Music Samples

Immerse in the emotive lyrics, melisma and instrumental artistry that ranges from triumph, dirges, slap-happy and ironic turnarounds that are distinct to the Blues. Black Mountain Blues features a talent-popping line up of True Blues musician from the Blues Ridge and beyond.

We invite you to explore the soundscapes of our 2024 musicians below.

Black Mountain Blues Line Up on Spotify

SUGARAY RAYFORD

  • Grammy nominated, BMA Soul Artist of the year
  • BB King Entertainer of the year for 2 years running
  • Sharess the essence of Stax, gospel and rural blues
  • Owns the stage as he belts out the blues and R&B

COREY HARRIS


  • A prodigious guitarist, vocalist, songwriter, and bandleader
  • Honors Blues traditions with infusion of reggae, soul, rock, and West African music into his compositions
  • Shared the stage with BB King, Taj Mahal and Buddy Guy
  • Featured on PBS miniseries “The Blues”, directed by Martin Scorsese
  • Winner of the WC Handy Award
  • Multiple acclaimed albums. “Between Midnight and Day” “Greens From the Garden” “Mississippi to Mali”, and “Daily Bread”

MELODY ANGEL

  • The Chicago Reader calls her “the future of the blues”.
  • Multi-instrumentalist, singer/songwriter/producer. 
  • Relative of the late, great Otis Rush

MAC ARNOLD & PLATE FULL O’ BLUES

  • Played with James Brown, B.B. King, Otis Redding, Muddy Waters, John Lee Hooker & more 
  • Mac built the gas can guitar he plays.
  • Co-produced Soul Train and played bass on TV’s Sanford & Son television show 
  • SC Music Hall of Fame 2023 inductee
  • 2017 Alabama Blues Hall of Fame inductee

BOB MARGOLIN


  • Played in Muddy Waters’ band from 1973-1980
  • Chicago Blues Legend
  • Played in the original Last Waltz feature film in 1976
  • Won several Blues Blast Magazine awards
  • Multi-instrumentalist, singer/songwriter/producer. 

ARISTOTLE JONES

  • From West Virginia, and known affectionately as the “Appalachian Soul Man” 
  • Singer-songwriter who blends a rich tapestry of rural Appalachia with infectious rhythms of Black 
  • American music.
  • His music is a celebration of diversity, bridging the gap between rural landscapes and urban rhythms, between the past and the present, between cultures and communities

PIPER & THE HARD TIMES

  • Piper Green & Band are the 2024 International Blues Challenge winners.
  • Performance packed with charisma and flamboyance
  • Infused with gospel, the show is. incredibly rhythmically intense.

BIG RON HUNTER


  • Piedmont blues player known as the “happiest man in the blues”
  • Artist with the Music Maker Foundation 
  • A North Carolina native known as an early joyful participant in the early civil rights movement.

AARON WOODY WOOD

  • Cosmic Appalachian Soul 
  • Has been on the bill with greats like Alabama, Leon Russell, Southern Culture on the Skids, Santana, Pavement, and Ziggy Marley
  • Recorded with members of Big Chief Monk Boudreaux, Dirty Dozen Brass Band, Rebirth Brass Band, Larry Keel, and Trombone Shorty
  • Genre-bending Fusion of Blues, Rock and Soul

BIG AL AND THE HEAVYWEIGHTS

  • Originally formed in 1996 as the Unknown Blues Band with founding members Al Lauro, Warren Haynes and Rick Gergen
  • Has been inducted into The Alabama Blues Music Hall of Fame 
  • The Vizztone Label Group has released the band’s seventh recording of original roots music entitled “Love One Another” which has been nominated for Blues Rock Album of the Year by Blues Blast Magazine

E’LON JD

  • Progressive Soul artist, bass player, songwriter, and educator
  • Shared the stage with Belá Fleck, Members of Snarky Puppy, Victor Wooten, and Weedie Braimah
  • Currently the bass player is in the internationally touring band Jonathan Scales Fourchestra.
  • Burns up stages and warms hearts

ANDREW SCOTCHIE

  • Voted the #1 Rock Band in Western North Carolina since 2015
  • Soulful cyclone of a performer
  • Echos of Lightning Hopkins

KELLI BAKER

  • #1 Blues Rock record in the Roots Music Report
  • Band records for Bad Ju Ju Records
  • Features phenomenal blind guitar & harp player Noe Socha
  • From NYC, Kelli is a proponent of and strong participant in womeninblues.org.

ABBY BRYANT

  • Sultry Blues powerhouse vocalist
  • Captures the spirit of old Soul while emphasizing its youthful energy and fresh songwriting
  • Asheville based band brings a fresh take on Blues and Soul to an ever-growing fan base

WHITNEY MONGÉ


  • Americana Roots Soul singer-songwriter & guitarist
  • Spent 16 years as a street performer 
  • Has supported Ziggy Marley, KT Tunstall, Amy Helm, Allen Stone, & Big Bo
  • In 2018 released “Whitney Mongé Live with the Seattle Symphony”
More Black Mountain Blues Artists on SPotify

MELISSA MCKINNEY

  • 2024 International Blues Challenge finalis
  • Resident artist at LEAf Global Arts
  • Founder of the Women To the Front Festival
  • Artist curator for the Black Mountain Blues Festival

DEUCE ‘N A QUARTER

  • 2023 International Blues Competition finalist 
  • A well oiled machine, the band takes the audience from zero to 60 as soon as they start the engine
  • Lee Oskar Best Harmonica Player Award

WHITNEY MOORE


  • Best known as “Queen Bee” from Queen Bee and the Honeylovers, who have won the Xpress “Best Of Jazz” poll several years
  • Featured nationally on NPR and PBS Woodsongs,
  • Original compositions licensed for TV and film.
  • She specializes in classic swing/blues from the 1920’s-40’s in homage to great pioneers like Ma Rainey and Bessie Smith.

JOSHUA SINGLETON

  • Asheville power duo, originally from Memphis
  • Blues, Rock, excellent vocals, harmonica & guitar
  • They offer a wide variety of style and are loved by all

PEGGY RATUSZ

  • Veteran Asheville musicians
  • Hot buttered vocals and powerful fixtures on the WNC Blues scene
  • Original and traditional Blues, paying homage to the greats

CFG & THE FAMILY

  • Modern Blues and Soul and a nod to the past
  • Soul shouting vocals and a band to match
  • A Blues force to be reckoned with

ADI THE MONK

  • Originally from Illinois along the banks of the Mississippi River
  • Fell in Love with Blues in his early teens
  • Was a monk for 8 years, and lived in temples in India and Nepal
  • Now a full time musician based in Asheville, NC.

DANNY GARWOOD

  • On a mission to keep the Blues alive and pass them on
  • Shared the stage with Buddy Guy and Christone “Kingfish” Ingram at The Ryman Auditorium
  • Two time Masterclass alum of the Pinetop Perkins Foundation workshop led by Bob Margolin

MAMA & THE RUCKUS

  • Bio Coming soon

CEE CEE JAMES

  • R&B Los Angeles Independent Artist of the Year
  • 2013 SONG OF THE YEAR WINNER – Blues Blast Magazine
  • Combines elements of blues, soul, Jazz & Rock
  • Powerful storyteller, she exudes both her joy and pain