“The mash up between blues and jazz is in the DNA of the city. You can feel the ghosts looking down at you…and one of my main gigs is literally only a few blocks from the corner of 12th Street and Vine. The Kansas City sound moves people in a way that makes them want to dance.”

Mike Bourne: Kansas City O’Clock

From the House of Blues to the International Jazz and Blues Festival in Manila and countless points in between, Mike Bourne has been entertaining audiences around the globe with his unique style of jump blues, blues, and roots music since 1998. Inspired by Louis Jordan, T-bone Walker, and many others, Bourne first picked up the guitar at age 22, and began playing professionally at age 25. He has recorded and performed with legends of the genre, including Otis Rush, Sam Lay, Barrelhouse Chuck and more. After long stints in Chicago and Atlanta, he's back home in Kansas City. Having joined forces with high-caliber band members, their high-energy shows has the town buzzing. His latest album, Kansas City O’clock, continues with the same energy and originality displayed in Kansas City Cruisin’ (2023 Blue Heart Records). Kansas City has been fertile ground for great American music for the past century – creating feisty blues with an attitude that's shaped big bands, jazz, rhythm and blues, jump blues, and even the formative years of real-deal rock 'n' roll in the 1950s.

(Photo: Mike Bourne)

Those are the deep roots that nourish the music of the Mike Bourne Band. Inspired by the genre-defining music of Louis Jordan, T-Bone Walker and other blues giants, Bourne has recorded and performed with the legendary likes of Otis Rush, Sam Lay, Barrelhouse Chuck and beyond. Mike Bourne will be released his latest swinging album, “Kansas City O’Clock” (Release Day: October 31st, 2025), a joyous romp filled with KC musical styles – 12 sparkling originals and a pair of classic covers. Bourne has gathered a supporting cast of more than 20 excellent musicians whose mission was to pump the necessary effervescence into all these tracks. Musical mission accomplished!

Interview by Michael Limnios                     Archive: Mike Bourne, 2023 Interview

Special Thanks: Betsie Brown (Blind Raccoon)

How do you think that you have grown as an artist since you first started making music? What has remained the same about your music-making process? 

I think through time, I have learned to be comfortable being myself. At first, it was always “I wish I could sound like this person or that person.” As you mature, you start to understand that being yourself and having your sound reflect how you feel is more important than copying. The greatest compliment for me isn’t “he sounds so much like BB or T-Bone,” It’s “he sounds like Mike.” The thing that has remained the same for me since the beginning is to play from the heart.  Not to play perfect every time. But to play from the heart every time. I remember when I first was learning, someone slipped a note under my apartment door. It said, “music is your destiny.” I know I wasn’t playing good then. But I was absolutely playing from the heart. And that connects with people.

What do you learn about yourself from the blues and what does the blues mean to you? 

The blues spoke to me in a way no other music did. When I first heard it, in my early 20s before I started playing guitar, I knew almost instantly I had to learn. It was on a radio show on Sunday in Kansas City, hosted by Lindsay Shannon who owned BBs Lawnside. And on Saturday the show was the Fish Fry with Chuck Haddix.  I bought a beat up acoustic, and for a year, I just tuned into those shows and taught myself how to play.  One of my favorite memories, and will be on with Chuck in two weeks to talk about the record. That’s going to be a cool moment.                             (Photo: Mike Bourne)

“Festivals feel more like work, the sound is never that great and it is not intimate. I love playing clubs because it feels like you are really connected to the people. Our residency gig, The Black Dolphin, is like going into a time machine and stepping into the old Playboy Club in Chicago.  It’s in the arts district in Kansas City, and it’s fun to have so many young people discover the music for the first time.“

Do you have any interesting stories about the making of the new album “Kansas City O’Clock”?

On “Dive Bar Romance” I got to collaborate with John Hahn, grammy nominee and Shamekia Copeland’s long time writer and producer. John is a great songwriter and it was fun to see his process and how that song came to life. His lyrics always involve interesting/crazy stories and kind of like me and Rick Estrin, he finds the funny moments that bring them to life.

Why do you think that Kansas City music scene continues to generate such a devoted following?

The mash up between blues and jazz is in the DNA of the city. You can feel the ghosts looking down at you…and one of my main gigs is literally only a few blocks from the corner of 12th Street and Vine. The Kansas City sound moves people in a way that makes them want to dance. It’s Jay Mcshann and Charlie Parker. Or Lester. Or Basie. Big Joe. Horn players are just amazing here. So many, and people come from around the world to experience the KC sound. To be creating new songs with that backdrop and history is a dream come true for me. Chicago was great, but there is nothing like Kansas City for me (spoken like a true native).

How did your relationship with the music come about? What's the balance in music between technique (skills) and soul/emotions?

My mom was a piano player — classical and show tunes.  She was a sight reader, very skilled and always had a piano in the living room. She was all about technique and theory. For me, it was the opposite. I could hear it faster than I could learn to read it. I don’t think too much about technique. I let my emotions carry me, and what comes out when I play and sing is how I’m feeling. I was a late bloomer. I didn’t start playing until I was in my early 20s.

“I want to go back to the early days of Kansas City in the 40s and 50s and hang out with Big Joe and Jay Mcshane playing in the clubs here. There were a lot of late night sessions going on and to be part of that would be really cool. I am a shouter like Joe, and am heavily influenced by him and Jay McShann. My piano player, Jim Beisman is really as close to Jay as you will ever hear. The next record I want to do is a pure tribute to the Kansas City guys. We are already talking about doing that live and filming it at the Black Dolphin on 18th. That will be a cool moment.” (Photo: Mike Bourne)

You’ve worked in many different settings, from clubs and studios to open air festivals and bars. How do you navigate between these different worlds? Very different worlds.

Festivals feel more like work, the sound is never that great and it is not intimate. I love playing clubs because it feels like you are really connected to the people. Our residency gig, The Black Dolphin, is like going into a time machine and stepping into the old Playboy Club in Chicago.  It’s in the arts district in Kansas City, and it’s fun to have so many young people discover the music for the first time. Playing a club is where I am most at home. I love the studio for a different reason, it’s putting your art into a permanent form. Leaving it for generations to be discovered.  Part of what motivates me is adding to the rich musical jazz and blues catalog of Kansas City

Let’s take a trip with a time machine, so where and why would you really want to go for a whole day?

I want to go back to the early days of Kansas City in the 40s and 50s and hang out with Big Joe and Jay Mcshane playing in the clubs here. There were a lot of late night sessions going on and to be part of that would be really cool. I am a shouter like Joe, and am heavily influenced by him and Jay McShann. My piano player, Jim Beisman is really as close to Jay as you will ever hear. The next record I want to do is a pure tribute to the Kansas City guys. We are already talking about doing that live and filming it at the Black Dolphin on 18th. That will be a cool moment.

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(Photo: Mike Bourne)