If you ask James Montgomery if he remembers playing the Shaboo inn in Willimantic back in the day — the legendary local club that closed in 1982 — he’ll hem and haw and scratch his head and say “The ...

There are few instruments stranger than a harmonica. While there are chromatic versions of the harmonica, most players use the ones that are set in a certain key. That way, no matter what you blow, it ...

Hear Brandon Bailey perform two songs live in the NPR studio. The harmonica is a staple of American blues, beginning with the Memphis jug bands of the 1920s. In the 1960s, blues-influenced artists ...

The harmonica always has been an instrument of choice for blues musicians because it’s affordable and easy to carry. Mark Hummel, who considers himself a musicologist, is better-known as a bandleader ...

Black-Eyed Sally’s is once again bringing back the popular “Northeast Blues Harmonica Showcase” on Saturday — a gathering of regional and national blues harmonica talent. Headlining will be harmonica ...

Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed, ... Telarc Blues culls their considerable holdings to provide a wholly satisfying collection of contemporary blues harmonica by contemporary and ...

“Classic Harmonica Blues,” out on May 21, features 20 tracks by the blues’ greatest harmonica players. Photo courtesy of Smithsonian Folkways Recordings In the early 20th-century, southern black ...

Born in Baton Rouge in 1924, the blues musician known as Slim Harpo influenced rock bands like the Rolling Stones, the Kinks and Pink Floyd. Rock Historian Ed Ward shares Harpo's story. This is FRESH ...