Cover photo © 2025 Alan Frohlichstein

Festival season has been good to Stefan Hillesheim, the German-born slide guitarist and band leader who has called Chicago and the Midwest home for the past several years. Blues Blast Magazine caught up with Hillesheim in early August as he and his band prepared to play a series of club gigs in between those summer festivals. And, as Hillesheim explained, busy is good.

“Yeah, things are going well. It’s the busy season, so, I’m playing a lot of festivals this year, and I’ve been in Chicago for three years now, and, apparently, that’s the (amount of) time it took for me to really get busy. Like the first year, I did a couple of festivals…the second year, a couple more, but this year is the first (time) that I’m really busy over the summer…in conjunction with club gigs.

“I’ve got Kingston Mines tonight (August 7^th), then tomorrow at the (Prairie Crossroads Blues Society Bluesfest) in Urbana, (Illinois), and Saturday (at) the Joliet Blues Festival.

“Yeah, it’s busy. I’m working on a new album, but I’m not complaining at all. Sometimes I wish (that) all the work wouldn’t be distributed over three months and then it goes back to being slower, you know, but that’s just the nature of the game. That’s just how it is. And it’s funny whenever you have a certain day where people are asking for you, it happens to be all on the same day. Sometimes it’s a specific date where I have four or five gig offers, and I have to say, ‘I’m already booked.’

“You wish it would be more spaced out and you could play all these gigs and wouldn’t have to make the hard decisions.”

Like most musicians, Hillesheim has made several key decisions regarding his career. The first was moving, in 2014, from his native Germany all the way to Los Angeles, California, at the age of 27, to attend the Musicians Institute (formerly known as the Guitar Institute of Technology, or GIT). He was awarded “Most Improved Student” in 2015. Hillesheim went on to perform at live venues and do session work.

His love of the blues led to Hillesheim’s next big decision—another move—which came in 2022. This time, he moved with his wife, Shadae, from Southern California to Chicago. As he told Chicago Blues Guide in 2024, “I had once visited and I knew I had to move here (Chicago). It’s not just a stylistic choice-I really appreciate the culture of musicians sitting in with each other. It really is a most friendly competition.”

Hillesheim explained that he doesn’t view his fellow blues musicians as competitors, but as members of a unique group.

“I feel the real competition for most of us is being a musician-if you can pay your bills and do this for a living, you win every month. It’s hard enough, to be honest, and it has not become easier. I’ve been doing this for twelve years now, and being a full-time musician is a challenge.”

He said following his move to the Midwest that everyone on “the scene” is very friendly.

“Maybe it’s me getting older, but in my twenties, I wanted to be one of the ‘baddest’ guys around. But now I’m like, hey, if somebody put out some new music, I’ll support them. It doesn’t matter to me if they sell a couple more CDs, or if they get to play a festival that I really wanted to play.

“The Chicago scene is definitely like that. There are people who come to me and say, ‘Hey man, I’m proud of you, you’re doing a great job,’and that’s nice to hear. Because it’s not like that everywhere. When I lived in California, I felt like it was much more cutthroat and people didn’t want you to get a foot in the door because it’s so competitive.

“I feel that especially in a niche of music that’s not vastly popular, it’s really important that you cheer each other on and support each other. It’s difficult enough to make it happen.”

Hillesheim gave an example of how blues musicians support one another, which, in addition, embodies that well-known Midwestern spirit of community.

“Sometimes it just surprises you. A couple of weeks ago (at a gig), I took my guitar out of the case and had a broken headstock. I had no other guitar with me. We had twenty-five minutes before we hit the stage, and I made a couple of calls and somebody (who) lives fifteen minutes away—who I’ve run into a couple of times—says, ‘Yeah, sure, you can have my Les Paul,’ not a cheap guitar, a good guitar to play the gig. And you’re like, wow, people do look out for each other here. There’s something special about this place too, like this Midwestern mentality plays a role in how people treat each other, and I really like it. That’s why I’m glad I came.”

In addition to all the club gigs and summer festivals, Hillesheim plays a weekly Sunday service in the Greater Chicago area. Playing gospel music on a regular basis started for Hillesheim when he lived in California. He explained that he’s open-minded when it comes to different music genres and willing to “try everything once.” Hillesheim once studied classical guitar when he lived in Germany. When he first came to the U.S., Hillesheim said he “got knocked a little bit” in the direction of country music, and while he doesn’t mind traditional country, like Johnny Cash, for example, Hillesheim quickly figured out that modern country music was not his cup of tea.

“I really didn’t dig it,” he said of that experience.

