Billy Branch is a Chicago blues institution — a harmonica player, vocalist, and bandleader who has spent decades carrying forward the city’s blues tradition while making sure it stays a living, working music. His connection to Chicago blues runs deep: he learned from Willie Dixon, Big Walter Horton, and Carey Bell, and has performed with a who’s-who of blues artists since the 1970s.
Branch leads the Sons of Blues, a band founded in 1975 that has been a fixture on Chicago’s blues scene for decades. His harmonica playing is rooted in the amplified Chicago style — raw, conversational, and capable of filling a room without ever competing with the song. His vocals carry the same quality: direct, lived-in, and grounded in a tradition that values storytelling over spectacle.
Beyond performance, Branch has been a committed blues educator, working with young musicians through programs including Blues in the Schools. His work ensures that Chicago’s blues lineage is not just preserved but passed on — that the next generation of players has access to the techniques, the repertoire, and the sensibility that make this music what it is. An Emmy Award winner, three-time Grammy Award nominee, and Blues Foundation Hall of Fame inductee in 2020, Branch stands as one of the most decorated and respected figures in contemporary blues.
For People of Rhythm, representing Billy Branch is a matter of Chicago identity. The blues built this city’s musical reputation, and Branch is one of its most dedicated standard-bearers.