Blues Momentsin Time - January 5: Blues, Bloodlines, and the Long Shadow of Freedom

Join Kelvin Huggins as he dives deep into the tangled roots and resonant echoes of blues history.

On this episode of Blues Moments in Time, we drop the needle on January 5—a date where the blues, history, and activism all collide. From the Great Migration and the rise of the Chitlin’ Circuit to the blues as a living form of testimony against Jim Crow and racial injustice, we trace how this music became both a soundtrack and a weapon in the struggle for equality.

We celebrate the births of Elizabeth Cotten, Wilbert Harrison, and Johnny Adams—artists whose genius reshaped folk, R&B, and soul—and reflect on the passing of towering figures like Charles Mingus, whose bass lines and compositions burned with righteous anger. Along the way, we connect the early steps of Bruce Springsteen and a young Prince to the deep roots of the blues, showing how its tendrils reach into every corner of modern music.

This isn’t just a date on the calendar—it’s a reminder that the blues is a living, breathing tradition, still carrying stories of hardship, resistance, and hope.

Hosted by: Kelvin Huggins

Presented by: The Blues Hotel Collective

Keep the blues alive.

© 2026 The Blues Hotel Collective.