One of the cool things about the blues is the continued veneration of the instrumental. Among the roughly one thousand 2024 blues albums I received, there were hundreds of great instrumentals in the mix. Here below you will find my choices for the best 25 blues instrumentals of 2024.
The list of noted artists includes musicians from all over the United States and Europe as well as South America (Brazil) and Africa (South Africa). There are harmonica, guitar, saxophone, and piano oriented tunes in the mix. And the blues styles vary from traditional blues to blues rock. Most of the songs are originals but there are fabulous covers of Henry Mancini, Freddie King, and Matt “The Guitar” Murphy songs on the list.
Over the years, I have had the pleasure of attending many splendid blues concerts. And I can tell ya that when bands launch into instrumentals, they collectively get a twinkle in the eye and big smiles. I find that the band members tend to look at each other as they jam and I know they are thinkin’ “this is why I picked up that first instrument”.
Instrumentals allow the listener to float, remanence, chill, and associate their own thoughts and feelings with the music. It is a very special musical magic!! I hope you enjoy following the links and listening. If you like, I have included a playlist here so that you can stream them all. And I hope that if you love the music, that you will tell at least one other person. You can help spread the news about the badass blues in 2025!!
One final comment! I have chatted with and interviewed dozens of blues artists over the years and one thing almost all of them have in common is a dislike of ranked “best of the year” lists. Almost universally, they say “This isn’t a sports competition and god knows we aren’t in it for the money! Blues musicians support each other….we don’t compete.” In that spirit, my Best 25 Blues Instrumentals of 2024 list is not ranked and simply listed in artist reverse first name order. Enjoy!!
Songs listed in Artist Reverse First Name Order
| ARTIST | TITLE | ALBUM |
| Will Jackson | Where There’s a Will There’s a Way | Where There’s a Will There’s a Way |
| Walter Trout | Love Of My Life | Broken |
| Wailin’ Walker | Napkins Noir | All Fired Up |
| Tony Wessels & the Revolvers | Easy E | Easy E |
| Snowy White | Overland And See | Unfinished Business |
| Sirjo Cocchi & Balta Bordoy | Heads Up | Heads Up |
| The Rudy Boy Experiment | The Four Winds | Voodoo Lovin’ Woman |
| Rens Newland’s Fuse Bluezz | The Bright Side of the Blues | Still Waiting for Better Times |
| Phil Vermont | Tribal Dance | Time Has Come |
| Paul Gillings | Seven Eight Four Four | Journeyman |
| Levee Town | Shuffling Sea | Stories |
| John Stephan Band | Razor Clam | Talking Out Loud |
| Jimmy Carpenter | Jimmy Shimmy | Just Got Started |
| Innes Sibun | Jump for Joy | The Preacher |
| Greg Koch | The Stumble | Blues |
| Gonzalo Araya | Revelation | Floripa´s mood |
| Gary Cain | Far From Home | Outside The Lines |
| Dennis Herrera | Can You Feel It | Four |
| Dan Patlansky | Lift Off | Movin’ On |
| Bobby Christina’s Caravan | Matt’s Boogie | True Blues Brother |
| Bex Marshall | Fortuna | Fortuna |
| Bane Gluvakov | Sputnik | Awake |
| The B. Christopher Band | Peter Gunn Theme | 106 Miles To Chicago |
| Anthony Geraci | Owl’s Nest | Tears In My Eyes |
| Andy Wood & Joe Bonamassa | Moaning Lisa | Charisma |
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Ben Vee started out spinning songs on terrestrial radio and at nightclubs back in the 1970’s in his home state of Louisiana. After a career in the construction business, he returned to DJing in 2011. He now hosts two shows each week on http://www.bluesmusicfan.com and writes about the blues for BMFR at http:/www.bluesbeats.com and on his own blog at http://www.benveeblues.com from his home in Connecticut.
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