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<\/div>\n<\/div>\nWilmington bluesman Randy McQuay leads Mardi Gras band for Fat Tuesday<\/p>\n
Wilmington musician Randy McQuay led the Port City Players during their annual Fat Tuesday concert at Waterline Brewing on Feb. 17, 2026.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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For more than a quarter-century, blues singer and songwriter Randy McQuay has been a steady presence on the Wilmington music scene, his gritty guitar riffs, groovy harmonica playing and warm, gruff vocals helping form the soundtrack of the Port City.<\/p>\n A regular at area music venues and festivals, McQuay has also made national waves, winning the prestigious International Blues Challenge’s solo\/duo division in Memphis in 2015.<\/p>\n On Friday, March 6, McQuay will release new music for the first time since 2017 when he and David Bolton play a sold-out album release show for “Roadkill Mojo: Swamp Songs Vol. I” at Live at Ted’s on Castle Street in downtown Wilmington.<\/p>\n Live performances by McQuay aren’t rare exactly, but they’re more rare than they used to be. He said he played “only” about 125 shows in 2025, down from upwards of 200 in recent years, and close to 300 a year in his younger days.<\/p>\n The duo’s new record includes two originals from Bolton, one from McQuay and seven re-arranged covers, everything from blues favorites (“Spoonful”) to gospel standards (“Just a Closer Walk with Thee”).<\/p>\n As the record’s “Swamp Songs” title might imply, its sound was inspired by the music of New Orleans, which McQuay has been increasingly associated with over the past decade.<\/p>\n Feb. 17 marked the 10th anniversary of McQuay’s Port City Players ensemble playing a Fat Tuesday show at Waterline Brewing in Wilmington, and on Feb. 22 McQuay was scheduled to help lead the Sunset Park neighborhood’s annual Mardi Gras parade.<\/p>\n Over beers at Sunset Park’s Dram Tree Tavern watering hole, McQuay explained his attraction to the music of New Orleans.<\/p>\n “It’s a rhythmic thing,” he said. “There’s a specific, off the back of the beat. It’s The Big Easy, and if you’re running a little late, it’s not that big of a deal. \u2026 You would never want to push it. You would always want to be behind it. And it’s just an interesting thing that it’s such a relaxed feel.”<\/p>\n