Blues with a Feeling - The Official Podcast

This week on BWAF, I finally get to feature an album that has been sitting on my must-play list for some time. A couple of weeks ago technical issues forced a late change of plans and I pulled out Dave Alvin's wonderful live release Out In California. The result was a terrific show. But now it's time for the album I originally intended to showcase. Released in 2014, Common Ground reunited Dave and Phil Alvin for their first full album together in almost three decades. On the surface it's a tribute to one of their greatest musical heroes, blues pioneer Big Bill Broonzy. Dig a little deeper though and it becomes something much more profound. Following Phil Alvin's near-fatal health crisis in 2013, the brothers were reminded that life doesn't give us unlimited opportunities. Rather than revisiting old differences, they found common ground in the music they had both loved since childhood. The result is a warm, joyous and deeply moving collection that celebrates the songs of Big Bill Broonzy while telling a larger story about brotherhood, gratitude and second chances. Plus, two big sets of new music featuring Janiva Magness, Bernard Allison, Sue Foley, Keb' Mo', Hussy Hicks, Jason Ricci & The Bad Kind, Dustin Arbuckle & The Damnations and more. Join me for another two hours celebrating the love of the blues.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week on Blues With A Feeling we're shining the spotlight on one of the most admired guitarists in blues history, the legendary Earl Hooker. Remarkably, after all these years, this will be the first time Earl Hooker has been featured on the program. Our feature album is the expanded edition of Two Bugs and a Roach, allowing us to explore both his celebrated late-career recordings and some fascinating early tracks from the 1950s that capture the development of a true blues original. Along the way we'll hear why Hooker became known as a guitarist's guitarist, earning the admiration of generations of blues musicians through his groundbreaking slide guitar work and unmistakable style. We'll also bring you outstanding new music from The Boneshakers, Sue Foley, Dustin Arbuckle & The Damnations, Jad Tariq, Anson Funderburgh, Bernard Allison, Harrell Davenport and Janiva Magness.  Join me Sunday night for two hours of classic blues, contemporary releases and a long-overdue celebration of one of the finest guitarists the blues has ever produced.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week on Blues With A Feeling we're heading to the West Coast of the USA for a classic live album from one of America's finest songwriters, guitarists and storytellers. Released in 2002 and recorded across a series of Californian performances, Out In California captures Dave Alvin and The Guilty Men doing what they do best - bringing songs to life on stage. From his days with The Blasters through to a remarkable solo career, Dave Alvin has earned a reputation as one of the great voices in American roots music. Drawing from blues, country, folk, rockabilly and rock and roll, his songs are rich with unforgettable characters and stories from the American landscape. Featuring favourites including Fourth Of July, Haley's Comet and the title track, Out In California showcases Alvin's brilliant songwriting and guitar work, backed by a first-class band performing at the very top of their game. If you love live recordings, authentic musicianship and great storytelling, this is an album you won't want to miss. Join Shaun Bindley for the complete feature album, along with plenty of great blues and roots music from around the world.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week on BWAF we celebrate a milestone moment in Australian blues history — the 30th anniversary of Geoff Achison’s landmark 1996 album Mystery Train. Recorded shortly after Geoff’s breakthrough trip to Memphis for the International Blues Challenge, where he earned the Albert King Award for Most Outstanding Guitar Player, the album captures the beginning of his international journey across the US and UK. Back in ’96, Geoff joined me in the studio to talk about that life‑changing experience and the release of Mystery Train. Three decades later, he returns to the show to revisit that incredible moment — the Memphis adventure, the award that changed everything, and the album that set his global career in motion. Join us for a special feature celebrating Geoff Achison, Mystery Train, and 30 years of blues storytelling.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week on BWAF, we’re shining a spotlight on a modern legends of the blues — Lazy Lester — with his superb 2001 Antone’s Records release Blues Stop Knockin’. Lester was one of the kings of harmonica blues and a founding architect of the Louisiana swamp sound, and this album captures him in full late‑career stride: sly, soulful, and unmistakably Lester. Joining him across almost the entire record is the great Jimmie Vaughan, whose trademark tone and tasteful riffs wrap perfectly around Lester’s classic harp work. You’ll also hear standout contributions from Sue Foley, now firmly established as one of the top blueswomen of her generation, and Derek O’Brien, who produced, mixed, and added his own guitar touch to the sessions. It’s an album steeped in the spirit of Clifford Antone — the man who built a home for the blues in Austin and championed artists like Lester with deep love and respect. The result is one of Lester’s finest works: red‑hot blues, swampy grooves, and forays into other genres that he makes entirely his own. Join me this week as we celebrate Lazy Lester, Jimmie Vaughan, and the Antone’s legacy — a timeless blend of swamp soul and Texas tone.