Buddy Guy and John Hiatt & the Goners

The title of Buddy Guy’s latest album says it all: The Blues Is Alive and Well. The legendary blues artist’s eighteenth solo LP and follow-up to 2015’s Born to Play Guitar showcases his raw and unadulterated sound, its fifteen tracks a true pleasure for aficionados and genre newcomers alike. “I got children and grandchildren who didn’t know who I was, but nowadays we can play outdoor concerts and see kids that are eight, nine, twelve years old coming to me and saying, ‘I didn’t know who you was, but I read what Eric Clapton said about you,'” Guy explains when discussing his mindset around the new record. “I’m always trying to make an album that someone accidentally plays where some kid hears it, picks up a guitar, and helps keep the blues alive.”

And it only takes one listen to The Blues Is Alive and Well to realize that Guy’s mission has been more than accomplished here. The record is arriving on the heels of a spate of high visibility for the 83-year-old performer: at the 2016 Grammys, he picked up a trophy for “Best Blues Album” honoring Born to Play Guitar, and that same year he hit the road for a U.S. tour opening for Jeff Beck. In addition to bringing the house down for a recent sold-out performance commemorating the closing of New York City’s B.B. King’s Blues Club and Grill, he recently appeared on David Letterman’s Netflix talk show My Next Guest Needs No Introduction. A truly restless and energetic performer, The Blues Is Alive and Well is the latest triumph in an already-legendary career.