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Here is what has been described as the most comprehensive and detailed local Blues gig guide on the internet. Hopefully, you will find it useful and that you will help support all those who are giving of their time and energies to bring you great live music near you. Support live music or lose it!  

September 2010

And so, for most, the holidays are over and it is back to school, college, uni or work!! That also means that those venues which closed or scaled down their activities during the holidays are now back up and running which is good news.

As always, there are some great gigs on offer this month so here are the details we have so far. There are sure to be further gigs of which we become aware as the month progresses so do keep checking back for up dates.

Also tune in the Digital Blues on Gateway 97.8 every Wednesday at 8.00 p.m. (repeated at 10.00 p.m. every Thursday) on www.gateway978.com for details of local gigs locally over the next 7 days.

Thursday 2^nd September

The New Crawdaddy Blues Club at the Belvedere, Hardings Elms Road, Crays Hill, Billericay. Doors at 8.00 p.m. – Support from the Heaters at 8.30 p.m. - Details at www.newcrawdaddyclub.co.uk or call 01702 347007

A great start to the month at the Crawdaddy as the excellent Nigel Bagge Band make their second visit of the year. Not many bands are accorded the honour of playing twice in a season but Nigel and his colleagues have become very firm Club favourites and their second appearance is very eagerly awaited.

Take the smoky vocals and stinging guitar of Nigel Bagge, the keyboard virtuosity of Paul Jobson, the Digital Blues Award winner in this year’s competition and add a smashing rhythm section which sees Grant ‘Cheeky’ Tunbridge on bass and Ed Spevock on drums and you have a very tasty dish in prospect.

Saturday 4^th September

Blues at the Farm, Barleylands Depot, Barleylands Road, Billericay – www.bluesatthefarm.co.uk – telephone 01268 570642 – doors 1.30 p.m. music from 2 till 4 (ish) – private members club

Making one of his regular visits to the Farm is Essex treasure, Roy Mette plays this popular Saturday afternoon venue. Roy was one of the first of the Essex blues musicians that I had the pleasure of seeing many years ago now and he made a very great impression, I can still remember where and when it was and who he opened for!!! This afternoon’s gig sees Roy in his power trio mode with Wayne Bronze on drums and Andy Bostock on bass. In addition to some of Roy’s wonderful original material, there may well be some Rory Gallagher, some Hendrix and others. Regardless of the set list you can be certain of an afternoon that is uniquely Roy Mette.

Thursday 9^th September

The New Crawdaddy Blues Club at the Belvedere, Hardings Elms Road, Crays Hill, Billericay. Doors at 8.00 p.m. - Support from house band, the Heaters at 8.30p.m. Details at www.newcrawdaddyclub.co.uk or call 01702 347007

Last year saw the Crawdaddy celebrate its 10^th anniversary in wonderful style with the first visit to the Club by tonight’s headline guest, Sherman Robertson. So I know that the Club’s promoters are delighted that they have again managed to book the Guitar Man for a return visit that is more or less guaranteed to be a sold out gig.

* "Sherman Robertson and BluesMove is a mighty powerful combination." Blues Matters!

* "Sherman Robertson deserves to have his name added to the short list of the finest musicians who play electric blues." - Living Blues

* "Some of the best Texas soul-blues anyone could hope for. Potent singing and sizzling guitar 'Sherman Robertson is one of the most important artist in blues." - Blues Revue

Sherman Robertson is a regular visitor to UK & Europe and regularly thrills full houses where ever he plays, be it a major festival or arena or a more intimate venue such as the Crawdaddy. Make sure you avoid disappointment by buying your tickets in advance as there may well be none available on the door.

The White Hart, King’s Walk, Argent Street, Grays, Essex RM17 6HR – tel 01375 373319 – www.myspace.com/whitehartblues

At Chris Ryley’s CAMRA award winning venue this week a band called Glasshouse about whom I know nothing and who do not show up in any internet searches so I cannot tell you anything about them! Sorry!!!

