Lil Red & The Rooster

A deep calling lead them both to the Blues, and the Blues brought them together in 2010. For over a decade Jen “Lil’ Red” Milligan and Pascal Fouquet have been fine tuning their style and living and breathing their music. Decades of knowledge and experience ring through Pascal’s tasteful touch and the sparkle in Red’s sassy smile. Retro modern blues, is how they describe this style, it’s constantly evolving as the artists themselves, but the roots remain in the Blues. Their songs are as diverse as the many different styles of Blues because the couple finds all of them intriguing. Onstage they’re intimately real and at times hilarious. They exude a contagious charm that guarantees you’ll feel good no matter how haunting the song or biting the message. It all comes from a place of love and respect for the Blues and humanity. They both know the power of its healing and want to share it. 

Born in Normandy, France in the early 60’s, Pascal began studying classical guitar at eleven and discovered the Blue note a few years later. Since 1980 he’s been a professional musician and never ceases to give homage to his master teachers: B.B. King, Albert King, T-Bone Walker, Kenny Burrell ... and many others. A multi-award winning guitarist he’s had the pleasure of sharing the stage with many great artists including: Diunna Greenleaf, Dave Specter, Mike Sanchez, Steve Clayton, Russell Jackson, Candye Kane, Alex Shultz, Kid Ramos, Sax Gordon, Kenny “Blues Boss” Wayne and Sean Castello. His story is in his playing. If you want to know more catch him with a whiskey or espresso and he’ll share with you face to face. That’s how the Rooster rolls and with his guitar he crows. 

Lil’ Red, born in Columbus, Ohio in the late 60’s, grew up riding horses and playing in the creek until she discovered the arts. She loved Hollywood movie musicals especially Bojangles, Gene Kelly, Louis Armstrong, Ella Fitzgerald and the Nicolas Brothers. Rhythm and groove have always been her deep love. She studied everything in the arts: music, dance, acting, writing, painting, martial arts and meditation. She graduated from Fort Hayes Performing Arts High School for theater, holds a BFA in Musical Theatre from the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music and an MFA in Contemporary Performance from Naropa University. In the musicals, Hair and Jesus Christ Superstar, she toured the US, Canada and Europe working with magnificent performers like Ted Neeley, Carl Anderson, Denis DeYoung and LaChance. Master jazz dance teacher, Luigi took her under his wing as her NYC Papa and for over twenty seven years she studied the flow and grace of this man who danced in the films with Gene Kelly. Always a carefree soul, Lil’ Red has lived a life of adventures and challenges, all of which go into her lyrics and presence on stage. She cares deeply about humanity and believes as an artist she has a responsibility to do her part to shape the culture we live in. Here’s how she works ... “mix what’s pissing you off with some bounce and swing, sprinkle a pinch of Blue notes and bend it all together on six strings and you’re guaranteed a feel good satisfaction.” 

They call France and the USA home and are multi-linguists in music and Franglish. In 2018, they self-released their album, Soul Burnin’, produced by and featuring Dave Specter and recorded in Chicago by Blaise Barton at JoyRide Studio. In 2019, they were finalists as a duo in the International Blues Challenge in Memphis. In 2022, they signed with Bue Heart Records and released their album, Keep On, also recorded at JoyRide, this time with Kenny “Beedyeyes” Smith & Felton Crews and featuring Billy Branch on one song. You can find them regularly as a duo for the acoustic dinner set at Buddy Guy’s Legends, when visiting Chicago or headlining festivals as a combo or playing restaurants and cafes as a duo. During the pandemic they discovered “Live Streaming” and played mini concerts five days a week. Fans have been telling them they helped them through this challenging time. The “Lives” continue weekly on their Facebook page for the community of top fans spanning from Vancouver to Sweden to Mexico and Australia. For them, it’s all about the music, it’s all about the shuffle, it’s all about the Blues. 

Why Lil’ Red & The Rooster? They were listening to their friend Ricky Nye playing the Willie Dixon song Lil’ Red Rooster and light bulb moment! The Rooster is the emblem of France and Lil’ Red’s grandpa, “Hey Pop Moreland” was known as Red. She was also called Red by one of her favorite teachers and friends at the conservatory. Et Voila, Lil’ Red & The Rooster.