Some people talk about the blues. Others grow up learning how to express it—quietly, patiently, and on time.

DeShaun Jones is a music event and industry professional whose story begins in the province of Ontario, where his grandfather played guitar in rural churches and he learned to keep time on the drums. That’s where he first discovered the language of the blues—not just as music, but as expression. As survival. As truth.

His career has since taken him through radio, label work at Sony BMG, and deep into the world of international music festivals. He’s spent decades behind the curtain and beneath the noise, helping artists and events find rhythm, purpose, and presence.

Today, as Founder and CEO of MangoTree Music Corp, DeShaun brings that same early discipline to the modern music business—helping creatives turn vision into voice and sound into something that lasts.

🎧 Hear the full conversation now on Talking Blues.

Available everywhere podcasts play, or at www.TalkingBluesPodcast.com

Hit play, and then:

📲 Connect with DeShaun Jones:

🔗 LinkedIn📸 Instagram – MangoTree Music Corp🌿 Linktree – MangoTree Music

🎙️ Connect with Matt Cooper – Host & Broadcaster - Talking Blues Podcast

🧢 Personal Facebook 🎧 Talking Blues Podcast on Facebook 🌐 Website

🎙️ If this conversation moved you or got you thinking, join the Talking Blues Backstage Pass at www.TalkingBluesPodcast.com’s free to join, and you’ll get early access, behind-the-scenes stories, and the chance to shape future episodes.

🎤 Danny Boy Phelan – Carrying the Flame of Front-Porch Blues

Some players chase the blues. Danny Boy Phelan seems to have been born with it stitched into his soul.

A gentle old soul from St. Catharines, Ontario, Danny channels the ghosts of the Delta with a rawness that’s hard to fake and harder to forget. His voice carries dust, hope, and history in equal measure—and his command of banjo, harmonica, fiddle, mandolin, and guitar makes him a one-man front porch revival.

Danny is a Niagara Music Award nominee in the Blues category, a musician’s musician, and a storyteller who doesn’t just sing about the old days—he takes you there. On this episode of Talking Blues, we dig deep into:

• The personal hardships and working-class conditions that shaped his worldview
• The emotions that rose up from those moments—and how they live in his voice
• The deep well of influence he draws from—Delta blues, gospel, folk, and early radio sounds
• And how his blues expression—rooted in honesty and feel—continues to evolve

Soft-spoken and wildly talented, Danny works with DeShaun Jones at Mango Tree Music / Taylor Made Management, surrounding himself with folks who know artistry when they hear it. And if you’ve ever been in the room when he plays, you’ll know why.

👉 Listen Now on TalkingBluesPodcast.com

🔗 Connect with Danny:

📘 Facebook 📸 Instagram 🎵 Bandcamp

🎁 Support His Music Grab his new EP Live at the Leopard Frog Barn and stay tuned for live shows, rare sessions, and limited-run merch.

🎙️ Connect with Matt Cooper – Host & Broadcaster of the Talking Blues Podcast

🧢 Personal Facebook 🎧 Talking Blues Podcast on Facebook 🌐 Website

🎧 Listen to the episode. Get the Talking Blues Backstage Pass. 👉 www.TalkingBluesPodcast.com

🎙️ Vince Lee: Blues Roots, British Grit

Vince Lee didn’t wake up one day with a slide and a following. He built it—over decades, one gig, one guitar, one groove at a time. Before leading bands like The Big Combo and The Wildcards, he was grinding it out in working bands, soaking up everything he could from older players and long nights on stage.

We talk about those early days, the gear he’s picked up (and brought back to life), and how he found his way into frontman territory on his own terms. Vince has spent time behind the board too—producing sessions for other artists in years past—but these days, he records from home, just chasing sounds that feel good.

He and his partner Sophie Lord have a natural thing going—upright bass, fingerpicked guitar, no frills. Their videos are straight-up house concerts with heart. Millions of views, sure. But more than that, they’ve got feel.

🎧 Listen to the Talking Blues Podcast — Stream it now or wherever you podcast.

🎸 Connect with Vince Lee & Sophie Lord:

🌐 Website 📘 Facebook 📺 YouTube 🐦 X / Twitter 🎵 Bandcamp – Buy Music Directly

🎙️ Connect with Matt Cooper – Host & Broadcaster - Talking Blues Podcast

🧢 Personal Facebook 🎧 Talking Blues Podcast on Facebook 🌐 Website

If this conversation moved you or got you thinking, join the Talking Blues Backstage Pass at www.TalkingBluesPodcast.com. It’s free to join, and you’ll get early access, behind-the-scenes stories, and the chance to shape future episodes.

🎙️ Adam Gussow: Blues, Books & The Meaning of It All

Adam Gussow didn’t just play the blues—he lived it on the streets of Harlem, side by side with the late Mister Satan. That legendary partnership shaped not just his music but his life’s work. These days, he’s a harmonica master, a blues scholar, and a full professor down at Ole Miss.

In this episode, we get into the whole journey, from busking on corners to writing some of the most talked-about books in blues culture. Titles like Mister Satan’s Apprentice, Seems Like Murder Here, Beyond the Crossroads, and Whose Blues?—books that ask big questions about race, music, and identity without losing the soul of the story. His latest, My Family and I: A Mississippi Memoir, takes it even further, peeling back the layers on roots, conflict, and the search for meaning in the modern South.

We also talk shop: teaching the harp, finding humour in hard places, and why the blues still hits home in a world that feels more disconnected by the day.

Smart, soulful, and straight from the heart. 🎧 Stream the episode now at TalkingBluesPodcast.com or wherever you podcast.

