News

   

"An incendiary brew…fiery fretwork and wailing harmonica…soulful, playful and exuberant."
—Living Blues

"Superb…Nick Moss is one of the best existing purveyors of Chicago blues. Dennis Gruenling wails expertly on harp."
—Blues Music Magazine
 
"Foot-stomping, classic Chicago blues with clever lyrics and great harp. You won’t be disappointed."
—Blues & Rhythm (UK)

On Friday, July 14, award-winning traditional electric Chicago blues group The Nick Moss Band Featuring Dennis Gruenling will unleash their eagerly awaited third Alligator Records release, Get Your Back Into It!. The album will be available on CD, red vinyl LP, and on all popular streaming and download services. The band has recently signed with the Blues Pros Talent music agency with national and international tour plans in the works.

With Get Your Back Into It!, Chicago native, guitarist and vocalist Nick Moss and New Jersey native, harmonica player and vocalist Dennis Gruenling – together with Rodrigo Mantovani on bass, Taylor Streiff on keyboards and Pierce Downer on drums – deliver a deeply rooted, timeless blue collar blues album. According to Moss, “We are a rare breed as far as how authentic we like to keep the music." That's not a surprise to longtime fans, as Moss proudly represents the city of Chicago as one of the few bluesmen working today to have learned his craft firsthand directly from many of the genre’s original creators.

The album's first single, the Moss original, The Bait In The Snare, will be released on June 14.

Get Your Back Into It! was produced by Moss and Mantovani and contains fourteen original songs -- twelve by Moss and two by Gruenling. Guests include saxophonist “Sax” Gordon Beadle and organist “Brother” John Kattke. The album is inspired by the electrifying blues sounds of the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s, and is performed with taste, restraint, sly humor and pure joy. In addition to the expertly crafted lyrics, the album features three wild instrumentals that simply dare you to stay seated. “We're not reinventing the wheel," says Moss of the songs and performances on the new album, "but we like to push ourselves out of our comfort zone, and I feel like we accomplished that.”

Moss first made a name for himself playing bass for bluesman Jimmy “Fast Fingers” Dawkins. Dawkins encouraged Nick to unleash his fire and passion. From there, Moss was chosen by Willie “Big Eyes” Smith to join his Legendary Blues Band, but Smith insisted Moss switch to guitar. Blues icon Jimmy Rogers (whose best known songs included Walking By Myself and Ludella) hired Moss as his touring guitarist, mentoring him on the blues lifestyle along the way. Today, Moss’ blistering fretwork, impassioned, soul-charged vocals and memorable original songs place him in a league of his own.

Dennis Gruenling, Moss’ friend of over 20 years, is considered among today’s most innovative and creative blues harmonica players. His high-energy, full-throttle reed work has earned him comparisons to many of the greats, including the late James Cotton. A self-taught player and a natural entertainer with seven solo albums and numerous guest appearances to his credit, Gruenling’s giant, fat-toned harp work, raw-boned singing and untamed energy are a perfect foil for Moss’ inspired guitar playing and straight-from-the-shoulder blues vocals. Vintage Guitar says, “Gruenling’s harp, along with the Midwestern intensity of Moss’ blues guitar, is pure ecstasy.”

The Nick Moss Band Featuring Dennis Gruenling's first two Alligator albums, 2018's The High Cost Of Low Living and 2019’s Lucky Guy!, hit blues fans, press and radio by storm. Moss, Gruenling and the band  received a total of five Blues Music Awards, with wins in 2020 for Band Of The Year, Song Of The Year (Lucky Guy) and Traditional Blues Album Of The Year (Lucky Guy!), and in 2019 for Traditional Blues Male Artist (Moss) and Instrumentalist—Harmonica (Gruenling). Blues Music Magazine says, “Nick Moss is a major force in contemporary blues. Dennis Gruenling plays soaring harp...infectious and finger-snappin’.”

Lucky Guy! finished in the Top 10 on the Living Blues Radio Chart’s Top 50 Albums of 2019. Internationally, the album peaked on blues charts at #1 in Australia, #3 in France and #7 in the UK. Songs from Lucky Guy! were also prominently featured on BBC2 in Britain and CBC in Canada. The title track became one of the most played songs on SiriusXM’s Bluesville.

