Guitarist, singer, and songwriter Susan Tedeschi belongs to a fresh wave of blues artists intent on sustaining the genre’s vitality through ongoing reinvention. Her concerts freely weave classic R&B, blues, and gospel-tinged originals rather than adhering to conventional urban-blues formats, revealing a youthful, spirited vocal presence whose instincts exceed her chronological age.
She began performing at age four in local choirs and theater productions in Norwell, a southern suburb of Boston. By thirteen she was fronting regional groups, later enrolling at the Berklee College of Music where she refined her guitar technique and performed with the Reverence Gospel Ensemble. After graduating in 1991 she launched her first blues band alongside vocalist-guitarist Adrienne Hayes, whom she had met at the House of Blues in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Bonnie Raitt, Janis Joplin, and Boston-area singer Toni Lynn Washington served as her chief inspirations; she even secured Washington’s backing musicians for early dates when that ensemble was otherwise free. The group quickly matured within Boston’s active blues circuit, securing slots at major festivals. Original guitarist and co-vocalist Hayes eventually departed to focus on solo work, with guitarist Sean Costello stepping in.
The Susan Tedeschi Band issued its debut album, Just Won't Burn, on Boston-based Tone-Cool Records in early 1998. The recording featured guitarist Costello, bassist Jim Lamond, and drummer Tom Hambridge, with Hayes also appearing. The set mixed original material with a luminous reading of John Prine’s “Angel from Montgomery,” Ruth Brown’s “Mama, He Treats Your Daughter Mean,” and Junior Wells’ “Little by Little.” The aptly named Wait for Me arrived in 2002, followed two years later by the CD and DVD Live from Austin TX. In 2005 Tedeschi moved to the Verve Forecast label for Hope and Desire, then delivered the acclaimed Back to the River. Seeking greater time with husband Derek Trucks—who fronted his own ensemble and served as guitarist for the Allman Brothers Band—and their children, the couple assembled the eleven-piece soul-blues outfit the Tedeschi-Trucks Band. The group included brothers Oteil and Kofi Burbridge on bass and keyboards, along with drummers Tyler Greenwell and J.J. Johnson. Signed to Sony’s Masterworks imprint, the ensemble released its first album, Revelator, in June 2011.
