“It was 2004 and we were back in Brazil for the school holidays” remembers Tiago Guy. “I was ten years old. I went with my father to the movies to watch the remake of an old film called The Ladykillers. Right from the first scene, this strange music came from the theater’s speakers. It was an acapella group, and their voices sounded completely different from any other voice I had heard before. It was very clearly from another time, but to me it seemed like it was from another planet! ”

Along with the Howlin’ Wolf and Ray Charles records present in his parents’ collection, that day at the cinema was one of the guitarist’s first exposures to American roots music. “There were several scenes of a choir singing in a small Southern church, and I was very impressed. I fell in love with everything: the energy, the vocals…” he says, “as soon as I got home, I started researching it.”

With a multicultural background, Tiago spent, on and off, more than five years abroad. His father’s work took his family to move as far away as India, where he was enrolled in an American school and learned English. “Not only did I learn the language, but in music class we were often taught American folk songs…” he says “I quickly struck a connection with the music.”

Combined with the epiphany provided by the Coen Brothers’ remake, which had premiered at around the same time, the budding musician’s interest in genres such as the blues and gospel music blossomed. His research, too, yielded its first results: the strange song played during the opening of the film was credited to a vocal group called that featured a young Sam Cooke. The names in that soundtrack became imprinted in his mind: Blind Willie Johnson. The Soul Stirrers. Bill Landford & The Landfordaires. Two years later, when Tiago started singing and playing the guitar, he knew where to look for inspiration.

The São Paulo-born guitarist began his professional career when he moved to London in 2014. A regular at local jam sessions, he soon began subbing for and collaborating with his fellow musicians, getting the chance to play some of the most prestigious blues stages in the British capital, such as the now extinct Alleycat — which, in the 1960s was a studio where artists such as the Rolling Stones and Black Sabbath recorded –and the Green Note, a well-established platform for songwriters, which has hosted performances by the likes of Leonard Cohen and Amy Winehouse. Returning to his hometown the following year, he built a name within the blues circuit as a reliable sideman, touring with national and international artists alike.

Tiago began working on his debut work, Tell Uncle John, whilst still living in England. Fusing the harmonic and rhythmic elements of traditional R&B and soul with lyrics possessing narrative elements commonly found in folk and Americana (genres he had also absorbed during his adolescence), he found his own voice, not just as a singer, but as a songwriter. Recorded entirely in Brazil and mastered in Los Angeles by Robert Hadley (Ray Charles, Carole King, David Crosby), the album was released in April 2019.

In 2021 he made the big move to New Orleans, so he could be closer to the music he has nurtured a lifelong passion for. Since then, he has been carving his way into the local music scene, playing many of the city’s well-known stages such as Tipitina’s, the Maple Leaf, and Chickie Wah Wah. He has also made appearances on local TV and radio stations including WWOZ, and opened for touring acts, like Nashville-based Parker Millsap. In 2022, Tell Uncle John was included as part of the Crescent City Sounds initiative, a commercial-free streaming library made up of local artists, curated by the New Orleans Public Library.

In his recently released sophomore album, Paper Thin, Tiago combines smooth, soulful sounds inspired by his musical adventures in his new home, with personal lyrics that document a foreigner’s perspective on quintessential New Orleans experiences – from riding out hurricanes to meeting his significant other’s family in Westwego. The album’s roster of studio musicians includes local favorites like Jon Cleary, Nigel Hall, John Fohl, and the Zion Harmonizers, and was the recipient of a Jazz & Heritage Foundation grant.