Bluesman Bobby Rush embodies the idea that you’re only as old as you feel. When he became more popular than ever in his eighties, he was consistently bringing his fans a live show - one as full of vitality as any you’d see from a performer a quarter his age. Rush doesn’t just stand there and sing, he really pulls out the stops for his ever-growing audience. When he’s not throwing emotion into his singing and harmonica playing, he’s cavorting with his female dancers, telling riveting stories and engaging in a give-and-take with the crowd that makes everybody in the room feel part of the evening’s event. With his crack band serving up Rush’s signature blend of funky grooves, soulful tunes and timeless blues, a Bobby Rush show isn’t just a concert, it’s an experience.

Bobby Rush Background

If Bobby Rush’s life were a movie, nobody would believe it was a true story. Born in Louisiana in 1933, he ended up in Arkansas, where he befriended blues icon Elmore James and played with legendary pianist Pinetop Perkins. When he made his way to Chicago during that city’s blues heyday, he was palling around with historic figures like Jimmy Reed and Muddy Waters. The wider world got a taste of Rush’s signature blend of soul, funk and blues (eventually dubbed “soul blues” by the media) with his 1971 hit “Chicken Heads,” which would have a second life decades later in the film Black Snake Moan. Rush’s first album was produced and cowritten by Philly soul godhead Leon Huff. Long after becoming a hero of the soul blues circuit, Rush relocated to Mississippi, and he eventually tapped into the Delta blues tradition with his 2020 album Rawer Than Raw. But before that, he won his first-ever Grammy at age 83 for his funky, retro-soul album Porcupine Meat, proving his appeal is truly timeless.