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week on BWAF, we welcome one of the great modern masters of West Coast blues guitar — Alex Schultz — as our special guest, alongside a deep dive into his elegant, soulful debut album Think About It. Alex has been part of my musical journey for more than three decades. I first saw him at Bluesfest in Byron Bay back in 1992, when he was tearing it up with Rod Piazza & the Mighty Flyers. That performance left a mark. Years later, I was lucky enough to present Lynwood Slim here in Brisbane — with Alex on guitar — and those shows only deepened my appreciation for his tone, taste, and musical intelligence. Released on Severn Records in 2004, Think About It brings together a dream lineup: Lynwood Slim, Tad Robinson, Finis Tasby, Larry Taylor, the Royal Crown Revue horns, and the brilliant Alberto Marsico on Hammond. It’s a sophisticated, swinging, deeply musical record that blends blues, R&B, and jazz with grace and style. This week, Alex joins me on the show to talk about the album, the sessions, the songs, and the stories behind one of the classiest blues releases of the 2000s. Tune in — and Think About It.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week on Blues With A Feeling, Shaun shines a spotlight on one of Australia’s most electrifying bluesmen — Brisbane’s own Michael "Mojo" Webb, a guitarist, singer, songwriter and multi‑instrumentalist whose music channels the raw spirit of Muddy Waters, B.B. King, Howlin’ Wolf, Buddy Guy and Robert Johnson. Mojo’s second album The Cat (2012) is our classic feature — thirteen original songs recorded just weeks before the Mojo Webb Band headed to Memphis to represent Australia at the International Blues Challenge, where they reached the semi‑finals. The record captures everything that makes Mojo a force of nature: the fire, the passion, the road stories, the love, the heartbreak, and the unmistakable chemistry of three musicians who’ve played together for decades — Mojo Webb, JB Lewis and Coojee Timms. Shaun shares personal stories from 35 years of friendship: gym‑floor melodies, jungle dance parties in northern Thailand, long drives in an old F100 ambulance packed with guitars, and the rise of a young bluesman who could shake a room to its foundations. Plus: brand‑new releases from Janiva Magness, Keb Mo, Laura Chavez, Jason Ricci & Bad Kind, Danielle Nicole, Dustin Arbuckle & The Damnations and more. BWAF — 33 years of blues storytelling. Ride on, baby. Ride on.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week on Blues With A Feeling, we’re heading back to France, 1975 — to the Nancy Jazz Pulsations festival — where Freddie King delivered one of the most electrifying live performances of his career. We’re featuring the classic Live in Nancy double album, a recording that captures Freddie and his band in full flight: raw, immediate, and utterly alive. Joining me this week is Lewis Stephens, Freddie’s piano player during the final three years of his life. Lewis brings a rare, first‑hand perspective on Freddie’s musical instincts, the chemistry within the band, and the energy of that unforgettable night in Nancy. We’ll talk about Lewis’s musical journey and how that path ultimately led him into Freddie’s touring band. It’s a deep dive into one of the great live blues recordings, guided by someone who was right there on stage. Settle in for a special show filled with history, memory, and the unmistakable power of Freddie King.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week on BWAF we dive into something truly special — the winner of the 2014 Grammy Award for Best Blues Album, Get Up! by Ben Harper with Charlie Musselwhite. It’s a record carved out of lived experience: ten Harper originals delivered with fire and finesse, and Charlie’s Memphis‑born harmonica weaving through every track like a spell. I’ve been a Musselwhite fan since the late 80s, and I was standing at the front of the stage at Bluesfest Byron Bay in 1996 when Ben Harper & The Innocent Criminals lit up the Australian musical conscience for the first time. Charlie was on that same bill, and that’s where the seeds of this collaboration were planted. Over the next decade they crossed paths on John Lee Hooker’s Burnin’ Hell, on Charlie’s Sanctuary, and on stages around the world — before finally creating this remarkable album in 2012. Alongside the feature, I’ve loaded the show with brand‑new releases from Taj Mahal & The Phantom Blues Band, Steve Cropper & The Midnight Hour, Keb’ Mo’, Danielle Nicole, Doyle Bramhall II, Janiva Magness, Jason Ricci & Bad Kind, Laura Chavez, Chris O’Leary, Mike Wheeler, Harrell Davenport and more. If you love the blues — the real stuff — you’re in the right place. This is BWAF.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week on Blues With A Feeling, Shaun sits down with one of the true ambassadors of Chicago Blues — Billy Branch. Across a remarkable fifty‑year career, Billy has become an Emmy Award winner, a three‑time Grammy nominee, a Blues Hall of Fame inductee, and one of the most recorded harmonica players of the modern era. Mentored by legends like James Cotton, Junior Wells, Willie Dixon and Big Walter Horton, Billy has carried the torch for the promotion and preservation of the blues across more than 300 recordings and stages around the world. His brand‑new album, The Blues Is My Biography, is a powerful, deeply personal work produced by Larry Batiste and featuring special guests Bobby Rush, Shemekia Copeland and Ronnie Baker Brooks. Billy describes it as “the most important work I’ve ever done,” and across eleven tracks he tells his story with honesty, fire, humour and heart. In this week’s feature, Shaun shares his conversation with Billy Branch and takes listeners through the album — from the swagger of Hole In Your Soul to the emotional depth of Begging For Change, the grit of Dead End Street, and the autobiographical centrepiece The Blues Is My Biography. Tune in for a celebration of a true Chicago master and one of the standout blues releases of the year.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.