chaos.
It helps me follow through. A to-do list I can see is better than the one in my head that keeps getting drowned out by distractions.
It gives me clarity. I start to see patterns — when I run, I feel better. When I skip meals or skip rest, I don’t. It’s all there in ink.
It reduces guilt. Instead of beating myself up for not doing “all the things,” I can see what I did do — even if it’s “survived the day and had a decent snack.”
This time, I’ll try to keep my Journaling simple.
I’m not designing fancy spreads or tracking seventeen habits at once. I’ll be using what has worked for me in the past. I’ll keep a log of exercise and runs in a Bullet Dotted Notebook. I’ll also use a Quad Ruled Notebook for tracking my morning and evening to-do lists, a record of my library books I have checked out, and maybe even some genealogy and blog notes.
Finally, the Quad notebook will also be a place to unload whatever’s floating around up there — because heaven knows, there’s a lot of traffic.
This isn’t about being consistent every day. It’s about having a place to return to — a way to reconnect with myself, my goals, and my sanity when I need it most. (Okay, maybe my thoughts have already moved beyond “simple”… but at least I’m writing them down.)
So yes, I’m journaling again. And if you’ve ever thought about doing the same, ADHD or not, maybe this is your sign to start fresh too….
Here are some of the best articles I found about using bullet journals to support ADHD:
Orinally Posted Under Folk Monday Now Located Under Folk Friday
Each Monday, I survey the Folk Music Charts and pick the albums I’d like to listen to over the rest of the week. I give each one a quick listen — sometimes just a few seconds is enough to know it’s for me. Sometimes it takes a track or two. I always hope to find a few old friends and a few brand new discoveries.
Here is this week’s Folk and Americana rotation. I’ve found new music from six artists that are new to me, plus six from musicians already in my library.
Six Newly Discovered (by me) Musicians and Their Most Recent Albums Added to My Folk Monday Music Rotation
Delta Traces – Billy Jeter (RMR #9) First thing that caught me was the first track, “Hambone Stomp” — Bobby Rush’s harp hooked me!
Middle – Jesse Wells (RMR #12) The lyrics in the opening track sealed the deal. Deep, poetic, and timely. This guy is for me:
All my flannels made in Bangladesh All my T-shirts in Vietnam There are places that we quietly ignore There are places that we go and bomb You know I thought an awful lot about Jesus Even more about Lao Tzu They say that the way of the Tao is to do nothing Then what the hell am I supposed to do?
Shelby Means – Shelby Means (RMR #18) Great vocals with great pickin’ — what’s not to love?
Beautiful Thing – Peaches & Quiet (RMR #20) The second track, “Calgary Skyline,” caught my attention — they’re Canadian? I immediately thought of Ian & Sylvia.
You Never Can Tell – Diane Hubka & The Sun Canyon Band (RMR #29) Any album that starts with covers of Guy Clark and Bob Dylan deserves a full listen. What else do they pull off?
Dime Store Mannequin – Son Stone (RMR #39) The opening track “Old Fashioned” grabbed my attention with its raw, confessional lyrics:
You told me I was repulsive when you met me at the bar Then you pulled me in and kissed me hard and drove me home in your car By the morning you′d forgotten my name and I’d forgotten yours Then you pushed me out of bed and kicked me out your door
You ask me for the reasons why and push comes to shove Well there′s an Old Fashioned recipe for our love You only love me for my guitar playing and I love your southern drawl Our love is one part passion and three parts alcohol…
Bonus Pick:Songs for a World Gone Mad – Mark Rubin, Jew of Oklahoma (FAI Folk Chart #6, May 2025) I couldn’t pass up an album with a title like this one — found it via the Folk DJ List.
Six New Albums from Musicians in My Music Library Find Their Way into My Folk Monday Music Rotation
Bones of Trees – Tim Grimm (FAI Folk Chart #1, May 2025)
The three albums above are from old favorites I’ve followed for years. Each of them has a thoughtful new offering to explore.
Backstage Balladeer – Jefferson Ross (FAI Folk Chart #27, May 2025) If I didn’t write about Jefferson Ross on No Depression years ago, I meant to! Glad to see he has a new release.
The Herculeons – John Cowan & Andrea Zonn (FAI Folk Chart #40, May 2025) John Cowan and New Grass Revival were staples in my rotation — I had to check out this new project with Andrea Zonn.
Arcadia – Alison Krauss & Union Station Time to dig out my cassette copy of her first album and do a full-circle listen!
*Folk Alliance International FOLK CHART – May 2025
Compiled from FOLKDJ-L playlists | 10,531 plays from 359 playlists by 102 Folk DJs
🎧 Stay tuned for ratings, brief notes, and links to reviews for my top picks this week.
Suggestions welcome — let me know who I should listen to next Monday!
Lurrie Bell: Carrying On the Chicago Blues Tradition of His Father, Carey Bell
I’ve mentioned before that I often use the birthday listings over at AllAboutJazz.com as a springboard to discover new music. That’s how I first really dove into the music of Lurrie Bell, a Chicago bluesman with deep roots and a guitar tone full of grit and soul.
Blues in My Soul – A Breakthrough Album
Back in 2013, Lurrie Bell had a banner year. He released what would become one of his most acclaimed solo albums, Blues in My Soul, on the Delmark label—a return to electric blues after a few more acoustic and spiritual outings. The blues world noticed.
Blues in My Soul earned Lurrie five nominations at the 2014 Blues Music Awards:
Blues Album of the Year (Blues in My Soul)
Blues Song of the Year (“Blues in My Soul”)
Traditional Blues Album of the Year (Blues in My Soul)
Blues Guitarist of the Year
Traditional Male Blues Artist of the Year
He took home the Blues Song of the Year award, and also won the 2013 Living Blues Award for Male Blues Act of the Year.
Lurrie Bell – Born December 13, 1958
Lurrie Bell was born in Chicago, the son of legendary blues harpist Carey Bell. He picked up the guitar at six, and by his teens was already playing with the likes of Eddy Clearwater, Big Walter Horton, and Eddie Taylor. In the mid-1970s, he spent four years touring and recording with Koko Taylor’s Blues Machine. His recording debut came in 1977 on his father’s album Heartaches and Pain, as well as King of the Jungle by Eddie C. Campbell.
Over a career now spanning more than four decades, Bell has released more than a dozen solo albums, collaborated often with his father, and contributed to numerous other blues records. I first heard his scorching guitar work on Live at Chan’s: Combo Platter No. 2 from Nick Moss & The Flip Tops, where he shines on a 13-minute version of Eddie Boyd’s “Five Long Years.”
If you’re a fan of Chicago blues and haven’t checked out Lurrie Bell yet—start now. Here are some great places to explore his music:
And here’s a great live performance of “Everyday I Have the Blues” from Bluesfest Eutin 2014:
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🎶 Update: Set Me Free (2024)
As for me? Lurrie Bell is still going strong. His 2024 collaboration with saxophonist Frank Catalano, Set Me Free, is now spinning as I write—and it’s a bold, soulful mix of blues and jazz that pushes the boundaries without losing the heart.
Between Lurrie’s expressive guitar and vocals, and Catalano’s blazing sax work, the album is a testament to two seasoned musicians still hungry for musical exploration. Set Me Free proves the blues isn’t stuck in the past—it’s still moving, still evolving, still alive.
Check it out—you just might find yourself set free too.
