EU welcomed blues legendary guitarist Chris Cain at our Europe Jazz Blues Festival 2025 in Tallin, Estonia.
On a cool night in Tallin City, blues virtuoso Chris Cain, brought! Here legendary jazz scene where countless famous musicians have played.
When I arrived at the venue before doors opened, there was already a long line of blues devotees waiting to get in. Once the doors opened, I walked down a long flight of stairs right into the heart of where all the magic happens.
Like many, when I saw that Mr. Cain who primarily plays out, it would be an unforgettable night. To my surprise, he was walking around the venue prior to the show greeting and chatting with fans.
I was lucky enough to let him know just how much his music meant to me both as a fan and as a guitarist.
Coming in hot off his latest release, Good Intentions Gone Bad, Cain wasted no time delivering a blues masterclass like no other!
His powerfully warm vocals combined with expressive and soulful guitar playing left us all speechless. Songs like Hush Money and Still Drinking Straight Tequila were certainly fan favorites.
He even played a beautiful tribute to the late great B.B. King, which was packed full of emotion. Don’t forget all the fun anecdotes sprinkled throughout the performance either keeping the crowd engaged and delighted!
Chris Cain was born in San Diego, California on November 19, 1955, to an African American father and a Greek mother who shared a huge record collection and love of music. Chris saw B.B. King the first time at age 3 and thanks to his parents saw almost every major act that passed through town afterwards including everyone from The Beatles to James Brown and Jimi Hendrix and blues greats Albert King and Johnny Winters among countless others.
“Waiting For the Sun to Rise”, the first song without the horns is a slow crying ballad as he says “I used to think of my life as a trip down a one-way street. I was a fool, made mistakes along the way. They come back to haunt me when I think of yesterday and I pray for the morning to come”. Kid Andersen provides mellotron strings behind Eric’s guitar and piano work. Chris comes roaring back on “I Was Wrong” as he declares “You hardly talk to me.” “I can feel this is all over, we let this thing go on too long.” On “Time to Cry” he says, “I don’t have time for sit-down dinners, don’t have time for working out, don’t have time for a lot of hobbies, or free time to travel all about. No time to live my life, no time for goodbyes”, but man he sure does have the blues.
” Well, I quit staying out all night.” “Cut out eating fat foods, doing what my doctor suggests. Took a course on meditation, helps me to relax. Trying to watch my weight so I don’t have a heart attack.” among many other things he gave up. But he is “Still Drinking Straight Tequila”, “never said I was cutting out fun”. And fun is what the song is all about with a look at the changes one makes with age. On “Bad Dream”, Chris again slows things down and adds piano with Greg’s organ mixing in as he notes he cannot please his woman and ” I think I might lose her”. On “Had About All I Can Take”, he notes “the last year has been exhausting” “I’m sick and tired of how you treat me”.
On “Blues for My Dad”, Kid plays nylon string guitar, the upright bass, organ and percussion. The song has a slow jazzy, Latin feel as Chris tells the story of his early life and his loving thoughts back to those early days. On “TGIF”, “I feel like throwing myself a party” as he is ready to cast off the work week with Lisa Andersen joining in on backing vocals and with Chris on piano and Wurlitzer. “Never let You Break My Heart” is another slow-burn song as he says, ” I am going to walk out the door with my pride”. Tommy Castro guests on vocals with Chris on “Thankful”. They proclaim, “That I thank God every day for bringing you into my life”.
The way he lovingly caresses his ES-335, Melba, in between playing shows just how deeply connected he feels to his craft. It’s not every day that you get to witness blues greatness in such an intimate setting.
Featuring from the USA – Chris Cain – This outstanding debut project – financed on a shoestring – garnered no less than 4 “W.C.Handy” nominations and immediate international exposure.“The W.C.Handy awards is the blues world equivalent of receiving a Grammy nomination”.
And from the UK – Roy Phillips “The Voice of Peddlers”. The voice of the international acclaimed group “The Peddlers” Roy combines his skills as a raconteur and music that has drawn critical acclaim.
Thirteen original songs, all written by Chris, rocks out on the first track as he sings “I just got a call from my own used-to-be, twenty years ago she used to work full time lying and cheating on me. Said she’s been thinking about me and thought I might like to know that her divorce was final on Monday and could she come by and say hello”. Of course this is “Too Little Too Late”, but certainly a great opening song that will get you moving. Next, he declares, “Fear Is My New Roommate” as he lets his guitar roar and states in a serious tone that he is “not sure what is going to happen to the world”. He then declares that everything he does for his baby with “Good Intentions” “always turn out bad”.
In his performance Roy covers some of the Peddlers hits such as “Girlie” and “Birth” to covering blues standards like “ Little Red Rooster” to the monkey’s “Last Train to Clarksville” through to Ray Charles hit version of Georgia of my Mind.
Chris may have been sitting at the feet of the masters learning to play the guitar, and you can certainly hear the Kings in his notes, but he is undoubtedly one of today’s masters. He has a powerful, rich voice with soulful undertones that also matches those faithful musicians of the past. His lyrics range from serious to humorous and very emotional on “Blues for My D.”
Do yourself a huge favor and buy a ticket to any of the remaining tour dates. Chris Cain is a true master of the blues and a must-see live performance.
Hope to see you all at the next gig!
By Olivia Peevas