Now, with Get Your Back Into It! and upcoming North American and European tours in the works, The Nick Moss Band Featuring Dennis Gruenling will bring their brash, exciting blues to old fans and new. Performing at clubs, concert halls and on festival stages across the country and around the world, the band ignites an irresistible, musical firestorm onstage. “When we get together, the music takes over,” says Moss. “We can’t hold back, and the energy just comes pouring out. We get carried away and the audience gets carried away with us.” 

On Thursday, May 11, 2023, the Blues Foundation announced the winners of the 44th Annual Blues Music Awards. This year, six Alligator Records artists received honors. The Awards ceremony was held in Memphis, Tennessee at the Renasant Convention Center.

Internationally beloved guitarist and vocalist Tommy Castro, leader of Tommy Castro & The Painkillers, won the prestigious and coveted B.B. King Entertainer Of The Year Award for the second straight year. This is Castro's 10th Blues Music Award, and the fourth time he's been named Entertainer Of The Year.

Blues icon Charlie Musselwhite won the award for Acoustic Album Of The Year for his Grammy Award-nominated album Mississippi Son, on which the beloved harmonica player surprised and delighted the world with his note-perfect original country blues guitar playing. This is the 34th Blues Music Award of Musselwhite's career.

Powerhouse, multi-Grammy Award-nominated vocalist Shemekia Copeland was named Best Instrumentalist -- Vocals. This is the 15th Blues Music Award of her career. She's received over 40 total nominations.

Young blues guitar phenomenon Christone "Kingfish" Ingram took home the hardware for Contemporary Blues Male Artist Of The Year for the fourth straight year. Since he first burst on the scene in 2019, Ingram has been nominated for 10 Blues Music Awards and he's won them all.

Legendary vocalist and songwriter Curtis Salgado won the award for Soul Blues Male Vocalist Of The Year for the third year in a row and for the eighth time in his career. This is Salgado's 12th Blues Music Award overall.

Kenny "Beedy Eyes" Smith, drummer with The Cash Box Kings, was named Best Instrumentalist -- Drums. His top shelf talent can be heard on The Cash Box Kings' new album, Oscar's Motel.

See the full list of winners here. 

B.B. King Entertainer Of The Year  


 





Acoustic Album Of The Year - Mississippi Son 







Best Instrumentalist -- Vocals 

Contemporary Blues Male Artist Of The Year 

Soul Blues Male Artist Of The Year 








Kenny "Beedy Eyes" Smith:
Best Instrumentalist -- Drums 


  

   

"Rising blues star Selwyn Birchwood is the real deal. He puts his own fresh spin on the blues, taking the tradition and making it into something new."
—Guitar World
 
"A remarkable, contemporary bluesman...a powerhouse young guitarist and soulful vocalist. A major player...highly recommended."
—Rolling Stone

"No one in blues compares to young Florida-based guitarist Selwyn Birchwood. With the quality of his material, combined with a vibrant stage persona, there’s no need to borrow tunes from the greats who went before him. Lean yet mean and tough…lyrically and musically intense."
—American Songwriter 

On Tuesday, May 9, award-winning Florida bluesman Selwyn Birchwood releases FLorida Man, the first single from Exorcist, his highly anticipated fourth Alligator Records release. The album, set for June 9 release, will be available on purple vinyl LP, CD and at all popular streaming and download sites. The original song is ripped straight from the state's notorious news headlines, and it's an uproarious and timely blues-rocker. According to Birchwood, every line is true. "FLorida Man is my maniacal musical of the mythical and elusive character that resides in my home state. People outside of Florida think we are crazy. People inside of Florida KNOW we’re crazy!" 

Birchwood's hometown radio station, Tampa's WMNF, gave FLorida Man its worldwide debut on April 14. Nashville's tastemaker roots radio station, WMOT, is already enthusiastically airing the song in regular rotation. Belgium's Keys & Chords magazine says Birchwood is "one of the most exciting and creative young blues musicians in the world…This is the most visionary statement yet from a musician determined to shape the future of the blues.”

The young guitarist, lap steel player, songwriter and vocalist calls his music “Electric Swamp Funkin’ Blues,” an intoxicating mix of deep blues, blistering, psychedelic-tinged rock, booty-shaking funk and sweet Southern soul, played and sung with fire-and-brimstone fervor. Americana music magazine No Depression says, “Selwyn Birchwood reaches back in the blues tradition to launch something out of this world.”

