The "King Biscuit Time" radio show aired in Helena, Ark. for the first time in November of 1941 and featured mostly African American musicians.

Ten years after trading in his gloves for a guitar, former Mid-South division middleweight champion, Tupelo, Miss. native Paul Thorn was offered a record contract and began his career as a touring musician. Specializing in raw and honest Southern rock and blues, Thorn has a penchant for translating his personal experiences into easily relatable tales that come from the heart.

Janiva Magness has made quite the name for herself these past 15 years as a soulful blues singer of precision and power. As such, one would not expect songs written by the likes of Matthew Sweet, Paul Thorn or Ray Wylie Hubbard to be on her radar.

Time for a blues chemistry lesson. Take a little Bonnie Raitt soul, mix it with some Tom Waits grit, add a bit of a southern jaunt and you've got the music of blues rocker Paul Thorn.

Thirty minutes before the doors opened, a line of 100+ folks stood in the winter winds outside of the Old Rock House chanting, "Let us in, let us in!" as they waited to see Nashville bluesman Patrick Sweany and Mississippi songster Paul Thorn.