Bentley’s Bandstand: May 2026
Marc Broussard, CHANCE WORTH TAKING. When it gets down to the real nitty gritty in 2026 for true blue soul brothers, there’s a good chance that Marc Broussard goes to the very top of the list. The Louisiana man has a no-foolin voice that grabs reality by the neck, puts a bucket of real lovin’ into songs like “Trying to Do Right,” “Chance Worth Taking,” “Let Me Take You Out Tonight” and, just maybe the topper of it all: “No More.” In fact, every feeling and note on CHANCE WORTH TAKING goes directly to the middle of the heart to bring on what music like this is really supposed to sound like. Marc Broussard himself has been singing and swinging his whole life back to when his age was actually in the one digits. He grew up in the steamiest part of Louisiana and saw the grown-ups, several of them relatives, hitting the honky tonks and juke joints on weekends to turn the tough lives lived there into glorious celebrations of what great music can do to the souls who need all the glory they can find. Broussard has lived that way his whole life, carving a career to be revered. Now that he’s cruising toward middle-age it’s like he’s found inside himself everything he needs to bring it all home. This groover is not kidding. The hand extended to him for help on CHANCE WORTH TAKING in the co-producer hotspot is guitarist Joe Bonamassa, and he comes out burnin’ on “You’ll Be Sorry,” and blasts off from there. And really, everyone working on CHANCE WORTH TAKING does just that: takes the steps musicians need to take to get to the very top. This whole album is a burner, start to finish, and will surely hit the monkey nerve of any and everyone who ever found themselves on a weeking cutting up in front of a band or a jukebox. This is the music that does not miss. And, thank goodness, can take listeners to joyous spots that they aren’t really sure exist anymore. But here they all are, songs and players that know where those wondrous moments come alive and turn on a side of life which can’t be beat. These songs are golden and as long as Marc Broussard has anything to do with it will never go away. This is it.
Flea, HONORA. It is a completely freeing moment when you hear a musician find their key to opening a door of new freedom. It’s a feeling like winning a prize to another land. Flea needs no introduction after all these years in the Red Hot Chili Peppers. They have been a worldwide entity for several decades, and continue to hold their own with whatever music they write and play. But it’s a bit of a secret that Flea, besides helping move their world of electric bass forward all these years, has been a major league jazz fan as well as an intriguing trumpet player since his earliest days making music. It is something that runs in his blood as much as any other passion. So it’s a given that his solo album HONORA would be a knockout. It couldn’t be any other way. And beyond that is his way of approaching a handful of different sonic styles and making something brand new out of them. It’s jaw-opening to hear so much beauty and innovation all on one disc. Flea is joined by a group of incredible musicians, each with their own contribution to such a spellingbinding collection. And of course there has to be a show-stopper with Nick Cave’s vocal on “Wichita Lineman,” Jimmy Webb’s classic original from decades ago. For those looking for a day of surprises, HONORA is it. Once again, it proves that music remains the healing force it’s always been, and that Flea is one of the best friends it’s ever had. His album is full of surprises, kind of like ten songs in a box of Crackerjacks. Do not miss.
Reverend Freakchild, BLUES & SPIRITUALS/HYMN HUSTLER. Life can be a crazy mixed-up world today, that’s for sure. Take Reverend Freakchild for example. This musician wears a variety of characters, and don’t expect anyone to step forward with a total explanation. Two obituaries have been written about him, but apparently he’s still walking and singing. It’s like the man is too busy to stay dead. And more power to him. The HYMN HUSTLER side is more grounded in straight-ahead gospel classics, while BLUES & SPIRITUALS stays on the stripped-down groove of full-tilt gospel. Luckily, both sides glow. Reverend Freakchild is spiritual and emotional enough to exist side-by-side, and the sides aren’t in direct competition. They take to the glory side of the road and are able to deliver everything with equal prowess. Sometimes it’s that way when God is involved. And God knows it takes a highly-charged spirit to cover all kinds of religious music. This is not a style built for daytime believers. It takes a mountain of soul to move from spiritual-style goodness to hymn hustler. It’s not a route built for the lazy. Say amen somebody
Sherri Harding, STORYLAND. There can never be enough soul singers in the world. There is something about that style of music that opens up the door to better living, a time when expressions can be proclaimed more and listeners feel where the realness of that music really comes from. Canadian Sherri Harding recorded her previous album in Muscle Shoals, Alabama and for the follow-up has gone all the way to the Southern grooves that make the style so deep. In fact, many of the players from that area came to Canada to make sure all the strength was there. Harding’s voice is so strong she needs muisicians who can equal her power. There’s no problem on STORYLAND there. This is one of the most outfront soul releases of the past several years for anyone, no matter where they came or where the sessions were recorded. Harding kicks in with a velocity on the first track that the sound is there. The song “Down in the Shoals,” referring to Muscle Shoals, is the perfect indicator of where Sherri Harding’s soul gets refueled, and how the musicians are influenced by that area. Of course, the real strength that seared the feeling of soul music on STORYLAND comes from this women’s voice. It’s all there.
