The New York state native, who now calls Montana home, grew up with the blues and says he’d sing Howling Wolf songs into his ball cap while playing left field as a kid in Little League. His specialty is connecting with his audiences and he does it well. Easy-going, friendly, a great storyteller and a fine musician, Russ’s songs take the world into a happy place, and that’s right where he likes to be. His advice for those competing in this year’s Blues Challenge? “Just be yourself. Nobody does it better!”