We don't usually begrudge accolades. But we have a Tennessee-sized quibble with Austin Walkin' Cane's nomination for best new artist album at the prestigious Blues Music Awards May 7 in Memphis. While certainly worthy, he's anything but a newbie.
"I was completely in shock about the nomination," he says. "But every little bit is a baby step in moving forward."
After two decades of almost constant local gigs and traveling the world playing blues, Cane recorded his fourth solo album, One Heart Walkin', over a day and a half at Peninsula's G.A.R. Hall.
"When you're going with your gut instinct, you can capture a certain kind of magic," he says of the songs, which he practiced only a few times before they were recorded. "Sometimes it takes 20 years to become an overnight success."
