"Joanne Shaw Taylor's delivery of these Blues masters does not fail to stand up to the mark with her tracks resonating strongly and taking you back to a time when life was hard but simple. You can sense the fun that she had in creating this album and it's one that you'll want to play again and again. The classic Blues songs that she chose accentuate her deep, husky vocal skills and show off her phenomenal range and joy in performing, a real treat." Exactly a year after she won our WRC 2020 'Best Blues Rock' award after her performance at London's Nell's that March, Joanne Shaw Taylor has followed up that triumph by winning our 2021 'Best Reviewed Album' award for 'The Blues Album', as testified by today's Video Of The Day of 'Let Me Down Easy'.

Given Pete Feenstra has spent the last forty years listening to, writing about, talking about, and promoting Rock music, with a particular interest in the Blues, it's no real surprise that Pete's Rock & Blues show has won our WRC 2021 Best Podcast award, and as proof, his latest '2021 Highlights (Part 1)' show is today's Podcast Of The Day, featuringThorbjorn Risager, Mike Zito, Five Points Gang, Richard Townend, Roger Chapman, Mick Pini/Audio 54, Joanna Connor, Voodoo Ramble, Mike Ross (pictured), Troy Redfern, Tommy Castro, Marcus Flynn, Danny Bryant, Fabrizio Grossi And Soul Garage Experience, The Black Keys, Starlite Campbell Band plus many more.

Just over two years after Finnish Death and Gothic Doom Metal icon, Tuomas Saukkonen (Wolfheart, Before the Dawn), returned with 'Waves', his sophomore solo-album under the flag of Dawn Of Solace, his brand new album, 'Flames of Perdition', will be released on Friday 28th January on Noble Demon, of which the track, 'Event Horizon', is one of today's six of the best 'Wednesday Rocks!' Tracks Of The Day, complemented by five further new and recent releases from Heino Brand featuring Angèle Macabiès, Aeveris, Perceived, Obsolescence and Prognostication.

To be honest, once again it was a category which we had not envisaged being in our WRC Awards at the turn of 2021! However, as they say, the rest is history and the winners of our 2021 'Best Livestream' Award is the Tuesday Night Music Club, a deserved salute to their excellent Zoom sessions. Indeed, today's first 2022 Blues On The Radio Podcast Of The Day, is the second part of Richard Dunning's look at who's physically coming to Coulsdon's Tuesday Night Music Club in 2022, including Ian Siegal, Brave Rival, Moonshine Society, Sean Webster Band, Debbie Bond, Connor Selby (pictured), The James Oliver Band, plus there's also a bonus track from The Robin Bibi Big Band, recorded live at The TNMC's Christmas party!

"Coghlan finally returned to his kit on his favourite Quo song, ‘April, Spring, Summer & Wednesdays’, plus ‘Don't Drive My Car’, an interesting take/edited version of ‘Pictures of Matchstick Men’, along with the encore of ‘Rocking All Over the World’. Cue mass applause from the socially distanced crowd in the house, and even though we really tried to get them out for a second time, we humbly accepted the fact they had already played an afternoon show!" Exactly four years to the day that Queen + Adam Lambert walked off with our 2017 WRC Best Rock Performance award, John Coghlan's Quo have done the very same in 2021, thanks to their Putney Half Moon gig back in July (Video Of The Day/pictured). Unfortunately, the legendary drummer's recent return to the same venue was cancelled because of Covid, however, we hope to catch up with JC in 2022, not only to present him with his award, but also hopefully for an interview! Watch this space!

