Singer, harmonica player, songwriter, and frontman -- Rick Estrin wears plenty of hats leading Rick Estrin & The Nightcats down the ever-bumpier blues road.
Estrin, who inherited the Nightcats when former band namesake Little Charlie Baty retired in 2008 after 30 years and nine albums, has breathed new life into the band. His first move was replacing Baty with guitarist Chris "Kid" Anderson, and giving the band a "more youthful sound," which includes the freedom to rock harder and funkier over the traditional blues and jump blues numbers that dominate the band's catalog. Add this to Estrin's soulful, at times gritty, vocals and traditional-to-wailing harp playing, and the results are highly favorable on the charged-up One Wrong Turn, the group's latest release.