“Then, I stumbled upon like my first church gig. It was a drummer (friend) who I kicked it off with—Jamar Young. I met him in Los Angeles, and he’s like, ‘Hey, I play in this church, and we could use a guitar player.’ So, we drove into South Central L.A., and I’m like, okay, I didn’t know what to expect.

“I didn’t listen to gospel music. It’s not really popular in Germany. It’s not really that it’s the music…(in) the town that I grew up in, we don’t really have anything modern in church music. It’s all organ music and choir. I knew a little bit (about American) gospel from records. I didn’t know what I was in for, but I was like, ‘Man, this is cool.’ People were playing loud and with a lot of energy and a lot of emotion, and that opened up a completely new vocabulary for me.

Even without a background in American gospel music, Hillesheim became mesmerized, if you will, with the music, the energy, and the technical precision that make live church music so special.

“I feel like playing in church was, for me, was eye-opening in (a) way, about how much you have to be in the moment and not just remember stuff you practiced at home. It basically doesn’t matter what you practiced at home. At that moment, you really have to throw it out the window and really pay attention to what’s happening right then.

“It’s also body language and communication, too, within the band. It really helps that nobody is looking at sheet music or anything. You use your ears and pay attention to what’s going on, which can be very different from (music) school. You learn how to play a piece where people can get away with putting their heads down and look at a music stand. You cannot survive a (church) service like that at all. You have to constantly pay attention as the music minister gives you direction.

“It’s very similar to being a good blues musician. You just have to pay attention.”

Paying attention and being in the moment while playing gospel music helped Hillesheim further develop his skills as a guitar player and as a musician and create his own sound—and style—as a bluesman.

“You have the traditional stuff (gospel) that’s closer to the blues, and then your modern gospel is a lot more like jazz, or R&B. You learn some chords you normally wouldn’t mess with as a blues guitar player. You learn some licks here and there, and you’re working with really good vocalists, you kind of pick up a little bit of their phrasing. I learned the songs I’m required to learn, but by being exposed to good musicians in a style that you’re not comfortable with, after a while, it becomes a bit natural for you to use similar vocabulary just ’cause you hear it so much.

“I feel like that’s what happened to me in my playing, why I may sound a little bit different than the typical blues, or blues rock guy ’cause I just opened my ears in that direction. I allowed for it to (happen).”

Hillesheim, however, is reluctant to define his “sound” or style of blues.

“I don’t know. I feel like I know what all of these labels mean, but I don’t know. For me, there (are) two kinds of music: good and bad. Of course (what we play) is bluesy and we do have blues content…I feel blues is such a cultural music for anybody to say, ‘Oh this is pure this and this blues.’ There are only very few people still alive who could say, ‘Yeah, this is one-hundred percent authentic Chicago blues.’

“I would never label myself as that. I’m not Buddy Guy, and I’m not John Primer, so my style and music are not Chicago blues. I live in Chicago, and I like the music here, and, of course, it’s going to have an influence, but I would not say, ‘Well, this is Chicago blues.’

“And then when I listen to blues rock guys—a lot of them shred. I don’t think that I do that a lot, so I would have a hard time putting myself in that category, either. It’s just one of those things. Music is music and you need to call it something. So, yeah, I guess we predominantly play blues, but we play some soul and some rock, and even sometimes reggae if we’re in the mood for it.”

Hillesheim explained that the Chicago blues scene has evolved over the years, so, after he relocated, he had to adjust his own expectations accordingly.

“It has just changed and incorporated more different (types of) music and that’s what people play. And for me it was a realization. I’m like, wow, this is different. Chicago blues has changed from the days of Howlin’ Wolf and Muddy Waters.

“When I first came here, I didn’t really have any gigs. I would sit in with people, but I (mostly) would go out every day of the week to see someone play. I would see not only the songs that I have to play, but (also) the energy, and it was so different from what I thought. What people want to hear in the clubs is really more danceable, and it needs to have a certain intensity for people to be captivated.”

Hillesheim was reflective on how his expectations and experiences continue to shape him as a blues musician and band leader.

“The blues community in Chicago is accepting of all musicians who are ready to hustle, can really play, but are cool about it—arrogance doesn’t really get rewarded up here—(so) for me it’s a good fit. There are plenty of opportunities in Chicago to learn from other musicians and band leaders—different generations or blues men and women—(and) I think it’s a blessing.”

According to his online biography, Hillesheim was born in Koblenz, Germany into a family that introduced him to music at an early age. As Hillesheim explained in that Chicago Blues Guide interview: “It was my dad who taught me the first few chords on the guitar when I was 5 years old—I believe the first song I ever played was Bob Dylan’s Knocking on Heaven’s Door; a simple three-chord song that I could actually play! It was a great first step.”

