CLICK ON TITLE BELOW TO GO TO PURCHASE!!!! CD submissions accepted! Guest writers always welcome!!

I started a quest to find terrific blues music and incredible musicianship when I was just a little kid. I also have a tremendous appreciation of fine musical instruments and equipment. One of my greatest joys all of my life was sharing my finds with my friends. I'm now publishing my journey. I hope that you come along!


Please email me at Info@Bmansbluesreport.com

Friday, February 20, 2015

RCA artist D'Angelo and the Vanguard - Black Messiah - New Release Review

I received multiple copies of this release for my birthday this year from friends and family that knew that I regard D'Angelo so highly. Well, it was worth the wait! This new release, Black Messiah is spectacular! Opening with Ain't That Easy, an extremely contagious R&B track with D'Angelo's trademark syncopation this track is off the hook. An instant radio track and great groove. 1000 Deaths is a heavy impact track with ministerial vocal delivery (excerpt fromThe Murder of Fred Hampton) and plucked bass riffs over sub bass rudiments and multiple timed bass. Incredible! I have listened to this CD so many times and this track continues to blow me away. Put it in your car and listen to it drive your car crazy. This insane groove finally forms to a classic D'Angelo melody with multi vocal harmonies and over the top drum rhythms. A Eddie Hazel like guitar frenzy is created as well by Excellent! The Charade falls into more of the groove closely associated with earlier D'Angelo tracks with a beautiful bass guitar lead and simple vocal harmonies. On Sugah Daddy a simple piano riff develops into a track that is hard to get out of your head. With vocal harmonies and hand claps this track takes you for a super ride. Horns and funky rhythm guitar delivers the track but it's the groove factor here! Spanish guitar intro...yes Spanish guitar intro and quiet whispering opens Really Love one of the most beautiful compositions on the release. This is a track that will haunt you all day and night. Masterfully created, performed and delivered it excellent. Again, D'Angelo uses his strong sense of off rhythm delivery for strong impact. Warm vocal blending and a nice walking bass line sends this track over the top. I saw this track performed live and the song has so much soul that I can even remember certain motions made by D'Angelo because they were so effective that you are compelled to do it. Back To The Future (Part I) starts out very simply with D'angelo delivering with his groove but over the symphony of strings (keys) emerges a little ditty bringing to mind music from South Carolina in the 20's. Tight guitar articulation sets this track off nicely. Til It's Done (Tutu) is another of my favorites with complex timing and a sweet melody. With only dangling keyboard and twinkling guitar riffs over a bass and drum rhythm, D'Angelo delivers very effective vocals. Simply beautiful. Prayer again returns to a more basic D'Angelo groove that gets in your spine. Simple keyboard base and drums kick, this track carried almost exclusively by the artistry of D'Angelo's vocals is really strong. Another of my favorite tracks on the release is Betray My Heart. This track has quick guitar riffs and a 12 note bass line that drives the track under D'Angelo on vocals. This track blooms in jazz with brass and quick guitar underpinning. Excellent! Opened by a simple whistling melody, The Door is a bit more complex that it appears. With even a blues slide guitar riff appearing in this stripped down track of mostly percussion and hand clap, this is a real contrast to some of the heavies of parts of this release. Back To The Future (Part 2) has complex vocal intro and along the same theme as Part I continues a party groove. The final track on the release is absolutely stunning. One of the most beautiful soul tracks to hit my ears in many years, Another Life is simply off the hook. With just a taste of guitar, sitar guitar sounds and a solid groove D'Angelo lays down beautiful vocals on a beautiful melody. This is absolutely the best release I have heard this year and in a long time for that matter. Don't listen to it and try to hear VooDoo or Brown Sugar. This release is much more complex. Put it in your car and listen to it about 20 times... you will... and you may never take it out. Yes, it really is that great!

