Phillip-Michael Scales “Sinner-Songwriter” 2021. Dixie Frog Records. The debut from “dive bar soul” musician Scales out of Chicago/Nashville, who has a serious blues pedigree (Scales is B.B. King’s nephew). I absolutely adore Phillip-Michael Scales! While my tastes definitely do not run towards singer/songwriters, I can get behind a sinner-songwriter like Scales who is beautiful, hilarious and a fantastic performer. Most recently we got to see him play a couple of weeks ago at Anodyne here in Milwaukee.

We first saw him perform at Appleton, WI’s Mile of Music in 2019 (Mutts, another group I adore, were his backup band) and then saw him play at Mile this past August on a gorgeously hot afternoon in the parking lot of Emmett’s (he didn’t have his vinyl record yet but I got a sweet t-shirt).

While I have no clue what he played back in 2019, I do know that in 2021 he played most of the tracks that appear on his latest release Sinner-Songwriter. A few of my top tracks from the shows and from the record are the album opener: the rocking “Feels Like Home,” the gorgeously soulful “O, Hallelujah,” a crowd stomping singalong (hilariously messed up at both 2021 shows by the audience…clearly we are all out of practice singing in public) “Send Me There” and the devastating “Tell Me How I Sound Again.” Before most of the songs, Scales shared either funny or heartfelt and authentic stories that gave deeper insight and meaning to the songs. While not on this record (all of his material is original), he concluded the Anodyne set with an acoustic stroll through the audience, singing “Stand By Me” – it was magical.