Phillip-Michael Scales

Indie, bluesy rock

In 2018, Phillip-Michael Scales had a whirlwind of year. Between promoting his electric EP, Sinner-Songwriter, and winning a year of rent in downtown Chicago as Magellan Group’s “Musician in Residence,” he ended up playing over 300 shows. Tenacity and work ethic have always come naturally to Scales, between being a native of metro Detroit and the nephew of the late B.B. King, who played 300 shows in a year himself.

Raised on blues and motown, then discovering indie rock in his formative years, his latest single “Feels like Home,” manages to keep a foot in each world. “Feels Like Home” is an upbeat, bluesy romp with a heavy groove that you’d play at the beginning of a summer road trip. The song captures the feeling of wanderlust that comes with searching for your place in the world. Knowing it’s out there, just not sure exactly where. “I don’t know where I’m going, but it feels like home.”

This summer he played the prestigious Blues Passions Festival in Cognac, France as well as a handful of other dates in Europe. Scales graduated from Berklee College of Music and has opened for Fantastic Negrito, Anderson East, Guster, David Cook, Bethany Joy Lenz, Matt Hires, Billy Rafoul, Crystal Bowersox, Tyler Hilton, Jon McLaughlin, Cory Brannan and Kate Voegele.