Chicago blues guitar hero Michael Charles returns to CSPS Hall

When Michael Charles was asked what the odds were that he would perform on the same date at the same venue a year after making his debut on that stage, he laughed.

"I was just told yesterday that I would be performing at CSPS Hall on Dec. 13, which is the exact night I played there last year," Charlies said while calling from Chicago. “What are the odds? There are no odds. I'm fine with it as long as I'm called back to perform at a venue. When they call me back to perform, well, I guess I must be doing something right."

Charles, 69, is on top of his game and is touring as much as he ever has during his enviable career. The Aussie native just finished a month-long tour down under and is getting ready to embark on a U.S. tour.

"I'm excited to get back on the road here, but I have to say I had an amazing time in Australia," Charles said. "I was on a bill with Dave Hole. Dave asked me to come up and play with him, and it was very humbling. The guy is one of the most amazing slide players in the world. I told him if I'm coming up on that stage with him then I should just put my slide in my pocket. 'Don't you dare,' he said. "I guess I'm doing something right to play the slide onstage with Dave Hole."

Considering everything Charles has accomplished, he's incredibly humble. The blues vocalist-guitarist has put the work in since he was a kid while growing up in Melbourne.

Charles started playing guitar when he was 5 years old but received the brunt of his education in Chicago, where he moved in 1991.

"I learned some chords as a little kid, and I was on stage by the time I was 7 years old," Charles recalled. "Back then there was obviously no social media so I heard everything from my transistor radio. I loved listening to the Beatles, Elvis Presley, Eric Clapton and Santana. But there is something about the Chicago blues. I was a fan of Buddy Guy when I was in Australia but when I moved here I started playing with the real deal blues guys. It made such a difference rubbing shoulders with guys like (blues harmonica player) Sugar Blue. Moving to Chicago made me a much better musician."

Not long after relocating to Chicago, Charles trekked to Memphis to perform at the Crossroads Festival as the guest of legendary producer Sam Phillips, who recorded sessions with Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Johnny Cash and Carl Perkins at his iconic Sun Records during the dawn of rock and roll.

"Sam Phillips would record Elvis with a microphone hanging in the room, and he would change the position of the microphone for every performance, and that was genius," Charles recalled. "Sam Phillips was one of a kind."

Charles misses the grit and candid tunes penned by blues pioneers.

"I love the honesty of the blues musicians from back in the day," Charles said. "Those guys wrote from their heart and soul. They meant every word. They lived what they were performing. But it's also a different era. Times have changed. The struggles of today are different than the struggles back then."

The situations those musicians suffered through during the early days of the blues was severe.

"They dealt with poverty and horrific discrimination," Charles said. "Blues has no color, but it all starts with the African-American musicians who all made our lives richer by making such incredible music."

Charles isn't crazy about some contemporary music, particularly tunes that are primarily created by artificial intelligence.

"I was scrolling through my Facebook when I saw these guys playing a short little lick, and they put it through AI and it recorded a song for them," Charles said. "How sad. That's just not the way to do it. Relying on artificial intelligence is not going to make you a good musician. Making and playing music is about being human. Being a successful recording artist is about making people smile or cry. It's about connecting with their emotions. It's about challenging yourself as a musician. When an audience applauds, well, that's the greatest feeling you can have. It's so rewarding."

The only Australian inducted into the Chicago Blues Hall of Fame challenges himself each night by fronting a three-piece band.

"I happily go up and out there with guitar, bass and drums," Charles said. "It's fun doing this like we do it."

A return to CSPS excites Charles.

"I'm so glad to come back since the audience in Cedar Rapids was so responsive," Charles said. "I had such a great time with the audience, and I love that venue. It was the first time I played there, and it was fantastic.“