Robert Crotty has been played on NTS shows including The NTS Breakfast Show w/ Flo, with TB Blues first played on 17 October 2016.

Robert Crotty (May 7, 1954 – August 12, 2011) was a singular figure in American blues, revered in his home city of New Haven, Connecticut, for a style that fused deep Delta and postwar Chicago traditions with a highly personal, almost conversational guitar voice. Often described as the “dean” of Greater New Haven blues musicians, Crotty was known as much for his subtle phrasing and rhythmic intelligence as for his vast historical knowledge of the music. Though largely unknown outside the region, he was regarded by fellow musicians as a master whose playing carried both scholarship and soul. Crotty was closely connected to the underground Connecticut music scene that also produced experimental guitarist and singer Loren Connors. The two played together early on, and Crotty appears on several of Connors’ folk-oriented recordings from the late 1970s and early 1980s. Connors later released Crotty’s first solo recordings on his private St. Ives label: the 7-inch single Prove It! (1988), followed by the LP Robert Crotty Blues (1989). Those records reveal a musician deeply rooted in the blues canon, but not trapped by it. Crotty’s playing often avoided flash in favour of economy, tension, and timing. He was known for reworking traditional material in ways that felt intimate and contemporary, without erasing its historical weight. Local musicians and listeners frequently remarked that he seemed to “speak” through his guitar, making small gestures feel monumental. Despite this, Crotty never pursued a national career. He remained based in New Haven, playing clubs, informal sessions, and community spaces, where he became a quiet mentor to younger players. His reputation spread mostly by word of mouth and by the reverence of those who had heard him live.

“In my mind, he was the finest blues musician of the post-World War II generation. It was a sad misfortune that he never gained a following outside his home town. Sure, New Haven music critics praised him, but none really laid it down that here among them lived a great genius.” — Loren Connors