Since the release of Kingfish, his Grammy-nominated 2019 debut, and 662, his 2021 Grammy-winning sophomore album, guitarist, vocalist and songwriter Christone “Kingfish” Ingram has become the defining blues voice of his generation. From his hometown of Clarksdale, Mississippi to stages around the world, the 23-year-old has already headlined three national US tours, performed at Australia’s largest music festival, amazed fans across Europe and the UK, and was chosen to open for The Rolling Stones in London’s Hyde Park. Kingfish debuted on the Billboard Blues Chart in the #1 position and remained on the chart for an astonishing 91 weeks. In addition to receiving a Grammy Award nomination, Kingfish was named the #1 Best Blues Album Of The Year by MOJO. The New York Times, Rolling Stone, Guitar World, The Washington Post and many other publications have shared the joy of their musical discovery with their readers. As soon as 662 dropped in July of 2021, fans, critics, and radio stations showered the album with praise. It also debuted at #1 on the Billboard Blues Chart where now more than one year later it still sits on the chart. 662 went on to win the Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Blues Album, won the Blues Music Award for Best Blues Album, and topped both the DownBeat Critics’ Poll and the Living Blues Critics’ Poll.
“The world was introduced to me with Kingfish,” Ingram says of his chart-topping debut. “With 662, I wanted the world to hear and meet a different, more personal side of me.” The album—recorded in Nashville and co-written and produced (as was Kingfish) by Grammy-winner Tom Hambridge—features 13 songs displaying many sides of Ingram’s dynamic musical personality, as well as his one-of-a-kind guitar and vocal skills. According to Ingram, “662 is a direct reflection of my growth as a musician, a songwriter, a bandleader, and as a young man. This album was written during the pandemic, shortly after I returned home from a whirlwind year and a half of touring and promoting Kingfish. It
was an incredible time of change and growth, moments both good and bad, and I am a better and stronger person for it.”
Since his 2019 debut, Kingfish has been nominated for a total of nine Blues Music Awards and has won them all. He’s also won nine Living Blues Awards. In July 2022, The Washington Post Magazine ran a 5000-word story on the young bluesman as Kingfish simultaneously appeared on the cover of Guitar World magazine. “Christone ‘Kingfish’ Ingram has already made his mark as one of the best, and undoubtedly most exciting, blues guitarists in the world,” the magazine said. Ingram’s journey began in the city of Clarksdale, in Coahoma County, Mississippi, just ten miles from the legendary crossroads of Highways 61 and 49. Born to a talented family, he fell in love with music as a small child, initially playing drums and then bass. At a young age, he got his first guitar and quickly soaked up music from Robert Johnson to Lightnin’ Hopkins, from B.B. King to Muddy Waters, from Jimi Hendrix to Prince, but all the while developing his own sound and style.
Sparked by his non-stop touring, writing and recording schedule, Kingfish’s natural talent just keeps growing. With his eye-popping guitar playing and his reach-out-and-grab-you-by-the-collar vocals, he performs every song with unmatched passion and precision. While his songs tell personal stories, they also tell of shared human experiences. With both Kingfish and 662, Christone “Kingfish” Ingram creates contemporary blues music that speaks to his generation and beyond, delivering the full healing power of the genre.