Cover photo © 2026 Laura Carbone
Once Bobby “Blue” Bland has recorded a song, his fans are usually very selective about who they believe should even attempt to cover the song. So, what is it about newcomer, singer and multi-instrumentalist, Sean “Mack” McDonald, that makes those same fans enthusiastically welcome his version of “Rockin’ in the Same Old Boat”, which was featured on his debut album (Have Mercy!)? Probably the same qualities that led to him recently being nominated for a Blues Music Award for best emerging artist album. Sean’s career is skyrocketing, as it seems he can be seen just about everywhere, and Blues Blast Magazine was fortunate to have the opportunity to talk to Sean while he was performing on the most recent Legendary Rhythm and Blues Cruise.
Sean was born in Augusta, Georgia, and played drums and piano first, before directing his focus to guitar. His family members had musical talent, but he is the first of them to make music his career. And he was inspired and encouraged by others, beginning as early as three years old.
“My dad and grandfather were drummers, although not professionally, so I first learned to play drums from my dad and started piano lessons at age three. I also saw lots of local musicians around town, particularly at church. People like Rick Calloway, Eddie Bynes, Karen Gordon, and others. They all inspired me to become a musician. One of my mentors was a saxophonist from my hometown named Tim Sanders. He played with Wilson Pickett, Percy Sledge, and Clarence Carter, and he taught in my middle school. He became one of my closest friends and greatest inspiration. And both he and my dad told me, ‘Once you graduate college, don’t move back home. There’s nothing down here for you. Don’t make it a permanent thing’. In college I earned a degree in audio production with a minor in music industry. But I barely use my degree. It’s great for obtaining knowledge about mixing, but when I recorded the album, I was not engineering it, Kid (Andersen) was. After college I followed Tim and my dad’s advice and moved outside of Nashville.”
When asked about influences on his guitar playing, Sean emphasized some lesser-known artists.
“Bobby Bland always had the best guitar players, like Clarence Hollimon, Roy Gaines, Wayne Bennet—and that was just during the first ten years. Clarence and Wayne and Roy are three of the greatest guitar players ever. I also really dig Bill Jennings and Pete “Guitar” Lewis. Also, Junior Watson. Junior is one of the quirkiest guitar players I’ve ever heard and I love him. He’s played with everybody—Big Mama Thornton, George “Harmonica” Smith, Kim Wilson, Rod Piazza. When you do that, you end up formulating a style that a lot of people copy. You might be a sideman, but you have a lot of influence on a record or a show. That’s why I dig sidemen. We all know Little Walter and Muddy Waters, but not as many people know about Robert Lockwood or Luther Tucker, the Myers Brothers, Pete Lewis, or Tiny Webb. They were laying down some of the baddest guitar you’ve ever heard in your life and that’s who I get a lot of inspiration from.”
Sean’s notoriety is growing thanks to more established artists who help to promote his talent. He was especially grateful to Jontavious Willis, who was also nominated for a Blues Music Award this year, for best traditional blues male artist.
“Jontavious saw a Facebook post of me when I was fifteen and was playing “Dust My Broom” in a local music store. That video clip had gone viral, and a lot of people were reposting it, and he got wind of it. After seeing it, he gave me my first show outside of my hometown and connected me to a lot of good people. He really helped me out! It’s a brotherhood—a family type of thing. There can be some bitter competition on stage, just because that’s how music is. If you have a bunch of guitar players on stage, we’re going to try to cut somebody’s head off. But offstage there is a lot of support.”
Sean’s album, Have Mercy!, was produced by Kid Andersen and released on Jim Pugh’s “Little Village Foundation” label. Sean explained how he ended up connecting with them.
“I was already a big fan of Greaseland and Kid Andersen. In fact, he has given me a few guitars. I ended up meeting Jim Pugh at the 2023 Blues Music Awards and later got to be pretty close to him. Then I was looking for a label to put out a record, and Jim ended up calling me. The Little Village Foundation is a great deal for someone’s first record. Knowing what I know about the business, it’s not as lucrative as we think it is. You think you can sign a contract and become famous, but it’s not that easy. There are a lot of hoops that you have to jump through. I think a lot of people sign contracts too quickly.”
Sean was relieved that the Bobby Bland cover featured on the album was received so well.
