Blues on the side: A gospel singer as a child, Jontavious Willis made a life-changing discovery around age 14 when he came across a YouTube video of Muddy Waters’ “Hoochie Coochie Man.” The Georgia native became an instant fan, and began his mastery of the Delta, Piedmont, and Texas blues, honing his chops as a fingerpicker, flatpicker, and slide player. Now a college student, Willis picks up gigs with major blues dudes such as Keb’ Mo’ and Taj Mahal between sociology classes at Columbia University. Mahal called him, “a great new voice of the 21st century in the acoustic blues.”
Related stories
Corey Harris Band
Fronted by the eponymous legendary blues and roots musician, the Corey Harris Band brings traditional Delta blues to contemporary audiences with an influx of world music flare. Well-traveled—and well-versed—Harris was instrumental in the rise of acoustic guitar blues in the mid-’90s and has an expansive sonic vocabulary with inflections from African, Caribbean, and Latin music. […]
Clymer & Kurtz
Fans of acts like Alison Krauss and Indigo Girls will find kinship in the songs of Clymer & Kurtz. The folk-rock singer-songwriter duo has been collaborating for decades, honing ethereal harmonies that drive their emotion-stirring songs. Relying on guitars and keys (with the occasional inclusion of percussion) for accompaniment, Maria Clymer and Christopher Kurtz’ intense […]
“True Stories”
David Byrne’s musical comedy True Stories takes a fond look at wackiness in the American heartland. Set in the fictional town of Virgil, Texas, during a prideful “Celebration of Specialness” for the 150th anniversary of the state, Talking Heads singer Byrne directs and stars as the narrator in a project that adopts the energy of […]
