Bernard made his first appearance on record at age 13, when he played on a live LP his father recorded in Peoria, IL. “When we moved to Peoria, Dad came home preparing to do his live album in Peoria. I hooked up the amplifier and guitar in the basement and started playing his first record. Love Me Momma note for note. He freaked out and said tonight you’re gonna record with me. That was my first recording; I played ‘You Don’t Love Me No More’ and ‘Sweet Home Chicago’.”

Bernard Allison totes the same smokin’ six string shooter that his late father Luther Allison assaulted the blues with. Bernard is blessed with his fathers soulful voice, spiritual devotion and a musical freedom, which experiments with the blues. Born in Chicago on November 26th 1965, he was the youngest of nine children. Bernard was first introduced to the roots of black music and the art of the electric guitar by his father, the late great Luther Allison. Like Ken Griffey Jr., hanging out in baseball locker rooms as a youth, Luther’s son was a kid running on stage throughout the bands set. Experiences like that profoundly affect ones aspirations. “That’s when I decided that I wanted to be up there with him. I think I was seven.”

After 17 years of recording experience, Bernard has perfected his sound. Instead of just using his guitar, Bernard has become the mature artist, who uses the full palate of music colors in his band to paint his stories. If there ever was a CD for all occasions, this is it.

In any business it’s hard to try to live up to the success of ones father or mother but in the music business there is an added challenge of trying to meet the expectations of their fans and trying to make new ones. Bernard has been walking on this tightrope for his entire career and has done an admirable job of living both in his fathers world and in the one he has created for himself.

“There’s a young lady [Vanessa Collier] came onstage with me, I forget where I was, but she’s playing an alto saxophone, and man, she was amazing.”

Those are the words of Buddy Guy in a recent issue of American Blues Scene, describing an impromptu performance with Vanessa Collier on the Legendary Rhythm & Blues Cruise. If you haven’t been fortunate enough to meet Vanessa and witness one of her head-turning, fiery, and passionate performances, you should definitely make sure you do. As a master musician and multi-instrumentalist, Vanessa Collier, weaves funk, soul, rock, and blues into every powerful performance and she is downright impressive. With soulful vocals, searing saxophone, and witty songwriting, Vanessa is blazing a trail, racking up an impressive arsenal of honors, and has already singled herself out as an artist of distinction and one we would all do well to watch.

Having first picked up the saxophone at the age of nine, Collier embarked on her road to recognition at Berklee, earning dual degrees in Performance and Music Production & Engineering. While still completing her degree, Collier landed a position touring with Joe Louis Walker for a year and a half before Joe encouraged her to strike out on her own. And strike out she did.

These days, Collier spends much of her time on the road, performing at some of the most prestigious music festivals in the world. Vanessa has won 3 Blues Music Awards - two for “Horn Player of the Year” in 2019 and 2020 and one in 2022 for “Contemporary Blues Female Artist of the Year”.

Rick Estrin & the Nightcats are an American electric blues band formed in 2008. The group was established by ex-members of Little Charlie & the Nightcats. Members include Rick Estrin on vocals and harmonica, guitarist Kid Andersen, bassist Lorenzo Farrell and drummer Derrick "D'Mar" Martin. Blues Revue magazine said, "The ‘Cats are one of modern blues’ most versatile bands."[1] Living Blues said, "Estrin's harp work is masterful" and their music is "intelligently conceived and executed and hugely entertaining." At 19, Estrin relocated to Chicago and worked with some of the city’s best bluesmen. He met and jammed with the legendary Muddy Waters, who told Rick, “You outta sight, boy! You got that sound! You play like a man!” Muddy wanted Estrin to go on the road with him, but Estrin missed Muddy’s phone call and it never happened.

Estrin eventually moved back to the Bay Area, met guitarist Charlie Baty and formed Little Charlie & The Nightcats. Estrin fronted Little Charlie & the Nightcats for 30 years and performed around the world. They were nominated four times for the Blues Music Award for Band of the Year. In 2008, guitarist Kid Andersen replaced Charlie Baty and with previous band members Hansen and Farrell they formed Rick Estrin & The Nightcats. Norwegian born Alexander Pettersen joined the band in 2017 as the drummer.

Since its inception, the band has played around the world, including Norway, Switzerland, Brazil, Ireland, Turkey, and the Netherlands. The Philadelphia Inquirer said, “Rick is one of the great characters in blues – a sharp-dressing, smooth talking harmonica-playing hep-cat. He’s also a deceptively subtle writer who can cloak pointed or sobering messages within the band’s good-time vibe.”

