After three decades of electrifying stages and speakers with his searing, supple guitar playing, soulful vocals, and cultured songcraft, Stacy Mitchhart is set for his biggest album to date.

Mitchhart’s 17th release, No Rhyme or Reason, was produced by multiple GRAMMY® winner Tom Hambridge (Buddy Guy, George Thorogood, Susan Tedeschi, etc.) and features Gretchen Wilson, Kenny Neal, and Charlie Musselwhite.

“I wanted to work with an outside producer for the purpose of creating a fresh sound,” explained Mitchhart from his Nashville home. “I also wanted to collaborate with people that I truly admire, to write new original music.”

His new album, much of which was cut on Nashville’s storied Music Row, features four singles. The edgy “Bad As You” explores the surprisingly universal theme of projection, describing someone who’s forever criticizing their partner only to realize they’re exhibiting the same behaviors. The braggadocious “Good One Time” is also musically bold, with big guitars, organ, and boisterous horns framing a visceral vocal that Mitchhart tracked in a couple of takes. Lauded Louisiana bluesman Kenny Neal contributes to the old-timey New Orleans vibe of “Mean Bad Wrong,” while checking off Mitchhart’s longtime ambition to cut a track with his friend of many years.

Mitchhart’s “Sure Looks Good To Me” features GRAMMY® award-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,” he recalled. “She used to get up and sit in with us. While Wilson is known as a chart-topping country artist, her foray into more bluesy material hits the mark with its rockin’, roadhouse verve.

A virtuoso guitarist and seasoned band leader who puts equal emphasis on melody, songwriting, and storytelling, Mitchhart burst onto the blues scene in the early 1990s. Deeply rooted in both blues and soul, his blistering chops, emotive vocals, and magnetic stage presence rapidly made him the talk of the club circuit in his native Cincinnati, Ohio. Word spread, and by 1996, Mitchhart had moved to Nashville to become the house act at the city’s iconic Bourbon Street Blues and Boogie Bar. His fiery sets there swiftly became the stuff of legend, and a new, dynamic driving force had arrived in global blues – and was here to stay.

“I’m a musician. It’s what I do, and my total being,” said Mitchhart, a distinctive performer in his signature sharp suits and hats. “I’ve played in every type of venue, from the Amsterdam Arena in Holland for 45,000 people, to a grocery store in front of 30 people, to juke joints in Mississippi, to black tie events at the Ritz Carlton.”

In late 2024, Mitchhart released “Shake (Make Your Body Move), a delightfully funky collaboration with blues legend Bobby Rush that even evokes Prince in his heyday.

“My sound is a gumbo of musical styles. I love blues and jazz and R&B, and I like some country and some rock and some hip hop,” he said. “It all works its way into my final sound. My musical philosophy is that the music has to feel good first, then it has to mean something to me. If it passes those criteria, then I’m good with it.”

“I think this new album brings an edge and real energy to my music,” Mitchhart enthused. “As well as continuing to highlight my versatility through different styles of the blues.”

Mitchhart’s talent and work ethic earned him the prestigious Albert King ‘Most Promising Guitarist’ award at the Blues Foundation’s International Blues Challenge in Memphis. He’s been inducted into the Canadian South Blues Hall of Fame and has received awards from the Music City Blues Society. Mitchhart has played at top-flight festivals worldwide, including the Edinburgh Jazz & Blues Festival (UK, Scotland) six times, Birmingham Blues Festival (UK, England), Canada’s Southside Shuffle twice, Windsor Blues Festival (Canada) four times, Kalamazoo Blues Festival twice, Cincinnati Blues Festival three times, and King Biscuit Blues Festival in Arkansas. His music has also featured on PBS, HBO, TBS, and other TV and movie outlets.

“My dream? I’m basically living it. I get to play music and make a living at it,” he said. “Every year, it feels like I’m still moving forward, doing a bit better each year. I’ve come a long way, and I’ve got more to go.”