TIP SHEET

He's played with and learned from the masters. Here are Christone "Kingfish" Ingram's best practices for performance.

- GARY GRAFF

MAKING MUSIC IS in Christone "Kingfish" Ingram's DNA. His mother, Princess Pride, was a first cousin of the late country music barrier breaker Charley Pride. Ingram grew up playing and singing in church in Clarksdale, Mississippi. while soaking up the region's rich blues heritage - not making any deals at the crossroads (at least none that we know about) but blending interests in blues, R&B, funk, and country, and performing shows by the time he was in seventh grade.

From there, it's been a non-stop ascent as Ingram, now 24, wowed audiences and older musicians alike. He played on Eric Gales' 2017 album, Middle of the Road, at the Chicago Blues Festival and on TV's Luke Cage. That was all before his own debut album, Kingfish, came out in May 2019, hit number one on Billboard's Blues Album chart, and was nominated for a Grammy Award. A second studio album, 662, came out in July 2021, and Ingram added stage appearances with Buddy Guy, Eric Gales, Samantha Fish, the Tedeschi Trucks Band, and others to his resume. Says Guy, "That kid is the future of the blues. He tells me that the blues is in good hands. 

Ingram's latest release is Live in London, a 16-track set recorded with his quartet this past June 6 at the Garage. As he prepared for its release, Ingram checked in with Guitar Player from the road (naturally) to share a few of the lessons he's learned about playing live during a career that's not that much younger than he is.

1. DON'T REHEARSE TOO MUCH... JUST ENOUGH

 "All the guys in the band are really seasoned musicians, so we try to get one or two rehearsals under our belt, not much more. It becomes like muscle memory: Once we put

2. BE PREPARED - BUT  STAY OPEN TO CHANGES