“Do I still enjoy touring? The emphatic answer is ‘mostly, no’. I enjoy travelling and I enjoy playing. It’s a question of having done it intensely for decades”: Eric Bibb never planned to be a roots troubadour, but the blues took hold of his career

A portrait of Eric Bibb reclining on his sofa, picking on an acoustic guitar, and surrounded by his guitar collection.

As a young man, Eric Bibb found himself immersed in the burgeoning folk scene of New York. His father, Leon Bibb, a renowned activist in the 1960s Civil Rights Movement, entertained house guests that included Bob Dylan, Joan Baez and Pete Seeger, and their influence doubtless went on to help crystallise Eric’s own musical direction.

Eric found a home in the blues genre and, with five decades of relentless touring behind him, his new album, In The Real World, presents itself as something intensely personal.