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Sherman & Wendell Holmes along with fellow "brother" Popsy Dixon, helped kick off Austin's annual South by Southwest Music Conference. The band performed in front of an awestruck crowd on March 14 at Antone's, and then, the following morning, The Holmes Brothers stunned a virtual music industry "who's who" with a 45-minute set of chilling gospel harmonies mixed with funky, juke-joint stomp. The Chicago Sun-Times' pop music critic Jim Derogatis raved, "Only at South by Southwest could you see a crowd of jaded, pierced, tattooed and hung over music-biz pros transported by a transcendent version of Amazing Grace." Major media outlets, including The New York Times, The Associated Press Newswire, The Austin Chronicle, The Austin American Statesman,Wall Of Sound, and Allstar included extremely favorable mentions of The Holmes Brothers performance in their coverage if South By Southwest.        

The Holmes Brothers are currently touring to support their debut album on Alligator Records, the Joan Osborne-produced SPEAKING IN TONGUES. On March 9, Wendell Holmes and Osborne appeared together on CNNfn's The Biz to talk about the album. National Public Radio's Weekend Edition aired a 9-minute feature on March 17, and The Holmes Brothers have appearances booked on World Café, Mountain Stage, Woodsongs and Garrison Keillor's A Prairie Home Companion.

SPEAKING IN TONGUES has been featured or reviewed in Billboard, The Chicago Tribune, The Houston Chronicle, The Dallas Morning News, The Philadelphia Inquirer, The New Yorker, The Washington Post and many other regional and national publications. And the March 18 edition of The London Times chose SPEAKING IN TONGUES as its "Record of the Week," saying "their rhythms take over your body while their voices go straight for your heart."

Copyright Chicago Tribune
Sunday, February 11, 2001

"This venerable trio birthed an East Coast scene out of which younger artists such as Blues Traveler and Joan Osborne sprang, but the Holmes Brothers remain the undisputed masters of blues-based American roots music on their sixth release, "Speaking In Tongues." The Brothers suggest that gospel is the original rock 'n' roll, that the blues is a heartbeat removed from soul music and that the funk will not only set you free, it'll take you straight to heaven. Each band member - brothers Wendell and Sherman Holmes, drummer Popsy Dixon - is a distinctive lead vocalist, and their command of these idioms is never dryly academic.

This is a joyous, foot-stomping carnival that blurs the boundaries between the secular and the sacred, with gospel rousers standing side by side with testifying originals and stirring remakes of tunes by Ben Harper, Bob Dylan and the O'Jays. Osborne, enlisted to produce, lets the brothers play to their strengths rather than trying to "modernize" them, and she amplifies their wall-rattling fervor by contributing gospel style backing vocals. Mercy me, it's the first great album of 2001."

Greg Kot
Chicago Tribune

Koko Taylor’s Wang Dang Doodle was heard in the hit film “Big Mama’s House,” staring Martin Lawrence.

Carey Bell’s Lonesome Stranger is featured in the currently running HBO movie “Blacktop,” staring Meat Loaf and Kristin Davis (“Sex In The City”).

Lonnie Brooks’ Eyeballin’ and Lonnie Mack’s Hound Dog Man will be included in the upcoming feature film “Forever Lulu,” staring Melanie Griffith and Patrick Swayze.

Long John Hunter’s T-Bone Intentions will be featured in an upcoming episode of the Fox Television series “Time Of Your Life.”

Katie Webster’s Pussycat Moan and Queen Sylvia Embry’s Going Upstairs will be included in the independent film “Dancing At The Blue Iguana.”

Lil’ Ed and the Blues Imperials’ Once In A Lifetime and Hound Dog Taylor’s Phillips’ Theme will be included in the independent film “Hard Luck.”