Jarekus Singleton makes his first appearance on Mountain Stage, recorded live at the Culture Center Theater in Charleston, W.Va. If there is indeed a full-on new wave of electric blues music, the 31-year-old may well be at its forefront. Equally rooted in rap, rock and blues, Singleton hails from Mississippi, where he grew up in a family that played and sang gospel music.
Fast-forward a couple decades, and Singleton counts everyone from Freddie King to Jay Z to Brad Paisley as influences on his songwriting and incendiary guitar work. He's also praised for his modern and deeply personal lyrics — the autobiographical song "I Refuse To Lose" tells the story of how his successful basketball career was abruptly ended by an injury, bringing him back to his musical heritage.
Here, Singleton is backed by bassist Ben Sterling, keyboard player Sam Brady and drummer John Blackmon.
SET LIST
Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.