Les Kerr: About Les

Les blends musical influences to create his signature "Hillbilly Blues Caribbean Rock & Roll."

Les Kerr is a songwriter, recording artist and performer who brings blues, New Orleans music, Zydeco, rock and bluegrass together to create his “Hillbilly Blues Caribbean Rock & Roll.” Now based in Nashville, Kerr was born in Louisiana and raised in Mississippi in Jackson and the Gulf Coast city of Pascagoula.

Kerr’s concert highlights include headlining annual Mardi Gras concerts at Nashville’s Bluebird Café since 1992. He has also performed at the Country Music Hall of Fame and the Music City Jazz and Heritage Festival (both in Nashville), the Franklin (TN) Jazz Festival, Huntsville, Alabama’s Panoply Festival and Jackson, Tennessee’s Rockabilly Fest. Kerr’s live performances have pleased audiences from Mississippi to Michigan.

The songwriter knows whereof he sings when it comes to the blues and New Orleans sounds he performs. His latest CD, Crawfish Caravan, contains fifteen songs including nine that were written or co-written by the singer. "Slippin’ into Slidell" and "Magnolia Springs" show the influence of Cajun music on Kerr, while "Justine" and "Buy Your Way out of the Blues" illustrate his appreciation for the blues. Gutsy interpretations of "Cotton Fields" and "House of the Rising Sun" are also standouts on the album.

Red Blues was nominated for Blues CD of the Year in 2001 by the Music City Blues Society. Kerr wrote or co-wrote twelve of the album’s thirteen songs. About the album, the New Orleans-based music magazine OffBEAT stated, “Kerr’s musical stylings aptly cover the gamut from rockabilly to boogie to Caribbean beats with ease.”

Christmas on the Coast includes vocal accompaniment on several songs by The Jordanaires, who are members of the Country Music Hall of Fame. The legendary group recorded with Elvis Presley, Patsy Cline and other notable entertainers. The CD contains ten songs, several of which were written by Kerr, and received positive reviews from the Commercial Appeal (Memphis, TN), The Tennessean (Nashville, TN), the Clarion-Ledger (Jackson, MS) and other publications.

Photo: Alan Whitman

Below the Level of the Sea shows the influence of New Orleans on the singer. Several songs, including "New Orleans in the Spring," were inspired by the Crescent City. The Cajun-influenced title track and a Zydeco version of "Frankie and Johnny" illustrate Kerr’s diversity and appreciation of the music of the region.

Southern Sound Sessions contains sixteen original songs recorded in Mobile, Alabama, another Gulf Coast city Les Kerr called home for seven years before he moved to Nashville.

A three-time nominee for Music City Blues Society awards, Kerr has been nominated for the society’s Male Vocalist of the Year, CD of the Year and Entertainer of the Year awards. He placed in the top three in the Music City Blues Acoustic Blues Challenge – 2000. He has served as vice president of the Music City Blues Society and on the board of directors of the Tennessee Jazz and Blues Society.

Also a journalist, Kerr co-authored The All-American Truck Stop Cookbook and frequently contributes to magazines and newspapers. Tennessee, published in 2004 by Graphic Arts Center Publishing, features Kerr’s words and photos by George Humphries. In 2002, he contributed to The Bluebird Café Scrapbook with an essay about his Mardi Gras concerts and a recipe for pralines.

NEED A HIGH RESOLUTION COPY OF EITHER OF THESE PHOTOS?
CLICK TO DOWNLOAD 300 dpi PHOTOS:
Promo Photo 1 Promo Photo 2 Promo Photo 3 Promo Photo 4