Tenby Blues Festival, now in its third successful year, keeps on getting better and better, with demand for tickets higher than ever for the celebration of the blues from Friday, November 14th to Sunday the 16th.
Not surprising really, when the headliners for concerts at the main festival venue — the De Valence Chevron stage, on Friday and Saturday night — are renowned American blues stars Eugene Hideaway Bridges and Sherman Robertson.
Sherman Robertson (the guitarist on Paul Simon’s acclaimed Graceland album) always delivers a rocking show steeped in swamp blues and Zydeco, while Eugene Hideaway Bridges plays guitar like BB King and sings like Sam Cooke.
He is an official blues legend, coming from a family steeped in musical tradition. A nomadic musician, Eugene lives his life on the road and he is sure to get a warm welcome in Tenby.
Sherman and Eugene make for an unmissable pairing of exciting, soulful blues.
The second venue, a few yards along Tenby’s Frog Street, is the town’s Rugby Club — home of the FBM acoustic stage — for evening and lunchtime concerts, featuring acts as such as Big Mamma’s Door, the Jay Tamkin Band and Ted Crook’s Blues Highway.
Other acts scheduled to appear on Friday and Saturday include stars of the 2007 festival, The Oli Brown Band and the marvellous Spikedrivers, plus many exciting newcomers such as Dom Newton, Sean Taylor, and Abie Budgen.
Oli Brown was only 16 in 2006 but had already made two tours of the US, supporting Blues royalty such as John Mayall, Koko Taylor and Buddy Guy. His performance at the festival is one not to be missed.
The festival finale on Sunday begins with a lunchtime gig at the De Valence, when the hard rocking Sean Webster Band will be supported by the UK’s leading slide guitarist and former member of Paul Lamb’s Kingsnakes, Johnny Dickinson.
The evening ends with a free gig at the Lifeboat Tavern featuring The Hawks, the new band fronted by festival president Pat Grover, who has been a legend on the UK blues circuit since the 1960s when he regularly supported visiting US blues stars.
Don’t forget the unique and free pub ‘n’ club blues trail that has been carefully programmed so fans can spend the whole of Saturday wandering around Tenby enjoying marvellous Welsh blues acts such as the Hoochie Coochie Blues Band, the Mean Mistreaters, Christopher Rees, Hideaway and many more.
For those who are still fresh and like late night Blues, the Brains’ sessions at the Giltar Hotel on Friday and Saturday night promise to be just the ticket.
From midnight on both evenings many of the festival’s stars will be relaxing, and performing once more in a more intimate setting.
Individual tickets are available for all events, priced from £5 to £15, from the De Valence box office on 01834 843568, as well as weekend tickets, priced £50.
Visit the website www.tenbyblues.co.uk for more information, including full performance times, ticket prices, travel information and accommodation details.
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