Robert Lowery was born on April 8th, 1931, in Shula, Arkansas. He learned his slide technique while still a child, using a guitar of his brother's that had a neck so bowed that "the only way I knew how to play the thing was by using a slide…you coulda shot an arrow with that neck!" Robert said. As a teenager, he picked up blues tunes from records by Robert Johnson, Lightnin' Hopkins, Blind Boy Fuller, Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup, and others, eventually developing his own distinctive style. After moving to Santa Cruz, California, he backed up Big Mama Thornton in the early '50s. Robert finally made his first major concert appearance in 1974, at the San Francisco Blues Festival. Since then, he's traveled world-wide, and performed at many blues festivals and concerts, including a special appearance at Bill Clinton's inauguration, an opening slot for bluesmaster B.B. King, and a teaching position at the Port Townsend Country Blues Workshop. Robert has released many recordings on diverse labels, some of which are currently available. Locally, he has headlined twice at the Boonville Folk-Blues Festival, and performed in 2007 at the Mendocino Acoustic Blues Workshop, so Mendocino County acoustic blues-lovers are already familiar with his incredible musical talent!

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