News

On Monday, July 5, Blues Blast Magazine announced the nominees for the 14th Annual Blues Blast Music Awards. This year, eight Alligator Records artists received eleven Blues Blast Award nominations.

Celebrated blues, soul and Americana vocalist Shemekia Copeland received two nominations: one for Female Blues Artist and one for Contemporary Blues Recording for her groundbreaking 2020 album, Uncivil War.

Florida blues visionary Selwyn Birchwood received two nominations: one for Male Blues Artist and one for Contemporary Blues Recording for his powerful January 2021 album, Living In A Burning House.

Soul, rock and blues vocalist Curtis Salgado received two nominations: one for Male Blues Artist and one for Soul Blues Recording for his acclaimed February 2021 release, Damage Control.

West Coast blues icon, guitarist Chris Cain, also received two nominations: one for Male Blues Artist and one for Contemporary Blues Recording for his April 2021 Alligator Records debut, Raisin' Cain.

Legendary blues giants Elvin Bishop and Charlie Musselwhite received a nomination for Traditional Blues Recording for their timeless duo album, 100 Years Of Blues.

Northern California blues masters Rick Estrin & The Nightcats and Chicago blues torchbearers The Nick Moss Band Featuring Dennis Gruenling each received a nomination for Blues Band.

Voting for the awards will be open to the public (one vote per person) at the Blues Blast website beginning July 5. Voting will end at 12:00AM CST on Saturday, August 6, 2021. Winners of the14th Annual Blues Blast Awards will be announced shortly thereafter.

“Castro is one of the brightest stars in the blues-soul genre. Voracious blues energy and ultimate soul power...impassioned vocals and pure inventiveness in his stellar guitar solos.” —Blues Music Magazine

“Sizzling, slow-burning, gritty blues and rock...shimmering, swampy, downright funky vibes drenched with Castro’s stinging, pure and crisp lead runs and fluid, jet-fueled solos.” —Living Blues

“Soul-baring, roadhouse-meets-church, Memphis guitar licks...gritty voice...Southern colors and rootsy textures.” —Washington Post

On Friday, September 17, Alligator Records will release Tommy Castro Presents A Bluesman Came To Town, the trailblazing new album from internationally beloved blues rocker Tommy Castro. Throughout his long, constantly evolving career, guitarist, singer and songwriter Castro has always remained true to himself while exploring, growing and creating new music, and he has taken his thousands of devoted fans right along with him. Ranging from horn-fueled R&B to piping hot blues to fiery, stripped-down rock ‘n’ roll, each of his 16 albums is solidly built upon Castro’s unshakable musical foundation—a dynamic mix of 1960s-influenced guitar-fueled blues, testifying Memphis-soaked blue-eyed soul and Latin-tinged East San Jose funk, all driven by Castro’s grab-you-by-the-collar vocals and passionate guitar work. Blues Revue declared, “Tommy Castro can do no wrong.”

Tommy Castro Presents A Bluesman Came To Town is a roots music odyssey. This special project was composed by Castro along with Grammy Award-winning producer Tom Hambridge. Through its 13 songs, The album tells the tale of a young man, working on his family farm, who gets bitten by the blues bug. He masters the guitar and heads out on the road seeking fame and fortune, only to find what he’s left behind is the treasure he’s been looking for. Each memorable song—from the blistering title track to the pleading Child Don’t Go to the hopeful I Caught A Break to the emotional Blues Prisoner—stands on its own, as well as contributing to the larger story.

“I like to keep things fresh and interesting,” says Castro, “Tom and I have talked about making a record together for a long time. Collaborating with him was even better than I imagined. I had an outline for the story and then Tom and I talked it out and the songs just started to organically grow out of each other.” Castro continues, “A Bluesman Came To Town isn’t a story about me. It’s pulled from some of my friends’ and my experiences, though. I’ve seen first-hand for a lot of years what it’s like out there on the road.”

The road has always been Castro’s home away from home. He’ll instantly ignite a crowd, turn them into loyal fans and then keep those fans coming back for more. He has traveled hundreds of thousands of miles and performed thousands of gigs, leading his bands at clubs, concert halls, and festivals all over the world. Famed guitarist Joe Bonamassa says, “Tommy has always been top of the heap among blues guitar players. He always puts on a great show.”

Born in San Jose, California in 1955, Tommy Castro first picked up a guitar at age 10. He fell under the spell of Elvin Bishop, Taj Mahal, Mike Bloomfield and other blues artists of the day. Almost every major rock and soul act, from Ike and Tina Turner to Janis Joplin to the J. Geils Band to Tower Of Power, toured through the area, and Castro was at every show. He saw John Lee Hooker, Albert King, and Buddy Guy and Junior Wells at the same local blues bar, JJ’s, where he often jammed, dreaming of one day busting out. Mixing the blues and rock and roll he loved and the soul music he heard blasting from lowriders in his neighborhood Tommy started to create his own personal sound and style. He honed his guitar skills and intense, gritty vocals, learning how to capture an audience as he performed on San Francisco’s highly competitive club scene.

