Album Notes

Michael Lee Ammons and the Water Street Hot Shots perform hot old-time blues! In keeping with the hard driving, foot stomping, kick-up-some-dust acoustic blues styles of the 1920's and 30's, they throw a party for their listeners.
Using traditional instruments including the steel-bodied resonator guitar, washboard, mandolin, fiddle, string bass, harmonica, jug, and kazoo, this string band shows that its influences are rooted in bottleneck-slide delta blues, fingerstyle blues, and early jug/washboard bands.

With a recent performance opening for fingerstyle guitarist Leo Kottke, and their debut CD “This Will Bring You Back,” Michael Lee Ammons and The Water Street Hot Shots are ready to be heard!


"...an appealing performer with a keen awareness of early blues styles...a good time atmosphere that that pulses with life...This enjoyable recording unites Ammons and his revivalist cohorts through the simple joy found in making and sharing good music."
---Blues Review Magazine


"They sound like a real band, not just a collection
of individual talents, though there's plenty of the latter to appreciate as well. Their CD "This Will Bring You Back" makes me want to visit Sheboygan!"
---David Evans
Blues researcher, author,and musician
Memphis, Tennessee


Ammons' guitar work "conjures up images of a delta blues picker pondering the northern lights."
---Dirty Linen Magazine

"Its hard to find a musician like Michael Lee Ammons that addresses tradition with a fresh attitude."
---John McEuen, formerly of the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band