Author: Brant Buckley

“I have a large variety of influences and I listen to a lot of music. I incorporate it into all of the music I make. It is still blues music but it comes from different angles.” Mike Wheeler

“As my children grew up, I decided to pursue music. I know it’s a late jump. I would rather try it and fail than have regrets. This is why I am here.” – Joseph Morganfield

“The blues, despite it being the roots of all American music, has always been relegated to an underground status. I was always acutely aware that blues was not on mainstream radio or television except on rare occasions. It has not been given the due that it legitimately deserves.” – Billy Branch

Delmark Recording artist Dave Specter has earned an international reputation as one of the premier talents on the Chicago blues scene.

“I am a true bluesman. There are very few true bluesmen around. I make my living off the blues; not R&B or hip hop.” – Linsey Alexander

“Try to keep it as real as you can. I’m doing what I love. Blues is all about life. I want to keep it real.” – John Primer

“I think my writing and film making is musical in some way. Being raised around music affected my sense of rhythm, timing, and contrast. I am very inspired by the music.” – Robert Gordon

“My goal is to let the younger generation really see what the blues has been and what it can be. To keep the music popular and create a resurgence, the blues needs the young people.” – Keith Dixon Nelson

“As I get older, I am interested in authenticity. I want to see how close to the bone I can get. I want to see how real to the heart I can get. I want to see how real of a song I can write. I am still chasing that.” Tommy Conwell

In the 1970s, Graves started his own record label to promote the blues music of his early heroes.