Blues musicians seem to get better with age. Maybe it’s because the blues, more than any other kind of music, tells the stories of good times and bad times — and how to keep dancing through it all.

With a recording history of more than 40 years and 30 albums, master harp player Charlie Musselwhite still has a lot to say. His album “The Well,” released last month, debuted on the Billboard Blues Chart at No. 4 and represents some of his finest work as a musician and as a songwriter. For the first time, Musselwhite penned all the songs himself and shares pivotal moments in his life.

“Everything I write is about something that happened to me,” said Musselwhite. “That’s what blues is about — it’s about life and that spirit of keepin’ on, keepin’ on.”

Musselwhite can tell you himself when he comes to The Venue in Portland on Sept. 17. He can tell you with his low-key, down-home voice, and he can tell you even better with his powerful, clear soaring harmonica.

“The harmonica is very much like a voice for me,” said Musselwhite. “When I’m playing it, I feel like I’m singing without words. I can make it say things that I can’t say any other way.”

Musselwhite’s latest album tells a story he’s been carrying around for almost 23 years — the day he got sober. When asked why it took so long, he answered, “Sometimes songs just come out immediately. They take less time to write than they do to sing. With this one, I’ve always had it, but I had too much. I had to pare it down so it was accessible. No one wants to hear a song that’s an hour long. It’s not that I waited — it just wasn’t time.”

In October 1987, Jessica McClure, known as Baby Jessica, captured everyone’s attention as the country watched and waited for her to be rescued from a well. On the way to work one day, Musselwhite heard the news story on the radio. He had been trying for a while to stop drinking, but he had never taken the stage without first taking a drink.

“When I heard that, I thought about how brave that little girl was,” said Musselwhite. “And I thought I ain’t being brave at all. So as my prayer for that little girl, I decided not to drink before I went on stage that night. That was my last hurdle. By the time they got that little girl out of the well, I was out of the well. I haven’t had a drink since.”

During the telephone interview, 66-year-old Musselwhite talked about drinking and partying and how it was just part of the music environment. “When I was young, it was fun. I used to drink vast amounts and never get hangovers,” he said matter-of-factly. “But it just couldn’t go on. I feel better now than I did when I was 36.”

When asked to talk about his favorite song on the album, Musselwhite said, “Today I guess it would be ‘Sad and Beautiful World.'” He noted how fun it was to record with vocalist Mavis Staples, but he didn’t mention what the song is about — the murder of his mother in her Memphis home during a burglary.

“People who don’t really know the blues don’t understand that it’s not sad music,” said Musselwhite. “It lifts your spirits. Blues can be your comforter in hard times, and it can be your buddy in good times.”

Musselwhite encouraged everyone coming to the Portland show to “come early, stay late, and put on your dancing shoes because we’re gonna have a good time.”

While in Maine, Musselwhite said he and his wife, Henrietta, plan to visit her relatives on Vinalhaven.

Emily Tuttle is a freelance writer living in Minot. Her e-mail address is [email protected].

Go and do

WHO: Charlie Musselwhite

WHEN: 9 p.m. Friday, Sept. 17

WHERE: The Venue, 865 Forest Ave., Portland

TICKETS: $25 at the door; also available online at venuemusicbar.com