The Paladins from San Diego California are the preeminent blues/rockabilly band in  America. Founded in 1980 by guitarist Dave Gonzalez and bass player Thomas  Yearsley, they have recorded five singles, nine full Length studio records, and three live  albums. Along the way they built a solid reputation as one of America's hardest  working and best live bands.  The Paladins helped pave the way for the Rockabilly craze of the early 1980s. Their  tagline at the time was "Western & Bop", as they played a combination of rockabilly  and vintage country together with a blues groove. Their first LP, The Paladins, was  released in 1986 and was produced by Kim Wilson of the Fabulous Thunderbirds. They  followed that up with Years Since Yesterday, released on Alligator Records in 1989 and  produced by Los Lobos' Steve Berlin and Mark Linnet. When Let’s Buzz came out in  1990 the band was firmly planted as a headliners in showcase music clubs across the  country and in Europe. The band also established themselves at numerous festivals,  sharing bills with the likes of Stevie Ray Vaughn, The Fabulous Thunderbirds, The  Blasters, and Los Lobos. Let's Buzz, “an invigorating blend of rockabilly, blues,  rhythm-and-blues, and country," was recorded in the Los Angeles studio of 1970s soul  star Leon Haywood, and is their largest selling record to date. Since that time six more  critically acclaimed albums have come out. Most notably, their 1996 live album Million  Mile Club, which fittingly marked the band’s millionth mile traveled on the roads of the  USA  To their many fans worldwide, the Paladins appeared to have come to an end in 2004.  That's when Gonzalez wanted to focus on other musical interests and he formed the  western-soul band the Hacienda Brothers. During this time Dave Gonzalez liked to  refer to the Paladins status as being “on hiatus.” Sadly, the untimely death of Hacienda  Brothers band mate and longtime friend, Chris Gaffney in 2008, ended the Hacienda  Brothers, which had released four albums. Then in 2010 the Paladins Reunited for a  festival in Europe, which led to even more dates there in 2011. Also that year the band  performed their first US date in seven years at the Ink and Iron Festival in Long Beach  California. The next year they appeared at the 2012 Doheny Blues Festival and  every year since, they have been headlining select European and US reunion shows.  Dave Gonzalez has been living in Austin Texas for the past nine years where he stays  busy, not only performing, but also recording bands and producing records. Thomas  Yearsley has done the same by running Thunderbird Analog Recording Studio and LUX  Records in California. In between all of that Dave, Tom and drummer Brian Fahey have  also gotten together to release their latest record titled New World, which was their first  album in over 14 years. It’s a diverse collection of smoldering blues and roots rock,  with a little honkytonk thrown in. This year the Paladins are also reissuing their first  album originally released in 1986. This self-titled record became an instant classic and  opened the eyes of the world to this amazing new rockabilly and blues sound that was  coming out of Southern California. And that sound from the Paladins is stronger than  ever, with their non-stop intensity and fine musicianship, which is only gotten better  with age.

The 44’s are a Los Angeles-based blues-roots-rock group whose raw, rough-and-tough live performances infuse their recordings with an immediacy that speaks to a deep respect for a storied blues-and-R&B; lineage. The current lineup features two of the founding members — Johnny Main and Michael Turturro — alongside a powerhouse ensemble of West Coast blues veterans. Johnny Main delivers true grit and soulful honesty with his signature Greaze-and-Grit vocal styling and guitar work. Michael Turturro anchors the band on upright and P-bass, drawing from a résumé that includes Lynwood Slim, The Memphis Kings, and Paul Pigat. On drums is Brian Fahey, a seasoned player whose credits include long stints with the legendary San Diego roots-rock outfit The Paladins and work with harmonica great William Clarke. His deep-pocket, swinging style is a cornerstone of the band’s greasy live sound. On guitar, the band is frequently joined by (and has long collaborated with) West Coast blues legend Kid Ramos — former guitarist with the James Harman Band and the Fabulous Thunderbirds, as well as the Mannish Boys. Ramos also produced and played on the band’s early recordings, helping shape their raw, authentic sound from the start. The band first made its mark on the Los Angeles blues scene and finished 4th in the International Blues Challenge in Memphis. Their self-produced debut album Boogie Disease (2010), created with the help of Kid Ramos, reached No. 9 on the national Living Blues radio charts and No. 2 on BB King Bluesville (SiriusXM). The record earned American Blues News’ Best Blues Band of 2011 and Blues Underground Network’s Best Debut Album. Follow-up albums including Americana (2012) and Twist the Knife (2019) continued to solidify their reputation for high-energy, no-compromise blues that honors the masters while remaining firmly in the present. The 44’s have shared stages and tours with artists ranging from Los Lobos to numerous festival headliners, building a devoted following across North America and Europe. With a new studio record scheduled for release in 2026 and ongoing performances featuring Kid Ramos, The 44’s remain one of the hardest-working and most authentic blues outfits on the circuit.