Antone's 50th Presents CHICAGO BOUND

Artiest/Band: Antone's 50th New Track  Hangin' On A Cliff(by Billy F Gibbons and the BFGs) New Album: CHICAGO BOUND Release: August 28th 2026 Label: Blues Till 2 Records Format: LP/CD/ Digital Genre: Blues So, when Antone’s called upon their family of blues legends to put together a four-disc set to commemorate the 50th Anniversary of Antone’s Nightclub, Antone’s: 50 Years of the Blues boxed set (New West Records, 2025)

 

Clifford Antone had it right: “THE BLUES IS SO BIG that no one person could ever learn it in a lifetime.”

So, when Antone’s called upon their family of blues legends to put together a four-disc set to commemorate the 50^th Anniversary of Antone’s Nightclub, Antone’s: 50 Years of the Blues boxed set (New West Records, 2025) - of course they came up with more blues than they could possibly fit into one glorious Libera Award-winning collection. It soon became clear that this embarrassment of blues riches was the start of their next project. 

Set for release on August 28, 2026, Antone's 50^th Presents Chicago Bound: Honoring Muddy, Cliff & Blue (Blues Till 2 Recording Co. /Select-O-Hits) caps the club’s 50^th anniversary celebration while pointing toward its future. The album cover shows a lively, Chicago-bound tour bus packed with musicians racing to the next gig, illustrated by longtime club illustrator Diana Ray. Fittingly, album co-producer Zach Ernst conceived the project the night John Primer recorded a duo version of Jimmy Rogers’s classic “Chicago Bound.” As Ernst explains: “Beyond the song’s deeper meaning—the journey through music cities by African-American artists seeking a better life and better pay than they could find in the South at the time—a ‘road trip record’ or ‘truck stop cassette’ felt like a creative way for Antone’s to honor the great musicians who live on the road. It also traces a spiritual route from central Louisiana, home of Clifton Chenier’s music, through Houston, Austin, Memphis, and on to Chicago.”

RELIX MAGAZINE PREMIERES "HANGIN' ON A CLIFF" BY BILLY F GIBBONS AND THE BFGs TODAY

Today, Relix Magazine premieres the album standout, “Hangin’ On A Cliff,” by Billy F Gibbons and the BFGs. Internationally known as the guitarist, primary songwriter and vocalist of ZZ Top, Gibbons has always had a strong connection to the blues. In a raw Texas rock/blues, Gibbons draws a distinction between "hanging on a cliff” and “hanging out with Cliff” — the former is hazardous, the latter is much more pleasurable — singing, “If you ain’t hangin’ on a cliff, come back in, Clifford’s doors be open wide.” The lyrics begin with nods to classic bluesmen Muddy Waters, Jimmy Reed, “King Frederick” (Freddie King) as well as the “three Kings” (Freddie, Albert, and B.B.), and continue with some close members of Antone’s home team — Derek (O’Brian), Mr. (Mike) Buck and Little E (Eve Monsees) — before ending with a shout out to his own band, (Mike) Flanigin, Whipper (Chris Layton), and BFG.

Live-to-tape recordings produced by Jacob Sciba and Zach Ernst include tracks by blues heavyweights John Primer, Doyle Bramhall II, Kim Wilson & the Fabulous Thunderbirds, Anson Funderburgh, Lurrie Bell, and Lavelle White. Other highlights feature a Bobby Bland classic cut in Memphis by powerhouse Houston vocalist Kam Franklin and backed by Bobby's son and drummer Rodd Bland, and a Clifton Chenier deep cut led by Louisiana torchbearers Ivan Neville and CC Adcock with Keith Richards and Ronnie Wood, featuring Jimmie Vaughan on harmonica. A walloping shuffle in the works since the Rolling Stones contributed to the LP A Tribute to the King of Zydeco last year, the song was made complete by Jimmie Vaughan’s ace harmonica playing, a secret weapon that Austin’s reigning king of the Stratocaster has kept close to the vest for most of his professional career.

The breadth of talent found across the album’s ten songs is a testament to the enduring legacy of Austin's Home of the Blues and its beloved founder Clifford Antone, who passed away in June of 2006.

CHICAGO BOUND TRACK LISTING: 

 1. John Primer - Chicago Bound
 2. Ivan Neville & CC Adcock, with Keith Richards and Ronnie Wood, ft. Jimmie Vaughan - One Step At A Time
 3. Kam Franklin with Rodd Bland & the Dreamers - I Wouldn't TreatA Dog (The Way You Treated Me)
 4. Doyle Bramhall II - GIve Me Back My Wig
 5. Kim Wilson & The Fabulous Thunderbirds - I'm Not Ashamed
 6. Anson Funderburgh - Backstroke
 7. Clifford Antone - The Blues Is So Big (Interview)
 8. Billy F Gibbons and the BFGs - Hangin' On A Cliff
 9. Lurrie Bell - Act Like You Love Me
10. Lavelle White - Baby What's Wrong
11. John Primer & Lil' Ed Williams ft. Kenny "Beedy Eyes" Smith - Got My Mojo Working 

Pre-order - Listen - Stream

https://antones.lnk.to/Antones50thChicagoBound

For More Information, Please Contact: Amy Brat | BratGirlmedia | brat@bratgirlmedia

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