“I Ronnie Baker Brooks’ hænder har bluesrock aldrig lydt så medrivende. Soul har aldrig lydt så lækkert. Og bluesen har aldrig lydt så dybt… en af nutidens bedste livekunstnere.”
– Blues Music Magazine

“En monsterguitarist med overvældende teknik og lidenskab.”
—AllMusic

Blues Heaven Festivalen er begejstret for at kunne annoncere, at selveste Ronnie Baker Brooks er hovednavn på årets festival. Dette bliver hans fjerde besøg på festivalen – en præstation ingen andre kunstnere har opnået.

Blues Heaven-publikummet har gentagne gange efterspurgt Ronnie, hvilket gør ham til den mest populære artist i festivalens 18-årige historie.

Ronnie er kendt som en blændende guitarist, en innovativ og grænsesøgende sangskriver, og en intenst sjælfuld vokalist. Hans energi og publikumsvenlige personlighed gør ham til en live-performer, der altid holder sine fans i sin hule hånd.

Fredag den 11. oktober 2024 udgiver verdens største blues-pladeselskab, Alligator Records, det spændende nye album »Blues In My DNA« fra Ronnie Baker Brooks. Dette album, hans femte i karrieren, er et moderne og organisk mesterværk, hvor han integrerer sit unikke mix af rock, funk og soul i bluesmusikken.
»Jeg spiller bare, hvad jeg føler,« siger han. »Det hele kommer fra hjertet.« Han tilføjer: »Jeg voksede op med at spille sammen med min far, Lonnie Brooks, og lærte fra kolleger og blueslegender. Jeg så, hvordan Alligator Records skabte en platform for blueskunstnere som min far, der udgav otte albums på Alligator. At samarbejde med Alligator føles nu som at komme hjem. Jeg ser frem til at fortsætte med at skabe Chicago blues, som er en del af min familiearv og vores fælles historie.«

Ronnie Baker Brooks blev født i 1967 i Chicago og voksede op i en musikalsk familie, som søn af den legendariske bluesmusiker Lonnie Brooks, (som bl.a i 1980’erne udgav 0tte albums på Alligator Records).Allerede som niårig stod Ronnie på scenen og spillede guitar sammen med sin berømte far. Efter at have afsluttet gymnasiet sluttede han sig til sin fars band på fuld tid, og i 1988 debuterede han på Lonnie Brooks’ album »Live From Chicago: Bayou Lightning Strikes«.

I 1991 tog Ronnie på landevejen som en del af  The Alligator Records 20th Anniversary Tour Band, hvor han spillede med sin far samt andre bluesikoner som Koko Taylor, Elvin Bishop og Katie Webster. Denne oplevelse gav ham værdifuld erfaring og bragte ham også på scenen med nogle af de største navne i bluesverdenen, herunder Eric Clapton, B.B. King og Buddy Guy.

I 1998 dannede Ronnie sit eget pladeselskab, Watchdog Records, og udgav sit debutalbum »Golddigger«. I de følgende år udgav han yderligere to album, »Take Me Witcha« i 2001 og »The Torch« i 2006. Hans seneste album, »Times Have Changed« fra 2017, blev produceret af trommeslager Steve Jordan (kendt fra Rolling Stones og Robert Cray) og udgivet på Provogue-selskabet.

Ronnie har turneret verden rundt siden sine teenageår, først som en del af sin fars band og senere som leder af sit eget band. Hans rødglødende liveoptrædener har etableret ham som en af de mest respekterede kunstnere på den internationale bluesscene, hvor han har spillet på festivaler og i koncertsale over hele USA og Europa.

Sidste gang Ronnie besøgte Frederikshavn var i 2017, hvor han imponerede publikum ved at invitere den dengang 12-årige engelske guitarfænomen Toby Lee op på scenen. En videooptagelse fra denne optræden, fanget af den norske fotograf Roald Jungård, blev en internet-sensation. Videoen er nu blevet set en kvart milliard gange, og alene fra Jungårds Facebook-profil er den blevet delt over tre millioner gange og kommenteret over 220.000 gange.

