Q & A with Christone “Kingfish” Ingram
By Julie Wenger Watson
Born and raised in Clarksdale, Mississippi, twenty-five-year-old, award-winning blues guitarist and singer, Christone “Kingfish” Ingram, learned the history of the blues and the basics of how to play them at the town’s Delta Blues Museum, soaking up the music of everyone from Robert Johnson and Muddy Waters to Jimi Hendrix and Prince from the time he got his first guitar.
Ingram released his 2019 self-titled debut album at the age of 19, scoring much critical acclaim and his first GRAMMY nomination. His 2021 follow-up, 662, garnered a second GRAMMY nomination and his first GRAMMY win, along with a growing legion of fans. Ingram’s third and latest album, 2023’s Live In London, was nominated for “Best Contemporary Blues Album” at the 66th Annual GRAMMY Awards, and there seems to be no stopping this phenomenal musician. You can catch Ingram live at Cain’s Ballroom on Sunday, March 17.
With three albums and three GRAMMY-award nominations (including a win for 662 in “Best Contemporary Blues Album” at the 64th Annual GRAMMY Awards) at such a young age in a genre weighted with history, do you ever feel like there is pressure on you as a young blues player?
It definitely crosses my mind, but not like it used to. Anytime a person is lauded, there’s always some pushback because of the pressure and all the attention. I definitely think about that. In some ways, though, sometimes I feel like that’s my mission. It’s my motive. I try not to look at that as being a bad thing.
What music do you listen to, or love, that might surprise people?
I’m a lover of R&B, old school and modern. I pretty much love any style of music. One of the good and bad things is that I see the beauty in pretty much everything. I like heavy metal. I like classical. I like polka music. As far as my music, I want to be more in the R&B lane, but as far as just being a listener, I love everything.
It’s amazing when people can play like you do and also sing and write. When did you decide you wanted to sing and write your own songs?
It’s kind of weird. Before I started getting into the blues and learning how to play, I needed to just sing it, and that came from hanging around my mom, who was a singer. All my aunts and uncles on her side sang in church. Once I started to learn about the blues and became a sideman, I really wasn’t too keen on singing. Singing the blues was something I was pushed into in that frame. I used to be very conscious about my voice when I was younger. Like I said, I was kind of pushed into singing when it came to the blues, so I was very scared to sing, but now, it doesn’t bother me at all. It’s all a part of what I do.
It sounds like your mom has been very supportive of your career.
She was my first manager. We tried dealing with a few other people to be my manager, but they just didn’t work out. She got a lot of things going. She was able to book me on a few overseas shows and some TV shows, so even though she wasn’t technically trained in that area, she did her job well. She’s my biggest supporter, for sure.
What is your favorite kind of venue?
I love an intimate venue because for me, the smaller the better. I just feel like the energy in those types of venues is unmatched. Everyone is going to have a good time. I’ve made it to the big spots, but I feel like those are places where everybody’s uptight. I’m big on energy, even though as a musician, I have to understand that every crowd is different. For me, what I really feed off of is this energy. You get that a lot in small venues.
