Local blues act

Susan Tedeschi

Burning up

Just about now, Susan Tedeschi can celebrate having spent a year on the Billboard blues chart with her cranking Tone-Cool release Just Won't Burn. The mild-mannered native of suburban Boston made her way up the chart, bowled 'em over with her intense, power-packed vocals at festivals and concerts, and fought through the blitz of major-label artists to make an impression on rock-and-roll radio. She is even a darling of insipid prime-time TV, with her songs gracing episodes of Party of Five. How'd she do it? By crooning sweeter, growling fiercer, and rocking harder than just about anybody. She's spent time singing in gospel choirs, working it out with decidedly non-gospel types at Johnny D's in Somerville, studying at Berklee, and learning at the hands of guitar stars Ronnie Earl and Paul Rishell. At 28, she's been writing tunes for half her life, and they are some of the high points of Just Won't Burn. She funks up the reggae on the irresistible "You Need to Be with Me," turns reflective on the title cut, and rumbles like a freight train on producer Tom Hambridge's "Rock Me Right." Next up, Europe, and then a summer tour with the Allman Brothers.

-- Bill Kisliuk

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The Susan Tedeschi Band Home Page
Tone Cool Records's Susan Tedeschi site

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