Popa Chubby’s Singing The Blues At Jj’s

JJ’s at the Sheraton will depart from its usual house band format tonight to stage a show featuring, physically and musically, one of the most weighty blues singers in the land. New York blues singer, guitarist and Sony Music recording artist Popa (pronounced papa) Chubby plays the Spokane club at 8 p.m.

If Popa Chubby doesn’t sound like a familiar name, it’s because he’s never toured here before. And his third album, “Booty And The Beast,” is the first to be distributed nationwide.

Even though Popa Chubby has spent most of his life playing in numerous bands, the massive bluesman is a relative new face on the scene. He’s been fronting his own band for only four years. Now that he has major-label backing, he’s been hitting cities for the first time.

“Booty And The Beast” is probably one of the best records no one’s heard this year. Popa Chubby piles hearty helpings of genres onto his new musical platter. The album is structured with a blues framework but lots of other things perk up in the mix. There’s even a brief instrumental surf song.

“To me, it’s not about genre; it’s all music,” Popa Chubby recently said from a stop in Jackson, Wy., a town he had never played before. “I just like to play what I like and I like everything. I just try to put it out in my own way. I think it’s good for my audience, too, because it gives them a lot to get into.”

Call Popa Chubby blues with a twist. “I like to think of myself as that,” said the singer.

Tickets are $9 and are available at Street Music, 117 N. Howard, and at the Sheraton.