McKinley James watched the Stax Live in Norway 1967 DVD as a 10-year-old, saw Steve Cropper play with Booker T & the MGs, and thought: this is exactly what I want to do. On Saturday, November 14, the Rochester native brings that electric-guitar-and-soul conviction home — a city that, as Abilene’s own listing puts it, already knows who he is.
About the Show
James grew up in upstate New York in a household where music was the furniture. His father, Jason Smay, drummed for Los Straitjackets, JD McPherson, and Wanda Jackson, and growing up meant getting ready for school while four or five band guys drank coffee at the kitchen table. Smay has been James’s bandmate ever since. They now perform as a guitar-and-drums duo after their former Hammond B3 organist departed in November 2022, a shift that pushed James to go back to basics, studying Jimmy Reed, Eddie Taylor, and Lightnin’ Hopkins and rethinking his songwriting from the ground up.
Before he was a recording artist, James was sweeping floors at Dan Auerbach’s Easy Eye Sound studio in Nashville. That apprenticeship turned into a creative partnership: his debut album, Working Class Blues, was co-written with Auerbach, Pat McLaughlin, and Dylan Altman, and recorded in a family barn on analog gear. In 2026 he signed to Easy Eye Sound as a full label artist and released “Back on the Run” as his debut single for the label. The sound draws from American rock & roll, amplified soul, and raw rhythm & blues, with guitar work rooted in artists like Otis Rush and Johnny “Guitar” Watson. As James has said of the project: “We’re not trying to sound old-school. We love traditional blues and soul, but this isn’t a retro act.” He has toured with ZZ Top, appeared on Eric Church’s platinum album, and in 2026 shared bills with The James Hunter Six and The Mavericks. This date brings him back to the city where all of it started.
Venue & Logistics
Abilene Bar & Lounge is on Liberty Pole Way in downtown Rochester. For a show this lean — guitar, drums, no filler — the 200-capacity room is the right call. It’s one of the better intimate venues in the Finger Lakes region, and the crowd for a show like this will know the music. Doors open at 6:30 p.m., music at 7:30 p.m.
Tickets
Advance tickets are $20; day-of tickets are $25. Available at abilene.showare.com and at the bar. Buy tickets