“The British Invasion brought awareness to the music, but not the culture. They were great guitarists, but they weren’t as good as Robert Johnson”: Jontavious Willis has become one of acoustic blues’ most exciting voices – just don’t say he’s the future

Jontavious Williams wears a white longsleeve and plays a cutaway resonator with a glass of water on the table in front of him.

Often overlooked in favor of its electric sibling, acoustic blues has seen a strong upswing in interest in recent years. One of the prime movers in the genre, Georgia’s Jontavious Willis, has just released his third album, West Georgia Blues.

Willis – who was ranked among the top 21 new blues guitarists in a recent Guitar Player poll – has the uncanny knack of crafting original songs that sound like they could have been written any time over the last 100 years.