Record Store Day Roundup - Full List of 2018 releases!

RECORD STORE ANNOUNCES FULL LIST OF 2018 RELEASES! THE FIRST THING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT RSD 2018 IS… WAIT FOR IT… THIS ONE GOES TO 11! Yes, this is Record Store Day’s 11th anniversary, and with apologies to Nigel Tufnul and Spinal Tap, we are turning all the knobs across the board WAAAAYYYY past 10 on April 21st to give everyone the best possible music and independent community experience! DON’T MISS YOUR CHANCE TO DISCOVER EXCITING, NEW AND LIMITED-EDITION TITLES WHILE CELEBRATING THE CULTURE OF THE INDEPENDENT RECORD STORE, NATIONWIDE. FEATURING RELEASES FROM JERRY GARCIA, PRINCE, RUN THE JEWELS, WILCO, U2, GRATEFUL DEAD, THE STOOGES, NOTORIOUS B.I.G., GEORGE THOROGOOD, THE CURE, MASTODON, DISTURBED, PINK FLOYD, JIMI HENDRIX, BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN, THELONIOUS MONK, ELVIS PRESLEY, JOHNNY CASH, CIRCLE JERKS, CYPRESS HILL, AALIYAH, SON VOLT, LIL UZI VERT, RAMONES, COURTNEY BARNETT, BRIAN ENO, BO DIDDLEY, NAS, ELVIS COSTELLO, DAVE GRUSIN, JOHN COLTRANE, SUNDAYS, THE WHO, SNARKY PUPPY, THE KILLS, CHARLIE PICKETT, TOO $HORT, IGGY POP, TIM BUCKLEY, JEFF BUCKLEY, GENE CLARK, SWANS, SMALL FACES, COMMON, BUARI, TAD (AND ALSO THOMAS ANDREW DOYLE), THE RESIDENTS, PLUSH, DWARVES, KING BLACK ACID, FRANK ZAPPA, DAVID BOWIE, JOHNNY THUNDERS, CHAINSAW KITTENS, WU-TANG, DEMON FUZZ, RIDE, THE NATIONAL, PARQUET COURTS, KREATOR, SMITHEREENS, TAYLOR SWIFT, SOUNDGARDEN, DESCENDENTS, TOM WAITS, PHISH, SUPERCHUNK, JASON ISBELL, ORNETTE COLEMAN, REDD KROSS, THE RASCALS, MOTORHEAD, EEK-A-MOUSE, SAXON, MOODY BLUES, ROLLING STONES, GOV’T MULE, THE ALARM, CHICANO BATMAN, DR. OCTAGON, DEF LEPPARD, ELLA FITZGERALD, AND EVEN MORE INCREDIBLE ARTISTS!  (WE TOLD YOU THERE WERE A LOT!) IN THE INCLUSIVE SPIRIT OF RECORD STORE DAY, THERE IS TRULY SOMETHING FOR EVERYONE AT ALL YOUR FAVORITE LOCAL INDEPENDENT RECORD STORES ON APRIL 21ST, 2018!

