Coco Montoya To Release COMING IN HOT On August 23
"In a world of blues guitar pretenders, Coco Montoya is the real McCoy. He exudes power and authenticity. Be prepared to get scorched by the real thing."
–Billboard
"Coco Montoya sings and plays with passionate abandon."
–The Boston Globe
White-hot blues guitarist and soulful vocalist Coco Montoya will release his new Alligator Records album, Coming In Hot, on Friday, August 23. In a career that spans almost four decades, Montoya has gone from drumming for blues icon Albert Collins to holding the lead guitar spot in John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers to leading his own band and touring worldwide.
Coming In Hot features 11 songs by writers including Montoya and Dave Steen, Tom Hambridge and Richard Fleming, Warren Haynes, Frankie Miller, Jeff Paris, and Albert Collins. The tracks range from blistering, hard-rocking blues to potent shuffles to fervent, moving ballads. Montoya delivers each song with uncompromising, dynamic energy. His unpredictable guitar playing and smoking, soulful vocals are inspired by a backing band featuring renowned musicians including bassists Bob Glaub (Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, Jerry Lee Lewis) and Mike Mennell (Jimmy Buffett, John Fogerty), keyboardist Mike Finnigan (Jimi Hendrix, Etta James, Taj Mahal), rhythm guitarists Billy Watts (Eric Burdon) and Johnny Lee Schell (Bonnie Raitt), and Tony Braunagel (who produced the album) on drums.
Montoya is revered for his ability to move from subtly melodic guitar playing to slash-and-burn pyrotechnics. Equally forceful are his deep, soul-baring vocals. Years of constant touring, playing unforgettable shows at clubs, concert halls and festivals, have earned him his position at the top of the contemporary blues world. And it all started with a chance meeting in the mid-1970s with legendary bluesman Albert Collins, who offered Montoya a spot in his band, where he stayed for the next five years. Coco was initially hired as Collins’ drummer and later—with Albert mentoring him on the guitar—became the band’s rhythm guitarist. A few years after leaving Collins’ band, British blues star John Mayall heard Coco jamming onstage and was so impressed that he hired him for the newly reformed Bluesbreakers.
When Montoya launched his solo career in 1993, he already had an instantly recognizable burning-hot sound and style all his own. His debut album solidified his stature as the blues’ newest rising star. Over the course of his nine previous solo albums, Montoya has consistently delivered piping hot blues, rock and soul. His new album (his fifth for Alligator), Coming In Hot, is another instant classic. Montoya’s fiery, melodic guitar playing and passionate vocals fuel one memorable song after another. Guitar Player says Montoya plays “stunning, powerhouse blues with a searing tone, emotional soloing, and energetic, unforced vocals.”
His debut as a leader, 1995’s Gotta Mind To Travel (originally on Silvertone Records in England and later issued in the USA on Blind Pig Records), became an instant fan favorite. In 1996, he won the Blues Music Award for Best New Blues Artist. Two more Blind Pig albums followed, and Coco was well on his way to the top of the blues-rock world.
In 2000, Coco’s Alligator debut, Suspicion, quickly became the best-selling album of his career, earning regular radio airplay on over 120 stations nationwide. After two more highly successful and massively popular Alligator releases—2002’s Can’t Look Back and 2007’s Dirty Deal—Montoya signed with Ruf Records, cutting both a live and a studio album. Returning to Alligator with 2017’s Hard Truth, Montoya delivered another fan and critical favorite.
Now, with Coming In Hot, Coco Montoya again turns the burners to high and cooks from start to finish. Still an indefatigable road warrior, Montoya continues to tour virtually nonstop, bringing audiences to their feet from New York to New Orleans to Chicago to San Francisco. Across the globe, he’s performed in countries including Australia, Belgium, Switzerland, Germany, Norway, England, Brazil, Argentina, Spain, Mexico, Ecuador, Italy, Poland, Russia, the Czech Republic and Canada. He'll spend all summer and fall touring, brining his music to old fans and new all across the country. According to Living Blues, “Montoya is a show-stopper...heartfelt singing and merciless guitar with a wicked icy burn...he swings like a jazz man and stings like the Iceman, Albert Collins. He is one of the truly gifted blues artists of his generation.”
2019 Coming In Hot Tour:
Aug 24 Trois-Rivières en blues,Trois-Rivières, QC, CANADA
Sept 18 The Siren, Morro Bay, CA
Sept 19 The Rose, Pasadena, CA
Sept 20 Strummer's, Fresno, CA
Sept 21 Museum of Making Music, Carlsbad, CA
Sept 22 The Canyon, Agoura Hills, CA
Sept 24 The Sofia Tsakopoulos Center for the Arts, Sacramento, CA
Sept 25 Freight & Salvage Coffeehouse with Elvin Bishop’s Big Fun Trio, Berkeley, CA
Sept 26 Freight & Salvage Coffeehouse with Elvin Bishop’s Big Fun Trio, Berkeley, CA
Sept 28 The Commonwealth Room, Salt Lake City, UT
Sept 29 The Olympic, Boise, ID
Oct 10 Moxi Theater, Greeley, CO
Oct 11 Soiled Dove Underground, Denver, CO
Oct 12 Ute Theater, Rifle, CO
Oct 15 WAVE, Wichita, KS
Oct 16 The Waiting Room Lounge, Omaha, NE
Oct 17 J.R. Sullivan Theater at The Nordlof Center, Rockford, IL
Oct 18 Club Arcada, St. Charles, IL
Oct 19 Thrasher Opera House, Green Lake, WI
Oct 20 Lefty's Live Music, Des Moines, IA
Oct 22 The Castle Theatre, Bloomington, IL
Oct 23 The Magic Bag, Ferndale, MI
Oct 24 Sorg Opera House, Middletown, OH
Oct 25 Thunderbird Café & Music Hall, Pittsburgh, PA
Oct 26 Kennett Flash, Kennett Square, PA
Oct 27 The Lizzie Rose Music Room, Tuckerton, NJ
Oct 29 The Iridium, New York, NY
Oct 31 Music By The Bay Live – Live Blues Concert Series, Uxbridge, ON, CANADA
Nov 01 Peter’s Players, Gravenhurst, ON, CANADA
Nov 02 King Of Clubs, Syracuse, NY
Nov 03 Bear’s Den Showroom/Seneca Niagara Resort & Casino, Niagara Falls, NY
Nov 05 Port City Music Hall, Portland, ME
Nov 06 Iron Horse Music Hall, Northampton, MA
Nov 07 Bull Run Restaurant, Shirley, MA
Nov 08 Putnam Fund Shows at Laconia High School, Laconia, NH
Nov 09 Narrows Center for the Arts, Fall River, MA
Nov 10 9 Wallis, Beverly, MA
Nov 12 City Winery, Washington, DC
Nov 13 Ashland Theatre, Ashland, VA
Nov 14 The Blue Note Grill ,Durham, NC
Nov 16 Arts Garage, Delray Beach, FL
Nov 17 The Attic at Rock Brothers,Tampa, FL
Nov 19 Red Dragon Listening Room, Baton Rouge, LA
Nov 22 Antone's, Austin, TX
Nov 23 The Heights Theater, Houston, TX
Nov 24 The Kessler, Dallas, TX
Dec 13 Flirting with the Blues 2019, Amersfoort, NETHERLANDS
