J.P. Reali’s Grateful Blues may not seem a wholly original thought, at least upon a cursory glance, given Luther Dickinson and Datrian Johnson’s vividly wrought Dead Blues Volume I, released late in 2025.
But the veteran Delaware guitarist, long a staple of the Washington, D.C. music scene, puts a distinctive twist on his concept for this six-song EP. Rather than do what the NMA co-founder and his compatriot did, that is, assemble blues material covered by the iconic band, Reali and company arrange a discerning selection of Dead material in a largely authentic style.
Given that slant, it should come as no surprise that the late Ron ‘Pigpen’ McKernan figures heavily in the mix. Reali doesn’t sound quite…

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