12-Bar Talk: A Blues Podcast
Welcome to 12-Bar Talk, a blues music and dance podcast that covers blues history, current artists and trends, dances done to blues music, and more. Join Dr. Chelsea Adams as she interviews musicians, dancers, scholars, and delves into the myriad of topics that deal with this uniquely black American art form.
Welcome to 12-Bar Talk, a blues music and dance podcast that covers blues history, current artists and trends, dances done to blues music, and more. Join Dr. Chelsea Adams as she interviews musicians, dancers, scholars, and delves into the myriad of topics that deal with this uniquely black American art form.
Episodes

Friday Apr 10, 2026
Episode 30: Delta Blues with Devin C Williams
Friday Apr 10, 2026
Friday Apr 10, 2026
Dr. Adams sits down with Devin C. Williams, runner up for the 2026 Solo/Duo Division at the International Blues Challenge (IBC). They talk about the Delta Blues, his favorite Delta Blues musicians, the mixing of blues and Christianity, his experience at the IBC, and more.
Guest: Devin C. WilliamsLink to Website: https://www.dcwblues.com/ Link to Purchase Music: https://devincwilliams.bandcamp.com/
Produced by Dr. Chelsea AdamsPost-Production by Jeremy Carberry
12-Bar Talk is brought to you from Ogden, Utah's "Junction City" full of blues and jazz history on Historic 25th Street. You can learn more about Ogden's rich black history at https://www.visitogden.com/blog/celebrating-black-history-month-in-ogden-utah/.

Friday Mar 13, 2026
Episode 29: Blues for the Next Generation with Alice Faye Duncan
Friday Mar 13, 2026
Friday Mar 13, 2026
The blues has inspired many things, whether new genres of music, dance, or works of art. But as today's guest regularly reminds us, perhaps the most important part of all of it is that the blues inspires people. It helps people learn, grow, and find themselves in their community. In this episode, Dr. Chelsea Adams sits down with award-winning children's book author Alice Faye Duncan to discuss her newest children's book on blues, Blues Boy: The B.B. King Story, as well as her previous book on blues, Yellow Dog Blues.
Guest: Alice Faye DuncanLink to her Website: https://alicefayeduncan.com/Links to Purchase Books: Blues Boy: The B.B. King Story Yellow Dog Blues
Produced by Dr. Chelsea AdamsPost-Production by Jeremy Carberry
12-Bar Talk is brought to you from Ogden, Utah's "Junction City" full of blues and jazz history on Historic 25th Street. You can learn more about Ogden's rich black history at https://www.visitogden.com/blog/celebrating-black-history-month-in-ogden-utah/.

Friday Feb 27, 2026
Episode 28: The Blues and Mental Health at the Mitten Durch Festival
Friday Feb 27, 2026
Friday Feb 27, 2026
To start off 2026, Dr. Chelsea Adams features a blues festival supporting mental health resources in her hometown of Ogden, Utah. In this episode, she features artists Sun Tiger, Carrie Scott, and Tony Holiday along with community members and attendees.
Guests: Sandra Hohmann, Sun Tiger, Carrie Scott, Tony Holiday, and Various Ogden Community MembersLink to the Mitten Durch Festival: https://www.facebook.com/MittenDurchfest/
Produced by Dr. Chelsea AdamsPost-Production by Jeremy Carberry
12-Bar Talk is brought to you from Ogden, Utah's "Junction City" full of blues and jazz history on Historic 25th Street. You can learn more about Ogden's rich black history at https://www.visitogden.com/blog/celebrating-black-history-month-in-ogden-utah/.

Tuesday Dec 23, 2025
Episode 27: Theology, Protest, and the Blues
Tuesday Dec 23, 2025
Tuesday Dec 23, 2025
Dr. Justin McLendon, a professor of theology at Grand Canyon University and department chair for the Master of Arts programs for Grand Canyon Theological Seminary, joins Dr. Adams to discuss his chapter in his edited collection Theology and the Blues, part of a series from Lexington Books on Theology, Religion, and Pop Culture. They cover everything from philosophy and Civil Rights to lamentation and Christianity in the blues.
Guest: Dr. Justin McLendonLink to the Edited Collection: https://www.bloomsbury.com/us/theology-and-the-blues-9781978714588/
Produced by Dr. Chelsea AdamsPost-Production by Jeremy Carberry
12-Bar Talk is brought to you from Ogden, Utah's "Junction City" full of blues and jazz history on Historic 25th Street. You can learn more about Ogden's rich black history at https://www.visitogden.com/blog/celebrating-black-history-month-in-ogden-utah/.

Friday Nov 21, 2025
Friday Nov 21, 2025
Join Dr. Adams as she gets to know the lead band members of the multi-award winning blues band Piper and the Hard Times. They talk building relationships as musicians, genre and how they view the blues, and the songwriting process for the band and their new album. And for dancers, they've got a unique opportunity!
Guests: Al "Piper" Green, Steve Eagon, and Dave ColellaWebsite: https://www.piperandthehardtimes.com/
Produced by Dr. Chelsea AdamsPost-Production by Jeremy Carberry
12-Bar Talk is brought to you from Ogden, Utah's "Junction City" full of blues and jazz history on Historic 25th Street. You can learn more about Ogden's rich black history at https://www.visitogden.com/blog/celebrating-black-history-month-in-ogden-utah/.

Welcome to 12-Bar Talk
Blues: it's a feeling, a state of being, a genre of music and an umbrella term for many black social dances, all with a rich history and thriving and evolving culture in the present. Join Dr. Chelsea Adams as she interviews practitioners and scholars and delves into the myriad of topics that deal with this uniquely black American art form.
You can support the 12-Bar Talk Podcast by subscribing anywhere you get your podcasts and by sharing it with friends and enthusiasts.
If you would like to be a guest on the podcast or have topic requests you'd like to see featured on the show, please contact Dr. Adams through her university email: chelseaadams1@weber.edu.





