Storm Warning

Saturday Evening - Crow's Nest Inn, 11 Ulwell Road, Swanage BH19 1LE (01929 422651)

A solid and hard working blues-based outfit with some very contemporary and original numbers, featuring bass, drums, guitar, harmonica, piano and organ.

They have played many festivals and been guests on Paul Jones’ Radio 2 show.

Storm Warning is a band of five diverse influences that happen to make distinctive, exciting music.

The blues are the heart of the sound, but the blues is a form that changes its shape and character to suit whoever is playing it.

So, like all musicians who take their blues seriously, Storm Warning has a unique sound, but one that seems to have a wide appeal.

NEWS! Storm Warning will be playing at RAWA Blues Festival in Poland  on 6th October 2007 - “the biggest indoor blues festival in the world”.

The Hightown Crows

Friday Evening - Anchor Inn, 30 High Street, Swanage BH19 2NU (01929 423020)

Unmissable!

Rolling in from the Purbeck Hills are the rockabilly barons of Dorset, The Hightown Crows.  Don’t be fooled by their country gentlemen names: Hinton Admiral guitar, Rufus Stone on stand-up bass, and Emery Down, whose curious but highly effective panoply of percussive instruments fits into one suitcase.

These guys may emanate from the blue-rinse bone yard of the south coast, but they generate wild, high-octane, quality entertainment – Blues To Make You Sweat – and  deserve their titles “The Shamen of Shake” and “The Witchdoctors of Boogaloo”. Unmissable!

John Crampton

Friday Evening - Purbeck Pub, 19 High Street, Swanage BH19 2LP (01929 425160)

Saturday Afternoon - guest appearance, time TBA - Kings Bar, 2-4 Kings Road East, Swanage BH19 1ES (01929 424431)

Saturday Evening - Purbeck Pub, 19 High Street, Swanage BH19 2LP (01929 425160)

Wow! A one-man blues explosion with a big, powerful sound of hard-hitting and danceable up-tempo blues. John plays slide or bottleneck style on a 1930s National Steel Guitar with fantastic harmonica and thumping stomp box to provide a driving rhythm. If you like John's influences - Howlin' Wolf, Bukka White, John Lee Hooker and Ry Cooder - you'll really enjoy John!

He has recently played in Florida, Greece, Ireland, Norway, Germany, Switzerland, Canada, Czech Republic, Poland, France and Slovakia.

Sonny Black

Friday Evening - Moonlight Bistro (reservations 01929 475615) (no smoking)

Saturday Afternoon - guest appearance, time TBA - Kings Bar, 2-4 Kings Road East, Swanage BH19 1ES (01929 424431)

Saturday Evening - Moonlight Bistro (reservations 01929 475615) (no smoking)

In concert he performs a variety of intimate, soulful acoustic and slide guitar instrumentals with influences from Blues and World Music, Soul and Jazz.

Sonny's  CD “heart and soul” met with critical acclaim from US major publications Living Blues and Blues Review), and was made album of the year  by the UK's Blues In Britain magazine. His albums, including the new acoustic release “The Corner Seat” on Free Spirit Records, receive radio play on Jazz FM, BBC Radio 2 and many commercial stations throughout the UK. Live sessions on The Paul Jones and Johnnie Walker Shows help to reach a wider audience.

The readers of Blues in Britain magazine voted Sonny Black their guitarist of the year in 2002.

Recent performances have included The Brecon Jazz Festival (Wales), Bardies Blues Festival (France), Farnham Blues Festival, Crawley Acoustic Festival as well as regular appearances at clubs and arts centres. 

“If the blues is indeed a feeling, then Sonny Black's guitar conveys that feeling better than most.” Blues Review-USA

"Heart and Soul - the Blueprint album of the year" - Fran Leslie Editor Blueprint Magazine

"An outstanding artist." Paul Jones, BBC Radio 2

 “A Sonny Black performance takes you from the Delta to the borders of jazz and back again” Blues On Stage

“A quiet treasure…relaxed, uplifting almost spiritual” Blues Review USA

 "There is no one to touch him in this country for wringing true emotion out of his instrument. His technical mastery of acoustic and electric instruments is complete...he possesses that quality that can only be called blues soul." Blues In Britain

 “One of the most inspired, thinking guitarists in the UK”. Red Lick Records

Hollow Bone

Friday Evening - Royal Oak, 417 High Street, Swanage BH19 2NR (01929 422498)

Saturday Afternoon - guest appearance, time TBA - Kings Bar, 2-4 Kings Road East, Swanage BH19 1ES (01929 424431)

Saturday Evening - Anchor Inn, 30 High Street, Swanage BH19 2NU (01929 423020)

"Incredible... amazing. The hit of the festival" - BLUES IN BRITAIN

Yanu Zsigo's warm and powerful voice breathes life to lyrics while he pounds out rhythms on his stomping bass drum and syncopated high hat, before introducing rhythm guitar, bass or more percussion. Add to this powerhouse, Damien Cheung's driving riffs and soaring lead guitar which crackle with energy and what have you got?

