VOA常速英语:Bluesmen Make Strides with New Recordings

Feel like getting the blues?  Budding bluesmen are making strides with brand new recordings.

Shane Dwight

Shane Dwight is one of Nashville’s most talked about guitar players.  He’s certainly one of its busiest.  After relocating to “Music City” in 2008, he signed with a major label, performed hundreds of shows, and recorded three solo albums, including his most recent release, A Thousand White Lies.

While Shane’s move to Nashville opened new doors, it took a toll on his personal life.  The breakup of his marriage is reflected in original songs like “True Love’s Gone,” “Broken” and “Love’s Last Letter.”  But, there are plenty of upbeat tunes as well, supported by guest vocalists Bekka Bramlett and The McCrary Sisters.

Boy Wells

Like Shane, Boy Wells blends a variety of styles on his debut album Blue Skies Calling, from Southern rock and blues to country, jazz and bluegrass.

Boy Wells is a veteran of the Washington, D.C. blues-rock scene.  His close friend and mentor was the late guitar virtuoso Danny Gatton, who generously taught him some tricks of the trade.  Wells sang and played guitar in various blues and country-rock bands, including an Allman Brothers tribute group, before settling down near Austin, Texas in 2006.

James Armstrong

Another veteran garnering rave reviews is singer and guitarist James Armstrong.  Living Blues magazine described him as being a “well-balanced combination of fire, technical proficiency and taste.”  James embarked on his first cross country tour while in his teens, and later played alongside such blues greats as Albert Collins and Big Joe Turner.  He released his debut album in 1995, Sleeping With A Stranger.

James returned to the studio for the first time in more than a decade to record Blues At The Border, featuring “Somebody Got To Pay.”