On Exorcist, Birchwood delivers the most far-reaching, musically adventurous album of his career. Recorded in Florida and produced by Grammy Award-winner Tom Hambridge, each of the 13 vividly detailed songs was written and arranged by Birchwood. The soul-baring tracks all hit with lasting rhymes and unexpected rhythms. Each twists its own tale, ranging from the love-gone-wrong Horns Below Her Halo to the love-gone-terrifying Exorcist to the autobiographical Underdog. According to Blues Music Magazine, “Selwyn Birchwood heralds a fresh, exciting new direction in the blues. Toe-tapping, hip-shaking, joyful and inviting…expansive and focused, exploratory and time-honored, but always original.”

Along with the June 9 release of Exorcist, Birchwood and his band will kick off their extensive national tour that same evening at legendary local Tampa haunt Skipper's Smokehouse. About both his new album and his live show, Birchwood says, “My goal is to be sure you cannot listen passively. We’re going to make you dance, and we’re going to make you think.” One listen to Exorcist will no doubt convert many new true believers; this is visionary contemporary blues written and performed by an endlessly creative, modern-day blues master. 

Living Blues magazine, in its May 2023 issue, announced the nominees for the 2023 Living Blues Awards. This year, eight Alligator artists received a total of 15 nominations. Leading all artists with four nominations is award-winning vocalist Shemekia Copeland. She received nods for Blues Artist Of The Year (Female), Best Blues Album Of 2022 (for the Grammy-nominated Done Come Too Far), Most Outstanding Blues Singer and Best Live Performer.

Grammy Award-winning guitarist/vocalist/songwriter Christone "Kingfish" Ingram followed with three nominations, including Blues Artist Of The Year (Male), Best Live Performer and Most Outstanding Musician (Guitar).

Southern blues rocker Tinsley Ellis and blues icon Charlie Musselwhite each received two nominations. Texas pianist/vocalist Marcia Ball, harmonica giants Rick Estrin (of Rick Estrin & The Nightcats) and Billy Branch, and Oscar Wilson (vocalist for The Cash Box Kings) each received one nomination.

Living Blues fans may vote with the Readers' Ballot, available at www.livingblues.com before June 15, 2023. Alligator artists and their nominations follow:

Blues Artist Of The Year (Female) 
Best Blues Album Of 2022  - Done Come Too Far
Most Outstanding Blues Singer 
Best Live Performer 





Blues Artist Of The Year (Male) 
Best Live Performer 
Most Outstanding Musician (Guitar) 






Best Blues Album Of 2022 - Devil May Care 
Most Outstanding Musician (Guitar) 

Best Blues Album Of 2022 - Mississippi Son 
Most Outstanding Musician (Harmonica) 

Most Outstanding Musician (Keyboards) 








Most Outstanding Musician (Harmonica) 


  





Most Outstanding Musician (Harmonica) 

  






Oscar Wilson - Most Outstanding Blues Singer 

   

"Rising blues star Selwyn Birchwood is the real deal. He puts his own fresh spin on the blues, taking the tradition and making it into something new."
—Guitar World
 
"A remarkable, contemporary bluesman...a powerhouse young guitarist and soulful vocalist. A major player...highly recommended."
—Rolling Stone

"No one in blues compares to young Florida-based guitarist Selwyn Birchwood. With the quality of his material, combined with a vibrant stage persona, there’s no need to borrow tunes from the greats who went before him. Lean yet mean and tough…lyrically and musically intense."
—American Songwriter 

On Friday, June 9, award-winning Florida bluesman Selwyn Birchwood will release Exorcist, his highly anticipated fourth Alligator Records release. The young guitarist, lap steel player, songwriter and vocalist sets a course for the future of the blues with his visionary, original music. He calls it “Electric Swamp Funkin’ Blues,” an intoxicating mix of deep blues, blistering, psychedelic-tinged rock, booty-shaking funk and sweet Southern soul, played and sung with fire-and-brimstone fervor. Tastemaker Americana music magazine No Depression says, “Selwyn Birchwood reaches back in the blues tradition to launch something out of this world.” Exorcist will be available on purple vinyl LP, CD and at all popular streaming and download sites. The first single, the ripped-from-the-headlines howler FLorida Man, will hit radio and streamers on Tuesday, May 9.

On Exorcist, Birchwood delivers the most far-reaching, musically adventurous album of his career. Recorded in Florida and produced by Grammy Award-winner Tom Hambridge, each of the 13 vividly detailed songs was written and arranged by Birchwood. The soul-baring tracks all hit with lasting rhymes and unexpected rhythms. Each twists its own tale, ranging from the love-gone-wrong Horns Below Her Halo to the love-gone-terrifying Exorcist to the autobiographical Underdog. According to Blues Music Magazine, “Selwyn Birchwood heralds a fresh, exciting new direction in the blues. Toe-tapping, hip-shaking, joyful and inviting…expansive and focused, exploratory and time-honored, but always original.”

