Mark Newman makes a statement with the re-release of his single “Tulsa” on Live 2025, the latest live album by veteran ensemble The Blues Project. Originally released in 2021, Mark Newman’s single confronts the legacy of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre with gritty blues and an honest performance.
– https://www.reverbnation.com/marknewman/song/33047961-tulsa
– https://music.amazon.co.uk/tracks/B0977Z7FSL
From the first ominous slide-guitar note, Tulsa sets a tone: not theatrical, but chillingly grounded. Newman’s slide work in particular, delivers a voice of its own: lonesome, mournful, and urgent. Backed by bass and drums together with sparse accompaniment, the arrangement favors restraint over flourish, letting the song’s emotional gravity breathe.
Tulsa occupies a space that blends blues, Americana, and roots-rock, with a live-jam sensibility that never drifts into indulgent soloing. Rather than stretching into extended improvisations, the song stays lyric-centric: verses and a chorus punctuated by a short but evocative guitar interlude.
The arrangement is lean and deliberate, echoing the tradition of classic blues storytelling but filtered through a modern band’s sensibilities. Newman’s voice carries the emotional burden of Tulsa. Dark-toned with enough grit to convey authenticity, his vocal delivery channels both sorrow and anger, offering the listener a voice of memory and mourning more than lament.
In that sense, Tulsa evokes older traditions of “blues as chronicle;” songs that don’t just entertain, but testify. One hears not just a singer, but a storyteller, and a reminder.
One of the risks with releasing a live album, especially one tackling heavy subject matter — is that live energy can dilute subtlety. On Live 2025, the production strikes a solid balance, and the mix is clear on Tulsa: guitar edges, bass depth, snare snap, and vocals sit well in the soundscape, all while preserving ambient room atmosphere.
Mark Newman and The Blues Project have crafted a song that transcends easy categories. It’s undeniably blues, but also elegy, testimony, and live performance. The instrumentation and arrangement are understated but deliberately effective. For those seeking blues rooted in truth and history, Tulsa is among the strongest and most meaningful offerings on Live 2025.