#632: Buckmiller Schwager Band - Live at XBK (PhillyCheezeBlues.Blogspot.com)

 

Buckmiller Schwager Band

Live at XBK

2023 – Buckmiller Schwager Band

By Phillip Smith; Sep. 2, 2023

 Release Date : Sep. 1, 2023

  

After nearly a year and a half since the release of Buckmiller Schwager’s debut album To Memphis and Back, the Iowa boys have returned with a fabulous new album Live at XBK.  XBK, where this performance was recorded on April 6, 2023, is a 250-seat entertainment venue/listening room in the Drake neighborhood of Des Moines.  Performed with a full band comprised of vocalist/guitarist Tom Buckmiller, guitarist Brian Schwager, drummer Larry Mersereau and bassist Eric Smidt, this album of new songs, favorites, and covers wonderfully captures the electric essence of their live shows. 

The set starts off in a bodacious way with their smoking original “Thrill of the Thrill”.  Schwager lets loose on guitar with a searing performance, and it sounds great.  Their cover of Luther Allison’s “Cherry Red Wine” steals my heart as I feel every note navigate right into my being.  The mood swings one hundred eighty degrees to their rocking anthem “These Are the Good Days”.  This one keeps me focused on the bright side of life.  Schwager ushers in a vibrant boogie shuffle on John Lee Hooker’s “Boom Boom”, with Buckmiller delightfully delivering his deep growly vocals.  I love the sampler platter of music they serve on “Keeping the Blues Alive”.  This mini class on the genre brings a smile my face as they cover various styles of blues as found in different regions of America : Chicago, West Coast, Texas, and Detroit.

If the new originals are a taste of what’s to come on Buckmiller Schwager’s next studio album, I am all-in.  Live at XBK has been on heavy-rotation in my ear-pods for the past couple of weeks, and I don’t think that will change any time soon.

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For more information about the artist, visit this website : https://www.buckmillerschwager.com/

 

Check out other PhillyCheeze reviews for Buckmiller Schwager Band at :  https://phillycheezeblues.blogspot.com/search?q=Buckmiller+Schwager

  

Click on the link below to purchase this terrific album from Bandcamp.

PhillyCheezeBlues.Blogspot.com #545 > Buckmiller Schwager - To Memphis and Back

2021 – Buckmiller Schwager

By Phillip Smith; Mar. 5, 2022

Original source : phillycheezeblues.blogspot.com

 

Together Tom Buckmiller and Brian Schwager are taking the Iowa blues scene by storm with their original working-man blues.  This Des Moines, Iowa – based blues duo pulled down first place in the 2021 Iowa Blues Challenge Solo/Duo category, securing their entry into the 2022 International Blues Challenge in Memphis, Tennessee coming up in May.  Buckmiller has authored three blues books and teaches a class on the Blues at Drake University.  Schwager, lead guitarist and multi-instrumentalist, has a list of influences which reads like my record collection, naming guitar legends such as BB King, Jimmy Page , Eric Clapton, Keith Richards, and Stevie Ray Vaughan.  He has shared the stage with acts Blake Shelton, Thomas Rhett and Eli Young Band.  To Memphis and Back maintains a high level of excellence both lyrically and performance-wise on all ten songs.

A big dose of swampy slide blues leads the record in on “Whisky Man” before becoming electrified, Texas-style.  Buckmiller’s vocals take charge as Schwager absolutely rips it up.  “Thrill of the Thrill” intensifies the pace, and steps it up a notch, making for a barn-burner of a song.  A lush bluesy groove rolls in and hangs tight on “Tylenol and Templeton”.  This salute to hair-of-the-dog remedies proudly displays its Iowa roots with the mention of Templeton Rye.  Templeton was a total whisky game-changer in the state, touting a recipe that originated during the prohibition era and was supposedly enjoyed by Al Capone.  Topped off with horns and a hip soulful rhythm, “These Are the Good Days” catches me off guard in a very good kind of way.  The Velvet Underground vibe is absolutely delightful.  The album closes out with “Time To Come Home (Memphis Mix)” which absolutely cooks.  Heavy doses of resonator guitar, and hard-driving, George Thorogood-friendly riffs bring this one to a boil. It’s plumb terrific.

“To Memphis and Back” is a solid-as-hell album, and I certainly look forward to hearing more from Buckmiller Schwager in the future.  

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For more information about these artist, visit their websites :

https://www.tombuckmillerblues.com/

https://www.brianschwager.com/

 

 

Available on Bandcamp

#762- > Bluesmore Festival 2025 - Cedar Rapids, Iowa~ PhillyCheezeBlues.Blogspot.com

 

