D.K. Harrell – Talkin’ Heavy
12 Tracks – 48 minutes
In 2024, D.K. Harrell won the Blues Music Award for Best Emerging Artist based on the release of his 2023 debut album The Right Man. D’Kieran “D.K.” Harrell was born in Ruston, Louisiana in 1998 and grew up without a father. At age 2, he heard B.B. King and tried to sing along with him. He received his first guitar at age 12 and by age 16, he was already writing his own songs. At age 15 or 16, he sent videos, which he notes were not very good, to Bruce Iglauer, President and founder of Alligator Records. Bruce sent them back and offered encouragement and told him to keep at it. Now, at age 27, he is making his first Alligator album release.
As a boy he sang in the church choir. He brings this album to a close with the fervor of that recollection. As his direction moved to playing the blues, his classmates teased him for his interest in the blues rather than the more popular hip-hop. As recent as three years ago, D.K. was homeless, living out of his car and searching for day work. All of his experiences can be heard in the lyrics of many of his songs and are certainly fodder for the blues.
B.B King continued to be his inspiration. He studied every video he could find of B.B. to learn his tone, stagecraft and band leadership. In 2022, D.K. won the B.B. King of the Blues Award for Preserving Traditional Blues Heritage from the Jus Blues Music Foundation. Now, still a very young man, D.K. has toured across America and traveled into Canada and played in many European countries. In 2025, he has already played many concerts and festivals and more are scheduled. Along the way, he incorporated the sound and talents of many of the blues greats such as Albert King & Muddy Waters into his own sound.
D.K. plays lead guitar and sings all lead vocals. He is joined by Kid Andersen, who produced and co-wrote six of the songs with D.K., on rhythm guitar; Jim Pugh on organ and piano; and Andrew Moss on bass; and a long list of guest artists. All songs on the album are originals with D.K. penning four more, Jim Pugh writing one, and Jim and Kid joining D.K on one.
On the opening track, D.K. says he just wants a “A Little Taste” as he comes burning out with stinging guitar leads and exclaims “Quit playing hard to get when you are feeling just the same”. “The way you move just drives me insane” as Jim’s organ percolates behind his guitar before jumping into a lead and with Russ Bryant’s tenor sax rolling through. He states he is “Grown Now” noting “put me to the test, I have finally found success…Dreaming of tailored suits and suede Italian boots”. On the title song, he says “just take a look at the news, look all around you, heavy with the blues. Politicians talkin’ out of their heads, prices so high you can’t be fed, says we are all winners sure to get ahead”. “If we don’t do better, we will have nothing left”.
On “PTLD”, he discusses a man with “Post traumatic love disorder”, a person who used to be so much fun…now he just sits at the bar all alone”. “When I was a kid, my grandpa put me on his knee… and said if you listen here are a few of “Life’s Lesson”. “Lesson number one – be true to yourself. Lesson Number two – be kind to everyone else.” “One day you might be up, but next you might be down”. The next song opens very quietly with Jim’s piano and D.K. quickly declaring “Things might not be what they seem” and the music shifts into a rousing roar as he identifies himself as a “Good Man”.
“Vibe With Me” is his modern appeal to young listeners speaking in today’s terms asking her “let’s have a good time and let love take the wheel. ” He declares “I can almost hear my heart thumping in my chest. I struggle to even sing or play in tune every time you walk “Into the Room”. In a soulful croon, he sings “I have a roof over my head “No Thanks to You”. “I got here all on my own.”
He explains, “When I was a younger man, I wanted to go out real late at night, but my folks would say the only thing open this late at night is “Liquor Stores and Legs”. So now I am grown, and I think you know what I am going to do.” He tells her “Everything I say will come true; you can bet your bottom dollar I am going to show you “What Real Men Do”. He closes the album with “Praise the Blues” as he declares “the blues and the gospel are just the same” in a joyous spiritual backed by a choir and his guitar that will make you sing Hallelujah and clap your hands.
D.K. explains “The past gives a blueprint that you can add yourself to. I keep progressing by keeping all the genres in the mold. And I keep exposing my music to younger folks wherever I go. I am hell-bent on crossing the blues over to a new generation of fans.” Listening to D.K. you can hear the strands of B.B. King floating in his vocals and guitar work. His deep, clear voice honed in the church rings true and will draw everyone who listens into his messages. He is a young man with great growth potential and can be a beacon to draw others into the power of the blues.
