Bud Summers Music Page

A kernel of truth
and a bushel of lies.

Bluesy/jazzy songwriter, guitarist, singer.

You'll meet a piano player from Memphis and go on a date in Chicago that promises to have you home "Before First Light". You'll meet a group of southern Illinois cougars out having drinks that are definitely not "Spring Chickens" and you'll laugh at a catchy tale of a young man who caught a "Bad Fish" in the lake. You will revel in love and faith as Bud recounts his addiction, belief, and the people that helped him get through it.

Bud dropped out of college during his senior year to join a touring band. They never made it big but he's been making it small ever since.

His vocal style is edgy but smooth and his writing is an eclectic blend of blues, jazz, rock, and folk.

"A little bluesy, a little jazzy and not too far from the rock."- Floyd Duncan - St Louis, MO

“played with a degree of passion and enthusiasm that you just don’t see…with feeling and artistry"-A.E. Hamberg–Carbondale, IL

He's toured from the Great Lakes to New Orleans and all points in between.

His live shows can be all original music from his eight independently released albums or cover tunes- a wide mix of 60's through 2000's pop, blues, classic rock and easy listening styles on a playlist that features songs from Sinatra to 3 Doors Down.

Raised in a musical family- his dad was a jazz bassist and his mom a public school music teacher. Bud tried violin and piano early on but found his true instrument with a second hand guitar. Exposed to jazz, classical, opera and show tunes, he favored blues and rock. He eventually returned to school and earned a B.A. in Music Performance from Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville focusing on classical guitar and playing in the college jazz band.


Bud has been a member of the music faculty at Lewis & Clark College, Principia College, and Greenville College and he’s been a guest instrumentalist on over a dozen albums for fellow artists.


Bud Summers
Bethalto, IL
618-401-5845
BudSummers38@gmail.com