Scot Sutherland

Scot was born on January 31, 1969 in the heartland of America. He started playing bass at the age of 14, and by 1987 he was playing professionally in central Iowa and in Chicago. Although Scot claims to be self-taught, he has had several incredible teachers and mentors to help him hone his craft. Scot prides himself in being versatile and open-minded with regard to all musical genres.

Over the years Scot has performed, recorded, and/or toured with a wide variety of artists and groups, but he is best known for his work within the blues field with such notable artists as: Pinetop Perkins, Son Seals, Lucky Peterson, James Solberg, Sherman Robertson, Deborah Coleman, R.J. Mischo, James Armstrong, Percy Strother, Millage Gilbert, Tab Benoit, Anthony Gomes, Debbie Davies, Deanna Bogart, Tommy Castro, Mike Zito, Albert Castiglia, Mike Ledbetter, "Monster" Mike Welch, Albert Cummings, and Samantha Fish.

From 2006-2012, Scot was a member of the Tommy Castro Band, who won a BMA for Band of the Year at the 2010 Blues Music Awards, and was nominated again for the 2012 BMAs. The band’s album, Hard Believer, on which Scot played, was also awarded a BMA in 2010 for Best Contemporary Blues Album. In 2013, Scot was honored by the Blues Foundation with a nomination for a Blues Music Award for Bassist of the year. In 2017, two albums on which Scot was the primary bassist were nominated by the Blues Foundation for BMAs for Rock Blues Album of the Year: Mike Zito & the Wheel's Keep Coming Back and Albert Castiglia's Big Dog.

As a member of the Tommy Castro Band, Scot was also the bass player for the Legendary Rhythm and Blues Revue. The LRBR, which is affiliated with the Legendary Rhythm and Blues Cruise, has toured from coast to coast and around the world, backing up some of today’s most notable blues artists, including: Bob Margolin, Curtis Salgado, Ronnie Baker Brooks, Kenny Neal, Tab Benoit, Johnny Sansone, Joe Louis Walker, Coco Montoya, Michael Burks, Bernard Allison, Debbie Davies, Larry McCray, Magic Dick, Curtis Salgado, Rick Estrin, John Nemeth, Theodis Ealey, Deanna Bogart, Sista Monica Parker, Janiva Magness, Marcia Ball, and Elvin Bishop (Scot played bass on one track of Elvin’s Grammy-nominated album The Blues Rolls On).

The LRBR have two live recordings out on cd. The first, on the Delta Groove label is called Command Performance (2009), and the second, on Alligator Records, is called Tommy Castro Presents: The Legendary Rhythm and Blues Revue – Live! (2011) – which was also nominated for a 2012 BMA in the Contemporary Blues Album category.

In 2012 Scot toured extensively with Anthony Gomes, Deanna Bogart, and Debbie Davies. In December of 2012 Scot joined forces with Mike Zito as a member of his band, The Wheel, which also features drummer Rob Lee, Sax player Jimmy Carpenter and phenomenalkeyboard man Lewis Stephens (formerly with Delbert McClinton and Freddie King). MZ & the Wheel's first CD on Ruf Records, "Gone to Texas" was nominated for a 2014 Blues Music Award in the category "Best Rock Blues Album".

In March of 2014 Scot was welcomed into Samantha Fish's band, and was kept quite busy between her and Mike Zito & the Wheel's touring schedules. In 2016 Scot began touring with Albert Cummings, including shows in Europe and Brazil. In 2017 and 2018, Scot continued to tour with Albert and with Mike Ledbetter & Monster Mike Welch as the Welch Ledbetter Connection after an overwhelmingly successful reception at the 2017 Lucerne Blues Festival in Switzerland. In 2018 he was also inducted into the Iowa Blues Hall of Fame.
In January 2019, Scot received his second BMA nomination for Bass and is also nominated in the Band of the Year category for the Welch Ledbetter Connection.

When Scot is home, he is very active in the Central Iowa music scene, hosting local singer/songwriter showcases and blues jams, playing with a multitude of talented local musicians in a variety or venues, composing his own original music, and so much more.

Photos by Michael Watson

Des Moines Photographer

Michael Watson is an Iowa native, born and raised in Cedar Rapids, and currently residing in Des Moines.

“Each image I take contains a story and a memory and my goal is to do my very best to capture it.”

-Michael