Blues in the Box: Damon Fowler

April 17, 2026 | 7:30 PM
Blues

Tickets
$28 to $40

Florida’s Gulf Coast has produced a plethora of distinctive musicians, from the blues of Tampa Red to jazz greats Cannonball and Nat Adderley to former Allman Brothers guitarist Dickey Betts to The Outlaws. Tampa’s Damon Fowler, a masterful singer, guitar player and songwriter, has absorbed the best of and furthered the work of the region’s definitive artists. A hard driving troubadour, his music is steeped with soul and representative of the many styles that make up the roots of American music. He gained the respect of his peers given his featured slot in Butch Truck’s Freight Train band and his side gig as guitarist in the Dickey Betts Band. Critics have compared Fowler’s guitar work to Johnny Winter and Jeff Beck, while his slide guitar is reminiscent of the late Duane Allman. Fowler’s 2021 Landslide Records release, Alafia Moon, debuted at #1 on the Billboard Blues Chart, spent four months in the Top 20, and was nominated for a BMA in the Blues/Rock category. His follow up record, Damon Fowler & Friends, Live at the Palladium, garnered strong airplay throughout the United States and Europe. The new release, BARNYARD SMILE, featuring 8 new original Fowler compositions plus distinctive covers of Bo Diddley and Jerry Reed tunes, combines all of the influences that have shaped his distinctive blues career.

On the strength of Fowler’s hybrid of roots rock, blues, and sacred steel, the Florida native started wowing audiences with his musical exploits as a teenager, building a reputation as one of the hottest young players on the scene. Adding songwriting and vocal skills to his repertoire over the years has brought him many accolades, with music journalists extolling his originality and maturity as well as his technical guitar expertise. Allmusic.com raved that “Fowler’s creative lap steel work is what sets him apart from the rest of the guitar heroes.”