The Nugget Newspaper - News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon

Young blues sensation Christone “Kingfish” Ingram will be returning to the stage for the Sisters Rhythm & Brews Festival at the end of July.

“Kingfish” — his nickname given to him by his guitar teacher — came to the Sisters Folk Festival four years ago when he first started out at 16 years old. Now 20, he has taken the blues world by storm. Rolling Stone magazine asks: “Is Christone ‘Kingfish’ Ingram the future of the blues? The blues savior is one of the most exciting young guitarists in years, with a sound that encompasses B.B. King, Jimi Hendrix, and Prince.”

Ingram first started to have an interest in music at 3 years old, and learned guitar at 8. He had a huge gospel influence growing up in Clarksdale, Mississippi, with his aunts performing in the church choir. He lived next door to a blues band growing up and knew he loved it. He learned the blues form at the Delta Blues museum in Mississippi by Bill “Howl-N-Madd” Perry. Perry gifted the young musician with a new stage name: Kingfish. The young bluesman performed at the White House for Michelle Obama in 2014 as part of a delegation of young blues musicians from the museum.

“I love the storytelling that blues music is, it tells stories about life and showing raw emotion,” he told The Nugget.

Kingfish always wanted to tell those stories.

“I think if I didn’t do music it would’ve had a bad effect on me if I was just pushed into life,” he said.

Growing up in Mississippi, the influence of the blues was everywhere and he was able to play in clubs and restaurants around his hometown. He played all around for many years and then one of his videos went viral and he started to build up a fan base around the state and eventually the nation.

“Playing around there led to a new experience, and it all happened really fast. I knew it was something that I wanted to do in my life, I just didn’t know it would happen that fast,” he said.

As stated by his website: “Kingfish has shared stages with Buddy Guy, Tedeschi Trucks Band, Robert Randolph, Guitar Short, Eric Gales and many others. He has befriended rock stars from Nikki Sixx to Dave Grohl. Since graduating high school, Kingfish has continued his life on the road.”

He released his first full-length debut album, entitled “Kingfish,” a few months ago. His album is original songs, and he performs a mix of his originals and covers in his shows.

“I like to write about life experiences, and my life background is in the album,” he said. “It is exciting and nerve-wracking to have it out there, and I didn’t know how well it would be received, but it’s been great so far.”

Kingfish performed at the Sisters Folk Festival in 2015 at the age of 16, with his mother still acting as his manager. He had a great experience playing on the West Coast.

“I am really big into nature, and I got to see all the animals and trees and that was really great,” he said. “The festival overall was amazing and the hospitality was great as well.”

Christone “Kingfish” Ingram will be performing as part of the Sisters Rhythm & Brews Festival on Saturday, July 27, at the Village Green stage. Day passes are still available for purchase online at http://

bit.ly/SistersRhythmBrews.