  If you support live Blues acts, up and coming Blues talents and want to learn more about Blues news and Fathers of the Blues, Like ---Bman’s Blues Report--- Facebook Page! I’m looking for great talent and trying to grow the audience for your favorites band! ”LIKE”

 

Thursday, February 19, 2015

Misty Blues - With All Due Respect - New release review

I just received the newest release, With All Due Respect, from Misty Blues and it's solid. Opening with a classic blues track / R&B classic Stagger Lee made popular by Lloyd Price, Gina Coleman on lead vocals settles in a nice groove. Benny Kohn lays down a nice key line and Jason Webster and Jeff Dudziak rip a few nice guitar riffs followed by Aaron Dean on sax. Nice! Another blues classic, Nobody Knows You When You're Down And Out, is up next and Coleman shows her vocal chords nicely. Benny Kohn really does a nice job of highlighting the piano lead on this track and modern guitar work shines. Again Aaron Dean steps up with a hot sax solo to seal the deal. 44 Blues stays true to it's roots and again Coleman's voice is well adapted to the job. The specific guitar solos aren't noted in the liner notes but there are some particularly nice guitar solos on this track. Randall Bramblett like piano solo's on this track give it a slightly more modern feel. On Taint Nobody's Biz-ness, Dean again steps up with a really hot horn solo and Kohn lays down some really nice piano lines. Coleman's vocal versatility profiles nicely over the solid bass lines of Bill Patriquin. Take This Hammer is an old school revival style track along the lines of Will The Circle Be Unbroken. Nicely done. House Of the Rising Sun follows closely the Animals version of this classic. Coleman really handles the vocals nicely with a crisp guitar solo, hot horn solo and nice organ backing. Rollin' and Tumblin' has it's classic bounce with original hollerin' style. I particularly like Kohn's key work on this track. Baby Won't You Please Come Home has a real nice easy swing to it and the guitar phrasing on the solo riffs is particularly fluid. Dean again steps up with some ultra tasty horn work floating on smooth key work from Kohn. Going Down The Road Feeling Bad has a lot of the Delaney and Bonnie feel but with a bit more rock. Along with solos from Kohn and Dean, Webster, Patriquin, Tatten, Kohn and Dudzink all contribute to the vocal harmony. Very nice. WC Handy's St. Louie Blues holds with a jazzy blues feel. Coleman stays in the lower register of her range giving the track a particular feel. Stylistic guitar riffs and light piano work contrasted to the crisp horn overlay by Dean gives this track a particularly cool feel. Wrapping the release is Down Home Blues with a feel not unlike a Jimmy Reed tune with it's easy sway. The entire gang joins in vocally and instrumentally with a summary jam. Very nice ending to a cool release.

If you support live Blues acts, up and coming Blues talents and want to learn more about Blues news and Fathers of the Blues, Like ---Bman’s Blues Report--- Facebook Page! I’m looking for great talent and trying to grow the audience for your favorites band! ”LIKE”

 

Master slide guitarist and songwriter John Campbelljohn releases 'Chin Up'

Release date: March 10, 2015  
 
 
 
Multiple award winning East Coast blues guitarist John Campbelljohn is set to release his 12th album, titled Chin Up on March 10, 2015.
 
A master slide guitarist and songwriter, Campbelljohn hails from Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia, and over the course of his four decade-long career has won or been nominated for countless music awards including Maple Blues Awards, East Coast Music Awards, Real Blues Awards, Music Nova Scotia Entertainer Of The Year, Blues Recording Of The Year & Musician Of The Year. 
 
His newest release, Chin Up features 12 original tracks covering a myriad of topics and sub-genres all highlighting Campbelljohn’s prowess as a guitarist and vocalist.  From the up-beat opening number “The Mumble Boogie” the progressive blues sounds of “Meet My Maker”, the rocking blues track “Castaway”, and the folk blues based “How Stupid Is That”, Cambelljohn proves with each song why Blues Revue Magazine deemed him a “guitar-god-in-the-making”.
 
During his career John Cambelljohn has been featured on recordings and live shows that include names like Sting, Joni Mitchell, Emmy Lou Harris, Leonard Cohen, Joe Ely, Willie Nelson, Robben Ford & Alvin Lee (Ten Years After) as well as TV productions by Sony Music Entertainment. Rich vocals and distinctive slide guitar playing has made him a favourite at music festivals in eastern Canada & Europe.
 
John Campbelljohn’s sophisticated and progressive approach to song writing gives him a distinctive edge, mixing rock, blues, reggae, Celtic & country into his signature style. The result is a sound that can pummel the audience into submission one moment, while captivating them with its subtlety the next.
 
