Gimme 5 - Mississippi bluesman Robert Connely Farr is our latest musical travel guide

Born in Bolton, Mississippi, and now resident in Vancouver, Robert Connely Farr's ass may be in Canada, but his heart remains in the South.  A champion of the Bentonia blues tradition maintained by famed juke joint owner Jimmy 'Duck' Holmes, Farr is a purveyor of spooky, soul-searching stripped-back blues, typified by his latest album Pandora Sessions, released in October 2023.  So what's the music and who are the people who prick up his ears when he's not hanging around the crossroads at midnight, waiting for the Devil to give him inspiration?  Tell us, Robert!

Gimme 5 songs, old or new, that have been on your radar recently.  [Click on the links to listen to Robert's selections.]

 

‘02.02.99’ by That Mexican OT:  “I came across That Mexican OT on YouTube, I have an insatiable desire for all things Southern, including Southern Rap. This guy is actually out of

Robert Connely Farr - "Are you looking' at me?"

Pic by Rustin Gudim

Houston and brings a lot of Latin influence to his music & style – which I find really intriguing. The beat and his delivery are incredible, in my opinion.”

‘Dylan Phase Again’ by We Found A Lovebird:  “We Found A Lovebird is a band out of Vancouver and their single 'Dylan Phase Again' really stuck out to me when it was released. I downloaded it right away and been playing it daily – I love it when a song hits like that.”

 

‘Heritage of Arrogance’ by Adeem The Artist:  “This whole album by Adeem the Artist is a real kick to the gut, in a good way in my book. I believe I originally heard of them through YouTube in one of my many wormholes looking into new artist. I really enjoy the vulnerability and spirit of conviction in this album.”

 

‘Outlaws’ by Lee Bains III & the Glory Fires:  “Another band out of the South that I’ve immense respect for.  Lee Bains is a prolific and accomplished songwriter with political views that seem very similar to my own.  ‘Outlaws’ is an incredible song that speaks to an important job for those who wish for a better America and South.”

 

‘Burn In Hell’ by Junior Kimbrough:  “Junior Kimbrough is the man. Hands down. And this live album is a great example of why. ‘Burn In Hell’ is killer, how the song comes in – eerie and abrupt – 7 minutes of juke joint hill country blues y’all. I love the “train going down the tracks and never gonna stop” vibe to this one.”

 

Gimme 5 artists or bands who have had a big influence on your work.

 

Jimmy Duck Holmes:  “Hands down changed the trajectory of my music career. His teachings and mentorship brought music home for me.  After a decade of searching for my sound, he showed me it was at home - quite literally in my backyard. "  [Check out the Blues Enthused review of Jimmy's 2020 album Cypress Grove.]

 

Mac Pontiac:  “A Vancouver songwriter and troubadour who passed away a few years back. His songs and public performances were breathtaking, as tragic as he was. He helped a lot of people in need, myself as well in some of my darkest moments – encouraging me to keep on keeping on.”

 

RL Boyce:  “His smile and his energy were infectious. He recently passed away, but damn could that man play!  I remember at the 2023 Bentonia Blues Festival he asked me to join his set. I
remember telling him “Ain’t no way I can hang with you RL!!!”  But he pulled me on up to the stage and hollered “I’m gonna show you how”.”

 

Jimmy 'Duck' Holmes plays host in his Blue Front Café

Neil Young:  “He was really the first songwriter that I remember influencing me, not so much how I played, but how I wanted to write - songs that were critical and asked hard questions.” 

 

Drive-By Truckers:  “I’ve been seeing ‘em live since ’98 and I’ve been blown away by their work, convictions and live performances since. To this day, one of my favourite bands/songwriters out there.”

 

Gimme 5 guests you’d love to invite to your ideal long lunch.

 

My brother:  “He makes the best Angus steaks you’ve ever had. He’s my best friend in this world and one of the best men I know. And I don’t get to see him near enough. Any time I get to spend with him – hell, just thinking about it brings a smile to my face.”