Bluesmore Festival 2025
Brucemore Mansion
Cedar Rapids, Iowa
August 2, 2025
 
By Phillip Smith; August 3, 2025
 
Original source : phillycheezeblues.blogspot.com

It has been twelve years since the Linn County Blues Society from Cedar Rapids, Iowa has produced an event on the front lawn of the historic Brucemore Mansion. It felt really good to be back where our blues festivals began in 1994. The weather was perfect, and the tribe of blues fans which made the pilgrimage was a most impressive one. Three amazing bands played yesterday for a total of over six hours, making for an extraordinary music-event. The first act was Buckmiller/Schwager Band from Des Moines, Iowa comprised of Tom Buckmiller, Brian Schwager, bassist Eric Smidt drummer Drew Salim, and special guest Tom ‘T-Bone’ Giblin on keys. Next was Quad-Cities-based Avey Grouws Band with Chris Avey, Jeni Grouws, bassist Randy Leasman, and drummer Bryan West. Des Moines-based multi-instrumentalist Heath Alan made an appearance to perform with the band toward the end of their set, before playing the rest of the evening with the headliners Ghost Town Blues Band. Fronted by guitarist/vocalist Matt Isbell, this Memphis-based band is comprised of bassist Matt Karner, Grayson Smith on keys, and Garrett Marshall on drums. Heath Alan and Michael Peloquin both performed on sax. I could not have asked for a better evening of music. It was an absolute blast.

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·       *All photos by Phillip Smith

Buckmiller/Schwager Band 

Avey Grouws Band

Ghost Town Blues Band

   

    

      *All photos by Phillip Smith

 

For more info on Buckmiller/Schwager Band, visit their website at https://www.buckmillerschwager.com/

For more info on Avey Grouws Band, visit their website at https://www.aveygrouwsband.com/

For more info on Ghost Town Blues Band, visit their website at https://www.ghosttownbluesband.com/

For more info on Linn County Blues Society, visit their website at https://www.lcbs.org

 

 

Read my previous reviews for Buckmiller/Schwager Band > https://phillycheezeblues.blogspot.com/search?q=Buckmiller+Schwager

Read my previous reviews for Avey Grouws Band > https://phillycheezeblues.blogspot.com/search?q=Avey+Grouws

Read my previous reviews for Ghost Town Blues Band > https://phillycheezeblues.blogspot.com/search?q=Ghost+Town+Blues+Band

 

#645 : PhillyCheeze Interviews Buckmiller/Schwager (PhillyCheezeBlues.Blogspot.com)

PhillyCheeze Interviews Buckmiller/Schwager 

By Phillip Smith; Nov. 7, 2023

Original source : phillycheezeblues.blogspot.com

Interview date : Nov. 7, 2023 Phillip Smith aka PhillyCheeze interviews Tom Buckmiller and Brian Schwager of the Des Moines-based blues act Buckmiller Schwager Band.

Trailler for the documentary To Memphis and Back

For more information about Buckmiller Schwager Band, visit the website https://www.buckmillerschwager.com/

That's a TBuckT – That's a TBuckT

#574 > Bowlful of Blues Festival - 2022 (PhillyCheezeBlues.Blogspot.com)

 

Bowlful of Blues Festival – Sep 4, 2022

Fred Maytag Bowl

Newton, Iowa

 

By Phillip Smith; Sep. 5, 2022

 

Original source : phillycheezeblues.blogspot.com

 

Enjoying the Blues in Newton, Iowa at the Bowlful of Blues Festival is at the top of my list of things to do on Labor Day weekend.  There’s s not many better ways to spend the holiday.  The clouds dissipated and the sun came out, making for beautiful day to listen to music in Newton’s historic Maytag Park.

 

Presented by The South Skunk Blues Society, the Bowlful of Blues Festival celebrated its thirtieth year.  The lineup was absolutely terrific and featured Muddy Walter Band, Matt Woods Band, Ghost Town Blues Band, Kent Burnside, and Popa Chubby.  Playing between sets, were local blues artists Rob Lumbard, Bob Dorr and Jeff Peterson, Buckmiller Schwager, and The Jury.

 

I arrived just in time to catch local blue legends Bob Dorr and Jeff Petersen, aka The Blue Two.  I was so glad to be able to hear them again.  On a side note, they also performed at the very first Bowlful of Blues Festival.  Following Bob and Jeff, The Ghost Town Blues Band took the stage.  This was my fifth time this year to see this six-piece ensemble from Memphis.  Their Stax-meets-Muscle Shoals approach always means a fantastic show.  They are truly one of my favorites.     

I had reviewed Buckmiller Schwager’s debut album To Memphis and Back earlier this year, and was quite taken by it.  Meeting Brian Schwager and Tom Buckmiller in person and hearing them play live really made my day.  I was very excited to see Kent Burnside.  Bringing a big batch of real-deal Mississippi blues with him, he absolutely commandeered the stage.  I’ve been a fan of Burnside since reviewing his 2013 debut album My World is So Cold.  

The Jury, a band who I was not familiar with, stepped up next to play a thirty-minute set of all-original songs.  They were tight and sounded good.  New York bluesman Poppa Chubby headlined the show, filling in for Carolyn Wonderland who had to cancel due to health reasons.  I had seen him several times over the years, and he’s such a phenomenal guitarist. 

Special thanks go out to The South Skunk Blues Society and all the volunteers who makes this wonderful event happen every year. 

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  * All photos by Phillip Smith

Bob Dorr and Jeff Petersen

Ghost Town Blues Band

Buckmiller Schwager

Kent Burnside

The Jury

Popa Chubby

   * All Photos by Phillip Smitb