By Jason M. Rubin

At 52 Sumner, the 27-year-old guitar virtuoso and his crack band moved freely among blues, soul, funk, R&B, and rock — making a compelling case that Ingram is ready for much larger rooms.

Christone Kingfish Ingram at 52 Sumner in Springfield. Photo: Jason M. Rubin

Still only 27 years old, Clarksville, Mississippi-born Christone Kingfish Ingram is a large man with an overabundance of talent. His first three albums earned three Grammy nominations and one win in the contemporary blues album category, though in his stage show and most recent album, Hard Road (2025), Ingram deftly weaves funk, soul, R&B, and rock into his blues-based brews. He played 52 Sumner in Springfield on August 9, electrifying the adoring crowd with one blazing guitar solo after the next.

Drawing fairly evenly from his three studio albums and a few songs he released as singles that appeared for the first time on his live album, Ingram and his crack band – keyboardist Deshawn “DVibes” Alexander, bassist Randy Stevens, and drummer Chris Black – were roaring young lions who exuded a clear sense of joy and camaraderie in performing their music. Though he has played acoustic guitar on his recordings, Ingram was plugged in all night long, which doesn’t mean there weren’t tender tunes as well. In fact, “Nothin’ But Your Love,” a lovely song from the new album that had the melodic grace of a Philly Soul ballad, was dedicated to everyone in the audience who was married, in a relationship, or just “shackin’ up.”

Even so, the band followed up that love song with the rough and tumble “Bad Like Me,” also from Hard Road, in which Ingram brought his swagger out with the tough but catchy chorus, “There ain’t nobody bad like me/Ain’t nobody bad like me/You know I walk the finest line/Surviving the toughest streets/And know that nobody bad like me.”

He twice played tunes directly spotlighting his home state. “Mississippi Night” was a lengthy slow blues instrumental filled with musical dichotomies – full band and solo, loud and soft – but with an innate lyricism that expressed his love of home. The other Mississippi-based song, the title track of his Grammy Award-winning second album, 662, refers to his home area code and was a blues-rock barn burner with prominent organ by DVibes.

All of the songs were written or co-written by Ingram save for two covers: a very faithful and emotional rendition of the late Michael Burks’ blues ballad “Empty Promises,” replete with soul-splitting wailing on guitar; and the encore, an upbeat, up-tempo version of the blues standard “Catfish Blues,” which the band continued to jam on long after Ingram took off his guitar, laid it on the front of his speaker, and began signing autographs with his axe playing a feedback drone.

No offense to 52 Sumner, but Christone Kingfish Ingram deserves to play in larger venues than this 400-seat renovated church. That said, the location lent a lot of charm to the evening; it’s a wonderful addition to an area that many people don’t normally think of visiting for a night out. Hosting concerts (mostly tribute bands it seems) and theater performances, 52 Sumner was once the home of Faith United Church, built in 1894 and designed by architect William Van Alen, whose portfolio included the Chrysler Building. After its redesign, it is now a community nonprofit venue set in Springfield’s stately Forest Park neighborhood. It warrants the support of concert- and theater-goers across the state.

Opening for Ingram was Grammy Award-winning musician, producer, and songwriter Tom Hambridge, who has co-written and co-produced several songs for Ingram over the years. Accompanied by local-hero guitarists Jim Scoppa (Stan Martin Band) and Sal Baglio (The Stompers), Hambridge sang, told stories, and played a cocktail drum kit comprising just a snare and a cymbal. Back in the day, he earned a degree from Berklee College of Music in 1983 and, after a stint playing with Roy Buchanan, stayed around town long enough to win seven Boston Music Awards. His set was warmly received and Ingram invited him back onstage to play drums during the set-closer “662.”

Jason M. Rubin has been a professional writer for 40 years. He has written for The Arts Fuse since 2012. His books include SHORTS: A Sizable Collection of Short Fiction (2025); Villainy Ever After (2022), a collection of classic fairy tales told from the villains’ point of view; and Ancient Tales Newly Told (2019), a pairing of two historical romances, one set in 17th-century England and the other in Biblical Jerusalem and Sheba. Jason also teaches journaling workshops. He holds a BA in Journalism from the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Learn more at https://jasonmarkrubin.wixsite.com/jasonmrubin.com.