Blues hall-of-famer Michael Charles returns to Lethbridge and friends at The Slice

By Sam Leishman - Lethbridge Herald Local Journalism Initiative Reporter on March 18, 2025.

Submitted photo - Blues hall-of-famer Michael Charles returns to Lethbridge and friends at The Slice on March 27.

An evening of soulful blues with Michael Charles is coming to Lethbridge late next month.

The Chicago Blues Hall of Famer has a selection of his more than 40 releases, plus some hits from other familiar artists, ready for the March show. Charles is no stranger to Lethbridge either, performing at The Slice three times in recent years.

“When you visit a place x amount of times, you get to know people there. I’ve become good friends with the staff [at The Slice]. They’re just such good people. I just think that when something’s working, stick with it!”

Charles began his musical journey over sixty years ago in his home of Melbourne, Australia. He paraded his talents across the country with a number of tours, as well as television and radio appearances.

Charles made the move to the United States about 30 years ago following several life-changing performances alongside the iconic Buddy Guy at his world famous Legends club in Chicago.

Since then, Charles has had the pleasure of performing with plenty of other blues stars, including Phil Guy, James Cotton, Eddy Clearwater and Jimmy Dawkins. He’s also taken the stage at the famous Chicago Blues Fest and the Philadelphia Jazz and Blues Fest.

Charles himself is now a ten times Grammy elected artist. He was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame in 2015.

Charles says blues is the foundation of all music, something that he believes can touch the soul, yet he prides himself on giving his fans much more than that.

“The industry puts me in the blues genre. The people that come out and see me put me in the blues genre. I didn’t put myself in the blues genre,” Charles told the Herald. “I’m a musician. I love writing songs. Anybody that’s got my releases knows that I touch a lot of different genres.”

“Guitars, Music and Miles 2025” is Charles’ 18th consecutive international tour. He’ll be performing at festivals and venues across Canada, the USA and Australia throughout the rest of the year.

Making a special connection with the audience is always the best part of touring, according to Charles.

“People that take the time out to come and see you live, they’re going to be your biggest fans. Somebody might hear one of your songs and go, ‘Wow, I like that song,’ but it’s the audiences that come and see you live that really let you know that they like your music all around. I think playing live has got to be one of the most important things for any artist.”

Charles adds that he’s looking forward to meeting some new fans in Lethbridge this time around.

His performance at The Slice is coming up on Mar. 27 at 8:30pm. Admission will be charged at the door.