EDITOR’S NOTE: Welcome to No Depression’s newest column — Best of the Blues. Each month we’ve asked long-time No Depression contributor, Grant Britt, to round up some of his favorite new blues records for your listening pleasure.
Anybody who thinks that the blues is a dying art doesn't have their ears to the ground. There are plenty of road dogs young and old out there still plying their trade, keeping the blues alive. We'll be letting you know about new releases in the coming months, stay tuned.
For now, if you're tired of being bombarded by blue Christmas carolers or 12-bar remakes of holiday classics, help has arrived. The new year promises a plethora of new blues releases. Here's a trio leading the pack.
Tinsley Ellis — Labor of Love, January 30 2026
Tinsley Ellis (who once had Stevie Ray Vaughan play through his amp and swore he'd never change the settings) is known for his hard-hitting muscular style. But his delivery has changed a bit over the course of his last two releases on Alligator Records, going for a solo acoustic sound, starting with 2024's Naked Truth, and on his latest, Labor Of Love. But just because it's acoustic doesn't mean it's mellow. Ellis hits it just as hard with his acoustic Martins and National steel, even throwing in some mandolin on three cuts.
