Eugene Bridges

He has continued to tour internationally, and has developed followings through his performances across Europe and in Australia and New Zealand. His later albums have been Coming Home (2005), Eugene Hideaway Bridges (2007), Live In San Antonio (2009), and Rock and a Hard Place (2011), the last of which was recorded with a full horn section. He is described at Allmusic as "a vibrant and enthusiastic singer and guitarist... [who] brings fire and intensity to contemporary blues, which he laces with hints of his gospel singing past." Most recently he performed at the Gumball Festival in NSW, Australia, during his 30th visit down under.

In the mid-1990s he travelled alone to Europe, and was seen in Paris by B.B. King's bass player Joe Turner, who recruited him to play in his own band, Big Joe Turner's Memphis Blues Caravan. After a year in Turner's band, Bridges then formed a new version of the Eugene "Hideaway" Bridges Band, and began performing in clubs and festival mainly in the UK and Europe. In both 1998 and 1999, he topped British and European blues magazine polls as best male vocalist. He released his first album, Born To Be Blue, produced by Mike Vernon, on the Blueside label in 1998. The following year he was signed by British blues label Armadillo, and he has released a series of albums for them starting with Man Without A Home (2000), and Jump the Joint (2003), which reached the US Living Blues charts and was nominated for awards.

Eugene Bridges (born March 30, 1963), usually credited as Eugene "Hideaway" Bridges, is an American blues and soul singer, songwriter, guitarist and bandleader who has released seven albums and has performed widely in the US, Asia, Britain, Europe, Australia and New Zealand.