Blues Dal Mondo blog features a brief profile of British label Ruf Records’ latest addition, female singer Dani Wilde, who to my ears seems to mine the same turf as many of the latest crop of female guitarist/singers (for my money I’d prefer the work of Dona Oxford, which is grittier than what’s showcased in the video on this page). Nonetheless, it’s good to see blues video of young performers that doesn’t insist on cliched imagery:
News Dal Mondo: Dani Wilde – Heal My Blues

An interesting overview of Bessie Smith’s significance in blues history, with an astounding video clip included this week at New Zealand blog, The Inquiring Mind. There’s a fair amount of music posts, with an emphasis on “classic” songs. Good to see that a blues icon made it into the catalog.
Classic Blues 1 – Bessie Smith « The Inquiring Mind

The Blue Shoe Times intereviews Jefferey and Michael Dyson, who produced the Grammy Award winning CD, “Last of the Great Mississippi Bluesmen Live in Dallas“. The CD includes performances by the still-spry Pinetop Perkins, as well as my old friend Honeyboy Edwards and the late Robert Junior Lockwood. They seem to have an interesting perspective, and one of which BluesWire approves, seeing these old bluesmen as a source of philosophical, not just musical, wisdom:

Since we didn’t come from the music business, our attention was focused as much on them as people in addition to them being iconic musicians. What unfolded before our eyes was a compelling story that had not been told. They really appreciated what we were trying to do for kids and this unlocked a part of their lives that focused on life lessons rather than musical ones.

The Blue Shoe Times: Sitting in with Jeff and Mike

Blues down under is alive and well, as this review of the Australian West Coast Blues N Roots Festival shows. Included are reviews of Cat Power and John Fogerty as well as other lesser-known artists.
Perth Music » Blog Archive » 2008 West Coast Blues ‘N’ Roots Festival – Day 2 Review
Related links:
West Coast Blues and Roots Festival 08 – PerthNorg – People Powered News

Maybe it’s just my blues-attuned ear, but more and more I’m hearing a blues revival buried in the depths of new music everywhere. Seems like I can’t go to an open mike these days without some skinny dude playing slide guitar and harmonica. Then I see this Pop Matters review from SXSW, which leads off with a what’s called a “blues-punk” band, Fatal Flying Guillotines (I would actually compare them to the Stooges, but what do I know?). It’s worth clicking over just to hear the raucous noise of this band, which admittedly has blues genes, but somewhere it cross-bred with glue-sniffing mutants. There are also reviews of a some other shows, including old Austin standby Joe Ely.
PopMatters | PopMatters @ SXSW 2008 | Music Days 1 & 2: Rabid Blues-Punk, Americana, and a Whole Lot of Crooning

Just another sign that you can find blues all over the world: a report from Shanghai on a refurbished jazz and blues club, with a virtual tour of the remodeling.
shanghai jazz scene .com » Blog Archive » The new House of Blues and Jazz: sneak peek

The release of a new poetry CD by Wes Race is occasion for a review at ComicMix.com, but the story also includes some quite interesting background on Race’s time in Chicago blues joints (which provide material for the CD), and his role in the formation of blues powerhouse Alligator Records. Click the link below to read the full story:
Blues Poetry: Rough-And-Raw, by Michael H. Price – ComicMix news