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EG Kight, Proof You Can Stay True To The Blues And Not Go Stale

http://youtu.be/dLp7_B3XFms

EG Kight is called "The Georgia Songbird" because she comes from Dublin, Georgia, and she has a smooth, delightful voice. And yet Kight leans towards Chicago idioms that often have much harsher, huskier vocals than her almost gentle approach.

That is contrary to her Gospel upbringing, which usually features a belting overdrive in the vocals. Hence Kight gives us something a bit different that freshens up a style of Blues that can sometimes be formulaic.

Given a guitar by her grandmother when she was only five years old, EG Kight was still quite young when she saw Elvis perform. Her early years were most influenced by Gospel and Country, but one taste of Koko Taylor and she was hooked. Already a professional musician in her early teens, she began to shift from a combination of Gospel and Country to a far more Chicago influenced sound.

She began her recording career in 1997 and has since done seven solo albums, but is more interested in live performances and is equally at ease in a small club or on the festival circuit in both the U.S. and in Europe. I'd like to give her props for being a dedicated fundraiser, mainly in Japan and Mexico.

http://youtu.be/ANcySdgWVHU

She has played with many top Blues artists plus people from many other styles and has an impressive list of people who have recorded her songs. Her skill as a writer is illustrated by the fact that she's in demand at song writing workshops in Italy and Germany.

Award winning EG Kight may stray from some people's idea of what "real" Chicago Blues should be, but I welcome her kinder, gentler approach to the genre.

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