“Funky, cool and bad,” is how Robert Cray describes his latest album, That’s What I Heard, out February 28. “I thought if it we could get this thing that Sam Cooke used to have, the kind of sound that early Sam Cooke records had, that we could pull this off,” says producer Steve Jordan.

Over the past four decades, Cray has created a sound that rises from American roots, blues, soul, and R&B, with five Grammy wins, 20 acclaimed studio albums and a bundle of live albums that punctuate the Blues Hall of Famer’s career. On That’s What I Heard, Robert celebrates the music of Curtis Mayfield, Bobby “Blue” Bland, The Sensational Nightingales and more, alongside four newly written songs.

Cray’s band features Richard Cousins (bass), Dover Weinberg (keyboards), Terence F. Clark (drums), and Steve Jordan (drums, percussion).

Tickets: $48,$42 & $38
Doors at 7; show at 8 p.m.

VIP tickets available at https://tickets.onelivemedia.com/event/premium-merch-package-state-theatre