 
 
 
@j _cambelljohn     /john.campbelljohn.7

Track List:
1. The Mumble Boogie - 3:04
2. I Got It All - 3:18
3. Meet My Maker - 3:51
4. The Poor Man Pays  - 4:15
5. Castaway - 2:26
6. Attitude - 2:32
7. How Stupid Is That  - 3:34
8. Stop Making Excuses  - 4:40
9. Sally In The Alley - 3:50
10. Fantastico Supremo - 3:57
11. Good Morning Mr. Blue Sky - 3:19
12. She’s Gone - 3:49
 
"The standard of John Campbelljohn's slide guitar playing is raised to a new record high." - Rolling Stone, Germany
 
"It is difficult to find a good slide guitarist, who stands out from the crowd - one who manages to do so is Nova Scotian John Campbelljohn." - Blues Bytes, USA
 
"John's raw singing and his truly convincing guitar, particularly the slide passages, are a feast for the ears, have real class." - Blues News Magazine, Germany
 
 

Wednesday, February 18, 2015

PEACH & the Electric Blues Band Return to WitZend






PEACH & THE ELECTRIC BLUES BAND
MAKE TRIUMPHANT RETURN TO WITZEND

Saturday, March 14 - 9:30 p.m. (1 set only)




  (Venice, CA) - Lady of the Blues/guitarist-vocalist (and) bandleader, PEACH, appearing as PEACH & the Electric Blues Band, makes her triumphant return to WitZend, 1717 Lincoln Blvd., in Venice, on Saturday, March 14. One set only at 9:30 p.m. All ages. $10. Info: (310) 702-6765. Advance tickets available at http://witzend.tunestub.com/event.cfm?id=164191&cart.




PEACH & the Electric Blues Band performing at WitZend last November.
(photo by Ed Simon)


   "(PEACH) exhibited her guitar skills along with strong singing on Stix Hooper/Will Jenning's 'Never Make Your Move To Soon' and also showcased 'It Meant Nothin' that she co-wrote with Keb' Mo', singing ever so soulfully and supported by Gospel-liker piano solo," writes L.A. Jazz Scene in a review of her  previous show at WitZend last November. "PEACH proves that nice girls CAN sing the blues," asserts Ed Simon in L.A. Beat, in a review of the blues diva's last WitZend gig. "The music seems to flow naturally out of her almost effortlessly, a natural singer (and excellent guitar player too) who kept the crowd at the WitZend transfixed. She sings without the forced 'blues inflection' that many performers add in songs just to make it bluesy. Instead, she has a crystal clear voice that was born to sing the blues," concludes Simon.

                                     About...PEACH

     PEACH is at the forefront of female-fronted blues acts performing both modern and old-time blues, with an All-Star band of musicians featuring keyboardist Ken Stange (Joe Cocker); guitarist Jamie James (Jamie James & The Kingbees, Steppenwolf); bassist Jervonny Collier (Bruce Hornsby, Pointer Sisters); and legendary drummer James Gadsen (Paul McCartney, B.B. King, Smokey Robinson, Thelma Houston, Ray Charles, Freddie King, many more). In the recent past PEACH has recorded with Taj Mahal, Marty Grebb (Bonnie Raitt, Leon Russell), Reggie McBride (Elton John), Joey Delgado (Delgado Brothers), Garth Hudson (The Band) and Paul Barrere (LIttle Feat). She has co-written with Keb' Mo' and Marty Grebb and is a past Los Angeles Music Awards, Rockwired Radio Awards, All Access Magazine Music Awards, and South Bay Music Awards recipient.

     "PEACH has done a duet with Taj Mahal, co-wrote a song with Keb' Mo' and uses her decades of experience to bring real blues to her audience. Her kind spirit and passion make for a unique blend of Blues artist." - INFLUX MAGAZINE.






                             PEACH: "Today I Sing The Blues"

                                                                   www.peach.us
                           https://www.facebook.com/PeachBluesBand?fref=ts

New Interactive JACK WHITE Video + Olivia Jean Tour Dates + Grammy Awards!

