Digging Deep

This week, we’re all about digging up deep roots. It kicks off with a meaty 45th anniversary collection from Alligator Records – the brightest blues label around. As reviewer Grant Britt notes, anywhere you enter the collection, you’ll strike pay dirt. It’s a deep-digging introduction to some truly fine music, and certainly a must-have for blues fans. Speaking of celebrating anniversaries, Joan Baez turned 75 this year and celebrated the way only a folk music icon could: with all her talented friends. The resulting show and album featured Judy Collins, Paul Simon, the Indigo Girls, and more, and Lee Zimmerman called it “masterful.” Also masterful is the way Aussie singer-songwriter C.W. Stoneking juggles so many authentic roots sounds. If you’re looking to dig deep, in other words, this week is for you.