Kenny Neal

Born in Erwinville, Louisiana in 1957 and raised in Baton Rouge, Kenny Neal belongs to the Louisiana blues tradition passed down by his father, Raful Neal, a harmonica player active on the local scene. Trained on several instruments from an early age, Neal played as a teenager in the family band before joining Buddy Guy’s circle as a bassist at 17, later refocusing on guitar, vocals and harmonica. After a spell in Toronto in the early 1980s—where he formed the Neal Brothers Band with his brothers—he returned to the U.S. South and launched his solo career with Bio on the Bayou in 1987, reissued the following year as Big News from Baton Rouge!!. His discography follows a steady thread through swamp blues, soul-blues, understated funk and Southern rhythm and blues, with albums such as Devil Child (1989), Bayou Blood (1992), Blues Fallin’ Down Like Rain (1998), One Step Closer (2001), Easy Meeting with Billy Branch (2002), A Tribute to Slim Harpo & Raful Neal (2005), Bloodline (2016) and Straight from the Heart (2022). Kenny Neal’s playing remains rooted in a warm, earthy blues, driven by direct guitar, a deep voice and prominent harmonica, in the spirit of the Baton Rouge and Louisiana scenes and the North American blues circuit.