About the artist
‘Better late than never’ is a credo that surely applies to blues and soul singer-songwriter and guitarist Robert Finley: he was 62 when he released his debut album, Age Don’t Mean A Thing, in 2016. Mind you, that doesn’t mean he was new to making music. At 11 years old, he began playing on a thriftstore-bought guitar and never stopped. Taking his first musical influences from gospel, Finley served in the military and was a guitarist and bandleader in the army band. Back in the U.S. he worked as a part-time street musician and a carpenter before losing his eyesight, which made him focus fully on his music. He struck up a working relationship with Dan Auerbach of the Black Keys and they have since made four albums together. The latest was 2023’s Black Bayou, whichcontains elements of gospel, blues, soul, and rock and serves as a tribute to Finley’s home state of Louisiana.