"This artist hails from Tartu, Estonia... and mixes Baltic and Euro-modal flavorings with large doses of raw bluesiness. It’s almost as if muddy waters were flowing into the Gulf of Riga. Musicians of this sort run counter to all expectations, and upset various purists."
On May 31st, the Toronto-based webzine The Sound Cafe published their "Quick Picks for June 2023" that also includes "Vol. 12", alongside new releases by more mainstream acts such as Foo Fighters, Imagine Dragons, and Estonia's own Trad.Attack!: a "selection of new releases... well worth checking out"!
A new studio recording featuring Red Mouth (USA) on vocals and Jantso Jokelin (Finland) on harmonica has been released via Bandcamp - hear "Something in the Evening" below and download the two different mixes HERE!
Meanwhile, the October 5th show at Mulks in Viljandi was great fun and another concert at the Endla Jazz Club in Pärnu has just been announced for November 5th - 3 tracks recorded there during Andres Roots' last appearance there in October 2019 ended up on the "Mississippi to Loch Lomond" live album. Get your tickets HERE!
Bman's Blues Report in Arizona, USA has just published a review of "Mississippi to Loch Lomond": "A
strong set of acoustic style blues tracks from one of today's strongest
slide players /.../ A perfect balance of traditional and contemporary
acoustic and slide blues influenced music."
And: "One of my favorite tracks on the release is Legacy Blues with it's traditional structure and sweet slide phrasing. Roots has a real nice hand and works this track just right." Read the whole thing HERE!
"Andres plays some fine solo blues in Clarksdale, Mississippi, with
excellent slide, bass string snapping and fine finger-picking on a bunch
of traditional sounding but actually original instrumental
compositions," writes Norman Darwen in the current issue of Blues in Britain of the "Mississippi to Loch Lomond" album, noting that Jeff
Eaton's "sleeve notes are excellent too."
You can hear and download the album on Bandcamp HERE or order the disc direct HERE.
Here's another tune from the upcoming "Mississippi to Loch Lomond" live album - recorded at the Deep Blues Festival, Ground Zero Blues Club in Clarksdale, Mississippi. Photo by Peter Lee from outside the Xanadu Music & Books in Memphis, Tennessee.
Here's another live recording from the Deep Blues Festival - recorded at the Ground Zero Blues Club in Clarksdale, Mississippi on Oct. 18, 2019, mastered by Asko-Romé Altsoo, photo by Peter Lee. Live album coming in March!!!
Here's some news to kick it off: there's a new live album coming in March - recorded in 2019 at the Deep Blues Festival in Clarksdale, Mississippi, at the Endla Jazz Club in Pärnu, Estonia and at Memorial Hall in Milton of Buchanan, Scotland. Cover photo by Jeff Eaton, design by Siret Roots, full tracklist below.
1. In the Dark (Cat Head, Clarksdale, MS, USA, 19.10.19) 2. Build Me a Statue (Ground Zero, Clarksdale, MS, USA, 18.10.19) 3. Bullfrog Medley (Ground Zero, Clarksdale, MS, USA, 18.10.19) 4. Snake Girl Blues (Ground Zero, Clarksdale, MS, USA, 18.10.19) 5. Meow Meow (Ground Zero, Clarksdale, MS, USA, 18.10.19) 6. Legacy Blues (Ground Zero, Clarksdale, MS, USA, 18.10.19) 7. Right Across the Hill (Endla Jazzklubi, Pärnu, Estonia, 4.10.19) 8. Waltzin' Blue (Endla Jazzklubi, Pärnu, Estonia, 4.10.19) 9. Birdsong Thing (Endla Jazzklubi, Pärnu, Estonia, 4.10.19) 10. 4 AM Hot Dog (Buchanan Memorial Hall, Scotland, 2.3.19) 11. Jook Jones (Buchanan Memorial Hall, Scotland, 2.3.19) 12. Spanish Run (Buchanan Memorial Hall, Scotland, 2.3.19) 13. Station Blues Medley (Buchanan Memorial Hall, Scotland, 2.3.19) 14. The Sheik of Hawaii (Buchanan Memorial Hall, Scotland, 2.3.19) 15. Wagon Swing (Buchanan Memorial Hall, Scotland, 2.3.19)
In 2019, Andres Roots played 60 concerts in four countries: in Estonia (Tallinn, Tartu, Pärnu, Haapsalu, Viljandi, Võru, Põlva, Toila, Kadrina, Palivere, Kohila, Muuga), in Finland (Helsinki, Tampere, Turku, Lahti, Lappeenranta, Rauma, Pieksämäki, Loimaa), in Scotland (Glasgow, Edinburgh, Milton of Buchanan) and in the USA (Clarksdale, Mississippi; Memphis, Tennessee; Helena, Arkansas). 50 out of the 60 shows were solo performances, but Roots also appeared with Ismo Haavisto (vocals, guitar, harmonica) & Matias Partanen (drums), with Peeter Piik (bass) & Les Wilson (percussion), with Anneli Kadakas (drums), with Robert Floyd Stevens (drums) and with James Dalton (vocals, guitar, harmonica) & Les Wilson (percussion). There were mini-tours with Dave Arcari and Black River Bluesman, a 3-month residency at Von Krahl in Tallinn, a set for the international jury that would go on to declare Tartu, Estonia as the European Capital of Culture for 2024, a live-on-the-air set on Uuge Kojola's radio show on Finland's Roll FM, etc. etc.
