“Canadians are kind of traditional people, and we really appreciate the blues. There's been a scene here for a long time, with so many great blues players coming through, especially in Toronto back in the day.”

Mike McKenna: Everything About the Blues

Legendary guitar player Mike McKenna and singer/musician Jay Moonah have teamed up for the new EP Breaking News (2025). Four well-crafted songs run the gamut from sultry electric blues to hard-hitting heartland-rock to classic acoustic slide and harmonica sounds. Mike McKenna is one of Canada's top blues and rock guitarists. As part of Toronto’s Yorkville scene in the early 60s, he was a major force in the establishment of the electric blues in Canada. He has been wowing crowds for more than 60 years with such seminal bands as McKenna Mendelson Mainline, Luke & The Apostles, the Ugly Ducklings, and Downchild. Among his many honours, McKenna was inducted into the Canada South Blues Society Hall of Fame in 2013, and nominated for the Maple Blues Blues with a Feeling Lifetime Achievement Award in 2023.

(Photo: Mike McKenna)

McKenna and Moonah met in 2016, and started performing regularly as the McKenna Moonah Blues Duo at various Toronto-area clubs, and at major events including the Kitchener Blues Festival, the Lighthouse Blues Festival, and others. Moonah also joined McKenna’s long running Slidewinder Blues Band, which plays the music of McKenna Mendelson Mainline alongside classic blues. Breaking News features all new original songs written by McKenna and Moonah, and was co-produced by Moonah and his long-time friend and collaborator Jeff Jones, who also mixed and mastered the EP.

Interview by Michael Limnios                       Special Thanks: Sarah French Publicity

How has Blues and Rock music influenced your views of the world? What does the blues mean to you?

Yeah, it means pretty much everything. It's a gift. The early Black blues musicians had tough lives, and the blues is something of a shelter from a lot of the struggles that go on in the world, whether from the past or things we see today in the media. It's an outlet for releasing emotions or stress. Anytime you play the blues, that's what it's about, you know? It’s helped shape my view of the world, in the sense of dealing with everyday problems. It means a lot, but you have to be very careful because, in my opinion, it's almost like a very religious or cult-like experience in terms of dedication, if you’re a serious blues player. It's awesome and powerful.

How do you describe your sound, music philosophy, and songbook? What's the balance in music between technique (skills) and soul/emotions?

I think the whole thing about blues, more than anything, when you talk about players like Albert King, who played the guitar upside down in a C# tuning or whatever it was, wasn’t “skill” in the traditional sense of playing. He just found a way that worked best for him, so he could express himself. Feel is really the most important thing. Skill is important, of course, and practice is essential, but you have to go your own route with it — everyone develops their own style, and feel is so crucial. Both skill and feel are important, but feel is the most important thing in a blues band or any kind of music, in my opinion.

”I think appreciating the fact that there are people who, in my older age now, still come to see me play and enjoy what I do. I think that’s the biggest thing, and it still amazes me. It’s a really nice compliment, and it’s what keeps me going.” (Photo: McKenna Mendelson Mainline, Rock Pile, Toronto 1969)

Why do you think the Canadian Blues Scene continues to generate such a devoted following since the 1960s?

Canadians are kind of traditional people, and we really appreciate the blues. There's been a scene here for a long time, with so many great blues players coming through, especially in Toronto back in the day. Although, for example, there’s not a big blues room like Albert Hall here anymore, there’s always been a place for blues in Toronto, like places such as Black Swan and Grossman's, which have been around for years. It kind of goes in cycles where it's more popular for a while. Right now in Toronto, people like Drake are the hot thing, so maybe it’s not as trendy, but there’s always a place for the blues here.

What moment changed your music life the most? Are there any memories from gigs, jams, open acts, and studio sessions that you'd like to share with us?

It’s hard to say, there’ve been a lot of moments. Every so many years, I find something that makes me go, “wow!” But the biggest thing that ever changed me was as a kid when I saw Elvis Presley on TV, Buddy Holly on TV, and heard their records—that changed my life.

My mom took me to see Muddy Waters at the Colonial Tavern one Saturday afternoon in 1960. It was a matinee, and she loved the blues, so she took me. Muddy was playing; I didn’t know him going in, but I came out thinking, “wow, I’d love to do that.” I could relate to it. I could enjoy it. It was enjoyable music, and it was relatable. It wasn’t like jazz—my mom liked jazz too, and I went with her a couple of times, but I didn’t understand it. It wasn’t bad music, but when I saw the blues, that changed my life. Later on, hearing really good players like Jimi Hendrix, seeing Albert King's shows, and eventually playing with some of these guys in England—meeting John Mayall, who I had listened to, and opening for Howlin' Wolf—there’s been a lot!

”Feel is really the most important thing. Skill is important, of course, and practice is essential, but you have to go your own route with it — everyone develops their own style, and feel is so crucial. Both skill and feel are important, but feel is the most important thing in a blues band or any kind of music, in my opinion.” (Photo: Mike McKenna and Jay Moonah have teamed up for the EP Breaking News, 2025)

What do you miss most nowadays from the music of the past?

Not hearing it on the radio! I wish you could just turn on a channel and hear all this great music—the stuff that now, I post all these old songs on Facebook because that's my outlet since you don’t just hear it on the radio anymore. I suppose now there's satellite radio and things like that, but back in the day, you'd hear blues and great music just turning on the radio, everything from the Eagles to Johnny Cash, Johnny Winter, The Beatles, and The Stones. It's not what you hear on the radio now.

What is the impact of Blues on socio-cultural implications? How do you want the music to affect people?

My hope is that roots music comes back more, and that people start coming back to it. You know, electronic music or whatever has its place, but roots music—I don’t just mean blues, I mean rock’n’roll, country, all that stuff—goes through cycles. But I feel that the kind of music I consider “real,” not to insult anything else, but for my taste, it’s those kinds of more traditional sounds. That’s what I’d like to see happen.

What are some of the most important lessons you have learned from your experience in music?

I think appreciating the fact that there are people who, in my older age now, still come to see me play and enjoy what I do. I think that’s the biggest thing, and it still amazes me. It’s a really nice compliment, and it’s what keeps me going.

Mike McKenna’s Slidewinder - Home

(Mike McKenna / Photo by Wayne Baggs)