“Record Store Day is important because it is a platform for the independently owned music stores to be a bright star for the day. It is the definition of supporting music and art and what it is to be independent and shop local.”–Jennifer Keenan/Lacey Ritter, Pushier The Store, Jerome AZ “Nothing will ever — EVER — replace the power of walking into a record store and having another living, breathing human being — whether it’s a fellow shopper or friendly clerk or complete stranger — point you toward something and say, ‘You HAVE to listen to this, trust me.” I have no problem with texts or DMs or the internet as a whole but believe me when I say: The best music, books, movies, comics or any other type of art will be created by someone passing along, eyeball-to-eyeball, secret and cherished knowledge. That’s why Record Store Day will save the future.” - Patton Oswald, RSD 2018 Artist, Currently Our Favorite Person “It's the most wonderful day of the year~ Come party with us!” –Alayna Alderman, Record Archive, Rochester NY Record Store Day is turning it up a notch in 2018, and everything is coming together to give you something very, very special on April 21st!  More independent releases with newer artists, legendary names, iconic performances captured for posterity, limited runs, multiple formats, more heavy hitters, more long out-of-print reissues, more exclusive tracks, and more of everything else you were hoping for.  Why? Because you deserve it…and because that is what Record Store Day does…every year, for all our participating record stores and their loyal customers. Find records you never thought you would ever see again, buy records you cannot get enough of, and discover records that will become your new favorites immediately out of the shrink wrap!  We are extremely psyched about the depth and scope of 2018’s Record Store Day selections. Rhino Records/Grateful Dead Productions have been very supportive of Record Store Day, and this year is no exception, as it sees the release of The Grateful Dead’s Fillmore West, San Francisco, CA 2/27/69.  This live show along with 3 other concerts from the same year, is being released for the first time on vinyl, as a Limited Edition 4xLP set. Not to be outdone, ATO/Round Records are re-releasing Jerry Garcia’s fourth solo album, Run For The Roses. This special release will be pressed on black and orange marbled vinyl, and can be found first at record stores. The Long Strange Trip continues for one of the world’s most beloved bands. RSD 2018 Ambassadors Run The Jewels are fulfilling their duties by releasing The Stay Gold Collectors Jewel Box, a limited edition metal box set which includes a 12” EP etched with custom Marvel-branded art, an RTJ slipmat, and which provides a fitting place to house your RTJ vinyl collection. More hip-hop, both new school and old, comes to record stores courtesy of Rapsody, J Dilla, Czarface, Rob Base & DJ EZ-Rock, Nas, 9th Wonder and more. David Bowie releases are always a Record Store Day highlight and this year’s list includes four Bowie releases proper, including Parlophone’s three very special limited-edition David Bowie items; Welcome To The Blackout (Live London 1978), Let’s Dance (Demo), and available for the first time commercially, the rare Berlin-era U.S. promo album Bowie Now and a release from Lulu, on which Bowie acts as guest vocalist, instrumentalist and producer on two of his own classic songs. George Thorogood & the Destroyers are releasing a limited-edition 7" single for Record Store Day featuring two new recordings. The A-side features a cover of "Shot Down," originally recorded by legendary garage rockers The Sonics, backed with "Ain't Coming Home Tonight," an all new original penned by longtime Destroyers guitarist Jim Suhler and legendary producer Terry Manning (Al Green, Joe Walsh, Widespread Panic), with Grammy-winning producer Jim Gaines mixing the track. A download card will be included with each purchase.   The 7" single was engineered and produced by Shawn Berman, whose engineering credits range from Ice Cube to Guns N' Roses. Berman has engineered five George Thorogood & the Destroyers albums and Thorogood's 2017 solo release Party Of One. "I wasn't aware of the song 'Shot Down' until my wife turned me onto it," Thorogood said. "Turns out it's a perfect Thorogood song. As for 'Ain't Coming Home Tonight,' Jim Suhler is a genius!  I hope you dig these songs as much as I do." Jazz fans have a lot to be excited about as ORG Music presents An Evening With Ornette Coleman (Part 2), taken from a 1965 concert at Fairfield Hall in Croydon, England.  This album showcases Coleman’s experimentation with contemporary classical forms, features new artwork, and is exclusive to RSD 2018.  Verve is releasing Ella Fitzgerald’s Ella Live at Zardi’s for the first time on opaque pink and opaque blue vinyl.  John Coltrane’s “My Favorite Things” is being released as a 7” single through Atlantic, a replica of the original 7” “My Favorite Things Part I & II”, a hit single for the jazz giant in 1961.  