The Cellar Bar Blues Club, Farnham Maltings, Farnham, Surrey – www.boogaloopromotions.com – telephone 01252 793430 - Doors open 8.00 p.m with blues sounds from DJ Chris and the band starts at 8.30 p.m - Ticket price £12.00

The Boogaloo crew come back from their hols with a brilliant night of music and lunacy with the one and only ‘Man with Two Hits’, Jon Otway (‘Cor Baby I’m Really Free’ and more recently ‘Bunsen Burner’).   Tonight John will front his ‘Big Band’. The last gig was a sell-out so ticket reservations strongly recommended!

Friday 10^th September

Marigolds Blues Club, Harlow Cricket Club, Marigolds, Chippingfield, Old Harlow, Essex, CM17 0DJ - Doors and Licensed Bar open at 7.30pm - Enquiries 01279 414174 / 421763 - www.musicatmarigolds.co.uk - Tickets £6 in advance or £7 on the door.

Tonight Marigolds present Beth Packer and the Black Cat Bones, a young 4 piece blues band whose ages belie their talent.  Formed by regular performers at the acclaimed blues jam at Soho's "Ain't Nothin But’ blues bar, they have played in some of London's best known blues venues including Charlotte St Blues, The Troubadour, the Hootenanny in Brixton and the Ain't Nothin’ But the Blues Bar.

Fronted by Beth’s amazing vocals, the band has recently undergone some personnel changes with  which is comprised of Beth Packer on vocals, Clinton Hough on guitar, Charles Benfield on electric and upright bass and Rob Pokorny on drums. Their repertoire includes classic standards as well as lesser known gems from the bare roots of the blues through to 60's soul. With a growing fan base, plenty of energy and a bit of old fashioned grit Beth Packer and the Black Cat Bones will give you a night to remember.

Find out more at www.myspace.com/bethandtheblackcatbones  

Saturday 11^th September

Blues at the Farm, Barleylands Depot, Barleylands Road, Billericay – www.bluesatthefarm.co.uk – telephone 01268 570642 – doors 1.30 p.m. music from 2 till 4 (ish) – private members club

Making what I know is an eagerly awaited return visit to the Farm are one of Essex finest and most long standing bands, the wonderful Automatic Slim, making an all to rare appearance. The band is now in what I think is its 28^th year and still going strong doing what it does so well. Fronted by multiple year Digital Blues Personality Tim Aves, on vocals/harmonica, the band also has Ian Cundy on guitar/vocals, Howard J Bills on bass/vocals and Don Moore on drums. They describe themselves as ‘a bunch of self confessed Dr Feelgood nuts, so you can expect the music that will include covers of songs by the Feelgoods, Wilko, George Thorogood, Mickey Jupp, Nick Lowe and the like, played fast and furious and with commitment, energy and an absolute determination to entertain.’ A cracking afternoon in store and go to http://www.myspace.com/autoslim#ixzz0xvNRPcZc for more and for links to some videos from previous visits to Blues at the Farm.

Riga Music Bar, 228 London Road, Westcliff On Sea, Essex SS0 7JG – www.rigamusicbar.co.uk – Telephone 01702 348020

An all too rare blues gig at the Riga as the superb Nicky Moore & the Blues Corporation make one of their regular visits. Nicky is celebrating 40 years in the business and is now recovered from major back surgery which kept him off stage for much of the earlier part of the year. With his talented son, Timmy Moore on electric guitar, Danny J Kyle on acoustic guitar, Pete Shaw on bass and Ed Collins on drums forming the excellent Blues Corporation, this is an act that I never tire of seeing and hearing and I urge you to get on down to the Riga for this gig.

Thursday 16^th September

The New Crawdaddy Blues Club at the Belvedere, Hardings Elms Road, Crays Hill, Billericay. Doors at 8.00 p.m. - Support from house band, the Heaters at 8.30p.m. Details at www.newcrawdaddyclub.co.uk or call 01702 347007

Tonight’s headliners, Split Whiskers, have become regular visitors to the Crawdaddy since their first appearance some number of years ago. Not finding it possible to improve on the band’s own ‘blurb’ I will simply ‘tell ever'body Split Whiskers are back in town, they got a dollar and a quarter and they're ready to clown!. 