 

Jimmy Duck Holmes:  “He’s like a grandfather to me. I love his outlook on life. We both grew up on the same stretch of the Big Black River. And some of the best fried catfish I ever ate came out of the kitchen of his juke joint the Blue Front Café.”

 

Jason Isbell:  “I look up to that fella. His vulnerability and honesty are hard to stomach sometimes – mostly because it’s a reflection of myself. His process and perspective are very encouraging to me.”

 

Charles M Blow:  “The author of the book The Devil You Know: A Black Manifesto, which is a hard and unflinching look the state of race relations in America. I have a deep respect and

admiration for his work.”

 

Country singer-songwriter Margo Price:  “I’m a long-time fan of hers. I appreciate her story and what she stands for.  It seems like she’s always fighting the good fight – I like that.”  [Margo Price was a new name to me, so here's a link to her song 'Been To The Mountain'.]

And what would be the first album you'd put on as background music?

"That would have to be Most Things Haven't Worked Out by Junior Kimbrough - a huge inspiration to me and my drummer pal Jay Bundy Johnson over recent years!"

 

Finally, just one track – pick one of your tracks that you’d share with a new listener to introduce your music.

 

“I’m going to pick ‘Getting’ Tired of Getting’ Old’.  This song just came out of nowhere one day.  I totally remember sitting on my couch, thinking I needed to do something productive but being tired as shit! I grabbed my 12 string Gibson and the song just fell out of that ol' thing right into my iPhone voice recorder and the rest was history. It’s a blend of the Bentonia Style that Jimmy’s been teaching me and the Hill Country style that the late RL Boyce was encouraging me to implement into my playing.”

Robert Connely Farr - Pandora Sessions

We’re talking down and dirty, people.  And I don’t mean some kind of greasy boogie.  I mean a corner of some juke joint you’ve stumbled into after losing your way in the dark, and losing your boots too, god knows how; and there's no floorboards and you can feel the dust messing up the soles of your feet; and there’s some guy over there with a guitar groaning like he needs a doctor. That kind of down and dirty.  And yeah, that fella with the battered six-string may well be Mississippi-born Robert Connely Farr.
I mean, there is a groove to the cheerfully titled opener ‘Everybody’s Dyin (Oh Lord I’m Getting Old)’, but it’s a primitive sounding thing, chugging and rattling and wheezing along while Farr growls his despair until it eventually expires.  And I’ve described Farr’s guitar sound as “warped” before, when reviewing his previous album Shake It, but it’s still a good fit for the bent and

Robert Connely Farr and Jay Bundy Johnson - sharp dressed men

Pic by Tyler McLeod

twisted notes that struggle to mesh with the dragging rhythm laid down by Jay Bundy Johnson on ‘Prowler’, while Farr drawls spooky musings about heading to Chattanooga and Vicksburg.
These guys’ modus operandi is very much less is more – as Farr puts it, “you set up, start playing, and the songs come”.  Now, you could call that jamming, but it sounds more organic, like that ol’ Zen poem: “I fetch water. I break sticks. Miracles happen!”  Or not, maybe, when the instrumental ‘Runnin Hidin Jam’, with its clanking percussion and abrasive guitar, sounds less like the path to enlightenment than scratching your head with a cheese grater.  In a good way, mind you.  And ironically, considering its title, ‘Take It Slow’ is also relatively upbeat – relatively, I say – with its spiky guitar and stop-start drums combining in a lurching groove.
On the other hand, ‘Gettin Tired Of Gettin Old’ is contemplative, with low down, slowly spiralling guitar notes and prickly chords as the foundation for Farr’s world-weariness.  Meanwhile ‘Night Train’ sho’ ain’t no James Brown cover, with stuttering, twanging guitar over the pattering drums sketching out a loose rhythm.  Similarly ‘Train Keep Rollin’ bears no relation to the Yardbirds or (heaven help us) Aerosmith, but features some geezer riding the rails who “Ain’t got nowhere to go”, to the accompaniment of Farr’s guitar looping and scrabbling like barbed wire tangled across no-man’s land.  And if you think the bonus track ‘Go Cat Go’ might be a bit of rock’n’roll then think again, because it finds Farr moaning “I bet I’m gonna walk now I bet I’m gonna Go Cat Go” over stumbling drums and fuzzy guitar, sounding trapped and ever more frustrated, like a prisoner on Death Row willing a pardon to turn up before the clock ticks down to midnight.
Less is more, like I said, and on Pandora Sessions Farr and his drummer/producer Johnson pretty much dispense with the bass that gave an extra layer to earlier albums.  Hell, they scarcely bother with drums on the bleak, droning ‘Where I Come From’, while ‘Oh Lord’ is boiled right down to a rolling guitar line and a plaintive, moaning mantra from Farr.
So sure, Pandora Sessions is nobody’s barrel of laughs.  And being honest, a few tunes are just a bit too under-nourished to latch onto.  But let yourself fall into it, follow Farr into its heart of darkness, and even if you don’t like it there’s something you’ll recognise.  It’s the blues, Jack.
 
