Stephen Inglis

In 2016, Stephen Inglis followed up a show in Dallas with a private tour of the legendary building at 508 Park Ave., the site of Robert Johnson’s second and final recording session.

An acclaimed Hawai’ian slack-key guitarist and vocalist, Inglis had many reasons to feel connected to the legendary Johnson, who listened to a wide array of music. Hawai’ian music was extremely popular when Johnson was recording, and it cross-pollinated with the blues.  The steel bar for lap slide came from the islands along with slack key.

Multifarious guitar player Stephen Inglis is no stranger to the music of the Grateful Dead. A life-long Deadhead through and through, Stephen took his native Hawaiian guitar playing roots and mingled it with the band that changed his life. In conversation with Grateful Web, Stephen opened up about his ambitious solo Slack Key Guitar-centered album Cut The Dead Some Slack.

GW: Can you talk about your musical beginnings? Who are your influences?

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