Live, Birchwood is a force of nature. His ability to win over an audience—any audience—is proven night after night on the bandstand. With his warm, magnetic personality, Birchwood is as down-to-earth as his music is thought-provoking and electrifying, with Birchwood's band featuring the pulsating interplay of his blistering guitar with Regi Oliver’s driving baritone sax. When he sits down to play his lap steel, he takes the crowd to a whole other level, with the music exorcising any bad times and troubles.

Birchwood first hit the blues scene in 2011 with the self-released, self-produced FL Boy. After winning the 2013 International Blues Challenge in Memphis (beating 150 other bands), Birchwood found doors swinging open. He took a giant step forward in 2014 with his Alligator Records debut album, Don’t Call No Ambulance. Rave reviews ran in publications from Rolling Stone to The Wall Street Journal, from The Chicago Tribune to The San Francisco Chronicle. The album won both the Living Blues Award and the Blues Music Award (BMA) for Best New Artist Debut. He followed in 2016 with fan-favorite Pick Your Poison and, in 2021, with the groundbreaking Living In A Burning House. He won the coveted BMA Song Of The Year Award for that album’s I’d Climb Mountains.

Now, with Exorcist, Selwyn Birchwood and his band are ready to deliver the new songs live to expanding, enraptured audiences around the world, lifting spirits while banishing demons. Asked what fans can expect when they see him, Birchwood replies, “My goal is to be sure you cannot listen passively. We’re going to make you dance, and we’re going to make you think.” One listen to Exorcist will no doubt convert many new true believers: this is visionary contemporary blues written and performed by an endlessly creative, modern-day blues master. 

   

On Friday, June 2, Alligator Records will reissue two classic titles from its unparalleled blues and roots rock catalog: 2023 Blues Hall Of Famer Fenton Robinson's Somebody Loan Me A Dime and Lonnie Mack's Strike Like Lightning. Both albums have been remastered and pressed on 140g black vinyl and will be available for the first time on LP in 30 years.

Originally released in 1974, Somebody Loan Me A Dime, by blues icon Fenton Robinson, is a bona fide blues classic, and only the fifth album to be released by Alligator at the time. An inventive, melodic guitarist with a soaring voice, Robinson had a long recording career, cutting singles (and one LP) for various labels before releasing Somebody Loan Me A Dime on Alligator. That album fully captures the depth of Robinson's subtle, nuanced, jazz-inflected blues and spectacular guitar and vocal talent, and features his definitive versions of the title track (covered by Boz Scaggs) and Texas Flood (covered by Stevie Ray Vaughan). Robinson was posthumously inducted into the Blues Hall Of Fame in 2023. Since its release, Somebody Loan Me A Dime has sold over 50,000 units in the U.S..

Originally released in 1985, Strike Like Lightning, by rock and soul originator Lonnie Mack, was the celebrated comeback of the legendary rock guitar pioneer. A blazing guitarist and raw, soulful singer, Mack rose to fame in 1963 with his instrumental singles Memphis and Wham! and a handful of albums. With the encouragement of his greatest disciple, Stevie Ray Vaughan (who offered to produce and guest on the album), Mack went into the studio for Alligator in 1984 and relaunched his career. Strike Like Lightning features timeless slash-and-burn performances, including the songs Hound Dog Man, If You Have To Know, Double Whammy and Oreo Cookie Blues. Strike Like Lightning has sold over 100,000 units in the U.S.

    

“Kingfish is one of the most exciting young guitarists in years, with a sound that encompasses B.B. King, Jimi Hendrix and Prince.” —Rolling Stone

"Big K.R.I.T. is a different sort of Southern traditionalist...understated and wonderous [with a] strong moral center...thoughtful and introspective." —New York Times

"The two disparate talents come off like kindred spirits and blend seamlessly on one of Ingram’s most powerful and personal songs, and the resulting collaboration is stirring stuff."  —Guitar Player

On Tuesday, February 21, Grammy Award-winning blues guitarist, vocalist and songwriter Christone "Kingfish" Ingram and groundbreaking indie hip hop star—and fellow Mississippian—Big K.R.I.T. are premiering the video for their trailblazing collaboration on the remixed track, Another Life Goes By (Mississippi Mix). The cutting-edge song blends blues with rap to address racial injustice, while the video intercuts more than 50 years of protest footage with eye-opening evidence showing why the struggle must carry on today. The video was created and directed by noted filmmaker and photographer Ricardo Betancourt, who is known for the visceral power of his visual work, with an aim to heal through moving images.

