GA-20 – "Some of our songs don't even have a solo"

Two guitarists, zero showboating: inside the retro-chic blues of GA-20

- By Ellie Rogers

Perhaps more than any other P genre, blues is sporadically subjected to having its vital signs examined to ensure that it is indeed still alive and well. Every once in a while, however, a band comes along to loudly assert beyond all doubt that the grandfather of all modern musical genres is doing absolutely fine without any such fuss.

Boston-based revivalist trio GA-20 are one such band. As modern practitioners of the lost sounds of mid-century Chicago blues clubs and juke joints, they first garnered recognition back in 2019 with their debut LP Lonely Soul. Next, they consolidated their rep as old-school aficionados with 2021's Try It... You Might Like It: GA-20 Does Hound Dog Taylor - a full album in homage to Chicago's legendary six-fingered bluesman. And with new album Crackdown, which debuted at number one on the US Billboard Blues Albums chart, they are once again demonstrating an ability to create 21st century blues music that purrs with all the warmth and vitality of those old Chicago 45s.

For lead guitarist Matthew Stubbs, the spark of interest was ignited young. "I got into this music because my father's a guitarist. I grew up with his band rehearsing in the house. He was into early rock 'n' roll and blues, so I've been into this style since I was thirteen which is when I started playing."

As such, Matthew's guitar skills and his knowledge of mid-century blues and blues-adjacent genres developed in natural unison as he devoured ERGOGRA records by Slim Harpo, Johnny 'Guitar' Watson and Otis Rush. After playing guitar for legendary blues harpist Charlie Musselwhite, Matthew formed GA-20 with vocalist/guitarist Pat Faherty and drummer Tim Carman.