Article Contributed by Gratefulweb
Published on 2026-09-17
New Orleans guitarist, singer and songwriter Eric Johanson will release his new single, “Alligator Smile,” on September 18. The song is the second preview of his forthcoming album, The Open Bayou, arriving October 16 on Johanson’s own Levee Ward Records.
Following the August single “Shake the Fever,” “Alligator Smile” continues the album’s move into a heavier, less easily categorized version of Johanson’s blues-rooted sound. The track carries an unmistakable Louisiana feel and is built around his slide guitar and the chemistry of a stripped-down power trio.
Johanson produced The Open Bayou himself, recording the album over three days while on tour with bassist Will Repholz and drummer Jake Gartenstein. The record was mixed and mastered by Bill Skibbe, whose recent work includes Jack White, The Raconteurs and The Kills.
Rather than leaving his blues roots behind, The Open Bayou finds Johanson seeing how far they can reach, bringing fuzz, slide guitar and improvisational playing into songs that move between heavy rock, swampy grooves and more dreamlike territory.
The album captures Johanson’s touring trio with an emphasis on immediacy rather than polish. Self-produced and recorded quickly, it pairs blues-derived guitar language with heavier riffs, trance-like rhythms and moments that push into stranger territory.
The Open Bayou follows Johanson’s 2023 release The Deep and the Dirty, which reached No. 1 on Billboard’s Blues Albums chart, and his 2025 live album, Live in Mississippi.
Eric Johanson — The Open Bayou
October 16, 2026
Levee Ward Records
