In the mid-1800s, a German harmonica manufacturer named Hohner started exporting his product to North America. Being relatively inexpensive, relatively easy to play and extremely portable, the ...

On his new “Bloodstains and Teardrops” album, Big Chief Joseph “Monk” Boudreaux, the elder statesman of the Mardi Gras Indian community, bridges the gap between New Orleans and Jamaica. The music of ...

Though he’s one of New Orleans’ most senior and recognizable Black Masking Indians, Big Chief Monk Boudreaux is quick to point out that he sings all sorts of music. His latest album makes that clear, ...

Since 2004 Plastic Crimewave (aka Steve Krakow) has used the Secret History of Chicago Music to shine a light on worthy artists with Chicago ties who’ve been forgotten, underrated, or never noticed in ...

The blues world was changed forever on a sunny day around 1960 when a little boy walked into a five-and-dime in Los Angeles. “I was 8, maybe 9 when I saw it, all shiny in a display case,” ...

“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 ...

Bill Tarsha and the Rocket 88s led the 18th annual blues harmonica blowout last week at the Rhythm Room. More than 35 blues harmonica players performed. Tarsha and his band opened with a couple tunes.