Weekly Blues Dispatch: February Birthdays, Oz & The Wizards Release Concert & Your Help Wanted!

Welcome to This Week's Blues Dispatch

Hey blues family. Kjell here, writing to you on a Sunday evening from my home office with a cup of something warm and Knut Reiersrud's 'Voodoo Without Killing' spinning on the turntable. There's nothing quite like that record on a cold February night – it's the kind of blues that wraps around you like a blanket.

This week's dispatch is packed. We've got birthday tributes to some of the greatest names in blues history, a very exciting release concert announcement from our friends in Kristiansand, fresh new album news, and something I've been wanting to talk about for a while: how YOU can help make SlowBlues.no even better. Let's dive in.

🎂 February Birthdays: Legends Born This Month

February is stacked with blues royalty. Let me walk you through the birthday roll call – and believe me, some of these names shaped everything we love about this music.

Knut Reiersrud turned 65 on February 12. Norway's greatest blues export, the man who brought Saharan desert blues and Norwegian folk music together in ways nobody thought possible. If you haven't explored his profile on SlowBlues.no yet, do it now – the discography alone will keep you busy for an evening. He's proof that blues doesn't respect borders.

Louise Hoffsten celebrated her 61st birthday on February 7. Sweden's blues queen has been a force since the late '80s, blending blues, rock, and Swedish folk with a voice that can go from a whisper to a storm in a heartbeat. Joanne Shaw Taylor, the British blues-rock powerhouse from the West Midlands, also has a February birthday – she turned 40 this month and shows no signs of slowing down. Meanwhile, Finnish sensation Ina Forsman turned 34 on February 10, continuing to prove that Scandinavian blues has a very bright future.

But the historical birthday list is where it gets really heavy. Lonnie Johnson (February 8, 1899) – the man who essentially invented the guitar solo as we know it. Pink Anderson (February 12, 1900) – the Piedmont bluesman from Laurens, South Carolina, whose name Syd Barrett combined with that of another bluesman, Floyd Council, to create the band name 'Pink Floyd.' Kokomo Arnold (February 15, 1901) – whose 'Milk Cow Blues' has been covered by everyone from Elvis to The Kinks, and whose slide guitar work directly inspired Robert Johnson's 'Dust My Broom.' Josh White (February 11, 1914) – activist, folk-blues pioneer, the first Black musician to perform at the White House.

And we remember Gary Moore, the Belfast-born blues-rock titan, who left us on February 6, 2011. Fifteen years gone, and his version of 'Still Got the Blues' still gives me chills every single time. What a tone. What a soul.

🔥 Oz & The Wizards Release Concert – March 7, Kristiansand

Mark your calendars, people. Saturday, March 7, at Teateret in Kristiansand – Oz & The Wizards are playing a release concert, and if you're anywhere near Sørlandet, you need to be there.

I've said it before and I'll keep saying it: Oz & The Wizards are doing something rare in the Norwegian blues scene. In a world full of cover bands doing their best Muddy Waters impression (and believe me, I love a good Muddy cover), this Kristiansand trio writes their own material. Original blues. Chicago and Delta-rooted, but with Oz's own unmistakable guitar signature all over it. Osmund 'Oz' Grytdahl, Oddvar Micaelsen, and Ole Louis Lilløy – these guys play with heart, grit, and a feel for the groove that you can't fake.

The concert starts at 20:00, and tickets are available now through Teateret's website. Seriously, if you've been telling yourself you need to get out and hear some live blues – this is the one. Don't sleep on it. Check out their full profile right here on SlowBlues.no and grab those tickets before they're gone.

👉 Tickets: https://teateret.no/event/oz-the-wizards | 👉 Full artist profile: https://slowblues.no/scandinavian-blues/oz-and-the-wizards

🎵 New Releases: Duke Robillard's 'Blast Off!' & More

The new album pipeline keeps delivering. Duke Robillard – one of the true guitar masters of American roots music, co-founder of Roomful of Blues and a Fabulous Thunderbirds alumnus – drops 'Blast Off!' on February 20 via Nola Blue Records. If you know Duke's work, you know what to expect: impeccable tone, effortless swing, and the kind of musical sophistication that makes other guitarists quietly put their instruments back in the case.

If you missed our coverage earlier this month, check out our February Blues Dispatch for the full story on Joe Bonamassa's landmark B.B. King centennial tribute album – one of the most important blues releases this year.

Keep your ears open and your playlist fresh. That's what we're here for.

📸 We Need YOUR Help: Artist Photos & Information Wanted!

Okay, here's the honest truth. SlowBlues.no has grown to over 330 artist profiles across six regions, and I'm incredibly proud of what we've built. But some of our profiles – especially for Scandinavian and European artists – are still missing proper photos. And that's where you come in.

We have a strict policy about images on this site: we only use photos that are openly available under Creative Commons licenses, verified public domain, or official press photos where the photographer has given explicit permission. We do NOT grab images from Google, social media, or anywhere else without proper licensing. This is non-negotiable. We respect the work of photographers just as much as we respect the work of the musicians we write about.

So here's my plea: if you're a photographer who has shot blues artists live, or if you're an artist or manager with press photos you'd like to share, please reach out through our dedicated media contribution form. You can find it at https://slowblues.no/contribute – it's quick, and we'll make sure every photo is properly credited with the photographer's full name displayed directly beneath the image on the artist's profile page.

The same goes for artist information. If you know details about an artist's history, discography, or collaborations that we're missing – especially for the Nordic scene – we'd love to hear from you. Every piece of verified information makes these profiles richer and more complete. Head to https://slowblues.no/contribute and help us build the most comprehensive blues resource on the web.

And one more important note: we also have a special page for artists who want to register themselves or be suggested by fans for inclusion on the site. Visit https://slowblues.no/registrer-ny-artist to submit a new artist. Every submission is reviewed carefully.

🧠 Have You Taken the SlowBlues Blues Quiz Yet?

If you haven't tried our weekly Blues Quiz, you're missing out on one of the most fun features on the site. Every Monday we rotate a fresh set of 10 questions – 8 standard knowledge questions plus 2 audio challenges where you have to identify songs or artists by ear. Three difficulty levels: Easy, Medium, and Hard. There's a public leaderboard where you can see how you stack up against blues fans from around the world.

And here's a bonus: when you register for the quiz, you also get signed up for our weekly SlowBlues.no newsletter, so you'll never miss a dispatch like this one. Head to slowblues.no/blues-quiz and show us what you know. Fair warning: the Hard level has humbled more than a few self-proclaimed blues experts.

🌍 Spread the Word – Share SlowBlues.no!

One last thing before I go. SlowBlues.no is a labour of love – one person's obsession with keeping the blues alive and documented, growing one profile at a time. We don't have a marketing department or a big advertising budget. What we have is you – our readers, our community, our blues family.

If you enjoy what we're building here, please share it. Send this newsletter to a friend. Post a link on your social media. Mention us in your blues group. Tell that guitarist in your band about the 330+ profiles we have. Every share helps us reach someone new who might fall in love with the blues the same way we did.

Thank you for being part of this. The blues is alive, and together we're keeping the story going. See you next week – and hopefully at Teateret in Kristiansand on March 7! 🎸

#SlowBlues #BluesMusic #BluesArtists #BluesGuitar #BluesHistory #OzAndTheWizards #KristiansandBlues