Earl Mercer picked up his first guitar at fourteen and never put it down. Over the years, he taught himself harmonica, piano and double bass, mostly for an audience of one. For more than fifty years, his music lived behind a closed garage door. At sixty-seven, clients at his garage heard him play. They were stunned and offered him a free studio session.

That were stunned, and offered him a free session in a studio. That push turned evening jams into neighbourhood nights, and neighbourhood nights into a record. At seventy, Earl released his debut album, proving the blues has no age limit. Today, he plays to full rooms in his trademark striped suit, with the same joy as that fourteen-year-old boy.