New release from world-renowned Chicago blues stars Lil’ Ed & The Blues Imperials made MOJO magazine’s influential list of Top Ten Blues Albums of 2016. Lil’Ed Williams, who recently guested on TBS-TV’s CONAN, hit #7 with The Big Sound Of Lil’ Ed & The Blues Imperials.
Blues & Rhythm writes, “What’s not to like about the raucous sound of Chicago slide guitar maestro Lil’ Ed Williams and his long serving trio? Great music that often seems spontaneous will have you bopping like crazy. Superlative guitar and piercing slow-burn slide will surely gain your immediate attention. Enthusiastic and passionate.”
Currently celebrating 27 history-making years together, Lil’ Ed & The Blues Imperials ply their musical talents with skills that have been honed to a razor’s edge. They have won many awards over the years, including the Living Blues Critics’ and Readers’ Awards for Best Live Performer and the coveted Blues Music Award for Band Of The Year. The Chicago Sun-Times says, “Lil’ Ed & The Blues Imperials are the hottest purveyors of bottleneck boogie to come out of Chicago since Hound Dog Taylor.”
The Big Sound Of Lil’ Ed & The Blues Imperials mixes smoking slide guitar boogies and raw-boned shuffles with the deepest slow-burners. Lil’ Ed Williams and his Blues Imperials —bassist (and Ed’s half-brother) James “Pookie” Young, guitarist Mike Garrett and drummer Kelly Littleton— deliver gloriously riotous, rollicking and intensely emotional blues. The Chicago Tribune calls Lil’ Ed “a guitarist extraordinaire” who plays “electrifying, raucous, pure Chicago blues.”