A Chicago benefit stage
Kilty took part in the Jody Noa benefit concert at Bourbon Street Entertainment Complex on February 27, 2005. During the eleventh set, he played guitar alongside John Primer and a guitarist billed as Elmo. The band included Bell Bottom on bass, Top Hat Robinson on drums and Patrick Regan on keyboards, with percussion and harmonica players joining the set.
The event gathered a large number of Chicago musicians in memory of harmonica player Jody Noa. Kilty’s participation places him on a shared local blues stage more than two decades before the release of Walk On In. It was a benefit performance with a changing lineup, separate from his later recording work with the Secret 4.
Guitar with the Secret 4
Gene Kilty plays guitar in the lineup heard on Walk On In, the 2026 album by Willie Buck and the Secret 4 featuring Anthony Bruno. His fellow players are bassist Earl ‘Pool Ball’ Carter, drummer Ricky Dubra, keyboardist Lance Gerard Loiselle, and saxophonist Bruno.
A Chicago blues recording
Walk On In brings Kilty into an ensemble built around Buck’s singing. Larry Millas handled engineering and production at World Stage Studios in Burr Ridge, Illinois, and the release carries the Arrow Records and Bar-Bare Records names.
Songs and ensemble setting
The fifteen selections include ‘Big Boss Man,’ ‘Walkin’ By Myself,’ ‘Can’t Be Satisfied,’ and ‘Double Trouble.’ ‘Lucky Lou’ and ‘Chitlins Con Carne’ broaden the program beyond its vocal blues numbers. Kilty’s guitar shares the arrangements with keyboards and saxophone rather than being the band’s only melodic instrument.
The Walk On In lineup
On Walk On In, the guitar is part of a band with several melodic voices: Loiselle’s keyboards, Bruno’s saxophone and Buck’s singing. Carter and Dubra supply bass and drums. Kilty is the guitarist credited for this album; the earlier Jam Lab recording credits Jack Bilby in that position.
The record was released in September 2026. Its program includes vocal numbers such as “King Bee” and “That Same Thing,” with “Lucky Lou” and “Chitlins Con Carne” adding instrumental repertoire. The title track runs more than six minutes, while the closing “Wild Rock’n” brings the fifteen-song sequence to its end.