Pandora Sessions is out now.

Robert Connely Farr - Shake It

Mississippi-born Robert Connely Farr likes to keep it down, down, deeper and down.  Have a listen to the opening track on Shake It, a reading of Charley Patton’s ‘Screamin' And Hollerin' Blues’, and you’ll get the idea - screaming and hollering, ironically, ain’t what’s on the menu.  Warped, bent out of shape guitar chords drift into earshot like tumbleweed, while Farr moans pleas for the Lord to have mercy on his wicked soul.  It’s real slooow, and minimalist to boot, with drummer Jay Bundy Johnson and bassist Tom Hillifer making like Farr gave ‘em a sedative before hitting the Record button.

Robert Connely Farr tries to leave out more notes

Pic by Anita Van Weerden

It all adds up to a spooky sound that reflects the lessons in the Bentonia blues tradition Farr has learned from his mentor Jimmy ‘Duck’ Holmes, whose ‘Going Away To Leave You’ is second up.  Here Hillifer’s bass is subterranean,  Farr’s guitar break is barbed-wire-spiky, and it has all the haste of a man hurrying to catch a train.  Tomorrow.
The less-is-more vibe is evident elsewhere too, with the pinpricks of guitar over another funereal beat on ‘Ain’t No Other Way’ prompting the thought that these guys may enter the studio asking themselves “How much can we leave out?”  The closing ‘Sugar Momma’ is just voice and bass at first, with Farr at times practically whispering the despairing refrain “Sugar momma won’t you please come back to me”, and adding smatterings of edgy, discordant guitar.  And along the way ‘Going Down South’ is also slowed to a crawl, with foot-dragging drums, a plaintive, strung-out vocal, and guitar that rings like a cracked bell.  It takes discipline to play this slowly and sparsely.
That off-kilter sound is present on ‘Knock On Wood’ too, with lagging brushes of drums and metronomic bass laying the foundations for Farr’s splintered shards of guitar and drawled vocal, before things get a bit more muscular and he adds a couple of often atonal guitar breaks that suggest he’s adopted the obscure ‘Open W-T-F Tuning’.
It’s not all eerie gloom.  ‘Miss My Baby’ is built around hypnotic grooving bass and a lazy snare drum, over which Farr intones some semi-spoken “blues rapping”.  His guitar doesn’t even arrive till nearly two minutes in, sounding fuzzy and wiry like he’s playing with a knackered amp, while the introduction of a shaker towards the close underscores the track’s rhythmic charm.  It may be super-simple, but it hits the spot in an easy-going way that evokes comparison with Steve Earle.  ‘Lefty’, meanwhile, is positively hyperactive by comparison with much of the album.  Drummer Jay Bundy Johnson was presumably delighted not to have to play with one hand tied behind his back on this one, and be able to crash a cymbal now and then, as they all rouse themselves to give it some welly as Farr delivers some stinging guitar.  And the title track ‘Shake It’ is an offbeat shuffle, with Hillifer given an extra allowance of notes on bass to help liven up the insistent groove, and there are echoes of early Black Keys as Farr knocks out some distorted, ringing guitar.
This sure ain’t party music, but Farr and friends counter the dark energy with just enough daylight to strike a satisfying balance, and at just under half an hour there’s no excess fat.  It may be rooted in old-fashioned blues, but Shake It is no dusty antique.  It's a modern day quiet storm.  
 
