Elmore #57 is here! In this issue, we look at the state of modern blues rock from the perspective of artists like Joe Bonamassa, Robert Randolph, Stephen Stills, Beth Hart, and Kenny Wayne Shepherd. Plus, exclusive interviews with Nora Guthrie, Southside Johnny, and Jimmy Vivino!

Elmore is pleased to announce that we will be partnering up with Joe Bonamassa’s Tribut Apparel for an exciting new giveaway offer! Enter at www.tributgiveaway.com/elmore/ and you could win a Buddy Guy polka-dot Fender Stratocaster!

Elmore is also giving away four pairs of tickets to the Pennsylvania Blues Festival! For a chance to see Bobby Rush, Robert Randolph, Alexis P. Suter and more, visit www.elmoremagazine.com/contest! Hurry before you miss your chance!

Connect with Elmore through social media! Visit our pages on Facebook and Twitter for more music coverage!

Get ready for the hardest-partying tour of all time. Fresh off the success of their new album 13, the reunited Black Sabbath are hitting the road. Ozzy Osbourne, Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler, and Brad Wilk (in place of original drummer Bill Ward) begin their tour at the end of July. They’ll be joined by a special guest this summer: party ambassador and Guinness World Record holder Andrew W.K. will open for them throughout the summer. The rocker, who just set the record for the longest drum session in history, said that opening for Sabbath was “the most incredible dream come true!”

Janis Joplin is coming to Broadway! A musical based on the life of the late singer will begin previews this fall at the Lyceum Theater in New York City. Titled An Evening With Janis Joplin, the musical has been touring the country since it debuted in Portland in 2011. Mary Bridget Davies, who played Janis in the touring musical, will reprise the role for the Great White Way. No other casting decisions have been announced. An Evening With Janis Joplin is expected to officially open on October 10th.
 
The surviving members of Pink Floyd have temporarily reunited in print to engage in a war of words with the founders of the music streaming service Pandora. Roger Waters, David Gilmour, and Nick Mason recently penned an editorial slamming Pandora for lobbying for a bill to drastically cut the royalties artists receive for song streams. A few days later, Pandora’s people struck back, saying that the information Pink Floyd cited in their editorial wasn’t true. By our estimation, this probably won’t be resolved anytime soon.

John McEuen is one of the most important names in folk, roots and Americana. From his time in the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band to his work as a solo artist and with his children in The McEuen Sessions, the man is truly a legend. As such, we’re happy to see him receiving honors for his contributions to American music, as he did last month when the Charlie Poole Festival Organization gave McEuen their Lifetime Achievement Award. Congratulations to John, and here’s hoping that we get to hear more from him for years to come!

The life story of the late, great George Jones is coming to the big screen. An as-of-yet-untitled biopic of the country music legend is currently in the beginning stages of production with a target release date in the next two years. The film had been licensed by Jones himself in 2011; according to his wife Nancy, Jones had hoped to see the film before his death in April of this year. Of the script, which was penned by Dennis Baxter, Nancy Jones said that her husband’s story “would be told the way [George] wanted it told.”

Letter Brian Cady makes the case for evolution in the blues

Opening Act Snippets, fun, interviews, reviews. Go meet Elmore at shows and compare notes! What’s in your bag, Kenny Wayne Shepherd?

Kickin’ in Your Stall Can we have too many bands? Carl Gustafson steadies himself to answer

Influences Everyone has a soul, but Boz Scaggs and Charles Bradley have their soul in abundance

On The Record Iggy Pop returns, and he’s not alone, which is a good thing. Royalty returns with George Duke, the Del-Lords and Ronnie Earl, but a coup ensues when the Baptist Generals and the Black Italians use a Cold Satellite, a Tail Dragger and Steel Wheels to navigate the (Willie) Nile and confront them in Thompson Square

Re.Issues Emerson Lake & Palmer reissue their First Five albums, and the manticore rises once more. It’s a country rumble, with the outlaws (Merle) and the rockers (Jerry Lee) ready to brawl

Saturday Night and Sunday Morning The hard life, times and resurrection of Charles Bradley. A tale of unlikely, but deserved, success

What’d I Say Jim Hynes loves the ladies

The Good Seats Dennis McDonough takes us on a tour of the reborn Capitol Theatre, capital once again

Also Appearing Memphis music spills out onto the streets, specifically the Beale Street Music Festival. Dave Brubeck honored, the Rumour, the Dukes (and Duchesses), and the Wallflowers, among others

Collecting Blues rock is back in a big way. Arnie Goodman names its Top 13 bands, and their high points. Disagree? Email arnie@elmoremagazine.com

Get to Know 40 Bands You Don’t Want Showing Up In Your Living Room

This Month’s Trivia