He’s a Blues
Man Jack Stallard, Longview News Journal Edwin Holt grew up in the
piney woods of East Texas and has been singing the Blues
on national festival venues for nearly fifteen years
opening shows for legends like Bobby "Blue"
Bland and Johnnie Taylor. When Holt steps on the stage
and breaks open his fishing tackle box full of blues
harps, an amazing transformation takes place that even
he doesn't understand. Holt first shook hands with the
music at the tender age of six, thanks to an uncle who
just happened
to be a prison guard at the state penitentiary in Huntsville.
Holt sat on the front row, surrounded by cigarette smoke
and prisoners chained together at the arms and legs,
while Jerry Lee Lewis essentially destroyed the piano
and brought the house down. Twelve years later, after
attending the Mississippi Delta Blues Festival, the
spark was rekindled. Holt played the bars and juke joints
in Memphis and learned from Delta legends like James
‘‘Son’’ Thomas and Willie Foster
before moving back to East Texas and eventually
settling in Dallas. Holt and his 12 piece Conspiracy
Band are a fixture on the South Dallas Blues scene and
continue to pave their way to international recognition.
