Donna Herula is Making a Scene

September 6, 2026

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Making a Scene Presents an Interview with Donna Herula

Donna Herula is an award-winning blues singer, songwriter, resonator slide guitarist, bandleader, educator, and Chicago Blues Hall of Fame inductee whose music bridges Delta blues, early Chicago blues, folk, soul, gospel, Americana, and New Orleans rhythm. Hailed by Living Blues Magazine for her “superlative guitar prowess,” Herula has built a reputation as a powerful acoustic and electric blues artist with a gift for emotional honesty, intricate guitar work, and songs that carry both strength and vulnerability.

Based in the Chicago area, Herula leads both the Donna Herula Trio, an acoustic folk-blues group, and the Donna Herula Band, a full electric blues ensemble. Across those settings, she moves with ease between intimate acoustic storytelling and high-energy band performances, keeping the blues tradition alive while writing from a distinctly modern and personal point of view.

Herula’s artistry is rooted in deep study and lived musicianship. She is known for her command of resonator slide guitar, fingerstyle blues, and traditional acoustic blues forms, while also bringing contemporary songwriting and a strong female perspective into the music. Her songs explore matters of the heart, resilience, struggle, freedom, and self-discovery with a voice that is warm, expressive, and direct.

Her 2021 album Bang at the Door became a major breakthrough. The album rose to number one on the Roots Music Report Blues Chart and earned widespread recognition across the blues world. In 2022, Herula won Independent Blues Awards for Best Traditional Blues Artist and Best Acoustic Blues Album for Bang at the Door. The title track also won Best AAA/Alternative Song at the International Acoustic Music Awards.

The album’s reach extended well beyond awards. Songs from Bang at the Door received international airplay, including BBC exposure and play on SiriusXM’s B.B. King’s Bluesville. The album also appeared on several year-end “Best of” lists, including Living Blues Magazine’s Top 50 Albums and the Independent Blues Broadcasters Association’s most-played albums list.

Herula has been a regular performer at Buddy Guy’s Legends in Chicago for more than fifteen years and has opened for Buddy Guy multiple times. She has performed at major blues and folk festivals and venues across the United States, the Deep South, Europe, and South Africa, including the Chicago Blues Festival, King Biscuit Blues Festival, Lucerne Blues Festival in Switzerland, and Durban International Blues Festival in South Africa.

In addition to her performing and recording career, Herula is a dedicated teacher. She teaches blues fingerstyle and slide guitar at the Old Town School of Folk Music in Chicago, passing along the techniques, history, and feel of acoustic blues to new generations of players. Her role as an educator reflects the same commitment that runs through her music: honoring the roots while keeping the tradition active, personal, and alive.

Since 2024, Herula has also been performing with Downtown Charlie Brown and blues legend John Primer on Mississippi Delta blues and folk blues projects. Her work with Primer places her in direct conversation with one of Chicago blues’ most respected living figures and further highlights her connection to both the acoustic and electric sides of the tradition.

Herula continues to expand her musical horizons with Cold Feet, a new Donna Herula Band album scheduled for release on September 18, 2026. The project features a full-band lineup and reflects her ongoing evolution as a songwriter, guitarist, and bandleader. An album release concert is scheduled for September 25, 2026, at the Old Town School of Folk Music, where she will be joined by Tony Wittrock on guitar, Michael “Q” Quiroz on bass, Alton Smith on keyboards, John Jochem on harmonica, and Kenny “Beady Eyes” Smith on drums.

Donna Herula stands as one of the strong contemporary voices in blues: a guitarist with serious command, a singer with emotional depth, a songwriter with something to say, and an educator helping carry the music forward. Whether performing solo, leading an acoustic trio, fronting a full electric band, teaching at Old Town School, or collaborating with blues legends, she brings the same qualities to every setting: authenticity, musicianship, heart, and a deep respect for the power of the blues.