Keb' Mo'

Guitarist and singer Keb' Mo' leans on the classic country-blues approach pioneered by Robert Johnson yet refreshes it through contemporary soul accents and narrative-driven folk elements. Equally at ease leading a group or supporting others, he composes most of his songs and has lent his acoustic, electric, and slide guitar talents to jazz- and rock-leaning ensembles. The 1994 solo debut Keb' Mo' earned widespread praise and commercial traction by updating traditional blues forms, while the easygoing yet purposeful 2006 release Suitcase stayed grounded in acoustic textures. TajMo, issued in 2017, paired Keb' Mo' with the similarly distinctive acoustic blues performer Taj Mahal, and the robust 2019 album Oklahoma featured appearances by Mahal, Rosanne Cash, Robert Randolph, and additional guests; both projects secured Grammy Awards. His 2022 effort Good to Be... demonstrated that high-profile collaborators were unnecessary for sustaining a soulful, unhurried feel.

Kevin Moore entered the world in Los Angeles to parents whose roots lay in the South, where gospel sounds reached him early on. At age twenty-one he entered an R&B outfit that Papa John Creach later booked for a tour, resulting in Moore’s contributions to three of Creach’s recordings. Supporting jazz and rock acts such as the Mahavishnu Orchestra, Jefferson Starship, and Loggins & Messina further expanded his musical perspective and technical range.

In 1980 Moore issued the R&B-focused solo album Rainmaker on Casablanca, a label that soon ceased operations. Three years later he joined Monk Higgins’ group on guitar, encountering several blues players whose collective influence deepened his grasp of the idiom. He next became part of the vocal ensemble the Rose Brothers and performed throughout Los Angeles. During 1990 Moore portrayed a Delta blues musician in the local production Rabbit Foot and subsequently embodied Robert Johnson in the documentary-style film Can't You Hear the Wind Howl? His self-titled debut as Keb' Mo' arrived in 1994, containing two Robert Johnson interpretations, eleven compositions written or co-written by Moore, plus his guitar and banjo playing.

On the follow-up Just Like You, Keb' Mo' expanded his palette by enlisting a complete band and addressing several rock-leaning tracks. The risk succeeded, bringing him his initial Grammy Award. Slow Down arrived in 1998 and captured another Grammy, after which Door appeared in 2000. Big Wide Grin came out in 2001, and 2004 brought both Keep It Simple—another Grammy winner—and Peace...Back by Popular Demand. Suitcase surfaced in 2006 via Red Ink Records. Five years afterward, in 2011, the self-produced The Reflection marked the inaugural release on his Yolabelle International imprint and included contributions from India.Arie, Vince Gill, Dave Koz, Marcus Miller, Mindi Abair, and David T. Walker. The set performed strongly, reaching number two on Billboard’s Top Blues Albums chart and earning a Grammy nomination for Best Blues Album. Keb' Mo' continued with BLUESAmericana, released in spring 2014. The live recording That Hot Pink Blues Album, captured during the BLUESAmericana tour, emerged in spring 2016.

Keb' Mo' joined Taj Mahal in 2017 to emphasize the upbeat dimension of the blues on TajMo, which received a Grammy for Best Contemporary Blues Album. He returned in June 2019 with Oklahoma, a wide-ranging and socially aware collection issued on Concord Records that debuted at number two on the national blues charts and later won a Grammy for Best Americana Album. In October 2019 he delivered his first holiday project, Moonlight, Mistletoe, And You.

Good to Be..., an album that revisited the unhurried grooves of The Reflection, surfaced in early 2022. ~ Steve Huey