DK Harrell
Guitarist, vocalist and songwriter D.K. Harrell, one of the most formidable young stars of the current blues resurgence, sounds like no one else on the scene today. With his stinging, single-note string bending, deep soul vocals, and attention-grabbing original songs, the 27-year-old Harrell—a major draw at blues festivals around the world—is already in a league of his own.
Now, with his Alligator Records debut album, Talkin’ Heavy, D.K. Harrell cements his place among the leading voices of the new generation of blues players. This Blues Music Award-winning guitarist with a soul man’s voice and a well-earned reputation as a mesmerizing live performer delivers fresh, emotion-packed blues informed by the tradition he loves and played with the foot-pounding fervor of a revival tent preacher.
Talkin’ Heavy continually surprises with twelve instantly memorable original songs filled with Harrell’s biting guitar work and authoritative, church-born vocals. Produced by studio wizard and musician Christoffer “Kid” Andersen and recorded at Andersen’s now-famous Greaseland Studio, the album shows Harrell as a generational guitar talent with a wide-eyed vision and a street-smart singing style bringing life to the timeless songs he’s writing. He goes deep on the title track, taking a hard look at his surroundings before declaring, “the world is just heavy with the blues.” From blazing album opener A Little Taste to the proudly taking-care-of-business Grown Now to the feel-good groove of Vibe With Meto the foot-stomping closer Praise These Blues, Talkin’ Heavy is an affirmation of the sheer power of modern blues.
D.K. Harrell was born D’Kieran Harrell in Ruston, Louisiana in 1998. He first heard B.B. King at age two and responded by singing along. He sang in his church choir as a boy while continuing to be drawn to the blues. Films like The Blues Brothers, Cadillac Records and Raymade him eager to sing and play. He received his first guitar at 12, and by 16 was writing his own songs. Initially inspired by B.B. King, the youthful Harrell spent hours studying every video of King he could find, learning not just King’s licks but ultimately his tone, his finesse, his stage craft, and his band leadership skills. Harrell’s first paying gig was as an invited guest to the B.B. King Symposium in Indianola, Mississippi—where he played The Thrill Is Gone on King’s iconic guitar, Lucille—backed by members of King’s touring band.
In 2022 Harrell won the B.B. King Of The Blues Award for Preserving Traditional Blues Heritage from the Jus’ Blues Music Foundation. In addition to B.B. King, Harrell fell under the spell of blues masters including Albert King, Freddie King, Elmore James, Muddy Waters and others, and made their styles part of his musical vocabulary. His debut album, The Right Man, was released on the Little Village label in 2023 to rave reviews and wildly excited fans. Rock & Blues Muse said, “D.K. Harrell raises every roof in town…he’s a phenomenon coming across like a lifetime blues master…an outstanding singer and guitarist with a big-league presence. Amazing…he’s an absolute beast.” His massive, immediate success led him to win the prestigious Blues Music Award for Best Emerging Artist from The Blues Foundation.
Harrell has toured the U.S. and Europe multiple times, astonishing audiences everywhere he plays. People all over the world can’t get enough of D.K. Harrell’s high-energy and always unpredictable live shows. In 2024 alone he performed across the U.S. and Canada, and toured all over the European continent, with shows in Germany, Switzerland, The Netherlands, France, Belgium, Spain and Norway. Blues Blastcalled him, “The fastest-rising talent in the blues today…his stinging, single-note runs hit like a hurricane. His rich tenor swings like a pendulum. A new star is born.”
Joining Alligator is a thrill for Harrell. “I’m a huge Hound Dog Taylor and Koko Taylor fan,” he says. “When I was a kid maybe 15 or 16, before I really knew how to play, I sent Bruce (Iglauer, Alligator Records president and founder) some videos that were not very good. He got back to me with all kinds of encouragement, telling me to keep at it.”
