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March 16, 2026 – BMA Voting Closes Tomorrow, Primetime/Corritore Appear At The Rhythm Room On Saturday, New Single Just Released, And More!

Blues Music Awards voting closes March 17!

Tuesday is the last day that you can vote for your favorite artists! You have to be a member of The Blues Foundation in order to vote. You can become a member for as low as $25 and you can sign up for membership at blues.org. Bob Corritore is in the running in the category of Blues Harmonica. Quite an honor! Thank you to all the folks who have already put in their votes!

The Jimi Primetime Smith/Bob Corritore Blues Band featuring Carla Denise appear this Saturday at Rhythm Room in Phoenix! We hope to see you there!

Johnny Rawls/Bob Corritore collaboration just released as the first single for the upcoming album Ernestine Blues! 

The first single from Bob Corritore & Friends’ upcoming album ERNESTINE BLUES is a powerful new Southern anthem!

There’s magic that happens when harmonica ace Bob Corritore collaborates with Soul Blues legend Johnny Rawls. Johnny is a brilliant songwriter who has always encouraged Bob to wrap his harmonica around Southern Soul stylings. This combination has led to some serious, musical electricity, bringing out the best in both artists. “I Love the South,” released March 13, 2026, is a sweet, positive, Mississippi anthem that transports you to a place where the living feels easy. When Johnny sings about sweet tea you can taste it in your own mouth. The combination of Johnny’s powerful, church-raised vocals, Bob’s distinctive feel-good harmonica, a killer band and a chorus of female gospel singers makes for a true Soul Blues masterpiece.
 “I Love the South” is the first single from Corritore’s latest star-studded blues album, ERNESTINE BLUES, which will be released by VizzTone on April 10, 2026. Check it out here.

Mazatlan Shows photo recap!

A great time was had by all in Mazatlan, Mexico! Johnny Burgin and Bob Corritore have collaborated many times over the years, but mostly in situations of backing Tail Dragger on European tours. So this is the first time that Bob has performed full evenings of Johnny’s wonderful Chicago blues repertoire, and fireworks abounded. Special thanks to Tom and Mandy Newbery for setting up a great week of shows at Water’s Edge Bistro and a blues workshop for music students of Cultura Mazatlan. And Mazatlan is an absolutely beautiful Mexican city! Please enjoy this photo recap!

Killer recording session with Johnny Rawls!

Bob Corritore did a wonderful soul/blues recording session with Johnny Rawls last Saturday at Clarke Rigsby’s Tempest Recording! Johnny had three brilliant original songs and one of them had a gospel vocal chorus included! Jimi Primetime Smith, Brian Fahey, and Yahni Riley filled out the band. Something to look forward to on a future release! Afterwards, there was a great show over at the Rhythm Room!

March 4, 2026 – Johnny Rawls Show On Saturday, Mazatlan Shows Next Week, BMA Voting Going On Now, And More!

Johnny Rawls this Saturday at the Rhythm Room! Jimi Primetime Smith and Bob Corritore as special guests!

Next week Johnny Burgin & Bob Corritore perform three shows in Mazatlan, Mexico!

Blues Music Awards voting is going on now! 

Bob Corritore is nominated for a Blues Music Award in the category of Best Istrumentalist – Harmonica. This is quite an honor in a highly competitive award category filled with amazing players. Congratulations to all of the nominees in all the categories! Voting has already begun. You have to be a member of The Blues Foundation in order to vote. If you are not already a member, then you can join for as low as $25. And there are many other benefits to membership. Go to their website for more info at blues.org. Winners will be announced at a special ceremony in Memphis at the Cannon Center on Thursday, May 7th, 2026. Bob Corritore is very grateful for this honor and wants to thank everybody for their kindness and support over all these years.

Poster listing influential Harmonica players! 
 
Todd Long put together these 2 charts of influential blues harmonica players! We are grateful that Bob Corritore is listed among a stunningly great group of players! And we also realize that there are many fantastic players that are not on these charts. These showed up as posts on the Modern Blues Harmonica FB page last night. Thank you so much! 

Bob Corritore & Friends/Ernestine Blues to be released on April 10!

John Primer Mississippi Trail Marker Fundraising campaign, makes it’s goal!

In today’s world of government cutbacks, the arts are requiring more and more self-funding. John Primer has reached his goal to have his Mississippi Trail Marker funded! A huge congratulations to this deserving real deal Bluesman!

February 26, 2026 – Rhythm Room On Friday And Monterey Court In Tucson On Saturday/Birthday Party/BMA Voting

The Jimi Primetime Smith/Bob Corritore Blues Band appears Friday at the Rhythm Room in Phoenix, and Saturday at Monterey Court in Tucson! We hope to see you there!

Bob Corritore‘s birthday bash announced!

Bob Is Nominated For A Blues Music Award!

The Blues Foundation has announced the 2026 Blues Music Awards nominees and Bob Corritore is nominated in the category of Best Istrumentalist – Harmonica. This is quite an honor in a highly competitive award category filled with amazing players. Congratulations to all of the nominees in all the categories! Voting has already begun. You have to be a member of The Blues Foundation in order to vote. If you are not already a member, then you can join for as low as $25. And there are many other benefits to membership. Go to their website for more info at blues.org. Winners will be announced at a special ceremony in Memphis at the Cannon Center on Thursday, May 7th, 2026. Bob Corritore is very grateful for this honor and wants to thank everybody for their kindness and support over all these years.

New album to be released on April 10!

