Grammy Nominated Bluesman Jontavious Willis Signs With Strolling Bones Records
Acclaimed rising bluesman Jontavious Willis has signed with Strolling Bones Records, the Georgia outfit helmed by legendary and recent Americana Lifetime Achievement Award winner George Fontaine, Sr. Willis will release his upcoming album West Georgia Blues this summer and will be touring across the world following the release.
“I am overcome with appreciation and happiness to start this partnership with the Strolling Bones family,” says Willis. “It’s especially an honor to be working with George Fontaine the same year that he earned The Americana Music Association’s Lifetime Achievement Award. Between their accomplishments in music and their presence in my home state of Georgia, it took no time for me to fall in love with the label. I am honored, excited and looking forward to sharing these new projects with them.”
“We are thrilled to be fortunate enough to add Jontavious Willis to the Strolling Bones Records family. I saw Jontavious for the first time at The Blind Willie McTell Blues Festival in Thomson, GA a few years back and was knocked out by his performance. He’s a wonderful artist, but he’s an even better person and ambassador for the state of Georgia. Can’t wait to get new Jontavious Willis music out into the world!” — George Fontaine Sr.
“That’s my Wonderboy, the Wunderkind. Jontavious is a great new voice of the 21st century in the acoustic blues…he can do it and more. So I’m just excited that he has a wonderful and amazing future and he’s got a great sound, and we are all lucky to be at this point when this man is starting to launch what is going to be an incredible and long career.” — Taj Mahal
Jontavious Willis is resolved in his mission: to reinvigorate today’s Blues with the spirit of the past. Inspired by a time when the Blues were plentiful and rhythm reigned supreme, Jontavious leverages his unique sound—a synthesis of his Georgia heritage and reverence for traditional Blues—to get the world dancing again.
In Jontavious’ hometown of Greenville, Georgia, Gospel music was just as much a part of his upbringing as Saturday morning cartoons. His family nurtured his burgeoning interest in music —first, by encouraging him to sing at their church and then by gifting him his first guitar. After jamming and experimenting on his own, his appreciation for the soulful sincerity of Gospel solidified into a passion for Blues. At age fourteen, a video of Blues legend Muddy Waters left him awestruck. The audience was electrified. The energy was inspirational; Jontavious wanted to learn how to play music people feel. He began to look toward the musicians in his community for guidance, and they shared their stories. In this way, music became his point of contact to the past.
Jontavious has earned numerous accolades, including a Grammy nomination, but maintains his goal of reviving this uniquely American art form and acts as a steward of its rich history. Performance and story are at the heart of this mission. A great Blues song tells a story, and the music sets the stage for its recounting. Jontavious is bringing those stories to audiences around the world from Eastern Europe to California, at festivals like New Orleans Jazz and Heritage and historic venues like the Grand Ole Opry.
Blue Metamorphosis, his acoustic debut album released in 2016, garnered rave reviews and won the Blues Foundation’s International Blues Challenge 2018 Award for Best Self-Produced CD. His Grammy-nominated sophomore album, Spectacular Class, sees Jontavious survey an array of Blues styles with lively ensemble performances. Jontavious tours major routes and festivals across the world, sharing his unique blend of time-honored yet modern, intellectual yet danceable Blues with all.
Jontavious’ new album was recorded at the famed Capricorn Studios in Macon, Georgia. Mixing traditional blues with the untamed sounds of a Juke Joint on a Saturday night, it all has the spontaneous, natural feel that lets Willis’s voice tell the story.
Jontavious Willis website
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