If you enjoy raw rockin', eye poppin', finger snappin', foot tappin' blues (with a bit of gypsy jazz, funk and skiffle thrown in) then the 'Whiskers will wow you with their unique style.

This five-piece Cambridge based band of young 'n' old misfits alike, draw from their impressive track record to bring you a new slant on the blues, with an air of lightning wit and repartee. The line up features the following musicians and a drummer:

The lead vocals, harmonica and pathetic jokes of Gilby J. Fletcher, the guitars, vocals and broken strings of Johnny "Magic Boy" Wright, the keyboards, magic roundabout and sweet tooth of The Reverend Justin Dwyer or the keys,  accordian and quintessential Englishness of James 'Green Fingers' Doherty, the bass, vocals and visual interpretation of Richard 'Spud' Spooner or Miss Claudia 'Beads' McKenzie and the drums, vocals and dependance of life support machinery of Mr. Mick Chippy Carpenter. And last but by no means least, "Brian"’

No I don’t know what they are on either! One thing I am sure of is that this will be a cracking evening at the Crawdaddy.

The High Barn, The Bardfield Centre, Great Bardfield, Essex CM7 4SL – 01371 811291 – www.high-barn.com - £10.00 – Doors Open: 7:30pm, Evening Ends: 11pm.

Another great Third Thursday Blues gig this month as the excellent Dani Wilde makes her High barn debut, A lady blessed with a beautiful voice with a diesel roar as well as some fine guitar picking, Dani gives the old boys from the delta a run for their money! Dani has a new and acclaimed CD, ‘Shine’,  out on RUF Records and I had the pleasure of catching her live in June. She was on stonking form. Please bear in mind that this gig is seated Admission - Seating either allocated by table letter or unallocated in rows, whilst the venue try to accommodate requests for specific tables, allocations are still subject to change.

The Cellar Bar Blues Club, Farnham Maltings, Farnham, Surrey – www.boogaloopromotions.com – telephone 01252 793430 - Doors open 8.15 p.m with blues sounds from DJ Chris and the band starts at 9.00 p.m unless otherwise stated. Ticket price £9.00

Tonight Boogaloo presents the Chuck Farley Band who are led by founder member, guitarist/vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Steve Simpson. Chuck Farley doubled as Roger Chapman's band The Shortlist and they toured Europe extensively with Chappo and the core of the band recorded several albums.    Chuck Farley built a strong following in the UK with their Country Rock and r&b feel, best summed up as Little Feat meets Ry Cooder.

The line-up is Steve Simpson guitar/fiddle/vox, Poli Palmer vibes/keys, Pete Stroud bass and Sam Kelly drums.  One helluva band!  (Chuck Farley are replacing The Monday Band as Papa George is not available for this date.)

Friday 17^th September

Burnt Mill Snooker and Social Club, Harlow, CM20 2DQ - A Grand Charity Gig in Aid of Macmillan Nurses - 8.00pm 'till late - (Doors open at 7.00pm) - Tickets £10 from Gordon on 07946 555423

Featuring The Big Girls Blues Band and Jimmy C and the Blues Dragons this is a very special evening.

The Big Girls Blues Band is one of the funkiest, bluesiest, soulfullest bands in and around the London clubs and pubs. The band has 7 members - Justin and Jane on vocals, Roger and Tony on guitars, Alistair on drums and vocals, Dek on bass and vocals and Barry on sax plus Matteo from Puglia sorting the cables from the spaghetti. The band plays anything that moves the feet, the soul or the furniture.

The band plays regularly gigs in London but has an up coming Europe Tour taking in Paris, Amsterdam, Portugal, and of course Kentish Town, Mill Hill, Cricklewood.... They play anywhere that has a plug, a rug and a jug. Above all the band likes to have fun and funk and plays some old stuff and some new stuff and some blue stuff.

A special mention for the bands 2 sensual out front singers: Justin from the Deep Deep South Down Under and “Don’t send me no doctor filling me up with all those pills…” Jane from Ireland. They look good, sound good but they are B.A.D. B.A.D. B.A.D.

