Lil’ Red & The Rooster’s new album 7 is one of those rare projects that feels timeless and truly alive in the moment, a record that dances between the blues tradition and daring experimentation without ever losing its center.

This album is all about connection at its heart. Connection to self, to others, to history and to the joy of making music in real time.

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The international duo of Jennifer “Lil’ Red” Milligan and Pascal Fouquet have long walked their own path, and 7 finds them at their most adventurous.

The record opens with a cinematic sweep, carrying a spy-noir atmosphere that threads throughout the album. It’s blues at its root, but stretched and reshaped into something fresh with Pascal’s guitar lines bending between fire and subtlety, and Lil’ Red’s voice radiating intimacy and power.

The album’s backstory adds to its weight. What began as a jazzy instrumental envisioned around Bobby Floyd’s Hammond B3 has blossomed into a collaborative journey spanning Paris, Columbus and Chicago.

Floyd’s playing is central – warm, commanding and lifting the arrangements skyward – while the rhythm section locks into grooves that are equal parts classic and unexpected. There’s a pulse of gospel in one moment, a cinematic noir edge in the next and then the familiar ache of blues, grounding it all.

7 shifts into deeply personal territory. Lil’ Red writes with fierce honesty, using themes of self-empowerment, loss, healing and freedom to anchor the songs.

“Is This Heart Taken,” co-written with Grammy winner Terry Abrahamson, is a standout track. It’s a sly, soulful piece that feels like a blues song caught inside a dream sequence. Their re-imagined covers, from the smoldering “Same Old Blues” to the sultry “Why Don’t You Do Right” (sung as a duet with rising vocalist Lauren Tucker), show the duo’s knack for paying homage while stamping their own signature onto every note.

But perhaps the album’s greatest strength lies in how it was recorded — live in the studio, with all the risks and rewards that entails.

The result is a record that breathes, full of tiny sparks of communication between the musicians. You can hear the smiles, the raised eyebrows and the spontaneous swells of energy that can’t be scripted. When Lil’ Red sings about freedom, or when Pascal lets his guitar twist into an unexpected phrase, you believe it because you can feel it happening in real time.

7 is also a record touched by grief. The passing of their longtime engineer Blaise Barton, and later Lil’ Red’s father, has left indelible marks on the project. Yet instead of drowning the music in sorrow, these losses seem to have pushed the band to play with more tenderness, more truth.

By the time the record closes, you’re left with something that instinctively stays with you. A mix of smoky late night atmosphere, gospel shout energy and heartfelt blues storytelling. It’s a collection of songs that map out grief, joy and connection in seven fully realized chapters.

Here, Lil’ Red & The Rooster have created a work that honors the roots of blues while bending it into new shapes, a record that invites you to listen closely, feel deeply and maybe even heal a little along the way.

7 cements the duo’s place as one of the most daring and soulful acts performing today.

About Lil’ Red & The Rooster

Formed in 2010, Lil’ Red & The Rooster are the international blues soul duo of Columbus, Ohio native Jennifer “Lil’ Red” Milligan and French guitarist Pascal Fouquet. Known for their spirited live shows, vintage meets modern sound, and undeniable chemistry, the pair have built a loyal following across Europe and the U.S.

Their music blends blues, soul, and jazz with a retro-modern edge, earning them festival headlines, international tours, and collaborations with legends like Grammy-nominated organist Bobby Floyd.

Find out all about Lil’ Red & The Rooster on their Website