Mike Gledhill & Friends kick off this year’s Festival.
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 Latham, Bill Dyson amongst others.
Phil and Mike met at university many moons ago. We wrote songs and played them in folk and blues clubs across the midlands. We lost touch for many years as jobs and families took centre stage. We’re back playing live now, growing older disgracefully and having a very good time.
Cry Baby and The Hoochie Coochie Boys were formed in 2008 and started
gigging in their stompin’ ground around ‘The Potteries’ Stoke-On-Trent in
May 2009.
So why ‘Cry Baby and The Hoochie Coochie Boys?’, starting with The
Hoochie Coochie Boys, the band has been heavily influenced by the Chicago Blues sound, as well as a British influence from Nine Below Zero &
Dr. Feelgood, and Hoochie Coochie Boys is a nod to the great Muddy Waters. Rob Wilkinson under pins the band with old time harmonica playing
and a wailing tone, hence the Cry Baby.
On the drive home from yet another cracking Nine Below Zero gig, Rob and
Graham Sells (Mr.G) were inspired up to put together a band that could combine the 50’s Chicago R&B sound with high energy British Blues.
During the summer of 2008 the dust settled and The Hoochie Coochie Boys
line-up was completed. Rob Wilkinson (Harmonica & Vocals), Graham Sells
(Vocals & Guitar), Vince Cutcliffe (Lead Guitar), Trevor Pinson (Bass),
Johnny ‘Fingers’ Davies (Keyboards), Andy Carr (Drums).
Over the years the band, as most bands do, have changed the line-up. Several keyboard changes over the 5 years with the position now
ably filled by “The Reverend” Mark Hargreaves. In 2013 Graham moved to
Brazil and the band reduced to a 5-piece outfit. Shortly afterwards Trevor called time on his 6 years with the band. The bass position was filled by local bass legend Chris Bevington.
The band feeds off live gigs and whilst we’ve all been around the block a few times, we ensure that we deliver a highly energized performance by limiting gigs to one or two a month, in that way we hit the stage bursting. One venue recently described us as a ‘Dance Floor Rhythm and Blues Band’ yeh that pretty much say’s it all.
The band recorded their first EP ‘Salt Glazed Blues – EP’ at Tremolo Studios in Stoke-On-Trent, mainly to help promote the band and encourage pubs and clubs to book gigs. The EP includes two original numbers written by Graham Sells; ‘Don’t Lie To Me Baby’, a riff driven blues rocker, highlighting the harp and organ, followed by a slow burner, ‘Ain’t Nothing But The Blues’, which plays homage to the likes of BB King, Howlin Wolf. Elmore James and again Muddy Waters.
Pete Cash..Stoke on Trent based country singer/guitarist
Richard was born and grew up in South Wales before travelling globally. He has dabbled in all sorts of styles but loves slide resonator guitar.
Satinder has played tabla since a young age and has recently transferred form traditional Indian music to blues and playing with Maharaja Blues.
Jonathan Browning, born and raised in the valleys of South Wales, breathes fire through his harmonica adding extra spice to the Maharaja Blues. He combines folk, rock and blues techniques to create his own distinctive style. Enamoured by the versatility of his instrument, he naturally feeds off the vibes of the other maharajas.
Steve Ajao and Stewart Johnson combine the musical influences of early country blues, invoking the sound of the Mississippi Delta juke joints. They embrace material from a wide collection of artists including Robert Johnson, Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf and many more.
John Emil, an accomplished singer/songwriter, guitarist, and a master of slide guitar, has delivered showstopping performances at major music festivals like the Telluride Blues and Brews Fest, the Lake Occonee Music Fest, the Florida and South Florida Folk Fests, and the Decatur Blues and Bluegrass Festival.
Equally adept with the acoustic Hawaiian lap steel guitar and dobro, Emil first appeared on the South Florida music scene in 2000. Fans hear haunting, subtle hints of Delta bluesmen Son House and Blind Willie Johnson, but Emil ultimately creates a unique style all his own by integrating country blues, folk, bluegrass and lush Hawaiian sounds into his repertoire.
Routinely taking the lost art of slide guitar in a new direction, Emil has composed a wealth of slide guitar tracks for media production libraries. His instrumental tracks have been published by LA Post Music in Los Angeles, Westar Music in Canada, and Strange Fruit in South Africa. Emil recently became the first American musician to be published by London’s KPM, one of the world’s largest production libraries. Among the many television and cable network shows Emil has supplied music for are “Dateline,” Anthony Bourdain’s “No Reservations,” CMT’s “Cribs,” and several international wildlife and nature documentaries.
I started way back with the Blues and have played funk, jazz, and ‘country rock – and working with C J Hillman & Adrian Gautrey on pedal steel and spending some time in Nashville, my music has drifted further into Americana.
The Bluesmakers, the former John Waterhouse blues band from North Staffs, still going strong after 30 years!
Members of The Voodoogroove get unplugged & play the Ol’ timey Country Gospel & Rockabilly Blues. Lowdown hoedown showdown music at the last chance saloon.
Genre
Rhythm n Punk
Band Members
Tim Poole – Vocals
Stu Duthie – Guitar
Phil Robinson – Bass
Chris Plimley – Drums
Cajun, Zydeco, Swamp ‘n’ Roll from the bayous of Staffordshire
“For the past 25 years Elvis Fontenot have turned traditional cajun and zydeco music, eclectic covers and original songs into their own trademark high energy Swamp’n’Roll. Expect an infectious and danceable good time.”