COUNTING DOWN TO THE BLUES
#LEEKBLUES18
Now in its 6th year, the historic market town of Leek plays host to an array of local, national and international talent – showcasing the very best in Blues & Americana music. The Festival is set against a backdrop of independent shops, high street favourites and thriving specialist markets with host venues comprising a mix of real ale pubs, craft beer bars and the community arts centre.
5 Days
Starting Wednesday 3rd October – Sunday 7th October 2018
20 + Venues
Pubs, bars, cafés and arts centres all hosting
60 + Acts
Over 60 Blues & Americana acts throughout the town centre of Leek
HEADLINE ACTS
HEADLINE ACTS AT LEEK BLUES & AMERICANA FESTIVAL 2018
Guy Tortora
October 3rd, 2018
The Strange Blue Dreams
October 7th, 2018
The Jake Leg Jug Band
October 7th, 2018
Chris Bevington Organisation
October 6th, 2018
Husky Tones
October 6th, 2018
Nilsen’s Southern Harmony
October 6th & 7th, 2018
Benjamin Bassford & Liam Ward
October 6th, 2018
Mean Mary & Frank James
October 7th, 2018
TICKETED EVENTS
The majority of the festival events are free to enter, we also have a small number of ticketed events listed here.You may book tickets online, click on the event and the green ticket icon to book online or tickets are available from the venue
Sidemen: Long Road to Glory (12A) Tuesday 2nd October On the eve of Leek’s Blues and Americana festival featuring over 50 acts over 5 nights, we are privileged and excited to bring you the UK premiere of the[...]
The Guy Tortora Band Born & raised in Pasadena, California, Guy Tortora is currently based in London, in the UK. What he does as a songwriter and performer is what people like to call Americana these days — a[...]
FXLW: A new idea for the 2018 Leek Blues & Americana Festival. An amazing selection of some of the finest Local, National and International Blues & Americana Acts we could get hold of! For just[...]
Local lads Adam & Rick kick off our first FXLW event with a fantastic acoustic mix of country classics and folk originals
The Rye Sisters (Ishani and Sue) are a duo from Lincolnshire who perform Americana and folk-country songs in close harmony to guitar, mandolin and fiddle. They pull from broadly American influences, such as Buddy and[...]
Mary James, youngest of six children, was born in Geneva, Alabama, though her family lived in Florida, a couple miles below the Alabama line. Mary learned to read music before she could read words and[...]
Lissy is a young up and coming singer songwriter with a distinctive voice and a skill for writing emotionally charged lyrics that instantly grab your attention and leave you wanting more. Born and raised in[...]
Fine Lines is a project started by singer/songwriter David Boardman in 2016. A long time lover of all things folky and rootsy, David has been writing acoustic based music for many years and has now collected those songs[...]
The Strange Blue Dreams exist in a parallel world where all music is pop music and therefore everything can be plundered. Their otherwordly pop music runs from the music hall into the jet age and[...]
Nibs is one of the most extraordinary and exciting world acoustic guitarists to come out of South Africa. Raised in Kwazulu-Natal, growing up listening to The Beatles and learning first hand from traditional Zulu Maskandi[...]
Subscribe to filtered calendar
EVENTS
2018's Events Listing - use the left & right arrows to move through the listing
Oct 2 @ 7:00 pm – 10:00 pm
Sidemen: Long Road to Glory (12A) Tuesday 2nd October On the eve of Leek’s Blues and Americana festival featuring over 50 acts over 5 nights, we are privileged and excited to bring you the UK premiere of the[...]
Oct 3 @ 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm
Mike Gledhill & friends entertain the Wednesday Market shopping crowd with good old fashioned acoustic Blues & Americana, fuelled by Joules.
Oct 3 @ 7:30 pm – 11:00 pm
The Guy Tortora Band Born & raised in Pasadena, California, Guy Tortora is currently based in London, in the UK. What he does as a songwriter and performer is what people like to call Americana these days — a[...]
Oct 4 @ 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm
Exciting new, Deadbeat Damsels, perform a mix of americana, country rock, old & contemporary, with strong voices and beautiful harmonies. Do not miss!
