Ghalia Volt

Ghalia Vauthier, who performs as Ghalia Volt, is a Belgian blues rock singer, guitarist, drummer and songwriter whose career began on the streets. Born in Brussels, she first busked in the capital before fronting the rhythm and blues outfit Ghalia & The Naphtalines. Her wish to trace blues back to its roots took her to the United States in 2013, where she busked her way through Chicago, St. Louis, Memphis and Nashville before reaching the Deep South.

Her Mississippi work gave that roots interest a sharper edge. Mississippi Blend (2019), recorded at Luther and Cody Dickinson's Zebra Ranch in Coldwater, brought in Cedric Burnside and Cody Dickinson on percussion and Watermelon Slim on harmonica, and was released by Ruf Records; it peaked at number three on the Billboard Top Blues Albums Chart. Her earlier Let the Demons Out (2017), made with Johnny Mastro & Mama's Boys, had reached number 29 on the same chart. In 2020 she recorded a largely one-woman album at Memphis's Royal Studios, playing drums with her feet while singing and playing slide guitar, released in January 2021. In August 2021 she recorded a four-song live EP in Mammoth Lakes, California.