Ronnie optrådte med sin far i 12 år, fik værdifuld erfaring og det er det vi bliver underholdt med lørdag den 9. november i Arena nord Frederikshavn.

Ronnie Baker Brooks – Blues In My DNA

Bio written by Marc Lipkin

“In Ronnie Baker Brooks’ powerhouse hands, blues-rock never sounded so outrageous. Soul never sounded so delicious. And the blues never sounded so profound…one of today’s top live performers.” —Blues Music Magazine.

“A monster guitarist with an ample supply of technique and passion” —AllMusic

“Ronnie Baker Brooks bristles with energy, inspiration, and selfconfidence.” —Living Blues.

Chicago guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter Ronnie Baker Brooks is one of the city’s—and the world’s—most undeniably talented and electrifying bluesmen. Ronnie was born into Chicago blues royalty as the son of legendary multiple GRAMMY Award nominee, Blues Hall Of Famer, and longtime Alligator Records recording star Lonnie Brooks. He is among the few contemporary blues artists who learned his craft directly from many of the genre’s icons, including Albert Collins, B.B. King, Willie Dixon, Koko Taylor, and, most significantly, his father. “I’m blessed to have played with and learned from the best.

I’m carrying them within me,” he says of all the legends he knew growing up and the journey he’s been on. With his new Alligator Records debut, Blues In My DNA, Ronnie delivers an up-to-the-minute, organic masterpiece. The album, the fifth of his career, is firmly rooted in the blues, with Ronnie incorporating his rock, funk, and soul into the mix. “I just play what I feel,” he says. “It’s all from the heart.” Produced by famed studio wizard Jim Gaines (who has made Santana, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Lonnie Brooks, Luther Allison, and many others), Blues In My DNA is a career-defining statement from Baker Brooks, with each of the 11 original songs its chapter in his ever-evolving story.

Blues In My DNA effortlessly moves from the funkified rocker I’m Feeling You to the not-quite-sanctified, old-school blues Robbing Peter To Pay Paul to the deep Memphis soul ballad Accept My Love to the epic, crowd-pleasing, guitar-driven Stuck On Stupid. The autobiographical title track, a song Ronnie describes as “a bridge between me and my audience,” is the album’s centerpiece, the passionate guitar solos underlining the lyrics’ story of triumphing over racism, poverty, and glass ceilings. “I ain’t complaining,” he sings, “I’m just explaining,” before declaring, “I got love in my blood, the blues in my DNA.”

For Ronnie, writing songs for Blues In My DNA was as fun and exciting as playing live. “I love writing as much as performing. I love watching an idea become a song, then a song become something people can relate to, and then sing along with. And I always keep it authentic to myself. Everyone can feel it and be familiar with it. I’m here to build bridges, not walls.”

Ronnie Baker Brooks was born in 1967 in Chicago. At age nine, he received his first guitar from his famous father and learned the instrument as he got older, sharing his time between playing basketball and focusing on his music. After high school, he joined his father’s band—as a roadie. He earned his way slowly up the ladder, listening, watching and learning. At one show, Koko Taylor pulled him aside as he was loading the gear into the van and told him, “You learn from your daddy everything you can. And one day, it’ll be up to you to carry the blues forward.”

Lonnie eventually allowed Ronnie to play bass with the band before bringing him on as his full-time second guitarist. Ronnie made his recording debut on Lonnie’s Live From Chicago: Bayou Lightning Strikes album in 1988. In 1991, he hit the road as part of The Alligator Records 20th Anniversary Tour band, backing Lonnie, Elvin Bishop, and Katie Webster. Each night, he’d join them, along with Koko Taylor and Lil’ Ed Williams, for unforgettable blues jams.

