Month: August 2024

The Georgia Thunderbolts have released their highly-anticipated sophomore album, Rise Above It All, on Mascot Records. Featuring the quintet’s signature blend of Southern rock, blues, and heartfelt Americana, the 13-track album showcases the band’s ability to navigate a vast array of musical terrains, while also capturing the profound emotional and artistic growth fostered by their years on the road.

The quintet’s earthy and emotive aesthetic spans late 1960s singer-songwriter intimacy, the yearning of the blues, the mythological stories of country, and a bracing dose of arena-ready classic hard rock. All the growth and maturation over the past two and half years can be heard on Rise Above It All.

Las Vegas-based Jimmy Carpenter is on a roll. The saxophonist/singer/songwriter is a perennial favorite at the annual Blues Music Awards in Memphis, having been voted in the “Best Instrumentalist/Horn” category with seven nominations and two wins. Now, he proves he’s Just Got Started, with the release of his new album. Just Got Started was recorded in March at Greaseland Studios in San Jose, California, and was produced, engineered, mixed and mastered by Christoffer “Kid” Andersen.

Says Jimmy, “This album is very different than the previous five; more groovy and soulful, but not overdone. The musicianship really brings it home, and I could feel the love as we recorded it. I’m playing these songs live, and from the reaction we’re getting, I think the people dig it! I am so grateful for Kid’s steady hand and unparalleled guitar work, Jerry Jemmott, Derrick D’Mar Martin, Jim Pugh, Bobby Vega, and Lisa Andersen for taking really good care of me and my songs… And of course, Mike Zito and everyone at Gulf Coast for this opportunity. I Just Got Started, and I still got a long way to go!”

Packed with ripping rock tunes, quirky off-beat numbers, and beautiful ballads, the upcoming album Shepherd is exuberant, rootsy, funky, joyful, and heartbreaking all at once.

At its core, this album celebrates, and reflects the human experience with all its highs and lows: love, passion, regret, patience, resilience, reconciliation, anger, hardship.  This album will truly take the listener on a remarkable journey.

Shepherd is the Bywater Call’s first fully self-produced, self-recorded album and self-released with the help of Continental Record Services in Europe.

Often transcending genres, Bywater Call is known for their dynamic, emotional live shows, featuring powerful vocals and exciting interplay between all band members.

Selwyn Birchwood gets back to the roots with side-project Old School!

Grammy winner and Blues Hall of Famer Bobby Rush lends his harmonica and voice to the title track and anthem for this venture!

On Old School, Birchwood’s songwriting is showcased against a rich canvas of upright acoustic bass and sophisticated grand piano hearkening back to the traditional Blues pioneers that cultivated this timeless music!