As his reputation spread, Tommy played in a variety of Bay Area bands, soon making a name for himself as a hotter-than-hot live artist bursting at the seams with talent. In 1985, he was recruited to become lead singer and guitarist for the regionally popular blues band NiteCry, gigging regularly throughout Northern California. Castro joined Warner Brothers’ artists The Dynatones in the late 1980s, performing all over the country. He formed the first Tommy Castro Band in 1992 and has not stopped touring since. In 1995, soon after releasing his first album on Blind Pig Records, The Tommy Castro Band was selected as the house band for three seasons on NBC Television’s Comedy Showcase (airing right after Saturday Night Live). The show brought him in front of millions of viewers every week and cemented his reputation as a not-to-be-missed, nationally touring live performer.

After a series of successful releases on the Blind Pig, Telarc and 33^rd Street labels, Tommy Castro joined Alligator Records in 2009. His label debut, Hard Believer, was released to massive popular and critical acclaim. With the album, Castro won four of his six career Blues Music Awards, including the coveted B.B. King Entertainer Of The Year Award (the very highest award a blues performer can receive). In 2012, Castro stripped his music down to its raw essence, creating a high-energy, larger-than-life sound with the formation of The Painkillers. Tommy Castro & The Painkillers’ initial release, The Devil You Know, was embraced by his legion of fans and discovered by hordes of new ones. With the current version of The Painkillers (bassist Randy McDonald, drummer Bowen Brown and keyboardist Michael Emerson), Castro released Method To My Madness in 2015, Stompin’ Ground in 2017, and Killin’ It–Live in 2019, with critics shouting praise and admirers cheering the group’s every move. The band has coalesced into one of the telepathically tightest units Castro has ever assembled, making them one of the most in-demand live roots music acts performing today, delivering one soul-shaking, muscular performance after another.

Upon the release of A Bluesman Came To Town, Castro will hit the road with The Painkillers, performing fan favorites as well as songs from the new album. “I’ve made seven albums for Alligator,” Castro says, “and I’ve never made the same record twice. I will always try to be my most authentic self. I give it all I’ve got every time we hit the stage!”

Today, Monday, June 21, Christone "Kingfish" Ingram announced the dates for his upcoming tour to promote his dynamic new Alligator Records album, 662, set for July 23 release. Entitled Christone "Kingfish" Ingram Presents 662: Juke Joint Live, the tour will take the 22-year-old guitarist, vocalist and songwriter across the U.S. and Europe beginning July 2021 and going into February 2022. Today also saw the premiere of Ingram's Juke Joint Live music video for the album's first single, the title track, 662.

Click here to watch the 662 video.
 

“Obviously this hiatus was necessary," says Ingram, "but it’s been a long, tough period for a lot of people. I was fortunate to stay healthy and I certainly tried my best to stay productive during my downtime. Now, with my new album release and my latest Juke Joint tour both happening in July, I’m thankful and excited for what’s to come. But, I’m also reflective and sympathetic for everyone who has been adversely impacted by Covid in any way.”

The first single, 662's title track, made its worldwide premiere on SiriusXM's B.B. King's Bluesville channel. The song immediately became the #1 Most Added Single on the influential BDS AAA (Adult Album Alternative) Indicator Radio Chart. Guitar World, who in 2020 named Kingfish one of the top 30 guitarists in the world, said, "On 662, Ingram takes things all the way back to the place that shaped him, his hometown of Clarksdale, Mississippi. Anchoring the song with a hot-rodded, Delta-by-way-of-Chuck Berry riff, and punctuating the proceedings with sweet touches of high-gain, fleet-fingered blues guitar glory, Ingram gives a perfect tribute to the birthplace of the blues, showing all the while that the genre is still incredibly vital."

Of the new album, Ingram says, "662 is an ode to my roots, a nod to the area where I was born and raised. The title track, 662, encompasses how a small corner of the earth influenced my view of life and music. It also points to the growth I have had since my debut album. As much as I have been fortunate to get 'Outside Of This Town' (the title of his breakout single from his 2019 Grammy-nominated debut album, Kingfish), I do want people to know that the '662' will always be a major part of who I am."

 

Christone "Kingfish" Ingram Presents 662: Juke Joint Live

All tickets will go on sale Friday, June 25. The support acts on this tour will be The Cerny Brothers, The Peterson Brothers, and Ally Venable.

