Jontavious Willis

One of my favorite things to do on tour is hang out with musicians. You never get too high to not recognize talent from town to town, it’s a humbling and learning experience for sure. I was elated by the talent in Asheville, NC, and Gainesville, FL. Here’s a video of me and Deljvon Gray doing a Sonny Boy 2 tune. Brother Deljvon is a self taught harmonica player from Florida . Big thanks to him and his wife for letting me stay with them. Like Mr. Terry Harmonica Bean says, Blues artist is like kudzu one pops up over here, another pops up over there. I’m just glad to be in the mix!

I’m glad to be home a few weeks. I’ve been on the road a good little min. Time to practice and enjoy the month, my birthday is next week. I’ll be 30. This just me playing some Lighnin Hopkins Sky Hop influenced stuff. Not meant to be the best it’s just a fast pace tune on a slow pace day.

Standard tuning key of E.

Hey everyone! Tonight, I’ll be at the Asheville Music Hall playing with GA-20, so come on out! Tomorrow, I’ll be in Nashville, Tennessee at The Basement with GA-20 as well. I hope to see some of y’all there!

Here’s a little instrumental on my electric guitar that I love so much, played in open A tuning.

Good morning, y'all! Talk to me, folks.

Anyway, I’ve got some co bill shows with GA-20 coming up. We’re playing in Atlanta today check the dates below. Hope to see y'all there!

Also, this is just a little instrumental in the key of G, standard tuning.

4/14/2026 - The Garden Club at Wild Heaven West End, Atlanta, GA
4/15/2026 - The Mockingbird, Greenville, SC
4/16/2026 - Visulite Theatre, Charlotte, NC
4/17/2026 - Stanczyks, Durham, NC
4/18/2026 - The Rex Theater, Galax, VA
4/19/2026 - Asheville Music Hall, Asheville, NC
4/20/2026 - The Basement, Nashville, TN
4/22/2026 - Ground Zero Blues Club, Biloxi, MS

Folks, come on out to these shows if you’re around! I’m excited to be doing some co-bill shows with GA-20 starting this week!

4/12/2026 - Signal, Gainesville, FL
4/14/2026 - The Garden Club at Wild Heaven West End, Atlanta, GA
4/15/2026 - The Mockingbird, Greenville, SC
4/16/2026 - Visulite Theatre, Charlotte, NC
4/17/2026 - Stanczyks, Durham, NC
4/18/2026 - The Rex Theater, Galax, VA
4/19/2026 - Asheville Music Hall, Asheville, NC
4/20/2026 - The Basement, Nashville, TN
4/22/2026 - Ground Zero Blues Club, Biloxi, MS

Happy birthday to McKinley Morganfield, a.k.a. Muddy Waters, born on this day in either 1913 or 1915, depending on who you ask. Muddy was my North Star. I wanted to play guitar because of him not just blues, but the whole instrument. Chicago blues was already established when Muddy arrived in the city, with Big Bill Broonzy being one of his early mentors who welcomed him into the big city. But soon, Muddy created a new, lasting sound with his crew that changed the world. He’s the original rock and roller, he doesn’t need to be mentioned with rockstars to prove his worth or stardom.

You have to dive into Muddy’s discography to truly grasp what a force he was. Don’t just watch his easily accessible videos; check out the field recordings by John Work III and Alan Lomax. Then listen to his Aristocrat recordings, especially “Gypsy Woman,” where you can hear him bending strings with his powerful voice with Sunnyland's thunderous piano backing and Big Crawford deep bass. After that, explore his Chess recordings, both with and without Little Walter. This man lived multiple lives through his music and really didn’t get his due until the end of his life (in my opinion) many folks ate off his plate way more than he did and still are. He’s one of my inspirations for embracing the blues community, and he makes me proud to be a blues musician.

Here’s my rendition of “Walkin’ Blues,” a tune originally done by Muddy’s “young life idol”, Son House, and later covered by Robert Johnson in Open A.

RIP to Muddy Waters. April 4, 1915 - April 30, 1983.

Attention folks in Gainesville, Fl- Nashville, TN -Atlanta,GA -Asheville,NC & Memphis,TN check out my website jontaviouswillis.com I’m coming to your city next week, pull up on me.

🌟 **Greetings from Seattle, Washington!** 🌟

I’m having a blast doing a few opening shows with The Record Company . it’s been a true pleasure! 🎶 I’ve got a few more dates coming up with them the next few days. Today, we're in **Vancouver, BC**, and tomorrow, I’m heading to **Bellingham, Washington**. I absolutely love it out west! 🌲✨

For my folks down south, I've got some exciting shows lined up! Come out and support me! I’m doing a co-bill with the wonderful group **GA-20**. Here are those dates:

📅 **Show Dates:**
- **4/12** Gainesville, FL – *Signal* 🎤
- **4/14** Atlanta, GA – *The Garden Club at Wild Heaven End* 🌼
- **4/15** Greenville, SC – *The Mockingbird* 🎵
- **4/16** Charlotte, NC – *Visulite Theatre* 🎭
- **4/17** Durham, NC – *Stanczyks* 🎸
- **4/19** Asheville, NC – *Asheville Music Hall* 🎶
- **4/20** Nashville, TN – *The Basement* 🎤
- **4/21** Memphis, TN – *Hernando’s Hideaway* 🎷
- **4/22** Biloxi, MS – *Ground Zero Blues Club and Restaurant* 🍽️

Grab some tickets and let me know if y’all are coming out! I want to see my southern family! ✊🏾

This tune is a fresh take on an old classic, “Mama Don’t Allow.” I had legends like Sleepy John Estes, Henry Townsend, Arthur Crudup, Honey Boy Edwards, and Bukka White on my mind with this one. It’s in open F # Minor (that’s open E minor with a capo on the second fret). 🎸

Peace, and have a great day, y’all! Hit me up in the comments! 💬

Always for more info on dates and more check out https://jontaviouswillis.com

Welcome to all the new followers! Let me introduce myself. My name is Jontavious Willis, and I’m 29 years old and I’m from Greenville, Georgia, which I still live near. I grew up singing in church with my granddaddy when I was three, Grandaddy is one of my biggest influences and he will be 89 this week whoot whoot!

piano was my first instrument 👎🏾, then I moved on to trombone 👎🏾. Around 12, I stopped listening to a lot of pop music and hip hop (I still listen to both) and I really fell in love with blues. By 14, I started playing guitar ✊🏾, 17 I stated harmonica ✊🏾, 18 I started banjo ✊🏾. Since then, I’ve been blessed to meet plenty of OGs, known and unknown, and many have helped me and I’ve been able to help others because, to me, the blues is a way of life and a community.

I released my first album in 2016, followed by another in 2019, and my latest in 2024. I play a lot of other folks' music, mostly from the dead guys and gals who are my main influences those who recorded from the '20s to the '60s.

I play the greats tunes but I’ve only recorded my songs even though some have been inspired by the giants of Blues, like this one: “Take Me To The Country” from my 2019 album, which is strongly based on “Chickasaw Train” by Memphis Minnie, with some nods to Blind Lemon as well.

The song is in the key of C standard tuning.

Good morning, everyone🌞☀️! I finally got my banjo up and running again after a few years of it being out of commission. I learned this tune from my friend Jerron Paxton. It’s the "St. Louis Blues," one of the most popular classic standard blues tunes by W.C. Handy, written in 1914. As always tune in to my touring schedule and more at www.jontaviouswillis.com