While he was exposed to blues at a young age, Hillesheim initially gravitated towards blues-rock icons of the 60s and early 70s.

“Yeah, when I started playing, I liked rock players more. I really got into Hendrix and Clapton, and Rory Gallagher and Gary Moore. As I got more serious with music—I think in my late twenties—I started to really enjoy slide guitar players. But, I wasn’t good at it at all. I remember I got a slide. I just bought a slide, which a lot of guitar players do it that way. You go to Guitar Center, buy a slide, put it on your finger and think, that’s all there is to it, and you suck. Your intonation is terrible. It sounds like a drunk sailor falling down the stairs. It’s awful…like torturing cats.

“You get frustrated because learning how to play slide guitar in tune is a thing that you really need to dedicate yourself to and to practice. It’s nothing like playing regular guitar. And at the time, I didn’t have the patience for it, and I didn’t see (that). I’m like, yeah, it would be cool, but it’s not worth all that to me.

“When I picked it up again, about 10 years later, I had a friend of mine, Stuart Ziff, a great slide guitar player, and he led me on to the right guy. He said, ‘You need to listen to Ry Cooder. You need to listen to Robert Johnson. You need to listen to Duane Allman. But the first thing you need to do is you need to learn all these Elmore James songs.’

“So, with that approach and figuring out how to tune my guitar and how to set it up, I now can play on any guitar and any tuning (for) slide guitar.”

Hillesheim explained that what he learned from listening to Elmore James was so much more than simply how to play his songs. The legendary Delta bluesman’s influence on Hillesheim can not only be heard in his superb slide playing but also in Hillesheim’s approach to performing.

“From the beginning, it’s good to have an idea of the traditional way of doing (slide guitar). I sat down, learned all the Robert Johnson material, and all the Elmore James material, and then the other stuff made way more sense. And in the process of doing that, I discovered that Elmore James was a fantastic singer, too. It was not just his guitar playing. It was the way his voice and his guitar playing interacted. I really fell in love with his music, altogether, outside of his slide guitar playing.

“I don’t think we ever play a show where I don’t play Elmore James. Even if I make it a point to play only original music, I put one or two Elmore James covers in there just for the reason that (James’ musical style) has inspired me so much to write my own music that I always want to say, ‘Hey, this is what got me started.’”

Hillesheim’s smooth and precise slide guitar style can be readily heard on his stand-alone single “January,” which was released in January of this year. A studio recording that is an ode to those cold winter days in the Windy City, “January” features a haunting slide intro that works its way through the entire song.

Hillesheim then talked about his new album and about his penchant for recording and releasing live albums and EPs.

“Yeah, we are working on a live recording from the Chicago Blues Festival.”

This will be his second full-length live album, following the well-received Live at Rosa’s Lounge, released in 2024. (The album was reviewed by Blues Blast in November 2024.) Hillesheim then explained why he prefers live recordings to straight up studio albums.

“Well, there’s pros and cons to everything. I always find if it’s a live record where you listen to it, and you can tell that they didn’t do a lot of overdubs, or a lot of post-production: it’s honest. I mean, if you can do it (record live), it’s not an easy thing to do, especially at a festival, because you can’t do it over. Most live records at clubs, they’re done over two or three nights and they take the best performances of each song.

“Playing at (the) festival, we had a 70-minute set, and that’s it. You’ve got to live and die with that. So, it puts a lot of pressure on you, but sometimes it’s just the magic of the moment. And it definitely gives you a sense of accomplishment to have good all-around performances.”

This year’s Chicago Blues Festival was held over four days in early June featuring blues superstars like Bobby Rush, Mavis Staples, Christone “Kingfish” Ingram, Latimore, and Lurrie Bell. Hillesheim said this year’s festival was great.

“It was my third time there, and it was a really good crowd this year. It was really busy, even though it was so warm, which sometimes can weigh you down being there all day. But yeah, we had a great turnout—a great crowd.”

As Hillesheim went on to explain, his performance at the Chicago Blues Festival was a professional “milestone.”

“Our first time (performing) on one of the main stages. When I first came here, I played on one of the side stages, like they used to have. Rosa’s Lounge used to have a little pavilion where the artists that usually played at the venue (Rosa’s) would perform. It was kind like an introduction (to the Festival’s fans), but this year was the first time we were officially hired by the city (of Chicago) to play on an official stage.”

Hillesheim talked about recording the energy of his band’s performance and the excitement of those “great crowds” at the Chicago Blues Festival.

“I can live with everything we played that day. And it’s special because it’s a way different process than the studio. What I like about it, more so than having everything 100% in tune and a 100% perfectly mic’d, is the excitement that you’re able to capture. You’re able to capture the excitement and the audience, and I feel that going back to listening to records, be it Hendrix’s Live at Monterey, or At Fillmore East by The Allman Brothers (Band) where you can tell that there’s excitement in the room.