Canadian - born singer, guitarist Jimmy C moved to Britain via Vancouver, San Francisco and Japan since when Jimmy and the band have earned a deserved reputation as one of the most entertaining and hard-working bands on the London circuit.

Playing a repertoire which includes blues classics from Robert Johnson and T-bone Walker, various Kings of the blues, that is Albert, Freddie and BB, they follow through to the music which the British Blues Invasion of North America left in its wake, from the Rolling Stones to Cream, from Jimi Hendrix to the Doors and even Steppenwolf They freely admit they are not blues purists but as they point out neither were the blues greats - their mission is to do what Muddy Waters did, and what Rufus Thomas did, to entertain and get you dancing.

Jimmy C & The Blues Dragons play sharp snappy blues, with a litle bit of edge and an element of fun and clearly enjoy what they do and seem able to communicate this to audiences where ever they play"

Saturday 18^th September

Blues at the Farm, Barleylands Depot, Barleylands Road, Billericay – www.bluesatthefarm.co.uk – telephone 01268 570642 – doors 1.30 p.m. music from 2 till 4 (ish) – private members club

Another return visit and, again, one which I know will be very eagerly awaited and well received as the wonderful Elevators again visit the Farm. They are fronted by new recruits Fran Galpin, a fantastic local musician and singer, and Paul Rawson, a guitarist with the technique, feel, innovation and flair of the great blues players.

The Elevators are the leading UK exponents of the classic Electric blues tradition with references to BB King, Peter Green, Clapton, Robert Johnson and modernists like Robert Cray.

They are not afraid to venture into Blues territory covered by Rye Cooder, Dylan and other exponents of the Blues waterfront.

The band are supremely professional and are continuing to go down a storm in the Clubs, Bars, Blues venues and festivals across the country.

Sunday 19^th September

Railway Hotel, Clifftown Road, Southend, - 5pm. Free.

Another of Martin McNeill’s regular early Sunday afternoon gigs at this popular venue of which he says: ‘We just love playing the Railway -- great pub, smashing audience’. With Martin on vocals and bottleneck guitar, this gig sees Martin joined by West Weston, one of the UK’s top harmonica players, yje superb im Huskisson piano plus his regular rhythm section of Marc Cecil on drums and JJ Zarbo bass. A wonderful way to round off a September Sunday!

Thursday 23^rd September

The New Crawdaddy Blues Club at the Belvedere, Hardings Elms Road, Crays Hill, Billericay. Doors at 8.00 p.m. -Support from Jeff Chapman’s Roosters at 8.30p.m. Details at www.newcrawdaddyclub.co.uk or call 01702 347007

Sadly, Club favourites, Storm Warning have had to cancel their appearance at the Club but Paul Dean, the Club promoter, has succeeded in obtaining the services of a superb replacement in the shape of the Martin Harley Band, a band who are always popular when they visit the Club. With a new CD, ‘Drumrolls For Somersaults’, recently released to considerable acclaim, an evening with the Martin Harley Band is one spent in the company of a uniquely talented acoustic trio whose musical palette incorporates all the best roots music styles, from blues to jazz to folk, yet are masters of their own art. With tender acoustic balladry, hot-blooded blues, complex rhythms and gorgeous three-part harmonies, and an almost boundless energy, the Martin Harley Band effortlessly challenge expectations of what a three-piece should be capable.

The Cellar Bar Blues Club, Farnham Maltings, Farnham, Surrey – www.boogaloopromotions.com – telephone 01252 793430 - Doors open 8.15 p.m with blues sounds from DJ Chris and the band starts at 9.00 p.m unless otherwise stated. Ticket price £10.00 

A wonderful evening in store at the Cellar Bar as the superb Ian Parker pays a visit ‘ Up Close & Intimate’. Over the years, singer/songwriter/guitarist Ian Parker has predominantly toured with his four-piece band, delivering a blend of rootsie rock and hi-octane blues. Now, with his current focus firmly on his acoustic driven song-writing, Ian has decided that the time is right to perform a series of concerts in a more stripped down, intimate manner.   The Up Close and Intimate series will feature Ian playing in a variety of formats accompanied by long serving band member, Steve Amadeo, and leading UK slide guitarist, Chris Eaton.                  

