Music, Food, Fun, Travel: Let the Good Times Roll! Live this Saturday and every Saturday at high noon on WPG 1450AM 95.5FM Listen to:  Current Podcast  - prior podcasts *System Requirements May Apply to Stream Live

Saturdays 12noon to 1pm ~ Radio WPG 1450AM or 95.5FM

As we enjoy the fall music festival and music themed cruise season, we look back to 1994 when Nancy and I experienced our first Blues Cruise on the Costa Classico with now long departed blues rock icons including Koko Taylor, Lonnie Brooks, Lil' Charlie, Matt “Guitar“ Murphy from the Blues Brothers; Rick Estrin now still a living legend!

It is quite a tribute to the multi award winning , world renowned producer, Roger Naber and the great people at the Legendary Blues Cruise that we can emphatically state that after 30 years the Legendary Blues Cruise in the sea of Cortez last week was absolutely one of the greatest if not the greatest music cruise we have ever experienced.

Very early in that time the multi Grammy award winner, Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award Winner and true genius of world music, Taj Mahal, has become the “Spiritual Leader“ of the Blues Cruise and he took us all back to the days when swing was the beginning of rock ‘n’ roll in the 50's with this avid the band that played the American songbook and classics by Duke Ellington and Louis Jordan and so many more from New Orleans to Harlem. I’m back again with the incredible Savoy Band which included one of the finest horn sections in Los Angeles, as well as the rhythm section who previously cruised with us and the legendary Charles Brown.

The three Taj Mahal shows were themselves amazing world class concerts.

But the other absolute phenomenon was the climactic 2 1/2 hour Blues rock jam lead by the Kenny Wayne Shepherd Band and their rock stellar lead singer, Noah, who combines with Kenny to be today’s Blues rock equivalent to what us classic rockers remember as Van Halen with David Lee Roth and Sammy Hagar.

That night in the world theater we saw Kenny Wayne and his band jam with nearly a dozen world class headliners, including camo, Victor Wainwright, Danielle Nicole, Tommy Castro, Shemekia Copeland, Bobby Rush, and blank.

Those were two of the greatest musical performances we have ever witnessed on land or sea; but every one of those performers lead their own bands, along with multiple jams together all week during the course of musical programs that let us in from midday to the morning hours the next day.

It is truly monolithic to see the creation of this superlative concert venue floating around Baja California in a way that truly pays tribute to what it has become over those 30 years.

That is why the Legendary Rhythm and Blues Cruise is sold out almost every time. But we are putting together a group to enjoy LRBC leaving Fort Lauderdale on January 31, 2027. That group will include many of the Tony Mart team and fans as well as some of your favorite South Jersey performers, who are all going to experience the living answer to the question we most hear: "Where do you find these bands?“ We find them on the Legendary Rhythm and Blues Cruise, the Big Easy Cruise, the Crescent City Barbecue and Blues Festival, the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival, and the very best concert and festivals all over the country.

After departing the ship in San Diego we headed north and we are going to have our feet on the ground firmly in Paso Robles where we will experience the earthiness of Daou Wines and the Justin Winery, which is becoming absolutely famous throughout the world.

We will bring insights and information about these great wines and the affordable prices at which you can purchase them at Circle Liquor Store, the best independent liquor store in the world!

This week we will welcome our wine goddess, Julia Stacey Reilly, with delicious details and recommendations for those popular pinot noir and ever popular Chardonnay wines that are perfect for the Thanksgiving turkey, your family reunions at the holidays and delightful light popular party wines, including the exceptional featured wines from Daou and Justin, as well as the affordable and unique blends from our friends at Bogle who’s Phantom Red blend and and the new red blend from Juggernaut which is perfectly spiced and full body for the fall and holiday wine season.

We will fully taste and appreciate wines like the Pessimist and the Justin wines which are skyrocketing in popularity.