“The best guitarist you’ve never heard of” “a brilliantly adventurous player, right up there with the likes of Satriani and Vai” – Steve Newton, Ear Of Newt
After a four-year hiatus, spent travelling, writing and recording, Irish guitarist Joe Hodgson returned to the scene in March 2025 with a double A-side instrumental offering, “The Grass Is Greener” and “Shapeshifting”.
The follow-up, another double single, marks a departure from Hodgson’s customary all-instrumental fanfares and features Irish vocalist Glen Harkin on the smoky bar room blues song “Since You Had A Hold On Me”. This is coupled with “Stick Or Twist”, a hard-hitting, in-your-face instrumental rocker which flirts with funk and soul, as Hodgson continues to straddle and blend musical genres with the introduction of brass to his sound.
Joe, whose playing has been described as ‘elite’ by Guitar World magazine says, “Since You Had A Hold On Me” is about the realisation that a relationship has not only run its course but that your partner no longer controls you’. We see the gravel-voiced Harkin remembering the good times but determined to walk out that door all the same. The blues is the perfect medium to express this, and while Hodgson’s mantra, ’words can lie, but my guitar can’t’, initially appears like a contradiction, the inclusion of vocals poignantly emphasises that love is often peppered with half-truths and downright lies. The track begins and ends with aching lead guitar lines, as Hodgson puts his undeniable stamp on the music.
The second track on this double single, the raucous instrumental “Stick Or Twist”, could be viewed as a precursor to the blues track. Hodgson explains, ‘This track is inspired by the moments of uncertainty and the -Will I? Won’t I?- experiences we all encounter’. The restless, edgy nature of the music underlines the unease that underpins its meaning, as Hodgson shifts pace and guitar styles through the many twists and turns of the song.
These tracks, taken from his forthcoming album, “Fields Of Redemption”, capture feelings of introspection, pain, hope and joy, and they come from a guitar player who is certainly not afraid to take chances in pursuit of his art.
About Joe Hodgson:
Guitarist Joe Hodgson hails from the village of Ballymagorry in Co. Tyrone, Northern Ireland. His music, shaped by his upbringing during The Troubles, mirrors the fierce rain and winds of the Emerald Isle. It is both sweeping and intense, boldly blending rock, blues, jazz, and Irish traditions into finely crafted instrumentals, which reveal a multifaceted, emotive, and diverse performer.
After many years of playing and recording with London-based bands and touring throughout Europe, Joe returned to his birthplace in 2018. In 2020, he released his debut solo album “Apparitions” to wide critical acclaim. Guitar World called his playing “elite”. Prominent Canadian music journalist Steve Newton said he is “the best guitarist you’ve never heard of”. While ANR Factory described the album as “a modern-day masterpiece”.
On June 20th, 2025, Hodgson is set to release his second solo album, “Fields Of Redemption”. As a forerunner to this, he released a double A-side single in March, comprising “The Grass Is Greener” and “Shapeshifting”, which garnered glowing press reviews.
The follow-up, which drops on Friday 9th May, is another double offering: “Since You Had A Hold On Me”, featuring Irish vocalist Glen Harkin, and the instrumental “Stick Or Twist”.
As well as their usual Saturday night fare of free hard rock, heavy metal and punk gigs, Hastings infamous seafront rock pub, The Carlisle, has also been putting on a slew of great ticketed gigs of late. This week it was the turn of acclaimed blues rock band, The Cold Stares – all the way from Indiana, USA. Kicking in Denmark the previous week, Hastings is the first date on the UK leg of a European tour.
Support is in the shape of the excellent AK & The Red Kites, the new power trio formed by songwriter/guitarist, Andrew Knightley, who are well worth keeping an eye out for and have recently released their debut EP, Proverbial Storm.
Andrew Knightley of AK & The Red Kites
They got the crowd nicely warmed-up for the main event and a short while later The Cold Stares launched straight into ‘Horse to Water’, the recent single from their brand-new album, The Southern, which is officially released on 6th September. Described as a homage to Southern rock, it combines the riff-laden muscularity of bands like Humble Pie with that special Southern sweetness of Lynyrd Skynyrd. Another great song from the new album, also is given an airing tonight, is ‘Third Degree’, a punchy rocker that morphed into an extended, hard-rocking instrumental work-out.
