Best Local Blues Act

An Atlanta guitar slinger with a swooping pompadour, Rod Hamdallah has swiftly risen through the ranks of Atlanta’s die-hard blues scene by taking cues from such hometown icons as the late Sean Costello and Donnie McCormick. With a blend of delta blues, electric roots and garage rock girth, Hamdallah has tricked out a sultry sound and presence that’s recharging the blues. He’s what the old heads who lurk in the shadows at the back of the bar refer to as the real deal, and they ain’t lyin’. reverbnation.com/rodhamdallah.

Listen: Rod Hamdallah “Think About It”

The blues is a universal feeling that transcends languages, social status and the constraints of musical genre. DANNY “MUDCAT” DUDECK knows that feeling intimately. He travels the globe spreading his version of the blues gospel and regularly works with a number of international blues-preservation organizations. Lucky for us, he gets back to town most weeks to play the tiny Northside Tavern. Whether performing solo, leading a smokin’ band or a tight, one-off jam session with a founding father or a group of novices, his soulful and emotive delivery evokes images of the hard times that fed the early blues pioneers. And Mudcat’s Bayou-baked, chicken-party revues can make even the most jaded music fan happy to be blue.

www.mudcatblues.com

Singer, songwriter and guitarist Oliver Wood enjoys a sizable following for his heavy blues band, King Johnson. So it’s no surprise that Ways Not to Lose, his album with younger brother Chris Wood (bassist for Medeski, Martin & Wood), turned out to be an engaging and incisive folk-blues delight. THE WOOD BROTHERS strip Oliver’s songs down to the chords, with nothing but the two strumming away on their instruments. The numbers are piercing and stark, unveiling a lifetime of hard-won victories and hard-earned lessons.
www.thewoodbrothers.com.