Article Contributed by Devious Planet
Published on 2026-05-17
Photo: Courtesy of Ghalia Volt
Ghalia Volt drops Burn The House Down today, a fierce, groove-heavy blast of blues-soaked rock & roll out via Ruf Records. Watch the video for the title track here.
With Burn The House Down, produced by JD Simo and recorded in Nashville, Volt pushes that sound even further — capturing the immediacy of her live performances while expanding her sonic reach. Her first single, “Ride,” is fierce, gritty, and hip-shaking, a blast of blues-soaked rock & roll swagger that sets the tone for the album.
Recently featured on 60 Minutes alongside Christone “Kingfish” Ingram, Volt was recognized as part of a new generation carrying blues music forward. It’s a role she’s grown into over the past decade, shaped in part by her move from Belgium to New Orleans in 2016 — a turning point that immersed her fully in American roots traditions while sharpening her raw, instinct-driven approach.
That same year, she released Have You Seen My Woman, a breakthrough that introduced her stripped-down, streetwise sound. She followed with Let the Demons Out in 2017, and not long after, Volt embraced a fiercely independent path, developing her one-woman band setup — singing, playing guitar, and working percussion simultaneously — a format that became central to both her recordings and her reputation as a live performer.
Her rise continued with Mississippi Blend in 2019, which reached No. 3 on the Billboard Blues Albums chart, and Shout Sister Shout! in 2023, which climbed to No. 2. Across these releases, Volt has steadily built one of the most compelling catalogs in modern blues, balancing raw tradition with a forward-looking edge. Along the way, she’s collaborated widely, toured extensively, and become known for performances that feel less like concerts and more like controlled combustion.
Critics have consistently pointed to both her intensity and originality. No Depression called her work “a relentless, blistering heat-seeking missile you can’t escape even if you wanted to,” while American Blues Scene described Shout Sister Shout! as “the album of her career.” OffBeat Magazine praised it as “a real buzz of a record… with no duds or down moments,” and Glide Magazine noted that Volt “is respectful of her roots even as she so stylishly transcends them.”
That balance — between reverence and reinvention — defines Volt’s music. Her sound draws from hill country blues, rockabilly, and garage rock, but it refuses to sit still. As Tinnitist observed, she’s an “unstoppable performer… with blazing slide guitar and sandy, sassy vocals,” capable of moving between grit and groove without losing momentum.
With Burn The House Down, Volt leans further into that intensity. The album captures the sound of an artist fully in command — pushing beyond genre lines while staying grounded in the raw, physical energy that defines great blues records. And with “Ride,” she makes a clear statement: this is music meant to move — fast, loud, and without compromise.
Ghalia Volt Tour Dates
05.22 — Colorado Springs, CO — Phil Long Music Hall
05.23 — Fort Collins, CO — Washington's
05.24 — Avon, CO — Beaver Creek Village
05.26 — Arroyo Seco, NM — Seco Live Stage
05.27 — Santa Fe, NM — Unit B
05.28 — Albuquerque, NM — KiMo Theatre
05.29 — Arenas Valley, NM — Whiskey Creek Zocalo
05.30 — Santa Fe, NM — Tumbleroot Brewery & Distillery
06.02 — Casper, WY — The Rialto
06.04 — Bozeman, MT — The Emerson Centre
06.05 — Kalispell, MT — Watchholz College
06.06 — Spokane, WA — Bing Crosby Theater
06.07 — Seattle, WA — Neptune Theater
06.10 — Portland, OR — Aladdin Theater
06.11 — Bend, OR — Tower Theater of Bend
06.12 — Boise, ID — Egyptian Theater
06.13 — Salt Lake City, UT — Utah Blues Festival
06.14 — Grand Junction, CO — Mesa Theater
06.17 — Henderson, KY — WC Handy Festival
08.15 — Duluth, MN — Bayfront Blues Festival
10.01 — Minneapolis, MN — Pantages Theater
10.03 — Stoughton, WI — Stoughton Opera House
10.04 — Des Plaines, IL — Des Plaines Theater
10.08 — Columbus, OH — Lincoln Theater
10.09 — Cincinnati, OH — Taft Theatre Ballroom
10.10 — Wabash, IN — Eagle Theater
10.11 — Cleveland, OH — House of Blues
10.14 — Warrendale, PA — Jergel's
10.15 — New York, NY — Town Hall
10.16 — Homer, NY — Center for the Arts
10.17 — Kingston, NY — Assembly Kingston
10.18 — Northampton, MA — Academy of Music
10.21 — Red Bank, NJ — Count Basie Centre for the Arts
10.22 — Old Saybrook, CT — Katharine Hepburn Cultural Arts Center
10.23 — Fairfield, CT — Sacred Heart Community Theatre
10.24 — Lebanon, NH — Lebanon Opera House
10.25 — Groton, MA — Groton Hill Music Center