And Thelonious Monk’s 100th birthday is celebrated with Columbia/Legacy’s re-release of Thelonious Monk’s 1964 classic Monk. Syd Barrett, Neil Young and Tom Waits all walk into a bar…no, not really…but they are ALL at a record store in April.  Legacy Recordings presents Pink Floyd’s debut masterpiece, Piper At The Gates of Dawn in MONO Neil Young’s Tonight's The Night Live At The Roxy 1973, a black vinyl double LP of a recording made when Uncle Neil and his band decided to blow off some steam after recording Tonight’s The Night, gets a special RSD 2018 version with a gatefold package and a limited edition photo insert.  Three separate Tom Waits colored vinyl double LPs come together as a special treat from ANTI-. Originally released as part of Waits’ Orphans collection, this music received stunning praise on its initial release (and that’s not JUST because Tom covers two Ramones tracks!) The Motor City gets a shout out from a few titles this year, including Modern Harmonics’ release of two very early 7” singles from the MC5, pressed at Third Man Pressing. Third Man Records co-founder (and Detroit native) Ben Blackwell curates a collection called The Stooges (Detroit Edition). Speaking of Third Man Records, they offer a little Nashville in the mix, with a single from Joshua Hedley, a new country signing who you’ve probably seen leading the band at the iconic Robert’s Western World this past decade or so. Hey, wouldn’t it be cool if Bruce Springsteen, U2 and The Rolling Stones ALL released records on April 21? Well, guess what…they are!  The Boss is stepping away from Broadway to release a Greatest Hits LP on colored vinyl. U2 are releasing a 12” picture disc with two different versions of “Lights of Home.” The Stones are re-issuing their 1967 LP Their Satanic Majesties Request on splatter vinyl exclusive to independent record stores, with original gatefold artwork and restored 3D cover. You know, if you turn it just right, you can see all four Beatles in the 3D artwork. Today’s stars are well represented this year. Taylor Swift has taken over the pop world with several massive releases and Swifties can pick up special record store colored vinyl editions of three of them this April 21. New West Records’ Jason Isbell’s Live At Twist And Shout, is just that: a a six song recording of a performance from his 2007 in-store at Twist & Shout in Denver, Colorado. Mom & Pop Records has two from  Courtney Barnett for RSD 2018: a 12” single with two songs from Courtney’s upcoming LP, and a picture disc edition of The Double EP: A Sea of Split Peas. The youth are wild, but the kids are all right, and that may be because of the music they get at record stores on 2018. Records geared towards kids but enjoyed by everyone include Rockabye Baby’s lullaby versions of Beastie Boys songs, a reissue from Brookvale Records of Marlo Thomas’ classic Free To Be You And Me and a Blitzen Trapper record created with toy instruments actually called Kids Album!  Continuing the independent spirit, Kartel is re-releasing the hauntingly beautiful 1995 classic Né La Thiass from Senegalese musician Cheikh Lô.  Post-hardcore favorites Touche Amore are releasing a tenth-year anniversary pressing of their demo 7" released as a one-time 12" with an etched b-side on No Sleep Records. Rare Noise Records is releasing Cuts Up, Cuts Out by the noise supergroup Merzbow, Mats Gustafsson, Thurston Moore, and Balazs Pandi. Empire Records brings us the 2001 debut album from the prolific underground rap crew, Living Legends,Almost Famous, available for the first time on vinyl on RSD 2018. Common’s Can I Borrow A Dollar?, his 1992 release that put Chicago on the hip-hop map, is being re-issued as a double LP by Fat Beats and Nature Sounds. Various artist compilations and movies from films are a big part of the mix too. Dogfish Head Craft Brewed Ales continues its series of Music to Drink Beer To compilations and throws in a little sumthin sumthin by calling this edition Music to Drink Beer And Make Love To! Past & Present are releasing Girls in the Garage Volumes 2 and 3, collections of rare 60s girl group singles prove that long before Patti Smith and Joan Jett, girls were rocking in the garage as hard as the guys. Select-O-Hits brings us Malaco: The Last Soul Company 50 Years of Excellence, an RSD-curated collection of songs on gold vinyl from the 50 years of Malaco, featuring artists like Johnnie Taylor and Bobby Bland, proceeds of which benefit the BMI Foundation. The Official Film of Record Store Day 2018 is The Godfathers of Hardcore, which tells the continuing fascinating story of Agnostic Front. Composer Aaron Drake’s score makes its vinyl debut on Record Store Day 2018. In all, it’s one of the most diverse lists of titles ever to be put together for a Record Store Day celebration and whether you find an armful or a select few that pique your interest, they all play a part in helping us throw our favorite party of the year. We’re gonna leave with something that Reid Robinson of Co-Op Records of Moline passed along to us: “My favorite RSD quote ever was from a few years ago. A short, sweet statement from a teenage girl to her dad- “YES! Christmas USED to be my favorite day of the year!”

