Kat Riggins is an American contemporary blues, soul and R&B singer/songwriter By Audrey Michelle August 1, 2022 Kat Riggins is an American contemporary blues, soul and R&B singer/songwriter By Audrey Michelle Kat Riggins’ Blues Revival Movement gathered together for a celebration of her latest release, a modernized trip into blues, “Progeny” which was released June 24, 2022 on Gulf Coast Records. The album, a sonically hearty spread of delicious tracks with blues roots. Her contemporary blues style contains flavors of rock, soul, R&B, gospel & hip-hop. Although she identifies as a blues music artist, her musical offerings certainly carry you across several genres of the musical spectrum. She was recently nominated for a 2022 Blues Music Award in the Soul Blues – Female artist category. You may notice some sonic familiarity in this release. Kat has an award winning ensemble of musicians backing the power of her soulful vocals. Mike Zito brings his seasoned electric blues guitar licks, Matthew Johnson on drums, Doug Byrkit holds in down on bass & Lewis Stephens, an original member of the Freddie King Band on keys. You’ll also hear special guests: The “Big Dog” Albert Castiglia on guitar along with Busta Free who raps in the tribute to her home town of Miami in, “My City.” The song “Woahman” features guitarist Melody Angel. People of all sorts, smiling faces fill the room, leaning up against walls, congregating together in multiple rows at the bar. The temperature inside grows warmer & warmer as the congregation grows. Even as the show begins, the excited concert goers continue to pack the venue. The show is on and the seats are full, the bar is full, there is standing room only & the sea of joyful faces makes it obvious they are happy to be there, showing love & support for Kat & her new album. Kat’s strong soulful voice transporting itself up, over & through the walls, doors & windows. You receive a kinetic delivery of every single song. Not only do you hear the music, you see it channeled & delivered to you in every shimmy, shake & move she makes on stage. There is not a shortage of love & gratitude in this room & no space or time for anything but positivity. Even in a room filled to the rafters with people, Kat has the ability to make you feel as if you are the most important person in the room. Her charisma shines bright as the South Florida sun. Kat & her team which includes her wife, Victoria Nunez whom you will find does anything & everything to keep Kat’s shows running without a hitch. Putting together an event of this magnitude is no small feat, she makes it seem like second nature, no sweat. However, in this case, everyone was sweating, this performance was fire. When we covered the release of her previous album, “Cry Out” in August of 2020, the event was a socially distanced drive-in style concert. We were still wearing masks, there was no vaccine against the COVID-19 Virus & the future of live music was impossible to predict. “Thriving & Surviving in the Time of the Coronavirus,” was the title. A testament to the fact that if you want something enough, you can & will find a way to make it happen. The experience of this album release party was a complete opposite of the one prior. There was social closeness, the sea of visible smiles shows that people need the pressures of daily life released in the way you only receive from a shared live music experience. Kat’s Blues Revival Movement & her latest release, “Progeny” pulls you out of the ordinary & gives a full body immersion into the extraordinary. “Yes I know, I ain’t in this thing alone.” -Kat Riggins Share It!
