Philadelphia’s Deb Callahan writes creative blues, soul and roots influenced original music and uses her powerful, soulful voice to deliver an exciting live show. Her 2002 debut CD "If the Blues Had Wings" was featured as the hot debut in the October/November 2004 issue of Blues Revue Magazine. Blues Revue referred to her as the next Bonnie Raitt and raved "Philly's Deb Callahan has the pipes, the songs and the raw talent to graduate to the next level". Deb is excited to be releasing her fifth CD entitled “Sweet Soul” in the fall of 2015 on her own independent label, Blue Pearl Records. Deb and guitar player Allen James travelled to Los Angeles in February 2015 to record with renowned drummer and producer Tony Braunagel at Ultratone Studios. The all star studio line-up includes Johnny Lee Schell, engineering and slide guitar, Mike Finnigan on keyboards, Reggie McBride on bass, Braunagel on drums and James on guitar. Many of these players have recorded and toured with performers such as Bonnie Raitt, Taj Mahal, and Etta James, so it was a truly wonderful experience to play with and learn from these musicians. It’s been almost 5 years since Deb’s last CD, entitled “Tell It Like It Is” was released. Shortly after this release, Deb became a mom to her now 4 year old son Elijah. The experience of being a new mom has had a direct impact on her writing and focus in her life. The songs from “Sweet Soul” were written during an overall sweet phase of life. The mood of the CD is overall upbeat and fun and explores the theme of love and family with a real view into both its joys and challenges. This includes the experience of loving a child or partner, the connection and sweetness you feel when you slow down and just be present with ones you love, the pain and difficulty of letting go of a family member, the ups and downs of living with someone, the inner tension about balancing family and career, the energy it takes to keep things running to do a lot of different things in life. Doing social work in the heart of Philadelphia would be a good place to learn about life's hard knocks and this urban school ground taught singer/songwriter Deb Callahan well. Her rich, honest and soulful tunes resonate with listeners and run the gamut from soulful ballads, to upbeat, dance oriented grooves. Her talented and road tested band includes Allen James, Garry Lee and Tom Walling. In a recent review of “Tell It Like It Is”, Living Blues Magazine says “Callahan’s voice has the spiked fervor of contemporary Susan Tedeschi, but it’s richer and smoother. Stylistically she’s picked up a lot from one of her earlier influences, Nina Simone – Simone’s squirming rhythms and hypnotic vocals reverberate in Callahan’s music.” “Deb Callahan is a shouter, a crooner, a soul-belter and above all a gifted lyrical interpreter. She could sing the phone book and make it sound good.” Living Blues Magazine Blues Revue Magazine says of Grace & Grit “Deb Callahan possesses an instinctive feel for the blues. As a songwriter, Callahan's gift lies in bringing fresh perspectives to classic lyrical themes. Vocally she understand her strengths a pure, resonant tone and expressive phrasing and employs them to great effect. She also stands as a first rate song interpreter.” Blues Revue Magazine Jazzreview.com says “ Her powerful, soul-tinged bluesy vocals showcase both an abundance of grace along with more than just a smidgen of grit. On the grace/grit scale, she weighs in heavily alongside the finest female blues belters ever. In fact, the potent force of her vocals should secure her presence on the national blues scene for years.” Jazzreview.com