New Blues Review 2-25-25
By Jack Roy
Will Wilde – Blues Is Still Alive (Vizztone)
Bio – “Will Wilde is a force to be reckoned with – a phenomenal harmonica player with a voice to match. Will’s intense harmonica style steals the spotlight from the traditional blues rock guitar, with a sound that owes as much to Gary Moore as it does to Sonny Boy Williamson. “I’m always looking to make new sounds with the harmonica, pushing its boundaries, trying to change people’s perception of it.” In fact Will has gone one step further and created his own signature “Wilde Tuned” harmonicas so he can play licks that weren’t possible before. “They enable me to hold my own with any blues rock guitarist”. Will gained popularity on Youtube with his mind blowing harmonica covers of classic rock guitar solos, such as Lynyrd Skynyrd’s Free Bird, which racked up over 3.5 million views, and helped him gain his 94K+ subscribers. These videos brought him to the attention of blues rock guitar legend Walter Trout, who invited him to play on his album ‘Broken’, which went to number one on the Billboard Blues Album Chart. To return the favour, Walter played guitar on the title track and first single from Will’s new album ‘The Blues Is Still Alive’. ” It was my great honor to be part of this music with the incredible Will Wilde. He’s the best! ” -Walter Trout. Will picked up his first harmonica at a house party when he was sixteen. “I basically nicked it,” he says. “It was a cheap plastic Guinness harmonica just lying around amongst the drink bottles and cigarette butts, I was drawn to it.” From then on playing became an obsession. “I used to play along to old Muddy Waters records for hours every day. Sometimes I played so much my lips bled,” says Wilde. “I couldn’t get enough of it. After a while it became like an extension of me.” Will comes from a musical family. “Music was always around me” he says. “Blues, soul and classic rock were the soundtrack to my childhood.” His father is an avid music fan, his grandfather was a wartime jazz & blues pianist and his sister, Dani Wilde, is an acclaimed blues singer and guitarist in her own right. Will has released four studio albums and one live album: Unleashed (2010), Raw Blues (2013), Live In Hamburg (2015), Bring It On Home (2018) and Bad Luck Friday (2022), as well as appearing as a guest harmonica player on albums by Walter Trout, Toby Lee, Brave Rival, Earl Thomas and Krissy Matthews. His earlier releases reflect more of a traditional Chicago blues sound, but over time he has developed a more intense style that draws from the classic rock and blues rock music he grew up on. Will is nominated “Instrumentalist of the Year” and “Contemporary Blues Artist Of The Year” in the UK Blues Awards 2025.”
Review – Killer Blues/Rock album with Will’s overblown Harmonica Solos. Wonderful lyrics and song writing, with a great backing band including Bobby Harrison on Guitar, Greg Coulson on Keys, Steve Rushton on Drums, Russell Carr on Bass and Dani Wilde, Lindsey Bonnick and Chloe Josephine on Backing Vocals. Will’s harmonica vocabulary is impressive, at some points it is hard to tell if the lead is Guitar or Harmonica. The first song is “Blues Is Still Alive” and has Walter Trout doing some amazing solos. Other standouts for me were “Wild Man”, “Girl’s Got Soul” and “Gypsy Woman”. I think my favorite is “Stole My Love″, here is a live version listen here. I will give this a 10 on Blues Content and a 10+ on Music Content.
Matt “The Rattlesnake” Lesch – Blues cut Like Glass (Blue Lotus)
Bio – “Born in 1997 in St. Louis Missouri, Matt “The Rattlesnake” Lesch started playing guitar at the age of 11. By the age of 12, he took a serious interest in blues and started studying the masters such as Albert King, B.B. King, Freddie King, Buddy Guy, Robert Johnson, Muddy Waters and Howlin’ Wolf. At the age of 16 he was taken in and mentored by local blues legend Big George Brock and quickly became Big George’s lead guitar player. Matt learned the meaning of the blues and where the music came from first hand from a sharecropper out of Grenada, Mississippi. After performing at many national blues festivals across the country with Big George, Matt quickly became a seasoned veteran at an early age. Matt has had his own band since the age of 16 playing all the local blues clubs and festivals in St Louis, Missouri and Illinois. At the age of 18, Matt started attending Webster University as a Jazz Performance major. In October of 2018, Matt released his debut album Furious Strike at the age of 20. Furious Strike brings a modern, contemporary style to the blues genre that includes his original music and modern playing style. Now 26, he has played all over the U.S.A and internationally in France, Denmark and more. With the ability of an old, seasoned professional, Matt can bring a fierce show to any stage that he plays on. Make no mistake; his young age is far outweighed by his bleeding passion for music. When you see “The Rattlesnake” on stage you can see and feel the intensity of his passion channeling through him and into the crowd.”