With Dave Arcari in Milton of Buchanan. Photo by Alistair Mulhearn.
Altogether, the year included appearances at 18 festivals: Deep Blues Festival (Clarksdale, Mississippi), King Biscuit Blues Festival (Helena, Arkansas), Rauma Blues (Rauma, Finland), Savonsolmu Winter Blues Party (Pieksämäki, Finland), Sügisjazz (Tartu, Estonia), tARTuFF Film Festival (Tartu, Estonia), Pärnu Bluusipäevad (Pärnu, Estonia), 7 Linna Muusika (Toila, Estonia), Prima Vista Literature Festival (Tartu, Estonia), Vanalinna Päevad (Tallinn, Estonia), Munarock (Põlva, Estonia), The Blue Icicle (Pärnu, Estonia), Underground Blues (Põlva, Estonia), Metsiku Lääne Päev (Palivere, Estonia), Viljandi Õllefestival (Viljandi, Estonia), Pandivere Muusikafestival (Muuga,
Lääne-Virumaa, Estonia), 20/20 Film Festival (Tartu, Estonia), and Tartu Bluusikuu (Tartu, Estonia), which included an exhibition on the first 15 years of Tartu Blues – the first Estonian blues society founded by Roots, Alar Kriisa and Üllar Kärt in 2003.
With Black River Bluesman in Clarksdale. Photo by Jeff Eaton.
There were two Andres Roots EP's released on Roots Art Records in 2019: the limited edition live CD "Loch Lomond Blues" and the 7" vinyl "Waiting Around" – the first 45 ever pressed on location in Estonia. Roots also appeared on several recordings by James Dalton (USA), adding guitar to "When It’s Midnight Somewhere in the World" which appears on Dalton's spoken word release "Words" and is also included on the CD version of his "Troubadours" EP, and playing on all tracks on the live "Tartu Jämm", recorded at the Sügisjazz festival in Tartu with Les Wilson on percussion. In addition to an abundance of live footage from 2019, Asko-Romé Altsoo directed a music video for "Waiting Around", filmed at Genklubi in Tartu and featuring dancers from the Tartu Swing club.
Roots' 2018 album "Breakfast in September" reached #10 in the IBBA airplay charts for December 2018 and made it to #8 in the French-speaking blues radio association's airplay chart in January 2019. The press continued to be kind throughout the year – in addition to favourable album reviews, there was the Blues in Britain cover story by Jeff Eaton and longer pieces in Blues Matters! (UK), Blues Again! (France), Turun Sanomat (Finland), Blues-Finland.com (Finland), Jazzrytmit (Finland), KesKus (Estonia), Sakala (Estonia), Tartu Postimees (Estonia), etc. Incidentally, the current issue of Blues in Britain also features an in-depth review of the "Loch Lomond Blues" EP by Norman Darwen, and while the limited edition EP itself is sold out, there's a live album coming in 2020 that features those six acoustic tracks from Scotland PLUS recordings from the Deep Blues Festival in Clarksdale, Mississippi and from the Endla Jazz Club in Pärnu, Estonia. Thank you all very much and see you in 2020!
Here's a few photos by the Deep Blues Festival's official photographer Peter Lee from the concert at the Ground Zero Blues Club in Clarksdale, Mississippi on October 18, 2019.
Blues-Finland.com just published Pasi Tuominen's report on the King Biscuit Blues Festival in Helena, Arkansas. Of Andres Roots, he writes: "A flock of youngsters - most obviously six-string enthusiasts -
gathered to wonder close-range how one guitarist with a clever technique
can do the job of at least two players." Read the whole story HERE!
In October, Andres Roots played six shows in the US - a solo set and one with Robert Floyd Stevens on drums at the King Biscuit Blues Festival in Helena, Arkansas, a solo set at Xanadu Music in Memphis, Tennessee, and three more at the Deep Blues Festival in Clarksdale, Mississippi, including one at the Ground Zero Blues Club. Here's a few photos from the trip by Jeff Eaton and Jukka Juhola.
