“I miss when people listened. When music and art were the soul of entertainment. Now, Netflix and cell phones sit on that throne. I miss when a blues song was a song and not just a guitar hero experiment.”

Scott Low: Blues Is Everywhere 

Scott Low is a southern songwriter pulling from the greatest American musics, folk, blues, jazz and bluegrass. Struttin' Round Town (2025), Scott Low's new 5-tracks EP album, represents a deep dive into the real roots of American music. It's all acoustic, and mostly just Low and his guitar, but the pictures he paints have a hundred- year old echo. "I wanted to get back to acoustic music," he explains. "The grid's gonna die eventually, and when that happens, I want to still be able to play slide guitar – without amplification. Not to get all dark, but it's like anticipating a post-apocalyptic feeling." While Low’s approach might seem somewhat foreboding, the aura of the record belies that. The songs, originals and covers, have a groove that predates electric blues, but he still makes it all sound firmly current. "A lot of it is non-blues chords, straight-up jazz changes being played bluesy. I look to 1927 as the year that marks the real birth of American music; you had guys like WC Handy, Charley Patton and Louis Armstrong making music whose impact is still being felt today." Where his album, The Appalachian Blues (2024), mixed a range of blues styles with an Appalachian melodic feel, Struttin' Round Town has a laser-focus on straight-up first generation Blues.

(Scott Low / Photo © by Ronnie Pettit - Local Exposure Magazine)

Scott Low previously lead the band Efren, as well as penning his own southern folk Blues songs. He has been writing and playing songs a long time and has dabbled in many genres: punk, jazz, bluegrass, rock, blues, folk, Americana, country, not in that order. Playing over 200 stages in 2014, the song has lead the way. Scott comes from Athens, GA now in Clayton GA; which is the home of intense creativity and true American art and music. Scott has returned to writing and singing. He lives to play the guitar and listen to Townes, Dylan, Muddy, Hank, Cash, Tweedy and Willie. Divorce and children mixed with dirt roads, friends and Georgia hills are all blended in to create his sound.

Interview by Michael Limnios                 Special Thanks: Larry Kay / Night Train PR

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

Wow, I could go 18 different directions with this… First, everybody has the blues! In modern-day terms, we call it trauma; trauma is all-inclusive. Living in the USA right now is definitely a reason to have the blues: homeless folks living under bridges, people living on Dollar Store plastic food, racism and bigotry seem to be the new regime. Every empire falls and usually falls hard; ours looks to be corporate greed and racism, which will lead to our decline…yeah, that’s some blues.

The blues, to me, is the purest form of the USA’s greatest cultural contributions, being music, and at the root of rock, country, jazz, and bluegrass is BLUES. I started guitar because I saw Buddy Guy come through the back of the theater and stop by my seat. It changed my life. I went down many genres, roads, ex-wives, child support, and addictions, which led me back to the blues. I hope my blues can help heal someone else’s.

How do you describe your sound, music philosophy, and songbook? Where does your creative drive come from?

I often tell folks my sound is American music, which I am starting to wonder if that’s a good idea. I play blues, but I went to school for jazz and then moved to Athens, GA, where I played in jazz fusion, EDM, hip hop, indie rock, and southern rock bands. So I kind of feel my music is a mashup of blues, funk, jazz, rock, and bluegrass. Tom Waits, Miles Davis, and Doc Watson walk into a bar…

I think my philosophy is to try to change the listener's day, moment, or perspective through my struggles and story. I have definitely found that the slide resonator guitar affects the soul. I have thought that the slide guitar has always been so moving to many, so about one and a half years ago, I decided to pick it up. From Elmore James and Mississippi Fred McDowell to Derek and Duane, I dove in. The slide guitar might be the closest instrument to the human voice, and I believe it resonates with our electromagnetic aural self more than an instrument that is relegated to just eight notes. With my band, I like to call it a family vibe, with no real solos per se, but more call-and-answer and playing off each other like blues and jazz once were. I kind of think of it as Miles Davis's approach to Bitches Brew: simple themes but make 'em groove and push.

I have had so many artists impact my dark times and my light times that I feel compelled to try and hope to change the audience's perspective the way mine has been. This world needs art; it needs live music. My wife often asks me why I play so much or take gigs that I don’t fully enjoy, and I tell her someone has to do this. Art cannot die.

“The blues, to me, is the purest form of the USA’s greatest cultural contributions, being music, and at the root of rock, country, jazz, and bluegrass is BLUES.” (Scott Low, Georgia-based American Roots musician represents a deep dive into the real roots / Photo © by Ronnie Pettit - Local Exposure Magazine)

Why do you think that acoustic roots music continues to generate such a devoted following?

Is there anything better than an acoustic guitar on a front porch in Appalachia? I don’t think so. I live in between the Blue Ridge Mountains and the Carolina Piedmont, echoing the sounds of Doc Watson, Elizabeth Cotton, Pink Anderson, and John Jackson. I feel this music runs through these creeks and hollers, and yet it isn’t talked about like Delta, Memphis, or Chicago blues. The major sound of Bluegrass and Piedmont Blues has drawn me in, even though my introduction to blues was electric: Buddy Guy to Jimi Hendrix. The pure sound of Sonny Terry’s harp mixed with Brownie McGhee’s guitar is perhaps the pinnacle of American acoustic roots music. Sometimes, simple hits the soul harder than complex jazz or rock song. A slide guitar or banjo with that high lonesome sound is blues—not just bluegrass—and it embodies the culture of the Southern struggle.

What do you miss most nowadays from the music of the past? What are your hopes and fears for the future of music?