Altered Five smokes, smolders and burns like a swig of good whiskey. The hip Milwaukee quintet is known for its strong brew of tough, original blues and hard-hitting live shows. Blues Blast raves that barrel-chested front man Jeff Taylor possesses a “smooth, warm-toned voice as monumental and undeniable as Howlin’ Wolf with the finish and flourish of B.B. King.” Downbeat declares stealth guitarist Jeff Schroedl “reaches the high bar of mixed invention and fluidity.” Fueled by a rhythm section laying down the deepest grooves this side of the MGs, the five blues blasters hit the ground running 20 years ago and show no sign of easing up.

Altered Five have consistently checked all the boxes, making lasting, deeply expressive original blues for the mind and body. Up front and leading the big blues train, Taylor exhorts and cajoles while carrying the weight of the lyrical content. Neither imitating nor hiding his debt to the legendary blues singers of the past, he commands deserved attention on his own. Schroedl propels, embellishes, and adds palpable power through his varied rhythm accompaniment and riveting guitar solos. While inspired by, but not tethered to the kings and titans of blues guitar, he has found his own estimable path to personal expression always at the service of the song.

The muscular yet limber rhythm section of bassist Mark Solveson and drummer Alan Arber lock into the full range of blues grooves from classic slow Chicago drag ("Holding on With One Hand") and romping Texas shuffles ("Mint Condition") to soulful R&B worthy of Stax Records ("Gonna Lose My Lady"). In addition, returning keyboardist Steve Huebler always provides a rich pad of lush harmony along with his own and soaring solos.

Whether live or on record, Altered Five performs seamlessly as a powerhouse entity encompassing the timeless blues virtues of passion and unwavering commitment funneled through technical excellence.

Ivan Singh is 26 years old and comes from Cordoba, Argentina. Today, he is one of the biggest Blues guitar players in his country. He has a unique can box guitar and a particular way of playing that sets him apart. Besides playing all over Argentina, he has also played around America, Europe, Brazil and Chile. (Austin Texas, Memphis, New York, Chicago, Mississippi, Madrid, Toledo, Barcelona, ect.)

He has collaborated with Artists like: Chris Cain, Jimmy Burns, Slam Allen (James Cotton), Lurrie Bell, Cedric Burnside, Linsey Alexander etc.

And national Artists like: Charly Garcia, Pappo Blues Band, Botafogo Don Vilanova ,Vitico, Chizzo, La Mona etc.

Playing in places like House of Blues, Chicago Blues Festival, Buddy Guy Club. He was the revelation of the Mississippi Delta Blues Fest in 2016 (Brazil) and Cosquin Rock 2017 la Casita del Blues (Argentina).

In Argentinas first book about the blues “Bien al Sur” he is mentioned as one of the representatives of the blues in his nation and a promise that the genre will find a new way beyond the traditional style of blues.

Foley was born in Ottawa, Ontario, and spent her early childhood in Canada. She learned to play guitar at age 13, became interested in blues music from listening to the Rolling Stones, and played her first gig at age 16. After high school graduation, she relocated to Vancouver where she formed The Sue Foley Band.

Pinky’s Blues, which is named after Sue Foley’s pink paisley Fender Telecaster electric guitar that has been such a major part of Foley’s life for all these years. Part of that is the total devotion Sue Foley has to the guitar, and in particular to the one she calls “Pinky” that has been with her for decades and continues to play on this album. Foley feels it’s almost a living extension of who she is and helps guide her through the rambunctiously deep renditions of everything she performs. Sue Foley is a multi award winning musician, and one of the finest blues and roots artists working today. Foley spent her early childhood in Canada, mesmerized by her father’s guitar and started her professional career at sixteen. By twenty-one, she was living in Austin, TX and recording for Antone’s.

Foley has toured steadily with her band, toting her signature pink paisley Fender Telecaster—working and sharing the stage with greats such as B.B. King, Buddy Guy, Jimmie Vaughan and Billy F Gibbons. Foley is the only female member of the famed “Jungle Show” which features Gibbons, Vaughan, B3 virtuoso Mike Flanigin and Chris ‘Whipper’ Layton (formerly of Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble). Her latest album, Pinky’s Blues is a raw, electric guitar driven romp through the backroads of Texas, with Foley’s signature Telecaster, “Pinky” at the wheel. Pinky’s Blues is a guitar driven collection of 12 songs, both original and some of Sue’s favorite covers, that demonstrate not only that Sue is one of the world’s greatest Blues guitarists, but that the sheer joy of playing can be felt through the recording in an emotional thrill for the listener. Pinky’s Blues was the #1 album in The Roots Music Report’s Top Blues Rock Album Chart for the Year of 2021, the #1 album on the NACC Blues chart for over 4 weeks and debuted at #4 on the Billboard Blues Albums chart. In 2020, she won “Traditional Blues Female” at the International Blues Music Awards in Memphis. She’s also a Juno Award winner, holds the record for the most Maple Blues Awards including “Best Guitar Player”, and has earned three Trophées de Blues de France.