                     
                    Gatefold Two LP Set                                                                   Three CD Set
           (Click image for track listing)                                                (Click image for track listing)

“Alligator Records stands as one of the most enduring and revered independent blues labels in the world, its catalog holding inextinguishable works.” –The Chicago Tribune

“Prestigious, scrappy independent Alligator Records has reached dizzying heights in celebrating the blues.” –Rolling Stone

“With muscular, no-frills production, Alligator catches the blues as it melds with soul, rock, gospel, country and zydeco, partying away the pains of love. Alligator is the leading record label for the blues, and has succeeded where the giants have failed.” –The New York Times

“From the moment I walked into Florence’s Lounge, sheets of distorted electric guitar filled the room. I could hear the unmistakable sound of steel on steel as a slide tore up and down the strings. Drums pounded out a shuffle beat so infectious and elemental that even I could dance to it… That afternoon I fell in love with Hound Dog Taylor & The HouseRockers."  —Bruce Iglauer from Bitten By The Blues: The Alligator Records Story

On Friday, June 18, Alligator Records will celebrate a half-century of recording history-making blues and roots rock with the release of Alligator Records -- 50 Years Of Genuine Houserockin’ Music. Both the 24 song gatefold two-LP set (over 100 minutes of music) and the 58 song three-CD set (over 230 minutes) clearly lay out label founder and president Bruce Iglauer’s wide-ranging, forward-looking vision. The collection -- with richly detailed liner notes written by Iglauer himself -- highlights Alligator's extraordinary past, headline-generating present, and a future dedicated to nurturing new generations of blues artists and fans.

Alligator Records -- 50 Years Of Genuine Houserockin’ Music features songs from legendary artists like Hound Dog Taylor, Koko Taylor, Son Seals, Albert Collins, Johnny Winter, Professor Longhair, Lonnie Brooks, Luther Allison and Michael “Iron Man” Burks, interspersed with cuts from current blues and roots icons Elvin Bishop, Charlie Musselwhite, Guitar Shorty, Billy Boy Arnold and Mavis Staples. Songs from today’s world-renowned stars like Shemekia Copeland, Lil’ Ed & The Blues Imperials, Rick Estrin & The Nightcats, Marcia Ball, Billy Branch, JJ Grey & Mofro, Tinsley Ellis, Joe Louis Walker, Tommy Castro & The Painkillers, Curtis Salgado and Roomful Of Blues flow together seamlessly with music from newer voices, including Christone “Kingfish” Ingram, Nick Moss, Toronzo Cannon and Selwyn Birchwood.

Click here or on the image below to watch and listen to the raw and raucous song, Give Me Back My Wig, from Hound Dog Taylor & The HouseRockers' -- and Alligator's -- very first album, recorded and released in 1971. This fan-created video features many rarely seen photographs.

Fifty years ago, 23-year-old blues fan Bruce Iglauer spent his meager savings to record an LP by his favorite Chicago blues band, Hound Dog Taylor & The HouseRockers, and founded Alligator Records to release it. Today, Alligator boasts a catalog of over 350 titles, many of which are renowned, award-winning, time-tested classics of the genre. Alligator Records’ artists and recordings have received a total of 48 Grammy Award nominations and three Grammy Awards, over 150 Blues Music Awards (the blues community’s highest honor) and over 70 Living Blues Awards (presented by Living Blues magazine). The label’s artists have appeared on radio, on television and in films. They’ve performed worldwide at clubs, concert halls and festivals, with Alligator’s support promoting and publicizing each and every gig. According to Shemekia Copeland, “Alligator Records has been a cornerstone of the blues world for five decades. As an Alligator artist, I am truly grateful for what Bruce and Alligator Records have done for me and this genre.”

Since releasing that first Hound Dog Taylor record, Alligator Records -- with the invaluable input and guidance from the 14-person staff (many of whom have been with the label for more than 25 years) -- has become the most successful blues label in the world. And the Alligator story is still unfolding. From the early days of recording only Chicago talent, to attracting national and international musicians, to the label’s commitment to nurturing the new generations of blues and roots artists, Alligator, like the blues itself, continues to break new ground while staying true to its roots. Alligator Records -- 50 Years Of Genuine Houserockin’ Music is a must-hear collection for lifelong fans as well as for those who have just discovered the endlessly uplifting, life-affirming, deeply soulful, roots-rocking, healing power of the Genuine Houserockin’ Music on Alligator Records. 

