Max Hightower joins Blues Matters’ Colin Campbell to discuss his new album The Blues Chooses You and a musical life shaped by the blues.

Max recalls discovering Jimi Hendrix, Muddy Waters and James Cotton, finding the harmonica after an early attempt at guitar, and learning from musicians including Cootie Stark and Mac Arnold.

He also takes us inside the making of The Blues Chooses You, recorded at Nashville’s Bomb Shelter studio using vintage equipment and a deliberately old-school approach. Rather than separating the musicians and polishing every detail, the aim was to capture the sound of a band reacting to each other in the room.

Max also reflects on songwriting, touring in Europe and Japan, and why the blues continues to cross borders, generations and languages.

Joanne Shaw Taylor joins Blues Matters to discuss her new album, The Trouble with Love, and the journey that has taken her from Solihull to Nashville and stages around the world.

She talks about discovering Stevie Ray Vaughan as a teenager, developing her own musical identity and why her combination of blues guitar, soul vocals and rock-pop songwriting has led her to create a genre of her own: “blues pop”.

Joanne also takes us through the making of The Trouble with Love, working with Kevin Shirley, Joe Bonamassa and Orianthi, and the different forms of love that inspired the songs.

There are also plenty of stories from life on the road, from cruise ships and moving trains to a Bulgarian jam session involving a kazoo.

Sari Schorr joins Blues Matters’ Stephen Harrison to discuss her new album Running Wild and the unexpected creative journey behind it.

“We should demand to be happy.”

She explains how writing sessions with Jamie Walker and Lou Paget quickly developed into a full album, why working without outside pressure gave her a new sense of freedom, and why Running Wild feels like the clearest statement yet of who she is as an artist.

Sari also reflects on recording in Lancaster, performing at Carnegie Hall, the classical training that helped shape her voice, the realities of touring and why she believes the artist should never be the most important person in the room.

Katie Knipp joins Blues Matters’ Colin Campbell to talk about her new album Live at Theater 5150, finding her own musical voice and why she believes nothing can replace a real live performance.

Katie looks back at teaching herself piano and guitar, landing her first paid singing job at just 15 and the failed record deal that ultimately pushed her towards becoming a truly independent artist.

She also discusses the stories behind songs including “Santa Cruz Blues”, “The Devil’s Armchair” and “Dirty Cables”, transforming Bruce Springsteen’s “State Trooper”, her approach to connecting with an audience and why she deliberately kept the imperfections on her new live record.

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Timestamps

00:00 Introduction
00:48 How Katie Knipp got into music
01:33 First paid gig at 15
02:01 Teaching herself piano and guitar
02:41 The record deal that disappeared
04:27 Choosing music over medicine
05:20 Bonnie Raitt, Ani DiFranco and early influences
06:08 Nina Simone, Jeff Buckley and finding her voice
07:12 Combining opera and blues training
08:11 The best advice she received
09:54 Creating with what you already have
10:11 Learning to sound like herself
11:35 How Katie describes her music
13:12 Does genre still matter?
14:55 Learning how to read a room
16:41 Dealing with nerves on stage
17:13 Live at Theater 5150
19:25 Katie’s songwriting process
20:00 The story behind “Santa Cruz Blues”
22:19 “Outlaw Doc” and storytelling
23:03 “The Devil’s Armchair”
24:37 The story behind “Dirty Cables”
26:35 Reworking Bruce Springsteen’s “State Trooper”
27:24 “John the Revelator”
28:23 Capturing the live atmosphere
29:07 Why Katie made the live album
30:38 What the blues means to Katie

Bobby Rush joins Blues Matters’ Stephen Harrison for a special conversation celebrating Buddy Guy’s 90th birthday.

Rush remembers first meeting Buddy in Chicago in 1957 and helping him find one of his earliest jobs in the city. From there, both men became part of a blues scene filled with names including Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf, Little Walter and Jimmy Reed.

Bobby reflects on Buddy’s genius, their decades-long friendship and the importance of Buddy Guy’s Legends in giving younger musicians a place to play.

He also speaks passionately about the history of the blues, why its roots must never be forgotten and why he and Buddy intend to keep playing for as long as they possibly can.

Randy Jacobs and Jenny Langer of The Boneshakers join Blues Matters to talk about the band’s history, their musical chemistry and the stripped-down new EP they recorded across studios, hotel rooms and one particularly memorable haunted Airbnb.

Randy reflects on growing up in Detroit, beginning session work as a teenager and working with musicians including Albert King. Jenny recalls studying at Berklee, falling deeper into the blues and the recording session that unexpectedly led to her becoming The Boneshakers’ lead singer.

They also discuss the band’s mix of soul, funk, rock and blues, reworking songs such as Fire on the Bayou, their unusual songwriting partnership, the importance of live music and their forthcoming UK tour.

Keb’ Mo’ joins Blues Matters’ Stephen Harrison to discuss his new album, Breakdown.

Recorded at home, the stripped-back record forced Keb’ to think differently about the guitar and make every part work as a complete accompaniment to the song.

He talks about collaboration, recording with the Soweto Gospel Choir, his long friendship with Taj Mahal and the musical education he received while working as a sideman and playing Los Angeles jam sessions.

Keb’ also shares his advice for younger musicians, explains what makes Albert King’s playing so powerful and offers high praise for Christone “Kingfish” Ingram.

Corin “CJ” Williams and Sammy of Jimmy Regal and the Royals join Blues Matters’ Stephen Harrison to discuss their latest album, Snapback.

They recall the beginnings of the band, explain how their unusual bass-free trio developed and reveal why recording together live remains essential to capturing their energy.

The conversation moves through the music that has shaped them, from Bo Diddley and Jimmy Reed to North Mississippi blues, New Orleans and the West African rhythms that sit deep within the roots of the music.

They also discuss recent recordings made in Dakar, Senegal, and why experimentation remains central to the future of Jimmy Regal and the Royals.