Black Joe Lewis & The Honeybears (Austin, Texas)
Black Joe Lewis & the Honeybears have been laying down some nasty blues and funk since 2007. Esquire magazine had them as a top ten must see band at SXSW in 2009 and that same year saw them touring with Spoon and Okervil River. Their wild performances vaulted them into all the major festivals such as Bonaroo, Wakarusa, Outside Lands, Sasquatch, Coachella, and Bumbershoot. Their 2017 release Backlash saw them hit #3 on Billboards Blues chart and they return recently with their most subversive record to date: an exploration of the sordid trappings of ego, isolation, consumption, waste, and war. Sonically inspired by the Hill Country blues, cowpunk, and the southern soul of Stax, this album charts new territory with a heavy stream of lyrical consciousness. This is The Difference Between Me & You. The Difference is influenced by Lewis’ first decade on the road, embodying a deep repertoire of sounds drawing from the heavy grooves of Albert King, the punked-up blues of R.L. Burnside, and the soulfully layered horns of The Rolling Stones, it was a conscious step in a new direction for Lewis. And yes, in the bar scene of recent Marvel blockbuster The Eternals, that is Black Joe Lewis singing one of his most popular songs, Sugarfoot.