Raw and powerful…tight and melodic…delivered with an aggressive edge that’s deep down in the groove….Retro blues wailers with impressive pedigrees and total dedication. —Guitar World

A raucous throwback to the raw intimacy of vintage Chicago blues. Potent performances are modern-day variations of the joyous menace of the heyday of Chess Records….Muscular power and passion in a straightforward lo-fi style.
—AllMusic.com

Searing, snarling, sinister…the earthy, no-frills music expresses an unfettered enthusiasm. —Living Blues  

On Friday, August 20, Colemine Records, in partnership with Alligator Records, will release GA-20 Does Hound Dog Taylor -- Try It...You Might Like It! from high-energy blues-rock trio, GA-20. The album features ten blistering performances of songs written or performed by Chicago blues legends Hound Dog Taylor & The HouseRockers.

Since first forming in 2018, GA-20 (guitarist Matt Stubbs, guitarist/vocalist Pat Faherty, and drummer Tim Carman) has drawn inspiration for their primal, original music from late 1950s/early 1960s blues, R&B and rock ‘n’ roll. They use rare and vintage gear (including, at times, the famed Gibson GA-20 amplifier for which the band is named), creating powerfully raw, driving music that is at once traditional and refreshingly modern. The band’s dynamic sound and feel is as fresh and real as the old blues they love and perform, including songs by Otis Rush, J.B. Lenoir, Howlin’ Wolf, Junior Wells and especially their favorite, Hound Dog Taylor. According to Stubbs, “Not enough people know just how cool Hound Dog Taylor was.” 

Legendary six-fingered Chicago bluesman Theodore Roosevelt “Hound Dog” Taylor always knew how he wanted to be remembered, declaring, “When I die they’ll say, ‘he couldn’t play shit, but he sure made it sound good!’” His first full length recording in 1971 was also the first album on Alligator Records, Hound Dog Taylor & The HouseRockers. In fact, label president Bruce Iglauer founded Alligator for the sole purpose of recording and releasing that album. Fifty years later, Hound Dog Taylor & The HouseRockers is considered a classic of the genre, and Alligator boasts a catalog of over 350 blues and roots rock releases. With Taylor on wild slide guitar, Brewer Phillips picking out the bass notes on his beat-up Telecaster guitar, and Ted Harvey driving the beat, the band – playing their second-hand instruments through third-hand amps – made a loud, fast and joyful noise. Famed critic Robert Christgau referred to them as “the Ramones of the blues.” At the time, Iglauer recalls, “I figured that if I love this band and this music so much, everyone else will love them too.”

With 2021 marking the 50th anniversary of both Alligator Records and Hound Dog Taylor & The HouseRockers, the timing for GA-20 to record these songs seemed perfect. With the pandemic shutdown and tour dates postponed, the band was ready for something new. As fate would have it, in 2020, Iglauer, not knowing the band was under exclusive contract, approached Stubbs about a potential project with Alligator. Since GA-20 was already committed to Colemine, the idea to work together with Alligator on this album was born. Alligator continues its 50^th anniversary celebration by partnering with GA-20 and Colemine Records to present a new album of Hound Dog Taylor’s music, while the band gives their fans some of the most raw and honest performances imaginable with Try It…You Might Like It! 

According to Colemine Records owner Terry Cole, Try It…You Might Like It! is a natural fit for both labels. “Teaming up with Alligator for this release feels like a perfect pairing! Alligator was created to give Hound Dog Taylor a home, and, over the last 50 years, the label has established itself as a perennial winner in the blues world. With GA-20, we're really excited about applying some of the old-school production techniques found on most of our soul records to the blues genre. Using just a few mics and recording live, all together in one room, is really what makes so many classic blues, soul, and R&B records so special!"

Alligator’s Iglauer is thrilled to be working with the band. “GA-20 absolutely glory in the rough-edged, unvarnished Chicago blues of Hound Dog Taylor & The HouseRockers. GA-20 are among the very few artists who have captured the band’s raw essence. Hound Dog would be proud that they are delivering his music so well. They rock the house!”

Heading into the recording session for Try It…You Might Like It!, the plan was to keep everything as true to the way Hound Dog recorded as possible. Stubbs spoke to Iglauer on several occasions to get info on those early sessions and for the details of the guitars and amps that Hound Dog and Brewer used. Stubbs explains, “Pat and I searched out four 1960s Teisco/Kingston guitars to find the one with the closest tone to Hound Dog’s original, and Pat used a vintage 1960s Silvertone amp – the same as Hound Dog. I used a vintage Telecaster and vintage Fender amp like Brewer Phillips played.” They tracked the songs in under two days, live, all in one room, and in no more than three takes per song, just as Hound Dog Taylor & The HouseRockers did. Stubbs continues, “Our essential goal was to capture the spirit and vibe of Hound Dog Taylor & The HouseRockers and (Hound Dog’s second album) Natural Boogie, and I believe we did just that.”

