Juke Joint Tour/New Album/ Interview 

Hey everyone!

Having a blast in the Dirty South once again!

First run with JCS Power Trio format featuring Danny Snyder on Bass! So far we have lit it up at Juke Joint Fest, New Orleans,all throughout Southern MS. and LA. as well as the first time in Birmingham, AL.! got to see lots of old friends and make lots of new ones always such amazing people down this way!! Feels more like home every time!

Back in Clarksdale now prepping up for the Kimbrough Cotton Patch Soul Blues Fest in Holly Springs, MS. this weekend (5/17-5/19)! 

Writing lots of new material as we go! And all of the songs are taking new shape with the trio format! Definitely feeling the calling to record the new sound! We will be in the studio capturing the magic recipe in coming months. 

I'm  currently working on mixes of onstage bootleg archive recordings which will be available for your ears to access soon! 

And, rest assured, there are two new studio albums coming soon! Release dates will be announced shortly!

In the meantime, feast your eyes on this new interview that was just published in Greece by Michael Limnios for blues.gr!

JCS Story Interview

And keep your eyes peeled on jessecottonstone.com for the Summer schedule and latest happenings! 

hill country time! 

Had the past few days off and got to catch up with some of my friends up in the north mississippi hill country!

HERE ARE A FEW SHOTS I SNAPPED!

 

 

DOWNTOWN OXFORD, MS. - WHERE I GO BUSKIN'!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

CATFISHIN' ON THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER WITH MULE MAN!


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

BILL HOWLIN' MADD PERRY WITH HIS B.B. KING DAY AWARD FOR CONTINUING THE BLUES TRADITION

I also rolled up to Holly Springs to see my friend Trenton Ayers and film his first youtube channel episode! 

More to Come!!!!

FALL TOUR '17 

 HEY Y'ALL! JUST WANTED TO SAY HI WITH SOME IMAGES FROM TOUR SO FAR!

DOCUMENTING WITH AUDIO, VIDEO, AND PHOTO! GONNA BE SOME GREAT STUFF TO SHARE!

BEEN JUKIN' ROUND THE CLOCK, EATIN' GOOD, SIPPIN' SHINE, SLEEPIN' IN THE VAN, LEARNING AND ABSORBING ALL THE BEAUTY AND PAIN WHERE MONEY AIN'T RICH AND THE BLUES IS ALIVE! 

BEEN CHILLIN AND JAMMIN IN THE HILLCOUNTRY AND AROUND CLARKSDALE, MS. 

IN JACKSON, MS. NOW GETTING READY FOR THE SHOW TONIGHT!

HEADING FOR NOLA SOON AS WELL!

MORE TO COME! ENJOY THE PHOTOS! WISH YOU WERE HERE! 

DEEP INTO THE BOOT 

HEY Y'ALL!
IT'S BEEN A HELL OF A RIDE DOWN HERE. JUKE JOINT FEST WAS AMAZING!!
I CONNECTED WITHN MUSICIANS AND GREAT PEOPLE FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD, INCLUDING MY NEW DRUMMER BRIAN SHAW OF JACKSON,MS. , WHO QUIT HIS JOB TO HIT THE ROAD WITH ME!

WE TRAVELED DEEP INTO LOUISIANA TO TEDDY'S JUKE JOINT, THEN ENDED UP IN NOLA FOR THE FIRST TIME DURING JAZZ FEST! GOT HEAR SOME OF THE MOST AMAZING MUSIC THAT HAS INFLUENCED ON ME SINCE THE EARLY DAYS LIKE GEORGE PORTER JR. WITH IVAN NEVILLE.  AND FINALLY PICKED UP MY DREAM GUITAR - SEMI-HOLLOW BODY TELECASTER WITH P-90'S FOR THOSE OF YOU KNOW WHAT THAT IS. OOCH!! ,

PLAYED AT AN AMAZING SPOT CALLED BECK'S RIGHT ON THE BAYOU FOR THEIR ANNUAL BECK'S FEST WITH FIVE AWESOME BANDS INCLUDING FUNK NASTY AND JOSH GARRETT, WHO ALL SOUNDED AMAZING! WE HAD A PIG ROAST AND GOOD TIMES INTO THE NIGHT!! THIS WEEK WE ARE HEADING TO CLARKSDALE FOR A FINAL DIRTY SOUTH DATE AT THE HISTORIC SHACK UP INN AND THE ON HOME TO COLORADO FOR A FEW DAYS BEFORE THE TRIP CONTINUES IN CALIFORNIA!!
AND I DOCUMENTED ALMOST EVERYTHING!!!!
THANKS FO READING AND SUPPORTING!! LOVE YOU ALL!! IT'S NOTHING WITHOUT YOU!!
MORE TO COME!!

