• SumoMe

Patrick Sweany

“Them Shoes”

I’m not sure what’s in the water in Ohio, but the blues are definitely alive and well up there. Patrick Sweany, along with The Black Keys, is one of the best modern bluesmen still living. In fact, Dan Auerbach of The Black Keys helped produce Sweany’s 2007 album and used to play guitar for his band.

Sweany is a self-proclaimed “musical omnivore, devouring every popular music sound of the last 70 years, and mixing ’em all together seamlessly into his own stew.” I don’t know if anyone can put it better. I hear tinges of Junior Kimbrough, with the heavy sound of The Black Keys, paired with the lyrically-mimicking guitar of Hendrix. This concoction makes sense, as Sweany taught himself how to play the guitar by listening to folks like Sam Lightnin’ Hopkins, Elmore James, and Leadbelly.

Admittedly, I don’t know a whole lot about Sweany’s background, but I definitely enjoy his work as a whole. If you give him an acoustic guitar to slide on, he takes on an entirely different sound which is excellent in its own right. Sweany was a good recent find of mine, and I can’t wait to hear more.