Award-winning songwriter Jake Bugg is the latest artist announced for Europe’s premier Americana playground Black Deer Festival, that takes place this year at Kent's Eridge Park over the weekend of 17th-19th June, and today's 'Black Deer Rocks!' six of the best Tracks Of The Day features artists taking part, including of course Jake, the Belfast Cowboy Van Morrison, Wilco (only UK show of 2022), Amy Montgomery, returning festival favourites The Dead South, plus legends The Waterboys.Further new additions to the festival line-up also include Pokey LaFarge, The War and Treaty, William Prince, The Lost Brothers, Declan O’Rourke, Steak, Treetop Flyers, Yasmin Williams, True Strays, Midnight Skyracer, Isabella Coulstock and My Girl the River.

"And even after we’d been taken to The New Jerusalem, we still had some treats left in the (musical) box. ‘The Cinema Show’ with its delicate intro/verses and fantastic closing section never fails to deliver, and didn’t tonight. Slight deviation from the ‘Seconds Out’ presentation with the hard ending being replaced by the fading ‘Selling England by the Pound’ outro." Following in the footsteps of our previous WRC Best Prog Performance Award winners, Dream Theater (2020) and King Crimson (2015), both announced respectively, exactly one year and five years ago today, guitarist Steve Hackett's third and final night at The London Palladium on his 'Seconds Out + More' UK tour (pictured), has duly won our 2021 award, and to celebrate, today's Podcast Of The Day is our memorable chat with the ex-Genesis legend from nearly three years ago.

"The quartet quickly return for an excellent rendition of 'Long Way To Go', a great Rock song that never fails to get the blood pumping. And it's no surprise that the closing song is another Hughes classic - Deep Purple's 'Burn'. It's a classic for a reason and a fitting addition to the Daisies collection of covers. Aldrich does an excellent job of covering the keyboard parts, and Hughes is in his element with more ear piercing screams than a barefoot Cèilidh in a lego factory." Exactly four years after Kentucky's very own Black Stone Cherry won our 2016 WRC Best International Award, a now distinctly multi-international, The Dead Daisies, have carried off our 2021 award, following their performance at London's Shepherd's Bush Empire in November, of which, 'Mistreated', is our Video Of The Day.

The New Year welcomes a new Tuesday Blues itinerary (pictured) at London's iconic 100 Club, and today's 'Tuesday Blues Rocks!' Tracks Of The Day are chosen from some of the great bands performing up and till the end of June, namely Aynsley Lister, Albany Down, Virgil & The Accelerators, Ryk Mead Band, Brave Rival and Kyla Brox Band.

Ahead of their March and April UK Tour this year with special guest Troy Redfern, Cornwall-based Roots Rock band Wille & The Bandits release their fifth studio album, 'When The World Stood Still', on Friday 28th January, on their independent label, Fat Toad Records, with their second single, 'Good Stuff', being released on Friday 21st January, which is also one of today's 'Sunday Rocks!' Tracks Of The Day, complemented by five further new and recents releases from Gavin Harrison, Loud Apartment, Seas On The Moon featuring Athena, Oui Plastique and Rabid Hood.

With the result of our 'Best Podcast' winner still to be announced in our 2021 WRC Awards, it was good to hear from Blues Rock songstress Sari Schorr (pictured) on New Year's Eve, supporting Pete Feenstra's Rock & Blues nomination on Twitter by saying, "It's no surprise to me that Pete's nominated for best #podcast in Wrinkly Rockers Club 2021 Awards. He's as good as it gets. Congrats @feenstrabluesGreat way to start the New Year!" Suffice to say that Pete's recent chat to Sari about how she has coped with Lockdown, as well as her musical influences and attitudes, is today's Podcast Of The Day.

"The set is a classic of Glam Rock with all the hair, leather, make up and bandanas you would expect, as well as some awesome Rock tracks that have been honed to perfection over many years. There are many die hard Tailz fans in the audience, so it's no surprise that for many this is the band of the weekend." Exactly three years after Hard Rock Hell won our 2018 WRC Best Festival award, congratulations to HRH XIV who have carried off the award again in 2021, following an awesome three days at Camp HRH in Great Yarmouth in early November, as testified by today's Tigertailz Video Of The Day.