Benjamin Booker

New Orleans-based guitarist Benjamin Booker draws equally from postwar electric blues and trashy garage punk. This much was evident from his eponymous 2014 debut and the Third Man Records live session that appeared in 2016. He also dug into his soul influences, collaborating with Mavis Staples on the title track from his 2017 album Witness. After that, Booker took some time away from the spotlight, releasing just one single, the 2020 charity cut "Black Disco." When he re-emerged, it was with a new label and producer. Released in 2025 by Fire Next Time Records, his third album, Lower, was co-produced with Kenny Segal. Raised in Tampa Bay, Booker's rise to success was relatively rapid. After spending some time in Gainesville and New Orleans, he returned to his home in Florida and had been playing in a duo with drummer Max Norton -- the two were billed as Booker & Norton -- for just over a year prior to signing to ATO Records. Subsequently, Booker went out as a solo artist while retaining Norton as his main collaborator, with Andrija Tokic (Alabama Shakes) serving as producer of his first album. The self-titled Benjamin Booker came out a few months after its recording, appearing in August 2014 and garnering its fair share of critical acclaim. Early the following year, Jack White's label both hosted and released Booker's concert album Live at Third Man Records. In early 2016, looking for a new perspective to fuel his songwriting, he spent some time living in Mexico City. It was there that he wrote much of the material for his ATO follow-up, beginning with "Witness," a collaboration with Mavis Staples that was Booker's response to racist acts of violence. The album, also called Witness, was released in mid-2017. When touring for the album wrapped up, Booker went relatively quiet, returning in 2020 to release "Black Disco," a charity single whose proceeds benefited the Southern Poverty Law Center. He also guested on a 2023 track by Billy Woods and hip-hop producer Kenny Segal. Segal went on to co-produce Booker's gritty third album, Lower, which was released in early 2025.
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