The Cold Stares have the songs, the sound and the attitude that is just tailor-made for the power trio format. But it’s only relatively late on in their career that they’ve embraced such a set-up, with guitarist/vocalist Chris Tapp and drummer Brian Mullins being joined by bassist Bryce Klueh in time for the release of their sixth album (and their first trio album)Voices in 2023.
Chris Tapp of The Cold Stares
With quite an extensive back catalogue to draw on, there is no shortage of older material though, including a nice, rootsy rendition of ‘In The Night Time’ dedicated to the sunset on Hastings beach earlier in the evening and the raw, guttural blues of ‘Prosecution Blues’, complete with spellbinding guitar.
Giving us a good hour-and-half set of gutsy, energy-packed, hard rock and blues, and some mellower moments where Tapp dons his steel guitar, the trio draw things to a close with some obvious crowd-pleasers. ‘Two Keys and a Good Book’ elicits plenty of cheers when it’s introduced as an encore and the full-on freak-out of ‘Head Bent’ rounds off the evening in brilliantly OTT fashion.
If you’ve a chance to catch The Cold Stares on the remainder of this tour, do take it up. You won’t be disappointed.
I first came across Troy Redfern a good few years ago now, performing at a Mott The Hoople fan convention of all places. I think it was the shared Herefordshire connection that brought him there but, anyway, I’ve followed his career with great interest ever since. Now on to his seventh album, with the latest out last month, Tunbridge Wells was the final night of an eleven-date UK tour.
I hadn’t actually read the venue details properly when I got to Tunbridge Wells and assumed the gig was at the long-established main Forum venue. But no, turning up at a completely empty Forum, I double-checked and the gig was actually taking place in the Forum Basement, a much more intimate venue in the cellar of the Sussex Arms pub in the town centre.
I arrived just in time to see the support act take the stage. With a mixture of originals and covers, local power trio Kinky Machine dished up an exhilarating blast of blues rock. With some great guitar work and nifty rhythms they definitely got everyone in the mood for the main event. It was becoming increasingly clear, however, that in this rapidly-filling 50-capacity venue we were going to be in for one long, hot and sweaty night. And I mean that in a good way!
Redfern’s new album,Invocation,features heavily in the set, with nine of its eleven songs being played tonight. Unsurprising really, given the slew of storming reviews and near-universal praise it’s received, with the album broadening out the trademark blues rock palette and bringing forth comparisons with everyone from T. Rex to ZZ Top to Slade.
From the moment he launched his career, Troy Redfern’s guitar wizardry, his natural affinity for the blues and his rock and roll attitude were never in any doubt, but with the last trio of albums, songs from which formed the entire basis for the set on this tour, he’s taken things to another level as a songwriter. The results of that were clearly on display tonight in an incendiary gig that oozed swagger with the energy levels (and the temperature!) off the scale.
Accompanied by Nicky Watts on drums and Keira Kenworthy on bass, the three certainly make for a formidable power trio, kicking things off with the catchy and adrenalin-fuelled rocker ‘All Night Long’ from the new album. Other highlights included the stomping, glam-esque ‘Getaway’, the moody, psychedelia-tinged ‘The Calling’ and the epic heavy rocker ‘Voodoo Priestess’. There’s a smattering of songs from the two previous albums in the latter half, too, including a mammoth extended work-out in the form of ‘Sanctify’ from The Fire Cosmic album, which ends tonight’s proceedings in spectacular fashion.
In many ways, Redfern reminds me of the late, great Bernie Torme, not so much for guitar technique – although there are parallels, but more as someone who can take the power trio format, inject their dynamic personality, some ferocious guitar-playing and many, many great songs – and make it utterly their own.
