Jon Batiste, Leon Bridges, Gary Clark Jr.

Biography

Jon Batiste (born November 11, 1986, in Kenner, Louisiana), Gary Clark Jr. (born February 15, 1984, in Austin, Texas), and Leon Bridges (born July 13, 1989, in Atlanta, Georgia, raised in Fort Worth, Texas) are three prominent American musicians known for their soulful, genre-blending styles—Batiste in jazz and R&B, Clark in blues-rock, and Bridges in retro soul—who have notably collaborated on the 2017 single 'Ohio,' a cover of Neil Young's song released by Batiste.[2][3][4] Batiste was born into a musical dynasty in Louisiana, playing percussion with the Batiste Brothers Band at age 8 before switching to piano at 11, honing skills through classical lessons and video game transcriptions; he rose as bandleader of Stay Human on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert (2015-2022), releasing albums like Hollywood Africans (2018) while performing at major events including Grammy tributes and NBA All-Star Games.[2][3] Gary Clark Jr. emerged from Austin's blues scene, performing teen gigs before mentor Clifford Antone connected him with Jimmie Vaughan; he signed with Warner Bros. in 2011, releasing The Bright Lights EP, Blak and Blu (2012), and The Story of Sonny Boy Slim (2015), earning acclaim for fusing blues, rock, soul, and hip-hop, with prolific live recordings and festival highlights like Glastonbury 2013.[1] Their joint 'Ohio' track, alongside shared TV appearances like The Late Show (2019) and Grammy performances (2018), underscores a legacy of cross-generational soul revival, civil rights advocacy (Batiste notably), and high-energy live collaborations blending New Orleans jazz, Texas blues, and vintage R&B influences.[1][2][4][5]

Fun Facts

• Batiste transcribed piano from video games like Street Fighter Alpha, Final Fantasy VII, and Sonic the Hedgehog to develop his skills.[3]
• Gary Clark Jr. performed with the Rolling Stones on 'Going Down' during their 50th anniversary tour in 2012, opening for Eric Clapton in 2013.[1]
• The trio recorded 'Ohio' after receiving Neil Young's personal blessing, performing it live with guests like Mavis Staples.[4]
• Batiste appeared in HBO's Treme (seasons 2-4) and composed scores for Spike Lee's Red Hook Summer.[3]

Musical Connections

Mentors/Influences

• Clifford Antone - Promoter and club owner who launched Clark's career at Antone's in Austin (Early gigs leading to Warner Bros. deal) [early 2000s]
• Jimmie Vaughan - Blues guitarist who mentored and performed with Clark in Austin scene (Local performances pre-Blak and Blu) [teens-2010s]
• Lionel Batiste and Harold Battiste - Family musical lineage influencing Batiste's early training (Batiste Brothers Band) [childhood]

Key Collaborators

• Leon Bridges - Joint recording and live performances ('Ohio' single (2017), Bun B's Return of the Trill (2018)) [2017-2018]
• Stay Human - Batiste's band as bandleader and musical director (The Late Show with Stephen Colbert (nightly 2015-2022)) [2015-2022]
• Gary Clark Jr. - Shared performances with Batiste (Grammy tribute to Chuck Berry/Fats Domino (2018), The Late Show 'Feed the Babies' (2019), ACL 'Cry' (2021)) [2018-2021]
• The Dap-Kings - Batiste's summer touring partners (Summer Festival tour including 'Ohio' (2018)) [2018]

External Links

• Spotify