Holler the blues

She can growl and she can howl, she can purr and she can soothe. But she’s also got a light country twang and just a touch of the smoky, whiskey-tinged barroom rocker, which is why Janiva Magness is one of the best blues acts around. Touring to promote her latest album, What Love Will Do, Magness will be at the Palms Playhouse in Winters on Saturday. People generally describe her as “blues and roots,” and the “roots” is the significant part. With a voice that remembers what rock ’n’ roll used to feel like before it became an overproduced mess, Magness is every bit as good as well-knowns like Bonnie Raitt or Susan Tedeschi. Still, I wouldn&Rsquo;t have known about her if Jackson Griffith hadn&Rsquo;t thrown a copy of Bury Him at the Crossroads my way a few years back. So why hasn&Rsquo;t Magness picked up the wide audience she deserves? Probably because those of us who know how good she is don&Rsquo;t holler enough. So consider yourself hollered at, and go find out why she’s the best-kept secret in the good ol’ bluesy-rock world.