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Eric Gales BLUES by Mark D Phillips, 8″ x 12″ printed on aluminum

Eric Gales debuted his his new album A Tribute to LJK, honoring his late brother Little Jimmy King (Manuel Gales), at the Foothills Grange stage at the Black Mountain Blues Festival on September 28, 2025.

This was one of the most moving events I have been to in a long time. The Black Mountain Blues Festival brought together the best of blues on the first anniversary of Hurricane Helene, which devastated the area.

The pièce de résistance for me was Eric Gales debuting his new album, A Tribute to LJK, honoring his late brother Little Jimmy King (Manuel Gales). My reel on Instagram captured more views than anything else I posted this year. Hearing him rip away on the guitar was watching a maestro at work. It took me a while to realize that he was the first artist I have seen play the guitar upside down and left-handed.

You can read my piece, “Celebration of Resiliency: Black Mountain Blues,” on southbrooklyn.com, my publishing site for photography, travel, Brooklyn, and Skiing.