Biography

Born and raised in the river city of St. Louis, Paul Niehaus IV describes himself as a “Curator of the St. Louis Sound”. He studied music and folklore at Truman State University. He plays Guitar, Bass, Keyboards, Drums, and more. Paul has performed as a touring musician in 46 US states, plus Mexico, Canada, and a 5-month stint on a cruise ship.

Paul served on the Board of Directors for the St. Louis Blues Society (a 501c3 non-profit) from 2014 to 2020, and has produced five celebrated compilation albums for the group: 15 in 15, 16 in 16, 17 in 17, 18 in 18, and 19 in 19.

Paul has done Production work in permanent blues oriented music exhibits in three National museums: The National Blues Museum (St. Louis, MO), The Mississippi Arts and Entertainment Experience (Meridian, MS), and the Museum of African American Music (Nashville, TN).

In 2016 Paul founded the Blue Lotus Recordings label, specializing in Soul, Blues, Folk, and Americana. Paul is also the operator of Blue Lotus Studio, an audiophile-oriented recording studio in his basement in south St. Louis. He loves natural and hi-fidelity tones in the studio, and strives to cultivate an environment in which artists can get creative and be themselves.

Paul got his first nomination for a Blues Music Award (Best Rock Blues Album) for an album he Produced for Jeremiah Johnson in 2020 called “Unemployed Highly Annoyed”. A year later Paul got his first win for a Blues Music Award (Best Emerging Artist Album) for Dylan Triplett’s “Who Is He?”. 5 albums Paul has worked on have gotten Blues Blast Music Award nominations to date.

After producing dozens of albums for other artists over the last 7 years, his debut album "If I Stay Too Long" is here. The album is an eclectic mixture of styles all filtered through his authentic take on the "Saint Louis Sound".