For general information, please visit http://www.recordstoreday.com A full list of titles and their accompanying artwork can be found here:www.recordstoreday.com/SpecialReleases

About Record Store Day: Record Store Day, the organization, is managed by the Department of Record Stores and is organized in partnership with the Alliance of Independent Media Stores (AIMS), the Coalition of Independent Music Stores (CIMS) and promotes independent record stores year-round with events, special releases and other fun things. Record Store Day, the global celebration of the culture of the record store, takes place annually in April. Record Store Day 2018 Sponsors: ADA, Border City Media, Caroline, Crosley Turntables, Dr Martens Airwair USA, Dogfish Head Brewery, Furnace Record Pressing, Glowtronics, InGrooves, Music Business Association, MVD Entertainment, Okki Nokki, The Orchard, Redeye Distribution, Sony Music, ThinkIndie, URP Distribution, Universal Music Distribution, Vinyl Styl, Warner Bros. Records, WEA,

MUSIC WORTH BUYING review: Jimi Hendrix 'Both Sides of The Sky'

On the latest episode of MUSIC WORTH BUYING, co-hosts Robert Kinsler and TJR discuss the forthcoming Jimi Hendrix release Both Sides Of The Sky:

Doheny Blues Festival reveals more artists for 2018: Blues Traveler, Beth Hart, Nikki Hill and more!

Cool news for a Friday! Blues Traveler, Beth Hart and Nikki Hill are among the featured artists set to join George Thorogood & The Destroyers and Jimmie Vaughan at the Doheny Blues Festival in Dana Point the weekend of May 19-20, 2018. See the official media release and poster below...

BLUES TRAVELER & BETH HART ADDED TO THE LINEUP

DANA POINT’S DOHENY BLUES FESTIVAL, MAY 19 & 20, 2018

SINGLE DAY TICKETS NOW AVAILABLE!

[Dana Point, CA] – The DOHENY BLUES FESTIVAL is excited to reveal the second wave of artists performing at the 21^st Annual event, taking place May 19 & 20 at Sea Terrace Park. Joining this year’s impressive lineup of previously announced acts, such as George Thorogood and Jimmie Vaughan, will be Grammy-winning blues band BLUES TRAVELER, blues-rock powerhouse BETH HART and many others. Single Day tickets are on sale now!

BLUES TRAVELER has a proven reputation for their improvisational live shows and tireless touring. Their music includes blues rock, psychedelic rock, folk rock, soul and southern rock. With a total of twelve studio albums – four gold, three platinum, and one six-times platinum – they have sold more than 10 million combined units worldwide, and played over 2,000 live shows in front of more than 30 million people. Their hit ‘Run-Around’ is the longest-charting radio single in Billboard history and earned them a GRAMMY^® for Best Rock Performance in 1996.

BETH HART is on fire right now. The Grammy-nominated blues rocker is riding a creative tidal wave, firing out acclaimed albums, hooking up with the biggest names in music as a head-turning vocalist for guitar heroes like Joe Bonamassa and Jeff Beck, and rocking the house each night with that celebrated burnt-honey voice. Every live performance gets a standing ovation because no one knows how to rock the house better than Beth Hart.

Joining Blues Traveler and Beth Hart is New Orleans’ ANDERS OSBORNE, blues-rock guitarist ERIC GALES, “The Southern Fireball” NIKKI HILL, and KNOCK-OUT GREG & THE JUKES. The full lineup will be revealed in the next few weeks and will include a very special guest announcement! The festival will feature three stages of alternating music with 20+ performances throughout the weekend.

2018 Doheny Blues Festival                                                                                 Page 2

The festival is also excited to release Single Day tickets before the full lineup is announced! Prices range from $80 (Single Day GA) and $140 (GA Weekend), to $160 (Single Day VIP) and $275 (Weekend VIP), to $260 (GOLD Single Day) and $475 (GOLD Weekend). Tickets are available online at www.dohenybluesfestival.com.

WHAT                         21^st Annual Doheny Blues Festival

WHEN                         May 19 & 20, 2018               Hours:            10:00 a.m. – 9:00 p.m. Saturday

                                                                                                10:00 a.m. – 8:30 p.m. Sunday

WHERE                       Sea Terrace Park

                                    Pacific Coast Highway & Niguel Road, Dana Point, CA 92629

MAY 19                       George Thorogood & The Destroyers, Blues Traveler, Jimmie Vaughan, Anders Osborne, Eric Gales, Larkin Poe, Knock-Out Greg and The Jukes, Chris Cain All-Stars feat. Jim Pugh, Tony Braunagel, Larry Taylor & Nancy Wright, and more to be announced!

