Jeffrey Pepper Rodgers gets there with folk strings style
Jeffrey Pepper Rodgers, “Almost There” Label: Words and Music Jeffrey Pepper Rodgers starts this dozen-song collection off with “Eight Days in January,” an interesting story in which the Syracuse...
View ArticleTravelin’ man Kohlton Pascal lights up my ‘American Idol’ season
The guy walking the railroad tracks as I watched “American Idol” tonight looked familiar. The long hair, the acoustic guitar, the face. It hit me before I heard the distinctive singing voice or saw the...
View ArticleKohlton Pascal decides to pass on ‘American Idol’ Hollywood ticket
The 21-year-old who sounds like an old soul blues singer won’t be trying to match up with the young pop world of “American Idol” in Hollywood after all. My good friend and former colleague Melinda...
View ArticleSitting in at the first Snow Plow Blues Festival heats things up
The wind chill was way into double-digit-negatives and the murky white banks flanking Syracuse’s James Street were way over your waist as the music fans some 150 strong braved their way into the Palace...
View ArticleTalking about the New York State Blues Fest and its music
The 23rd edition of the New York State Blues Festival is two months-plus in the future, but time does fly. Besides, there’s new direction at the top of the event that will bring its 23rd edition to...
View ArticleThank you, Riley ‘Blues Boy’ King
It was his time. B.B. King passed away Thursday at the age of 89 after a lifetime of delivering a world of wonder to anybody who opened their ears to the blues. With the famous guitar he named Lucille,...
View ArticleGetting better with age on stage
I was on the phone last night interviewing two guys in the Syracuse music scene I’ve been fortunate enough to have seen play many times. Guitarist Terry Mulhauser and harp-blower and singer Pete...
View ArticleA sunny day slinks into the perfect night for the Syracuse blues
You sure can have a wicked case of the blues with the sun shining, temperatures in the 70s and bands doing their best on the big stage non-stop in front of you. Food trucks at few steps away, too....
View ArticleA party to remember and celebrate the life of Roosevelt Dean
I still vividly remember that Saturday night of April 4, 2009. I was sitting on my recliner in the Little Bitty in the Syracuse city neighborhood of Eastwood when the phone rang. Former New York state...
View ArticleKim Lembo comes back to her hometown with a different voice
For a glorius half-dozen years, Kim Lembo was the real deal in Syracuse music, and constantly threatening to be the Next Big Thing to take the world’s ears by storm. I covered her voice and her four...
View ArticleSing it cool, Eli
It’s always comforting to see Eli Harris out in the Syracuse elements playing his music. The singer and guitarists knows the Syracuse University athletic schedule. Carrier Dome patrons are serenaded,...
View ArticleIrv Lyons delivers his songs with love
Irv Lyons Jr., , Wonderland Syracuse guitarist and singer Irv Lyons Jr. obviously put his heart and soul into his new album Wonderland. The 10-song collection bursts with love songs touched with his...
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