Today's your lucky day. Guitar World has teamed up with Canadian guitar ace Sue Foley to premiere a new song, "The Lucky Ones," a magnetic, guitar-packed shuffle that features Texas blues-rock legend Jimmie Vaughan on guitar and vocals.
The tune is from Foley's new album, The Ice Queen, which'll be released March 2 via Stony Plain Records. Besides Vaughan, who appears on two tracks, The Ice Queen features ZZ Top's Billy F. Gibbons, plus Charlie Sexton (Bob Dylan, Arc Angels), drummers Chris "Whipper" Layton (Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble) and George Rains (Jimmie Vaughan), Texas guitar mainstay Derek O'Brien, the Texas Horns and keyboardist extraordinaire Mike Flanigin, who also produced the disc (and is heavily featured on the Jimmie Vaughan Trio's 2017 release, Live at C-Boy's).
"When I was a teenager, I idolized Jimmie Vaughan and Billy F. Gibbons," Foley says. "They're both legends now, so this feels like an historical event—at least it does for me."
Foley has been working professionally since she was 16. When she was 21, she relocated to Austin—home of some of her six-string heroes—and began recording for Antone's, the blues label and nightclub that helped launch the career of Stevie Ray Vaughan and many others. In 2001, she won the Juno Award (the Canadian equivalent of the Grammy) and holds the record for the most Maple Blues awards in Canada (She's also won three Trophees de Blues de France).
These days, Foley is busy touring and recording steadily, and The Ice Queen is a perfect snapshot "the Foley experience" circa 2018—emotional vocal delivery, bottomless conviction, accessible yet inspired lyrics and intrepid guitar playing. The album was recorded—essentially live—at Fire Station Studios in San Marcos, Texas.
Damian is Editor-in-Chief of Guitar World magazine. In past lives, he was GW’s managing editor and online managing editor. He's written liner notes for major-label releases, including Stevie Ray Vaughan's 'The Complete Epic Recordings Collection' (Sony Legacy) and has interviewed everyone from Yngwie Malmsteen to Kevin Bacon (with a few memorable Eric Clapton chats thrown into the mix). Damian, a former member of Brooklyn's The Gas House Gorillas, was the sole guitarist in Mister Neutron, a trio that toured the U.S. and released three albums. He now plays in two NYC-area bands.
