Dahlia Bock

Band: Black Dub

I think this newcomer to the block deserves a mention, not entirely because of its star lineup but because their music hit me immediately after I heard it. Frontman Daniel Lanois is a Canadian producer who is the man behind the great names like U2, Bob Dylan, Neil Young and Peter Gabriel to say the least. In October of 2009, he started his own project: Black Dub with Brian Blade on drums (the genius behind Brian Blade & The Fellowship Band; he also collaborated with Chick Corea and John McLaughlin briefly on the Five Peace Band, replacing Vinnie Colaiuta on a few venues of their tour, namely in Sydney where I saw them live), bassist Daryl Johnson and the soulful, multi-instrumentalist Trixie Whitley, daughter of the talented but relatively un-mainstream late Chris Whitley.

One can probably describe their music to be rock-infused blues, but with the presence of the likes of Lanois, Whitley and Blade, you will most definitely hear more than that, jazz included. Here's a video of them going unplugged at the NPR offices.