Mike Gledhill & JR Mountford entertain the Wednesday Market shopping crowd with good old fashioned acoustic Blues & Americana, fuelled by Joules.
a fun evening to test your blues /rock knowledge specially themed this year’s Festival
Local talent from across the Staffordshire Moorlands help to kick off this year’s Festival with an evening of acoustic music from across the genres.
Jimmy and the boys guarantee a great night of blues/rock classics on their home turf, featuring the incredibly talented Jordan Swann – one to watch for the future !
Maharaja Blues is the culmination of the flow of three talented rivers, Richard, Jonathan and Satinder as they merge with the great Mississippi, fusing the sound of the beating tabla with the euphoric slide blues and the fire of the harmonica.
United by a love of all styles of blues from the 1950s onwards, Mat (Vocals/Harmonica) and Paolo (Guitar/Vocals) play a diverse, dynamic set illustrating all shades of blues and allowing each others’ instrumental, vocal and improvisational qualities to shine.
Bill makes a long awaited return with his all new electric line-up, after concentrating on solo acoustic gigs in recent years’. . .Bill, Pete Latham, Al Bruce, Andy Yates and special guests….
Three experienced musicians with a passion for live performance, have come together to form Blackmoon Lake. Playing covers of music by: Led Zeppelin, The Doors, John Mayer, Joe Bonamassa, Cream, Peter Green, John Mayall, S.R.V., Pink Floyd ……
What’s not to like?
The Bluesmakers, the former John Waterhouse blues band from North Staffs, still going strong after 30 years!
JAXHILL are Mike Gledhill (guitar, resonator and vocals) and Phil Jackson (harmonicas and vocals). We play acoustic blues, americana and our own songs in blues clubs, folk clubs, acoustic nights and anywhere that we can have a good time and the audience can go home happy! Our influences are Robert Johnson, Son House,Little Walter, Muddy Waters, Paul Butterfield, Ry Cooper,60s-70s songwriters, Sonny Terry,Brownie McGhee, Miles Davis and Charles Mingus. We host a monthly acoustic night at The Cock Inn, Leek and play gigs across The Midlands to infinity and beyond!
Swamp Dog Millionaires, Louisiana funk blues from the Mersey bayou. Featuring Kenny Roberts, Gaz Gaskell, Tom Maguire and Mark Dagnall.
veni, vidi, lusi
A familiar face on the local blues scene for the past few years, Mike brings acoustic blues to his old stomping ground of the Cock Inn.
The guys who added the Americana into the first Leek Blues Festival and have been a permanent fixture ever since !!
Cajun, Zydeco, Swamp ‘n’ Roll from the bayous of Staffordshire
Formed in the dim and distant past of 1993, in Stoke-on-Trent, Elvis Fontenot have evolved to become the premier European swamp’n’roll outfit that they are today
Lineup is Nick Barber (Accordion/Vocals/
Firm Festival Favourites
TBC
Mike Gledhill & friends entertain the Wednesday Market shopping crowd with good old fashioned acoustic Blues & Americana, fuelled by Joules.
Local talent from across the Staffordshire Moorlands help to kick off this year’s Festival with an evening of acoustic music from across the genres.
TBC
Lo- Fi Rock n Soul & Rockabilly fueled with energy!!
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.”
Singer-songwriter Benjamin Bassford is a dynamic and versatile artist whose retertoire spans Blues, Roots, Folk and Country. While tipping his hat to the greats, Benjamin brings his own cards to the table to create a unique and innovative style.
Liam Ward is one of the UK’s most respected harmonica players. He is a winner of the National Harmonica League Player of the Year, and fronts his own band, The Liam Ward Band, as well as playing with the Rumblestrutters and The Jake Leg Jug Band among others.
‘Benjamin has certainly put himself up there with the best’ – Blues Matters Magazine
‘Liam Ward is a great harmonica player!’ – Paul Jones, BBC Radio 2
Ged Wilson is now well established on the British blues scene. He has toured the nation and has three albums under his belt. With much radio airplay and favourable reviews Ged is now starting to make his mark.
The Bluesmakers, the former John Waterhouse blues band from North Staffs, still going strong after 30 years!
Lawson Vallery:
Lawson Vallery sure has come a long way since taking guitar lessons from Roy Orbison. He grew up in the Texas oil fields listening to WSM radio broadcasting songs from the Grand Old Opry about cowboys, broken hearts and trains. At 15 years old he quit school and took to the sea as a sailor, and worked as cook on an oil tanker. At the age of 17 he entered the military, and after three years as a soldier, he returned to civilian life in the south of Louisiana and worked as a welder in the oil industry. It was the oil industry that led Lawson to Stavanger and Norway, as project co-ordinator for the construction of two offshore platforms. Poetry and music have always been a passion, but one he kept in his back pocket until just a few years ago. In 2011 he published a collection of poems and lyrics in his book, From The Heart. Regular work with his band has led Lawson Vallery to being commissioned to perform for the US embassy in Norway, as well as the 4th of July festival. Lawson was also one of the vocalists at the All-Star event that paid tribute to his friend Kris Kristofferson in Oslo. Lawson Vallery Band is made up of first class musicians, people who have worked with acts like Mercury Motors, Grenseland, Kenny Loggins, Joe Sun, Paul McCartney and Casino Steel. The album “TEXIANA” was released to great reviews in June 2018.
Lawson Vallery Band:
Lawson Vallery – vocals
Tone Stojka – guitar, pedal-steel
Erik Nielsen – harmonica
Thor-Erik Molstad Johansen – bass, vocals
Tracee Meyn – vocals
Øyvind Hansen – drums