“If you have a good engineer who’s able to capture the audience reactions and what’s going on around you, I feel that you can never recreate that in the studio.”

That performance energy and audience excitement will be at the forefront of Hillesheim’s live album project, tentatively titled Live at the Chicago Blues Festival and slated for a November or December release. Hillesheim knows that getting things right during the engineering phase is as important as the live recording itself.

“Yeah…finishing up with the mixing and the mastering, and it’ll be released later this year, probably November or December. (We’ll) just have to see. You need a certain amount of time, at least three months, to set up the promotion and send (the album) out and everything, so I try not to rush things. It was a pretty big undertaking—recording at the festival. They have a lot of paperwork and (requirements), so we’re glad we got it captured. Now, we can take our time.”

With musical inspiration from blues greats like Elmore James, Howlin’ Wolf, and Albert King, Hillesheim’s songs are both soulful and sincere. He talked about how these songs come to him.

“I think I’m absolutely not methodical when it comes to writing. I have a good idea for…maybe a good knack for (a) story—like storytelling—and what melody fits with it, but I have no method. And I’ve tried. I’ve taken songwriting classes or read songwriting books. My attention is so all over the place. I cannot sit myself down like a professional writer.

“I have bursts…I have spurts of creativity where I write a whole song down. And my best songs were written that way—the ones that people really seem to gravitate to—where I’m still saying, ‘Hey, this is a great song, and I don’t care what anybody says.’ People like it, and I understand why. Most of them were not difficult to write. I would just sit down, write them all down, have the melody, (and) hear it all in my head, basically. I just have to write it down.

“And you got to be in the right headspace for that. Sometimes you dry up a little bit. It’s hard for me to force it when I’m not (in that space). Like last month—I usually write a song a month—but last month, I was really not feeling it, and then it’s okay not to force it. But I try to at least have something going (each month). But in my experience, those work-in-progress songs where you add a little bit and then add a little bit, they’re never as satisfactory as the ones that just flow out of you, where you’re like, ‘Hey, I need to write a song and this is how it has to be.’”

That soulfulness and sincerity are on full display with “Seduced by the Blues,” a live recording from 2024’s album Live at Rosa’s Lounge. The autobiographical number features several elements that make Hillesheim’s live performances special: great lyrics, terrific guitar work, and a delivery that keeps listeners engaged and asking for more.

Hillesheim’s current band, featured on Live at Rosa’s Lounge, includes Dionte McMusick on drums, Darryl Wright on bass, and Sumito “Ariyo” Ariyoshi on piano. McMusick and Ariyoshi are also members of Chicago bluesman Billy Branch’s The Sons of Blues.

Back in early August, right after Buddy Guy’s birthday (July 30^th), the living legend himself joined Hillesheim and his band onstage at Legends, his namesake blues club in Downtown Chicago. Hillesheim said it was a great experience, and that he has played with Guy on several occasions.

“That was cool. I’ve played with him a handful of times. The main show that we did was opening for him in January (of) this year. He always has this residency in January, where he plays four nights a week and has different artists open for him. You play for an hour, then Buddy does his show and then you come up and do a couple of numbers together with him.

“That was pretty cool because you get a different audience (for the residency). I mean, his club is always popping, but for the January shows people fly in (internationally) to see him. So, it’s cool to be a part of that.”

Obviously the Midwest weather is a key factor impacting the busy summer festival season, but Hillesheim said the club gigs and residencies “keep going all year round,” so there’s plenty of opportunities for Hillsheim and his bandmates to perform and stay busy.

And as Stefan Hillesheim stated early on in his interview, busy is good.

“Yeah, I’m not complaining at all. It’s good. It’s good to be seen and get out because it takes a minute for people to get used to a new face, you know. So, from playing festivals, doing stuff like the International Blues Challenge, people get used to your name.

“The patience and staying at it for me, now, I’m at a point where I see the reward for just being persistent. You can’t really get your name out there in a year or so. You can get a foot in the door, but then you have to keep at it, and you’re persistent and you work a lot…and you play well every time, you find that people have something positive to say about you. Word just gets around, and it’s nice.”

Hillesheim also emphasized that the tightknit blues community of Chicago has been a big help with getting the word out about Stefan Hillesheim. While not everyone in blues music knows everyone else, Hillesheim believes there’s enough support and networking that he may, over time, expand his base beyond the Windy City and the Midwest.

“A lot of people know each other in the blues community,” Hillesheim added. “I mean that’s cool. too.”