MAY 20                       Beth Hart, The California Honeydrops, John Nemeth & The Love Light Orchestra, Nikki Hill, Kim Wilson’s Blues & Boogie Revue, and more to be announced – including a very special guest!

WHAT ELSE               The festival will feature three alternating stages of music, an expanded selection of food & beverage offerings with participation from Dana Point’s top restaurants, an eclectic vendor promenade, VIP viewing areas and community booths with fundraising opportunities for local non-profits.

TICKETS                     www.dohenybluesfestival.com

FOLLOW US               Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, Spotify, eNewsletters

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U2 news: Vinyl reissues of 'Pop,' 'Wide Awake in America' and 'All That You Can't Leave Behind' coming

Here is some cool news as it relates to lovers of U2 and/or all things vinyl!

U2

VINYL REISSUES COMING SOON

POP ▪ WIDE AWAKE IN AMERICA ▪ ALL THAT YOU CAN’T LEAVE BEHIND

UMC/Island/Interscope are proud to announce the release of 3 new vinyl reissues from Irish rock giants, U2:

Pop (1997), Wide Awake In America (1985) and All That You Can’t Leave Behind (2000).

Pop    (2LP)                               

March 3, 2018 marks the 21st anniversary of Pop, U2’s ninth studio album, which reached #1 in the UK, US, Ireland and 26 other countries around the world following its release in 1997.  Produced by Flood, with Howie B and Steve Osborne, the album was recorded in Dublin (Hanover Quay, Windmill Lane, The Works) and Miami (South Beach Studios).  It features the singles: Discothèque,Staring At The Sun, Last Night On Earth, Please, If God Will Send His Angels and Mofo.  Remastered and pressed on 180gsm vinyl, this reissue includes a download card.  The artwork has been faithfully reproduced from the original release, including a gatefold sleeve, printed inner sleeves and a lyrics insert.

Wide Awake In America   (EP)                                                                                                     

Wide Awake In America is a four-track half live/half studio EP from 1985.  Originally released only in North America and Japan, it was subsequently re-released internationally in the late 1980s.  Side A features live performances of A Sort Of Homecoming and Bad from UK shows on The Unforgettable Fire tour in late 1984.  Side B features two B-sides from the 12” single of The Unforgettable Fire – The Three Sunrises and Love Comes Tumbling.  Remastered and pressed on 180gsm vinyl, this reissue includes a download card and the artwork is a faithful reproduction of the original.

All That You Can't Leave Behind (1LP)

All That You Can’t Leave Behind, the tenth studio album from U2, garnered multiple Grammy awards following its release in October 2000 and shot to #1 in 32 countries.  Produced by Daniel Lanois and Brian Eno, and recorded in Dublin (HQ, Windmill Lane, Westland and Totally Wired) and the South of France, it includes the singles Beautiful Day, Stuck In A Moment You Can’t Get Out Of, Elevationand Walk On.  Remastered and pressed on 180gsm vinyl, this reissue also includes a download card.  The artwork comprises a 16-page booklet featuring lyrics and photography by Anton Corbijn.  

Formed in Dublin in 1976, U2 comprises the same four members who came together whilst still at school: Bono, The Edge, Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen. They signed their first major record deal with Island Records in 1980 and by May 1983 they had achieved their first UK number 1 album with the Steve Lillywhite-produced, War. Acknowledged as one of the best live acts in the world, U2 has released 14 studio albums, including GRAMMY Album of the Year winners The Joshua Tree and How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb,selling many millions of albums worldwide. Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2005, in their first year of eligibility, their accolades include 22 GRAMMY Awards, the most of any rock band. Following the #1 U.S. chart debut of their new album Songs ofExperience, they are now one of just four musical acts to score a #1 album in the States in each of the four last decades and the only group to achieve this remarkable feat. In 2005 the band were the recipients of the Amnesty International Ambassador of Conscience Award in recognition of their longstanding commitment to global human rights.