It’s very exciting to debut the cover of the next album which will be out on April 10. The album design is by the legendary Vince Ray. And the music is a spectacular set of songs by some spectacular combinations of great players! Special guests include Pat Thomas, Sugaray Rayford, Bob Stroger, Tia Carroll, Johnny Rawls, Oscar Wilson, Carla Denise, Tony Coleman, Charles Wilson, Willie Buck, Jimi Primetime Smith, Bob Margolin, Teeny Tucker, Billy Flynn, Anthony Geraci, Ben Levin, Kid Ramos, Johnny Main, Doug James and more! You may pre-order it wherever you prefer to buy your music. Here is the Amazon link if that’s your preference: https://a.co/d/09INWsvs

February 20, 2026 – Bob Is Nominated For A Blues Music Award!

The Blues Foundation has announced the 2026 Blues Music Awards nominees and Bob Corritore is nominated in the category of Best Istrumentalist – Harmonica. This is quite an honor in a highly competitive award category filled with amazing players. Congratulations to all of the nominees in all the categories! Voting has already begun. You have to be a member of The Blues Foundation in order to vote. If you are not already a member, then you can join for as low as $25. And there are many other benefits to membership. Go to their website for more info at blues.org. Winners will be announced at a special ceremony in Memphis at the Cannon Center on Thursday, May 7th, 2026. Bob Corritore is very grateful for this honor and wants to thank everybody for their kindness and support over all these years.

February 4, 2026 – Saturday Day Show In Oro Valley, Best Of 2025 Listings!

Jimi Primetime Smith/Bob Corritore duo perform Saturday in Oro Valley.

Though Jimi and Bob mostly perform in a band setting, it’s always a delight for the two Chicago Blues veterans to explore a more stripped down version of their presentation. The duo will perform a 75 minute set starting at 11:30 with cool bands before and after them! Full information on the poster. To read an article about this event, click here.

Inclusion in many best of 2025 lists!

With the release of three albums this year, many critics chose your favorite one to include in their yearly “Best Of” lists! Here are the ones that we are aware of!

Here’s Bob Corritore’s performance schedule for the next few months! More shows are in the works, but some are not announced yet!

02/07/26: Oro Valley, AZ – Cruise, BBQ & Blues Car Show, Jimi Primetime Smith/Bob Corritore duo perform a 75 minute set at 11:30 AM.
02/27/26: Phoenix, AZ – Rhythm Room, Jimi Primetime Smith/Bob Corritore Blues Band with special guest Carla Denise.
02/28/26: Tucson, AZ – Monterey Court, Jimi Primetime Smith/Bob Corritore Blues Band.
03/07/26: Phoenix, AZ – Rhythm Room, Bob Corritore and Jimi Primetime Smith will guest with Johnny Rawls.
03/21/26: Phoenix, AZ – Rhythm Room, Jimi Primetime Smith/Bob Corritore Blues Band with special guest Carla Denise
04/14/26 and 04/15/2026: Seattle, WA, Jazz Alley with Highway 99 All-Stars (Bob, Lisa Mann, Ben Rice, Robin Moxey, Jeff Conlin, and Steve Sarkowsky)
05/07/26 and 05/08/26: Memphis, TN, in attendance at the Blues Hall of Fame and the Blues Music Awards
05/10/26: Clarksdale, MS – Ground Zero Blues Club- Pinetop Perkins Foundation Fundraiser
05/29/26: Phoenix, AZ – Rhythm Room, Jimi Primetime Smith/Bob Corritore Blues Band with special guest Carla Denise.
05/30/26: Tucson, AZ – Monterey Court, Jimi Primetime Smith/Bob Corritore Blues Band.
06/16/26 to 06/19/26: Clarksdale, MS – Pinetop Perkins Foundation Workshop Experience. 
07/25/26 and 07/26/26: Bilbao, Spain – Bilbao Blues Festival with an all-star blues revue with Willie Buck, Bob Stroger, Teeny Tucker, Jimi Primetime Smith, Anthony Geraci, Wes Starr, Bob Corritore.
08/02/26: Calgary, Canada – Calgary Blues Festival with Bob Stroger, Jimi Primetime Smith, Anthony Geraci, Wes Starr. 

January 21, 2026 – Rhythm Room House Rent Party On Friday!

The Rhythm Room‘s annual House Rent Party on Friday, January 23! Check out the amazing lineup! Proceeds go to pay some bills and on top of that, we’re gonna throw a great party for you! Good blues! Thank you in advance for your support!

January 5, 2026 – RIP Dave Riley

3-19-1949 to 1-4-2026

It’s with sadness that I report the passing of my friend and longtime blues partner Dave Riley. Born and raised in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, Dave Riley’s downhome blues music reflected his Delta juke joint roots. He became known in the blues world for his work with Frank Frost, Sam Carr, John Weston, and Fred James. Dave had a larger than life personality and always encouraged his audience into a rowdy good time. Dave and I met at the 2004 King Biscuit Blues Festival through Tom Coulson. Dave was living in the Chicago area, and had family in Phoenix that he visited frequently. We started working together in 2005 and immediately we recognized our stylistic great fit. This led to us recording the first of our three albums, which led to gigs, festival work and international touring. So many great shows and fantastic travel adventures!

But once the pandemic hit in 2020, Dave caught Covid and had a terrible stroke which rendered him unable to play or sing. His health gradually deteriorated and in the last few months, Dave was in and out of the hospital. I got the word of Dave’s passing from his son, Yahni yesterday afternoon. Dave will be sorely missed. So many beautiful memories. So many amazing blues performances. Rest in peace, dear Dave.

– Bob Corritore