After a jamming show at the Southern Pines Blues Crawl and in anticipation of their upcoming performance in Durham this weekend, I just can’t seem to get Lakota John & Kin’s “Key To The Highway” out of my head. Having heard them play live for the first time a couple weekends ago, I was instantly captivated by their straightforward style of blues. In other words, there’s no playing around when they play.

Lakota John Locklear, one of our Next Generation Artists, has mastered this music in a short 17 years, already having appeared at Shakori Hills Grassroots Festival, the North Carolina Museum of History, and Centrum’s Country Blues Festival in Port Townsend, WA. He performs both as a solo artist and alongside his talented family – Mama Tonya, Papa John, and Sister Layla – continuing the tradition of Southern music long-rooted in their Lumbee heritage.

Just as the song says – “I’m gonna leave here runnin’ cause walkin’s way too slow” – Lakota John & Kin continue gaining speed on the highway to share their musical gift with the world.

— Masyn