Ra'Shad the Blues Kid

Ra'Shad the Blues Kid was born Larry McGill in 1987 in Laurel, in Mississippi's Piney Woods. He first heard music in church and picked up guitar at 16. At Jackson State University he studied elementary education and played offensive line until a knee injury changed his plans.

In 2011 he co-formed The Groove Band, which backed Southern soul singers LaMorris Williams, Krishunda Echols and J.T. Darnell; he first sang lead when a singer showed up late. He was mentored by L.C. Ulmer of Ellisville and Tommie "T-Bone" Pruitt, and after Ulmer died in 2016 he took the name Ra'Shad the Blues Kid in his honor.

His debut single, Shake It, and album Country Soul came out in 2017. In 2021 he released two albums at once: Southern Side of Soul and Bluz Me, a tribute to Little Milton, Albert King and Tyrone Davis. Live in Clarksdale, recorded at Ground Zero Blues Club, followed on January 24, 2025, and Raised on the Blues in 2026. His Malaco-recorded track Girl You Got It Going On is on the 2025 Jacktown USA compilation.

At the 2025 International Blues Challenge in Memphis his band placed second, and harmonica player Jock Webb Sr. won Best Harmonica Player. He represented Mississippi at the 2024 Chicago Blues Festival, was the subject of a six-page Living Blues feature in 2022, received a 2025 Mississippi Arts Commission Fellowship, and is on the commission's 2026-2029 Artist Roster. He offers solo and full-band shows, blues heritage programs and youth outreach, and travels within 500 miles; he has also toured the U.S. and Europe with his band.