Articles by Ron Kalb
Kyle Rowland: Not Holding Back!
by Ron Kalb
Blues fans concerned about the next generation of harmonica virtuosos can take heart with Not Holding Back!, the 2026 release from Kyle Rowland on the The Little Village Foundation label. At 32, Rowland suggests he may be ready to step into a lineage shaped by masters such as Charlie Musselwhite, Billy Branch and Rick Estrin. A prodigy at age 10, Rowland took harp lessons from Estrin and counts legends James Cotton and Lazy Lester among his mentors.
Continue ReadingTrudy Lynn: Turning the Same Ole Corners
by Ron Kalb
Listening to the February 2026 digital release of Trudy Lynn's Turning the Same Ole Corners inspires a trip back in time to the Consumer Electronics Show at McCormick Place, Chicago, where Sony unveiled its first CD player. The sound was clean, crystalline, futuristic. Great for classical. Great for pop. But for blues--the music of roadhouse sweat, smoke and booze--it always felt like someone had wiped down the bar with antiseptic. That tension between polish and grit hangs over ...
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