...CUPCAKES AND JUKIN' THE DIRTY SOUTH!  

HEY EVERYONE!
HOPE YOU ARE ENJOYING THE NEW E.P. !
IF YOU DIDN'T KNOW, I AM ON MY 2017 JUKE JOINT TOUR TO MS.!

FIRST DAY, I MADE A STOP IN K.C. AND FOUND MYSELF AT A JAZZ JAM THAT STARTED AT 1AM AND DOESN'T STOP UNTIL 5AM.
I TOLD MY BUDDY WHO TOOK ME HOW LUCKY HE IS TO LIVE IN A CITY WHERE THAT HAPPENS EVERY FRIDAY NIGHT.
FROM THERE I DROVE STRAIGHT THROUGH INTO HOLLY SPRINGS, MS.  TO FOX FIRE RANCH TO PLAY A SET WITH BILL "HOWLIN' MADD" PERRY AND  WAS PLEASANTLY SURPRISED TO CATCH A SET OF LEO BUD WELSCH FOLLOWED BY CEDRIC BURNSIDE AND LIGHTNING MALCOLM!
I GOT TO SPEND EASTER SUNDAY HANGING WITH THE PERRY FAMILY  TALKING STORY AND EATING GOOD AT THE FAMILY HOME IN THE HILL COUNTRY OUTSIDE OXFORD, MS.
LATER THAT EVENING I MADE MY WAY DOWN TO CLARKSDALE AND STOPPED  RED'S LOUNGE TO SEE WHAT WAS  HAPPENING AND MARK "MULE MAN" MASSEY JUST SO HAPPENED TO BE PLAYING AND THE JAM SESSION JUST FIRED UP AND KEPT ROLLING WITH SOME OF THE AREAS FINEST MUSICIANS, INCLUDING A JAM WITH MYSELF, MULE MAN,  RAZOR BLADE, DEAK HARP, AND LUCIOUS SPILLER! KILLER FIRST NIGHT IN TOWN!
THE FOLLOWING NIGHT I ROCKED A SOLO SET AT RED'S AND MADE A LIVE RECORDING I AM LOOKING FORWARD TO SHARING WITH Y'ALL!!
I'M WORKING ON RECORDING ALL MY SHOWS AND DOCUMENTING MY EXPERIENCES AS BEST I CAN FOR ROLLING COMPLETELY SOLO ON THIS TOUR.
THE NIGHT AFTER I MADE MY WAY UP TO HANG AT MULE MAN'S HOUSE WHERE HE TREATED ME TO HOME COOKED MEAL OF SOME OF THE BEST DAMN SOUL FOOD COOKING I EVER HAD AND LET ME PLAY HIS ORIGINAL 1943 GIBSON ARCH TOP ACOUSTIC GUITAR AND TOLD ME MIND BLOWING STORIES ABOUT HIS LIFE.
RIGHT NOW JUST PREPPING UP FOR MY SHOWS AT JUKE JOINT FEST!

HEADING DEEPER INTO THE SOUTH NEXT WEEK FOR FESTIVALSEASON IN THE BAYOU AND MY FIRST VISIT TO NOLA DURING JAZZ FEST!!!

THANKS FOR READING!!!

MORE TO COME!!! STAY TUNED!!!
 

JUKIN' IN '16  

Well, 2016 has been a crazy year for JCS, folks!

Released "FIRES & FLOODS" (NOW ON SALE) and toured the dirty South in the spring where I met and jammed with amazing people from the Mississippi Blues Culture at the Juke Joint Fest in Clarksdale,MS. One of my favorite sets was we played a show on a Train as it passed through Clarksdale on it's way to the Hopson Plantation.

Opened for Royal Southern Brotherhood and Savoy Brown in my hometown and kicked-off my hometown blues fest, "Blues Under the Brigde", with my buddy Grant Sabin.

Hit the road to Northern California on a little saloon/street performance tour and revisited some old haunts from my time there in years past.
Then, returned to Mississippi in October for the "Deep Blues" fest, where I had the pleasure of connecting with amazing people and sharing songs from different regional traditions.

Also did a hefty amount of street performing well into the fall on tour and back home. Found that to be such a great way to connect with the folks I otherwise wouldn't. If you are  reading this because of one of those encounters, then, THANK YOU!


Right now,I am working on a Hill Country Blues Album which is comprised of songs I've written over this past year while traveling the country and jamming with new folks and thus learning new styles that influence my songwriting and tone of performance.

I'm planning alot of time on the road for 2017 so I am using my time this Winter to finish record material for upcoming albums and to practice for tour. Very excited to share all the work I've been up to with you guys. 
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR READING!  MORE TO COME!  


