Ahead of his debut appearance in Ireland - at The Sugar Club in Dublin on Thursday March 12th - blues master Lucky Peterson talks to RTÉ TEN.
New York-born Peterson is known for his virtuoso skills in vocals, organ and lead guitar, and has gained a reputation as one of the greatest blues performers of the modern era.
Making his first record at the age of five, the now 50-year-old Peterson's career has spanned almost five decades, with his latest album The Son of a Blues Man released in June 2014.
He has collaborated with some musical legends, including Albert Collins, B.B. King, Bobby ‘Blue’ Bland and Mavis Staples. He has also performed on top US shows such as The Tonight Show and The Ed Sullivan Show.
Lucky Peterson’s live performances have further cemented his reputation as one of the most notable names in modern blues and his appearance at Dublin's Sugar Club promises to be quite an event.
John Byrne caught up with Peterson at home in Dallas, Texas. He's just had breakfast.
RTÉ TEN: Good morning, Lucky. You're making your first appearance in front of an Irish audience on March 12. It's taken you a while to get here!
Lucky Peterson: Yeah, well I can't wait to get there. It's my first time so I'm looking forward to having a good time.
You've spent your entire life in music?
I've been playing music all my life. From the time I can remember, from the time I was a baby. There's not a time when I have not been playing music.
You turned 50 last year. How do you look back on your time so far in music?
I'm happy to be a person that God chose to play the music that my father chose – that God chose to put the music in my father, who put the music in me as well. I have no regrets; I love what I do. I'm doing pretty okay.
This love of the blues was, as you say, instilled in you by your father. Can you tell us about him?
He had a club in Buffalo New York called the Governor's Inn, and he had entertainers like Coco Taylor, Buddy Guy, Junior Wells, James Cotton, Sam Lee, Jimmy Smith. Basically, everybody. Muddy Waters, Jimmy Reid, Howlin Wolf – everybody's been to my father's club.
What can fans expect when you come to play The Sugar Club?
What they'll get is a really good time. A really good time. I can't tell you what to expect because I work off the feeling of the audience. We don't have a set list. We don't say we're going to do this, or we're going to do that. We go by feeling.
You're more about the music than showbiz?
Yeah. But I'm all about the showbiz too!
Your last album, Son of a Bluesman, how's that going for you?
It's going pretty good for me. I mean, the blues is what it is . . .
But it's always going to be relevant – especially in these tough times?
The blues is the only music you don't need to hear, for it to work. It'll always work 24/7. 24 hours a day, there's somebody looking for some blues.
Gigging is a way of life for you – I'm sure you don't get home too often?
I'm not home that much, but I'm home now and I thank God I'm home.
Do you enjoy coming over to Europe?
I do. I just don't enjoy the long flights! The audiences are totally different overseas. They appreciate music overseas. That appreciate more than the United States – I think.
I find it that they appreciate it more, I find it that they appreciate even if you're not over there. Cos when I'm over there sometimes, I go to a jam session and see what they're doing over there, and they appreciate it for a jam session. They don't have a problem, clapping their hands, and dancing and all of the stuff like that, recognising that the musician is playing the music for them.
Over here it's like: 'Oh, well. Whatever.'
So I'm looking forward to coming over to Dublin. I think it's going to be a really good concert.
Lucky Peterson plays in Dublin's Sugar Club on Thursday March 12th. Tickets are available from Ticketmaster.ie
Here's the video for Lucky Peterson's I'm Still Here:
