Guy Davis can tell a story. After a life on the road as a GRAMMY and Tony Award nominated blues musician, significant experience as an Emmy Award winning actor, and growing up the son of acting stars Ossie Davis and Ruby Dee, he has plenty to tell. In 2013, Davis teamed up with Alvin Youngblood Hart and Corey Harris for an acoustic blues record Fight On! Last week, they reunited to release the long-awaited follow-up, Fight On! True Blues Vol. 2. It’s a collection of mostly Delta-blues sounding front porch story songs, some ancient covers from Elizabeth Cotton, Charley Patton, Rev. Gary Davis, and Fred McDowell and some originals written in that throwback style. “See Me When You Can” is a dark, bittersweet song Davis wrote about being on the road and away from his beloved grandmother when she was in her waning years. He’s not afraid to tackle truly blue issues, whether they be personal or societal.
Davis is the kind of artist that cannot be contained by one genre. In 2022, he launched related sister projects. The play Sugarbelly and Other Tales My Father Told Me includes some, but not all of the songs from the terrific traditional blues album The Legend of Sugarbelly. In 2023, Guy contributed to the soundtrack of the successful Broadway revival of Purlie Victorious, which was written by and starred his father back in 1961. Leslie Odom, Jr. played the title role in the revival.
So, what does a blues man do now? He hits the road. We caught up with him last week in Scotland, in the middle of a European tour. He returns to the States for a Bob Dylan tribute show in Warwick, NY on May 23 and other domestic shows before returning to Europe in October. Davis is an ambassador of blues and roots music, playing solo shows, doing children’s programming, and playing in other configurations. At the heart of his art is storytelling. He senses that in the technology and A.I. age, people ache for authentic live music and connection. He’ll be out there on the road to provide it.
Watch the full video interview, which covers many topics, including his mentors the Seeger brothers, his upbringing, and more.