According to Kingfish, “Being raised in Mississippi and living with both the joy and difficulty of growing up Black in America, this is a very personal track for me. The message in Another Life Goes By speaks to contemporary issues many people face. For K.R.I.T. to add his Southern flavor, further cementing the deep meaning of the song, is really special. I appreciate him joining me on this one.”

The remixed track (produced, mixed and mastered by Grammy Award-winner Tom Hambridge), with K.R.I.T. adding a captivating rap to Kingfish's passionate vocals and thought-provoking lyrics, seamlessly blends hip hop's raw urgency with the timelessness of the blues.

NPR's World Cafe exclusively premiered the song (which in its original form appears on Ingram's Grammy Award-winning album 662), airing the track on over 250 radio stations nationwide. Bruce Warren, Executive Producer of World Cafe, which originates from Philadelphia-based WXPN-FM, says, "When Kingfish meets Big K.R.I.T. on Another Life Goes By, lyrical and guitar sparks explode on this new take on one of Kingfish’s most reflective songs. K.R.I.T.’s verse gives the song a masterful sense of urgency with its societal commentary, balanced with Kingfish’s incredible guitar playing."

Los Angeles-based NPR affiliate tastemaker radio station KCRW hosted the song as its Today's Top Tune free download feature. According to Today's Top Tune curator Ariana Morgenstern, "This track feels deep. Kingfish rivals the greats like Jimi Hendrix, Stevie Ray Vaughan and B.B. King."

The track has received widespread airplay across the globe, from New York's WFUV to Dallas' KXT to BBC2 in England. The song was one of the Most Added Singles on the North American College And Community (NACC) Hip Hop Chart in its debut week. Since the track's release, Kingfish's Spotify listenership has risen by an astounding 50%.

The pairing with Big K.R.I.T. was organic, as both artists share their Mississippi upbringings with similar musical tastes and a fanbase that is committed to both artists. Of Kingfish's musicianship, No Depression says, "Ingram has no fear. His music transcends. [This is] the unveiling of a new and innovative path alongside a well-traveled Delta highway." XXL magazine declares K.R.I.T. "One of the most lauded Southern poets of his generation...one of Rap's most resilient M.C.'s." 

Oscar's Motel Is The Title Track From Upcoming Album
Set For March 17 Release

Song Debuted Worldwide On SiriusXM's Bluesville Channel On February 15  
   

    

Fearless, full-tilt Chicago blues...fervent vocals and soaring harmonica.
—Chicago Tribune

Singer Oscar Wilson and singer-harpist Joe Nosek are experts in classic Chicago grooves but they also enchant with original songs both funny and pointed.
—MOJO (UK) 

Oscar Wilson’s powerful and deep voice harkens back to the golden age of Chicago blues. Nosek blows spirited, muscular harp. The Cash Box Kings serve up undeniable proof that they remain one of the top blues bands of this era.
—Blues Blast Magazine

On Friday, February 17, award-winning blues band The Cash Box Kings will premiere a new video for the wickedly sly title track from from their upcoming dynamic Alligator Records album Oscar's Motel (available March 17). The original song, a rousing, non-stop, blues-filled, barbeque-fueled party, made its worldwide debut on SiriusXM's Bluesville channel on February 15 and is now available at all popular streaming and download sites.

According to Living Blues magazine, The Cash Box Kings “are one of the best blues bands in the land.” The group, co-led by Chicago blues vocalist and songwriter Oscar “Mr. 43rd Street” Wilson, and Madison, Wisconsin-based harmonica giant, songwriter and singer Joe Nosek, plays masterfully raw, unvarnished, old-school ensemble blues. According to Nosek, who co-wrote the song with Wilson, "Our goal was to have Oscar’s Motel be a celebration, an open invitation to leave your troubles behind and have a carefree, down-home, good time.”