Oct 4 @ 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm
The King’s Pistol are a unique, acoustic-driven trio from Cheshire. Formed in late 2014, the band secured a number of plays of their demo tracks on BBC Introducing, which encouraged them to record their debut[...]
Oct 4 @ 8:00 pm – 10:00 pm
Steve Giddings will be entertaining diners enjoying the great value Tapas Thursday, always a popular night at Leek Bar & Grill
Oct 4 @ 8:30 pm – 11:00 pm
Mike Gledhill hosts this year’s festival Leek Blues & Americana Acoustic Session. Now a regular monthly feature at the Cock Inn, expect some of the local areas amazing musical talent on display includeing Jaxhill, Pete[...]
Oct 5 @ 6:00 pm – 7:30 pm
Helen Walford, a girl from Oakridge Tennessee, recently moved Leek, with a guitar, sometimes alone, better with friends, a bit of piano, lots of influences, many directions….listen and decide for yourself…. Helen is joined by[...]
Oct 5 @ 6:30 pm – 8:30 pm
‘The Cold Heart Revue’ is a chart-topping UK new rock and blues band. ‘Hope And Magazines’ and ‘(You’re A) Picture on a Wall’ both reached Number #1 on the iTunes Blues Single Chart. ‘The Cold Heart Revue’[...]
Oct 5 @ 7:30 pm – 9:30 pm
Leek-based Funk Station is a 7-piece live band that specialises in 70’s & 80’s hi-energy funk, soul and disco. This is one arts festival event not to miss.
Oct 5 @ 7:30 pm – 10:00 pm
A gifted guitarist and prolific songwriter, Joel Gardner is a refreshingly unique artist with a diverse palette of inspired, original songs. He uses all parts of the guitar to create melodic, catchy music with powerful,[...]
Subscribe
Sidemen: Long Road to Glory (12A) Tuesday 2nd October On the eve of Leek’s Blues and Americana festival featuring over 50 acts over 5 nights, we are privileged and excited to bring you the UK premiere of the[...]
Mike Gledhill & friends entertain the Wednesday Market shopping crowd with good old fashioned acoustic Blues & Americana, fuelled by Joules.
The Guy Tortora Band Born & raised in Pasadena, California, Guy Tortora is currently based in London, in the UK. What he does as a songwriter and performer is what people like to call Americana these days — a[...]
Exciting new, Deadbeat Damsels, perform a mix of americana, country rock, old & contemporary, with strong voices and beautiful harmonies. Do not miss!
The King’s Pistol are a unique, acoustic-driven trio from Cheshire. Formed in late 2014, the band secured a number of plays of their demo tracks on BBC Introducing, which encouraged them to record their debut[...]
Steve Giddings will be entertaining diners enjoying the great value Tapas Thursday, always a popular night at Leek Bar & Grill
Mike Gledhill hosts this year’s festival Leek Blues & Americana Acoustic Session. Now a regular monthly feature at the Cock Inn, expect some of the local areas amazing musical talent on display includeing Jaxhill, Pete[...]
Helen Walford, a girl from Oakridge Tennessee, recently moved Leek, with a guitar, sometimes alone, better with friends, a bit of piano, lots of influences, many directions….listen and decide for yourself…. Helen is joined by[...]
Subscribe
Download our 2018 Programme
Leek Blues & Americana Festival’s 2018 programme. We’ve got one hell of a lineup for you, all hand picked by the Leek Blues team for the best in local and national Blues, Americana, Rockabilly, Cajun and more
Download a copy, print it off and plan your trip to Leek. We’re sure you won’t be disappointed, 5 days, 20 venues and 60 acts, the question is how will you fit it all in?
VENUES
The festival venues are all through Leek Town Centre. Most are just a short walk through town
Leek Town Centre Map
Leek Town Centre, Leek, Staffordshire, ST13 6HN
Accommodation in Leek
A selection of hotels, bed and breakfast and camping facilities in the Leek area.