“I’m a blues guitarist but not necessarily a blues artist,”Joanne Shaw Taylor confides in the De La Warr audience at one point in the set, explaining her desire not to be boxed in too much by the constraints of genre labels. And that pretty much sums up her whole approach on stage tonight. From the pounding rhythm and blues of show-opener ‘In The Mood’ to the heart-wrenching classic blues of the Albert King cover ‘Can’t You See What You’re Doing To Me’, to the polished pop-rock of recent single ‘Wild Love’ to the elongated ‘60s-style freak-out of ‘Watch Em Burn’ to the funky licks of ‘Diamonds In The Dirt’ to the mellow, acoustic beauty of ‘Fade Away’ we get a taste of many things tonight.
Photo credit: Marty Moffatt
At the heart of it all is the incredible talent of Joanne Shaw Taylor, her soulful voice and great song-writing much in evidence, alongside her much-praised guitar wizardry. Discovered and mentored by The Eurythmics’ Dave Stewart at just 16, she has uncanny ability to harness the passion, raw emotion, and sheer exhilaration that great blues guitar-playing can engender and then take that and place it in pretty much any setting.
And the results are spectacular – with a packed-out De La Warr Pavilion showing its appreciation throughout. Shaw Taylor is ably assisted, of course, by a hugely-talented band (Shane Sanders – bass, Joey Spina – second guitar, Eric Savage – drums, and Phil Whitfield – keyboards). Whitfield, in particular is a delight to watch, taking us from lush, exquisite, soulful keys to pounding, energetic honky-tonk piano during the course of tonight’s show.
Photo credit: Marty Moffatt
With an eagerly-anticipated new album coming out in June we get a taste of what’s to come via a couple of songs tonight (‘Sweet ‘Lil Lies’ and ‘Wild Love’) alongside more established favourites from her, by now, extensive back catalogue.Heavy Soulwill be Shaw Taylor’s twelfth album since her 2009 debut, White Sugar and tonight’s show is proof as to just how much she’s established herself as blues rock royalty these past fifteen years. An absolute masterclass of a performance.
Heavy Soul is released 7th June 2024. For Joanne Shaw Taylor website visit here
Set-list:
In the Mood
Keep On Lovin’ Me
All My Love
If You Gotta Make a Fool of Somebody
Can’t You See What You’re Doing to Me
Dyin’ to Know
Wild Love
Won’t Be Fooled Again
Watch ’em Burn
Diamonds in the Dirt
Fade Away
Runaway
Sweet Lil Lies
Bad Blood
Going Home
Connor Selby – support
A shout-out, also, for the young blues-roots, guitarist singer-songwriter, Connor Selby, the one-man support act for this tour. The polite, well-mannered introductions to his songs belie a vocal delivery of real depth and grit, some nifty blues guitar work and some impassioned song-writing. Definitely one to be added to my ones-to-watch list, he entertained with a highly enjoyable set in his allotted 30-minute slot.
Storm Warning won over plenty of loyal converts on the UK blues rock scene during their fifteen-year existence. I was pleased to review their latest and final album back in the Autumn of 2020. Although an impressive album its release was tinged with sadness, however, as guitarist and founder member, Bob Moore, passed away shortly after recording was completed. None of the remaining members wished to continue so Different Horizons became Storm Warning’s swansong and a lasting tribute to Bob Moore.
Happily, the story doesn’t quite end there. A chance encounter between Storm Warning’s Derek White (bass) and Ian Salisbury (keyboards), with the guitarist Steve Summers and the vocalist Mike Sebbage (both from recording project Rien de Faire) led to the inception of a brand-new band: Long Road Home.
Making their debut appearance at the Cambridge Rock Festival in June 2022 (initially with drummer, Dave Norman, but Lee Morrell was soon to step in on a more permanent basis) the band began planning gigs and putting together their debut album.
Are We Invisible? is the result. Blues rock with a touch of class and bags of soul, the album comprises eleven original tunes and it took no time at all to win me over. Driving rhythms, great vocals, catchy songs, penetrating guitar solos and divinely soulful keyboards, Are We Invisible? is a highly impressive debut.
UK blues virtuoso Joanne Shaw Taylor has unveiled a new single and video ahead of her February 2024 UK tour and a much-anticipated new studio album which is also slated for release next year.
