When thinking about the blues, certain images instinctively come to mind: Dark, smoke-filled bars, road-worn guitars, and men with names like Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf and B.B. King. 

What you may not think of, however, is a young Australian named Luke Stabb.

With his dirty Converse All Stars, long dreadlocks and gauges in his ears, he looks like he could be in a metal band. However, when he picks up his guitar, you would swear the ghost of Robert Johnson had returned from the grave.

The 23-year-old from Melbourne isn’t the archetypal bluesman, but his story wouldn’t be out of place in any town across the Delta.

Stabb grew up in Wodonga, a small town in southeastern Australia, going to school and helping out around the family farm. When he was about 12, he discovered the blues, which began a lifelong obsession.

His older brother and his friend would take him camping with them, where they’d sneak sips of alcohol. Those trips would allow Stabb’s brother and friend to teach the younger Stabb some basic guitar licks.

“I’ve never really played any other style of music,” he said.

When he turned 18, he moved to the big city – Melbourne – and started working as a roadie by helping bands set up lighting rigs and gear for shows.

But working behind the scenes wasn’t enough for Stabb, and his love for the blues led him to the place where it all began, Mississippi.

The last two summers he has traveled from Australia to the birthplace of the Blues, spending three months at a time traveling the state and learning from some of the living legends of the genre.

“I’ve wanted to come to Mississippi since I first heard the music,” Stabb said. “It’s the place where it all started.”

He’s played in venues ranging from Red’s Lounge in Clarksdale, all the way to Hal and Mal’s in Jackson and has played with the likes of Duwayne Burnside at the North Mississippi Hill Country Picnic and King Edward Antoine at our very own LD’s Restaurant and Lounge. Just having the opportunity to play and be a part of this world has been its own reward for Stabb.

“I love LD’s. King Edward is a great guitar player and the band is always great,” he said. “But just about any place I go in Mississippi I have a lot of fun.

“Anytime I’ve been playing late at night in a juke joint when everyone is liquored up and partying, it’s living out a dream,” Stabb added.

This summer, Stabb bought a van to be his home-away-from-home, traveling as well as sleeping in it, most of the time in front of the venue in which he previously played.

Last summer, he slept outdoors in the Mississippi heat for the majority of his three months here, and was only able to travel by his own two feet or the generosity of others. Some days he would walk between 20 and 25 miles, he said. Mississippi’s August heat wasn’t gentle.

“In the heat, I did collapse a few times,” Stabb said. “There was a lot of times when I didn’t get rides, but when I did, I found people to be extremely generous.”

Most of the people he met would not only give him a ride, but also feed him and give him a place to stay for a while, he said.

“I have met some of the most amazing and genuine people here,” Stabb said. “Southern hospitality is a real thing that exists.”

In addition to the hospitality he’s received, he’s gotten a first-hand look at the roots of the music he loves.

“I love meeting people who can tell me all about the history of the blues and how it used to be. It gives me a much deeper understanding of the music,” he said. “I also really like the food, the lifestyle and the scenery.”

Stabb will be heading back to Australia soon, but he has plans to return to Mississippi again next year. So next summer, if you happen to be frequenting your local juke joint and see a lanky grunge-‘rocker with a funny accent make his way toward the stage to sit in with the band, give him a chance, he may just surprise you.