John Nemeth

John Nemeth, born in Boise, Idaho, is where his love for the blues began—and the starting point for a journey that’s taken him from his first gigs fronting a teenaged band to five Blues Music Award nominations in 2013 alone.

Son of a Hungarian immigrant, Nemeth gained his early chops on the harmonica, building on the style of rootsy heroes like Little Walter and Sonny Boy Williamson. Németh’s first paid performance came in 1991, when he was hired to perform drinking songs for a pinochle luncheon held by the Catholic Daughters of America before setting his sights on the Boise club scene, where, for nearly a decade, he played seven nights a week at local pubs, taverns, joints, and parties.

After opening a show for Junior Watson, Németh was tapped as tour opener for the guitar great, a gig that took him across the United States, to Scandinavia, and into the recording studio for his 2004 solo debut, "Come And Get It", featuring Watson. When Németh’s girlfriend decided to relocate to California, he knew he couldn’t lose her, so he packed up the house and traveled west. It was an astute move: shortly after his arrival, Németh was signed by Blind Pig Records to a three-album deal. 

In early 2013, Németh traded his life on the west coast to settle down in Memphis, Tennessee. He and Jaki, that girlfriend he followed to California, had married and started a family, and Memphis made sense for multiple reasons: It’s centrally located for touring, the cost of living is inexpensive, and the river town is the historical ground zero for American roots music.

Németh landed in the perfect place, Electraphonic Studio, where he quickly laid down thirteen tracks. The tapes from that session caught the ear of manager Charles Driebe, who took the record to Denby Auble of Blue Corn Music. The Americana/roots music label signed Németh that year, adding him to a roster that boasts the likes of Ruthie Foster, Gurf Morlix, and Steve Forbert.

"Memphis Grease", the long-awaited follow up to Németh’s fourth solo studio release, 2010’s "Name The Day!", embodies everything that sets this artist apart from the revivalist pack.  It’s innovative and unique while epitomizing the absolute best of the genre, sweet blue-eyed soul ala the Box Tops or Roy Head, delivered via two fistfuls of originals and a trio of carefully chosen covers, including Roy Orbison’s “Crying,” reinvented here as a slow-burning soul number that matches anything that came out of circa-late 1960s’ Muscle Shoals.

(John Nemeth at Riverfront Blues Festival, Wilmington Delaware 2015)