About

“King” Leo LaDell began his journey with Blues music in the 1990s after attending a B.B. King concert and diving into the music of the masters. Leo started his music career singing and playing harmonica, guitar and piano in bands on the east coast of the U.S. and in Denver, Colorado. While in Denver he led his own band - King Leo - and played in area bands and touring acts, including Bo Diddley, Pinetop Perkins (from Muddy Waters’ band) and touring with country legend Doug Kershaw.

After relocating to Aotearoa/New Zealand in 2004, Leo formed King Leo and the Growling Dogs with Paul Southworth and Rob Falconer from NZ and Anders ‘Junior’ Jensen from Norway. The band established a strong following and recorded the well-reviewed double album Mad Love, which featured a mix of original Blues and songs from Leo’s influences. The King Leo album Revival followed in 2015 and showcased Leo’s originals. Leo now performs in New Zealand and Australia with his band King Leo, joined by musicians with a wealth of experience and expertise in the genre - often including the guitar work of his son Oscar LaDell, who co-produced the self-titled King Leo album and wrote many of the songs and also collaborated on the father-and-son EP Going Home.