One of my favorite tunes off of Kenny Wayne Shepherd’s “The Way I Go” is Backwater Blues.

Written back in 1927 by Bessie Smith about a flood (some argue it is the great Mississippi flood but others will suggest her song was written prior to the great flood), numerous artists have recorded and performed this great blues tune…which brings me to Kenny Wayne Shepherd’s treatment.

Now I absolutely love the tone and style of KWS…many people see him as a disciple of Stevie Ray Vuaghan’s and sometimes the similarity is too close for the die-hard blues guitar fans.

Others will criticize him for his lack of singing…to me he is just a damn fine guitar player that has carried on the tradition of Southern Blues and continues to both stay true to the music and give credit where credit is due.

“When It Rains For Five Days…And The Sky Turns Dark As Night” – a great intro to a brilliant blues tune.

The song begins with approximately 1-minute of traditional piano treatment, then we get the slow burn of Kenny Wayne’s Texas Shuffle guitar, from there I would have to say this is one of my favorite KWS Band songs…

Here’s a performance – judge it for yourself:

Can’t wait to see Kenny Wayne and the band this July at Ottawa Blues Festival…a highlight for sure.
Have you caught Kenny Wayne recently? How was the show?