With a name like Black-Eyed Sally’s, you know you’re in for something interesting. In the heart of downtown Hartford CT, Sally’s is one of those spots that blends perfectly into a bohemian big city setting but would equally be at home in a less than metro area. Which is to say, it’s a great place to go for music and fun no matter which you’re looking for.

The staff are professional, friendly, and attentive. This venue is set up in a diner turned music hall turned private space to dine all at the same time and they’ve made each compliment the other nicely.

If you’re looking for a great venue for live music, theater, and movies then you need not look any further than the multifaceted TCAN (The Center for the Arts Natick) of Natick MA.

A renovated firehouse that is still set ablaze with great music throughout the year, you will find a comfortably seated venue that is well managed and cared for by a group of volunteers who are dedicated to the arts.

A performance venue, an art gallery, and a full restaurant all under one room. This is what you will find as you enter the 3S Artspace.

As you approach the front of the building you’ll see the spacious dining area for the full restaurant, and off to the side you’ll see the open and clear entrance to the gallery and performance area of the venue.

On my recent first visit to this Portsmouth NH destination, I visited the performance area only.

A soulful voice, a powerful lyricist, with a harp full of passion; these are just a few of the things that you will enjoy when you turn up to see Diane Blue.

Whether you are enjoying her as the lead singer and harp player for Ronnie Earl and The Broadcasters, or with her own All Star Blues Band, you are in for a fantastically fun night.

Diane has a true gift in her ability to not only write songs that fully pull on your heart strings but to also play the harp and guitar in a fashion that will get you right in your soul. I’ve had the pleasure of seeing Diane in three different settings now. Once with Ronnie Earl, once on her own as a guest of the Vintage Rhythm and Blues Ensemble, and now with her own All Star Blues Band. Each and every time she has has put out a powerful performance to match each occasion.

At just 26 years old, Seth puts on a display of amazing soul and depth. From searing slow blues and faithful shuffles, he pairs them all with a voice that sounds about 25 years ahead of him. He is a prime example of how there are great young blues artists keeping the music alive and well. That there are soulful young musicians with world class talents that will see them through long and storied careers like their predecessors.

Seth Rosenbloom’s talent with a guitar is something truly wonderful to experience. He takes a feeling that is familiar because of its influence from the greats in Blues history such as Stevie Ray Vaughn, Hubert Sumlin, BB King, and Buddy Guy just to name a few of what I heard throughout the show. When you pile on a voice that is every bit a natural born Blues voice that is something along the lines of a blending of Lou Rawls, Johnny Winter, and Luther “Guitar Junior” Johnson.

At 22 years old, Jontavious Willis has found a sound that is solidly rooted in the origins of acoustic Blues and carries the finest tradition of the music from the Georgia and North/South Carolina regions.

When it comes to acoustic Blues I can be very picky as to what I enjoy. Acoustic Blues takes a lot of effort to get the right sound that will stand out in the still ongoing and electric age of music. Each compliment the other and electric Blues are completely born of acoustic. But as a result, there aren’t as many left out there who can take this road and find that great sound in acoustic.

Mia Dyson is the Australian singer, songwriter, guitarist, and touring sensation that I recently had the pleasure of hearing while she toured with Mary Bridget Davies through New England. Having grown up listening to the finest Blues and Roots music she was destined to rock the genre in her own style. 

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I first heard Sonya Rae Taylor at the 23rd Annual North River Blues Festival where, working with her husband Ryan Taylor, they launched into a fantastically soulful rock blues tune that instantly put on display great guitar work and a blending of sound with keys, drums, bass, and a second guitar that make for a “get out of your seat and dance” good time! 

My next experience with this fantastic young artist was at the 10th Annual Winter Blues Festival at the Blue Ocean Music Hall in Salisbury MA. Once again showing that she has what it takes to be a stand out artist, she brought the soul energy to full bear on the packed venue.

