BIOGRAPHY
Sly Fox and the Hustlers are a New York–based blues rock, soul, and funk band formed in 2010, known for their powerful sound and electrifying live performances. Their music blends heavy voodoo blues with soulful funky grooves, creating a high-energy show that keeps audiences coming back for more.
John Popper of Blues Traveler called them “one of the best bands I’ve seen in a long time!”
The band was born when frontman and founder Sly Fox’s longtime friend and collaborator, Sean Rowe, an Anti-Records recording artist, stepped away from rock and roll to pursue a solo acoustic career. Around that same time, Sly was writing songs to navigate a difficult chapter in his life and was beginning to emerge as a compelling frontman.
“Sean and I had been playing guitars together and writing songs since we were twelve years old and he had always been the singer,” says Sly. “After Sean went solo, I was going through some tough times that inspired me to write deeply personal songs. They felt too honest to hand off to anyone else. I had to sing them myself to fully express the emotion. I became a singer out of necessity, and those songs became my first album, The Low Life.”
After experimenting with several lineups and releasing his second album, American Gypsy, Sly’s vision for a powerhouse live band finally came to life when he recruited Johnny Ellis on bass and Sean Ireland on drums. The thunderous rhythm section completed the band’s signature blend of raw blues rock, funk, and soul, delivered with a gritty modern edge.
“Once I had this rhythm section, it felt like the missing pieces had fallen into place,” Sly recalls. “We knew we had something special to share with the world.”
The band’s upcoming third album, memento mori, expands their sound even further, featuring Tim Lynch on keys, Luke McNamee on saxophone, and Jeremy Walz on guitar, all of whom frequently join the trio for live performances.
Connection with the audience remains at the heart of the band’s mission. “We put everything we have into every performance,” says Sly. “When someone comes up after a show and says, ‘We felt it, man,’ that’s what it’s all about, that shared moment of being alive. Live music has a spiritual power when it’s pure and real, and we just want to keep making people feel it.”
Sly Fox and the Hustlers have been recognized as Favorite Blues Rock Act by the Listen Up Awards and have been named Best Original Blues Rock Band multiple times by Albany’s Metroland Magazine.
Their discography includes two full length albums and a live EP, Live at The Egg, recorded before a sold-out show at Albany’s iconic venue, The Egg. The band will release their third full-length studio album in 2026.
Sly Fox and the Hustlers have toured extensively across the United States, sharing stages with artists including Roger Daltrey, George Thorogood and the Destroyers, Deep Purple, The Marshall Tucker Band, The Guess Who, Blues Traveler, Smash Mouth, Robert Randolph, moe., Better Than Ezra, Fishbone, Robin Trower, Marc Ford, G.E. Smith, Walter Trout, The Devon Allman Project, Twiddle, and Kenny Wayne Shepherd. They have also appeared at major festivals and events including NYC’s CMJ Music Marathon, Albany’s Alive @ 5, Georgia’s Angel City Motorcycle Rally, Laconia Motorcycle Week, Americade, Harley Rendezvous Classic, the Adirondack Independence Music Festival and the Rock Legends Cruise.
Carrying the torch of rock and roll into the 21st century, Sly Fox and the Hustlers deliver raw, heartfelt, high-energy performances that keep the blues rock spirit alive one show at a time.