“Christone “Kingfish” Ingram stands at the crossroads of legacy and innovation. A native son of Clarksdale, Mississippi — a city steeped in blues history — he channels the spirit of the Delta while fearlessly reshaping its future. With Hard Road, his most introspective and ambitious project yet, Kingfish reflects on a journey that’s taken him from local prodigy to global torchbearer for a new era of blues.

Kingfish’s music has always honored the past. His mastery of the guitar, steeped in the tones of B.B. King, Albert King, and Buddy Guy, first turned heads when he was still a teenager. But what sets him apart is how he’s expanded the form — blending in funk, soul, hip-hop, pop, and jazz to create a modern blues fusion that resonates across generations and genres. His debut album Kingfish earned a Grammy nomination and topped the Billboard Blues Chart for 91 weeks. His follow-up, 662 (titled after his Mississippi area code) won the Grammy for Best Contemporary Blues Album in 2022. Then came Live in London, a fiery, sold-out performance captured abroad, earning him yet another Grammy nomination and solidifying his reputation as one of the genre’s most dynamic live performers.

With Hard Road, Kingfish returns not just as a virtuoso, but as a storyteller. Via support from three producers – Tom Hambridge, Patrick “GuitarBoy” Hayes, and Nick Goldston – the album marks a shift lyrically, emotionally, sonically and thematically. The songs explore love, loss, identity, perseverance, and personal growth. There’s a harder edge to the sound, a fusion of rock and R&B sensibilities, but the heart of it is blues: vulnerable, honest, resilient.”

With Christone Ingram on his way to Australia for gigs in February and March, I was thrilled to sit down for a chat with the Blues worlds most exciting young star just last week. And of course, there’s plenty of his wonderful music to spice things up. With tracks from his three studio albums “662”, “Kingfish” and his latest “Hard Road.

Plus new releases from Eric Bibb, Kim Wilson, Tinsley Ellis, Laura Chavez, Billy Branch & The Sons of Blues, Young Rell Davenport, Shane Pacey & Darren Watson.