Blues Moments in Time...

November 18 isn’t crowded with headlines—but the blues rarely needed them. This episode traces a date defined by what’s felt as much as what’s recorded: the quiet passing of journeyman pianists whose fingerprints are all over the music, the velvet-smooth voice of Junior Parker gone too soon, blues-rock’s surge into the mainstream, and the global echoes still ringing in Berlin clubs decades later. We explore how the genre’s deepest truths live between the lines—where songs traveled by memory, names faded, and legacies were carried in calloused hands and night-to-night gigs. This is the blues as it’s lived: triumph and loss in equal measure, and the stories we still owe the ones who never made it to tape.

November 17 may look like just another date on the calendar, but in the world of blues and its far-reaching influence, it holds remarkable significance. In this episode of Blues Moments in Time, host Kelvin Huggins uncovers the unseen importance of November 17—a day that gave us Jack Owens, the haunting voice of the Bentonia blues; Tab Benoit, the bayou guitarist whose mission extends from music to environmental activism; and Jeff Buckley, the genre-defying artist whose love for Robert Johnson shaped his emotional soundscapes.

We also revisit Elton John’s legendary 11/17/70 live recording, a performance that captured the raw, blues-infused energy of his early career. Together, these stories reveal how the blues is not a relic of the past but a living tradition—passed from porch to juke joint to festival stage, evolving across generations and geographies.

Tune in as we celebrate the haunting minor keys of Mississippi, the swampy grooves of Louisiana, and the timeless emotional power that continues to ripple through rock, folk, and beyond. November 17 proves that even ordinary dates can hold extraordinary meaning in the soundtrack of American music.

Hosted by: Kelvin Huggins

Presented by: The Blues Hotel Collective

Listen Tomorrow for: Another Blues Moment in Time

Keep the blues alive.

© 2025 The Blues Hotel Collective.

Join Rufus Tate as he dives deep into the tangled roots and resonant echoes of November 16th in blues history.

November 16 maps a bold arc of the blues—from W.C. Handy putting the music “down on paper” and giving it a popular voice, to Jimi Hendrix blasting those roots into a cosmic, electric future with Electric Ladyland at the top of the charts. We trace that lineage into the present day, where Australia’s scene—Ash Grunwald’s stompbox thunder, Chain’s long-running grit, and festival stages from Queenscliff to Thredbo—keeps the acoustic Delta dust alive while pushing the edges of blues-rock. This episode is a timeline you can feel: arranged, amplified, and roaring across continents. Cue up Handy’s classics, spin Hendrix’s “Voodoo Child,” then step onto Australia’s sunburnt stages—the blues travels, adapts, and gets bloody loud on November 16.

Join Rufus Tate as he dives deep into the tangled roots and resonant echoes of November 15th in blues history.

November 15 traces a living blues lineage—from the bottleneck fire of James “Kokomo” Arnold, whose “Old Original Kokomo Blues” seeded Robert Johnson’s “Sweet Home Chicago,” to the single-take grit of Tyler Bryant’s 2025 release “Falling Up,” echoing the raw instinct of Freddy King. We ride that feeling across oceans to Western Australia, where the Blues at Bridgetown festival turns a quiet valley into a roaring hub of roots, slide, and late-night soul—spotlighting local flavors from Scarlet’s Way to Videlli. This episode is a travelogue of tone and time: Delta sparks, modern ignition, and the sun-drenched, sometimes darker Aussie vibe that proves the blues keeps breathing, evolving, and reaching new ears—one November 15 at a time.

Join Kelvin Huggins as he dives deep into the tangled roots and resonant echoes of November 14th in blues history.

November 14 echoes with the pulse of blues history—from the dusty slide of John Henry Barbee to the jazz-blues finesse of Art Hodes and the harmonica fire of Carey Bell. This episode honors the birth of genre-bending talents like Anson Funderbergh and Aynsley Lister, while remembering legends like Junior Parker and Eddie Map whose voices still ripple through the music. We drop the needle on landmark recording sessions by Louis Jordan and Bob Dylan, tracing the evolution of blues into swing, jump, and folk-rock. And we spotlight the vibrant present: Eugene “Hideaway” Bridges in New South Wales, Jools Holland in Bournemouth, and harmonica masterclasses in Midhurst. From studio sparks to festival stages, November 14 proves the blues is not just remembered—it’s reborn, night after night.