Article Contributed by Brat Girl Media
Published on 2026-08-30
Antone’s 50th Presents Chicago Bound marks the culmination of Antone’s 50th anniversary celebration while looking ahead to the club’s next chapter.
The flagship release for Blues Till 2 Recording Company, distributed by Select-O-Hits, is out now across all major platforms worldwide.
The album’s cover art captures the spirit of the project, depicting a Chicago-bound tour bus loaded with musicians rolling toward the next gig. Illustrated by Diana Ray, the artwork carries a particularly meaningful connection to Antone’s, as her work has been part of the club’s visual history for decades.
The all-star album brings together an extraordinary lineup from across the Antone’s musical family. Along for the ride are John Primer, Kim Wilson and The Fabulous Thunderbirds, Lavelle White, Anson Funderburgh, Billy F Gibbons and the BFGs, Ivan Neville & CC Adcock with Keith Richards and Ronnie Wood featuring Jimmie Vaughan, Doyle Bramhall II, Lurrie Bell, and a busload of remarkable musicians.
The album’s first single, “Hangin’ On A Cliff,” is a raw Texas blues original written by Billy F Gibbons specifically for the record as a tribute to Antone’s founder Clifford Antone.
With its clever nod to “Cliff” in the lyrics, the song celebrates the man whose passion for the blues helped shape Antone’s and influence generations of musicians who passed through its doors. Gibbons brings his unmistakable Texas swagger to the track, delivering gritty, no-frills blues rooted in the sound and spirit that have long been part of the Antone’s story.
“Hangin’ On A Cliff” premiered in Relix Magazine on July 17.
“I Wouldn’t Treat A Dog (The Way You Treated Me),” the second single from the album, reaches into the classic catalog of one of the project’s three honorees, the great Bobby “Blue” Bland.
Powerhouse Houston vocalist Kam Franklin fronts a Memphis-flavored band led by Bland’s son, multi-award-winning drummer Rodd Bland, and featuring Bobby’s own four-piece horn section, Bo-Keys bassist and producer Scott Bomar, and Hi Rhythm Section keyboardist Archie “Hubbie” Turner.
Adding to the release-day celebration is “I’m Not Ashamed,” with Kim Wilson and The Fabulous Thunderbirds digging into another Bobby “Blue” Bland classic. Longtime members of the Antone’s musical family, Wilson and the Thunderbirds bring their own Texas blues fire to a song forever connected to one of the album’s honorees.
Blues Rock Review kicked off release day with the premiere of the track and news of the album’s arrival.
Live-to-tape recordings produced by Jacob Sciba and Zach Ernst include tracks by blues heavyweights John Primer, Doyle Bramhall II, Anson Funderburgh, Lurrie Bell, and Lavelle White.
Another highlight is a Clifton Chenier deep cut led by Louisiana torchbearers Ivan Neville and CC Adcock with Keith Richards and Ronnie Wood, featuring Jimmie Vaughan on harmonica.
A walloping shuffle that had been in the works since The Rolling Stones contributed to the LP A Tribute to the King of Zydeco last year, the song was completed by Vaughan’s harmonica playing, a side of the Austin guitarist that has rarely been showcased throughout his professional career.
The album closes the way honoree Muddy Waters closed many of his sets, with the high-energy showstopper “Got My Mojo Working.”
Muddy is honored here by a band featuring Muddy Waters Band alumnus John Primer, Kenny “Beedy Eyes” Smith, son of Muddy’s longtime drummer Willie “Big Eyes” Smith, and slide guitarist Lil’ Ed Williams.
The concept for the album took shape the night co-producer Zach Ernst, Antone’s nightclub director of booking and creative, heard John Primer record an impromptu duo version of Jimmy Rogers’ classic “Chicago Bound” at Electrical Audio in Chicago.
As Ernst explains, “Beyond the song’s deeper meaning—the journey through music cities by African-American artists seeking a better life and better pay than they could find in the South at the time—a ‘road trip record’ or ‘truck stop cassette’ felt like a creative way for Antone’s to honor the great musicians who live on the road. It also traces a spiritual route from central Louisiana, home of Clifton Chenier’s music, through Houston, Austin, Memphis, and on to Chicago.”
The extraordinary mix of artists heard throughout the album speaks to the lasting impact of Antone’s and the musical community Clifford Antone built around it, a legacy that has only grown since his passing in June 2006.
Listen to and stream Antone’s 50th Presents Chicago Bound.
CHICAGO BOUND TRACKLIST
1. John Primer - Chicago Bound
2. Ivan Neville & CC Adcock, with Keith Richards and Ronnie Wood, ft. Jimmie Vaughan - One Step At A Time
3. Kam Franklin with Rodd Bland & the Dreamers - I Wouldn’t Treat A Dog (The Way You Treated Me)
4. Doyle Bramhall II - Give Me Back My Wig
5. Kim Wilson & The Fabulous Thunderbirds - I’m Not Ashamed
6. Anson Funderburgh - Backstroke
7. Clifford Antone - The Blues Is So Big (Interlude)
8. Billy F Gibbons and the BFGs - Hangin’ On A Cliff
9. Lurrie Bell - Act Like You Love Me
10. Lavelle White - Baby What’s Wrong
11. John Primer & Lil’ Ed Williams ft. Kenny “Beedy Eyes” Smith - Got My Mojo Working
