Keith Stone is a New Orleans native who has a guitar tone that can roar like a lion or be as gentle as a lamb, and he has that perfect way of putting it across to your ears. Stone's new release “The Prodigal Returns” hits you like a fine Gumbo on a warm New Orleans Night, thick spicy and satisfying. The album is a tribute to his beloved hometown and has special guests’ appearances by Dr. John, Bruce “Sunpie” Barnes, Joe Krown, Elaine Foster, and Andy J Forest. Stone’s blues roots run deep like the old oaks that line New Orleans’ St. Charles Avenue. Besides being in a direct line with the great Robert Johnson, he was also mentored and befriended by the late guitar legend, Wayne Bennett. Keith spent 2 ½ years playing music and sharing life with Mr. Bennett. Stone and his wife Cindi would share Wayne’s last Thanksgiving together cooking, playing name that tune, and listening to Mr. Bennett tell stories of his road days with Bobby “Blue” Bland. Wayne Bennett would pass away just two days later. Like all natives of New Orleans, Stone grew up in a musical environment that saturates one with the sounds of Jazz, Funk, Blues, and Zydeco. He grew up just 5 miles from the French Quarter and began traveling there with his mother and grandmother when he was just a baby. Keith began playing trumpet at the age of 8 and by the time he was 15, Stone was hanging out with street musicians. Shortly after his 16th birthday he bought his first guitar from Werlein’s Music Store on Canal Street, and by the time he was 19 he had played his first professional gig opening for the great Rufus Thomas. The next 10 years would be spent playing professionally throughout New Orleans with a variety of bands and would include three years straight at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival and sharing the stage with New Orleans Royalty such as, Irma Thomas, Dr. John, Walter Washington, Ernie K. Doe, George Porter JR, and Davell Crawford. In August of 94 he had a conversion experience that would end years of drug addiction, but it would take him and his family to South Carolina, where in 1998 he became an ordained Christian music Pastor for a large church in Lexington, SC. But when Katrina hit in 2005, he and his wife Cindi used their influence to send food and supplies to the metro area and in 2007 they sold all their possessions and returned to New Orleans to begin a non-profit organization that recruited thousands of volunteers and raised millions of dollars for Katrina relief and recovery. In 2008 he began sitting-in around town with old friends who along with his family began encouraging him to reclaim his musical heritage. Keith Stone is the Prodigal Son and is now on a mission to play your blues away.