Zac Harmon

Hailing from Jackson, Mississippi, Zac Harmon carries forward the musical legacy tied to the city’s storied Farish Street district, once home to blues pioneer Elmore James. As a guitarist, organist, vocalist, and composer, he merges the classic soul-blues approach of Z.Z. Hill and Dorothy Moore with fresh lyrical perspectives, giving the form renewed relevance in the twenty-first century. His concerts weave together the full range of his influences—soul-blues, gospel, reggae, and contemporary blues-rock.

Early on, he supplied guitar for touring artists including Hill, Moore, Sam Myers, and McKinley Mitchell; in the early 1980s he relocated to Los Angeles to pursue a career in the industry. Beginning as a session player, he soon moved into songwriting and production, crafting material for Evelyn “Champagne” King, Freddie Jackson, the Whispers, K-Ci & Jo Jo, and the O’Jays. He also produced tracks for reggae ensemble Black Uhuru’s album Mystical Truth, which received a Grammy nomination in 1994.

Harmon’s first blues release, the live recording Live at Babe and Ricky’s Inn, appeared in 2002 and captured raw electric Mississippi blues; two years later came The Blues According to Zacariah. In 2008 a European edition documented a Paris performance at the Lionel Hampton Room under the title Shot in the Kill Zone. He joined the Northern Blues roster for the 2009 album From the Root. Across these projects his original songs stand out for their inventive themes and avoidance of well-worn blues or country tropes.

He next took on an acting role in the 2010 independent film Black and Blue. In his combined capacities as songwriter, singer, guitarist, bandleader, producer, and impresario, Harmon embodies the directions blues can take in the 2010s.