Bryan Lee, the blues guitarist and singer affectionately referred to as “braille blues daddy” is performing in New Orleans for the first time in two years, on Saturday, September 23. A Bourbon Street mainstay for more than a decade, he most recently released the 2013 LP Play One for Me and has been an OffBeat favorite since the magazine’s inception. His upcoming performance signals a return to the city in which his career was truly cultivated, though he continues to tour frequently and is well into his 35th year as a working musician.

It’s also proof of his incredible resolve to remain an active performer despite setbacks. As he told OffBeat in 1994, “I think it’s important to show people that you can have a handicap, or a disability, whatever people want to call blindness — and believe me, in some respects it is a handicap, because you can’t read your money, you can’t drive a car-I feel it is important for me, even in that little club, to let people see that I can get around by myself. Like in church, they don’t have to bring communion to me — I can walk up and take communion. These are small things, but I think it’s important that they see that blind people can live productive lives and do a lot for themselves. There are those who can’t, but there are sighted people who can’t do things for themselves, because they don’t have the want or they just don’t have the ability.”

Lee may no longer be a fixture at the Old Absinthe House, but the Grammy nominee remains a New Orleans staple despite his recent absence from local stages and recording studios. Luckily for us, the city will have the opportunity to see him perform live this weekend, when he takes to the Monkey Hill Bar (6100 Magazine Street). Doors open at 7p.m. for the 9p.m. show, and tickets are $10 at the door.