Blues and roots-rock guitarist Nick Curran has been diagnosed with cancer of the tongue and is undergoing therapy in his hometown of Austin, Texas. Reform School Girl, Curran's Eclecto Groove Records debut with his band the Lowlifes, is scheduled for February 16th, 2010 release.

Curran is expected to make a full recovery and is preparing to resume his tour schedule after laying low in Austin for a couple of months. In a statement on the Eclecto Groove website, Curran says, "I'm really looking at this as just a small bump in the road. I think it's one of those life things that happens which reminds you not to take life for granted and help you become the best person you can."

To help with his medical expenses, a benefit show has been organized for Curran at the Rhythm Room club in Phoenix, Arizona. A frequent performer at the club, Curran has appeared at the Rhythm Room with Ronnie Dawson, the Fabulous Thunderbirds, and his own bands. The benefit show will be held on Monday, February 15, 2010 at 7:00 PM and will feature performances from the Rocket 88s, the Jump Back Brothers, and the Dave Riley/ Bob Corritore Juke Joint Blues Band, among others.

We hope that Curran recovers quickly and wish him the best of luck with the new album.

Photo courtesy Eclecto Groove Records

The legendary Alligator Records label has announced a March 2, 2010 release date for albums from two of the label's leading voices in roots-blues music: the Holmes Brothers' Feed My Soul and Guitar Shorty's Bare Knuckle.

The Holmes Brothers' Feed My Soul was produced by friend of the band, singer Joan Osborne, and is said to feature the trio's trademark blend of blues, soul, gospel, and rock 'n' roll. For better than three decades, guitarist/vocalist Wendell Holmes, bassist Sherman Holmes, and drummer Popsy Dixon have imbued their energetic music with their three-part harmonies and skilled, imaginative instrumentation. After Wendell was diagnosed with cancer in 2008, the band fell back on family and friends to help the singer overcome the disease. Wendell Holmes' struggle with the disease is reflected in the songs on Feed My Soul, which deal with topics like friendship and loyalty, aging and illness, as well as current politics, all delivered with no little humor.

A major influence on artists like Jimi Hendrix and Buddy Guy, the legendary Guitar Shorty has enjoyed a career that has stretched across five decades and thrilled audiences worldwide. The dynamic performer and innovative guitarist will be following up on his Blues Music Award-winning 2006 album We The People with the sure-to-please Bare Knuckle. A collection of slash-and-burn, guitar-driven rockers with socially-conscious lyrics and plenty of Shorty's typically menacing fretwork, the album will cement his status as one of the premiere instrumentalists in the blues.

Photos courtesy Alligator Records

Blues-rock guitarist Joe Bonamassa is coming off one of his best years yet in 2009: his critically-acclaimed CD The Ballad of John Henry was released in February, and a career-making DVD, Live From The Royal Albert Hall, was released in October. Britain's Classic Rock magazine named Bonamassa its "Breakthrough Artist of the Year" and audiences in both Europe and the United States thrilled to the guitarist's scorching fretwork and dynamic performances.

Not one to rest on his considerable laurels, Bonamassa is set to release Black Rock, his tenth full-length album, on March 23, 2010. Recorded at the Black Rock Studios in Santorini, Greece - thus the album's name - Black Rock is a thirteen-song collection of soulful originals and inspired covers that run the gamut from Jeff Beck's blues-rocker "Spanish Boots," folk legend Leonard Cohen's "Bird On A Wire," and John Hiatt's soulful "I Know A Place" to Chicago blues great Otis Rush's "Three Times A Fool" and Piedmont blues giant Blind Boy Fuller's "Baby You Gotta Change Your Mind."

The highlight of Black Rock, however, is the duet between Bonamassa and B.B. King on Willie Nelson's classic "Night Life." King originally recorded the song for his 1967 album Blues Is King, and the two men revisit the tune here, swapping vocals and guitar licks in recreating the song. Black Rock was recorded with a number of Greek musicians, adding to the album's exotic flavor, and includes new Bonamassa originals like "When The Fire Hits The Sea," "Wandering Earth," and "Blue and Evil," among others.

Bonamassa has another trick up his sleeve for 2010 - the formation of a blues-rock supergroup! Bonamassa will provide guitar and vocals for the new band, and will be joined by bassist/vocalist Glenn Hughes (Deep Purple), drummer Jason Bonham (Led Zeppelin), and keyboardist Derek Sherinian (Dream Theater), all three talented solo performers with strong blues and rock backgrounds. They're calling themselves Black Country, taking the name from the industrial area in England from which Bonham and Hughes both hail. The band is currently in the studio with Bonamassa's long-time producer Kevin Shirley, who has also worked with the Black Crowes and Aerosmith, recording tracks for an album to be released in late-2010 or early 2011. Stay tuned....

Related Content:
Joe Bonamassa - The Ballad of John Henry CD review
Joe Bonamassa - Live From The Royal Albert Hall DVD review

Photo courtesy J&R Adventures

The legendary Etta James, one of the great talents of blues, soul, and R&B music, has been hospitalized in California and is in critical condition, suffering from sepsis - a type of blood poisoning - brought on by a urinary tract infection. One of James' sons, Donto James, told Los Angeles television station KTLA that his mother had entered a treatment program about a month ago to shake a dependence on painkillers. James has also been diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease, possibly robbing the music world of one of its truly unique voices.

During a career that has spanned six decades, James has experienced more than her share of ups and downs, tragedies and triumphs. James was a mainstay of Chess Records during the 1960s, a story recently fictionalized by the film Cadillac Records. James has won four Grammy™ Awards and 17 Blues Music Awards during a career that began in the 1950s as a singer in the band of R&B legend Johnny Otis. James was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1993, and to both the Blues Hall of Fame and the Rockabilly Hall of Fame in 2001. Bluesy torch songs like "At Last" and "All I Could Do Is Cry" became James' signature performances, and have been covered by numerous artists since.

But the 72-year-old James has also battled addiction and health issues through the years, many of them remembered in her 1995 autobiography A Rage To Survive. We wish Etta James a swift recovery and best wishes for the years to come.

Related Content: Etta James Profile

Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez, courtesy Getty Images