Toronzo Cannon Interview 2/27/16

February 28th, 2016 by The Professor

Bluesman and MTA bus driver Toronzo Cannon lit up the scene at the 2016 Lancaster Roots and Blues Festival with a wild set at the Federal Taphouse to a hyped up crowd. Hitting tracks from his new Chicago Way album (his first on venerable blues label Alligator) and chewing on his Flying V strings, Toronzo had everyone’s attention. Last night, on day 2 of the festival, he jumped on stage with fellow Chicagoans Lil’ Ed and The Blues Imperials for a quick jam at The Chameleon Club. He also, after sharing some pizza and a nice stroll through downtown Lancaster, sat down with me to chat about his new album, touring on his vacation days and driving an MTA bus full time. We had to contend with fan interruptions and noise and finally ended up in a stairwell as he was kind enough to keep talking through the chaos. Toronzo’s getting a lot of well-deserved attention for his music, but don’t expect him to quit his day job!