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After a two year hiatus, one of our favorite modern funk/soul/jazz bands is back! The Denver/UK/Spain band retreated to a new studio in the valley of an Icelandic peninsula, and the beautiful weather, stunning scenery, and coziness of their surroundings had a certain “effect” on them, as bandleader/guitarist Eddie Roberts said. Lamar Williams Jr. (son of The Allman Brothers’ 1972-1976 bassist Lamar Williams) sings vocals on seven of these cool tracks.

“This record is all about love and good lovin’ and other things that matter,” says frontman, vocalist, and multi-instrumentalist Lech Wierzynski of the new LP, which exhibits the Honeydrops’ unique musical style that draws from roots, Bay Area R&B, Southern soul, Delta blues, and New Orleans second line. This the 14th year for this fun 5-piece band.

John Hartford…Sam Bush…Two of WNCW’s absolute favorites! Did you know Bush was lifelong friends with Hartford? He frequently jammed with hero and mentor, on and off stage, going back to the early ‘70s. Did you also know Bush plays bass, guitar, and banjo? He plays every instrument on every cut but one (his band joins him on the one non-Hartford song), pouring himself and all his love for John into the performances.

Perhaps ALL of us are brave in one way or another. And we’re featuring songs throughout Monday that reflect upon the bravery of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr… But Ponder was brave enough to leave her successful day job working in the public defender’s office in her hometown of Rochester, NY to devote herself full-time to sharing her powerful singing voice with the world. Her debut album blends R&B, blues, pop, moody trip-hop, and above all, that powerful voice.

During a 2020 concert, Mark Erelli noticed the beginnings of a degenerative vision diagnosis (retinitis pigmentosa). In the process of coming to terms with this life-changing challenge, a number of songs sprung forth from assorted new questions, fears, and struggles. "Sharing my diagnosis is my way of laying down my own darkness. By making my private struggles public, maybe it helps others to see that we all have a choice. We can be overwhelmed by the shadows, or use them to show where the light is coming from. As for me, no matter what happens, I’ll forever be looking for the light."

This Georgia native started his love affair with the blues of Freddie King, Albert Collins and Michael Bloomfield at age 15, before spreading out to include Memphis soul. Lately he’s been impressing fans in our area with his 6-piece band appearances at the Albino Skunk Festival in Greer. This new album, named after Capricorn Studios in Macon, Georgia (Allman Brothers Band, Otis Redding), might be his major breakthrough.

It’s a blues-rock direction on this one for the sister duo of Megan and Rebecca Lovell. The title is taken from a song that Rebecca had written, “thinking about our mother, sitting at the piano and singing with us, and how these traditions get passed down from generation to generation. It’s a very sweet and touching feeling. We wanted to bring all of that into the whole record, because it is a family affair. It’s us sisters, self-producing the record as we have done with the past few.”

His career of over 30 years has netted him three Grammys so far, and included countless producer roles of artists we love, not to mention his own collections like this new one. “As for the songs themselves,” he says about these deeply emotional compositions, “I hear them in part as springing out of our shared and traumatic experiences of the recent past, sure, as well as our present-day responses to them; but if I am honest, I know that I have never allowed myself to write and release songs as personal as these now feel to me.”

Blues Hall of Fame inductee and 6-time Blues Music Award winner, Joe Louis Walker stretches out into soul, funk, and New Orleans 2nd line, too on WEIGHT OF THE WORLD. No wonder NPR describes him as “a legendary boundary-pushing icon of modern blues.”

Ontario’s Melissa McClelland and Luke Doucet have pivoted from a blues and rock sound to their love of classic country on this one. They chose the universality and simplicity of the genre’s storytelling to address the challenges that the pandemic of these past couple years has brought on, like heartbreak and loyalty. Luke and Melissa have picked up five consecutive JUNO Award nominations in three different genre categories; there’s no reason why this great one won’t net them #6!