Mary Rosenblatt had taken lots of pictures inside the Speakeasy waaaaay back, and when Peter Ward wrote the article Mary and Rosy provided them for the article. So many didn’t make it into the newsletter. They are so cool I want to share them with you now that we have this gallery and a place…
By Art Simas Published in June/July 2016 #219 The Blues Audience newsletter. When the Love Dogs play those first notes at a gig, the audience has no choice but to succumb to a joyful light-headedness accompanied by an infectious smile on every face. There is no doubt – this is the beginning of laissez les…
Profile and photos by Diana Shonk Published in February/March 2011 #185 Award winning Roomful of Blues has a wonderful new record. It is a cooperative effort from the band, deciding on the tunes and executing them the way only these veteran musicians can. Chris Vachon is the lead guitarist and leader of the band. He…
An all star lineup was made even better by a super moon to close the show! article and photos by “Sistah” Karen Nugent Published in the October/November 2014 issue #208 The talent at this year’s Gloucester Blues Festival was superb – culminating with a nine-piece band finale headed by guitarist-vocalist Ronnie Baker Brooks, son…
Discover the Arts & Artists of the Chan Dynasty Blues, Jazz, Comedy, and Culinary Delights are blended weekly in this Woonsocket institution. by Art Simas John Chan, the entrepreneur of Chan’s Fine Oriental Dining, 267 Main St., Woonsocket, RI, was honored on June 15, 2015 as the recipient of the Rhode Island Pell Award for…
C.B. Gitty’s, the Cigar Box instrument super store, one of the the world’s leading manufacturers, is located in Gonic, NH. Though you rarely see them for sale in mainstream music stores, over the last decade or so there has been quite an underground Cigar Box Guitar revival happening worldwide. https://www.cbgitty.com/ I met the mastermind behind…
Toni Lynn Washington: One of the best in the music world! Local vocalist swings, scolds and exudes Soul ‘with a capital S’ by Art Simas With apologies to Tower of Power, the group that performs “Soul with a Capital S,” this is the essence of Toni Lynn Washington. For the better part of seven decades,…
