Rusty Wright Band

The son of a blues record-collecting father and a gospel-singing mother, Flint, Michigan native Rusty Wright has spent most of his life on the road and in the recording studio honing his singular take on improvisation-laden blues rock.

Rusty Wright is a masterful lyric storyteller, guitarist, vocalist, and producer. This Billboard Top 5 artist's sound is a hot-rod fusing of Texas-style blues; driving boogie and Southern guitar rock paired with a sense of humor and keen songwriting skills. The band’s lineup includes Rusty on guitar and lead vocals, wife Laurie LaCross-Wright on guitar and lead/harmony vocals, Billy Agner on bass/harmony vocals, and Vail Hayes on drums.

Wright’s sound assimilates everything from hints of early prog-rock (i.e. interesting musical ‘left turns’) to the intricate harmonies of the Allman Brothers along with the passion and flamboyance of SRV, to the right-in-the-pocket grooves of Chicago guitarist Hubert Sumlin and Freddy King, AKA “The Texas Cannonball”. This ain’t your granddad’s blues. Call it contemporary blues, call it blues rock, southern rock, driving boogie, blues-infused rock… It’s all that, just not all at the same time. Call it whatever you want. As Rusty likes to say “It doesn’t matter what you call it. If it sounds good, it IS good.”

A fan recently described an RWB performance as a roller coaster ride that left her breathless but not wanting the ride to end.

“I think that was one of the highest compliments ever paid to us,” said Rusty.

Wright’s songs run the gamut. Songs like Trouble’s Always Knockin’, Devil Man Blues, and Goin’ to NOLA follow the traditional Blues path, while the powerful No Man is an Island was inspired by a story about an autistic child. No One Cares at All touches on human trafficking while Devil Music and Burnin’ Precious Time unleash the more rock-oriented side of Wright’s personality. Black Hat Boogie is an ode to cyber pirates and The Last Days of Whitey Malone is a roller coaster ride of a song about the misfortunes of a guitarist named Whitey who caught the eye of a club owner’s girlfriend. Gonna Come a Day, a tongue-in-cheek song about an old crush, became a top finalist in the International Songwriting Competition in 2015.
In his home state of Michigan, Rusty Wright was hailed as the most compelling blues rock act to emerge from the state in a decade, garnering accolades from the likes of Buddy Guy; Charlie Musselwhite; W.C. Clark; members of Lynyrd Skynyrd and Molly Hatchet as well as concert and festival promoters worldwide.

Formed in 2004, the band’s second show was opening for Lynyrd Skynyrd. They went on to support artists like Buddy Guy, Etta James, Johnny and Edgar Winter, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Leslie West & Mountain, and before long the band was headlining many of the festivals they performed at. An Armed Forces Entertainment tour took the band to military bases in South Korea and Japan and the band performed at prestigious blues and music festivals across the US and Europe, including Telluride Blues & Brews (CO); Riverbend Music Fest (TN); Clearwater Sea Blues Fest and Bonita Blues Fest (FL); Bayfront Blues Fest (MN); Bluesfest International (Canada); Jimiway Blues Fest (Poland); Torre Alfina Blues Fest and Liri Blues Fest (Italy); and the St. John Blues Fest (USVI).

The band’s discography includes five studio albums and several live albums. “Hangin’ at the DeVille Lounge” (2022) reached #4 on the Billboard Blues chart and spent multiple weeks at #1 on the Hit Tracks Top 100 chart (Netherlands). The song ‘No Man is an Island’ was named The Red Carpet Music Awards Best Song of the Year – All Genre, Original (Netherlands). “Wonder Man” (2015) reached #8 and was also nominated for Album of the Year by Vintage Guitar Magazine alongside Jeff Beck, Joe Bonamassa, David Gilmour of Pink Floyd and Sonny Landreth. Television appearances include a syndicated PBS concert series and international, national, and regional television programs. Media coverage also includes features in international, national and regional newspapers and magazines/Ezines such as Blues Blast Magazine, Blues Matters Magazine (UK), Melody Maker, Florida Jazz & Blues, All About Jazz, and Performer Magazine.