In 'Sinners' and his music, Buddy Guy is keeping the blues alive. It hasn't been easy

NEW YORK (AP) — For Buddy Guy — a stalwart and staunch defender of the blues — there's nothing more important than keeping his chosen genre at the forefront of conversation. It comes naturally: Guy is one of America's greatest guitar players, a singular artist with a thick roster of A-list super fans — Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page and Gary Clark Jr. among them.

The list also includes innovative writer and director Ryan Coogler, who tapped Guy for his critically acclaimed film “Sinners” earlier this year, and artists like Peter Frampton and the Eagles' Joe Walsh, who feature on his new album “Ain't Done with the Blues.” It releases Wednesday, on Guy's 89th birthday.

For the eight-time Grammy Award-winning musician, those recognitions aren't priority. The longevity of the music that made his life is his primary concern. “Like I promised B.B. King, Muddy Waters and all of them,” he tells The Associated Press over the phone, “I do the best I can to keep the blues alive.”

He's concerned that radio stations no longer play the blues, and that the genre might miss out on connecting with younger listeners. It's one of the reasons “Ain't Done with the Blues” is a strong collection of classics that run the risk of being forgotten — like on the album closer “Talk to Your Daughter,” a rendition of the J.B. Lenoir tune.

In Guy's performance, there's an undeniable universality. “Blues is based on everyday life,” he says. “A good time or a bad time.”

Or, another way Guy explains it: “Music is like a bowl of real good gumbo. They got all kinds of meat in there. You got chicken in there, you got sausage in there. You got a seafood in it. ... When we play music, we put everything in there.”

It's resonating. In its 2025 midyear report, Luminate, an industry data and analytics company, found that U.S. on-demand audio streams of blues music has climbed this year due to the success of “Sinners.”

Jaime Marconette, Luminate’s vice president of music insights and industry relations, describes the current moment as a “resurgence of the blues,” following “Sinners.”

“Several artists featured on the film’s soundtrack, which includes works from real-life blues, folk and country musicians, saw spikes the week of the film’s theatrical release,” he explains. “And they’re all enjoying a sustained rise in listenership even two-plus months following release.”

Guy has noticed the shift, too. “I walk in the grocery store or the drugstore and people recognize me. ‘Man, you know, I heard that ’Sinners' music, man. Man, it sounds good,'” he says. “They ain’t never gonna come in and say, ‘I heard it on the radio.’”

That's part of the reason why Guy decided to participate in the movie in the first place. “I hope this will give the blues a boost, because my worry right now is, like I said, a young person don’t know how good a gumbo is — you’ve got to taste it.”

For now, he's excited to see how people respond to his new album, “Ain't Done with the Blues” — but he's not listening to it.

“I listen to everything but Buddy Guy,” he says. “I already know Buddy Guy. I can't learn anything from that.”

Buddy Guy poses for a portrait at Buddy Guy's Legends in Chicago on Thursday, July 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

Buddy Guy poses for a portrait at Buddy Guy's Legends in Chicago on Thursday, July 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

Buddy Guy poses for a portrait at Buddy Guy's Legends in Chicago on Thursday, July 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

Buddy Guy poses for a portrait at Buddy Guy's Legends in Chicago on Thursday, July 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

Buddy Guy poses for a portrait at Buddy Guy's Legends in Chicago on Thursday, July 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

NUUK, Greenland (AP) — Troops from several European countries continued to arrive in Greenland on Thursday in a show of support for Denmark as talks between representatives of Denmark, Greenland and the U.S. highlighted “fundamental disagreement” over the future of the Arctic island.

Denmark announced it would increase its military presence in Greenland on Wednesday as foreign ministers from Denmark and Greenland were preparing to meet with White House representatives in Washington. Several European partners — including France, Germany, the U.K., Norway, Sweden and the Netherlands — started sending symbolic numbers of troops already on Wednesday or promised to do so in the following days.

The troop movements were intended to portray unity among Europeans and send a signal to President Donald Trump that an American takeover of Greenland is not necessary as NATO together can safeguard the security of the Arctic region amid rising Russian and Chinese interest.

“The first French military elements are already en route” and “others will follow,” French President Emmanuel Macron announced Wednesday, as French authorities said about 15 soldiers from the mountain infantry unit were already in Nuuk for a military exercise.

Germany will deploy a reconnaissance team of 13 personnel to Greenland on Thursday, the Defense Ministry said.

On Thursday, Danish Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen said the intention was “to establish a more permanent military presence with a larger Danish contribution,” according to Danish broadcaster DR. He said soldiers from several NATO countries will be in Greenland on a rotation system.

Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen, flanked by his Greenlandic counterpart Vivian Motzfeldt, said Wednesday that a “fundamental disagreement” over Greenland remains with Trump after they held highly anticipated talks at the White House with Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

Rasmussen added that it remains “clear that the president has this wish of conquering over Greenland” but that dialogue with the U.S. would continue at a high level over the following weeks.

Inhabitants of Greenland and Denmark reacted with anxiety but also some relief that negotiations with the U.S. would go on and European support was becoming visible.

Greenland's Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen welcomed the continuation of “dialogue and diplomacy.”

“Greenland is not for sale,” he said Thursday. “Greenland does not want to be owned by the United States. Greenland does not want to be governed from the United States. Greenland does not want to be part of the United States.”

In Greenland’s capital, Nuuk, local residents told The Associated Press they were glad the first meeting between Greenlandic, Danish and American officials had taken place but suggested it left more questions than answers.

Several people said they viewed Denmark’s decision to send more troops, and promises of support from other NATO allies, as protection against possible U.S. military action. But European military officials have not suggested the goal is to deter a U.S. move against the island.

Maya Martinsen, 21, said it was “comforting to know that the Nordic countries are sending reinforcements” because Greenland is a part of Denmark and NATO.

The dispute, she said, is not about “national security” but rather about “the oils and minerals that we have that are untouched.”

On Wednesday, Poulsen announced a stepped-up military presence in the Arctic “in close cooperation with our allies,” calling it a necessity in a security environment in which “no one can predict what will happen tomorrow.”

“This means that from today and in the coming time there will be an increased military presence in and around Greenland of aircraft, ships and soldiers, including from other NATO allies,” Poulsen said.

Asked whether the European troop movements were coordinated with NATO or what role the U.S.-led military alliance might play in the exercises, NATO referred all questions to the Danish authorities. However, NATO is currently studying ways to bolster security in the Arctic.

The Russian embassy in Brussels on Thursday lambasted what it called the West's “bellicose plans” in response to “phantom threats that they generate themselves”. It said the planned military actions were part of an “anti-Russian and anti-Chinese agenda” by NATO.

“Russia has consistently maintained that the Arctic should remain a territory of peace, dialogue and equal cooperation," the embassy said.

Rasmussen announced the creation of a working group with the Americans to discuss ways to work through differences.

“The group, in our view, should focus on how to address the American security concerns, while at the same time respecting the red lines of the Kingdom of Denmark,” he said.

Commenting on the outcome of the Washington meeting on Thursday, Poulsen said the working group was “better than no working group” and “a step in the right direction.” He added nevertheless that the dialogue with the U.S. did not mean “the danger has passed.”

Speaking on Thursday, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said the American ambition to take over Greenland remains intact despite the Washington meeting, but she welcomed the creation of the working group.

The most important thing for Greenlanders is that they were directly represented at the meeting in the White House and that “the diplomatic dialogue has begun now,” Juno Berthelsen, a lawmaker for the pro-independence Naleraq opposition party, told AP.

A relationship with the U.S. is beneficial for Greenlanders and Americans and is “vital to the security and stability of the Arctic and the Western Alliance,” Berthelsen said. He suggested the U.S. could be involved in the creation of a coastguard for Greenland, providing funding and creating jobs for local people who can help to patrol the Arctic.

Line McGee, 38, from Copenhagen, told AP that she was glad to see some diplomatic progress. “I don’t think the threat has gone away,” she said. “But I feel slightly better than I did yesterday.”

Trump, in his Oval Office meeting with reporters, said: “We’ll see how it all works out. I think something will work out.”

Niemann reported from Copenhagen, Denmark, and Ciobanu from Warsaw, Poland.

Denmark's Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen and Greenland's Foreign Minister Vivian Motzfeldt speak at a news conference at the Embassy of Denmark, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/John McDonnell)

People walk on a street in Nuuk, Greenland, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)

From center to right, Greenland Foreign Minister Vivian Motzfeldt, Denmark's Ambassador Jesper Møller Sørensen, rear, and Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen, right, arrive on Capitol Hill to meet with senators from the Arctic Caucus, in Washington, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

An Airbus A400M transport aircraft of the German Air Force taxis over the grounds at Wunstorf Air Base in the Hanover region, Germany, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026 as troops from NATO countries, including France and Germany, are arriving in Greenland to boost security. (Moritz Frankenberg/dpa via AP)

Fishermen load fishing lines into a boat in the harbor of Nuuk, Greenland, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)

Greenland Foreign Minister Vivian Motzfeldt, left, and Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen, arrive on Capitol Hill to meet with members of the Senate Arctic Caucus, in Washington, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)