As Alastair Greene’s prolific and acclaimed career rounds the corner into a third decade, he finds himself arriving at a new, yet familiar destination. Following a 2018 live album that celebrated the 20th anniversary of his noteworthy Alastair Greene Band, the singer-songwriter/guitarist returns with an inspired solo collection, “The New World Blues”, and a tonic for these times. “I’m not a prophet by any stretch of the imagination,” Greene says. “But, this record is even more relevant now than when I wrote it in 2019. A much in-demand guitarist and vocalist, Greene traveled the world, touring with the legendary Alan Parsons Live Project from 2010 – 2017, as well as stints with Starship featuring Mickey Thomas and, most recently, Blues Music Award-winner Sugaray Rayford. His work with Parsons, in particular, sparked a conversation with renowned multi-instrumentalist and producer Tab Benoit at a Las Vegas blues festival. In 2019, Greene signed with Benoit’s Whiskey Bayou Records label.
I had the opportunity to catch up with Alastair ahead of the August 11th show along with Tab Benoit here in Madison at The Barrymore Theater.. We painted a brief picture of what is to be expected when he hits the stage. Believe me, if you are fans of Tab Benoit, you’ll want to pay attention to this. We spend a good amount of time talking about the album that came out late last year that he is touring on the back of “The New World Blues” and how it was recorded and where some of the songs originated from and how the openness of working with Tab opened new sonic doors, thus created an album of songs that have a feel of each artist within it. Alastair was also kind enough to think of a few artists he might build a set around one of the tracks off this brilliant album, to me that list could really extend all over that bluesy/rocksy scene and well beyond. Check out the show, check out the album and feel this music for yourself.