Catchy and infectious with a sultry twist and boasting plenty of the guitar maestro’s trademark licks, ‘Wild Love’ follows recent single ‘Black Magic’ in providing a taste of what’s in store for fans when Shaw Taylor releases her brand-new studio album next year.
Joanne Shaw Taylor: “I love this track. I wanted it to be dark and sexy. I think, with the boys’ help, we came up with something really cool that the band in the studio really made come to life. It’s also rather different to anything I’ve done before so I’m really looking forward to playing it live.”
‘Wild Love’ is available to stream via the usual platforms here
2024 UK Tour dates
British blues rock guitarist and singer songwriter Connor Selby has been announced as the special guest on the tour.
Discovered at 16 by Dave Stewart of the Eurythmics, Joanne Shaw Taylor quickly ascended as one of the world’s leading rock guitarists. Championed by legends like Stevie Wonder, Annie Lennox, and Joe Bonamassa, her powerful song writing and distinct vocals first captivated audiences with her 2009 debut, White Sugar. Over the years, Joanne has released numerous acclaimed albums, including the UK Top 20 hit Reckless Heart and the #1 Billboard Blues Chart toppers The Blues Album and Blues From The Heart Live. Her most recent studio album, Nobody’s Fool, launched under Bonamassa’s Journeyman Records in 2022, showcases collaborations with industry icons and highlights her continually evolving artistry.
In a new collaboration, the former Traffic musician and all-round rock legend, Dave Mason, has teamed up with blues rock icon, Joe Bonamassa, to record a brand-new version of Traffic’s ‘Dear Mr Fantasy’ which was originally released back in 1967 on the band’s debut album, Mr Fantasy.
Although written by Traffic’s Steve Winwood, Chris Wood and Jim Capaldi, the song has been a mainstay of Mason’s live set throughout his solo career and he’s expressed his delight about re-revisiting the track and in working with Bonamassa for a contemporary take on a seasoned classic.
Dave Mason:“Fantasy has been a favourite song of mine since its release in 1967. I’ve played it live for years in a number of different arrangements. As I’ve often said, there are no old songs, just good songs, and ‘Dear Mr. Fantasy,’ in my mind, is one of the finest examples around.”
“To have the opportunity to incorporate one of the modern-day great guitar players, Joe Bonamassa, is as exciting to me as playing with Jimi Hendrix. He is the first person I wanted to include on this new version of ‘Fantasy.’The combination of talent with great song structure is exhilarating to me, and I knew Joe would play it like nobody else. He has a uniquely keen sense of precise timing, unobstructed by a bluesy groove that’s perfect for this song. He brings everything up, and ‘Dear Mr. Fantasy’ is both classic and current, an exceptionally difficult balance to do but Joe Bonamassa pulled it off powerfully with grace and genius.”
The new version of “Dear Mr. Fantasy” featuring Dave Mason with Joe Bonamassa is available now on all major streaming platforms.
Fans and critics alike hail Rock & Roll Hall of Famer Dave Mason as one of the most talented songwriters and guitarists in the world – which is why he is still performing over 100 shows a year to sold-out crowds. Best known for his soulful voice and unsurpassed guitar playing, Dave founded two bands by the age of 15: The Deep Feeling, and The Hellions. At 18, the Worcester, England native teamed up with Steve Winwood, Jim Capaldi, and Chris Wood to form the legendary band Traffic. At 19, Mason penned the song “Feelin’ Alright.” The rock anthem, first recorded by Traffic and then covered by dozens of other artists (including Joe Cocker), cemented both Dave’s and Traffic’s legacy, and had a profound influence over rock music that continues today.
About Joe Bonamassa:
Blues-rock superstar Joe Bonamassa is one of the most celebrated performing musicians of today. As a three-time GRAMMY-nominated artist and 13x Blues Music Award Nominee (4 wins), he achieved his 27th No. 1 album on the Billboard Blues Chart with his latest release, Blues Deluxe Vol. 2. Only in his mid-40s, Bonamassa has become a living legend with an astounding multi-genre catalog. He has released more than 40 albums, including studio and live recordings, as well as collaborative albums with his adventurous side projects: Black Country Communion and Rock Candy Funk Party.