The White Hart, King’s Walk, Argent Street, Grays, Essex RM17 6HR – tel 01375 373319 – www.myspace.com/whitehartblues

Tonight’s band at the White Hart is making its first visit to Chris Ryley’s venue although they are frequent and well known visitors to South Essex. Grapevine Blues is a band that is made up of a quintet of top class and highly talented musicians playing their own brand of blues & beyond! With the smoky vocals of Mike Chase, the scorching guitar of the wizard, Dr Ika, the keyboard virtuosity of Dave Lennox, the drums of Ivan Hoe & the bass of Dave Rogers, Grapevine Blues offer as wide a variety of material as you are likely to find and are sure to be uber-popular at the White Hart.

Saturday 25^th September

Blues at the Farm, Barleylands Depot, Barleylands Road, Billericay – www.bluesatthefarm.co.uk – telephone 01268 570642 – doors 1.30 p.m. music from 2 till 4 (ish) – private members club

Billed to appear this Saturday at the Farm are Bad Town Blues, the excellent Essex based band who, of course, boasted the late and wonderful Ray Bartrip as one of their frontmen. This will, I think, be the first gig played by BTB since Ray’s death and I am told by Clive Mulcahy that it may well be the last one that is played as Bad Town Blues. For this gig Clive will be on guitar and vocals with the excellent BTB rhythm section of Reg Patten on drums and Jamie Lawrence on bass.

Tuesday 28^th September

The Bottleneck Blues Club & The Roffen, New Road, Rochester. ME1 1DY – www.bottleneckblues.com - £10.00

Geoff Achison has long been a regular visitor to the Bottleneck, indeed, it could well be called his UK home from home. Back in the UK for the second time this year, this time for a somewhat lengthier tour than his earlier one, Australian singer/songwriter/guitarist Geoff is described as ‘one of the most outstanding contemporary blues musicians on the world circuit, combining staggering technique with passionate delivery and originality.  His backing band, the UK Souldiggers, are amongst the best musicians in Europe, including five times Blues Drummer of the Year, Sam Kelly, ‘Spy’ Austin on bass and Paul Jobson on keyboards.

This is not a gig to be missed and, I believe, your only opportunity to catch Geoff in the area.

‘Achison is a major musical talent at the peak of his profession.’ Stoned Free 

Thursday 30^th September

The New Crawdaddy Blues Club at the Belvedere, Hardings Elms Road, Crays Hill, Billericay. Doors at 8.00 p.m. -Support from the Heaters at 8.30p.m. Details at www.newcrawdaddyclub.co.uk or call 01702 347007

Rounding off a great month at the Crawdaddy are a band making a very welcome return visit after too many years away, Roadhouse. The band is lead by Gary Boner and has been gigging continuously since 1991. With fellow lead guitarist Danny Gwilym and the long term rhythm section of Roger Hunt & Bill Hobley, the band has also always featured fine female vocalists, some of those to have been Roadhouse ladies are Big Mamma’s Door’s Fiona McElroy and Northsyde’s Lorna Fothergill. Today, the band features Mandie G, Suzie D and Kelly Marie Hobbs on vocals. I have been fortunate enough to catch and to introduce Roadhouse on a number of occasions and based upon my experiences at thoise gigs, this evening’s gig should be pretty darn hot. Do not miss it!

The Cellar Bar Blues Club, Farnham Maltings, Farnham, Surrey – www.boogaloopromotions.com – telephone 01252 793430 - Doors open 8.15 p.m with blues sounds from DJ Chris and the band starts at 9.00 p.m unless otherwise stated. Ticket price £10.00

Australian singer/songwriter/guitarist Geoff Achison is one of the most outstanding contemporary blues musicians on the world circuit, combining staggering technique with passionate delivery and originality.  The Souldiggers are amongst the best musicians in Europe, including five times Blues Drummer of the Year, Sam Kelly, ‘Spy’ Austin on bass and Paul Jobson on keyboards.. ‘Achison is a major musical talent at the peak of his profession.’ Stoned Free