Blues with a Feeling - The Official Podcast

This week on BWAF, we welcome one of the great modern masters of West Coast blues guitar — Alex Schultz — as our special guest, alongside a deep dive into his elegant, soulful debut album Think About It.

Alex has been part of my musical journey for more than three decades. I first saw him at Bluesfest in Byron Bay back in 1992, when he was tearing it up with Rod Piazza & the Mighty Flyers. That performance left a mark. Years later, I was lucky enough to present Lynwood Slim here in Brisbane — with Alex on guitar — and those shows only deepened my appreciation for his tone, taste, and musical intelligence.

Released on Severn Records in 2004, Think About It brings together a dream lineup: Lynwood Slim, Tad Robinson, Finis Tasby, Larry Taylor, the Royal Crown Revue horns, and the brilliant Alberto Marsico on Hammond. It’s a sophisticated, swinging, deeply musical record that blends blues, R&B, and jazz with grace and style.

This week, Alex joins me on the show to talk about the album, the sessions, the songs, and the stories behind one of the classiest blues releases of the 2000s.

Tune in — and Think About It.

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This week on Blues With A Feeling, Shaun shines a spotlight on one of Australia’s most electrifying bluesmen — Brisbane’s own Michael "Mojo" Webb, a guitarist, singer, songwriter and multi‑instrumentalist whose music channels the raw spirit of Muddy Waters, B.B. King, Howlin’ Wolf, Buddy Guy and Robert Johnson.

Mojo’s second album The Cat (2012) is our classic feature — thirteen original songs recorded just weeks before the Mojo Webb Band headed to Memphis to represent Australia at the International Blues Challenge, where they reached the semi‑finals. The record captures everything that makes Mojo a force of nature: the fire, the passion, the road stories, the love, the heartbreak, and the unmistakable chemistry of three musicians who’ve played together for decades — Mojo Webb, JB Lewis and Coojee Timms.

Shaun shares personal stories from 35 years of friendship: gym‑floor melodies, jungle dance parties in northern Thailand, long drives in an old F100 ambulance packed with guitars, and the rise of a young bluesman who could shake a room to its foundations.

Plus: brand‑new releases from Janiva Magness, Keb Mo, Laura Chavez, Jason Ricci & Bad Kind, Danielle Nicole, Dustin Arbuckle & The Damnations and more.

BWAF — 33 years of blues storytelling. Ride on, baby. Ride on.

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This week on Blues With A Feeling, we’re heading back to France, 1975 — to the Nancy Jazz Pulsations festival — where Freddie King delivered one of the most electrifying live performances of his career. We’re featuring the classic Live in Nancy double album, a recording that captures Freddie and his band in full flight: raw, immediate, and utterly alive.

Joining me this week is Lewis Stephens, Freddie’s piano player during the final three years of his life. Lewis brings a rare, first‑hand perspective on Freddie’s musical instincts, the chemistry within the band, and the energy of that unforgettable night in Nancy. We’ll talk about Lewis’s musical journey and how that path ultimately led him into Freddie’s touring band.

It’s a deep dive into one of the great live blues recordings, guided by someone who was right there on stage. Settle in for a special show filled with history, memory, and the unmistakable power of Freddie King.

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This week on BWAF we dive into something truly special — the winner of the 2014 Grammy Award for Best Blues Album, Get Up! by Ben Harper with Charlie Musselwhite. It’s a record carved out of lived experience: ten Harper originals delivered with fire and finesse, and Charlie’s Memphis‑born harmonica weaving through every track like a spell.

I’ve been a Musselwhite fan since the late 80s, and I was standing at the front of the stage at Bluesfest Byron Bay in 1996 when Ben Harper & The Innocent Criminals lit up the Australian musical conscience for the first time. Charlie was on that same bill, and that’s where the seeds of this collaboration were planted. Over the next decade they crossed paths on John Lee Hooker’s Burnin’ Hell, on Charlie’s Sanctuary, and on stages around the world — before finally creating this remarkable album in 2012.

