This past Friday was a May Day full of new & upcoming blues and blues rock album releases!! The most intriguing new album is from Taj Mahal & the Phantom Blues Band entitled Time. It was recorded in 2010 and then never released. Listening to it sixteen years later begs the question: Why would this great recording “sit in the can” for 16 years??! The Phantom Blues Band is largely intact with the exception of the talented Mike Finnegan who died during the Covid era. He has been replaced by keyboard virtuoso Jon Cleary. Taj and the band will be out on tour this summer to support the album.
Some personal favorites released albums this past week including Billy Price, Danni Wilde, The Black Keys, Alice Armstrong, the Cold Stares and Chris Chalmers. A couple of female rising stars…Alice Armstrong and Dida Pelled… are on the list and well worth a listen. And a seventeen year old guitar phenom by the name of Danny Garwood has released his second EP blues rock album. Whether it is traditional blues, acoustic blues, soul blues, contemporary blues, or rattle the walls blues rock, this week’s list has something for every type of blues lover!!
Recordings Out Now – Albums
Taj Mahal & the Phantom Blues Band – Time [Resonatin’ Records]
Billy Price – Get Hip [Indie]
Danni Wilde – The Vizztone Sessions [Indie]
The Black Keys – Peaches [Warner Records]
Alice Armstrong – Blood In the Water (Live) [Indie]
The Cold Stares – Texas [Indie]
Chris Chalmers & the Souvenirs – Way Back Home [Indie]
Dida Pelled – I Wish You Would [La Reserve Records]
John Campbell – 2 Meter Sessions [Indie]
Danny Garwood – 50 Fifty [Indie]
The Nth Power – Never Alone [GroundUp Music]
Johan Hitchens – Live at the Brunswick [Indie]
Jack Broadbent – Orchids [Creature Records]
Lightning Threads – Trinkets [Indie]
Philip Sayce – Scorched Earth Volume 2 (Live) [Atomic Gemini]
Deepstone Blues – Deepstone Blues Vol 2 [Bucket of Loud Studio]
The Davidson Trio – Follow You [Indie]
Matteo Mancuso – Route 96 [Music Theory Recordings]
May 2026 Blues Album Releases
Diving Ducks – Blues (May 7th)
Kenny Wayne Shepherd – Ledbetter Heights (30th Anniversary Sessions) (May 8th)
Jennifer Lynn & the Groove Revival – Electric Eden (May 8th)
Earl “Guitar” Williams – The Soul King of Bessemer, AL (May 8th)
Carmen Ratti Band – Come to Me (May 8th)
Ryan Bingam and the Texas Gentlemen – They Call Us the Lucky Ones (May 15th)
Emmanuel Casablanca – It’s Getting Strange (May 15th)
Galia Volt – Burn the House Down (May 15th)
Chris Bergson – East River Blues (May 15th)
Steve Louw – Traces of the Flood (May 15th)
Peter Frampton – Carry the Light (May 15th)
Reckoners – Where the Hell Am IÂ (May 15th)
Dave Thomas – Bridge Street Blues (May 15th)
*Zed Charles – Jed Josh & Jerry (May 15th)
*Ronnie Beaton – Mr. Jinx (May 15th)
*Tori Sparks – Cabinet of Curiosities Vol. 2 (May 15th)
*Lightnin’ Malcolm – One Man Village, Vol. 1 (May 15th)
Grainne Duffy – What Am I Supposed to Do? (May 22nd)
Samantha Martin & Delta Sugar – A Beautiful Buzz (Live) (May 22nd)
*Will Clayton – Evolution (May 22nd)
*Leeann Atherton – Good God (May 22nd)
When Rivers Meet – Rhythm Rust & Static (May 29th)
J.P. Soars – Gypsy Blue Revue (May 29th)
Russ Green – Stone Cold (May 29th)
Amani Burnham – Roots & Wings (May 29th)
Jason Ricci & the Bad Kind – 13 Hours (May 29th)
*Ben Hemming – Dark Days (May 29th)
June 2026 Album Releases
Anni Piper – Men Are Like Potato Chips (June 1st)
Jared James Nichols – Louder Than Fate (June 5th)
Denise La Grasse – Crossroads Communion (June 5th)
The Claudettes – Garage Glamour (June 5th)
Sherri Harding – Storyland (June 5th)
The Name Droppers – Let’s Live Together (June 12th)
Samantha Fish – Paper Doll Live (June 12th)
Duane Betts – Isle of Hope (June 12th)
Beth Hart – You Still Got Me (Deluxe Edition) (June 19th)
Joe Bonamassa – The Spirit of Rory Live from Cork (June 19th)
Thorbjorn Risager & the Black Tornado – Live at Hotel Cecil (June 19th)
*Greg Piccolo – Who Knows What the Future Holds (June 19th)
Snowy White and the White Flames – The Finishing Touch (June 26th)
Jasper Lindell – Royal (June 26th)
July/August 2026 Album Releases
Will Johns – On Top of the World (July 5th)
*Chris O’Leary – Blues Collar (July 10th)
*The Rolling Stones – Foreign Tongues (July 10th)
Parker Barrow – Hold the Mash (July 17th_
Albert Castiglia – Grits and Glory (July 31st)
*GA-20 – Blues Now ((July 31st)
Citizen – Halcyon Blues (August 7th)
Eric Jerardi – The Game (August 21st)
Sept/Oct/Nov/December Album Releases
The Sharpeez – Automatic Mode (October 2026)
Planned Release With No Set Date Yet
Eric Steckel – Sandstorm (Spring 2026)
Mike Wheeler – Chicago Blues (Spring 2026)
Jimmy Farace – Big Shoulders, Big Sounds (Spring 2026)
*Kelli Baker – Mother (June 2026)
*Kevin Burt – This Trip (August 2026)
Secondhand Dreamcar – Get Ready (Fall 2026)
Anthony Geraci – Where You Are (Fall 2026)
Larry McCray – Blue Mary (Winter 2026)
Jamiah Rogers – Blues Superman (2026)
Electric Soul Company – Electric Soul Company (2026)
*Warren Haynes – Dreams & Songs (2026)
*Alan Arena – Demise (early 2027)
*new to the list of upcoming releases
If you or your band have an upcoming album release in 2026/2027 and would like to be considered for inclusion on this list, please send info to ben@benveeblues.com