The full album, Oscar's Motel (the band's third for Alligator and 11th overall), will be available on CD, LP and at all popular streaming and download sites on March 17. On each of the album's 11 tracks, The Cash Box Kings bring contemporary authority and old-school blues authenticity. The band—featuring guitarist Billy Flynn, drummer Kenny “Beedy Eyes” Smith, bassist John W. Lauler, and keyboardist Lee Kanehira—opens a door into the intoxicating spirit and sounds of 1950s and 1960s Chicago blues, and then they bring it all right up to the minute with Wilson and Nosek’s original, instantly memorable songs.

No matter where The Cash Box Kings perform, they bring the music to fuel the party. Between Wilson’s natural blues vocal power and Nosek’s talent at wringing every last drop of emotion from his harmonica, The Cash Box Kings never fail to wow their longtime fans while earning new ones at every gig. Now, with the new album and tour dates scheduled throughout the year, The Cash Box Kings invite everyone to leave their worries at home and check into Oscar’s Motel, where the music is always just getting started.

Ball Named "Texas Music Legend"
By The Texas Heritage Songwriters Association

Musselwhite's Grammy Award-Nominated Mississippi Son Named
"Album Of The Year" By French Soul Bag Magazine 
   

    

“Rollicking, playful, good-time blues and intimate, reflective balladry...her songs ring with emotional depth.”
—Rolling Stone

"Marcia Ball plays two-fisted New Orleans barrelhouse piano and sings in a husky, knowing voice about all the trouble men and women can get into on the way to a good time.”
—The New York Times

The Texas Songwriters Association has named Alligator Records artist Marcia Ball its 2023 "Texas Music Legend." She will be presented with the coveted Darryl K. Royal (DKR) Texas Music Legends Award in a ceremony to be held on February 25, 2023 in Austin, Texas. Find more information here. Previous DKR Texas Music Legend awardees include songwriter/musician Stephen Bruton and Ray Benson of Asleep At The Wheel.

Ball is simply overjoyed, saying, "I can't contain myself, and I am so grateful for this amazing honor bestowed by the Texas Heritage Songwriters Association. I know I am in some really good company. Thank you so much!"

    

“Charlie Musselwhite breathes passion.”
—DownBeat

“Taste, restraint and power...He’s one of the best, and as a bluesman, he’s as real as they come.”
—The San Francisco Chronicle
 
“Blues roots perfection”
—Rolling Stone

Writers and editors of French Soul Bag magazine have selected blues icon Charlie Musselwhite's Mississippi Son as its 2022 Album Of The Year. Musselwhite was recently honored in France with the prestigious Charles Cros Academy Grand Prix Blues Award.

Soul Bag pictured Musselwhite on the cover of its July 2022 issue, noting Mississippi Son features "minimalist accompaniment, uncluttered playing, hypnotic patterns and voices. Musselwhite perfectly masters the codes of country blues." 

Award-Winning Band Co-Led By Chicago Blues Vocalist
Oscar "Mr. 43rd Street" Wilson And Harmonica Master Joe Nosek 
   

    

Fearless, full-tilt Chicago blues...fervent vocals and soaring harmonica.
—Chicago Tribune

Singer Oscar Wilson and singer-harpist Joe Nosek are experts in classic Chicago grooves but they also enchant with original songs both funny and pointed.
—MOJO (UK) 

Oscar Wilson’s powerful and deep voice harkens back to the golden age of Chicago blues. Nosek blows spirited, muscular harp. The Cash Box Kings serve up undeniable proof that they remain one of the top blues bands of this era.
—Blues Blast Magazine

On Friday, March 17, award-winning blues band The Cash Box Kings will release Oscar's Motel, their dynamic new Alligator Records album. According to Living Blues magazine, The Cash Box Kings “are one of the best blues bands in the land.” The group, co-led by Chicago blues vocalist and songwriter Oscar “Mr. 43rd Street” Wilson, and Madison, Wisconsin-based harmonica giant, songwriter, and singer Joe Nosek, plays masterfully raw, unvarnished, old-school ensemble blues. Wilson’s huge, emotive vocals and Nosek’s blistering harmonica, along with an all-star band, fuel their razor-sharp original songs and always-incisive reinventions of obscure blues classics. Oscar's Motel will be available on yellow vinyl LP, CD and at all popular streaming and download sites. The first single, the wickedly sly title track, Oscar's Motel, will hit radio and streamers on February 17.

On Oscar’s Motel (their third album for Alligator and 11th overall), The Cash Box Kings bring contemporary authority and old-school authenticity to each of the album’s 11 tracks. The band—featuring guitarist Billy Flynn, drummer Kenny “Beedy Eyes” Smith, bassist John W. Lauler, and keyboardist Lee Kanehira—opens a door into the intoxicating spirit and sounds of 1950s and 1960s Chicago-based blues, and then they bring it all right up to the minute with Wilson and Nosek’s original, instantly memorable songs.