Shake It is out now, and you can buy it here.
 

Robert Connely Farr - Country Supper

There’s a cinematic aspect to this album from Mississippi-born, Vancouver-based Robert Connely Farr.  Listening to a track like ‘Girl In The Holler’, with Farr’s fuzzy, warped guitar playing out over booming drums, the image that springs to mind is of a car cruising down a two-lane blacktop in the silent night, its headlamps the only source of light.  Think Springsteen’s stripped-down Nebraska for the atmosphere – but located way down South, in Farr’s Mississippi homeland.
There’s an air of early, raw Black Keys to the rough and tumble sound of ‘Girl In The Holler’, which makes sense given their devotion to North Mississippi hill country sounds.  But on other tracks Farr delves way deeper for a bleak and spooky country blues vibe.  The opening ‘Cypress

No, not John Goodman in The Big Lebowski - it's Robert Connely Farr!

Grove’ features prickly, fuzzy guitar, over doomy, sonorous bass from Tom Hillifer and a funeral marching beat from drummer Jay Bundy Johnson, to accompany Farr’s controlled moan of a vocal.  On ‘Water’s Rising’, for example, Farr offers up patient, steely guitar over a beat like a dripping tap, while his old-fashioned vocal isn’t especially bluesy but remains atmospheric.  Here the sense is less of cruising down a highway than of meandering along, maybe even horse drawn, on a country lane where time has stopped.
The mode of transport changes on ‘Train Train’, but while this may be drawn from the same ancient well as Junior Parker’s ‘Mystery Train’ it’s of a much darker hue, evoking a slow train to nowhere, all slow beat and down-low blues, with the guitar non-existent at first.  I’m thinking to myself, if the Coen Brothers had worked a train into Barton Fink at some point, this is what it would be like.
Farr, who has been mentored by Bentonia blues magus Jimmy ‘Duck’ Holmes, knows what he’s doing in this eerie terrain.  But in truth, rather too many of the sixteen tracks on Country Supper go down this lonesome, melancholy road.  Thankfully though, Farr doesn’t let it become a cul de sac.  ‘I Ain’t Dying’ and ‘If It Was Up To Me’ are Americana-tinged, like Steve Earle albeit still in a reflective mode, and both offer some extra ingredients.  The former pitches in a flurry of bright guitar before petering out somewhat.  But the latter benefits from more structure and direction, as well as a good melody and some sprinklings of fairy dust guitar.  ‘Lately’ has a similar feel, but with some acoustic guitar strumming laying down a warmer foundation.
In a different vein, ‘All Good’ is scarcely what you’d call danceable, but it is more nimble rhythmically, and closes with a few turns of an appealing guitar figure.  Better still, on the uptempo ‘Bad Bad Feeling’ the trio carve out a deep and satisfying groove, and it feels liberating when Farr cuts loose a bit – not once but twice – on guitar.
The album closes with a couple of subtly different numbers.  ‘Bad Whiskey’, flavoured by slow strumming and weeping slide (or is it pedal steel?) is a sensitive, elegiac country-ish tune with echoes of Drive-By Truckers. Then the short and dark ‘I Know I Been Changed’ brings down the curtain with a groaning, reverb-heavy a capella intro, easing in a gospel-ish melody over drum’n’bass accompaniment, before Farr adds another dimension with some ringing guitar work.
If what you’re after is good-time R’n’B, fit for an evening of boozy hip-shakin’ with the missus, then I would venture that Country Supper is not for you.  But if you want to saddle up for a long journey deep into the Mississippi blues, then Robert Connely Farr may be just the escort you need.

Country Supper is out now, and you can buy it here.