Bob Bradshaw - The Art of Feeling Blue (2023)

On his tenth album, Bob Bradshaw comes up with a set of songs that exemplify what modern Americana is all about. Bob Bradshaw is an Irishman who relocated to the U.S. some three decades ago. He chose one of American ‘Irish strongholds,’ Boston, as his place of residency, but his feel for Americana music, covers a much wider musical ground than either Boston or Nashville as some sort of the formal epicentre of Americana.

While many current Americana artists go for some theme for their albums, Bradshaw and the Boston musicians he gathered (guitarists Andrew Stern and Andy Santospago, bass-player John Sheeran and drummer Mike Connors, as well as frequent collaborators Kris Delmhorst on vocals, James Rohr on keyboards and Chad Manning on fiddle) went out to just craft singular stories or songs, possibly to confirm the original meaning of the term “album”.

Bradshaw has nailed his musical and storytelling goal with ease, as his songwriting and his and the capabilities of other musicians involved, simply shine throughout the album.