A rousing blend of fresh and exciting versions of traditional Blues plus brilliant original material guaranteed to raise your spirits and make you feel glad you made it!

Nigel Bagge & Eddie Armer

Friday Evening - Red Lion, 63 High Street, Swanage BH19 2LY (01929 423533)

"Smoky vocals, beautiful guitar, and the harmonica caresses your ears like silk" - DIGITAL BLUES

Bagge & Armer play a varied mix of acoustic and electric blues based songs - from traditional to contemporary, from sad and soulful to goodtime and rocking - featuring the smoky vocals and passionate guitar of Nigel Bagge interwoven with the amazing harmonica wizardry of Eddie Armer.

Nigel’s sensitive acoustic guitar style and soaring electric guitar has led to working with performers such as legendary blues heroes Chris Farlowe, Peter Green, Miller Anderson and Chicago blues diva Angela Brown. He was the original guitarist in Nicky Moore’s  Blues Corporation. Now Nigel fronts his own band and duo, as well as playing with Duck Soup and The Desperate Dan Band.

Eddie Armer, former frontman with The Lonnigans, was chosen by Carlo Little (Rolling Stones original drummer) to take the place of the late Cyril Davies on harmonica, when he reformed the Allstars with surviving original members. Recording credits include Pete Seeger, Odetta, the late Long John Baldry, Jeff Beck and Ronnie Wood.

Pete Smith with Chris Williams

Friday Evening - Crow's Nest Inn, 11 Ulwell Road, Swanage BH19 1LE (01929 422651)

Saturday Afternoon - guest appearance, time TBA - Kings Bar, 2-4 Kings Road East, Swanage BH19 1ES (01929 424431)

Saturday Evening - Red Lion, 63 High Street, Swanage BH19 2LY (01929 423533)

"Some of the finest acoustic guitar playing in years. Competence, humour, and sheer musicality abound.” -  MINOR7.COM

Blend together thumb-picking-gypsy-bluegrass-blues and the most amazing classical and jazz techniques, and what have you got? An acoustic duo that simmers and sizzles, accomplishing more on two guitars than some big band orchestras. They're hot!

We are most privileged to have Pete Smith at the festival since, apart from being an excellent entertainer, he is in great demand as UK clinician and demonstrator of the world-famous Taylor Guitars. A must for all aspiring guitarists.

Pete Harris & Jim Tigwell

Saturday Evening - Black Swan, 159 High Street, Swanage BH19 2NE (01929 422761)

"To find a better blues guitarist than Pete Harris you would probably have to go to Chicago" - SOUTHAMPTON BLUES SOCIETY

Jim Tigwell is "fiery and fluent" - DAVE FRANCIS

PETE HARRIS (vocals, guitar) has performed on stage with many American blues artistes, notably Phil Guy, (brother of Buddy Guy), Lowell Fulson, Tabby Thomas, Gene 'Mighty Flea' Connors, Mojo Buford (ex Muddy Waters Band), Byther Smith, Carrie and Lurrie Bell and Jerry McCain. He has appeared on BBC Television and many times on local and national radio.

JIM TIGWELL (vocals, guitar) Jim has been playing guitar and singing for around 35 years, starting in the folk clubs around Bristol, influenced by the likes of Bert Jansch, Brownie McGhee, Blind Blake, Jerry Reed and electric players such as James Burton and BB King.

A guitar teacher for nearly 30 years, Jim also runs a number of workshops, including a songwriting and performance workshop which is run for children, adults and special needs in a variety of different situations, and a fingerstyle guitar workshop which is popular at festivals.

Steve Darrington Band

"Compelling. Catch him if you can" - BLUES IN BRITAIN

Festival Organiser Steve Darrington was the house pianist and harmonica player at the legendary Blues Loft at the Nags Head, High Wycombe in the 60s and 70s when it played host to many visiting American Bluesmen and rock bands.

For over 40 years he has played piano for artists as diverse as Lonnie Donegan, Marty Wilde, Don Everly, Albert Lee, Brewers Droop, Roxon Roadshow, The Boogie Band, Arthur ‘Big Boy’ Crudup, The Mighty Flea, Billy Boy Arnold, and on over 50 albums.