I’ve been doing a few podcasts (Blues Of The Month Club) to join up the dots between some of the artists who I am fortunate enough to work with at the Last Music Company.

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Here is a fine example of how everything that gets released on the label is connected in some way.

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The main thing about what I do these days is that unlike most record companies, there is no A&R policy to fence me in, nor any release schedule to fill to maintain sales targets. Consequently, I turn away a lot of enquiries so that I have enough time to enjoy every moment of what I do with the existing Last Music Company catalogue and the musicians who have created it.

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It’s indeed a charmed life that I lead which has now been enriched by the addition of Dirk Powell’s fabulous new album - WAKE.

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Prior to their appearance at 2025 Americana Fest in Nashville, Hannah White and Keiron Marshall visited Dirk at his home in Louisiana to play some music together. They heard some final mixes of the album that Dirk was working on. Knowing it would appeal to my musical tastes and with Dirk’s permission, Keiron sent me a copy for my listening pleasure. It hit the spot.

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One thing led to another. Dirk and I talked on the phone. Then it started to fall into place. He reminded me that he had toured accompanying Joan Baez for many years during the period that I released her albums on Proper Records. He had just been in Wales making some music with Andy Fairweather Low. Then we talked about that Colossus of Southern Louisiana music - Bobby Charles. And I told him I was working on a box set of Bobby’s life in music. We agreed to our deal on the phone and started work on getting the artwork finished and the album mastered.

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A few weeks later we spoke on the phone again and he said that he had just spent some time playing with Eric Clapton and they had done some Bobby Charles songs. Now he is booked for the 2026 Crossroads Guitar Festival in Texas.

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You don’t have to look too far to find quotes from some musical heavyweights who rate Dirk as one of the best in the world.

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In this extract from the album liner notes of the CD, Dirk eloquently describes his concept for the album thus: “It is the wake that stretches behind us all of our lives, telling our story in swells and ripples, tracing our path before receding into what was and will be. It is the wake we share in celebrating the life of a loved one gone on - a rowdy New Orleans second-line, a haunting Appalachian rafter-shaker, a quite Cajun waltz in the family room”.

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When you listen to the album as a complete work, it is a tone poem. Beautiful music exquisitely played.

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It’s why I still do this.

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