Best Local Blues Act

Frontmen co-founders, dueling guitarists and songwriters Tom Gray and Mark Johnson have kept the blues faith for two decades, slinging out swampy, twin guitar goodness with several terrific albums. Babylon is Falling, the band's 10th and most recent release, is another winner that illustrates just how strong and focused the group has become throughout the years. Gray's grainy voice is instantly recognizable, and a health scare a few years back seems to have reinforced his commitment to the dark, often eerie blues exemplified by hard-hitting originals Long Way to Go and the slinky/sexy Little Pink Pistol mixed with covers of songs by legendary Delta bluesmen R.L. Burnside and Howlin' Wolf, and there's even a cover of Louisiana Rain dating back to Tom Petty?s Mudcrutch days. less...

An Atlanta guitar slinger with a swooping pompadour, Rod Hamdallah has swiftly risen through the ranks of Atlanta's die-hard blues scene by taking cues from such hometown icons as the late Sean Costello and Donnie McCormick. With a blend of delta blues, electric roots and garage rock girth, Hamdallah has tricked out a sultry sound and presence that's recharging the blues. He's what the old heads who lurk in the shadows at the back of the bar refer to as the real deal, and they ain't lyin'. reverbnation.com/rodhamdallah.

Listen: Rod Hamdallah "Think About It"

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The blues is a universal feeling that transcends languages, social status and the constraints of musical genre. DANNY “MUDCAT” DUDECK knows that feeling intimately. He travels the globe spreading his version of the blues gospel and regularly works with a number of international blues-preservation organizations. Lucky for us, he gets back to town most weeks to play the tiny Northside Tavern. Whether performing solo, leading a smokin’ band or a tight, one-off jam session with a founding father or a group of novices, his soulful and emotive delivery evokes images of the hard times that fed the early blues pioneers. And Mudcat’s Bayou-baked, chicken-party revues can make even the most jaded music fan happy to be blue.

www.mudcatblues.com

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Singer, songwriter and guitarist Oliver Wood enjoys a sizable following for his heavy blues band, King Johnson. So it’s no surprise that Ways Not to Lose, his album with younger brother Chris Wood (bassist for Medeski, Martin & Wood), turned out to be an engaging and incisive folk-blues delight. THE WOOD BROTHERS strip Oliver’s songs down to the chords, with nothing but the two strumming away on their instruments. The numbers are piercing and stark, unveiling a lifetime of hard-won victories and hard-earned lessons.
www.thewoodbrothers.com.

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