With the December 2017 release of Songs of Experience, the follow-up to 2014’s Songs of Innocence, 2018 heralds U2’s Experience + Innocence Tour throughout North America and Europe.

www.U2.com

Blix Street Records to celebrate 20th anniversary of Eva Cassidy's 'Songbird' with 'Songbird20'

For fans of the late Eva Cassidy, here is some very big news. And for those not familiar with Cassidy, her voice was beautiful and able to deliver deeply impactful versions of reworked classics...

BLIX STREET RECORDS CELEBRATES 20TH ANNIVERSARY OF

EVA CASSIDY'S MONUMENTAL 'SONGBIRD' ALBUM WITH

RELEASE OF 'SONGBIRD20'

Re-Mastered Original CD Plus 4 Bonus Tracks Will Arrive in Stores On March 2 in UK and Australia, March 9 in U.S. 

 and March 30 in Canada

Eva Cassidy's SONGBIRD album was initially released by independent label Blix Street Records in April, 1998.  The posthumous release, an anthology of recordings by the Washington, DC-based singer who had died in November of 1996, is comprised of four tracks from her first solo album, LIVE AT BLUES ALLEY (taken from her January 3, 1996 performance with her band at the Georgetown jazz club and locally released a few months before she died); five tracks from EVA BY HEART, the studio album she was recording at the time of her passing, posthumously released locally a year after she died; and one track (Over The Rainbow) from THE OTHER SIDE, a 1992 collection of jazz and blues duets with Washington's Chuck Brown.

According to Blix Street's founder/president Bill Straw, the plan was to introduce the music of the then recently deceased/now legendary singer to the world via an album that would live on with early believers until the inevitable tipping point around the world. The title-SONGBIRD-was taken from Eva's included cover of the Christine McVie classic that has closed many a Fleetwood Mac concert. LIVE AT BLUES ALLEY and EVA BY HEART were both later released by Blix Street in the summer of 1998, the first national and international exposure for both works.

  

SONGBIRD20, set for release by Blix Street in the UK and Australia on March 2, the U.S. on March 9 and Canada on March 30, celebrates the 20th anniversary of the original SONGBIRD, an album 'heard round the world'...more than five million copies sold. SONGBIRD20 contains the re-mastered original ten tracks (featuring Cassidy's masterful interpretations of Fields of Gold, Autumn Leaves, Songbirdand Over the Rainbow) plus four acoustic bonus tracks (Songbird, Wade in the Water, People Get Ready and Autumn Leaves) that surfaced long after the release of SONGBIRD. They were first heard on the 2011 SIMPLY EVA album.

SONGBIRD originally arrived with immediate impact around the world. It began with Fields of Gold and ended with Over the Rainbow, tracks that people only had to hear once. In between were eight other classic performances that also showcased Eva Cassidy's extraordinarily versatile voice and exquisite taste: in choice of songs; impeccable arrangements and her incredible ability to re-imagine a familiar song and make it her personal property. People Magazine wrote at the time: "Whether in jazz, folk, or inspirational music, Cassidy's potential was huge, and this album stands as a testament to popular music's loss."

Two years later, as 2000 drew to a close, National Public Radio featured Eva Cassidy on its "Morning Edition" news program and, almost simultaneously over in England, a grainy video of Cassidy performing "Over the Rainbow" from the Blues Alley concert aired on the British television program Top of the Pops2 on BBC2, and it was re-broadcast in January, 2001 following a wave of phone calls, emails and letters from viewers. The rebroadcast catapulted the SONGBIRD album to the top of the UK and Irish album charts on March 18, 2001, igniting a media storm in the U.S. where outlets from The Today Show to ABC World News Tonight to CNNweighed in on the phenomenon that was Eva Cassidy. ABC News Nightline ran a full half hour piece that has been rebroadcast numerous times in the ensuing years, making it one of, if not the most popular program in the history of Nightline. The piece was anchored by ABC's on-air correspondent Dave Marash who had heard Eva music in Washington and would then listen to it at night while covering the war in Bosnia and other faraway places.

By November of 2001, the fifth anniversary of her passing, SONGBIRD had been certified: Triple Platinum in England for sales of more than 900,000; and Gold in the US for sales of more than 500,000, eventually hitting #1 on BillboardMagazine's Internet Album Chart and topping the publication's Pop Catalog Chart for 32 weeks.

