Popa Chubby

The 61-year-old bluesman from The Bronx—on the heels of a new live album recorded in Queens—is equipped with an all-star band that you won’t want to leave unacknowledged. If you ever indulged in the Max Weinberg 7—or any of Conan O’Brien’s house bands—you’ll recognize bassist Mike Merritt and his steady basslines.

Also in the band is Mike DiMeo, who backed up Johnny Winter in the last years of his life, and was supposed to have a stint in Deep Purple in the ‘90s, after an endorsement from Ritchie Blackmore. Drummer Stefano Giudici may not have classic rock royalty on his resume, but he’ll often perk up a crowd by dueling Popa Chubby—whose birth name is Theodore Horowitz—on the cans mid-gig.