Review and Photos by Fred Kuhlman
Promoter: Danny Zelisko Presents (https://dzplive.com/ )
Venue: Celebrity Theatre (https://celebritytheatre.com/ )
Date: Thursday September 17th, 2026
Tour: Hard Road Tour 2026
This is the third time I have seen Christone “Kingfish” Ingram. The first was when he performed at the Extra Innings Festival in 2024. At that time, I thought he stole the day as the best performance outside of the headliner. I then saw him again when he was part of the Experience Hendrix tour. I loved when he performed some Jimi Hendrix songs with one of the truly greats blues performers, Taj Mahal.
His style and sound remind me of the great B.B. King. He is that good. As a blues guitarist he stands with some of the greats. He has performed with a lot of the other amazing blues players.
During their almost 2-hour performance, they performed 13 amazing songs. At one point, Kingfish went into the audience and performed part of his song. I loved how a lot of people rushed over to where he was and tried to video him. During the performance, there were a number of standing ovations and the crowd cheered after every song.
One of my favorite songs was “662”. Give it a listen and I am sure you will enjoy it also. I was also impressed when they performed “Bad Like Me”. It sounded so much better live then the album cut. Personally, I believe to really enjoy blues or jazz you need to hear the songs performed live. The bands add more grit and emotion when playing them live. I really hope that Christone and his management team put together a live album of this tour.
Personally, I loved the show. I have a soft spot for the Blues and Jazz. I like attending those shows to see the magic of the performers. Next to the Progressive Rock/Metal bands, the Blues and Jazz performers are some of the greatest true musicians out there. If you get a chance to see Christone perform, I can very highly recommend it. Check out his website for upcoming shows.
The evening started out with local Phoenix Blues band, The Sugar Thieves. They are a 4-piece band with soulful vocals by Meridith Moore, guitarist Mikel Lander, drummer Todd Chuba and bass player Jeff Naylor. I really enjoyed their sound and Meridith was extremely dynamic.
They are a frequent band at the Rhythm Room. If you want to see them perform then you need to do it in the next 9 months since the Rhythm Room will be closing their doors in May of 2027. You can see where they will be performing on their website. I can recommend seeing them if you like blues/jazz music.
Christone “Kingfish” Ingram Social Media sites:
Website: https://www.christonekingfishingram.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/callmekingfish
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/callmekingfish/
YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@callmekingfish
Record Label: Redzero Records
Photos © Fred Kuhlman 2026, All Rights Reserved
The Sugar Thieves Social Media sites:
Website: https://sugarthieves.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/OfficialSugarThieves
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sugarthieves/
YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@SugarThieves
Photos © Fred Kuhlman 2026, All Rights Reserved
Christone “Kingfish” Ingram Setlist:
Midnight Heat
Fresh Out
Voodoo Charm
Empty Promises (Michael Burks cover)
Not Gonna Lie
Mississippi Night
Rock & Roll
Nothin’ but Your Love
Bad Like Me
Outside of This Town
662
Encore:
S.S.S
Catfish Blues (Robert Petway cover)