The small catalogue of material she left behind has been meticulously curated and released via 11 different albums. Subsequent Eva Cassidy releases include TIME AFTER TIME (2000), two additional U.K. chart toppers, IMAGINE (2002) and AMERICAN TUNE (2003)--the former climbed to #1 on Billboard's Independent Album Chart, the latter to No. 5), the 2004 compilation WONDERFUL WORLD, followed by SOMEWHERE in 2008 and 2011's SIMPLY EVA, an album of alternative Eva-only acoustic guitar and vocal performances. THE BEST OF EVA CASSIDY was released in 2012.

In 2015, Blix Street released NIGHTBIRD, the complete 31-song recording of Eva Cassidy's landmark Blues Alley concert. The two-CD set, containing 12 previously unreleased tracks, was remixed and remastered from the original tapes and also released in a double vinyl album version.

To date, Eva Cassidy has sold more 10 million records around the world-with half attributed to SONGBIRD. Six times Platinum in England, SONGBIRD passed the one million sales mark in the U.S. and was certified Platinum on November 14, 2008. Cassidy recently became one of only 11 female artists to ever achieve 10 or more UK Gold albums.

In recent years, Eva Cassidy has become the standard for a younger generation of female singers. Her influence is documented in Eva Cassidy: Timeless Voice, a 2013 television program. Adele has been quoted as saying: "So I used to dress up like a Slipknot fan, and then after school I'd run home and listen to Eva Cassidy."

Every year brings countless new uses of her music in films, television and

beyond--from USA Ladies Figure Skating Champion Michelle Kwan skating to Eva's Fields of Gold during the closing ceremonies of the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City to the inclusion of her Songbird performance in the film Love Actually (2003) to a 2007 BBC poll ranking Eva Cassidy 21st on a list of "100 Voices of the 20th Century" to the 67th Annual Emmy Awards using her signature version of Over the Rainbow to underscore the 2015 award show's In Memoriamtribute honoring the passing of major television industry figures during the prior year to the continuing use of her arrangements and recordings on talent shows such as The XFactor, The Voice, American Idol, America's Got Talent and Dancing With The Stars.

Eva Cassidy performing live.

Born in Washington, DC, Cassidy grew up around music in Oxon Hill, Maryland (and in Bowie, Maryland after the age of nine). Her father, a special needs teacher, played bass and cello while her brother Dan played violin. She was encouraged to sing at home with her siblings from an early age, and by high school, she was in several bands.

Her catalogue of recordings began when she wandered into producer Chris Biondo's studio in Kensington, Maryland to sing on a band's demo to make extra money. Biondo, impressed with her talent, asked her to come back so he could record her as a soloist, eventually introducing her to Washington's "King of Go-Go" Chuck Brown.   In 1992, THE OTHER SIDE, a collection of Brown and Cassidy duets (plus her solo version of Over the Rainbow) was released nationally by Liaison Records.  

Cassidy worked in a plant nursery by day to fulfill her desire to be close to nature and played in local clubs around her native Washington, DC by night, developing a loyal following for her intensely personal, highly eclectic musical style. Unable to secure a record deal she was happy with, Cassidy cashed in a small pension from her job to pay for the recording of her first album, LIVE AT BLUES ALLEY, in 1996. She was backed by her band -- producer Chris Biondo on bass, pianist Lenny Williams, lead guitarist Keith Grimes and drummer Raice McLeod. Nobody could have imagined that the audio and video recordings captured that night would prove to be the foundation of Eva Cassidy's unparalleled posthumous international success. Cassidy and Biondo were also at work on a studio album which would become EVA BY HEART. It was completed by Biondo and released locally by Liaison Records almost a year after Eva's death.

After she was diagnosed with melanoma at the age of 33, Blix Street recording artist Grace Griffith sent Eva's music to her label's president Bill Straw. Straw heard the original LIVE AT BLUES ALLEY album in late September of 1996, shortly before Eva died. "By the time I finished listening to the whole album, I knew I had heard one of the best singers ever," he recalls. "I knew she was going to be famous, but also knew she would not live to enjoy it. I drove around listening to her cassette in my car for months before contacting her parents about marketing their daughter's music."