In the summer of 1993, Ronnie joined Lonnie, Koko and Junior Wells for the B.B. King Blues Festival Tour, traveling the country. He watched King perform again and again. One night after the show, King told Ronnie, “Son, I’m watching you watch me. You learn everything you can from all of us, especially your dad. He’s as good as me or better; we just have different styles.” Ronnie performed with his father for 12 years, gaining valuable experience and sharing stages with artists including Taj Mahal, Eric Clapton, Buddy Guy, and many others. During this time, his guitar skills continued to grow along with his songwriting and performing confidence.

Among the many lessons Ronnie learned growing up was to forge his own identity, to write his songs, to play his brand of blues and not to imitate anyone else. Willie Dixon taught him the importance of “delivering” the song, so the people know you believe it. Albert Collins, almost a second father to Ronnie, would say, “Take what you like from what we do and make it you.”

In 1998, when the time was right and with Lonnie’s blessing, Baker Brooks formed his label, Watchdog Records, and released three solo albums over the next eight years: Golddigger in 1998, Take Me Witcha in 2001, and The Torch in 2006. On all three releases, Ronnie worked with and learned countless studio and production lessons from JellyBean Johnson (Prince, The Time), with a positive response to Ronnie’s music coming from Prince himself.

In 2008, Ronnie produced and played on blues legend Eddy Clearwater’s Alligator debut, West Side Strut, helping to bring one of his mentors to a new generation of fans. His next solo album, 2017’s, Times Have Changed, was produced by drummer Steve Jordan (The Rolling Stones, Robert Cray) and issued on the Provogue label. The UK’s Record Collector magazine said, “Baker Brooks plays a heady blend of blues, soul, and funk…an upbeat cocktail of guts, groove, stinging guitar work, and soulful vocals.” The Blues Foundation has recognized Ronnie’s talent with six Blues Music Award nominations.

Among his many blues and soul mentors and friends, Ronnie has also worked closely with rocker Todd Park Mohr of Big Head Todd & The Monsters. The two friends have written, toured and recorded together, with Mohr and Brooks co-writing All True Man for Blues In My DNA.

Since he was a teen, Ronnie has toured the world, first with his dad and then leading his own band. He’s built his reputation as a white-hot performer one gig at a time. His eye-popping guitar work, soulful vocals, fireball energy, and huge, crowd-pleasing personality keep his fans on the edge of their seats. In addition to performing at both Obama’s presidential inaugurations, he has played at major festivals and concert halls across the U.S., Canada, the UK, and Europe, as well as in Brazil and China. He’s appeared at Denmark Frederikshavn Blues Festival (Now Blues Heaven three times), Poland’s Rawa Blues Festival, Spain’s Cazorla Blues Festival, Canada’s Mt. Tremblant Festival, The Tampa Bay Blues Festival, Memphis In May, The North Atlantic Blues Festival, The New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, and many more. In 2024, Ronnie, along with his friend and label-mate Shemekia Copeland, opened the famous Chicago Blues Festival (the 4th time he’s appeared as a headliner), with a roof-raising performance. Then, four days later, he helped close the festival out—along with Copeland, his guitarist brother Wayne Baker Brooks, and harmonica giant Billy Branch— joining headliner Buddy Guy at Buddy’s request.

Like all the great blues artists before him, Ronnie Baker Brooks has, through hard work, perseverance and gritty determination—along with his prodigious, natural talent and charisma—earned his place in the upper echelons of the blues world. Today, Ronnie Baker Brooks stands tall as a blisteringly innovative guitarist, an endlessly inventive songwriter and an intensely soulful vocalist.

Ronnie Baker Brooks may have been born a blues prince but never received royal treatment. “Dad set me up for today,” Ronnie explains. “He always told me to put the time in, study, practice, get better. I started my music career as his roadie. He wouldn’t let me play onstage with him until I earned it, and until he was certain playing music was what I truly wanted to do. I grew up witnessing and learning from the legends of the blues. I’m excited to continue to create Chicago blues as part of my family legacy  and our shared history. I’ll always carry on and represent the blues in everything I do.

Dad started the fire, Albert poured the gas on it, and Koko put the grill on.” Now, with Blues In My DNA, it’s time to feast.

Alligator Records, LLC