Paul Wigen was born in Hibbing, MN and raised in Minneapolis. He started playing keyboards in high school. “I got tired of hearing how good my older sister was on piano, so I took it up myself. My dad said I’d never get anywhere with it. But when I saw Luther Allison, that’s when I knew what I wanted to do.” Decades later, Paul has now played or sat in with many luminaries in the blues genre, including Bobby Rush, Son Seals, Chubby Carrier, Eddie Kirkland and Beverly “Guitar” Watkins.
Paul has played on four cruises: two in the Caribbean on Norwegian Cruise Lines, and two out of England on the Queen Elizabeth 2 (QE2). He also played on some of Big Daddy’s Cade’s BB King tribute shows. His favorite gig of his career; however, was the time he spent with Lil’ Ed & The Blues Imperials. Locally, Paul was a member of Michael James & the Headliners and Big Walter Smith & the Groove Merchants, a 1998 Minnesota Music Hall of Fame inductee.
the Jimmy Famous band 