GA-20

Last updated
GA-20
Origin Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.
Genres
Years active2018–present
Labels
  • Colemine Records/Karma Chief Records (2019-present)
  • Alligator Records (2021)
Members
Past members
  • Pat Faherty
  • Tim Carman
Website https://ga20band.com/

GA-20 is an American blues band from Boston, Massachusetts consisting of Matthew Stubbs, Cody Nilsen, and Josh Kiggans. The band is named after the guitar amplifier manufactured by Gibson from 1950 to 1961. They primarily play Chicago blues.

Contents

In 2018, GA-20 were nominated for a Boston Music Award for Blues Artist of the year. [1] They have been nominated for the award seven years in a row. They won Blues Artist of the Year in 2019, [2] 2021, [3] 2022, [4] 2023, [5] and 2024. [6] They were nominated for their first Blues Music Award in 2022 for Best Emerging Artist. [7] In 2023 GA-20 was nominated for Blues Band of the year and their album Live In Loveland was nominated for Live Blues Album by the Blues Blast Awards. [8] They won Blues Act of the Year at the 2024 New England Music Awards. [9]

Background

Matthew Stubbs formed GA-20 in early 2018 during a hiatus from playing guitar with Charlie Musselwhite, due to Musselwhite touring with Ben Harper. [10] Stubbs sought to put a new project together to do blues gigs aside from his Psych-Rock group The Antiguas. Stubbs met original vocalist Pat Faherty through his many local Boston gigs. Faherty was a regular at these gigs and even took Blues guitar lessons from Stubbs. [10] Early performances by the band had a rotating group of musicians with Faherty and Stubbs as the core members. Some early performances used various other musicians, sometimes playing as a four-piece band. They adopted the name GA-20 and the group became a trio by early 2018 consisting of two guitars (Stubbs & Faherty) and drums (sideman Tim Carman). About a year after their formation, they scored a deal with Colemine Records imprint Karma Chief Records. [11] The group has been described as a trio that plays stripped down 1950s/1960s-style Chicago blues with a lot of distortion and no bass. [12]

Career

After signing with Colemine/Karma Chief Records in December 2018, the band released the single "Naggin' On My Mind" which featured Charlie Musselwhite and Luther Dickinson. [13] [14] [15] It was recorded at Q Division Studios in Somerville, Massachusetts and was produced by Stubbs. Musselwhite performed harmonica on the track, Dickinson was on slide guitar. During the session Matthew Prozialeck provided background vocals and played harmonica on what would become the B-side to "Naggin' On My Mind". Additional recordings from this session became the Lonely Soul album. [16] Stubbs and Faherty co-wrote the original material featured on Lonely Soul. Their co-writing collaboration would continue through subsequent releases until Faherty’s 2024 departure. [17]

Their first record, a 7" single, was released in August 2019 with "Naggin' On My Mind" and "Sit Down Baby" on Karma Chief Records. [18] Their debut album Lonely Soul was released on October 18, 2019. The album debuted at number 2 on the Billboard Blues Chart. In September 2020 they released an EP called GA-20 Live Vol. 1. The EP debuted at number 1 on the Billboard Blues Chart.

Their August 2021 album GA-20 Does Hound Dog Taylor: Try It...You Might Like It! also debuted at number 1 on the Billboard Blues Chart of September 4, 2021 and was the first album ever to be played in its entirety on the Dr Boogie radio show. [19] Released to mark the 50th anniversary of Hound Dog Taylor and the HouseRockers , Taylor's first disc, the GA-20 tracks are cover versions of songs from both that album and Taylor's second record Natural Boogie . The album is a co-release by Colemine/Karma Chief Records and the legendary Blues label Alligator Records (Hound Dog Taylor's label). The album received 4-star reviews in both The Guardian [20] and Rolling Stone France. [21]

In September 2022 the band released the studio album Crackdown which debuted at number 1 on the Billboard Blues Chart. They followed up Crackdown with the live record Live In Loveland, which debuted at number 2 on the Billboard Blues Chart.

In July 2024, it was announced that Tim Carman would be replaced, on drums, by Josh Kiggans. [22] In December 2024, it was announced that Pat Faherty had parted ways from the band due to artistic differences, [23] and that Cody Nilsen would take his place moving forward. [24] Nilsen is an acclaimed touring, session, and solo musician. [25] Nilsen's debut with the band, "Cryin' & Pleadin'", was released December 10, 2024. [26] "Cryin' & Pleadin'" reached number 1 on B.B. King's Bluesville Top 15 Rack of Blues in March of 2025. [27]

