Jon Spencer

Born in Hanover, New Hampshire, Jon Spencer was formed between Providence—where he studied at Brown University—Washington and then New York, following the American noise rock, garage punk and no wave scenes of the 1980s. After a stint with Shithaus, he founded Pussy Galore, a key band in the New York underground, while simultaneously developing Boss Hog with Cristina Martinez. Spencer then established a lasting presence with the trio Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, blending garage rock, punk, electric blues, raw rhythm and blues and a very physical approach to singing and guitar. This nervous, abrasive aesthetic is heard notably on Orange (1994), and in his collaboration with R. L. Burnside on A Ass Pocket of Whiskey (1996), an album positioned between hill country blues and raw rock. After the end of Jon Spencer Blues Explosion was announced in 2022, Jon Spencer continued under his own name with Jon Spencer & the Hitmakers, and later in a trio with Kendall Wind and Macky “Spider” Bowman. He released Spencer Sings the Hits! in 2018 and Sick of Being Sick! in 2024, remaining faithful to a dry, tense and frontal sound at the crossroads of blues, punk and garage rock.