For a more comprehensive list please see our ‘Where to stay in Leek‘ information
PREMIER INN
Our Leek hotel features our new generation bedrooms, each with an impressive 40`` flat screen TV, fresh new bathroom and brand new, slumber-inducing, king-size Hypnos bed.
details
The Peak Weavers
We offer stylish rooms, free on site car parking, complimentary wifi and, at weekends, an award winning restaurant that uses great produce from the best local butchers’ and suppliers.
details
The Green Man
Paul & Jill Burton offer you a warm welcome to the Green Man. We have been running the guest house since early 2014.Prior to this we ran a public house in Suffolk for over 14 years. As a family run 3 star Guest house we offer friendly and comfortable stay.
details
The Fountain Inn
The Fountain Inn have 1 double en suite bedroom & 1 twin en suite bedroom, the twin room can be made into a double if required (please state when booking) which have a separate private entrance from the street. We have a well stocked bar with 10 hand pump selling real & ciders from local and national brewers, a comprehensive range of quality wines and a malt whiskey selection.
details
The White Hart
The White Hart provides luxury Bed & Breakfast accommodation in Leek, Staffordshire. Our Grade ll listed building has been lovingly restored and also includes an award-winning tea room, outdoor courtyard and sandwich bar.
detailsTICKETED EVENTS
The majority of the festival events are free to enter, we also have a small number of ticketed events listed here
Oct 2 @ 7:00 pm – 10:00 pm
Sidemen: Long Road to Glory (12A) Tuesday 2nd October On the eve of Leek’s Blues and Americana festival featuring over 50 acts over 5 nights, we are privileged and excited to bring you the UK premiere of the[...]
Oct 3 @ 7:30 pm – 11:00 pm
The Guy Tortora Band Born & raised in Pasadena, California, Guy Tortora is currently based in London, in the UK. What he does as a songwriter and performer is what people like to call Americana these days — a[...]
Oct 7 @ 12:00 pm – 7:00 pm
FXLW: A new idea for the 2018 Leek Blues & Americana Festival. An amazing selection of some of the finest Local, National and International Blues & Americana Acts we could get hold of! For just[...]
Oct 7 @ 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm
Local lads Adam & Rick kick off our first FXLW event with a fantastic acoustic mix of country classics and folk originals
Oct 7 @ 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm
The Rye Sisters (Ishani and Sue) are a duo from Lincolnshire who perform Americana and folk-country songs in close harmony to guitar, mandolin and fiddle. They pull from broadly American influences, such as Buddy and[...]
Oct 7 @ 2:00 pm – 3:00 pm
Mary James, youngest of six children, was born in Geneva, Alabama, though her family lived in Florida, a couple miles below the Alabama line. Mary learned to read music before she could read words and[...]
Oct 7 @ 3:00 pm – 3:30 pm
Lissy is a young up and coming singer songwriter with a distinctive voice and a skill for writing emotionally charged lyrics that instantly grab your attention and leave you wanting more. Born and raised in[...]
Oct 7 @ 3:30 pm – 5:00 pm
Fine Lines is a project started by singer/songwriter David Boardman in 2016. A long time lover of all things folky and rootsy, David has been writing acoustic based music for many years and has now collected those songs[...]
Oct 7 @ 5:00 pm – 6:30 pm
The Strange Blue Dreams exist in a parallel world where all music is pop music and therefore everything can be plundered. Their otherwordly pop music runs from the music hall into the jet age and[...]
Nov 2 @ 7:00 pm – 9:30 pm
Nibs is one of the most extraordinary and exciting world acoustic guitarists to come out of South Africa. Raised in Kwazulu-Natal, growing up listening to The Beatles and learning first hand from traditional Zulu Maskandi[...]
Subscribe to filtered calendar
Download our 2018 Programme
Leek Blues & Americana Festival’s 2018 programme. We’ve got one hell of a lineup for you, all hand picked by the Leek Blues team for the best in local and national Blues, Americana, Rockabilly, Cajun and more
Download a copy, print it off and plan your trip to Leek. We’re sure you won’t be disappointed, 5 days, 20 venues and 60 acts, the question is how will you fit it all in?
SPONSORS
Thank you to our sponsors for their generous support of the Blues & Americana Festival
