Bentley’s Bandstand: September 2026
By Bill Bentley
Various Artists, ANTONE’S 50TH PRESENTS CHICAGO BOUND. There has been a magical wonder under way in Austin the past 50 years as the blues club Antone has remained in existence against all odds. It opened a half-century ago with Clifton Chenier & His Red Hot Louisiana Band and gone from there. Granted, the building itself has moved into four different places, but the incredible artists have kept the beauty moving. For that half-century celebration Antone’s released this collection titled CHICAGO BOUND that couldn’t be bested right now by any other nightclub in the country. That’s because when owner Clifford Antone opened the club in 1976 he was a 100% blues lover and stayed that way his entire life. The 10-songs on this newly-released collection are a wild ride from top to bottom, from Lavelle White to Doyle Bramhall II. It’s all there. And this is full-blooded blues, the kind that is born on the streets and doesn’t get too far from its roots. Recorded over the years at the various Antone’s clubs, it’s the music at its most real. Which is what the late Clifford Antone always insisted on. Pacing the club all those years in his untucked oxford shirt and dark slacks, the Port Arthur, Texan knew what he wanted and got it. His words here on the album say it all: “The blues is so big no person could learn it in a lifetime.” But for those wanting to, these songs recorded at Antone’s by some of the greatest blues artists over the years are truly in for a treasure. Blues or lose.
DRAGONFLIES. It seems like there used to be special bands every few months to delight the music lovers and novelty buyers, but not so much now. It often feels like everyone is in their own superstar groove and ready to take the music to the fans of their own. It’s a bit different. These two members, Danhi Harrison and Nigel Godrich, have gone the distance and created sparkles on all eight songs on DRAGONFLIES. The pair approach their music with wide open finesse, never trying to do anything but take their songs to a new appreciation of sonics and a way of turning abilities into just enough individualism. What appears on the album is pure feelings and, yes, enjoyment. One of the most difficult things to do in the record business is to make an album that sounds like itself. But that sure happened here. On top of that, the pair of creators don’t take it too far out of the creation room where then everything melts. It all has a limit, no matter how many endless attempts of brilliance have been visited. Dragonflies know just where that limit lives and and knew it was time to move on. These songs deliver a perfect landing back on the launch pad. When it sometimes feels a bit confusing for where the over is, Harrison and Goodrich know just where that place is, and the best news is that nothing needs to be explained. It’s all there for the hearing. 3-2-1-liftoff.
Big Harp George, NO SHORTCUTS. There are times when the normal just won’t do. Things need to be shaken up. Which brings in Big Harp George. On the other side of the street, this is George Bisharat, a law professor in the San Francisco Bay area. And he can play as strong a harp as anyone in America, and sings just as well. Luckily for the Bay Area he plays all around and records regularly. What a town. The musicians that work with Big Harp George are among the best in the country, and for this new album all have gone full out to make a classic new album that will carry the musicians around the world playing his blues. And for this new album, he includes socially-aware songs about world affairs and beyond. That’s because Bisharat puts no restrictions on what he sings about. His abilities to keep his harp talents right there with his lyrical originality has made him one of the most full-on strongest of any blues musician alive, and he continues to work on that ability. When it is time to blow the roof off whatever venue he’s working in, this is the man who steps up and turns the kick on. There isn’t anyone on music and message stronger right now. Remember the name. Big Harp George.
Karate Boogaloo, ACCESS ALL AREAS. Every home needs an album that can twist the sounds reverberating through the halls. Some sounds that immediately make pure sense, but instead stretch the molecules of music in directions that aren’t usually heard. It’s obvious this quartet is playing with physics. For the recording spot location, no other is credited than Sound Recordings. And maybe it’s better to leave it at that. But it works. This aggregation has feelings like the original inspiration might have started with those instrumental kingpins Booker T. & the MGs in Memphis and the Meters in New Orleans. Whatever’s at the bottom of all that musical beauty deserves a standing ovation and then a few hours more of razzmatazz. It’s always a lucky break when artists leave the highway and go wandering. The Booger System has paired with the Karate Boogaloo for the kind of sounds that don’t show up that often. And by keeping it totally instrumental, individual minds are able to pull in any and all directions they please. Every decade or so funky instrumental-mania raises its hand and says it’s their time to raise some dust and turn listeners loose and let dancers boogie in any and all directions. That’s the beauty of this semi-new century. Everyone is free to do their own thing and call it whatever they want. Freedom is here.
Sherman Holmes, ONE STEP AHEAD OF THE BLUES. There are certain blues congregations that move on up to the top and stay there. That was the Holmes Brothers. They formed in 1959 and took it to the limit. When Willie “Popsy” Dixon and Wendel Holmes passed away in 2015, Sherman Holmes returned under his own name and is taking off. This collection of new and previous songs comes right to the front and shows how strong the new sound is and the pillar Sherman Holmes has become. Producer Andreas Werner wisely went for the very best players to fill the recording studios, with the Funky Chester Rhythm Section, the Blind Boys of Alabama and the Muscle Shoals Horns. It’s very much a grand slam of studio groups and gives Sherman Holmes solid shoulders to stand on. It’s clearly getting near the end of so many of the great historical heroes of blues and gospel, but fortunately albums like this are graced with the names and voices of the nation’s finest. Say hallelujah somebody.