Blues-rock slide guitarist and singer-songwriter, Troy Redfern, releases a new single from his forthcoming album this week. ‘Getaway’ is the second single taken from his coming studio album Invocation which is scheduled for release in 2024.
Troy Redfern: “Getaway is about cutting yourself some slack. It’s about transforming your life, even if there are difficult decisions to be made. As they say, from the mud grows the lotus.”
‘Getaway’ follows Redfern’s 2023 summer festival appearances including Steelhouse, Maid in Stone, and Rawa Blues Festival in Poland where he performed to a crowd of 7,000.
The new single is released just prior to a November 2023 UK tour supporting guitar prodigy Philip Sayce. Tickets available via https://troyredfern.com/dates.
‘Getaway’ is produced by Dave Marks and mixed by Jo Webb. The new single features Troy Redfern (guitar, vocals), Paul Stewart (drums), and Dave Marks (bass).
Photo credit: Jason Bridges
Troy Redfern:“On ‘Getaway’ and the forthcoming album, I wanted to write and record songs that were bigger and ballsier than what has come before. The new songs embrace more of the rockier elements of my writing and playing. I’ve also given myself the creative freedom to explore and feel out other styles or aspects of my writing that have not been heard on any of my other albums.”
“As an artist I feel it’s important to keep pushing and striving to refine your art, while staying true to your vision. It is important to know who you are as an artist, and on ‘Getaway’ and the upcoming album, I think I have finally perfected my own contemporary signature sound.”
Kent-based blues rock band Big River were formed back in 2016, taking their inspiration from that early 1970s golden era of blues rock and turning out a nice line in meaty rhythm, soulful vocals, catchy hooks and big fat riffs and lush guitar solos. Adam Barron took over as lead singer of Big River in 2021 but had previously worked with that giant of blues rock, Mick Ralphs, as lead singer of the Mick Ralphs Blues Band. I catch up with Adam to discuss his time working with Ralphs, his joining Big River and Big River’s latest single ‘Wings’.
You’ve never made any secret of your love for that classic era of blues rock from the late ‘60s and early 1970s. I was still a toddler when Free were formed and still at infant school when Bad Company started out – and I’m considerably older than you! So where does your love of those bands and that whole era of music come from then?
I’ve always loved music. My mum loved music, not all of it to my taste now. But she did particularly love Queen. So I remember listening to a lot of Queen when I was a child. And also this particularly brilliant cassette. A triple cassette album called Sixty Number Ones of the Sixties. And I loved that – and that had a bit of everything on. But when it came to classic rock and blues rock, that was when I went to secondary school. I was about 12 or 13 and a friend of mine lent me a copy of the Free album Fire and Water. And I still remember listening to it that first time and it was like a thunderbolt went off. I was like, “Oh my god. This is what I want to do with my life.” And from there I kind of listened to everything I could find and this was obviously not quite pre-internet but very early internet so we didn’t have everything at the touch of a button. But I remember watching an interview with Paul Rodgers where he said, “If you want to be as good as your heroes, don’t listen to them. Listen to who they listened to.” So that’s where I kind of went back. To Muddy Waters and all the classic soul singers, Sam Cooke and Otis Redding. So really Free and Bad Company were like the gateway for me into all of that incredible music.
You had to do some real detective work, didn’t you, pre-internet? To track albums down and work out who recorded what!
Absolutely. That’s why I often say that my musical knowledge is like a map of the world that’s partially been eaten by mice. There’s some bits that I know loads about and then others that just completely escaped me. I’ve actually started a little project recently with a group of friends of mine where they give me classic albums from the ‘70s onwards and if I haven’t listened to it as an album, it goes on my list. So that I can start filling in some of those gaps!
Before taking on lead vocals for Big River you’d previously worked with Bad Company’s Mick Ralphs in the Mick Ralphs Blues Band. Can you tell us how that came about?
It was just one of those fortuitous things really. They were looking for a new singer. They had been around for a little while with another singer.
Because you were the second singer with them? They’d done one album with another vocalist first?
