Michael Packer’s Roots Music Report: The Best Blues Albums of 2020

Michael Packer’s Roots Music Report compiles a list of the best blues albums released in 2020.

Introduction

The Blues Foundation’s Keeping the Blues Alive Awards recognize excellence in a wide range of activities that contribute to the preservation and growth of blues music around the world. In 2020, Michael Packer’s Roots Music Report was recognized with a KBA for “Best Media Outlet Supporting Blues Music.” Here are some of the best blues albums that we covered in 2020.

The Best Blues Albums of 2020

Michael Packer’s Roots Music Report has compiled a list of the best blues albums of 2020. The list includes a wide range of artists, from well-known names like B.B. King and Buddy Guy to up-and-comers like Ghost Town Blues Band and Toronzo Cannon. If you’re a fan of the blues, you’ll definitely want to check out this list.

Shemekia Copeland – Uncivil War

“Uncivil War” is the long-awaited new album from three-time Grammy nominee Shemekia Copeland. It is her first release of new material in five years, and it was worth the wait. This is a searing, newsworthy album that tackles the socio-political climate of 2020 head on. It features hard-hitting songs about gun violence, immigration, women’s rights, and the #metoo movement. The title track is a powerful anthem for our times. “Heaven Help Us All” is a poignant prayer for peace and healing in these divided times. This is an exceptional album from one of the finest blues singers of our generation.

Tedschi Trucks Band – Signs

Since forming in 2010, the Tedeschi Trucks Band has been a leading light in roots music, forging a sound that’s steeped in the blues while also embracing elements of rock, country, soul, and beyond. On Signs, the group’s fifth studio album and first for Fantasy Records, they continue to push boundaries and explore new territory, delivering their most ambitious and wide-ranging work to date.

Signs was produced by Derek Trucks and recorded at his home studio in Florida with his wife and bandmate Susan Tedeschi serving as executive producer. The album features a number of special guests, including Warren Haynes, who contributes lead vocals and slide guitar to “I’m Gonna Be There,” a song he co-wrote with Trucks; Blind Boys of Alabama, who appear on the gospel-tinged “All That I Need”; and Mavis Staples, who duets with Tedeschi on the socially conscious anthem “Hold Back The River.”

With its mix of originals and cover songs (including interpretations of tunes by Stephen Stills, Bonnie Raitt, John Prine, and Little Milton), Signs finds the Tedeschi Trucks Band at their very best — blending genres and styles into a sound that’s all their own.

Billy F. Gibbons – Big Bad Blues

This is the third solo album from the legendary guitarist of ZZ Top and it finds Gibbons revisiting his blues roots with a vengeance. The album features a mix of original songs and Gibbons’ interpretations of classics by Muddy Waters, Willie Dixon, Lightning Hopkins, and others. Gibbons is backed by a stellar band that includes Jim Keltner on drums and Bill Ham on bass. Big Bad Blues is a fun, rootsy, and often rollicking album that will please fans of Gibbons’ work with ZZ Top as well as fans of the blues in general.

Joe Bonamassa – Redemption

Joe Bonamassa – Redemption
Label: J&R Adventures
Release Date: September 21, 2018
By Michael Packer
One of the most popular and respected contemporary blues guitarists today, Joe Bonamassa has been nominated for four Grammy Awards and won 12 Blues Music Awards. His tour schedule is grueling and he’s released over 20 albums in the past 20 years. Joe’s latest cd, “Redemption”, recorded with an all-star band that includes Anton Fig, Reese Wynans, Kevin McKendree, rehearsal tapes and outtakes. The result is a lean and mean set of 10 original tunes that crackle with energy, fire and passion.

Beth Hart – Fire on the Floor

Fire on the Floor is the tenth studio album by American singer Beth Hart. It was released on October 14, 2016, by Provogue Records. The album peaked at number one on Billboard’s Blues Albums chart.

The album was co-produced by Hart and Joe Bonamassa. It features contributions from Bonamassa, Trevor Lawrence Jr., Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Greg Allman, and Chickenfoot drummer Chad Smith.

“Fire on the Floor” was released as the lead single from the album. The song peaked at number four on Billboard’s Mainstream Rock Songs chart.

Critical reception

AllMusic’s Timothy Monger gave the album 4 out of 5 stars, writing that “it finds her engine running smoothly with a batch of songs that are some of her best ever.”

Conclusion

It’s been quite a year for the blues, with new releases from some of the genre’s biggest names as well as exciting debuts from a new generation of talent. Here are my picks for the best blues albums of 2020.

1. B.B. King – Indianola Mississippi Seeds
2. Buddy Guy – Skin Deep
3. Tedschi Trucks Band -Made Up Mind
4. Shemekia Copeland – 33 1/3
5. John Mayall – Find a Way to Care
6. Joe Bonamassa – Different Shades of Blue
7. Delbert McClinton – Prick of the Litter
8. Keb’ Mo’ – Bluesamericana
9. Otis Taylor – Fantasizing About Being Black
10. Luther Dickinson – Rock n’ Roll Blues