NPR PROFILES SOUTHERN SOUL MAN ROBERT FINLEY AS HIS DEBUT ‘AGE DON’T MEAN A THING’ OUT TODAY ON BIG LEGAL MESS

SINGER DISCUSSES GOING BLIND AS 2ND SYNDICATED RADIO SEGMENT TAPES NEXT WEEK AT MEMPHIS SHOW

NPR aired a profile on Robert Finley nationally this week as his debut album ‘Age Don’t Mean a Thing’ on Big Legal Mess (Fat Possum) comes out today. Finley told NPR that being able to play soul music for a living in spite of going blind “a dream come true… what more could a man ask.” He also described his music as “blues that make a person hold their head up instead of dropping it down.” He and NPR host Jeremy Hobson discussed how money from his father for a pair of shoes went to his first guitar; learning music from watching musicians in church; his religious family disapproving of the blues; what it’s like to go to school to adapt to becoming legally blind; and sensing the energy from the audience even when he can’t see it.

‘Age Don’t Mean a Thing’ is earning praise across the board as he prepares for a Memphis album release show October 6 at Lafayette’s to be taped by syndicated radio show Beale Street Caravan.

Here’s what we’re reading and hearing:

“Not your average up-and-comer… sounds good to me!”
– Jeremy Hobson, NPR Here & Now, September 26, 2016

“More than convincing.”
– Jon Pareles, New York Times, January 18, 2016

“Amazing… great stuff.”
– Rob Weisberg, NPR Music, January 26, 2016

“ Too legit to quit.”
– Hannah Hayes, Southern Living, August 22, 2016

“A delightful mix of old school blues, soul and R&B, with all of it propelled by Finley’s gritty-yet-laid-back voice and equally effortless guitar work. It’s a surprisingly confident effort from a first-time recording artist.”
– Sam D’Arcangelo, Offbeat Magazine, September 29, 2016

“A slab of dirty, sexy soul, gyrating around a firm funk backbeat in much the same way as most pairs of hips exposed to this song might. Finley’s Southern croon soars above sensual guitar and horns, reveling in the freedom the music provides and exploring the crannies of the instrumentation.”
– Will Rivitz, Pop Matters, August 15, 2016

“His brand of Southern Soul is tough to resist… a master at work!”
– Soul Tracks, August 29, 2016