Now, with Talkin’ Heavy, D.K. Harrell is ready to bring his new music directly to his fans and to his peers. He already has more than 20 festivals booked for 2025 and that number continues to swell. Using his expansive blues lexicon to create his own inimitable sound, Harrell is forging his own path with every performance he gives. As he explains, “The past gives a blueprint that you can add yourself to. I keep progressing by keeping all the genres in the mold. And I keep exposing my music to younger folks everywhere I go. I am hell-bent on crossing the blues over to a new generation of fans.” With a future as limitless as his talent, D.K. Harrell will be welcoming new fans to his music for generations to come.
https://dkblues.com/
Kevin Burt
For more than 25 years, Kevin Burt has been electrifying audiences throughout the Midwest dispelling the myth that true blues has no roots in Iowa. His soul-inspired presentation is unique, which consistently gets him compared to a range of artists like Bill Withers and Aaron Neville, with the ability to build an audience rapport that has been compared to B.B. King.
Kevin is a self-taught musician (vocals, harmonica, and guitar) whose smooth, warm vocal presentation sets a mood of relaxed exhilaration, with a welcome mixture of serious music and infectious humor audiences of all ages seem to enjoy. His voice and presence are powerful. His unique delivery ranges from the sweetest, fullest, juiciest come-on to the most playful growl. Though he performs between 325 and 400 shows a year, he holds nothing back night after night and audiences leave knowing that. Kevin has had some stage acting experience in his short career. His role as “Papa Gee” in an off Broadway play called “Klub Ka, the Blues Legend” had a two week run at LaMama’s Experimental Theater in New York City was sold out each night. It ran originally in Iowa City, and then in Washington D.C.. Burt also arranged all of the blues music for this play.
https://www.kevinburtmusic.net/
Selwyn Birchwood
Although award-winning Florida musician Selwyn Birchwood is firmly rooted in the tradition, the young guitarist, lap steel player, songwriter and vocalist sets a course for the future of the blues with his visionary, original music. Birchwood, whose band features the pulsating interplay of his blistering guitar with Regi Oliver's driving baritone sax, deploys a singular sound and style all his own. He calls it "Electric Swamp Funkin' Blues," an intoxicating mix of deep blues, blistering, psychedelic-tinged rock, booty-shaking funk and sweet Southern soul, played and sung with the fire-and-brimstone fervor of a revival tent preacher with a hellhound on his trail. Tastemaker Americana music magazine No Depression says, "Selwyn Birchwood reaches back in the blues tradition to launch something out of this world."
On his new release, Exorcist (his fourth for Alligator and sixth overall), Birchwood delivers the most far-reaching, musically adventurous album of his career. Exorcist was recorded in Florida and produced by Grammy Award-winner Tom Hambridge, with each of the 13 vividly detailed songs written and arranged by Birchwood. The soul-baring tracks all hit with lasting rhymes and unexpected rhythms. Each twists its own tale, ranging from the love-gone-wrong Horns Below Her Halo to the love-gone-terrifying Exorcist to the ripped-from-the-headlines escapades of FLorida Man and Swim At Your Own Risk to the autobiographical Underdog. According to Blues Music Magazine, "Selwyn Birchwood heralds a fresh, exciting new direction in the blues. Toe-tapping, hip-shaking, joyful and inviting...expansive and focused, exploratory and time-honored, but always original."
Live, Birchwood is a force of nature. His ability to win over an audience--any audience--is proven night after night on the bandstand. With his warm, magnetic personality, Birchwood is as down-to-earth as his music is thought-provoking and electrifying. With his band feeding off his energy, the 6'3" musician roams the stage barefoot, ripping out memorable guitar licks with ease, his soulful, rocks-and-gravel vocals firing up his fans. When he sits down to play his lap steel, he takes the crowd to a whole other level, with the music exorcising any bad times and troubles.