According to Stubbs, “Some music is more than just music, it comes with a feeling. To me, Hound Dog was raw and visceral, and all of these things that really appeal to me and that I try to bring to my own approach on guitar. It was an exciting challenge to try to embody that on this record, in playing and production.” Faherty agrees, saying, “Hound Dog is everything I want to be in blues. No one else today even comes close.” And Carman still can’t get enough of that drum sound. “In my opinion, Ted Harvey is one of the most underrated and underappreciated drummers of all time. I learned a lot from studying Harvey’s playing, especially the way he interacted with Brewer and Hound Dog while still maintaining a driving groove. His ride cymbal playing was one of a kind.”

Matt Stubbs is a 12-year veteran (and still a member) of blues harmonica master Charlie Musselwhite’s touring band. He’s performed with James Cotton and John Hammond, among many others. Faherty played rock and metal guitar until he was bitten by the blues bug. The two met in Boston, and their mutual love of traditional electric blues, R&B, and rock ‘n’ roll led them to write, perform and eventually record their modern vision of this life-altering music. Formed in 2018, GA-20 quickly earned a devoted following, and the band soon signed with acclaimed soul/R&B label Colemine Records. They released their debut, Lonely Soul, in 2019 to widespread critical and popular acclaim. The album premiered in the #2 position on the Billboard Blues Chart. Their EP, Live Vol. 1, debuted at #1 a year later. Medium.com declared, “This is the kind of music that travels through time while taking from the era where it was born and turning it into something fresh. Dirty and raw…timeless and modern.”

GA-20 hit the road hard, performing live at every opportunity, earning new fans while playing clubs, concert halls and festivals from coast to coast. Now, with Try  It…You Might Like It!, GA-20 unleashes this timeless, down and dirty music, making it breathe and live as forcefully today as it did back when Hound Dog Taylor was spitting fire. Alligator’s Iglauer says, “No one made a more wonderfully glorious racket than Hound Dog, Brewer Phillips and Ted Harvey.” GA-20 fully captures the essence and spirit of the band, and the racket made by Matt Stubbs, Pat Faherty and Tim Carman is also pretty damn glorious. “Ultimately,” says Stubbs, “we think Hound Dog fans and blues fans will love this record, and we’re proud to bring his sound to a new audience."

On Sunday, June 6, in a virtual ceremony, The Blues Foundation announced the winners of the 42nd Annual Blues Music Awards, the blues world's highest honor. Six Alligator Records artists won nine of the industry's top awards.

Celebrated singer Shemekia Copeland led all artists with three wins, including the awards for B.B. King Entertainer Of The Year, Contemporary Female Blues Artist Of The Year, and Contemporary Blues Album of The Year for her groundbreaking work, Uncivil War.

Blues legends Elvin Bishop and Charlie Musselwhite won both Album Of The Year and Traditional Blues Album of the year for their celebrated release, 100 Years Of Blues.

Young blues sensation Christone "Kingfish" Ingram, who won five BMAs in 2020, won the award for Guitarist Of The Year and Contemporary Blues Male Artist Of The Year for the second year in a row. His new album, 662, will be released on July 23. Ingram performed two songs with his band as part of the virtual ceremony.

West Coast blues masters Rick Estrin & The Nightcats took home the coveted Blues Band Of The Year award, their second time winning this high honor.

Curtis Salgado was named the Contemporary Soul Blues Male Artist Of The Year, his sixth time winning this award.

According to Alligator president Bruce Iglauer, "I’m very proud of so many Alligator artists getting the recognition they so richly deserve. This is a great emotional boost for them in this tough year. This is a time we need the healing power of the blues more than ever, and these wonderful bluesmen and women have delivered that healing on recordings even though they haven’t been able to deliver it in person.”

The 42nd Annual Blues Music Awards were presented in a virtual event on Sunday, June 6, 2021. It was live-streamed on the Blues Foundation's Facebook page as well as on its YouTube channel. For a full list of winners, click here.

CHICAGO MAYOR LORI LIGHTFOOT TO DECLARE
JUNE 18, 2021 "ALLIGATOR RECORDS DAY"

Official Proclamation Honors Legendary Blues And Roots Rock Label On Day ALLIGATOR RECORDS--50 YEARS OF GENUINE HOUSEROCKIN' MUSIC Released

“Alligator Records stands as one of the most enduring and revered independent blues labels in the world, its catalog holding inextinguishable works.” —The Chicago Tribune

“Prestigious, scrappy independent Alligator Records has reached dizzying heights in celebrating the blues." —Rolling Stone

“With muscular, no-frills production, Alligator catches the blues as it melds with soul, rock, gospel, country and zydeco, partying away the pains of love. Alligator is the leading record label for the blues, and has succeeded where the giants have failed.” —The New York Times

On Friday, June 18, Mayor Lori Lightfoot will declare "Alligator Records Day" throughout the City of Chicago. This same day, the label will release Alligator Records--50 Years Of Genuine Houserockin' Music, both as a 58-song three-CD set (over 230 minutes) and a 24-song gatefold two-LP set (over 100 minutes of music), each clearly laying out label founder and president Bruce Iglauer’s wide-ranging, forward-looking vision. Alligator, like the blues itself, continues to break new ground while staying true to its roots.