JACK WHITE PREMIERES INTERACTIVE 3-IN-1 VIDEO FOR "THAT BLACK BAT LICORICE"
VISIT JACKWHITEIII.COM 
FOR THE FULL INTERACTIVE EXPERIENCE
"THAT BLACK BAT LICORICE" 7-INCH SINGLE AVAILABLE ON THIRD MAN RECORDS
Jack White has revealed his inventive and revolutionary new 3-in-1 music video for his latest single "That Black Bat Licorice". The video offers three original films of differing themes that can be interchanged based on viewers' interaction with their computer keyboard or tablet screen. The video trio also draws from the vision of three different directors – James Blagden, Brad Holland and White himself. See below for a listing of directors and the vignettes for which they presided over. View the video at jackwhiteIII.com from a computer or tablet for the full interactive experience.
Animated video: Directed by James Blagden
Live Action video: Directed by Jack White
Headbang video: Directed by Brad Holland
Last week, Jack White and Third Man Records announced the release of the 7-inch single version of "That Black Bat Licorice" which is taken from White's GRAMMY-winning album, Lazaretto. The 7-inch also comes with the non-album B-side "Blue Light, Red Light (Someone's There)", a cover of the original Harry Connick, Jr. song. The physical 7-inch is now available for pre-order from Third Man Records. Digital formats of "That Black Bat Licorice" are available through your favorite online retailer.
For those of you who have yet to add Lazaretto to your collection, the ULTRA LP and CD are available for purchase at thirdmanstore.com/bands/jack-white. The digital version is available worldwide at iTunes.

Third Man chanteuse Olivia Jean just announced a set of new tour dates this Spring with Benjamin Booker (who, incidentally, has a phenomenal new live record out on Third Man)! The tour will kick off March 26th from First Avenue in Minneapolis, MN and continue through April 5that the 9:30 Club in Washington, DC. For a complete list of tour dates, see below. For more details, visit Olivia's website

Tour Dates with Benjamin Booker:
March 26 — Minneapolis, MN — First Avenue
March 27 — Milwaukee, WI — Turner Hall
March 28 — Chicago, IL — The Metro  
March 30 — Detroit, MI — The Magic Stick
March 31 — Toronto, ON — Lee’s Place
April 1 — Montreal, QC — La Sala Rossa
April  3 — Brooklyn, NY — Music Hall of Williamsburg
April 4 — Boston, MA — The Sinclair
April 5 — Washington, DC — 9:30 Club

Also, Olivia Jean's new single "Merry Widow" is officially available now, so pick up a copy of the vinyl 7" at thirdmanstore.com or get the MP3 version at iTunes

 
 
GRAMMY AWARDS FOR JACK WHITE AND PARAMOUNT VOLUME 1!
We are so pleased to share the good news that not only did Jack White win the Grammy Award for "Best Rock Performance" with Lazaretto, but our labor of love, The Rise and Fall of Paramount Records, Volume One (1917-27) won "Best Boxed or Special Limited Edition Package!" What a proud moment! Congratulations to Susan Archie, Dean Blackwood, and Revenant Records for joining together with us and making something truly beautiful that didn't previously exist. We're glad you didn't have anything better to do.

This past November, we released the
second volume in this two part box set. If you haven't checked it out in all its chrome, machine age, art deco beauty, head here to explore further... 

Edmonton Blues Festival on August 21, 22 & 23

 