Eva Cassidy's voice caused a collective spontaneous reaction around the world that she did not live to witness   SONGBIRD20 is a celebration of the anniversary of the release of the album that first made the world aware of one of the finest singers of her generation.

In these intervening 20 years since the release of SONGBIRD, Eva Cassidy's music has proven timeless and universal. Crossing all boundaries-musical, cultural, geographical-her voice continues to find new listeners every day. "She sang for the pure joy of singing," her mother, Barbara Cassidy, has said, "however, the spirit would move her."

SONGBIRD20-Special Anniversary Edition Track List: 1.   Fields of Gold 2.   Wade In The Water 3.   Autumn Leaves 4.   Wayfaring Stranger 5.   Songbird 6.   Time Is A Healer 7.   I Know You By Heart 8.   People Get Ready 9.   Oh, Had I A Golden Thread 10. Over The Rainbow Bonus Tracks: 11. Songbird (acoustic) 12. Wade In the Water (acoustic) 13. People Get Ready (acoustic) 14. Autumn Leaves (acoustic)

Pre-order at:  www.amazon.comVisit:     www.blixstreet.com               www.evacassidy.com

Tinsley Ellis' showcases his 'Winning Hand' at The Coach House

Review by Robert Kinsler

Photos by Bob Steshetz

Tinsley Ellis playing up a storm at The Coach House on February
28, 2018. / Photo: Bob Steshetz

To put it simply, Tinsley Ellis' 90-minute concert at The Coach House on Wednesday night (Feb. 28, 2018), was about both celebrating the blues and pushing the genre forward in the best of all possible ways.

The famed Atlanta-based singer-songwriter/guitar virtuoso –  backed only by a bassist and drummer – performed a dozen songs touching on the most traditional of Delta blues stylings via a short acoustic-styled set as well as offering up his own blazing Southern-friend electric selections that comprised most of the songs featured this night.

Kicking things off with the first track ("Sound of a Broken Man") off his outstanding 2018 Alligator Records-issued disc Winning Hand, Ellis, 60, immediately immersed the crowd with his muscular-meets-nuanced guitar work. The track was bolstered by two thrilling guitar solos, the second enhanced by the use of his wah-wah utilizing the classic sound to enhance the song's lyrical arc.

While influences ranging from B.B. King and Stevie Ray Vaughan to Eric Clapton and Bob Margolin can be heard in Ellis' sound, his style is decidedly distinctive. That was evidenced across the fast-moving set, in large part because of the power of his songs and artful approach in how he fuses his guitar work into the songs. Take the soulful blues ballad "Saving Grace" (another highlight on his latest LP), his vocals were as prominent and emotive as his jaw-dropping skills on the electric guitar.

Tinsley Ellis playing his Gibson electric
guitar during the encore at The Coach House.
Photo: Bob Steshetz

Making his first appearance at The Coach House in five years, Ellis seemed loose and thoroughly enjoying himself. The blues-rocker "To The Devil For a Dime" was both playful and potent, with Ellis again using his wah-wah pedal to add fire to his lead guitar work.

On the electric ballad "A Quitter Never Wins," Ellis positioned him back from the microphone a bit to give his vocals a far-away sound; his sparse lead guitar matched the haunting effect.

There was also an acoustic-styled two-song set where Ellis had a chance to recall his own heroes; a faithful take on the Muddy Waters classic "Can't Be Satisfied" ("Bob Margolin taught it to me and Muddy Waters taught it to him," Ellis noted in his introduction) and a powerful take on the Howlin' Wolf classic (penned by Willie Dixon) "Little Red Rooster" elicited big cheers from the crowd of blues lovers.

The last half of the set was filled with an equal number of highlights including the rousing "Pawnbroker," which featured some of Ellis' most expressive lead guitar playing of a night.

Opening the night was the Anaheim-based Claude Von Trotha Band, a nine-man ensemble offering up a solid set of mostly-original blues tracks adorned by a mighty four-member horn section.

Here is an embedded video of Ellis' performance of "A Quitter Never Wins" performed at the concert:



Editor's Note: A special thank you to photographer Bob Steshetz for his wonderful photographs used here.