SOMETHING IN THE WATER

Hailing from Clarksdale, Mississippi, Christone "Kingfish" Ingram is a born and bred blues guitarist. Just don't call him a purist.

- JOE BOSSO

CHRISTONE "KINGFISH" INGRAM WASN'T EVEN OLD ENOUGH TO BUY A BEER WHEN HE WAS HAILED AS "THE FUTURE OF THE BLUES."

And damn if he hasn't lived up to that billing. His smashing 2019 debut, Kingfish, was that rare thing in music - the arrival of a devastatingly talented, fully formed young artist, seemingly from nowhere. But in Ingram's case, his point of origin was Clarksdale, Mississippi, a town often cited as the birthplace of the Mississippi Delta Blues, so perhaps that holds an explanation for his preternatural abilities: There was something in the water.

Two years later, Ingram proved he was no fluke when he delivered an even stronger set, 662, on which he widened his musical net in surprising and thrilling ways while maintaining his earnest commitment to the blues. Nominated for a Grammy the first time around, Ingram won the award for Best Contemporary Blues Album for 662 at last year's ceremony.

"Sometimes I think this is all happening to someone else," Ingram says with a good-natured laugh. "When they called my name at the Grammys, I was like, What? I don't believe it. I've got to tell you, that was a long walk to the stage. But a happy one." For the first six months following 662's release, Ingram was more or less sidelined from performing due to national COVID restrictions. Now that he's back on the road, his shows feel like victory laps.