With one foot in tradition and the other in contemporary experimentation, Corey Harris has earned critical acclaim as one of the few modern-day bluesmen able to channel the raw, direct emotion of acoustic Delta blues without coming off as an authenticity-obsessed historian. Along with Keb’ Mo’ and Alvin Youngblood Hart, Harris raised the flag of acoustic guitar blues in the mid-1990s. Although well-versed in the early history of blues guitar, he is no well-mannered preservationist, mixing a considerable variety of influences—from New Orleans, the Caribbean, and Africa—into his richly expressive music.