HERE'S A CLIP FROM MY OCTOBER RUN TO CLARKSDALE, MS. FOR THE DEEP BLUES FESTIVAL 

JCS: Winter Time Blues 


Hey Everyone! 
Want to thank each of you for signing up to stay in touch! 

These cold months have brought a whole lot of fire to the recording studio! 
Getting very excited as I plug away on the the latest tracks to finish up the "Fires & Floods" release! Should be done with Mastering this Spring!!

This Past December, I had a great time hosting Bill "Howlin' Madd" Perry and his daughter, Shy, who traveled all the way up from Mississippi, along with T-Model Ford's Grandson,Stud, for a string of shows in Colorado and New Mexico! Hitting the road with them again this Summer! 

Planning to meet back up with Stud in March to collaborate on recordings and to play some Colorado shows followed by a Dirty South Tour in April  along with fellow Rocky Mountain Hill Country Blues man, Grant Sabin. 
Now there's a hell of a picker who I have also had the pleasure to spend more time jamming with and getting to know. We've been getting up to some pretty wicked jams on collaborative shows and at my weekly gigs since this past November. 

Speaking of which,  I've been hosting a Monday night Blues Jam at the Ancient Mariner in my hometown of Manitou Springs, where I grew up learning to play at Blues Jams. Slim pickins on jam sessions around here these days. 
So, that's my wild stab at keeping it alive to provide a forum for all the next generation of blues players who need to play with others to learn the ropes. 

Also, been rocking a solo gig at  a sweet little place called Alchemy on the West side of Colorado Springs. A lot of surprise special guests have been showing up to jam, including Grant Sabin. Been like a church group for sinning every Tuesday!

In November, we threw a Birthday Party for Jimi Hendrix to honor his Legacy! Had a blast! If you missed it, no worries! My good friend  Charlie Smith, director of the "Blue Dream" documentary I mentioned in my last blog,  came in from Steamboat springs to capture the entire show in HD Film!! We are currently preparing it for upload to share with you very soon!
And by the way, YES! I spoke with Charlie the other night and he is  working his magic on the "Blue Dream" Documentary!! And, it sounds as though it's coming together nicely!

Any who, that's what's up in my world, as of late! 
I'll keep you posted on new developments and breaking news! 
Until then, be sure to check out the BRAND NEW LIVE VIDEOS on cottonstonemusic.com

Thank you all so much for all your support and for staying in touch!  
 Sincerely,  
JCS

JCS: WHAT'S UP! 

Hey there!

First of all, THANK YOU FOR ALL YOUR SUPPORT THIS SUMMER!
I really appreciate all the folks who signed up on our mailing list!

Been very busy over the past few months with writing, recording multiple albums (including Two brand-new JCS original blues cuts!), performing, and filming the "Blue Dream Documentary".

With twenty-two cents in my pocket, my good friend and colleague, Charlie Smith, and his amazing film crew, Cedar Spring Wolf and Evan Wiley, we embarked upon an epic trip from the Rocky Mountains to the Southern U.S., where I had my first experience of the Mississippi Delta!

After growing up with the music of that region as a solid foundation of my understanding of music, I was enthralled with the culture, landscape, and music of the Delta as if for the first time as a child, all over again.

The experiences had with the people we met were unforgettable! So happy to have captured that particular moment in my musical history - soon to be shared with You! 

The film is in post production with release date TBA (maybe spring 2016)
Until then, check out the photos captured on Evan Wiley's "Behind the Scenes"  Personal Roll in our Photo Gallery!


 I also fell in love with performing on the streets again!
Whenever I've had the  time, I've been busking in my home town of Manitou Springs, Colorado.

I was reminded of my first training in the Art of Street Performance in the exact environment where I first began sharing music with the world at the age of 11.

Busking became a method of survival along my zero-budget travels throughout the U.S. , and during times I had lived out on the streets throughout young adulthood into my late 20s. Sometimes the only thing that would feed me was Music.

This Summer reconnected me to the origins of my Path as a Blues Man and my roots in an amazing community that encouraged the cultivation of my Musical development!
Thanks Manitou!

 
Currently, two new Cotton Stone Original albums are underway in in the studio!

"Fires & Floods" is coming along nicely as we mill away at writing and studio production.

And, we are putting the finishing touches on the JCS Solo Cut  "Pay No Mind".
I'm hoping to release both records digitally at no cost with an option for donation, and physical copies will be pressed with the proceeds.

Also, in the process of organizing a short tour through the Southern U.S. for Fall 2015!

Dates will be posted on the homepage as they are confirmed.

Drop an email if there are any clubs, venues or festivals you'd like to hear a JCS LIVE Performance in!





Thanks so much for Listening!!
-Jesse Cotton Stone

P.S.  we're gonna fire up a podcast, too! Stay tuned!