Yeah they did. And a friend of mine, who I had met when I was a teenager at the first jam night I ever went to, he sent me a message and said, “Oh, this is a bit of you, isn’t it?” And it was a Facebook post saying they were looking for singers. And I was like, “Christ! Yeah, that is a bit of me!” So I got in contact, sent some video clips and stuff and they invited me up for an audition. And I got the job. Yeah!
I still remember that first tour. It was about this time of year – a bit earlier than this time of year – and they had a run of gigs up to Christmas. We had a few days rehearsing in a little rehearsal studio up in High Wycombe. And I still remember just standing there and listening to that unforgettable and almost indescribable big sound that Mick produced. And it wasn’t even when he was playing a Bad Company song. He was playing an old blues one. I can’t remember off the top of my head what it was but I was facing the other way and he was behind me. And you know those great guitarists when you just know it’s them? And yeah it was outrageous. And I never lost that feeling of wonder really. Just sharing the stage with him and seeing the things he could do with a very simple set up of a guitar and an amp and pretty much nothing else.
And how long were you with Mick Ralphs Blues Band for?
So it was a few years. It got cut short.
Yes it all came to an end, sadly.
Yeah, we had just done a run of gigs and then he’d gone back on the road with Bad Company and we’d all gone up to watch the big last show at the O2 – which was just nuts. It was so good. And then, unfortunately, a couple of days later was when he had a stroke and that put paid to the band. But most importantly, he’s still with us. Obviously it put paid to the band which was a great shame for the music but also just because we had so much fun. Getting in a transit van and driving around to these gigs and just listening to Mick tell us the most amazing stories.
I wrote at the time that you joined Big River, after the previous vocalist departed, that you seemed like an ideal fit for the band. And around that time Simon Gardiner came in on bass, too. Was it a comfortable band to slot into?
Yeah, absolutely. I’ve known Damo (Fawsett – Big River founder and guitarist) for a few years and we’d done a couple of bits and bobs together and he always struck me as a lovely guy. I’ve always known he’s a great guitarist. And when he asked me, we were just coming to the tail-end of lockdown and I was itching to do something. As most of us musicians or music lovers were. We were itching to be either playing gigs or going to gigs. So I went and had a rehearsal and none of us had played for months, if not years because of everything that had gone on. And so we all said at the beginning it really doesn’t matter how it sounds because we’re all going to be as rusty as fuck. What really matters is how does it feel. And it felt great. It felt natural. It felt loads of fun. And it has done ever since really.
It probably felt like a new band for all four of you, not just you as a newcomer, I suppose?
Absolutely. It was like Big River Mark II as we say. Because it was just a fresh start, not because of me but because of the timing. Eighteen months of not gigging meant that we were all kind of chomping at the bit. And then Simon (Gardiner – Big River Bass-player) came along who’ve I’ve known for a long time. He used to gig with Rosco Levee and the Southern Slide and I’ve known Ros since I was 16. So he came in and, again, we had a few people who auditioned because Ant, our previous bass-player who’s a lovely guy who we all still get on well with, just couldn’t put the time or commitment in. Which is unfortunately one of the joys of being a grown-up trying to be in a band as well. And Simon came along and auditioned and, again, it was just that thing. It felt right. And it’s taken us in a slightly different direction which is really good as well.
And so you’ve been with them two years now?
Yeah, it’s coming up to two and a half years.
And you’ve gigged quite extensively as well as recording the EP Beautiful Trauma?
Yeah absolutely. I mean what I really love is in previous bands I’ve almost been – I use the phrase – a gun for hire. Because I would quite often be brought in to a project for the voice. Which is great and I’ve done some incredible things and I’ve had the most fun. But this was a different animal. It was coming in to be part of a band and write the music and get out there and play it. And I’ve found that such an enjoyable experience. I absolutely love sitting down with the boys in a room and thrashing out a new song and seeing what’s going to pop out. Because we’ve got four musicians who all write. And it might be an idea from Joe or it might be a fully-fledged song or it might be just a riff from Damo or it might be a thing on my ukulele or whatever it is. And it starts with this little seed and by the end of a couple of sessions of thrashing it about we’re like, “Oh! Well that’s what it is.”
