Terry Blade Chicago's own returns this time after a frenetic 2024 filled with awards and critical praise, with a bare-bones blues tour de force that deserves the ears of all who hear it. His latest single, the release "Tell' Em," is a hauntingly intimate Are We There Yet ride into raw emotion, truth, and resilience.
With only the soothing hum of a single guitar accompanying him, Blade's trademark storytelling shines bright as he takes on the heavy subject matter, his gruff, soul-drenched voice carrying the story of a father searching for redemption through the haze of his failures. The result? It is a provocative, no-frills blues confession that is both wantonly personal and wide-reaching in its resonance. In "Tell' Em," Blade isn't just singing. He's testifying, delivering a lyrical sermon that articulates struggle, survival, and holding the line in truth.
As a Black queer artist whose sound is hard to define, Blade has carved out a niche for himself as one who speaks for the voiceless. "Tell' Em" is no exception. It's an anthem for the underdogs, the misfits, and anyone who ever had to scrap to be seen and heard.
His accolades are just as impressive: Blues Category Winner of the American Songwriter Song Contest 2023, four-time Telly Award Winner, and a Nominee for Hollywood Music in Media and Josie Music Awards. Blade's sound has been likened to that of Phillip-Michael Scales, Meshell Ndegeocello , and Buffalo Nichols but his artistry belongs to him alone.