Photo: Jim Herrington
Robert Finley Releases New Single ‘Sneakin’ Around’
Today, Robert Finley released “Sneakin’ Around,” the second single to his highly anticipated fourth studio album, Black Bayou, due October 27 via Easy Eye Sound. Watch the accompanying music video directed by Andy M Hawkes, starring 69 year young Finley as the epitome of cool.
“Sneakin’ Around” is another chapter in the story of love gone wrong set to a funky, juke joint beat. Finley is charismatic and cool, as always, and his expressive style and entertaining presence make this one the song you need to hear today. His vocals easily command center stage and he’s still got some strong high notes in him when he chooses to belt them out. The accompanying music video is equally cool, showing off Finley’s singular moves and attitude. “Sneakin’ Around” is a great blues tune that will keep you dancing all weekend. Turn it up loud!
Watch “Sneakin’ Around”
Pre-order Black Bayou HERE
Finley recorded Black Bayou at Dan Auerbach’s Easy Eye Sound Studio in Nashville. It’s the fourth time the duo have worked together, although for this record they did things a little differently. Rather than write songs beforehand—as they did on 2017’s Goin’ Platinum and 2021’s Sharecropper’s Son—they devised everything in the studio, with Auerbach leading a band of some of the finest players around: drummers Patrick Carney (The Black Keys) and Jeffrey Clemens (G. Love & Special Sauce), bassist Eric Deaton, and legendary Hill Country blues guitarist Kenny Brown along with vocalists Christy Johnson and LaQuindrelyn McMahon—who just happen to be Finley’s daughter and granddaughter. They worked quickly, devising their parts spontaneously and getting everything in one take.
Black Bayou, is a portrait of North Louisiana from an insider who’s lived there all his life. It coalesces all of the vibrant genres bubbling in the bayou from southern soul, jazz, folk, blues, rock and roll and more. A vivid collection of songs that depict life in North Louisiana, with Finley playing the role of charismatic and knowledgeable tour guide. Tales include surviving the jaws of an alligator on “Alligator Bait,” a true story of his grandfather using him as bait to catch an alligator when he was a child. In all, a collection set to establish Finley as perhaps one of the last true bluesmen of our time and a truly original Louisiana storyteller who evokes the place and its unique culture for the rest of the world.
“It’s amazing to realize how much of an impact Louisiana has had on the world’s music,” says Dan Auerbach, “and Robert embodies all of that. He can play a blues song. He can play early rock and roll. He can play gospel. He can do anything, and a lot of that has to do with where he’s from.”
If Finley’s previous albums established him as a formidable blues and soul artist – overcoming losing his sight in his 60s to become a music star – Black Bayou Finley hopes will help put North Louisiana on the musical map and launch the next generation of stars. Finely still plays small clubs around the region—even the occasional nursing home. Rather than move to where the music industry is, Finley is bringing the industry down to Bernice and working to boost regional acts and has plans for a new local recording studio in the works. “We got a lot of good talent down here in North Louisiana, but nobody’s really done much with it.” Finley stated, adding, “A lot of people just haven’t had the opportunity to record—or even just be heard. It worked for me, so I might as well try to help someone else get discovered, too.”
Robert Finley website
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