Kim Simmonds & Savoy Brown/Austin Walkin' Cane

With a band history that dates back to 1965 -- more than 50 years! -- Savoy Brown maintain a reputation as a touring band’s band, one that has traced the curve of American blues rock under the aspirational work of frontman Kim Simmonds. The current incarnation places Simmonds front and center, even in the band’s name (there have been, like, 300 million other musicians in Savoy Brown over the decades), and the band has been touring pretty hard in the wake of last year’s The Devil to Pay. It’s a solid album that covers all the ground you might be looking for in a blues record ca. 2016. It feels fresh *and* old-school, and Pat DeSalvo and Garnet Grimm, the band’s rhythm section since 2009, come through clear and sharp as hell. Check “Bad Weather Brewing” for proof. (Sandy)