Altered Five Blues Band - Testifyin' EP (2024)

Altered Five Blues Band has unveiled plans for its highly anticipated new EP, Testifyin’. The 5-song, digital-exclusive release is set for March 22, 2024 on all streaming and download services. The hip Milwaukee quintet is known for its strong brew of tough, original blues and hard-hitting live shows.

Testifyin’ is A5’s seventh studio recording, and the title sums up the message of songs like “You Can’t Win (If It Ain’t Within’),” “I’ve Got the Scars to Prove It,” and the lead single, “Don’t Tell Me I Can’t.” After 22 years on the blues scene, the band has learned a lot about perseverance and determination. Harmonica ace Jason Ricci is featured on “Brand New Bone” and “Whiskey Got Me Married,” and producer Tom Hambridge (Buddy Guy, Susan Tedeschi, Kingfish) once again led the sessions.

The new EP kicks hard like the four award-winning records preceding it. Cryin’ Mercy nabbed “Best Self-Released Album” at the International Blues Challenge in 2015. Charmed & Dangerous garnered "Song of the Year" at the Independent Music Awards and Wisconsin Music Awards in 2018. Guitar World magazine called the title track a “menacing, swampy blues" and it was in regular rotation on SiriusXM’s Bluesville in addition to many other programs and playlists. In 2019, Ten Thousand Watts reached #10 on the Billboard Blues Chart, hit #1 on both the iTunes and Amazon blues charts, while "Great Minds Drink Alike" captured first place in the blues category of the International Songwriting Competition. Holler If You Hear Me debuted at #3 on the Billboard Blues Chart and received three Blues Music Award nominations, including Album of the Year and Song of the Year. Their vinyl LP featured "Great Minds Drink Alike (With Horns)" which also received a BMA nod for Song of the Year.