So you feel like you are fully involved in this band creatively then and not simply the ‘voice for hire’ as it were?
Yeah absolutely. And it’s flexing a whole kind of different muscle that was a bit underdeveloped before.
Had you written much before you joined Big River then?
Yeah bits and pieces. But I’ve never really had the vehicle for it. And although I can find my way around a piano and I can play the ukulele a bit, I could never quite get the ideas in my head out on to an instrument because I didn’t quite have the technical ability. So, for me, when I had written before it always tended to be with someone. And that was always a bit few and far between. But with these boys it’s just really natural.
You released your latest single, ‘Wings’, last week. Are you pleased with the response it’s been getting so far?
Yeah, I am. We started playing it at gigs over the summer. It’s written by Simon our bass-player and when he brought it to us, I said, “Oh Simon, we’ve got one here!” I said, “This is the set-ender.” And he said, “Really? It’s quite slow.” And I said this is the big finish. And we played around with it and ended up coming up with the massive outro at the end where Damo really gets to let loose and open up. I knew it was going to go down well and it did go down well – as soon as we started playing it at gigs. So I was hopeful that it would have a similar response when the single came out and, yeah, we’ve had some really, really lovely responses. And quite a bit of radio play which is really nice. The main aim is we want people to hear it.
And what next for Big River?
We’ve got a couple of gigs left this year. We supported Brave Rival at the 100 Club a few weeks ago and it was joyous. Absolutely joyous. Those guys are bang on it. They deserve all the plaudits they are getting because they’re fantastic. And we’ve really enjoyed supporting them and we had a lovely, magical, impromptu live music moment where, after a little chat before soundcheck, we ended up getting the girls up to sing ‘Tennessee Whiskey’ with me, which was just amazing. It was so good. And they’ve invited us to come and support them again at the 229 (London) on 16th November which we’re really looking forward to. And then the big one, the last gig of the year which we’re over the moon about is Friday 1st December and that’s at Planet Rockstock which we are really excited about. And that’s it for gigs this year but we are already booking studio time. We’ve got another three or four songs that are pretty much ready to record.
So will it be another EP or are you working on an album?
We’re going to bring an EP out in the Spring and then the aim is to have a full album out in the Autumn of next year. One thing we have been a bit slow with and it’s because, unfortunately, we’re all family men with jobs and real lives, is getting new music out. We’ve kept it ticking over but next year we want to get a lot of new music out.
So plenty to look forward to for Big River fans. Is there anything else you want to tell us before we wrap up?
We’ve really loved getting out in front of new people this year and adding to our dedicated and loyal fanbase. And we love seeing those familiar faces. We love seeing those Big River T-shirts. And we just look forward to seeing everyone out there at another festival or another gig next year and hopefully bring in whole new army of Big River fans with them.
Kent-based blues rock band, Big River, release their new single ‘Wings’ on 20th October.
Big River vocalist, Adam Barron: “Written by bass player Simon Gardiner, ‘Wings’ has a soulful gospel feel with a country twang. Heartfelt melody and lyrics lead on to an explosive feelgood outro where lead guitarist Damo Fawsett gets to let loose and let his fast fingers fly! It’s been going down a storm live and is fast becoming one of the favourite songs of the set.”
Big River are: Adam Barron (vocals), Damo Fawsett (guitar), Simon Gardiner (bass), Joe Martin (drums/backing vocals).
Formed back in 2016 and influenced by the classic blues-rock sounds of bands like Bad Company and Free, Big River have gone from strength to strength in recent years, building up a solid fanbase through their live gigging, performing at legendary venues like London’s The 100 Club and supporting a number of big-name artists.
The band’s debut album, Redemption, came out in 2019 and was followed up by the four-track EP, Beautiful Trauma, in 2022. The latter was the first with lead vocalist, Adam Barron (ex Mick Ralphs Blues Band), and bass-player, Simon Gardiner, and secured the band enthusiastic reviews and radio play across the UK, Europe and the US. A follow-up EP is scheduled for release in early 2024.
The single ‘Wings’ is released on 20th October on all the main digital platforms.
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