Living Blues Magazine

Living Blues #303 (July/August 2026) features Chicago guitarist John Primer on the cover. At age 81, Primer may be riding the biggest wave of his long career. After decades of work in Muddy Waters’ and Magic Slim’s bands, Primer launched his solo career 35 years ago and now reigns as one of the top blues players in the world. Canada’s Angelique Francis and her family band (father Kiran on drums and sisters Kira, Kharincia, and Kayla on horns) have been wowing audiences for years with their dynamic live shows. Now poised to break onto the national scene, they are an act not to be missed. Chicago-born, now Phoenix-based, vocalist Carla Denise came to the blues late. After working a day job and raising two children, Denise has now found her niche in the blues working with Bob Corritore and Jimi “Primetime” Smith on live gigs and her first recordings. Muddy Waters’ song I Can’t Be Satisfied is not an average blues song. It has deep roots going back to the pre-recorded era and stands as a coded protest against white supremacy. We explore the history of the song and its deeper meanings in I Can’t Be Satisfied: The History of Black Resistance and Protest Behind Muddy’s First Hit Record. This issue’s Let It Roll! features Luther Allison. After a self-imposed exile in Europe, guitarist Luther Allison exploded back onto the American blues scene in the mid-1990s with two fiery blues albums, Soul Fixin’ Man and Blue Streak. Allison’s legendary live shows rocked the blues world until his untimely death in 1997.
All of this plus the latest in Blues News, reviews including new releases from Cyril Neville, The Anthony Paule Soul Orchestra, and Russ Green, and reissues from Albert King, Lightnin’ Hopkins, and Muddy Waters. Plus the winners of the 2026 Living Blues Awards are announced.