The Anthony Paule Soul Orchestra featuring Willy Jordan, WHAT CAN WE DO? Soul music gives one of the most fervent feelings that world-wide music can generate. It might be called different titles or even different styles, but the end result is for the sounds to inspire those to feel open and free. It’s a sweep of freedom and the Anthony Paule Soul Orchestra out of the San Francisco Bay is one of the prime examples of how deep and, yes, spiritual the sounds of this style can generate freedom. It goes without saying that the body is guided to taking its wide open attack. With 12-pieces in the Anthony Paule band, there is plenty of room for romping and stomping, but also for slowing down and taking the time to truly express a deep soul spirit. The band has no problem expressing whatever they may feel. It’s clear from a few bars that this is a group who have played and polished any direction they want to go. And then some. Music is such a glorious expression that there’s no reason not to go for broke. Yeah you right.
Grace Potter, TRESPASSER. This woman is one energetic musician. She’s been recording for years in a variety of groups and solo projects and shows no sense of slowing down. That’s because Grace Potter knows what’s at stake for her and her music and isn’t remotely interested in anything else. Her ability to move from various musicians and keep the essence of who she is isn’t often equaled. The players might change but she is always right on the money. There is a fire at the center of what Potter writes and sings that feels like it is her very life at stake. Often it seems like she is at absolute full-tilt with her songs, and even when a ballad arises like the title-song “Gasoline,” it feels like the world is being torn apart just for kicks. And that this woman can put it back together. Out of all the modern singers right now, this is the one who can make life seem like it’s on fire. And that either way it goes, something strong is going to come out of all the doings. Grace Potter will keep on keeping on and make sure her doors are open for those who have the strength to take the ride with her. Not going back.
Crystal Shawanda, HOME SICK INDIAN BLUES. It’s time to twist the blues dial a little and listen to Crystal Shawanda, a powerhouse Ojibwe Potawatomi singer from the Witkwemkoong First Nation in Canada. The woman has been a full-on award-winning musician for several years, and shows no turnaround in her direction of music. Shawanda’s voice is a chilling powerhouse of emotions, and by the time she hits the third song on “I’ll Play the Blues for You,” on her ripping new album HOME SICK INDIAN BLUES, it’s all over but the shouting. She has it all. and the woman goes the full distance to show just how strong she is in expressing her soul. It has never made sense when different styles are split off into different directions. This is a woman who can take on whatever area she wants and bring it all the way home. And it’s a great era when all the split-up craziness is brought together on one big source of beauty and strength. In fact, by the time this artist gets to Hank Williams’ classic “You Win Again,” to show her abilities, it’s obvious that anything in music is possible. And it’s only a matter of time before borderlines among styles are over. This is someone who can do whatever she believes. A new age.
Wesley Stace, ONE LAST HEIST. The galloping life of Wesley Stace keeps on moving. Yes, he recorded as John Wesley Harding for a time, but soon enough was zipping on his legal name and roaring for the winning circle. This isn’t someone who slows down. He keeps working harder and finds the new musical places he wants to go. As ONE LAST HEIST sounds, right now Stace is at the toppermost of the poppermost. These songs are multi-level tracks that sound like he is as far along as any rock & roller of the present day, which has felt a long time coming with Mr. Stace’s career. In some ways, it sounds like the theatre has a place in his future and he likely already has traveled down that road. Stace is a singer of vocal seriousness, that’s to be sure. Going back to his early days, he was in the hands of learning new sounds and styles, and he sure found them. In 1990, when he recorded Roky Erickson’s classic “If You Have Ghosts” piledriver it was that John Wesley Harding (as Stace called himself then) was soon taking off to be himself. A year later he was there full-tilt and not worried about the past. It’s been 100% ahead since then, until maybe another personality pops out of the man. Film at 11.
Jeff Young, ONE HIT AWAY (A TRIBUTE). There are musicians in Los Angeles who make some of the very best music today that doesn’t always get heard like it should. And Jeff Young was surely one of those. Young was a long-time keyboard player with Jackson Browne and numerous others, but also performed on his own on occasion. He passed away not long ago, but not before Executive Producer David Kalish was able to record a full album of Young’s many talents. And, strikingly enough, the result–titled ONE HIT AWAY (A TRIBUTE) might just be the best release in 2026. That’s because Young was so talented on a number of instruments including keyboard as well as vocals and other abilities. He was so strong that when recording, David Kalish put everything to work on this album and listeners were thrilled. All kinds of guests and friends stepped up for the sessions, but when it was finally finalized Young had slipped away. But that didn’t stop Jeff Young from stepping up to the prime spot when it finally got made available. It is 100% a Jeff Young work, and maybe just the best album of the year. Really. There isn’t an album like it lately. The mix of original and classic songs, some never really heard and a couple of surprises make the whole affair flat-out thrilling. Especially how Jeff Young goes to the front of the class and stays. Rest In Peace.
REISSUE OF THE MONTH
Jimmy Scott, DOESN’T LOVE MEAN MORE? “It’s like seeing Hamlet or Macbeth all rolled up into a song.” — Lou Reed. No one had more tough luck than jazz singer Jimmy Scott in the 1950s. But once his comeback in the early 1990s on the Sire Records gem ALL THE WAY album kicked in, life changed for the New Jersey jazz prince. But the lean years in the ’80s opened up when Scott recorded DOESN’T LOVE MEAN MORE and a few fans found out the man was still alive. This album is a strong set, even if it didn’t match the Sire release produced by Tommy LiPuma in 1992, which got nominated for a Grammy Award. It’s obvious by 1990 that in these songs Scott had his voice going strong, and was able to show what his incredible history carried. And, in some ways, it offered hope that his classic reputation would be back and the amazement would return. Which is exactly what happened a few years later and the magic was returned. All the way.
Bentley’s Bandstand: September 2026