Living Blues #256 July/August 2018

WHAT'S INSIDE:

Outrage Channeled in Verse

By Frank Matheis

There have been songs of protest throughout the history of the blues. We trace a sampling of the voices of dissent over the decades.

Rhiannon Giddens

It’s My Job . . . It’s What I Was Given to Do

By Melanie Young

A founding member of the Carolina Chocolate Drops, Rhiannon Giddens has branched out on a soaring solo career that finds her taking on challenging subjects from America’s past and present. 

Fantastic Negrito

We Can Turn It Around

By Bill Kopp

Winner of the 2017 GRAMMY for best contemporary blues album, Fantastic Negrito has roared onto the scene with a voice and attack that takes on a wide range of nationally relevant issues.

Otis Taylor

The Heart Is a Muscle Used to Sing the Blues

By Frank Matheis

Colorado native Otis Taylor has been challenging the power structure in America since the 1970s and his focus has only steadied as he has aged.

Reverend Sekou and
the Power of Song

By Warren Hines

Reverend Osagyefo Uhuru Sekou hails from the Arkansas Delta, but his message of peaceful protest is international. A musician who is also a human rights activist, Sekou practices what he sings.

Record Reviews

• New Releases: Shemekia Copeland, Buddy Guy and Fantastic Negrito
• Reissues: Battleground Korea, Professor Longhair, Willie Dixon

Editorial

Blues News

Breaking Out with Reggie Garret

Obituaries

Radio Charts

2018 Living Blues Awards Winners

Cover photo by Bill Steber

Rhiannon Giddens at the Woolworth’s lunch counter at 221 5th Avenue North, Nashville, Tennessee, June 2018.