Nearly past his bedtime, this tween prodigy opened for B.B. King. Who then could have guessed that decades later, guitarist Joe Bonamassa would illuminate that statesman’s “Nobody Loves Me Like My Mother’ in front of the sold-out Chicago Theatre?

The 35th Annual Chicago Blues Fest held on June 8th to the 10th proved to be three days of great blues music, both honoring the past and turning towards the future.

NXNE (North by Northeast) announces the first wave of programming as part of NXNE Film. Presented in partnership with Hot Docs, NXNE Film will screen more than 30 movies from June 13-16 at the Bloor Hot Docs Cinema and at alternative spaces throughout the city of Toronto.

Magic Slim, a revered and towering figure in the field of traditional Chicago blues, died today in a Philadelphia hospital at the age of 75. Born Morris Holt in Torrance, Mississippi in 1937, the guitarist performer, bandleader, and recording artist went on to enjoy a career that launched him to national and international recognition and acclaim.Slim was one of the foremost practitioners of the raw, gut-bucket, back alley blues associated with the postwar Chicago blues sound.

Ruf Records announces the signing of Nashville-based blues guitarist/singer Bart Walker and will release his label debut CD, Waiting on Daylight, on March 12. The new album was produced and engineered by multi Grammy-winner Jim Gaines and recorded at his Bessie Blue Studio in Stantonville, Tennessee.

The Rev Jimmie Bratcher announces a March 5 release date for Secretly Famous, the latest CD from the blues-rock singer/guitarist, coming from Ain’t Skeert Tunes.

The NYC blues-rock band JD & The Straight Shot will perform at The 12th Annual Holiday Rock & Roll Bash on Thursday, December 6th to benefit The Lustgarten Foundation in the fight against pancreatic cancer.

Bobby Rush’s new Down in Louisiana, out February 19, 2013 on Deep Rush Productions through Thirty Tigers, is the work of a funky fire-breathing legend. Its 11 songs revel in the grit, grind and soul that’s been the blues innovator’s trademark since the 1960s, when he stood shoulder to shoulder on the stages of Chicago with Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf, Little Walter and other giants.Of course, it’s hard to recognize a future giant when he’s standing among his mentors.

Harold Honey epitomizes Rockabilly Punk Blues with the release of his new album, Helltown.  The singer/songwriter harks back to the sounds of the fifties and sixties while maintaining his thoroughly modern sensibilities by combining elements of Jimi Hendrix, The Pixies, Tom Waits and even Johnny Cash in his music.

The NYC blues-rock band JD & The Straight Shot announces today they will play four Canadian dates in support of rock legends, ZZ Top.