Born in New Orleans on October 14, 1957, Kenny Neal grew up immersed in the Baton Rouge blues scene as the son of harpist Raful Neal, whose circle included Buddy Guy and Slim Harpo—the latter handing three-year-old Kenny his first harmonica. By age thirteen the younger Neal was performing in his father’s band, and at seventeen he took up bass for Buddy Guy. A move to Toronto saw him assemble the Neal Brothers Blues Band with several of his siblings (brother Noel would later anchor the rhythm section for James Cotton, while five other Neal brothers pursued careers in various groups), before he returned to the United States.
One of the leading contemporary voices in R&B-infused Baton Rouge swamp blues, Neal established himself as a second-generation Louisiana guitarist, harmonica player, singer, and songwriter. His first recording, the independently released Bio on the Bayou, appeared in 1987 under Florida producer Bob Greenlee on Kingsnake Records. Alligator Records soon picked up the album, reissuing it as Big News from Baton Rouge!! and thereby broadening his audience. The guitarist’s explosive stage presence quickly translated into packed solo dates and festival bookings.
After four albums for Alligator between 1989 and 1994, Neal shifted to Telarc’s blues imprint for Blues Fallin’ Down Like Rain in 1998, followed by What You Got in 2000 and One Step Closer in 2001. He rejoined Alligator in 2004 for the fiery Double Take. A 1991 Broadway run in Mule Bone earned acclaim when he delivered acoustic settings of Langston Hughes poetry scored by Taj Mahal. Further projects included the 2003 collaboration Easy Meeting with Billy Branch, the globally praised 2005 tribute A Tribute to Slim Harpo and Raful Neal on True Life Entertainment, and the self-released Kenny Neal & His Mississippi Saxophone on Booga Music in 2011.
In 2008 Neal joined Blind Pig for Let Life Flow, which reached number eight on the national blues charts and stayed on the list for six weeks. A second Blind Pig set, Hooked on Your Love, arrived in 2010, and the retrospective Favorites appeared in 2012. Cleopatra issued his first holiday collection, I’ll Be Home for Christmas, in 2015, then released the Grammy-nominated Bloodline the following year. Munck Music documented Live at Jazzfest 2018. In 2019 Neal contributed to the all-star tribute The Soul of the King by the B.B. King Blues Band on Ruf Records, sharing sessions with Taj Mahal, Joe Louis Walker, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, and Michael Lee. His first solo Ruf album, Straight from the Heart, emerged in May 2022.
