GLT Blues Next

Blues singer-songwriter-performer Shari Puorto grew up in Connecticut listening to some of the great names in rock and blues, and was especially drawn to the intensity of Etta James.

Chris Yakopcic is a young guitarist/singer/songwriter who found himself drawn to acoustic blues at a young age. He includes blues legends Robert Johnson and Mississippi Fred McDowell as inspirations. But it was a show by a lesser known guitarist that sparked an "a-ha" moment along his musical career path.

New York native Todd Wolfe has opened for (and played with) some of the biggest names in the music business. One of his more noteworthy gigs was playing guitar in Sheryl Crow's touring band following the monster success of Crow's "Tuesday Night Music Club" album in the 1990's. On this edition of GLT Blues Next, Wolfe talks about his time with Crow, his musically rich childhood neighborhood, and about the new solo album from The Todd Wolfe Band.

Pianist Anthony Geraci is an original member of Sugar Ray and the Bluetones, and Ronnie Earl and the Broadcasters. He's also played with or behind some of the greatest names in blues, including B.B. King, Big Mama Thornton, Otis Rush, Chuck Berry, and Big Walter Horton. Geraci's latest solo album "Fifty Shades of Blue" is backed by an all-star cast of Boston's top blues musicians. On this edition of GLT's Blues Next, Geraci talks about his entry into the piano, his unexpected tour with a blues legend, and about "Fifty Shades of Blue."

One of the largest music events in Central Illinois history is virtually undocumented. GLT’s Jon Norton has the story of a Normal native and U-High grad whose life’s passion has been bringing his film of that event to national prominence.

Pianist Johnny Iguana likes that his music with drummer Michael Caskey is difficult to categorize. Together they play their bluesy, jazzy, R&Bish music all over Chicago and the world as The Claudettes. It's an interesting and catchy sound, as is the story behind the groups name.

On this edition of GLT Blues Next, west-coast bluesman John Smith, aka "JC Smith" of the "JC Smith Band" details his bands new album, titled "Love Mechanic." He also recalls meeting a blues legend -- before he realized who the legend was -- and before he realized they were related.

There are a number of young blues artists based in Memphis, the so-called "home of the blues." Getting gigs in Memphis isn't always easy, but there are a lot of musical collaborations. On this edition of GLT Blues Next, Jon Norton talks with Matt Isbell, guitarist and vocalist with the Memphis based Ghost Town Blues Band, about one of those collaborations, and about the bands new album, Hard Row to Hoe.

The blues-rock band the Balkun Brothers pulls its influences from classic rock even from hard rock bands like Black Sabbath. Drummer Nick Balkun talks about shaping the band’s sound in this edition of GLT Blues Next.