Stacy Mitchhart is gearing up for one of the biggest releases of his career. After more than three decades of electrifying stages with his soulful guitar work and commanding vocals, the blues powerhouse has announced his new album ‘No Rhyme or Reason,’ arriving April 17, led by the new single “Good One Time,” out now.
His 17th album was produced by multiple Grammy winner Tom Hambridge, known for his work with Buddy Guy, George Thorogood, and Susan Tedeschi, and features guest turns from Gretchen Wilson, Kenny Neal, and Charlie Musselwhite. “I wanted to work with an outside producer for the purpose of creating a fresh sound,” Mitchhart explains from his Nashville home. “I also wanted to collaborate with people that I truly admire and write new original music.”
Recorded largely on Nashville’s storied Music Row, the album shows off Mitchhart’s range. The edgy “Bad As You” digs into the human habit of projecting faults onto others, while the swaggering title single “Good One Time” piles on big guitars, organ, and punchy horns beneath a vocal he nailed in just a couple of takes. Louisiana blues stalwart Kenny Neal joins him on “Mean Bad Wrong” for a classic New Orleans flavor, fulfilling a longtime wish to record together.
The album also includes the rollicking duet “Sure Looks Good To Me” with Grammy-winning vocalist Gretchen Wilson. “Gretchen and I have talked about recording a duet since she was a waitress at the Bourbon Street Blues and Boogie Bar in 1996,” Mitchhart recalls. “She used to get up and sit in with us.” Best known for her chart-topping country hits, Wilson brings a gritty, roadhouse energy to the track.
A virtuoso guitarist who weighs melody, storytelling, and groove equally, Mitchhart first made waves in the early 1990s. Raised in Cincinnati, he became a standout on the regional club circuit before relocating to Nashville by 1996, where his fiery sets as the house act at the Bourbon Street Blues and Boogie Bar turned legendary. “My sound is a gumbo of musical styles,” he says. “My philosophy is that the music has to feel good first, and then it has to mean something to me.” It’s a genuinely soulful, wide-open record from one of the blues’ most dynamic live performers.
No Rhyme or Reason Tracklisting:
Good One Time
Bad As You
Sure Looks Good To Me
Once You Leave
Flip To The Other Side
We Blew It
Long Way Down
No Rhyme Or Reason
Mean Bad Wrong
Never Gonna Get Me Back
She’s Just Right
On My Dying Day