Lil' Red & The Rooster's New Album 7 is a Joyous Journey Through Blues and Beyond

Lil’ Red & The Rooster, aka Jennifer "Lil' Red" Milligan and Pascal Fouquet, have been making music together for more than a decade, carving out a space where traditional blues meets sly jazz swing, gospel uplift and retro soul warmth.

On 7 they’ve gone deeper than ever into that blend, producing a record that is like a crossroads where continents, genres and life stories meet.

The story of 7 begins with a simple idea. Fouquet had written a jazzy instrumental, already hearing in his mind the rolling churchy sound of Bobby Floyd’s B3 organ.

When the Grammy nominated pianist and organist, whose credits range from Ray Charles to Dr. John to the Count Basie Orchestra, said yes, the creative floodgates opened.

Lil’ Red dug through Fouquet’s “compos” and picked five more with the same atmosphere. She added a sequel to B.B. King’s “Going Home” and two covers close to her heart, “Same Old Blues” and “Why Don’t You Do Right,” which would be released as singles. They also co-wrote “Is This Heart Taken” with Grammy winner Terry Abrahamson, who called the song “my first venture into the Blues as a David Lynch movie subgenre … from the first juicy, jumpin’ jolt of Lil’ Red & The Rooster’s music, I was in love.”

But making 7 wasn’t all smooth sailing. The duo had recorded their previous albums with Chicago engineer Blaise Barton at JoyRide Studios.

Early in the process Barton fell ill and later passed away. “It was devastating because Blaise really saw and heard me on a soul child to soul child level,” Milligan has said.

That loss forced them to relocate the sessions to Vaughn Music Studio in Columbus, where they linked up with engineer Matt Hagberg. The shift deepened the Ohio connection and allowed them to bring in more local legends: guitarist Colin John, percussionist The Governor, gospel vocalists Bobbi Townes (Floyd’s daughter), Quan Howell and Kara Brooks, along with young Lauren Tucker whose “old-soul” tone would later feature on a duet of “Why Don’t You Do Right.”

Through it all the album remained anchored in themes of personal freedom and self-empowerment. Milligan has explained that 7 steps away from overt politics and “leans into the personal … to heal the individual as the foundation for a more accepting and respectful world.”

That intention comes through in the performances, which were tracked live in the studio to capture genuine communication and groove. You can hear it in the gospel-drenched optimism of the opener “Wild’s Rising,” in the smoky late night jazz of “Stack ’Em Up Baby,” and in the sultry blues funk of “Is This Heart Taken.”

“Melancholy Mood” begins with a gorgeously restrained guitar introduction from Fouquet, giving way to Floyd’s rolling organ lines while the instrumental “Midnight on the Rocks” becomes a showcase for conversational interplay between guitar and keys. Milligan’s phrasing is at its most delicate on “Between the Lines,” and the whimsical “Mr. Saboteur (aka Do the Donut)” rides a Latin tinged rhythm into a cheeky tale of temptation. The record closes with a torchy version of Freddie King’s “Same Old Blues” that honors the original while reshaping it with Milligan’s heartfelt interpretation and Fouquet’s mood perfect guitar.

That mixture of joy and loss also marked Milligan’s personal life while making the record. Midway through the project her father, Fritz Milligan, passed away suddenly while she was on tour in France. She chose to dedicate the final show of the tour to him, a performance she later called “the most challenging and strangely beautiful of my life … it was like he was bouncing around in the stage lights loving every minute of it.”

That sense of resilience runs through 7, making it not just a collection of songs but a testament to the power of collaboration and music as a healing force.

The album’s presentation matches its ambition. Spanish illustrator Koldo Barroso, who designed their earlier album Keep On! and their logo, returned for the artwork. Photography is by Bobbi Townes, and Milligan herself handled the design. Released waterfall style on streaming platforms, with physical CDs available at shows and through their label, Lil’ Red Records, 7 represents not only a creative leap but also a business one, as Milligan steps further into the indie-label world with an eye toward amplifying other voices in the roots and soul space.

The result is a record that truly feels alive. Because it was tracked live, you can sense the musicians nudging each other higher, the choir leaning in, the rhythm section breathing.

Lil’ Red & The Rooster may still be an under-the-radar name in the blues world, but with 7 they’ve made a gorgeous and generous album that deserves to be heard.

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