Northill Blues Festival 2008 Bands
Band selection for the 2008 event is now complete ! See the Programme for details of the running order this year, gate opening times, catering and children's entertainment.
Click on the links below to visit each of the band's own web sites where you will find loads of sound clips, photos and information.
3AM - First Band Booked for 2008 !
3am
are dedicated to bringing quality blues based rock to a venue near you.
Occasionally giving in to a slightly tongue-in-cheek attitude, and definitely
not taking themselves too seriously, they are very serious about playing and
writing good new music and developing the classics the more obscure the better.
Solid rhythm supplied by Andy Renton on drums and Trev Turley on bass, inspired
guitar work from Iain Black and Tim Renton, Chris Parren swiping you sideways
with his versatile keyboardsThat would be enough for most bands, but 3am tops
all that off by having Helen Turner for their singer. And does she sing!!!
Depth, range, power, emotion and never, ever, a single off-key note yeah, her
voice cracks, occasionally, and she growls, if she wants to, and sometimes she
breathes the songs at you. Its commonly known as entertaining and thats really
what 3am is all about theyll get you rocking, or smooching, but they wont leave
you unmoved.
For loads of info and to listen to some of their tracks visit their web site at http://www.3am.uk.com/
Moondogs
mOOn
Dogs is a contemporary modern blues band with a reputation for astounding
festival performances, including the recent WOMAD festival at Reading at which
they performed their eclectic blues to 20,000 fans. They also can be heard
regulary (live recordings )on The Paul Jones Show (BBC Radio 2)
Formed in London mOOn Dogs are at cult status on the live circuit for
their relentless, heady brew of blues rock & unique original songs.
The band features a seasoned line-up : Derik Timms. Guitar /Lap-steel/slide/Vocals . Eddie Masters on Bass, Graham Walker on Drums with Steve Matthews on Harmonica and Chris Leon on Keyboards. Gaining glowing reviews in the music press, the mOOn Dogs give a contemporary edge to an already well established art form.
Slide to die for ...Ashwyn Smyth Blues Matters
The feet are tapping and the head is nodding – yours will be too. David Blue netrhythms..co.uk
Gwyn Ashton
Gwyn
Ashton's solo show encompasses a unique blend of hard-edged blues, roots,
country, rock, boogie and funky grooves and rhythms, all played with dexterity
on his old National steel, lap-slide, 3-string cigar box, 12 & 6-string guitars,
mandolin, harmonica, octave pedal and stompbox.
The consummate songwriter and versatile performer draws from his 4 albums for material, sounding as big as a 3-piece band - with an impact so powerful he doesn't need the extra instrumentation. His organic songwriting and tasteful, fluid, sometimes berserk, guitaring plus 30 years as a road warrior on a mission have given him a do-or-die attitude and a goal to constantly push the boundaries of his craft.
Cherry Lee Mewis
Cherry Lee Mewis is the real deal. She’s added her own fresh
perspective to blues 'n' roots music with her album, ‘Little Girl Blue’,
a mixture of 'forgotten', obscure blues tracks, adding a raw, unplugged feel
teaming up with multi-faceted guitarist
Max Milligan and
producer and former Argent singer,
John Verity.
Both Max and John's wealth of experience work brilliantly with Cherry’s fresh
approach. Resulting in a mix of warm, vintage, gut-bucket blues with rootsy
sparse guitar style, covering songs by Memphis Minnnie, Robert Johnson
and Jeff Buckley, these 20's blues numbers have still been left in their
original, impassioned state, at the same time leaving Cherry's fingerprints on
them.
Visit Cherry's Youtube & Myspace pages here!
John Crampton
John Crampton was born in London. He is self
taught on the guitar and harmonica. John Started out as a solo performer 13
years ago creating a very big and powerful sound of hard hitting and very
danceable uptempo blues and bluegrass. John plays slide or bottleneck style on a
1930’s National steel guitar with harmonica and thumping his foot on foot box to
provide a driving rhythm. John plays mostly his own songs.
His influences are Howlin' Wolf, Bukka White, John Hammond and early John Lee
Hooker.
Recently played in Australia, New Zealand, Florida,
Greece, Ireland, Norway, Germany, Switzerland, Canada, Czech Republic, Poland,
France and Slovakia.
Visit John's web site at www.johncrampton.co.uk
NEW! http://www.youtube.com/johncramptonmusic http://www.myspace.com/johncramptonmusic
Paul Garner
Paul grew up in New Zealand, where he has had plenty of time and opportunity to develop his impressive guitar skills and a unique take on the roots music he grew up with. Since relocating to London, Paul has quickly become a 'first-call' guitarist for a growing number of blues acts in the capital, thanks to his exemplary skill, feel and tone.
The Paul Garner Band is a four-piece ensemble featuring Hammond organ and double bass. They put out a gritty, funky sound to back Paul's intelligent and cliché-free original blues songs. Individually and collectively the band exhibit the highest standards of musicianship, and are one of the few groups on the scene today with the talent and vision to push the blues into new territory while maintaining a strong connection with the roots.
Visit : http://www.paul-garner.com/ and www.myspace.com/paulgarner
Please note the bands and programme are subject to change without notice.
PA and sound equipment for the event provided by JAP Sound Hire, Bedford - www.pahire.org
Security by Equinox http://www.equinoxsecurity.com/index.htm
HELP PROMOTE THE EVENT : DOWNLOAD AND PRINT THE 2008 POSTER BY CLICKING ON THE IMAGE BELOW
OR EMAIL A FRIEND WITH THE WEB SITE ADDRESS : www.northill-blues.org
For a reminder of the 2006 event with photos and feedback Click Here