Birchwood, his father from Tobago, his mother from the UK, was born in 1985 in Orlando, Florida. He first grabbed a guitar at age 13 and soon became proficient at mimicking what he heard on the radio. But the popular grunge rock, hip-hop and metal of the 1990s didn't move him. And then he discovered Jimi Hendrix. "He was larger than life. What he did was mind-blowing." As luck would have it, just as Birchwood was learning Hendrix's guitar playing was steeped in blues, legendary bluesman Buddy Guy--a major influence on Hendrix--was scheduled to perform in Orlando. Birchwood was there, front and center. "I was floored," he recalls. "I completely connected with the blues. I knew this was my path, and I had to make this music." He dove deep, listening to icons including Albert King, Freddie King, Albert Collins, Muddy Waters, Lightnin' Hopkins and of course, Buddy Guy. "The flood gates opened," says Birchwood, "and at that point I started trying to absorb as much as I could."
At 19, Birchwood met and connected with veteran blues guitarist Sonny Rhodes, who was instantly impressed by the enthusiastic young guitar slinger. Within one month's time, Rhodes asked Birchwood to pack his bags and join him on the road. Rhodes took the young man under his wing, teaching him not only guitar and lap steel, but also how to conduct business, how to run a band, and how to reach an audience. "Sonny always said, 'Play what's in your heart.' I've never lost sight of that," says Birchwood.
Birchwood treasured his time with Rhodes but was adamant about completing his college studies. Rhodes, as a tribute to Birchwood's drive and talent, made it clear to the young musician that he would hold the rhythm guitar spot in his band open for Selwyn whenever he was available. Birchwood--through hard work and scholarships--received his MBA from The University of Tampa. Combining the musical lessons learned from Rhodes and his business acumen, Birchwood created The Selwyn Birchwood Band in 2010, featuring seasoned, veteran musicians who had chosen to play with the new kid--a testament to Birchwood's talent and leadership skills.
In 2011 the self-released, self-produced FL Boy helped the band land gigs outside of their Florida base, where they were already becoming local heroes. After winning the 2013 International Blues Challenge in Memphis (beating 150 other bands), Birchwood found doors swinging open. He took a giant step forward in 2014 with his Alligator Records debut album, Don't Call No Ambulance. Rave reviews ran in publications from Rolling Stone to The Wall Street Journal, from The Chicago Tribune to The San Francisco Chronicle. The album won both the Living Blues Award and the Blues Music Award (BMA) for Best New Artist Debut. He followed in 2016 with fan-favorite Pick Your Poison and, in 2021, with the groundbreaking Living In A Burning House. He won the coveted BMA Song Of The Year Award for that album's I'd Climb Mountains.
Radio has supported Birchwood from the beginning, with Living In A Burning House being his most successful record at radio to date. The album appeared at or near the top of every significant domestic and international blues chart, including #1 on the Living Blues Radio Chart. In addition, Birchwood had multiple songs reach heavy rotation on SiriusXM's Bluesville, while crossing over to AAA (Adult Album Alternative) stations, jam band specialty shows and tastemaker NPR Music stations, including acclaimed Americana influencer WMOT in Nashville.
The Selwyn Birchwood Band tours virtually non-stop. They have performed at The Chicago Blues Festival, Portland's Waterfront Blues Festival, The Mississippi Valley Blues Festival, The Tampa Bay Blues Festival, The North Atlantic Blues Festival, The King Biscuit Blues Festival, as well as on The Legendary Rhythm & Blues Cruise and Joe Bonamassa's Keeping The Blues Alive At Sea Cruise. Internationally, they have appeared at The Great British Rhythm & Blues Festival, Jazz a Vienne in France, the Rawa Blues Festival in Poland, the Moulin Blues Festival in the Netherlands, the Ottawa Blues Festival and the Montreal Jazz Festival in Canada, the Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland, as well as playing concerts in Spain, Norway, the Czech Republic, Ireland, Belgium and Mexico.
Now, with Exorcist, Selwyn Birchwood and his band are ready to get back on the road and deliver the new songs live to expanding, enraptured audiences around the world, lifting spirits while banishing demons. Asked what fans can expect when they see him, Birchwood replies, "My goal is to be sure you cannot listen passively. We're going to make you dance, and we're going to make you think." One listen to Exorcist will no doubt convert many new true believers: this is visionary contemporary blues written and performed by an endlessly creative, modern-day blues master.
https://www.selwynbirchwood.com/
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