“Music today sounds very generic. Many artists sound the same—they might be "trendy" now, but they’ll be irrelevant in a few years. For me, the music from the '60s and '70s always carries a sense of urgency and feeling that remains timeless.”

Leif de Leeuw: The Blues Rock…

"Music allows us to feel human, love, tread lightly and taste a little wisdom to appreciate the sanctity of all life. Music can turn us towards compassion."

Matt Turk: New York Roots Troubadour 

Matt Turk is a musician, recording artist, multi-instrumentalist, veteran performer, troubadour, bandleader, eternal idealist, peace loving…

”Blues music means everything to me. I met my best friends, my wife, did all my world traveling all while singin the blues. I listen to blues music all the time. Recently going back to Little Walter. Still so much to hear and study.”

Andrew Duncanson: Chicago via California…

“I miss when people listened. When music and art were the soul of entertainment. Now, Netflix and cell phones sit on that throne. I miss when a blues song was a song and not just a guitar hero experiment.”

Scott Low: Blues Is Everywhere …

”Well, if there is one difference between Afro-American Roots music and the music from the Caribbean is that it is rare that you will find in the Caribbean the heaviness found in the American Blues.”

Benoît LeBlanc: Mô Kouzin, Mô Kouzinn

Benoît LeBlanc is a critically…

“Blues and Rock n Roll has always been very influential to UK musicians so it flavours many genres of music in the UK. so even if the listening public don't know it they are listening to blues inspired music a lot of the time.”

Ian Jennings: Bass with Soul…

“When I first heard Mongolian folk music I couldn’t believe how many similarities to blues it had, similar rhythms, same scales, same riffs, and that deep growling throat singing, gee if that ain’t howling wolf, I started to think that maybe somehow the migration of mongols to America who then became indigenous Americans might have shared their music with African Americans? That’s my theory!”…

“I miss mistakes! A lot (but not all) of music nowadays is totally devoid of mistakes.  Digital recording definitely affords the opportunity to fix mistakes, and I think this is often taken advantage of in the pop market. Technology has also afforded us access to a lot of music, so I’m not generalizing all music from the present as being one thing or another.”…

“The blues is a music that will never go away. It's of course the foundation for all popular music. It needs to both be respected and preserved while also being pushed forward by new artists and ideas. Music as a whole has seemed to change its role for current generations.”

Josh Smith: Real Blues, Real…

“It’s important that we spread the blues in todays society because it’s hardly a part of society at all. Modern music is taking over which is fine cause obviously people seem to love it, but We need to work as hard as we can to bring back the blues and carry the torch to keep it alive. I will devote everyday of my life to create my own sound and bring the blues back!”…

“The drive comes from the raw, unfiltered reality of life and sometimes questionable decisions that come with it and our repertoire is filled with tales of just that.”

Ginger St. James: Honky-Tonk Queen…

“Music has opened my eyes to how deeply we’re all connected. It’s a universal language, a force that can break barriers and bring people together no matter where they’re from.”

Tierinii Jackson:…

“Music can affect us in powerful ways, subliminal and otherwise. I love putting an Al Caiola or Bert Kampfert album on while cooking, Enio Morricone is good to relax with. Nothing beats T-Bone Walker on a Saturday Night or RL Burnside. There are times when I turn the music up, stand in front of the big Tannoys and feel a tingle from head to toe. That's music…

“Music has been the center of my universe for as long as I can remember. It helps me feel centered — puts me in touch with my feelings. Music brings joy at times, comforts me when I’m sad, gives me a way to express love/ anger/ frustration...”

Karen Leipziger: Music City’s…

“The most important thing: is to create the poetry and music for your own self-development, to make life worth living for you, to inspire others that life is worth living for them - and to earn a living from it if you can. If you can't, do it anyway and do something else to make a…

“Music is life, and folk/roots/blues music gives us some of the most profound, soulful, and beautiful expressions of life.”

Brian Campbell:

Let’s Talk about the Planet in Fire…

“Blues and other types of folk music are social in nature. As we as a species become less and less connected due to the use of non-human intermediary devices, we certainly need that which can keep us connected in more wholesome ways... a good meal with friends, a chit chat, a quilting bee, sports, dance… music.”…

"Blues offers insight into the daily struggles and highlights of everyday hard-working people. It is raw and authentic at its essence. I want people to listen to our music and take a break, lose themselves, and find some momentary relief from the weight of their daily lives."

Gina Coleman: Blues Roots and Beyond

Misty Blues' founder and lead…

“think it’s because these music genres make you vibrate, no matter the language nor the culture. Once you hear it, you feel it, you don’t need to think or understand the lyrics (of course, it’s better if you do).”

Cecilya: Nostalgia of Old Good Music Days…

”The creativity is slow these days, the older players to me play with more passion.”

EJ Mathews: King of Backwoods Boogie

Texas native, and 2017 Living Blues Magazine’s Breakout Artist of the Year, EJ Mathews, schooled in the blues during early childhood by his…