Alongside the feature, I’ve loaded the show with brand‑new releases from Taj Mahal & The Phantom Blues Band, Steve Cropper & The Midnight Hour, Keb’ Mo’, Danielle Nicole, Doyle Bramhall II, Janiva Magness, Jason Ricci & Bad Kind, Laura Chavez, Chris O’Leary, Mike Wheeler, Harrell Davenport and more.

If you love the blues — the real stuff — you’re in the right place. This is BWAF.

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This week on Blues With A Feeling, Shaun sits down with one of the true ambassadors of Chicago Blues — Billy Branch. Across a remarkable fifty‑year career, Billy has become an Emmy Award winner, a three‑time Grammy nominee, a Blues Hall of Fame inductee, and one of the most recorded harmonica players of the modern era. Mentored by legends like James Cotton, Junior Wells, Willie Dixon and Big Walter Horton, Billy has carried the torch for the promotion and preservation of the blues across more than 300 recordings and stages around the world.

His brand‑new album, The Blues Is My Biography, is a powerful, deeply personal work produced by Larry Batiste and featuring special guests Bobby Rush, Shemekia Copeland and Ronnie Baker Brooks. Billy describes it as “the most important work I’ve ever done,” and across eleven tracks he tells his story with honesty, fire, humour and heart.

In this week’s feature, Shaun shares his conversation with Billy Branch and takes listeners through the album — from the swagger of Hole In Your Soul to the emotional depth of Begging For Change, the grit of Dead End Street, and the autobiographical centrepiece The Blues Is My Biography.

Tune in for a celebration of a true Chicago master and one of the standout blues releases of the year.

 

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This week on BWAF, we pay tribute to the late Mike Henderson, who passed away on September 22 at the age of 69. His debut album with The Bluebloods, First Blood, remains one of the most explosive, soulful, and influential blues records of the 1990s — and it’s our feature album this week.

Across the show we dive deep into First Blood’s raw slide guitar, its hot‑rod tone, its swampy grooves, and the chemistry of a band that sounded like it was recorded with the studio walls shaking. And woven throughout the music are six interview excerpts from Mike’s friend, bandmate, and Dead Reckoning co‑founder Kevin Welch, who shares vivid memories of Mike’s early Nashville years, his beloved Silvertone guitars, his humming Fender Super Reverb, and those legendary Monday nights at the Bluebird Café.

We also bring you 11 brand‑new releases, including Keb’ Mo’, Danielle Nicole, Janiva Magness, Ray Beadle, Bywater Call, Jason Ricci & Bad Kind, John Primer & Friends, GA‑20 feat. Charlie Musselwhite, Taj Mahal & the Phantom Blues Band and more.

A heartfelt, high‑energy tribute to a true original. This is BWAF. You wanna know why? You’re about to find out.

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This week on Blues With A Feeling, Shaun brings you a full book of brand‑new blues, deep Chicago grooves, and a special feature on one of Junior Wells’ most overlooked gems.

We kick off with fresh releases from Billy Branch & The Sons of Blues featuring Bobby Rush, Bywater Call, John Primer & Friends, and Harell Davenport — four powerful tracks that set the tone for a night of modern blues storytelling.

Mike Wheeler, Chris O’Leary, Ray Beadle’s Coupe Trio, and Sean McDonald keep the momentum rolling with a mix of Chicago swagger, blue‑collar grit, and Australian fire.

Our feature this week dives into Junior Wells’ On Tap — nine tracks of sly, soulful, mid‑70s brilliance. You’ll hear Junior in full command, backed by the incredible Phil Guy and Sammy Lawhorn. Across “Watch Me Move,” “Someday Baby,” “Key to the Highway,” “The Train I Ride,” and more, this is Junior at his most playful, funky, and emotionally sharp.

We round out the night with Keb’ Mo’, Janiva Magness, Jason Ricci & Bad Kind, Taj Mahal & The Phantom Blues Band, Danielle Nicole, and a final cool‑down from Jovin Well.

It’s a full house of blues — new voices, classic legends, and one hell of a feature. 

