Omar Coleman - Strange Times (2024)

Performed by Omar Coleman, Eddie Roberts, Eric Benny Bloom, Dan Africano, Chris Spies, Cole Rudy, Carl Sorensen, Nick Gerlach, Kari Clifton, Adrienne Short.

It’s the core philosophy of astute curiosity that’s established Omar Coleman as a rising star with iron-clad longevity in the national blues scene. Hailing from the West Side of Chicago, Coleman grew up entrenched in soul music and black music that defined the era in the mid-90s. Working as a barber by trade, Coleman recalls being bored at his shop on Michigan & Adams in Downtown Chicago and sauntering to the music shop down the street to pick up an instrument to pass the time. He landed on the harmonica thinking it would be easy to learn quickly and would fiddle around on it between cutting hair and usurping the shoeshine guy’s chair when he went to shine shoes in the back. With many clients being musicians, Coleman would learn about Chicago being heralded as ‘Home of the Blues’ and was tipped off to legends such as Buddy Guy, Howlin’ Wolf, and more. Another world opened up.

Fast forward to 2020 after tours to Brazil, Japan, and Europe and headlining shows & festival plays as both a solo artist and harmonica player (including the award-winning Sean Carney Band who won the International Blues Challenge) where Coleman found himself flying to Denver, Colorado to work on ‘Strange Times,’ produced by Eddie Roberts of The New Mastersounds. With Roberts at the helm as a master of analog recording techniques and capturing vintage tones, much of the composition work was done in the studio that allowed Coleman the space to expand his style into danceable, soulful groove music and craft lyrics to float over them. The result lands him in the same blues and soul revival category with artists like Charles Bradley, Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings, Gary Clark Jr. and more.