In her official proclamation, Mayor Lightfoot states:

WHEREAS, for 50 years, Alligator Records has been dedicated to finding and signing artists with the talent and vision to create new music and reach new audiences while keeping up with technology and finding new and innovative ways to promote and foster the Chicago Blues, making Alligator Records one of the most successful blues labels in the world; and

WHEREAS, on June 18, 2021, Alligator Records will celebrate their 50th Anniversary with the release of a 58-song triple CD titled "Alligator Records--50 Years Of Genuine Houserockin' Music":

NOW, THEREFORE, I, LORI E. LIGHTFOOT, MAYOR OF THE CITY OF CHICAGO, do hereby proclaim June 18, 2021 to be ALLIGATOR RECORDS DAY IN CHICAGO in celebration of 50 years producing, releasing, and celebrating the Chicago blues.

According to Iglauer, "We’re very proud to be honored by the mayor of Chicago, the world capital of the blues, and Alligator’s hometown for 50 years. The city has nurtured some of the greatest blues artists anywhere, and we’ve had the pleasure of recording many of them. We’re looking forward to our next 50 years bringing the blues of Sweet Home Chicago to the world. Thank you, Mayor Lightfoot." 

Alligator Records -- 50 Years Of Genuine Houserockin’ Music features songs from legendary artists like Hound Dog Taylor, Koko Taylor, Son Seals, Albert Collins, Johnny Winter, Professor Longhair, Lonnie Brooks, Luther Allison and Michael “Iron Man” Burks, interspersed with cuts from current blues and roots icons Elvin Bishop, Charlie Musselwhite, Guitar Shorty, Billy Boy Arnold and Mavis Staples. Songs from today’s world-renowned stars like Shemekia Copeland, Lil’ Ed & The Blues Imperials, Rick Estrin & The Nightcats, Marcia Ball, Billy Branch, JJ Grey & Mofro, Tinsley Ellis, Joe Louis Walker, Tommy Castro & The Painkillers, Curtis Salgado and Roomful Of Blues flow together seamlessly with music from newer voices, including Christone “Kingfish” Ingram, Nick Moss, Toronzo Cannon and Selwyn Birchwood.

Fifty years ago, 23-year-old blues fan Bruce Iglauer spent his meager savings to record an LP by his favorite Chicago blues band, Hound Dog Taylor & The HouseRockers, and founded Alligator Records to release it. Today, Alligator boasts a catalog of over 350 titles, many of which are renowned, award-winning, time-tested classics of the genre. Since releasing that first Hound Dog Taylor record, Alligator Records -- with the invaluable input and guidance from the 14-person staff (many of whom have been with the label for more than 25 years) -- has become the most successful blues label in the world.

Alligator Records -- 50 Years Of Genuine Houserockin’ Music highlights Alligator's extraordinary past, headline-generating present, and a future dedicated to nurturing new generations of blues artists and fans. It is a must-hear collection for lifelong fans as well as for those who have just discovered the endlessly uplifting, life-affirming, deeply soulful, roots-rocking, healing power of the Genuine Houserockin’ Music on Alligator Records.

"Extra wicked...hellfire slide guitar...will have you barking for joy" —Rolling Stone

"The Ramones of the blues"  —Robert Christgau


On Friday, July 2, Alligator Records continues its 50th anniversary celebration with the vinyl reissue of Natural Boogie, the raw and raucous classic second LP from high-energy bottleneck blues legends Hound Dog Taylor & The HouseRockers. Originally released in 1974 as the fourth title in Alligator's catalog, this is the first vinyl pressing of Natural Boogie in over 30 years. It features genre classics including Sadie, Take Five, Roll Your Moneymaker and See Me In The Evening. The album was originally produced by label president and founder Bruce Iglauer, who personally supervised its remastering.

Iglauer started Alligator Records in 1971 as a young blues fan to record and release an album by the legendary six-fingered Chicago bluesman Theodore Roosevelt “Hound Dog” Taylor and his band. "When I die," Taylor said, "they’ll say, ‘He couldn’t play shit, but he sure made it sound good!'” With Taylor playing razor's edge slide guitar and singing with uninhibited joy, Brewer Phillips on second guitar picking out the bass notes, and Ted Harvey driving the beat, the band – playing their second-hand instruments through third-hand amps – made a loud, fast and joyful noise. According to Iglauer, “No one made a more wonderfully glorious racket than Hound Dog, Brewer Phillips and Ted Harvey.” With Taylor's impossible-to-dislike music and persona, and Iglauer's marketing prowess, Alligator's and Taylor's first LP, Hound Dog Taylor & The HouseRockers, was a hit by blues standards, selling well enough to allow Alligator to release albums by Big Walter Horton in 1972, Son Seals in 1973, and the highly anticipated second release from Taylor in 1974.

