PROFESSOR LOUIE & THE CROWMATIX, Crowin' Around

With an exhortation on their latest album to keep Crowin’ Around and “keep it going,” the raucous five-time Grammy nominated blues/rock ensemble Professor Louie & The Crowmatix remain the best thing to happen to Woodstock, NY since…well, Woodstock, and even have a label called Woodstock Records to seriously keep it going with other great artists between recordings and performances.

Acclaimed as “pioneers of Americana, Blues, Soul & good OL’ Rock & Roll” (Rick Schneider, MD for 98.1 WKZE) and “Roots Rock Royalty” (Bill Hurley, The Extended Play Sessions), the band has been inducted into the South Canadian Blues Hall of Fame and The Blues Hall of Fame (NY Chapter). They emphatically celebrate a remarkable quarter century of recording with a set full mostly original (and super fun and festive) horn-fired high-octane romps, from the uplifting inspirational anthem “Elevate Yourself” (the perfect opener and table setter for the crackling excitement to come) and snappy, snazzy “Too Much Fun” through the infectious, constantly jumpin’ “Rag Mama Rag.”

The Crowmatix, whose core band also features Miss Marie (vocals, percussion, keys), Frank Campbell (bass, vocals), Dan Hickey (drums) and Todd Mihan (guitar, vocals), pepper the set with a few so-called “covers” (quotes used because they’re really fresh and unique and bring them to the contemporary world with gusto).

These include a spirited re-imagining of Graham Parker’s “Stick to the Plan” (which reassures us good things are coming if we…) and a simmering, laid back and contemplative take on Bob Dylan’s “Watch the River Flow.” Professor Louie, also renowned for co-producing and playing on The Band’s final three albums and touring with them from the mid-80s to the late 90’s, complements the fiery jams here with the lilting, warm-hearted family saga “Steadfast and True” and the trippy, all-instrumental outlier - a hypnotic, accordion laced tribute to legendary classical/avant-garde composer, musician and poet Moondog (“Bird’s Lament”). Here’s to the ultra-prolific, always insightful and wildly entertaining Professor Louie and The Crowmatix’s next quarter century!