Joe Louis Walker, a Blues Hall of Fame inductee and four-time Blues Music Award winner celebrates a career that exceeds a half a century. Looking back on his rich history, Walker shares, “I’d like to be known for the credibility of a lifetime of being true to my music and the blues. Sometimes I feel I’ve learned more from my failures, than from my success . But that’s made me stronger and more adventurous. And helped me create my own style . I’d like to think that when someone puts on one of my records they would know from the first notes, ‘That’s Joe Louis Walker.'”

Born on December 25, 1949 in San Francisco, at age 14, he took up the guitar. Just two years later, he was a known quantity on the Bay Area music scene, playing blues with an occasional foray into psychedelic rock. For a while, he roomed with Mike Bloomfield, who introduced him to Jimi Hendrix and the Grateful Dead. Walker even made a brief pilgrimage to Chicago to check out the blues scene there. In 1975, burned out on blues, Walker turned to God, singing for the next decade with a gospel group, the Spiritual Corinthians. When the Corinthians played the 1985 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, Walker was inspired to embrace his blues roots again.

Always an artist deeply expressive lyrically, Walker continues to write and sing about themes that are universal. NPR Music has called Walker “a legendary boundary-pushing icon of modern blues,” and he is already being referred to within the blues world as a living legend. However, at this stage of his life, Walker profoundly shares, “I’d really like to inspire younger musicians to carry on the legacy of blues/roots music. But play, and do it your way. Don’t be afraid to mix it up. There’s no right, or wrong way. Just the way you wanna express yourself. And above all, ENJOY YOURSELF.”

Billy Branch was discovered by Willie Dixon, the "father of modern Chicago Blues," while Billy was still in college. Willie encouraged Billy to finish his college education, which he did, but instead of going to law school after receiving his political science degree.

Billy began touring with the Willie Dixon Chicago All-Stars. This gave Billy the unique opportunity to travel and work as an under study for the legendary Carey Bell who was planning to leave the All-Stars and form his own band. When Carey took his leave, the young Billy Branch took his place, touring with Willie Dixon for 6 years.

Since those early days, Billy has played on over 300 different recordings including 15 albums under his own name. Billy has recorded with Willie Dixon, Johnny Winter, Keb' Mo, Lou Rawls, Koko Taylor, Eddy Clearwater, Honeyboy Edwards, Syl Johnson, Lurrie Bell, Ronnie Baker Brooks, John Primer, and Taj Mahal, just to name a few. Billy has three Grammy Award nominations, having lost one nomination to BB King and Eric Clapton! He served two consecutive terms on the NARAS Grammy Board of Governors and founded the First Grammy Blues Committee. Because Billy's Blues credentials include dozens of years spent working side-by-side with many of Chicago's illustrious Blues musicians of years gone by, he is considered an ambassador of Chicago Blues.

Billy Branch is a Blues education pioneer. He was one of the first artists to develop a Blues in Schools curriculum. Since 1978, in addition to recording and performing, he has taught hundreds of thousands of children around the world. His internationally recognized Blues in Schools Program is committed to teaching students of all ages about the Blues as the roots of America's music. His curriculum and instruction strategies open his students eyes to music history, music theory. Students also learn music skills that reinforce music as a positive creative outlet which inspires students to embrace music as a viable creative expression.

For more than 25 years, Kevin Burt has been electrifying audiences throughout the Midwest dispelling the myth that true blues has no roots in Iowa. His soul-inspired presentation is unique, which consistently gets him compared to a range of artists like Bill Withers and Aaron Neville, with the ability to build an audience rapport that has been compared to B.B. King.

Kevin is a self-taught musician (vocals, harmonica, and guitar) whose smooth, warm vocal presentation sets a mood of relaxed exhilaration, with a welcome mixture of serious music and infectious humor audiences of all ages seem to enjoy. His voice and presence are powerful. His unique delivery ranges from the sweetest, fullest, juiciest come-on to the most playful growl. Though he performs between 325 and 400 shows a year, he holds nothing back night after night and audiences leave knowing that.

Kevin is also recognized as one of the Midwest’s top blues heritage educators. This honor was given to him by the Governor of Iowa, Chet Culver in February of 2009. Kevin is a registered artist, and artist educator with the state of Iowa Arts Council. He has also written and published a classroom harmonica method book called “Just Play It: an introduction to blues harmonica.” His approach is simple, education through entertainment. His program has been going strong since 1994. Burt plans to continue this work as well as his community work with Children and the arts.