Natural Boogie and Hound Dog Taylor & The HouseRockers continue to have a huge impact on fans and artists alike. Dynamic blues-rock trio GA-20 will release a Hound Dog Taylor tribute album (on Colemine Records in partnership with Alligator) later this year. According to Black Keys founder and guitarist Dan Auerbach (who plays one of Hound Dog’s guitars on the new Black Keys album, Delta Kream), “I know for a fact I wouldn’t be in this business if Bruce hadn’t released those first two Hound Dog Taylor records.”

AllMusic says, "Natural Boogie is every bit as wild as the first album, bringing with it a fatter sound and a wider range of emotions and music. The smoldering intensity takes this album to places the first one never reached."

On Friday, July 23, Alligator Records recording artist Christone "Kingfish" Ingram will release his highly anticipated second album, 662. It's the next chapter in the still-unfolding story of the 22-year-old guitarist, vocalist and songwriter from Clarksdale, Mississippi. Ingram describes 662 (the number is northern Mississippi's telephone area code) as "a presentation of my life in and away from the Delta." The album overflows with hard-hitting original songs, jaw-dropping guitar work and deep, soul-possessed vocals. Rolling Stone declared, “Kingfish is one of the most exciting young guitarists in years, with a sound that encompasses B.B. King, Jimi Hendrix and Prince.”

“The world was introduced to me with Kingfish,” Ingram says of his chart-topping 2019 debut. “Now with 662, I want the world to hear and meet a different, more personal side of me. My sophomore album is a direct reflection of my growth as a young man. This album is very personal to me as it was conceptualized, created and co-written during the Covid-19 pandemic when I returned home to the 662 after a truly whirlwind year of change and growth. Coming home to write this album offered a remarkable history for me to draw upon. 662 is an album that sits upon the legacy and influence my blues music elders have instilled in me, but is also my unique, personal story."

662 was recorded in Nashville and co-written and produced (as was Kingfish) by Grammy-winner Tom Hambridge. It features 13 songs displaying many sides of Ingram’s dynamic personality, as well as his one-of-a-kind guitar and vocal skills. The first single, 662's title track, made its worldwide premiere on SiriusXM's B.B. King's Bluesville channel on May 10. The song immediately became the #1 Most Added Single on the influential BDS AAA (Adult Album Alternative) Indicator Radio Chart. Guitar World, who in 2020 named Kingfish one of the top 30 guitarists in the world, said, "On 662, Ingram takes things all the way back to the place that shaped him, his hometown of Clarksdale, Mississippi. Anchoring the song with a hot-rodded, Delta–by-way- of-Chuck Berry riff, and punctuating the proceedings with sweet touches of high-gain, fleet-fingered blues guitar glory, Ingram gives a perfect tribute to the birthplace of the blues, showing all the while that the genre is still incredibly vital."

Since the release of Kingfish, Ingram has quickly become the defining blues voice of his generation. From his hometown of Clarksdale, Mississippi, to stages around the world, the young musician has already headlined two national tours (Fish Grease I & II) and performed with friends including Vampire Weekend, Jason Isbell and Buddy Guy (with whom he appeared on Austin City Limits). He was interviewed by Sir Elton John on his Apple Music podcast Rocket Hour, and recently released a duet with Bootsy Collins. In January 2021, Ingram was simultaneously on the covers of both Guitar World and DownBeat magazines, and graced the cover of Living Blues in late 2020. NPR Music says Ingram’s playing is “astounding…it’s almost like he's singing through the guitar.”

Ingram’s journey began in the 662 in the city of Clarksdale, in Coahoma County, Mississippi, just ten miles from the legendary crossroads of Highways 61 and 49. Born to a musical family, he fell in love with music as a small child, initially playing drums and then bass. At a young age, he got his first guitar and quickly soaked up music from Robert Johnson to Lightnin’ Hopkins, from B.B. King to Muddy Waters, from Jimi Hendrix to Prince, but all the while developing his own sound and style. He progressed quickly, making his stage debut a few months later at Clarksdale's famous Ground Zero Blues Club, playing behind one of his mentors, Mississippi blues icon Bill "Howl-N-Madd" Perry. Perry gifted the young musician with a new stage name, "Kingfish." He performed at the White House for Michelle Obama in 2014 as part of a delegation of student musicians from the Delta Blues Museum. By age 16, he was turning heads and winning awards, includin g the 2015 Rising Star Award, presented by The Rhythm & Blues Foundation.