Oscar’s Motel was recorded in Chicago and produced by Nosek. Going into the studio, the band made some significant decisions. According to Nosek, “While we are never afraid to tackle any subject, we decided to put aside everyday problems and have a bit more fun. So, no songs about Covid and this time nothing too political. Our goal was to have Oscar’s Motel be a celebration, an open invitation to leave your troubles behind and have a carefree, down-home, good time.” One listen and it’s clear the band succeeded. The driving cinematic title track is a non-stop, blues-filled, barbeque-fueled party. The funky Down On The South Side is inspired by Wilson’s colorful, true-to-life past. According to Wilson, “It was such a glorious time. Growing up on the South Side, there was a tavern on every corner with a band playing and music coming from front porches on every block.”

The history of The Cash Box Kings begins in Madison, Wisconsin where Nosek founded the band in 2001. Since 2007, his co-leader has been the charismatic, larger-than-life Chicago blues vocalist Oscar Wilson. Over 20 years apart in age and coming from vastly different backgrounds, the two form an unlikely pair, combining Wilson’s indisputably authentic South Side Chicago blues vocals and gritty, street-smart songwriting chops with Nosek’s storytelling vocals, dynamic harmonica and witty tunesmithing. According to Wilson, “The Cash Box Kings are a throwback to the golden age of blues with some kickin’ fresh young blood. Joe is my best friend in the music world—the band is a marriage made in heaven for both of us.” Says Nosek, “We have each other’s backs. We’re family.”

With ten previous releases to their credit and thousands of live performances under their belt,  The Cash Box Kings have won widespread acclaim throughout the blues world. Their Alligator Records debut, 2017’s Royal Mint, was named among the Top Ten Blues Albums of the Year by MOJO magazine. 2019’s Hail To The Kings! continued the trend, with the band receiving three Blues Music Award nominations, praise from media including NPR, The Chicago Tribune, AllMusic.com, Living Blues, Blues Music Magazine, the UK’s MOJO and Blues & Rhythm, and radio airplay across the globe, including heavy rotation on SiriusXM's Bluesville.

The Cash Box Kings continue to play major festivals across the U.S. and Europe. They’ve blown away audiences at the Chicago Blues Festival, the Tampa Bay Blues Festival, the Doheny Blues Festival, the Mississippi Valley Blues Festival, the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival, the Cincinnati Blues Festival, the Cambridge Folk Festival (UK), the Moulin Blues Festival (Netherlands), the Lucerne Blues Festival (Switzerland), the Baltic Blues Festival (Germany) and the Edmonton Blues Festival (Canada). They have also performed in Belgium, France, Spain and Uruguay, building their worldwide audience one jaw-dropping show at a time.

No matter where The Cash Box Kings perform, they bring the music to fuel the party. Between Wilson’s natural blues vocal power and Nosek’s talent at wringing every last drop of emotion from his harmonica, The Cash Box Kings never fail to wow their longtime fans while earning new ones at every gig. Now, with tour dates scheduled throughout the year, The Cash Box Kings invite everyone to leave their worries at home and check into Oscar’s Motel, where the music is always just getting started.

On Tuesday, January 10, 2023, the Blues Foundation announced the nominees for the 44th Annual Blues Music Awards. A total of 14 Alligator Records artists received an astounding 22 nominations. Leading all Alligator artists with four nominations is powerhouse vocalist Shemekia Copeland. Her nominations include both the coveted awards for Album Of The Year (for the Grammy Award-nominated Done Come Too Far, and Song Of The Year (for Too Far To Be Gone, written by John Hahn and Will Kimbrough).

Award-winning blues legends Rick Estrin & The Nightcats followed with three nominations, including for the Band Of The Year Award. Internationally beloved guitar master Chris Cain, soul blues vocalist Curtis Salgado, Southern blues rocker Tinsley Ellis, fiery road warrior Tommy Castro and harmonica giant Billy Branch received two nominations each.

Blues icon Charlie Musselwhite received an Acoustic Album Of The Year nomination for his Grammy Award-nominated album Mississippi Son, on which the beloved harmonica player surprised and delighted the world with his note-perfect original country blues guitar playing.

