Luther Dickinson feat. Datrian Johnson - Dead Blues Volume 1 (2025) [Hi-Res]

While playing for Phil Lesh, I became friends with his son, Grahame, and we started booking shows called Dead Blues, a Phil and Friends offshoot that used the traditional blues and folk songs from the Grateful Dead catalog as a vehicle to bring new musicians from the blues and rock scene into Phil’s orbit like the Blind Boys of Alabama, Charlie Musselwhite, G. Love, JD Simo, and many others.

Dead Blues was a great concept for live shows but I never considered making an album until I met singer Datrian Johnson, one of the most moving vocalists I’ve ever worked with. John Medeski brought Datrian into the community, and we quickly became friends and collaborators, recording the songs on Dead Blues Volume I—reinterpreting the American classics.

The tracks feature North Mississippi Allstars alums Cody Dickinson and Rayfield “Ray Ray” Holloman, as well as old friends from Memphis: Paul Taylor (New Memphis Colorways) on drums, bass and guitars and Steve Selvidge on Space Funk guitar. I found that writing the music on bass (then adding keys and guitar) led the music down a funky, jazzy avenue, and Datrian worked his magic, reinterpreting the classic blues lyrics and melodies with his soulful vocals.