Thank you, Riley ‘Blues Boy’ King

It was his time. B.B. King passed away Thursday at the age of 89 after a lifetime of delivering a world of wonder to anybody who opened their ears to the blues. With the famous guitar he named Lucille, Riley “Blues Boy” King rang out notes of beauty that struck you that second, hung out…

Celebrating a Sammy with Jeffrey Pepper Rodgers

Jeffrey Pepper Rodgers didn’t just accept his shiny black Sammys trophy and go home. Well, the singer, guitarist and songwriter perhaps did something of that sort the night in March after he won the Syracuse Area Music Award category for best Americana recording. Rodgers instead planned a Syracuse gig for the band that recorded the…

Blue skies, red shells fill downtown for first fest of season

Life was good for thousands of reasons Saturday afternoon as the crowds spilled into Syracuse’s Clinton Square. The sun was shining, and the temperature one the AXA/Equitable Tower peeking through the nearer buildings read an oh-so-pleasant 64º F. Crawfish Festival pulsed with people of all sizes and ages and colors, this first of a series…

Throwback: Fake cover for imaginary album by faux band. Really!

Back in the late 1970s, our two bedroom, one-bath apartment in Adelphi, Md., was always rocking. Yes, Twenty, Aggo and I were eyebrows deep into two years of hard university time within those walls in the cockroach-inhabitated complex we used to lovingly call Residential Plaza, dropping their officious P from the first name because that…

That fella singing in the coffee shop…

That fella singing in the coffee shop…. My BloggyVille friend from Washington State, Sassy, has started a new grassroots music-themed blog. House concerts? Hell, yes, I say. I look forward to her first big reveal. Click over and enjoy.

Kimberly Rossi nourishes her many loves

When Kimberly Rossi is on the other side of the message, I know the story likely is going to be interesting. She’s the one who urged me to review the hot new CD by the Fabulous Ripcords and write about the dentist who provided free work to those who served on Veterans Day and write…

Hell Yeah, That’s Ma’ Boy!

My BloggyVille friend Marissa Bergen, poetess behind Glorious Results of a Mispent Youth, posted an important non-verse story today. Her son landed a role in a music video from the band Hell Yeah. That’s cool, sure. But the best part is that the song delivers a powerful message against domestic abuse. Please click the link…

Keeping the music alive in Syracuse

Talk about a tough job. Larry Luttinger is executive director of Central New York Jazz. That’s an arts foundation in Syracuse that’s tied to public and private money. Government spending on the arts has dropped because of the economy. Corporate spending on the arts had dropped because of the economy. Luttinger is convinced that the…