Bluesman Big Daddy Wilson was born in North Carolina and worked as a child in the tobacco and cotton fields. Unusual, then, that he actually discovered the blues in Germany, not the country of his birth.
"I've been writing poems and songs long before I started singing the Blues, I didn't know what it was but it was mixed in my blood, I was born with the blues," he says.
He's performing at the Omokoroa Boat Club this weekend, as part of a 21-gig national tour, and along with his southern country roots he's packed a suitcase full of new songs for his audience.
His big voice won him several European music awards and he draws from a wide stylistic spectrum including blues, folk, soul and gospel. This is the second time he has toured New Zealand and he is joined by Steve "Guitar" Gilles, playing the acoustic guitar and resonator slide, as well as blues harp.
the fine print
What: Big Daddy Wilson
Where: Omokoroa Boat Club
When: Saturday, September 19
Tickets: Door sales $25, (boat club members $20)