 

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This week on BWAF, we celebrate one of the true giants of the blues as Buddy Guy turns 90 — and what better way to mark the occasion than with a deep dive into his Grammy‑winning 1994 masterpiece Slippin’ In. It was only two weeks ago that we featured his stunning Sweet Tea record, but when you’re talking about Buddy Guy, one show is never enough.

Slippin’ In captures Buddy at a moment of renewed fire and ferocity. Half the album was recorded in Chicago with his own band, steeped in the grit, groove and history of the city he helped define. The other half was cut in Austin with Double Trouble — Stevie Ray Vaughan’s legendary rhythm section — adding emotional weight, explosive energy and a powerful sense of musical lineage. With Eddie Kramer behind the desk and Johnnie Johnson on piano, Buddy delivers some of the most electrifying playing of his career.

Alongside the feature, we’ve got a stack of brand‑new releases lighting up the playlist this week, including Keb Mo, Janiva Magness, Jason Ricci, Ray Beadle, GA‑20 with Charlie Musselwhite, Danielle Nichole, Taj Mahal & the Phantom Blues Band, and plenty more.

Tune in, turn it up, and let the good times roll. This is BWAF.

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This week on Blues With a Feeling, we continue a very special journey through the music of one of the most influential bands in the history of this program: The Paladins. Their sound, their energy, and their uncompromising commitment to American roots music played a huge role in shaping the identity of this show from its earliest days. And today, we revisit the band’s third release, Let’s Buzz — a record that captured The Paladins at full strength, firing on all cylinders, and stepping boldly into their prime.

Joining me once again is bassist, singer‑songwriter, founding member, and long‑time friend of the show, Thomas Yearsley. This marks Thomas’s third visit to Blues With a Feeling, following our deep dives into the band’s second album Years Since Yesterday and their fourth release Ticket Home. Across those conversations, Thomas has shared stories, insights, and reflections that only someone who lived the journey can offer. His presence has become part of the ongoing story of this program, and his music continues to inspire the way we celebrate roots and blues every week.

Released in 1990 and produced by Stever Berlin of Los lobos, Let’s Buzz is a record that still crackles with life. It’s the sound of a trio completely locked in — Dave Gonzalez’s fiery guitar work, Scott Campbell and Brian Fahey’s precision drumming, and Thomas’s unmistakable upright bass driving the whole engine. The album blends blues, rockabilly, R&B, and West Coast swing into a seamless, high‑energy statement that helped define the band’s legacy.

For me personally, Let’s Buzz was one of the albums that shaped the direction of Blues With a Feeling. It showed me that roots music could be modern, raw, joyful, and deeply authentic all at once. Revisiting it with Thomas feels like reconnecting with one of the foundations of the show.

Join us as we explore the stories behind the songs, the sessions, the tours, and the spirit of a band whose influence continues to ripple through the blues community — and through this program.

Plus new releases from Janiva Magness, Bywater Call, Jon Cleary, Ray Beadle, Ruthie Foster, Jason Ricci & Bad Kind and GA20 with Charlie Mussselwhite.

 

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This week on BWAF, we celebrate the 90th birthday of one of the true giants of modern blues — Buddy Guy — with a deep dive into one of the most daring and electrifying albums of his career: Sweet Tea (2001).

Recorded in Oxford, Mississippi, Sweet Tea captures Buddy plugging straight into the Hill Country sound: raw, hypnotic, swamp‑thick grooves inspired by Junior Kimbrough, CeDell Davis, and the juke‑joint traditions that shaped the region. It’s Buddy stripped back, turned up, and letting the history do the talking.

Across the show we’ll explore the full album — from the haunting “Done Got Old” to the explosive “Look What All You Got”, the feral “She Got the Devil in Her”, and the 12‑minute trance epic “I Gotta Try You Girl.” It’s a record that reminds us why Buddy Guy remains one of the most fearless musicians alive.

We’ll also spotlight new releases from Taj Mahal & The Phantom Blues Band, John Primer, Ray Beadle, Aaron West, Keb’ Mo’, Bywater Call, Jovin Webb, and Jason Ricci & Bad Kind.

And with Buddy Guy on the road for his 2026 ‘Buddy Guy 90’ Tour, there’s never been a better time to revisit this landmark album.

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