Local Blues Musician Little Bobby Inducted into MN Blues Hall of Fame
Little Bobby’s Minnesota Blues Hall of Fame induction honors a life spent creating, sharing, and preserving the blues, both on stage and in his community.
The awards ceremony will be held October 18 at Jimmy’s Event Center in the cities and the reception will be held at the 295 on Cleveland in McIntosh (formerly Little Bobby’s Bar & Grill) the following Sunday.
Robert Houle III, better known as Little Bobby, has been inducted into the Minnesota Blues Hall of Fame in the Blues Legacy category. He was recognized during the Minnesota Blues Society’s annual picnic on July 12th in Roseville, with the awards banquet to be held in the Twin Cities in October.
Born in Red Lake and raised in Thief River Falls, Little Bobby was a third-generation Native American musician who followed the path of his father, Robert “Big” Bobby Houle II, and grandfather Robert Houle, a Rockabilly Music Hall of Famer.
Little Bobby began on drums before turning to guitar and the blues, developing a style known for its grit, feeling, and old-school blues sound. After being told in his early twenties that he “had a blues voice,” he released his first CD, Before The Storm, in 2005 and performed that same year at the Last Ride Blues Festival in Thief River Falls, sharing the bill with Buddy Guy.
After that, he released numerous albums and DVDs and performed in the United States and abroad. His work with Nora Jean Bruso included the RAWA Blues Festival in Poland and the Chicago Blues Festival, where the Chicago Sun-Times named Nora Jean and Little Bobby the number one band to see. Their 2011 album Good Blues, co-written and produced by Little Bobby under his label Untouchable Productions, helped earn Bruso a Blues Music Award nomination.
His later albums also found chart success. In 2023, That Killer B Sting reached number one in Minnesota on the Roots Music Report charts while God Made Me Blue held the number two spot, marking the first time the same artist held both top positions in the state at once.
For more than 20 years, Little Bobby also hosted a weekly Northland Radio show out of Thief River Falls called Little Bobby’s Juke Joint, featuring a different blues artist each show and helping introduce listeners to blues musicians from all over the world. He bought the McIntosh bar in late 2019 and owned it for almost five years, making it another gathering place for music, stories, and community until his unexpected passing in July 2024. The new owner has preserved his memory with an entire wall devoted to him and other famous artists. The business is now called The 295 On Cleveland, Home of the Little Bobby Music Museum.
Remembered as generous, welcoming, charismatic and a phenomenal guitarist, singer, and songwriter, Little Bobby left a legacy larger than his recordings. He worked to keep live music alive, supported the musicians who performed it, and encouraged young people to pick up an instrument and carry the music forward.
Tanya Nelson
Host of The Buzz with Momma T
Independent Publisher of "Your Local 411"
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