Christone 'Kingfish' Ingram, Pushing The Blues Into The Modern Era

Enlarge this image

Christone "Kingfish" Ingram Laura Carbone/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

toggle caption

Laura Carbone/Courtesy of the artist

Christone "Kingfish" Ingram

Laura Carbone/Courtesy of the artist

When Christone "Kingfish" Ingram first visited World Cafe in 2019, we asked a simple question: "Is Kingfish the future of the blues?" The answer, it turns out, is a resounding yes.

His debut album was critically acclaimed, picking up numerous awards, including a Grammy nomination for best traditional blues album. He's also made appearances in the Marvel television show Luke Cage and in the massively popular video game Red Dead Redemption II.

Ingram is deeply connected to the tradition and history of the blues, yet is unafraid to push the genre into the 21st century. His recently released sophomore album, 662 — named for the area code of his hometown Clarksdale, Miss. — shows the 22-year-old guitar virtuoso expanding his sound to incorporate more rock, soul and gospel into his repertoire. Yes, there's plenty of guitar shredding to be found, but Christone's also honed another of his instruments — his voice — in a big way. Listen in the audio player above for World Cafe host Stephen Kallao's interview with the bluesman about his musical evolution and why he wanted to write a love letter to his hometown and some incredible live performances from Ground Zero Blues Club in Clarksdale, starting with the title track to his new album.