"I feel that the impact on racial lines is that we all have problems and situations, but life goes on with or without us. I want to affect people through being able to get a chuckle out of my lyrics and not take everything so seriously."

Willie Jackson: All In the Blues

Willie Jackson is a native of Savannah, Georgia Music has been a huge part of…

"Staying true to your vision. Take advice and suggestions from people you trust, but in the end, trust your instincts. Dare to dream, and don’t listen to the non-dreamers."

Neil "Porkroll" Taylor: Americana Blues

The Porkroll Project, from the greater Philadelphia, PA area is hard rocking 5 piece blues band who play a high energy blend of fresh…

"The music business has changed a lot in my lifetime - but I think it’s important to remember that it’s been changing the whole time - like last century, the century before that, and probably much further back than that.  What I really hope for the future is that live music can continue and continue to be popular. Because a sort of magic can happen when performers interact with a live audience and with each other. There’s nothing else like…

"Knowing your worth is important in this industry that is largely run by men; then adding tax. That's one of my motto's. The Status of women I believe is that the Future is Female. I see women coming together, networking and encouraging one another as we continue to level up in Blues, Soul and Jazz. I belong to a network of women who gather together since Covid and have been a tremendous support system and networking community. Women are "Comin for…

"Find yourself musically. Do what you do. Develop your own thing - your own sound & style. It’s ok to learn from other players, songwriters, singers. But, learn how they do things. Learn how they sing that way, where they get their tone, place the note in their body to get the power or sound, learn how others have learned and then move on. Bring all that to how you feel it. Learn all of that and get to understand how to play around and support the…

"I want to authentically share experiences and those of the community around me, and I hope it's well received, or at least heard and respected."

Memphissippi Sounds: Roots Keepers

A custom blend of North Mississippi hill country blues, Memphis blues and soul, rock, pop, and…

"Music, in fact art in all forms, has always been a vehicle for inspiration and change in our world, at least in Western society. Sometimes art impacts our world at large indirectly through cultural influences, be it fashion, language, recreation, etc. Sometimes it's a more direct approach through protest songs, or songs that simply call attention to issues that affect specific communities."

Charlie…

"It's the universal language. I absolutely HHHAATTEEE seeing "hate" groups use music to promote hate. Music is meant to heal, bring happiness and keep us on the right course."

Wesley Pruitt: Gypsy Soul, Blues Heart

For 20 years, Wesley Pruitt Band has delivered the ups and downs and the ins and outs of love and life, all neatly wrapped in…

"Sometimes we need a sonic game plan for liberation. As long as the music is making you think/ recharge/ participate in your own experience a bit fuller than you imagined--then it's working. We have a responsibility to give the best versions of ourselves in that moment, as listeners and artists, and then to move and change. We want this album to be a testament to trust, open hearts, care and experimentation. Seeing the beauty in the flawed and unexpected…

"Photographing music is like photographing art in its creative genesis, a magical moment out of time."

Arturo Di Vita: The Soundtrack of Image

Photographer Arturo Di Vita born in Palermo, Italy in 1953. Arturo says: "Photographic art has given me a universal vision that has no boundaries or ways of being local but a global vision as if the era…

"The blues can mean pretty much anything in real life - you know, normally it's about somebody's lost loved one or somebody's lost love, or tragedies within themselves, or no work, no money. Then they turn to drinking and drugs and they write the blues, that's the blues within themselves. They say that the blues had a baby and they called it rock 'n roll, which is very true: rock 'n roll was born out of the blues from the Mississippi all the way to Chicago.…

"People to understand each other and not be at each other’s throat all the time, that we can find common ground, that we don’t have to be constantly at war with each other, that we don’t have to be concerned with how somebody else lives, that everyone’s different – I’d love to see that. Let’s give each other some room."

Charlie Daniels: The Southern Legend…