Bruce Hornsby, INDIGO PARK. Without doubt Bruce Hornsby is an artist who made a strong reputation for himself almost immediately. With an unforgettable voice and a way with the music he wrote, Hornsby became one of the strongest artists of his era. Time goes by and his name didn’t appear as much in contemporary music. But with INDIGO PARK, the man has broken back into the front brigade with an incredible return. INDIGO PARK sounds like a brand new passion. Hornsby co-writes with various people like Robert Hunter, lyricist with the Grateful Dead and sings with Bonnie Raitt and others. The sound of the recordings push right into the future like very few classic atists can do. now. And with a ring of new players, the man sounds brand new. Hopefully, the listening public will take the time to listen to what is happening and find the loyalty they had at Hornsby’s first break through. It’s all here again, even if it’s been redesigned for 2026. That’s where the beauty of music really signs through: The sound of the songs on INDIGO PARK are the kind that are written for forever, and feel like they are looking for a newer world than the one Bruce Hornsby was once in. Our lives change, and music can too. Hornsby has proved that again, with the strength of creativity coming through with permanent beauty. Way to go.
Lester, Winchester, McKendree, THEY GOT IT ALL. There is truth in advertising in this band’s album title, that’s for sure. Jimmy Lester (drums), Mark W. Winchester (vocals, bass) and Kevin McKendree (keyboards) have a way to playing their instruments with such fullness, only the three are needed. They write the kind of songs that have permanent motion and twists and turns that keep everything moving. The musicians once played with the kind of bandleaders like Emmylou Harris, Brian Setzer, Delbert McClinton, Billy Joe Shaver, Webb Wilder, Los Straitjackeets and Webb Wilder for starters, and always were able to bring the audience to their feet. For this new release, after that kind of resume it’s easy to see how they wanted to take to the front of the stage. And with this new album it’s easy to hear why they made the move. This is a trio that sounds like they’ve been playing together their whole lives, and take off with such confidence it’s clearly a matter of time before their band name is at the top of the marquee. The group is able to take on any type of rocker and make it sound only like themselves. Not always easy for musicians who used to be in the backing band and not up front. But these players are more than ready to do what they do with such velocity, audiences are in for a new surprise. Wonder is getting ready to roar, and there’s no telling where the band can go. Light the fuse.
Bill Kirchen, CAT OUT OF THE BAG. There can only be about a half-dozen musicians who were in the original Commander Cody & His Lost Planet Airman, and guitarist-vocalist Bill Kirchen is certainly one of them. When that Berkeley-based band begin in the late 1970s they roared with a glorious glow, putting it to country-western music in ways that hadn’t quite been done then. And all these years later, Kirchen has been able to keep his glowing joy in musical endeavors in a way that sets him apart from so many others. Maybe that’s because Kirchen’s got a deep sense of humor for life, as well as a true love of music. He can put them together in ways that are rarely heard. This new album is as fine as anything Kirchen has ever done, He has honed all the elements he’s supreme at into one truth, and it is one that cannot be missed. When the man starts twanging on his Telecaster guitar make no mistake: Kirchen is not kidding. The man is going for broke and is ceertain to hit the audio bullseye. These 11 songs are capable of inducing the kind of feeling the very best music has always been known for. They bring on a feeling of infinity for America’s bedrock heart, and at the same time make the listeners feel like they’ve discovered something capable of feeling the deepest sounds of an American treasure. Hopefully one that wil last forever. Count Mr. Kirchen as someone who is devoted to that treasure, and once more has shown just how deep that wonder goes. Color him true.