A private concert always sounds like a great idea, but a private concert that is recorded and shared that showcases some of the best talent in the region and the country as they tour through the area is always a must see event.

Don Odells Legends is truly legendary. They have got 1500+ videos out on YouTube where you can see and experience bands from today and yesterday easily and accessible at all times!

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A local institution unto themselves, You’ll not go wrong with Neal and The Vipers. The band that Neal Vitulo has headlined and maintained for 30 years now are truly veterans and showmen of the finest kind.

With talent and energy that defy the laws of physics, they bring to you polished and truly fun rock, blues, funk, classic rock, and even the ballads too! Neal puts more energy and passion into each song than most people put into their entire month. Following right on his heels are a band full of a passion for their art.

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I would never have seen myself visiting a biker bar in my life. It’s just not somewhere that I would have frequented. But I listened to some good friends and went to check out Cady’s Tavern for their Sunday Blues Jam. And man oh man am I glad I listened! It pays to have smart people with good taste around you. 

Sitting alongside the Putnam Pike in Chepachet RI you’ll find a longtime Roadhouse that has been in constant business, in one form or another *cough cough*, since 1810. Billed as Rhode Island’s Original Roadhouse, you’ll see that even a destructive fire couldn’t teardown the history and spirit of the institution, having moved across the street in the 1920’s where the stables and barn once stood.

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The new Jasper Hill location in Millis MA has dramatically expanded its footprint and made even more space for music setups throughout the venue to suit the style.

Soul as deep as the sea, a voice that can obliterate a room in raw power without a mic, and a message of love and acceptance full of heart.

Shemekia Copeland is, by any definition, an absolute powerhouse. The electric sense of love and acceptance that radiates from the stage out into the audience is without a doubt some of the most beautiful and widely accepting energy that can pass into a room.

Eliza Neals is one of those bombshell ladies that can also belt it out full of soul, and sometimes mischief. This Detroit powerhouse definitely comes charging at you hitting on all 8 cylinders.  

From a full throated powerful voice that would fit a raucous tent revival but moved to the best pub in town where the real fun begins. All the way to light and airy in the best possible way. 

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I’ve been lucky enough to get to enjoy this band in a couple of different incarnations. With some of the various players joining at times. On this night, however, Anthony was away taking care of his family after a recent accident. And in true Blues Community fashion, his band and the audience took up the charge to both carry the night and help support their brother!

Having had that chance to see Anthony with his band and working with other various bands it’s easy to see why he’s been nominated for multiple awards and won multiple Pinetop Perkins awards! The man has the blues piano down to a science, full of emotion and soul with a dash of sass he brings up a fantastic night of music!

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Bringing a Delta vibe and a Cajun flavor, Tab Benoit knows exactly how to spice a song. His roots run deep in the Louisiana wetlands where he brings the finest of traditions from artists across the spectrum together, and works to bring forward the next generation of blues artists with support and education.

His early years started in Houma Louisiana where he learned from a collection of blues artists that brought with them a living memory of the history of the music and imparted that knowledge and skill to him personally over the years.

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Something that Slam Allen will tell you is that he is not a Blues man, he’s an entertainer. Something he honed in his 9 years working with James Cotton and then his long time work bringing people into the Blues while working with Norwegian Cruise Lines.

Some artists choose the Blues, but the best are chosen by the Blues. Slam was truly chosen by the Blues and he has the soul and heart to tell them true. 

One of the first things you will notice when Mary Bridget Davies hits the stage is her convivial and fun personality that’s ready to have fun across the board. Having been nominated for a Tony for her work on Broadway for A Night With Janis Joplin, where she has shared the voice, humor, and music of Janis, you can clearly see that she has the ability and grace to bring a giant of the 60’s Blues and Folk Movement into the room.

I woke up this morning and my world was knocked completely off kilter.

The news of a young and brilliant singer, song writer, musician and man having passed just left me absolutely stunned. The fact he was so young makes it hurt all the more. That he was also a friend has just broken my heart.