#768- > Ryan Lee Crosby - At The Blue Front~ PhillyCheezeBlues.Blogspot.com

 

2025 – Ryan Lee Crosby
 
By Phillip Smith; August 30, 2025
 
Original source : phillycheezeblues.blogspot.com

 

I first heard the music of Ryan Lee Crosby while watching the 2020 Juke Joint Festival streamed live to the world from Clarksdale, Mississippi. Because of a pandemic, live performances were cancelled and the organizers of the festival put together a brilliant plan to have the artists broadcast their performances from remote locations. It really meant a lot to me to see and hear live music when the world itself was shutting down. Crosby is one of only two younger artists that I am aware of at this time who is carrying on the legacy of the Bentonia Blues. The other musician is Robert Connelly Farr. Both men have been mentored by Grammy-nominated Jimmy “Duck” Holmes, are exceptional musicians, and take this blues genre very seriously.

This newest release from Crosby, At The Blue Front features eight tracks recorded on a Tascam 22-4 reel to reel machine at Holmes’ world-renowned juke joint The Blue Front Cafe, located in Bentonia, Mississippi. With Crosby on vocals and 12-string electric guitar, he is joined by Grant Smith on calabash and percussion, and Jay Scheffler on harmonica. The recording is broken divided into ‘Side A’ and ‘Side B’ with the latter featuring the inclusion of honored guest Holmes on vocals and guitar.

Crosby has a rich talent for writing and expressing the blues. “I’ve Been Worried” and “Mistreating People” strongly stand out. His smooth and haunting vocals pair beautifully with his masterfully hypnotic guitar approach. To hear Crosby and Holmes join forces on “Catfish” puts a big smile on my face. I love the African-influenced beat supplied by Smith on the calabash. It lends a whole new layer to this traditional song. “Slow Down”, which also features Holmes, props the door open for the listener with its leisure tempo to fully enjoy all the individual musical cogs which keep the song moving.

At the Blue Front from Ryan Lee Crosby is a must-hear recording for diehard blues fans. This is as real-deal Bentonia Blues as it gets.

  

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For more info on Ryan Lee Crosby, visit his website at https://ryanleecrosby.com/

 

Read other PhillyCheeze reviews of Ryan Lee Crosby’s music at https://phillycheezeblues.blogspot.com/?q=ryan+lee+crosby

 

 

This album available on Bandcamp