Robert Finley

“the greatest living soul singer” – Dan Auerbach (The Black Keys)

“I remember the first time my pawpaw took me down to the Black Bayou,” Robert Finley recalls on “Alligator Bait”. The talking blues number closes out his visceral and vibrant new record. The guitars pop and crackle around him, merging into a slow rhythmic crawl like an airboat along muddy waters. The seventy-year-old Louisiana native casts back in his memory for this harrowing story. Dressed in swamp boots and waders, the kid “stepped on a log and the log moved!” His grandfather shot the gator that snapped at him, but the boy quickly realized he was intended as bait. 

He’s a masterful storyteller. “Alligator Bait,” like the rest of 2023’s Black Bayou, is filled with immense complexity of emotion and humanity. The richness of detail, depth of character, the tragedy of betrayal, and the promise of forgiveness; are qualities that define great Southern literature.

Born and raised in small-town Louisiana, he worked as a carpenter for years. Meanwhile, he was playing blues in juke joints and singing gospel in churches around the region. Finley developed and refined an exuberant, omnivorous playing style. He mixed in southern soul, heavy rock, swamp pop, jazz, folk, and anything else that crossed his mind. At age 60, however, he lost his sight due to a medical condition. This tragedy ended his woodworking business but gave him more time to devote to music.

Over the last seven years, he has released three critically acclaimed albums. He even appeared on the fourteenth season of America’s Got Talent. In addition to touring as a headlining act, he has shared bills with The Black Keys and Greta Van Fleet. He has established himself as an energetic and uniquely charismatic performer, bringing his larger-than-life personality to the stage.

Recommended for Fans of Charles Bradley, Nathaniel Rateliff, The Black Keys and Leon Bridges

LEARN MORE: https://robertfinleyofficial.com/