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Critic’s Picks: Lil’ Ed & the Blues Imperials: New blues with an old soul

The Philadelphia Daily News described Lil' Ed Wiliams as "the liveliest blues showman alive, with an explosive, good-rocking guitar sound and the stage moves to match. Raw, gutbucket blues sure to get you up and dancing."
The Philadelphia Daily News described Lil' Ed Wiliams as "the liveliest blues showman alive, with an explosive, good-rocking guitar sound and the stage moves to match. Raw, gutbucket blues sure to get you up and dancing." The Philadelphia Daily News described Lil' Ed Wiliams as "the liveliest blues showman alive, with an explosive, good-rocking guitar sound and the stage moves to match. Raw, gutbucket blues sure to get you up and dancing."

By Barry Courter 2 min read

Riverbend 2015 online

Visit timesfreepress.com/news/riverbend to get complete coverage of the 2015 Riverbend Festival.

Tonight is the Bessie Smith Strut so blues is heavy on the menu, but sometimes we forget that “strut” is also part of the event’s title. Of course, the beer and barbecue are also pretty darn good.

Lil’ Ed & the Blues Imperials are the band to see tonight, though guitarist Jarekus Singleton is also very good. Really good, actually, so do a little strutting on over and check him out as well.

Lil’ Ed Williams plays a smooth, Chicago-style slide guitar, and Guitar Player magazine has called the group a “snarling boogie-blues machine.” They’ve been nominated eight times for Band of the Year in the Blues Music Awards and won the award in 2007 and 2009, while also taking home the Living Blues Award for Best Live Performer in 2011, 2012 and 2013.

When Williams and the band first auditioned for Bruce Iglauer, the president of blues-based Alligator Records back in the 1980s, they’d never been in a studio before so they just tore into the music like it was a live show. It worked and Iglauer offered them a contract right then and there.