Local music connoisseurs consider Montreal singer/ guitarist Rob Lutes one of the scene’s best-kept secrets. Originally from the Maritimes, Lutes has a rare and enviable sense of melody and an ability to write and cover songs connected directly to the unadorned spirit of the blues. Lutes won the 2004 Philadelphia Songwriters Project Road Song contest with “Cold Canadian Road”, heard on his latest album, the excellent Ride The Shadows. As real as it gets.