Band members

Current members

Past members

Discography

Singles
ActRelease titleCatalogueYearFmtNotes #
"Naggin’ On My Mind"Karma Chief Records KCR12004dig1December 2018Digital [28] [29]
GA-20
featuring
Charlie Musselwhite and Luther Dickinson
"Naggin’ On My Mind" / "Sit Down Baby"Karma Chief Records KCR-105August 2019Vinyl, Digital [18]
GA-20
"I Ain't Got You"Karma Chief Records KCR-12004July 2020Digital [30]
GA-20
"No No" / "Two In The Ground"Karma Chief Records KCR-001May 2021Digital [31]
GA-20
"GA-20 Does Hound Dog Taylor LIVE!"Karma Chief Records KCR-12017December 2021CD, Digital [32]
GA-20
"ATL"Karma Chief Records KCR-002November 2022Digital [33]
GA-20
"Jolene" / "Still As The Night"Karma Chief Records KCR-128September 2023Vinyl, Digital [34]
GA-20
"Cryin' & Pleadin'"KCR-005December 2024Digital [24]
GA-20
"I Love You, I Need You"KCR-005February 2024Digital [35]
GA-20
"Stranger Blues"GA20-002March 2024Digital [36]
Albums
Release titleCatalogueYearFmtNotes #
Lonely SoulKarma Chief Records KCR12004October 2019LP, CD, Tape, DigitalDebut on Billboard Blues Albums at #2
GA-20 Live Vol. 1Karma Chief Records KCR110September 2020EP, CD, DigitalDebut on Billboard Blues Albums at #1
Try It...You Might Like It! GA-20 Does Hound Dog Taylor Karma Chief Records KCR12017August 2021LP, CD, DigitalDebut on Billboard Blues Albums at #1 [37]
CrackdownKarma Chief Records KCR12007September 2022LP, CD, DigitalDebut on Billboard Blues Albums at #1 [38]
Live In Loveland [recorded 1/09/20]Karma Chief Records KCR12016March 2023LP, CD, DigitalDebut on Billboard Blues Albums at #2

References

  1. ↑ Wbur.org, September 21, 2018 - Here Are All The 2018 Boston Music Awards Nominees, BLUES ARTIST OF THE YEAR By Amelia Mason
  2. ↑ "Boston Music Awards 2019".
  3. ↑ "Boston Music Awards 2021".
  4. ↑ "Boston Music Awards 2022 - Winners".
  5. ↑ "Boston Music Awards 2023 - Winners".
  6. ↑ "Boston Music Awards 2024 - Winners".
  7. ↑ "Blues Music Awards". Blues.org.
  8. ↑ "2023 Blues Blast Music Award Nominees". June 20, 2023.
  9. ↑ "2024 NEMA Winners". New England Music Awards.
  10. 1 2 Meeker, Ward (August 8, 2023). "GA-20's Matt Stubbs and Pat Faherty | Vintage Guitar® magazine".
  11. ↑ Michael, Marc (February 20, 2019). "Naggin' On My Mind". Chattanoogapulse.com.
  12. ↑ "Top 10 Local Acts on the Rise | Improper Bostonian". Improper.com.
  13. ↑ Vanyaland, February 1, 2019 - Studio 52 Featured Band of the Week: GA-20
    Electric blues duo of Matthew Stubbs and Pat Faherty play Toad in Cambridge tonight (February 1)
  14. ↑ With Guitars, February 16, 2019 - New Blues single from GA-20’s Naggin’ On My Mind w/ Charlie Musselwhite and Luther Dickinson
  15. ↑ The Joy of Violent Movement, /February 17, 2019 - New Audio: JOVM Mainstay Matthew Stubbs Teams Up with Pat Faherty, Charlie Musselwhite, and Luther Dickinson on a Boogie Blues Number by William Ruben Helms
  16. ↑ "GA-20 – Lonely Soul (2019, Red Translucent, Vinyl)". Discogs .
  17. ↑ Richards, Tom. "Make No Mistake, GA-20 Plays the Blues". Houston Press.
  18. 1 2 "GA-20 – Naggin' on My Mind (2019, Blue, Vinyl)". Discogs .
  19. ↑ "La playlist du lundi 4 octobre 2021". Rtbf.be. Retrieved 12 February 2022.
  20. ↑ Spencer, Neil (August 14, 2021). "GA-20: Try It... You Might Like It! review – a rowdy blast of primal blues" – via The Guardian.
  21. ↑ Rédaction, La (August 20, 2021). "GA-20 : Un retour aux sources 100% blues". Rolling Stone.
  22. ↑ "Facebook". www.facebook.com.
  23. ↑ "Facebook".
  24. 1 2 "GA-20 Ushers in New Era with Cody Nilsen and 'Cryin' and Pleadin Cover". December 10, 2024.
  25. ↑ https://twangville.com/2022/06/02/introducing-cody-nilsen-a-twangville-premiere/#:~:text=Nilsen%20has%20established%20himself%20as,Ward%20Hayden%20and%20the%20Outliers.
  26. ↑ "GA-20 Cover Billy Boy Arnold".
  27. ↑ https://www.facebook.com/reel/951915673754683
  28. ↑ "Boomkat: Independent Music Specialist". Boomkat.com.
  29. ↑ iTunes - Naggin’ on My Mind (feat. Charlie Musselwhite and Luther Dickinson) - Single GA-20 [ dead link ]
  30. ↑ "GA20 - I Ain't Got You". Colemine Records.
  31. ↑ "GA20 - Two In The Ground b/w No No". Colemine Records.
  32. ↑ "Facebook".
  33. ↑ "GA20 - ATL". Colemine Records.
  34. ↑ "GA20 - Jolene / Still As The Night". Colemine Records.
  35. ↑ https://www.rockandbluesmuse.com/2025/02/05/ga-20-drops-new-single-i-love-you-i-need-you/?fbclid=IwY2xjawIcWDZleHRuA2FlbQIxMAABHWNDhK5msDLOQBuGPhy-lQVU5-S83ax08GMZk7QloDMIRKEZNwrfoI-Fwg_aem_iPNkwVcEY0p_oMoVwedXnQ
  36. ↑ https://www.ifitstooloud.com/2025/03/ga-20-stranger-blues.html?m=1
  37. ↑ "Blues Albums". Billboard.com. 2 January 2013. Retrieved 12 February 2022.
  38. ↑ PR, Pavement (October 10, 2014). "GA-20".
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.