Austin, Texas-based
Black Joe Lewis is a contemporary singer and guitarist with a bent toward vintage blues, soul, and R&B. Backed by his band
the Honeybears,
Lewis draws inspiration from such legendary "shouters" as
Howlin' Wolf,
Wilson Pickett, and
James Brown, as well as smoother crooners like
Sam Cooke.
Black Joe Lewis released his debut album on Weary in 2007. Around the same time, his appearance at Austin's South by Southwest festival garnered increased fan and press support. In 2009,
Black Joe Lewis & the Honeybears released
Tell 'Em What Your Name Is! on Lost Highway, produced by
Spoon drummer
Jim Eno. The band toured relentlessly over the next year before reconvening at Austin's Public Hi-Fi studio with
Eno to record the even grittier follow-up,
Scandalous. The set contained an appearance by gospel group the Relatives on "You Been Lyin'."
Scandalous was released on Lost Highway in March of 2011. In 2013, Vagrant Records released
Electric Slave, which was simply credited to
Black Joe Lewis. While
Lewis was still working with his band, he'd grown tired of the
Honeybears tag. But
Lewis soon discovered that both fans and promoters imagined that its absence meant he was working as a solo act. After taking some downtime,
Lewis brought back the
Honeybears billing for 2017's
Backlash (his first album for INgrooves Music Group), which also found him exploring harder grooves and a stronger rock & roll influence. ~ Matt Collar