Features

As you'll probably know the town of Ipswich has a big blues heritage. Thanks to promoters Ron and Nanda Lesley bringing virtually all the top British blues-based bands to town in the sixties, Ipswich is steeped in the genre and over the past 40 years has produced many fine blues combos of its own.

There are far too many to list here but names like The Peter Croft Blues Band, The Lacey Street Blues Band, The Mean Red Spiders, The Shaboogamoo Shufflers, Swagger and Built For Comfort immediately spring to mind.

It's called a mini-fest but looking at the line-up for 2007 the only small bits about it are the price of tickets and the cost of drinks at the bar! It's fitting that the event takes place at what was the old Baths Hall. The aforementioned Ron and Nanda put many a show on there, the most famous being Led Zeppelin's visit in 1971.

As before when the bash was held at the Suffolk County Council Social Club in Rope Walk (what memories) BBC Radio Suffolk will be recording the proceedings and highlights will go out on my Drivetime show. The Staff Club is just over the road from Broadcasting House and I can safely say, without actually having the festival at our studios, we couldn't get any closer to home!

Earlier this year Ramon along with his bass playing brother Joe and drummer Ed Vans recorded a session at BBC Radio Suffolk treating the Drivetime audience to traditional blues with a modern twist. Get along to www.ramongoose.com  to find out more.

At 8pm it's the turn of another young three piece The Oli Brown Band.  They're based in Norfolk and recently did a session for Paul Jones on Radio Two as well as one for BBC Radio Suffolk.

17 year old Oli is quite simply one of the most exciting guitarists to emerge on the blues-rock scene for quite some time. You don’t get invited to jam with John Mayall's Bluesbreakers and Otis Grand unless you can cut the mustard and I hear Oli's band have been asked to support Walter Trout on his forthcoming tour.

There was a big feature on Oli in a recent edition of Blues Matters so his star is shining very brightly at present.

No British band can shuffle like this lot and I do believe they're getting better and better. These days Steve Jinks, a stalwart of the Norwich music scene, plays bass for them and with drummer Dave Sparrow back in the ranks we're in for quite a night. Their latest album "7" is their best yet and sees them combine originals with one or two blues chestnuts. Their website is worth a visit.

Next up at 10pm will be one of London's hardest working blues bands Texas Thunder. They're fronted by guitarist Terry Wisbey and as their name suggests are influenced by much of the wonderful blues to have come out of the Lone Star State.

They draw heavily on the influences of contemporary blues artists such as Stevie Ray Vaughan, Larry Garner and The Fabulous Thunderbirds as well as the legacy of legendary blues icons like Freddie, Albert & BB King, Howlin' Wolf and Junior Wells.

During the 10 years the band have been on the road they have built a great reputation for their energetic live performances and great music. With more than 750 gigs under their belts in pubs, clubs and festivals all over the UK and Ireland, their live performances are characterised by blazing guitar riffs and a scorching blend of covers and originals. Texas Thunder have recorded two albums, ‘Lonesome Highway’ released in 1997 and ‘Bolt from the Blues’ issued in May 2003.

Rounding off what promises to be a tremendous night of blues will be The Back Porch Band who take to the stage at 11pm. They originally got together as a bit of fun and opened the very first blues mini-fest. They went down really well and have been going down a storm ever since.

Fronted by Mike Rushmore and featuring harmonica king Steve Graham in their ranks they have carved out a nice little niche for themselves. They spotted a gap in the market for acoustic blues played with a sense of fun and adventure and the success of the venture has enabled them to make two albums, both at Gemini's second studio in Ipswich.

Former rock musicians Jon Miller and Washboard Dik are clearly in their element playing the blues and with 12 String Tony growing in stature on rhythm guitar it's fair to say they're at the peak of their powers. They'll no doubt be playing material from the aptly titled CD "More Beer Than Gear".

So what a night in prospect. You can buy tickets in advance from the Staff Club and BBC Radio Suffolk reception. If you're already a Staff Club member they'll be £5. If not they're £6 but the extra £1 will get you a month's free membership. Any tickets left on the night will be £6 members/£7 non-members. See you there..it really would be rude not to!