Hour Three of Blues Before Sunrise (01/25/26) is where the show steps off the pavement and onto dirt roads, front porches, and borrowed instruments. This hour is raw, regional, and deeply rooted, tracing the blues back to its earliest recorded forms while revealing how wide and surprising that foundation really was. It’s an hour that doesn’t rush — it listens.
The set opens with Blind Lemon Jefferson, and right away the tone is established. “Eagle Eyed Mama” and “The Cheaters Spell” showcase Jefferson’s unmatched ability to make a single voice and guitar sound like a crowd. His phrasing is loose but intentional, his guitar lines snapping and weaving around the vocal rather than supporting it. These recordings feel spontaneous, alive, and slightly dangerous — exactly what makes them timeless.
From there, the program stays in Texas with Willie Reed’s “Texas Blues,” a reminder that the Lone Star sound was never monolithic. Reed’s approach is heavier, earthier, rooted in rhythm and repetition. Little Hat Jones’ “Rolled from Side to Side” follows, carrying a relaxed swing that contrasts nicely with the tension of the opening tracks.
The hour continues to build its sense of place with Funny Paper Smith’s “Howling Wolf Blues Pt. 1” and Joe Pullum’s “McKinney Street Stomp.” Pullum’s smooth, floating vocal delivery introduces a lighter emotional touch, while still keeping one foot firmly planted in blues tradition. Whistlin’ Alex Moore’s “I Want My Mary” adds humor and charm — a reminder that early blues was as much about personality as pain.
As the set deepens, Big Boy Knox’s “Blue Man Blues” and Pinetop Burkes’ “Mountain Jack Blues” lean into regional storytelling. These songs feel like postcards from specific corners of the country, each one carrying its own accent, pace, and worldview. The blues here is less about universal statements and more about individual truth.
Clara Smith’s trio — “It Takes the Lord,” “Ship-Wrecked Blues,” and “Onery Blues” — forms the emotional spine of the hour. Smith’s voice is commanding and expressive, bridging sacred and secular themes with ease. She sings with authority, vulnerability, and a sense of lived experience that grounds the hour firmly in human emotion rather than performance.
Leona Williams’ “Got to Cool My Doggies Now” shifts the mood again, playful and sly, before Ester Bigeou’s “Gulf Coast Blues” brings a smooth, coastal feel that expands the geography even further. Fats Pichon’s “I’ve Seen My Baby” injects New Orleans flavor, adding sophistication and swing without losing the blues foundation.
Then the hour takes a fascinating turn with Hawaiian material from Sol K. Bright and the George Kuu Trio. “Hawaiian Cowboy,” “Tomi Tomi,” and “Kuu Lei” might seem unexpected in a blues set, but they fit perfectly here. The steel guitar phrasing, relaxed tempos, and melodic structures echo the blues’ emotional language, proving how far the feeling traveled — and how adaptable it became.
Hour Three closes as a meditation rather than a statement. It’s not about big endings or dramatic climaxes. Instead, it leaves listeners with a sense of continuity — that the blues isn’t a single sound or story, but a network of voices connected by expression, survival, and rhythm.
This is the blues before it was codified, categorized, or electrified. Honest. Regional. Human.
Hour Three Playlist
EAGLE EYED MAMA – Blind Lemon Jefferson
THE CHEATERS SPELL – Blind Lemon Jefferson
TEXAS BLUES – Willie Reed
ROLLED FROM SIDE TO SIDE – Little Hat Jones
HOWLING WOLF BLUES PT. 1 – Funny Paper Smith
McKINNEY STREET STOMP – Joe Pullum
I WANT MY MARY – Whistlin’ Alex Moore
BLUE MAN BLUES – Big Boy Knox
MOUNTAIN JACK BLUES – Pinetop Burkes
IT TAKES THE LORD – Clara Smith
SHIP-WRECKED BLUES – Clara Smith
ONERY BLUES – Clara Smith
GOT TO COOL MY DOGGIES NOW – Leona Williams
GULF COAST BLUES – Ester Bigeou
I’VE SEEN MY BABY – Fats Pichon
HAWAIIAN COWBOY – Sol K. Bright
TOMI TOMI – Sol K. Bright
KUU LEI – George Kuu Trio