Though he grew up a drummer raised on rock & roll, Coco Montoya is an outstanding blues-rock guitarist. Over a five-decade-plus career, he has proven an influential, charting, award-winning technician and songwriter. He established his reputation during the 1990s playing in the bands of Albert Collins and John Mayall. Known for a biting tone melding raucous, melodic Chicago blues and vintage R&B with soulful vocals, Montoya's left-handed playing style brings funky Latin rhythms, roots rock, and jazz into his approach to electric blues. His Silvertone solo debut, 1995's Gotta Mind to Travel, won the W.C. Handy Award for Best New Artist. 1996's Ya Think I'd Know Better made the blues Top Ten. After signing with Alligator Records in 2000, 2002's Can't Look Back, 2007's Dirty Deal, and 2019's Coming in Hot all charted inside the blues Top Five. In 2023, Montoya returned to studio recording with Writing on the Wall.