Pops Carter and the Funkmonsters

Pops Carter looks every bit the part of a funk god in his crushed velvet purple suit, dark sunglasses and wide fedora, but don't let the outfit fool you: Carter's a bluesman at heart, and when he takes the stage with his band the Funkmonsters, his searing vocals and overall sound immediately recall the Texas blues days of old, when dinosaurs weren't just confined to zoos.

There's a reason for this: Carter's very much lived the life of the bluesman, traveling the country and playing shows until family obligations required him to settle down in Denton in 1969. But while working various jobs over the years, he's also kept performing, and along the way, he's managed to play alongside some of the greats, including Stevie Ray Vaughan and B.B. King.

While he may be 88 years old now, Carter still has fire in his belly, providing whiskey-tinged vocals for his funk-infused blues with enough passion to put any audience into the palm of his hand.