Distorted fuzzy gritty aggressive crunchy garage rock ‘n’ funk ‘n’ blues. Black Joe Lewis and the Honeybears rock this joint and every joint they play with explosive, bombastic, tongue-firmly-in-cheek creations. If not for a twist of fate, Lewis might never have gotten up on stage. Growing up in the small town of Round Rock, Texas, he was more likely to be found on the football field than in the band room, but playing around with a guitar at an Austin pawn shop job put him at a life crossroads.

With raspy vocals, crunchy guitar and horns a-blasting, he exploded onto his hometown scene in 2007 with a self-titled album that saw him on stage at South by Southwest and on the road at Lollapaloosa. Over the past couple of decades there have been over a dozen critically acclaimed LPs and EPs, sometimes with the Honeybears, sometimes without. There have also been career bumps and bruises including lawsuit-laden tussles with record and management companies. One even urged him to do an album of Elvis covers. They all wanted him to smooth over the edges. He declined. Lewis has been steadfast in his unique rough and ready I-yam-what-I-yam kinda way. He doesn’t care about genres or record companies, just about the music and putting on a hip-shaking, audacious show.

— Eric Rosenbaum