Davis Coen

"Live at Proud Larry’s" is roots & blues singer-guitarist Davis Coen’s 11th full album, and first recorded in front of a live audience. Taken from multiple shows at the historical music venue in downtown Oxford, Mississippi, Coen is backed by Memphis, TN band Just Groovin’ Experience on the first four tracks, featuring the soulful keyboard and vocals of John Gage. Father Charles Gage, who recently earned the Memphis Blues Society Lifetime Achievement Award plays drums, alongside workhorse Robb Roaten on bass guitar.

For the rest of the record, Coen is accompanied by seasoned North Mississippi musicians Kinney Kimbrough (son of Junior Kimbrough) on drums, and Justin Showah on bass. Both are longtime Coen collaborators and appear on "Magnolia Land" (2009), "Jukebox Classic" (2010), and his upcoming studio album "Hurricane Man."

Live at Proud Larry’s was produced by Blake Gardner, a much beloved sound engineer at the venue - which also happens to be just a few miles from Coen’s home. The album features a mix of original songs and decades-old American roots music, such as classics by Muddy Waters, Blind Lemon Jefferson, Charlie Poole, and Lefty Frizzell - whose country hit "Long Black Veil" gets a lively treatment.

Among Coen’s originals are the sinister murder ballad "Mile After Mile," the steady rolling "Stranger in My Home," and the danceable slow groove "Basement With the Blue Light" - which asserts that “Just one taste gon’ change your mind.”