This Mid-Year Best of 2015 list also includes Boz Scaggs, Pops Staples, Papa Mali, Wes Montgomery, Robben Ford, the Word, Steve Earle and Beth Hart.

“Might As Well Smile” explores a new kind of song for Beth Hart, part of a new kind of album – one framed by hope, rather than pain.

Presented from the start as a next-gen Janis Joplin, Beth Hart has a well-earned reputation as a whiskey barrel-busting belter. This isn’t that.

Here’s your chance to sample the forthcoming concert recording from Beth Hart and Joe Bonamassa, with a free download of the scalding “Close to My Fire” from 2013’s Seesaw. Hart handles the lyric, originally from the German electronic duo Slackwax, with a dangerous passion, while Bonamassa plays with a tastefulRead More

Beth Hart has crafted a reputation for scalding, Joplin-esque barnburners — and you might be expecting “Baddest Blues” to follow suit. Think again. You May Also Like: Beth Hart, “Mechanical Heart” from Better Than Home (2015): One Track Mind Beth Hart, “Might As Well Smile” from Better Than Home (2015):Read More

For all of the big-name guests here, Rhythm and Blues still crackles with the most energy when Buddy Guy stands alone at the mic. Luckily, his forthcoming RCA project is a double album — so there’s plenty of both. You May Also Like: John Belushi originally thought Steve Cropper wasRead More

Beth Hart, a raw and dynamic singer, has joined forces once again with guitarist Joe Bonamassa — and, as with 2011’s Don’t Explain, this collaboration brings out the best in both. You May Also Like: Beth Hart, “Might As Well Smile” from Better Than Home (2015): One Track Mind BethRead More

In one way or another, each of these recordings confounded and delighted me. Pushed me to new vistas, either in the way I approached the artist, their own original work, or the tunes they covered. Made me think, and feel differently. You May Also Like: Robert Cray – Robert CrayRead More

The Beatles rumbled through our October reader’s poll, placing in four different spots, but the month’s leader in the clubhouse was Donald Fagen — as the Steely Dan leader issued a long-awaited solo album. You May Also Like: Something Else! columnist Kit O’Toole featured at Fest for Beatles Fans SteveRead More

Beth Hart has lived a thousand lives, it seems, from her beginnings as a Star Search stand out, to bottoming out on drugs, to rebounding again in a second-act triumph You May Also Like: Beth Hart, “Might As Well Smile” from Better Than Home (2015): One Track Mind Beth Hart,Read More