I miss when people listened. When music and art were the soul of entertainment. Now, Netflix and cell phones sit on that throne. I miss when a blues song was a song and not just a guitar hero experiment. Sometimes, I feel modern blues is too much “look at my guitar chops” and not about the song and struggles. I often think about what Robert Johnson, Charlie Patton, or Doc Watson would say about Joe Bonamassa or many other “shredders.”

I hope to be a blues songwriter, not just an entertainer. Blues is an art, not just an exercise. A song can be a story, but when a guitar and harp tell the story combined with the lyrics, that family of vibrations can become magical. I mean, how powerful were Son House and Bukka with just a metal body resonator and a whole lot of pain? I hope more blues players can be open to being songwriters and artists, not just redoing the past or relying upon guitar pyrotechnics.   

”I think my philosophy is to try to change the listener's day, moment, or perspective through my struggles and story. I have definitely found that the slide resonator guitar affects the soul.” (Scott Low has a laser-focus on straight-up first generation Blues / Photo © by Ronnie Pettit - Local Exposure Magazine)

What music moment changed your life the most? What have been the highlights in your life and career so far?

I think it’s probably between Buddy Guy coming through the back of the Kalamazoo State Theatre and stopping right by my aisle seat, setting me on a path to figure out how to do THAT. I also saw Phish and Bob Dylan in that theater that summer.

Another pivotal moment was when I skipped two weeks of my senior year of high school to go to the New Orleans Jazz Fest. I left home with $125 and tickets to the fest and a guitar. In one weekend, I saw Taj Mahal, BB King, The Meters, The Neville Brothers, Phish, The AllmanBrothers, and so many more. However, I was flat broke within a day, so I spent many hours as a 17-year-old earning money busking by playing in the French Quarter to get home so I could try and graduate! And I did.

I think saying I am a musician and have been for 20+ years is a big highlight! Most of my highlights are when the magic happens on stage or in the studio. When the band and the crowd are on the same wavelength and feeling it, we can take it higher. Sweaty dark basement parties with five friends jamming and another hundred dancing their feet off.

I think my last two albums are true highlights of my musical career: The Appalachian Blues and Struttin’ Round Town. Sharing the stage or supporting amazing artists is always a highlight; I have played with or opened for Tinsley Ellis, Cedric Burnside, The Futurebirds, Chris Stapleton, and many more.

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

-Have no expectations; just do your best with feeling.

-Let it come to you; do not force it or try too hard.

-I also guide fly fishing, and you have to be pretty specific with your flies and presentations. Diving deep within oneself and also practicing and learning from the masters gives respect to the art and craft.

”Is there anything better than an acoustic guitar on a front porch in Appalachia? I don’t think so. I live in between the Blue Ridge Mountains and the Carolina Piedmont, echoing the sounds of Doc Watson, Elizabeth Cotton, Pink Anderson, and John Jackson.” (Scott Low / Photo © by Ronnie Pettit - Local Exposure Magazine)

Why is it important to preserve and spread the blues? What is the role of music in today’s society?

Recently, I've been going through pretty bad depression and anxiety, even though I have albums on the charts, a wonderful wife, kids, and pets. But I have not been very successful at getting myself out of this darkness. The doctors give me zombie drugs and make me worry I will lose my passion and fire. I constantly feel like a failure, but I know I am not. I think this makes me push even harder to play this music—to help others find their way out of the darkness. It’s the only thing that has made this world seem bearable recently. As artists, we help carry the weight, and by sharing our blues, hopefully yours become lighter.

Unfortunately, a lot of music is background or jingles for capitalism. Music seems to be controlled by a few media mogul corporations via radio, TV, and streaming services. I still find raw, unfiltered music peeking through, though. SoundCloud and Bandcamp don’t seem to have been compromised, so I search for new, fresh sounds there. For me, music is life because I have to continue to get better, tell more stories, and find more people who need help. My therapist tells me I ruminate too much, but how will I find the places where true emotions can come from? Blues will always be the truth if it is presented from within.

What are you doing to keep your music relevant today, to develop it, and present it to the new generation?

With my new EP Struttin’ Round Town, I really tried to make an old traditional blues album so folks don’t forget. I’m giving nods to Scrapper Blackwell and Mississippi Fred McDowell while playing songs that push the 12-bar scheme. Slide guitar and harp—just like Sonny and Brownie—to keep it authentic. I feel I have been studying the masters of slide and blues for a few years now and am ready to spin my own web.

I have two new projects in the works to fulfill that new sound. The first is an album of all the old Grateful Dead blues songs and covers, but taking a modern approach with a full funky band and some hip-hop drum sounds and samples mixed in. One of my favorite bands, and maybe the greatest American band of all time, The Dead, is kind of fading as members pass and age. I want to spin those old 1960s-era Dead blues jams into modern boppers that hopefully will lead new ears to the blues and the Dead.

The other project is currently called abcdust, and it features all original blues songs mashed into modern hip-hop and EDM—but with social and cultural commentary pretty thick. As I said earlier, “someone has to do it.” I think hip-hop is a new form of blues; the struggle is almost the same as the old sharecroppers, just set in modern urban areas. Dirty South rap has always been a big part of my listening, as I believe it parallels the blues. So I am diving into programming beats and then putting my slide guitar and blues prose on top. My wife really likes it, and she is picky! It’s like if Aphex Twin, Son House, and Kendrick Lamar walked into a bar…

Scott Low - Home

(Scott Low / Photo © by Ronnie Pettit - Local Exposure Magazine)