Kingfish is getting canid.
Hot on the promotional trail for his most recent album ‘662’ and his subsequent tour, the GRAMMY nominee talked with That Grape Juice about the project, tour, his role in the upcoming Buddy Guy documentary, and so much more.
Join us below for his words on these topics and so much more…
That Grape Juice (Ryan): First of all, I want to say congratulations on your upcoming tour. You’re touring the US again. Things are opening up a little bit. So how does it feel to be able to be back on the road?
Kingfish: It’s sort of like a little sigh of relief. As you may know, we were down for a long time, but we’re back like we never left. And so far, so good. It’s really been a beautiful thing. We’ve been selling out the venues. It’s a really beautiful thing.
That Grape Juice (Ryan): What’s the best part of going on the road?
Kingfish: The best part is the fans, because, even when we were doing like the live stream shows and everything, I was happy to be back on stage and know that there were people watching. You need that. You need the ability just to connect with the people.
That Grape Juice (Ryan): And just to ask on the tour thing, too. Are you planning any surprises for fans, anything to kind of christen this new of era for your music?
Kingfish: Most definitely, most definitely. We have four amazing young women on tour. And you never know, they might pop in for a guest spot or two on the show most definitely.
That Grape Juice (Ryan): You’re bringing Rissi Palmer, Camille Parker, Maggie Rose, and Brittney Spencer on the road with you. What made you choose these specific four women to bring along with you?
Kingfish: For one, I was having to talk with my manager, and we just wanted to showcase these beautiful women. And not only that, we’re both in different genres, but we both share that same connection with America in general. So, we just wanted to blend those two genres together along with the country and blues and just see what we could do. And also, we want to amplify women voices as well, because you don’t see too much of that in today’s industry. So yeah, that was pretty much the whole aim behind it.
That Grape Juice (Ryan): Outside of this, what other things do you think could be done in the music industry by helping to get women out there?
Kingfish: For one, I’d like to see more black women involved in the Blues genre, as well. We have women who don’t get the same recognition, as the brothers do. And I plan to kind of, for lack of a better term, help out with that as well. Have more young women Blues sings on the road with me and whatnot, just to keep it going.
That Grape Juice (Ryan): You’re nominated for a Grammy Award at this year’s Grammys. It’s your second nomination, so congrats on that. What does it mean to kind of have this industry recognition now?
Kingfish: It means a lot for sure. Just for one, I never thought I’d be getting into this, this early in my life. I’ve been doing this for a long time, but I kind of felt like, I was still grinding in a way and that none of this would come when I’m like old and gray and whatnot. So, it’s a really beautiful thing to show, just to know that a young, country dude from Mississippi like me, hard work paid off and currently just reaping the fruit and everything.
That Grape Juice (Ryan): And representation probably too. You feel kind of validated too that, you’re this hard-working individual who’s now getting represented for the hard work that they’re putting in, into their daily life too. That probably has to help out a little bit too?
Kingfish: Most definitely, most definitely because I just want to show people that you can get somewhere with organic work, just working in the clubs. I can remember, like working in the clubs as a young musician, and being under tutelage of a lot of old musicians, and to just now going on the sliders, we call it, and just grinding it on the road and doing the work and talking to people and network and whatnot.
That Grape Juice (Ryan): Is that kind of some advice that you would give to these up-and-coming musicians too is just to put in the hard work?
Kingfish: Most definitely. It is going to be days where you may feel like, no one is listening, but you just have to keep grinding it out. And understand that nothing is going to come to you. You got to go out there and get into it. You just can’t wait for it to fall out the sky. And that’s something that I pretty much learned in the last couple of years, and so far, I’ve been trying to apply that. It’s motivation, if you will.
That Grape Juice (Ryan): I read in Rolling Stone that you’re involved in the new Buddy Guy documentary, can you tell me a little bit more about that, and your relationship with him?
Kingfish: I’ve always been a fan of his ever since I was young. But I really didn’t develop like a friendship with him until I had the chance to sit in with him a couple of times. And then, he paid for my first record, and I got a chance to go on tour with him. And that was kind of like my relationship with him. Even when I was on the road, and he was always a mentor to me. I would get a chance to see him before he played, and I would get a chance to go on stage with him and just get advice from him, things about the music business and the blues. It always has been like a mentor thing between me and Mr. Guy.
That Grape Juice: How has it been to be able to meet one of your idols and kind of form that relationship?
Kingfish: Honestly, I will say it’s breathtaking because I can remember back when I was in like elementary, and I’d be on YouTube and I’d be looking at all videos of him. So just to be around, someone that I used to study all the time. It’s just, I never thought it would have happened in a million years or so.
That Grape Juice (Ryan): I just want to say, your album 662 is not even a year old yet, but I just want to see if you’re working on any new music, and when fans can kind of expect that to arrive?
Kingfish: There’s a bunch of songs that didn’t get released. So, we got some stuff in the vault that we may or may not release on next couple of projects. I was on the hunt for different collaborations and everything. I got some things hopefully to come out soon. I can’t speak too much on that. But yeah, we’re always looking for new ways to release new music and whatnot.
That Grape Juice (Ryan): I just want to say thank you so much for doing this real quick with me. And I hope the tour goes well. I wish you future success. And I appreciate you coming on with us today.
Kingfish: No problem. Thank you for the opportunity.
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Dates for Kingfish’s tour can be found below and tickets can be found here. To stream ‘662,’ click here.
