Related Events

• 

  Artist Talks Featuring Crosstown Arts Residents

  01/11/25 @ 2:00 pm - 4:00 pm
• 

  Say It Loud: The Overlook Quartet

  01/16/25 @ 7:30 pm - 9:00 pm
• 

  Jay McK

  01/19/25 @ 7:30 pm - 9:30 pm

No Caption

Blues musician Ryan Lee Crosby will perform with George Sluppick (drums) and Grant Smith (calabash and percussion), with an opening set by Shaun Marsh.

Tickets: $10
Doors 7 pm | Performance 7:30 pm

“Ryan Lee Crosby plays the blues with such a fervor he makes you believe that the road to paradise goes straight through the devil’s music.” — Gästeliste

Ryan Lee Crosby’s sound “is an update on the ghostly, close-to-the-bone approach of Delta bluesman Skip James. But don’t be fooled — the legendary Burnside and Kimbrough clans are among his gurus, and he’s learned well.” — Nashville Scene

Ryan Lee Crosby is expanding a tradition of Mississippi blues, combining the Hill Country and Bentonia styles with sounds from North India and West Africa. The Boston-based singer-songwriter returns to the Southern US in January 2020, following his eighth tour of Europe and a sold-out show at City Winery.

In 2019, Crosby made several pilgrimages to Memphis and Mississippi to meet some of the most celebrated bluesmen in the Delta, including Bentonia blues legend Jimmy “Duck” Holmes and Duck Hill’s Willie Farmer. During this time, Crosby also performed at the Bentonia Blues Festival and Clarksdale’s Juke Joint Festival and recorded an album with renowned producer Bruce Watson at his Memphis studio. An accomplished guitarist himself, Crosby will perform on 12-string and lap style guitars, backed by Memphis’ own George Sluppick on drums and Boston’s Grant Smith on calabash. Crosby’s performance is an intriguing mix of improvisation, composition, and conversation that honors lineage, while staying true to his own voice.

River Music, Crosby’s sixth full-length album, is out now (CosiRecords Schallplatten/Knick Knack Records). Deep Blues (USA) describes River Music as “delightfully dangerous and menacing” and Terrascope (UK) deems it “excellent.” Keys and Chords (Belgium) praises the album as “hypnotic … a pleasant mix.” Rootsville (Belgium) calls River Music “intriguing … the blues seeps through the dynamic vocals and masterful guitar lines of Crosby.” Hippiesland (Germany) says River Music is a “life-affirming… an extraordinary collaboration in world music in the true sense.”

Crosby has been nominated for two Boston Music Awards and was named “Best Singer/Songwriter” in the 2006 Boston Phoenix/WFNX Radio Music Poll. He composed and performed the film score for the award-winning documentary Racing the Rez (PBS). Crosby tours Europe annually and select US regions, including recent performances at Mississippi’s renowned Juke Joint, Bentonia Blues and Deep Blues Festivals. He currently lives in Medford, Massachusetts, and performs regularly in the greater Boston area.