In 2020, Ingram won five Blues Music Awards, including Album Of The Year, Contemporary Blues Album Of The Year, Best Emerging Artist Album, Contemporary Blues Male Artist Of The Year and the coveted Best Guitarist award. He also won four Living Blues Awards, including Album Of The Year and Artist Of The Year. In February 2021, Ingram guest hosted Spotify’s popular In The Name Of The Blues playlist, which featured him talking about and sharing some of his favorite songs.

On 662, Ingram creates contemporary blues  that speaks to his generation and beyond, delivering the full healing power of the music. No Depression calls Ingram, “a young bluesman with an ancient soul and a large presence in the here-and-now.” Living Blues says, "By any measure, Kingfish is one of the brightest new stars of his generation ."

Christone "Kingfish" Ingram represents the next generation of great American blues artists.  —PBS NewsHour

Ingram plays guitar with dramatic, searing tone and sure-handed authority. And that's just in the studio; he's even scarier live. —NPR Music

Christone "Kingfish" Ingram is the future of the blues, singing and playing with edge, verve and vitality. Stinging guitar...sweet and melodic vocals. —Guitar World

On Tuesday, May 11, Alligator Records recording artist Christone "Kingfish" Ingram releases his new digital single, 662. The hard-driving original song finds Ingram celebrating his Clarksdale, Mississippi roots. On Monday, May 10, 662 made its worldwide premiere during the 9:00am hour on SiriusXM's B.B. King's Bluesville channel, with continued exclusive airplay throughout the day. The song, co-written by Ingram and producer Tom Hambridge, will be available on all major streaming and download platforms beginning May 11. The number 662 references Ingram's hometown telephone area code, and is also the title of his forthcoming album, set for July 2021 release.

According to the 22-year-old guitarist, vocalist and songwriter, "662 is an ode to my roots, a nod to the area where I was born and raised. This is a track that encompasses how a small corner of the earth influenced my view of life and music. This song also points to the growth I have had since my debut album. As much as I have been fortunate to get 'Outside Of This Town' (the title of his breakout single from his 2019 Grammy-nominated debut album, Kingfish), I do want people to know that the '662' will always be a major part of who I am."

Since the release of Kingfish, Ingram has quickly become the defining blues voice of his generation. From his hometown of Clarksdale, Mississippi to stages around the world, the young musician has already headlined two national tours (Fish Grease I & II) and performed with friends including Vampire Weekend, Jason Isbell and Buddy Guy (with whom he appeared on Austin City Limits). He was interviewed by Sir Elton John on his Apple Music podcast Rocket Hour, and recently released a duet with Bootsy Collins. In January 2021, Ingram was simultaneously on the covers of both Guitar World and DownBeat magazines, and graced the cover of Living Blues in late 2020. Rolling Stone declared, “Kingfish is one of the most exciting young guitarists in years, with a sound that encompasses B.B. King, Jimi Hendrix and Prince.”

Ingram’s journey began in the 662 in the city of Clarksdale, in Coahoma County, Mississippi, just ten miles from the legendary crossroads of Highways 61 and 49. Born to a musical family, he fell in love with music as a small child, initially playing drums and then bass. At a young age, he got his first guitar and quickly soaked up music from Robert Johnson to Lightnin’ Hopkins, from B.B. King to Muddy Waters, from Jimi Hendrix to Prince, but all the while developing his own sound and style. He progressed quickly, making his stage debut a few months later at Clarksdale's famous Ground Zero Blues Club, playing behind one of his mentors, Mississippi blues icon Bill "Howl-N-Madd" Perry. Perry gifted the young musician with a new stage name, "Kingfish." He performed at the White House for Michelle Obama in 2014 as part of a delegation of student musicians from the Delta Blues Museum. By age 16 he was turning heads and winning awards, including the 2015 Rising Star Award, presented by The Rhythm & Blues Foundation.

In 2020, Ingram won five Blues Music Awards, including Album Of The Year, Contemporary Blues Album Of The Year, Best Emerging Artist Album, Contemporary Blues Male Artist Of The Year and the coveted Best Guitarist award. He also won four Living Blues Awards, including Album Of The Year and Artist Of The Year. In February 2021, Ingram guest hosted Spotify’s popular In The Name Of The Blues playlist, which featured him talking about and sharing some of his favorite songs. No Depression calls Ingram, “a young bluesman with an ancient soul and a large presence in the here-and-now.” Living Blues declared, "By any measure, Kingfish is one of the brightest new stars of his generation."