Sign up to our seasonal newsletter and we'll gift you an exclusive blues podcast:

The Blues Hotel Christmas Edition

Drops December 24th, 2025!

Sign up HERE and receive this exclusive edition podcast that won't be released publicly!

Join Kelvin Huggins as he dives deep into the tangled roots and resonant echoes of December 23rd in blues history.

December 23 becomes a surprising fault line in the story of the blues – a single date that connects a roaring Carnegie Hall piano, a church-soaked soul voice, a modern electric torchbearer, and a jazz giant whose every note was steeped in blues feeling. From Albert Ammons shaking New York’s most prestigious concert hall in 1938, to the birth of soul‑blues singer Wee Willie Walker, to the arrival of guitarist Kirk Fletcher and the passing of Oscar Peterson, this date traces how the blues rose from rent parties and juke joints to the world’s big stages without ever losing its earthy core. Along the way, the episode explores the blues as a shared musical language that flows into gospel, soul, boogie‑woogie, and jazz, and shines a light on the missing pages in the global record – a call for listeners in places like Australia, New Zealand, the UK, and Europe to help write their local blues histories into the books.

Hosted by: Kelvin Huggins

Presented by: The Blues Hotel Collective

Keep the blues alive.

© 2025 The Blues Hotel Collective.

Mentioned in this episode:

Special Subscriber Gift – The Blues Hotel Christmas Edition

Subscribe to The Blues Hotel Collective before December 24th and receive an exclusive bonus episode featuring blues legends getting into the festive spirit. This special Christmas edition won't be released publicly—it's our gift to you. Subscribe now: https://preview.mailerlite.io/forms/1388278/172318053380392029/share