Crystal Thomas - Now Dig This (2021)

Crystal Thomas is big and she's bluesy, and raw. She can grind a note and use it any way she wants. After all, she grew up listening to Muddy, Jimmy Reed, Johnnie Taylor and rapped, too. Gritty music is in her blood. She loves this life. Crystal sings in her car at red lights. She sang before she talked. And, she belts it out in church, in juke joints, and just got back from Japan, Hong Kong and Europe ­ wowing the crowds. This woman sings with the kind of raw emotion that makes you glad you are alive ­ even if life is tough.

Crystal is the real deal. She can tell you about growing up in Mansfield, Louisiana in the deep country. She remembers her favorite pig turned into supper. Mostly, she remembers playing DJ while her family played cards and picking up the trombone in fifth grade because her brother had it and her mom didn¹t want to purchase another instrument. At college in Dallas she started working with Johnnie Taylor horn section for a couple of years. She is featured on the Bloodest Saxophone album "Texas Queens 5" and has out a deep blues 45rpm on Dialtone Records.

This album, "Now Dig This", pairs Crystal with a super-star band that includes Lucky Peterson on keys which allows her to lean into the mic and sing. Lucky has played with everyone ­ Otis Rush, Etta James, Bobby Bland. Johnny and Jason Moeller offer up guitar and drums ­ Johnny finding time between tours with the Thunderbirds, and Jason comes from backing artists from the Thunderbirds to Jewel Brown and Little Joe Washington. Then there's the big round bass sound of Chuck Rainey, think Aretha, Fats Domino, Barbara Streisand, and hundreds more.