Since first forming The Nick Moss Band featuring Dennis Gruenling in 2016, master blues guitarist Nick Moss and world-class harmonica virtuoso Dennis Gruenling have become torchbearers for traditional electric blues. But rather than simply repeating what’s come before, the band’s high-energy take on old school Chicago, Texas and West Coast sounds is completely their own. With their new Alligator Records release (their third for the label), Get Your Back Into It!, Chicago native Moss and New Jersey native Gruenling—together with Rodrigo Mantovani on bass, and Pierce Downer on drums—deliver a deeply rooted, timeless blue collar blues album.
AllMusic says the band, winners of the 2020 & 2024 Blues Music Award for Blues Band Of The Year, “makes the case for the vitality of old-fashioned Chicago electric blues in the 21st century.” They are among the world’s very best old school blues ensembles, with each musician expertly playing off the others. “We are a rare breed as far as how authentic we like to keep the music, while also keeping it up-to-date and exciting,” says Moss.
Among many awards and recognitions the band has received, Nick Moss garnered the 2019 Blues Music Award for Best Traditional Blues Male Artist. The band took home Blues Music Awards in 2020 for Album of the Year, Song of the Year, and Band of the Year. In 2024 the band received the prestigious Band of the Year honors again from the Blues Music Awards. Bandmates Dennis Gruenling and Rodrigo Mantovani have been nominated multiple times in their respective categories for instrumentalist harmonica and bass. Dennis also received the award for Best Harmonica Instrumentalist in 2019.
Nick Moss proudly represents the city of Chicago as one of the few bluesmen working today to have learned his craft firsthand, directly from many of the genre’s original creators…and rest assured that the band will bring you the best in authentic Blues!