Hit play, and then:

📖 Read My Family and I: A Mississippi Memoir – Available now on Amazon

🎼 Learn Harmonica at ModernBluesHarmonica.com – Lessons, tabs, and blues harp tutorials

🎵 Adam’s Harmonica of Choice – Hohner Marine Band – “I've been using it for 50 years.”

📲 Connect with Adam Gussow:

📘 Facebook 📺 YouTube – Modern Blues Harmonica 📺 YouTube – Classic Blues Harmonica Videos 🐦 X / Twitter

🎙️ Connect with Matt Cooper – Host & Broadcaster - Talking Blues Podcast

🧢 Personal Facebook 🎧 Talking Blues Podcast on Facebook 🌐 Website

🎙️ If this conversation moved you or got you thinking, join the Talking Blues Backstage Pass at www.TalkingBluesPodcast.com’s free to join, and you’ll get early access, behind-the-scenes stories, and the chance to shape future episodes.

His landmark work is Up Jumped the Devil: The Real Life of Robert Johnson, co-authored with Gayle Dean Wardlow. The result of over 50 years of chasing documents, recordings and oral histories, it destroys the crossroads myth and brings us a more complex, brilliant—and human—Robert Johnson

In this engaging conversation, Bruce Conforth, a lifelong bluesman and ethnomusicologist, shares his journey through the world of music, from his early influences in New Jersey to his pivotal role in the folk revival and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

He discusses the profound impact of Robert Johnson's music, his experiences with Reverend Gary Davis, and the cultural shifts in music during the 60s. Throughout the discussion, he emphasizes the importance of authenticity in music and the rich history of blues and folk music.

Whether you’re a blues fan, a history buff, or someone seeking clarity in myth, this episode digs deep. Bruce Conforth doesn’t just tell stories—he lays the evidence on the table.

🎧 Listen to the Talking Blues Podcast — Stream it now or wherever you podcast.

Hit play, and then:

📚 Explore More from Bruce Conforth:

🌐 BruceConforth.com – Award-winning author, artist, musician, and ethnomusicologist.

📖 Bruce M. Conforth on Amazon – Author of Up Jumped the Devil: The Real Life of Robert Johnson

📲 Connect with Bruce Conforth:

🌐 Website 📘 Facebook 📺 YouTube

🎙️ Connect with Matt Cooper – Host & Broadcaster - Talking Blues Podcast

🧢 Personal Facebook 🎧 Talking Blues Podcast on Facebook 🌐 Website

🎙️ If this conversation moved you or got you thinking, join the Talking Blues Backstage Pass at www.TalkingBluesPodcast.com. It's free to join, and you’ll get early access, behind-the-scenes stories, and the chance to shape future episodes.

Raw Chicago Blues from a man who lived it—and never left it behind.

What do you call a guitarist who stood beside Muddy Waters for seven years, played The Last Waltz, and still sounds like he’s got the South Side of Chicago running through his cables?

You call him Bob Margolin. The blues world calls him Steady Rollin’—a name he’s more than earned.

Bob doesn’t just carry the tradition—he embodies it. His playing is steeped in the electrified Delta that Muddy, Wolf, Elmore, Reed, and Little Walter hauled up to Chicago and set ablaze. What Bob calls Raw Chicago Blues—it’s not about vintage gear or studio tricks. The sound lives in the fingers and the heart of the musician.

He’s not here to reenact history. He’s here to pass it on.

In this episode of Talking Blues, Bob talks about his time with Muddy, the blues ethos, guitars that bite back, and what keeps the music honest. You’ll hear the stories behind the sound and feel the weight of a life lived on stage—and in service of something bigger.

🎧 Listen to the Talking Blues Podcast — Stream it now or wherever you podcast.

Hit play, and then visit:

🎓 Bob Margolin Gives Back:

🎸 Pinetop Perkins Foundation – Mentoring the next generation of blues musicians through masterclass workshops and blues education. 🎶 The Blues Foundation – Supporting blues music worldwide. Become a member and help keep the blues alive.

📲 Connect with Bob Margolin:

🌐 Website 📘 Facebook 📺 YouTube 📸 Instagram 🐦 X / Twitter

Stream it. Share it. And if it moves you, support the artist—and join us for more.

Matt Cooper, Broadcaster & Host

🎙️ If this conversation moved you or got you thinking, join the Talking Blues Backstage Pass at www.TalkingBluesPodcast.com’s free to join, and you’ll get early access, behind-the-scenes stories, and the chance to shape future episodes.

The Talking Blues Podcast shines a light on blues musicians both past and present. We dig into their craft, influences, gear, and stories from the road. Sometimes it’s pure promotion. Sometimes it’s a deep dive.

We’re also here to archive the living history of seasoned blues musicians—to help preserve personal histories, cultural blues heritage, and valuable lessons for future generations. It’s part interview, part hangout—all heart. Once they’re gone, they’re gone. We’re here to keep them alive.

Give an episode or two a listen. If you like what you hear, stick around. The Talking Blues community is a friendly and inclusive space for anyone who loves the blues, whether you play, listen, or are simply blues-curious

👉 Listen Now on TalkingBluesPodcast.com

🎙️ Connect with Matt Cooper – Host & Broadcaster - Talking Blues Podcast

🧢 Personal Facebook 🎧 Talking Blues Podcast on Facebook 🌐 Website

🎙️ Get the Talking Blues Backstage Pass at www.TalkingBluesPodcast.com. It’s free and you’ll get early access, behind-the-scenes stories, and the chance to shape future episodes.