Young blues guitar phenomenon Christone "Kingfish" Ingram, guitarist/lap-steel sensation Selwyn Birchwood, harmonica star Dennis Gruenling (of The Nick Moss Band Featuring Dennis Gruenling) and legendary drummer Kenny "Beedy Eyes" Smith (of The Cash Box Kings) also received one nomination apiece.

The 44th Annual Blues Music Awards will be held in Memphis, Tennessee on Thursday, May 11, 2023. Alligator artists and their nominations follow :

Album Of The Year - Done Come Too Far
Contemporary Blues Album Of The Year - Done Come Too Far
Instrumentalist Of The Year (Vocals)
Song Of The Year - Too Far To Be Gone (by John Hahn and Will Kimbrough) 





Band Of The Year

Christoffer "Kid" Andersen:
Instrumentalist Of The Year  (Guitar)

Derrick D'mar Martin:
Instrumentalist Of The Year (Drums) 


Traditional Blues Male Artist Of The Year
Instrumentalist Of The Year (Harmonica) 

Contemporary Blues Male Artist Of The Year

Instrumentalist Of The Year (Guitar) 

B.B. King Entertainer Of The Year

Blues Rock Artist Of The Year 






Blues Rock Album Of The Year -
Devil May Care

Blues Rock Artist Of The Year  





Soul Blues Male Artist Of The Year

Instrumentalist Of The Year (Vocals)  






Contemporary Blues Male Artist Of The Year 








Contemporary Blues Male Artist Of The Year

Dennis Gruenling:
Instrumentalist Of The Year (Harmonica) 

Acoustic Album Of The Year - Mississippi Son

Kenny "Beedy Eyes" Smith:
Instrumentalist Of The Year (Drums) 

Charlie Musselwhite Receives French Charles Cros Academy Grand Prix Blues Award  

    

Charlie Musselwhite breathes passion.
—DownBeat

Taste, restraint and power. He’s one of the best, and as a bluesman, he’s as real as they come. 
—The San Francisco Chronicle

Superb, original and compelling…Charlie Musselwhite, with unabashed excellence, sets the standard for blues.  
—Rolling Stone

On December 15, 2022, blues icon Charlie Musselwhite was honored with the coveted Charles Cros Academy Grand Prix Blues Award for his Grammy Award-nominated Alligator Records album, Mississippi Son. The Grand Prix Awards for Jazz, Blues and Soul Favorites were announced on France Musique (French national radio) on Alex Dutilh's Open Jazz show. The full list of jazz and soul winners can be found here.

Vintage Guitar magazine recently reviewed Mississippi Son, calling Musselwhite a "beloved blues harp great" with "formidable guitar chops" who, on the new album, "transports" the listener "straight to the Delta." Of this stark, acoustic performance video of the song Blues Gave Me A Ride – one of 2022's top ten tracks at SiriuxXM Radio's Bluesville channel – Vintage Guitar simply says, "It just doesn't get much cooler." 

Charlie Musselwhite doesn’t just sing and play the blues; he is, in every sense of the word, a bluesman. Growing up, he not only learned the music first-hand from many of the genre’s most influential artists, he also absorbed the lifestyle.  “It’s an attitude...a way of living life,” Musselwhite says of playing the blues. Musselwhite's life story reads like a classic blues song: born in Mississippi, raised in Memphis and schooled on the South Side of Chicago. A groundbreaking recording artist since the 1960s, Musselwhite has never stopped creating trailblazing music while remaining firmly rooted in the blues.

Over the years, Charlie has released nearly 40 albums on a variety of labels, his exploratory recordings including straight blues but often mixing in elements of jazz, gospel, Tex-Mex, Cuban and other world musics. Four of those albums—1990’s Ace Of Harps, 1991’s Signature, 1994’s In My Time, and 2010’s The Well—were released on Alligator Records and remain among his best-selling titles.

Now, with Mississippi Son, Musselwhite has come full circle, returning home to Mississippi after decades in Memphis, Chicago, San Francisco and points in between. Amalgamating all he’s learned and absorbed throughout his years of worldwide touring, Musselwhite imparts sage wisdom in every song he writes, sings and performs. “Blues tells the truth in a world that’s full of lies,” he intones in Blues Gave Me A Ride, at once telling his own story and plainly summing up the genre’s timelessness. Through his evocative vocals, masterful harmonica playing, and note-perfect Southern country blues guitar, Charlie Musselwhite, on Mississippi Son, leans forward and delivers the blues’ honest truth.