Balkun Brothers - ReDrova - New Release Review

I just received the newest release, ReDrova, from Balkun Brothers and it is a solid blues rocker. Opening with Last Jam (Oh Yeah!) this track has the solidity of early Sabbath and the attitude of Humble Pie. Guitarist/vocalist Steve Balkun has a solid voice and really knows how to grind out the riffs supported by ace drumming by Nick Balkun and heavy bass work of Caleb Battersby. This track rips! Excellent! Next up is title track ReDrova opening with a Peter Green like riff but with a lot of southern rock heavy grit. Steve shows a lot of finesse on slide work and Nick and Caleb drive the train. Very cool! Got My Boots On takes a different direction with a lively stripped down blues rocker. One of my favorite tracks on the release, it rocks! With a lot of the flavor of the new blues rockers with simple instrumentation, this track hits it square on the head. I really like Steve's vocals and stylistic guitar work on this track. Keep Me Warm has a 12 bar format but with a country rhythm. Quick paced and with howlin' slide work and finger pickin, this track blends pure blues, country and modern country rock coming up with a different sound altogether. Cool! Bippidee Bopp (name possibly taken from the drum riff), this track gets right into the Humble Pie - Road Runner groove... you got my attention! A funky blues with great bottom and slide.... what else could a guy ask for. This track is excellent! Keep It Up has a lot of the stye of Jeff's Boogie with a quick guitar riff over a fast paced boogie drive. Throw in a few jazz chords and a walking bass line and you've got it all! Sally's Blues digs down in the mud and pulls out that dark nasty blues that we all wait for. Steve's voice adapts nicely to this more bluesy styling and his quick guitar riffs under the vocals are really sweet. Larry "Buzzy" Fallstrom adds nice piano and organ work to this track for some warmth. Steve stretches out a little on this 6 plus minute track making him one of my new found blues guitar guys who I think have great chops that need to be heard! On Fried Pickle Party, Steve hits the resonator with a real nice slide riff joined by Dave Sadloski on harp. Slidin' Butt is a primarily an acoustic sliding session with a short atmospheric interlude creating a cool tension to the hard drive of the slide work. Nicely done. Tell Me (What's On Your Mind) has a real Elmore James style and is pure blues. A pure foot stomper with Steve just tearing up the resonator on slide this track is hot! Wrapping the release is Too Damn Long, more in the hill country style and a more rudimentary style. A great blues rocker, this is a perfect track to close a diverse album deeply infused in the blues and wild with slide. Do I recommend this release?.... you bet!

  If you support live Blues acts, up and coming Blues talents and want to learn more about Blues news and Fathers of the Blues, Like ---Bman’s Blues Report--- Facebook Page! I’m looking for great talent and trying to grow the audience for your favorites band! ”LIKE”

 

Tuesday, February 17, 2015

Arlen Roth Gets His Mojo Workin' On New Album Deal with King Mojo/Garage Door Records, Due Out April 14; Acclaimed Guitarist Convenes a "Slide Guitar Summit" on Latest CD


Arlen Roth Gets His Mojo Workin’ On New Album Deal with King Mojo/Garage Door Records, Due Out April 14

Acclaimed Guitarist Convenes a Slide Guitar Summit on Latest CD, with Special Guests Johnny Winter, Sonny Landreth, David Lindley, Rick Vito, Jimmy Vivino, Jack Pearson, Lee Roy Parnell, Cindy Cashdollar and Greg Martin,
Produced by Tom Hambridge


RIDGEFIELD, CT - Guitarist Arlen Roth announces that his new CD, Slide Guitar Summit, which teams the acclaimed musician with fellow slide guitar greats Johnny Winter, Sonny Landreth, David Lindley, Rick Vito, Jimmy Vivino, Jack Pearson, Lee Roy Parnell, Cindy Cashdollar and Greg Martin, will be released April 14 under the terms of a new deal signed with King Mojo/Garage Door Records, distributed nationally by Burnside Distribution. Slide Guitar Summit was produced by Grammy-winner Tom Hambridge, and recorded at studios in New York, Nashville and Connecticut.
Called “The Master of the Telecaster,” Arlen Roth recently celebrated the upcoming release of Slide Guitar Summit with a special show at the City Winery in Nashville, where he was joined onstage by album participants Rick Vito, Jack Pearson, Lee Roy Parnell and Greg Martin for an amazing night of music. Fans that night were also treated to an advance screening of the one-hour film, Glass, Brass and Steel: The Making of Arlen Roth's Slide Guitar Summit Album.

“This Slide Guitar Summit album was a longtime dream come true for me,” recalls Arlen Roth about the recording sessions. “It's like a group of old friends getting together for a great time that is rooted in our serious and mutual love for what we do.”

Recording with the late Johnny Winter was also special for Roth, since it turned out be Winter’s last session before he passed away in 2014. “Getting to work with the legendary Johnny Winter was such an incredible feeling, and it got the album totally off on the right foot,” says Roth. “It was hard to believe that I was sitting there playing ‘Rocket 88’ with him, when I could remember being 16 years old and watching Johnny from the very front at Woodstock in 1969....this album is of course, dedicated to this slide and blues guitar master who always served to inspire us all.”