“My father introduced me to Bobby Bland’s music, but I hadn’t heard that song before. Kid was the one who picked it. He had been wanting someone to cover it. When it was done but not yet released, I sent it to Rodd (Bobby Bland’s son) and after 45 seconds of listening to it, he said, ‘I don’t know whether to hug you or punch you because I’ve been wanting to do that with the Member’s Only band, and you didn’t call me.”
Sean’s album has some other great covers, as well, including a mesmerizing version of “Don’t Let the Devil Ride”. But it also contains four original songs. He was asked about his writing, and about what sounds like a very personal song, entitled “Fakin’ It”.
“If I’m inspired by something, if something drops in my head, I’ll write it. I’ve tried sitting down to just write song, but I figured out that it’s something divine and you can’t force it. There was a point where I had written a couple of songs one day and I thought they were good. I tried to write the next day, and it was terrible. I just have to wait for the songs to come—wait until I’m inspired by something that is happening. “Fakin’ It” is probably the most meaningful of my original songs. I was going through a period of depression—I had a little heartbreak, and I had to move into an apartment by myself, so I was lonely, but I had to be in the face of all these people and still do shows. You can’t let that show all the way, so I wrote it down and once I finally got it down, I thought ‘that’s exactly what I’m going through’. And I know someone else is going through it too. Hopefully they’ll hear it and like it and make a change. I was inspired by the song “Getting Married Soon” by Prince La La. The funny thing is the beat—the beat is happy, but it’s some of the saddest lyrics you’ll ever hear. I’m really proud of that one. It’s absolutely cathartic to sing. Music has literally saved my life. If I didn’t have it, I don’t know what I’d do.”
At twenty-four, Sean has traveled the world far more often than most people his age and has already been hired to perform on several music cruises.
“I’ve been to Europe seven times, and have gone to Brazil, Uruguay, Mexico, the Bahamas, Canada, Switzerland, Sweden, France, Belgium, Germany, Spain. The Czech Republic and Holland, all in the last three years. And this year I’m adding Romania. Estonia and Italy. The Cruises are great because you can run around and play with everybody, but that can also be a bad thing because for the first two nights I’ll be out until 4 or 5 in the morning. When I was on my first two cruises, I was at Mr. Sipp’s late night jam every single night. Now, it gets to the point where I’m really tired.”
Sean is in a group of young musicians who are viewed as the future of the blues. It is a relief to many blues fans that young musicians are interested in the blues, because it seemed for many years as if it did not appeal to those under age 50. And some young African-American artists had viewed it as just a reminder of more oppressive times. Sean was asked about that viewpoint.
“I completely understand where people were coming from about those times, and it makes a lot of sense. But the past informs you of the present and informs you of the future. You can’t know where you’re going if you don’t know where you came from, and the blues is the root of all American music. You take any popular genre of music—you can’t strip it down and not see the blues there. I say it’s in my DNA to be a blues musician. That’s what my people play. And I’m just grateful to be another chapter in the book of this music!”
Sean was asked if he had any advice for other young musicians.
“My advice is to learn how to follow. If you’re starting out, learn how to be a good sideman and you’ll be an even better bandleader. Study the great bandleaders and great performers. That’s what I did. I was always watching James Brown and Ray Charles and also studying the musicians who played with them. Also—learn your chords. Please, learn your chords. The best lead players know their chords. Get from point A to point B in different ways, and don’t be afraid to accept defeat. There are millions of musicians out here that are 15 times better than you. There’s always someone out here who can eat your lunch. Know that and let that keep you humble, and don’t ever stop learning. I’m still not where I want to be as a musician. I know I can play, but I can be so much better, and I want to be so much better. That’s what keeps me humble.”
Sean has already had the opportunity to play with numerous legends, and he was asked if there was anyone with whom he particularly hoped to share the stage, and whether there were any new project in the making.
“I’ve been so fortunate to get to play with Bob Stroger, Fillmore Slim, and last night I got to jam with Billy Branch in the piano bar—so I was really excited about that! I’d love to get the chance to play with Taj Mahal, Buddy Guy and Jubu Smith. As far as new projects are concerned, I’m still riding the wave of this first album. But I am always writing and whenever the next project comes along, I just want to be ready. As my mentor Tim Sanders always said, ‘Chance favors the prepared mind’.”
Blues fans are prepared to welcome whatever comes next from this extraordinarily talented young man. You can find out more about Sean “Mack” McDonald at his Instagram page, @mackmcdonaldofficial, and you can purchase his debut album at www.littlevillagefoundation.com.
