“MISSISSIPPI” MACDONALD

                                    – Rising British Soul/Blues Artist Makes His Mark –

Oliver “Mississippi” MacDonald – a singer, guitarist and songwriter from London, England – speaks quietly but makes music with real gravitas. Olly (as friends call him) is a rising star, having been honoured with a session by Cerys Matthews on her Radio 2 Blues show and championed by Mojo magazine. Both his fellow musicians and many music industry pundits predict big things for MacDonald.

His 2023 album Heavy State Loving Blues demonstrated how McDonald’s gravitas has developed, matching his remarkable guitar playing with soulful vocals and strong original songs: here is a rising talent making his mark on the soul/blues scene.

“I first got interested in guitar when I was a youngster at school and grunge and Britpop were what everyone was listening to,” recalls MacDonald, “but I was more interested in what I heard in my parents’ record collection – the likes of B.B. King and Al Green, classic American blues and soul artists. I never dreamed of being in Nirvana or Oasis like a lot of my school mates, instead I wanted to go to Chicago and see the clubs where Muddy Waters used to play!”

This led to Olly being nicknamed “Mississippi” by pals due to his passion for music from the US South. Interestingly, MacDonald says he never felt any great connection to the British blues scene of the 1960s. “I like records I’ve heard by the Stones and Fleetwood Mac and John Mayall,” he notes, “but when I was learning guitar those artists were rock superstars and I was attracted to much more downhome sounds. I vividly recall going into the local Virgin record shop with the money I’d saved and buying an Albert Collins LP – and that blew my mind!”

MacDonald learnt guitar from studying the likes of the Kings – B.B., Albert, Freddie – and the aforementioned Collins. He also listened intently to the likes of ZZ Hill and O.V. Wright, Southern soul singers whose voices possessed a blues inflection.

“They express themselves with real power yet remain eloquent and soulful,” says MacDonald. “No histrionics or showing off – the great soul and blues vocalists sing in a way that conveys the song as if a friend was telling you of their trials and tribulations. Same for my favourite guitarists – I value economy and expression, not guitar histrionics. ”

MacDonald, happy to be a tortoise not a hare, worked away at his craft, playing locally and privately pressing recordings, a suburban bluesman with a family to support. Then, post-lockdown, he raised his game, signed to Another Planet Music and started getting booked beyond the local pub/club circuit he’d cut his teeth on. His APM debut album Do Right, Say Right was released in late-2021 and won accolades across the UK, Europe and the US.  Guesting on US harp player/vocalist Steve Bailey’s Crazy About You album (a tribute to the late Sonny Boy Williamson II) demonstrated that Olly could hold his own with the Americans. Then came Heavy State Loving Blues – here MacDonald demanded and grabbed attention: he is the most exciting British electric guitarist in years as well as a singer and songwriter of considerable note. And never less than soulful.

“I’ve been out there grafting for several years,” notes MacDonald, “and it’s like I’ve finished my apprenticeship and am ready to play alongside my heroes. Veteran Memphis soul singer Vaneese Thomas – Rufus Thomas’ youngest daughter – guested on Heavy State and it was an honour to sing alongside her, we really connected. This led to me being invited to play at the International Blues Challenge in Memphis and record a track with Freddie King’s brother Benny Turner. I also got to meet Boo Mitchell.”

Boo Mitchell is the son and heir of the late Willie Mitchell, the Memphis maestro who defined the sound of 70s Southern soul by producing hits on Al Green, Otis Clay, Ann Peebles, O.V. Wright and others at Royal Sound Studios. Olly and Boo hit it off and an arrangement was made for MacDonald to return and record at Royal Sound Studios with the Hi Rhythm Section as his backing band – the same band who backed Al, Otis, Ann and O.V. Olly returned to Memphis and laid down the tunes for his forthcoming 2024 album Mississippi MacDonald with Hi Rhythm. “A life changing experience,” says MacDonald of the Royal sessions.

Oliver “Mississippi” MacDonald’s fluid fingers, a singular voice and songwriting talent mark him as the new voice of British soul-blues – note his name.

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