Greg Piccolo & Heavy Juice, WHO KNOWS WHAT THE FUTURE KNOWS. There’s no fearing that when Greg Piccolo’s name comes up in music circles that Roomful of Blues comes up too. But the tenor sax and vocalist has established his own slot the past years on his own, and Piccolo’s latest effort has taken him to a whole new sphere. This is a man who can stand out front of a band and deliver all the soulful goods of anyone performing today. It comes through from all the years Piccolo has done fronting his band. There is a power in this music that also tips its hat to a simplicity of delivery that makes for a true soul. Produced by the late studio king Terry Manning, there is a wall of realness to songs like “I’ve Lost Faith,” “People Are Hot,” “Break of the Clouds” and all the others that feel like a brick wall of strength, something that has to be played for years to learn. And learning it’s been done, as is heard in every one of these songs. Greg Piccolo has been a part of making some of the great music of the past years, always able to help aggregations take their sound to the highesst level. Now that’s he’s fronting the show, he’s becoming one of the present day’s finest example of how everything works. And works right.
Billy Price featuring the Billy Price Band, RANDOM MADNESS. It’s not always easy to step into the rhythm & blues business and come out with originality. But that’s been Billy Price’s speciality for years now. He finds musicians who can play that style of music backward and forwrd, but then also can step beyond the rules and create something new. RANDOM MADNESS is one of the most exciting albums this year, and it feels like the band knew they were ready to step ahead when they walked into the studio. It’s not an easy attempt at modernizing musical styles like these, but the way everything is put together here comes out moving forward and still keeping the deep grooves on all the songs. A lot of that is how Price delivers with vocals straight out ot 2026. This is a band affair, no matter who’s in the studio on each song, and an ability to fill exactly what Billy Price’s vocals need. As history rushes into this century, and history is tending to spin into faster and faster circles, artists like Billy Price are needed more than ever. And the fine abilities Price has into staying modern while honoring different past traditions is more and more valuable. And, yes, it can be called “random madness,” but it takes more and more specialty. And that is no easy achievement. Price is right!
Young Fresh Fellows, LOFT. Even if the band might not be as young or fresh as they once were, the Fellows are still super fine. They have a permanence of power and write songs that feel like they are written for the long term. They’ve become a legend from their first go-round, and there is nothing that has been lost. They keep their subjects right on the money, and don’t blink in the eye of modernity. That’s because what they’re doing now is new, at least to them, and the power the quartet is able to generate feels like it’s got the shine of the 1980s in ways that are actually new. In their prime, the Young Fresh Fellows were one of the great bands of that era. And there is nothing lost now. “Killing Time in Union Square” actually sounds like a new anthem for modern times, and the way the group can keep their attack lean and mean is the perfect edge for the present. Here’s to a group that hopefully stays together forever. Permanent Fresh Fellows.
Book of the Month
Joe McEwen
TASTYKAKES, SOUL SONGS & SHINING STARS
Starting in the1960s, there was a budding crew of young Ameriicans who fell in love with blues and soul music in a way that much of the music hadn’t seen yet. And some of them started writing about it. These moving styles were definitely inside them and had to come out, whether it was through newspapers, magazines or on the radio. Philadelpia’s Joe McEwen was one of those young Americans. Through his routes to Boston and then New York he became a pioneer in this budding land of journalism and radio, and helped America truly discover what was in its own backyard. Joe McEwen’s new collection of his written work, which includes some mezmerizing explanations of how it happened, is a fine, fine book that hasn’t quite been done before. And that’s because no one went out on the musical explorations that this man accomplished during those years. Considering how the temporary life of most newspaper and magazines comes and goes, this collection offers a true treasure chest of McEwen’s writings that really hasn’t been offered anywhere else. And the real power of the book is achieved by the uniqueness of McEwen’s ears and eyes. He sees and hears all these offerings in a way he can actually convey, making an absolute feeling of why all these unequaled recordings and concerts feel like they are happening right in front of the reader. America’s contribution to one of the most vivid and moving parts of its history–the music that happened here then–will never be equaled. Not really. But thanks to this book it will live forever now, something historic that can be experienced by those who weren’t there and will now be able to learn the excitement of what really happened. And Joe McEwen’s move into beoming an A&R legend in the record business will hopefully be captured in his next book. What a time.
Song of the Month
Robbie Mangiardi
“CRACK OF LIGHT”
There aren’t many people who step out of the shadows when they’re 75 years old and turn on a new power in American music. Robbie Mangiardi grew up outside New York City, and hit some rough times before he found a different way: a stint in prison and then a turn to acting. Then was a bartender at the Beverly Hills Hotel and sold men’s shirts across the street at Neiman-Marcus. And now this new adventure down the singer-songwriter side, one he’s just moving strong into full-tilt now. “Crack of Light” has the kind of a permanent presence that shows a whole new life, one that describes where he’s been and hopefully where he’s going. It’s all here.
Bentley’s Bandstand: May 2026