Blogcritics Celebrates the Blues

Welcome to the Blogcritics’ Blues Bash!

This month, the music section will be shining the spotlight big and bright on the blues.

Look no further than these pages to see news, reviews, and interviews on a genre that isn’t always so easy to define. By nature, blues is wide and varied, always evolving, always challenging the boundaries with each and every performance and interpretation. Though the commonality seems to be a state of mind, the terminology is a reference to the often depressed — or blue — tone of the lyrics. Of course, anything can happen along the way!

Not unlike jazz and rock, blues has taken its share of knocks over the years, sometimes being referred to as the devil’s music. But, in fact, if not for the blues, jazz and rock wouldn’t exist. The genre has also had its share of time in the spotlight as well, serving as the focus of several movies. The Blues Brothers, Sounder, and Crossroads are just a few of the stories built around this type of music.

So join us this month as our writers tip their hats and sing the praises of the music that got its start right here in America, drawing inspiration from African, Caribbean, and other cultures, and gave birth to the wide variety of musical styles we hear each and every day.