It’s been quite wild ride for Ottawa roots singer/songwriter and keyboard player Jeff Rogers over the past 6 months.
Last fall he had the thrill of opening for The Legendary Downchild Blues Band on their sold-out Ontario theatre tour, to great response. The February 16, 2024, American and international release of his new album Dream Job, recorded in the revered music mecca of Muscle Shoals, Alabama, helped the album hit Top 5 on the Roots Music Report Canada Album Chart alongside The Dead South on March 30, 2024. Stellar album reviews south of the border from respected magazines like Downbeat and praise from Billboard Canada as “one to watch in 2024”, have helped put Jeff Rogers on the map internationally.
With the buzz building, Rogers is set to release his brand-new lyric video for his first single “Lock & Key.”
“Lock & Key is a song that captures the excitement I feel coming home from the road to see my partner. Absence makes the heart grow fonder, and there’s honest appreciation in the lyrics with a hint of rose-coloured glasses masking a fear that one might have been gone too long. The rhythm and music represent the more primal longing upon return. It’s a fun song, and the band is electric, especially Kelvin Holly on guitar,” says Rogers.
“I wanted to approach this song with a jam vibe, the chords aren’t complex, it really is about the train rolling down the tracks. This is one of the songs that benefited the most from being down in Muscle Shoals, utilizing musicians who breathe that bluesy southern rock vibe. As soon as we counted it in, we clicked with the right attitude, and Kelvin dug in. It was a super fun jam. A couple days later, Clayton Ivey came in the studio and put the finishing touches on the rhythm section with some well seasoned B3, and it all really came together. It was so fun having these guys on my album and listening to them add their own spices in the mix. Wishbone Studio has an incredible room, spacious and warm with all the vintage toys you need to capture that Alabama sound.”
Jeff Rogers unmistakably soulful voice often evokes weighty comparisons to the past – whether that’s Stevie Wonder, Ray Charles or even Otis Redding, yet, his tone, range, phrasing, and sincerity, all make him unmistakably contemporary – and totally original.
On his new album Dream Job, Jeff is accompanied by some legendary musicians, including Kelvin Holly (Little Richard, Bobby Bland etc.), Clayton Ivey (The Staple Sisters, Thelma Houston), Justin Holder (Keb Mo’, Delbert McClinton) and Shonna Tucker (Booker T. Jones, Drive-By-Truckers). Dream Job features special guest appearances by Grammy Award winner, Colin Linden, and Juno Award winning singer, Kellylee Evans.
