Cathy Grier + The Troublemakers

“I'm All Burn,” the title track from Cathy Grier & The Troublemakers' 2020 album, kicks off a 16-song sonic watercolor painted across almost every facet of the Blues landscape. Her innate sense of casual precision, borne from just over four decades as a working musician, places each carefully crafted song in just the right spot to maintain a groove that achieves the remarkable feat of being simultaneously easygoing and intense. It may seem effortless, but everything on the album is fine-tuned. "I'm old school as far as producing," she comments, "very hands on and involved." I'm All Burn is her 14th album; it fits perfectly in with her musical canon, but also serves as a perfect introduction for those new to her world. Tapping into the deep well of musical talent in her new-ish home state of Wisconsin (she moved from NYC to Sturgeon Bay in 2016), she's assembled an all-star cast of Troublemakers to bring these songs to technicolor fruition. 

"Pretty much anyone who plays with me is a Troublemaker," she laughs, "but the people on this record are some of the most amazing musicians I've ever had the good fortune to work with." Her songwriting prowess and production skills are on full display as the record subtly shifts across a range of moods and styles from sultry to funky, from the Bayou to Chicago (with a Memphis detour), and her gritty, soulful vocals bring the most out of every lyric. Call her a lightning rod, call her a magnet, but the Blues are unmistakably attracted to Cathy Grier.