Roth has fond memories of all the tracking sessions. “Each player brought something unique to this project and the interaction between me and them is what I was looking for in making each track truly unique” he says. “And Tom Hambridge and I go way back together as musicians and as friends, so I was really happy to be able to see this great producer lend his magic touch to this project. I also loved how so many of the artists came in with some very strong choices for the songs for us to do, and how we got to pay tribute to many of the great slide players before us such as Lowell George, Elmore James and Duane Allman. I suppose the thing about this album that intrigues me the most is how with the common thread of slide guitar we were all able to touch upon so many styles, emotions, traditions and also break new ground at the same time!”

Guitar legend Arlen Roth is considered one of the most influential guitarists of all time, and during the course of his 45-year-career has toured the world and recorded with an amazing list of artists, including Simon and Garfunkel, Bob Dylan, John Prine, Phoebe Snow, Levon Helm, Ry Cooder, Eric Andersen, Dusty Springfield, Janis Ian and The Bee Gees, among others. His teaching and creation of the Hot Licks Video pioneered music and guitar education all over the world, with his videos having sold in excess of 2.5 million copies. His current online lessons and blogs for Gibson.com have over 1 million followers. Arlen was also the man behind the legendary blues film, Crossroads, creating the guitar parts, directing the guitar scenes and working alongside fellow guitarist Ry Cooder and actor Ralph Macchio during the film’s production. He was voted in the “Top 50 Acoustic Guitarists of All-Time” by Gibson.com and in the “Top 100 Most Influential Guitarists of All-Time” by Vintage Guitar Magazine. He has eight best-selling books to his credit, and his book, Hot Guitar, is a compilation of 10 years of his wildly popular column for Guitar Player Magazine.

Roth’s first album Guitarist, won the Montreux Critics Award for “Best Instrumental Album of the Year” in 1978, and his last album, All Tricked Out!, garnered four Grammy nominations. His new Slide Guitar Summit CD is similar in approach to his classic and legendary album, Toolin’ Around (1993), which featured duets with guitar greats such as Danny Gatton, Duane Eddy, Brian Setzer, Duke Robillard, Albert Lee, Sam Bush and Jerry Douglas, and which also became a film documentary. He followed up that album with Toolin’ Around Woodstock, with Levon Helm, Sonny Landreth and Bill Kirchen.
Arlen Roth continues to record and tour all over the world. His current band, The Cordobas, features Eddie Denise on bass, Shannon Ford on drums and Chris Foley on second guitar. His daughter, Lexie Roth, also sings with the band, and has become a superb recording artist, vocalist and songwriter in her own right, with many credits to her name, such as singing on the recent Les Paul tribute album (she sang "Vaya Con Dios”), plus singing the blues classic, “Night Life,” on the album with Levon Helm.

With songs that cover multiple genres of music, Slide Guitar Summit promises to reach a wide ranging audience of fans and promises to be one of the most celebrated albums of the year.

Arlen Roth is also the founder and CEO of the “International Guitar Hall of Fame and Museum,” which has been a long-time dream for him to create.

To download a hi-res color photo of Arlen Roth (photo credit: Diana), click here:

Passenger, Joan Armatrading, Frank Turner, Joan Baez / Cambridge Folk Festival - First names announced



CAMBRIDGE FOLK FESTIVAL 2015 - FIRST NAMES ANNOUNCED
“For sheer class and integrity, it can’t be beaten.” THE INDEPENDENT
Joan Baez (Sat), Passenger (Sun), Frank Turner (Fri), Joan Armatrading (Sun) John Butler Trio (Sat), Nick Mulvey (Fri), Wilko Johnson (Fri) The Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain (Sun), The Unthanks (Sat) Show of Hands (Sat & Sun), Katzenjammer(Thurs), Altan (Fri) Treacherous Orchestra (Sat), DanĂș (Sun), Shooglenifty (Sat & Sun) Martin Simpson, Andy Cutting & Nancy Kerr (Sun), Peggy Seeger (Fri) Bella Hardy (Sun), Amsterdam Klezmer Band (Fri), The Lone Bellow (Sat & Sun) Chris Smither (Fri), Angaleena Presley (Fri), Josienne Clarke & Ben Walker (Thur & Fri) Jim Moray’s Silent Ceilidh (Sat), Keston Cobblers Club (Sun) The Stray Birds (Sat &Sun),Rura (Fri & Sat), Goitse (Sat & Sun) De Temps Antan (Days tbc), Lynched (Thurs)