Review – A great authentic Blues Album with some wonderful guitar work and vocals from Matt. His voice is strong and fits in well with the songs that he has wrote. You can tell from his guitar work that he has studied the greats because some of his licks are so reminiscent of some the greats. His core band is Taylor Streiff on Keys, Paul Niehaus IV on Bass and the great Chuck “Popcorn” Louden on Drums. Through out the album, Matt brings in just the right musicians as in “Big Leg Woman” he bring in a wonderful horn section. Other stand outs were “He’s A Bluesman” with Johny Erblich on Harmonica, “Sitting At The Station” and “Keep Your Promise”. I think my favorite is the funky tune “I’m So Tired″, listen here. I will give this a 10 on Blues Content and a 10+ on Music Content.
Sunny Bleau & The Moons – Passion & Regrets (Endless Blues)
Bio – “The band, Sunny Bleau and The Moons, is led by the powerhouse alto-vocals of Sunny Bleau and Guitarist/composer/producer Nicholas Cocco. Based in Oxford, Michigan USA, the duo penned and released four full length studio albums and multiple singles between 2021 and 2025 receiving much positive press and accolades for both their studio endeavors as well as their dynamic live performances. Working as both a Duo group and with their full band, Sunny Bleau and The Moons perform over 60 shows per year, in multiple states from Michigan to Florida and from Tennessee to New York! American Singer-Songwriter, Kelly Brock, is “Sunny Bleau”. Sunny Bleau is originally from Scottsdale, AZ but now resides in Oxford, MI. The sultry, gregarious, and personable woman called “Sunny Bleau” is known for her straightforward lyrics, passionate performances, strong vocals, and playful personality. Kelly was given the nickname “Sunny” when she was younger. When she was in high school, she sang with the high school praise band. One of her youth leaders suggested she learn the guitar and lead the youth praise band, so Sunny’s dad gave her a guitar for her 16th birthday. She very quickly learned a hand-full of chords. Sunny had always been a writer of poems and short stories. In college, she studied theatre and loved writing 1-act and full-length plays. In 2019, Sunny met Producer and Guitarist, Nicholas Cocco, and the two began writing songs. Sunny started performing alongside Nic at Senior Homes in the Detroit area where she would sing jazz and blues standards and play the kazoo… the gateway drug that would open her up to the harmonica! Now, Sunny incorporates her passionate harmonica solos into their recorded music and live stage shows.”
Review – A well put together Blues Album with some great song writing. Sunny might not have the strongest voice out there, but her singing cadence is perfect and she is a natural with the band. Backing Sunny is Nicholas A. Cocco and Jeff Jenson on Guitar, Kiersi Joli on Harmonica, Bill Ruffino on Bass, James Cunningham on Drums, and Rick Steff on Keys. Some of the best for me are “Waitin’ On A Man”, “You Better Put The Coffee On” and “Memphis Bound”. I think my favorite is “S-H-E-E-E-W-O-M-A-N″ with some great harmonica work from Kiersi Joili, listen here. I will give this a 10 on Blues Content and a 9 on Music Content.
Mountain View Gospel Blues – Standing At The Door (Sonlight Production)
Bio – “Ever since the quiet reception of Mountain View Gospel Blues’ 2024 release, Standin’ at the Door, the creative force behind the band, Don Hoffman has wondered if he has alienated two distinct audiences. Reflecting on the minimal airplay compared to past blues albums, Hoffman said “I don’t know if blues enthusiasts are passing because of the ‘Gospel’ message in the music, if the Christian music community is passing because it’s blues or what the problem is. The music’s good. That’s all I know.” Standin’ at the Door offers fiery electric blues, infused with the gospel and passion. Hoffman wrote the majority of the songs in the early 1990’s, with a blues rock trio in Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania. At the time Hoffman recorded the music on primitive equipment, hardly sufficient for demo purposes. In 2020, to fulfill his longtime goal of creating high-quality recordings of the music, Hoffman recruited two longtime friends, Pat Allen on drums, and Doug Brown on Bass guitar, as well an 18-year-old blues harp prodigy he found on Craigslist, Jackson Baker. Due to Covid and an unexpected hurricane that flooded the recording studio, Sonlight Productions, it took the group 4 years to produce the album. Aside from the gospel lyrics and traditional hymns, the record sounds like a traditional blues album, in the style of the electric Chicago Blues. A dialed-in rhythm section pounds away, supporting mean, sliding harmonica, and howling guitar solos.”
Review – This is a refreshing different Blues Album with some great musicians. Spiritual Blues with a modern take on Gospel. Although Don doesn’t have the typical “Gospel” voice, he can sing very well. Supporting Don is Jackson Baker on Harmonica, Dough Brown on Bass and Pat Allen on Drums. I had to listen to this a couple of times to really appreciate the band and what they were trying to do. The do only one cover which is “Jesus Gonna Make It Alright” which was a Brownie McGhee and Sonny Terry song. I really liked “Somebody Prayed For Me” and “Red Wine” but I think my favorite is “Goin’ Down To Calvary″ a slow blues, listen here. I will give this a 9 on Blues Content and a 9 on Music Content.
