Living Blues #296 May/June 2025

WHAT'S INSIDE:

Thornetta Davis  

I’m a Blues Singer. That’s What I Do.

By David Whiteis

Detroit’s Queen of the Blues, Thornetta Davis, has been honing her craft for nearly 40 years, though she struggles to gain acceptance on festival stages in the United States. Despite her shows bringing rave reviews, wider fame has been elusive. Davis opens up to us about her life in the blues.

Erica Falls 

If Red Beans and Rice Could Sing, They’d Sound Like Erica Falls

By Robert H. Cataliotti

New Orleans vocal dynamo Erica Falls calls her band Vintage Soul but says the phrase really sums her up as a person. Raised in the church, Falls embraced the secular music history of the Big Easy as she grew older, and over the last 15 years she has become one of its leading vocalists. 

Southern Avenue 

We Are Family

By Henry L. Carrigan Jr.

Family band Southern Avenue is carrying on the deep musical legacy of their Memphis hometown. The band has just released its first album on Alligator Records and is quickly becoming one of the best-loved acts in the blues world today.

Xavier Shannon 

In His Own Words

By Mike Stephenson

Twenty-seven-year-old Texan Xavier Shannon has been playing guitar since he was a teenager. Like many other musicians his blossoming career was shut down because of COVID, but he is back at it now and about to release his first album. 

Let It Roll!

Skip James, Paramount Records, Grafton, Wisconsin, ca. February 1931

By Jas Obrecht

Skip James’ lone pre-war recording session may be one of the most important and influential of all. James was an idiosyncratic player who produced some of the deepest blues ever put on record. On two February days at the Paramount Records studios, James cut 21 sides (18 issued) that continue to stun listeners to this day.

Record Reviews;

• New Releases: Charles “Wigg” Walker,
  Southern Avenue, and Johnny Rawls 
• Reissues: John Lee Hooker, Lightnin’ Hopkins,
  and Lonnie Johnson  

Editorial 

Blues News 

Breaking Out: Nick Wade 

Book Reviews 

2025 Living Blues Festival Guide 

Obituaries

Radio Charts