WATCH A VIDEO TRAILER FOR THIS YEAR'S FESTIVAL BELOW








An eclectic range of performances will include: legendary folk singer and activist Joan Baez, in her only UK appearance for 2015; international chart-topper Passenger, progressing from his 2011 debut on emerging talent stage The Den in its inaugural year to headlining Stage 1; a special solo appearance from hugely popular folk/punk singer songwriter Frank Turner, to coincide with the release of his book; the incomparable Joan Armatrading, accompanying herself on guitar and piano as part of her first ever worldwide solo tour; a welcome return for acclaimed Australian roots band John Butler Trio; Mercury Prize nominated Nick Mulvey, originally from Cambridge, garnering rave reviews and sell-out audiences worldwide for his fresh, hypnotic take on the acoustic singer-songwriter genre; a return to the city that gave him life-saving treatment for renowned rock and R&B guitarist Wilko Johnson, with crack touring band of Blockheads’ bassist Norman Watt-Roy and drummer Dylan Howe; irresistible entertainment juggernaut The Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain, celebrating 30 plucking years; Northumberland’s The Unthanks, breaking new ground with their complex combination of traditional stories and modern sonic arrangements; leading lights of the folk scene for over two decades, Show of Hands, featuring Miranda Sykes; Norwegian alt-folk-country-rock mavericks Katzenjammer, famed for their genre-mixing, riotous shows; venerable Irish traditional band Altan, re-energised by their new Appalachian-influenced CD; thrilling folk big band Treacherous Orchestra, with a rousing blend of rock and traditional Celtic sounds; one of Ireland’s leading traditional bands DanĂș, celebrating their 20th anniversary; Scots acid croft pioneers Shooglenifty, fusing exquisite traditional sounding tunes to devilishly dirty rhythms in their silver anniversary year; three of Britain’s finest folk musicians and interpreters, each vituosos in their own right, Martin Simpson, Andy Cutting & Nancy Kerr; doyenne of American folkPeggy Seeger, who played first ever Festival; BBC Folk Singer of the Year 2014 Bella Hardy, showcasing an innovative new sound from her ‘With The Dawn’ album; seven-pieceAmsterdam Klezmer Band, mixing klezmer, balkan, ska, jazz, gypsy and hiphop; fast-rising US alt-country band with a dazzling live reputation The Lone Bellow; highly respected American folk/blues singer songwriter and guitarist Chris Smither; Kentucky’sAngaleena Presley (also a member of Pistol Annies), impressing with her modern and powerful country songs about contemporary American rural life; BBC Folk Award nomineesJosienne Clarke & Ben Walker, ingeniously combining original and traditional songs with stunning musicality and skill; back by popular demand Jim Moray’s Silent Ceilidh; joyous five-piece Keston Cobblers Club with their foot-stamping mod-folk music; sensational close harmony American folk and bluegrass trio The Stray Birds; one of the hottest young bands on the Scottish traditional music scene Rura; contagiously energetic Irish quintetGoitse, winners of Live Ireland’s Trad Group of the Year 2015 Award; French Canadian trioDe Temps Antan, multi-instrumentalists exploring the magnificent traditional music of Quebec; Dublin four-piece Lynched, with their anarchic, punk-influenced take on traditional Irish ballads. More names to be announced.



Joan Baez



Frank Turner



Joan Armatrading



Passenger



Having started life in 1965, the 14,000 capacity Festival draws acclaim for its combination of internationally renowned headline artists and support for up and coming young performers and continues to enjoy sell-out crowds year on year.

Popular for its unique parkland setting, great facilities and family friendliness, the Festival offers something for everyone with four covered stages, street theatre, music workshops and sessions, raucous ceilidhs, open stages, a youth area, internet cafĂ©, kids’ ceilidh, storytelling, free creche, paddling pool and playground, real ale bars.

In 2014 Cambridge Folk Festival won the highest possible environmental honour at the Greener Festival Awards, becoming one of only nine festivals worldwide and one of only two in the UK to achieve the Outstanding category.

Tickets: Full Festival £150; Thursday £25.50; Friday £55.50; Saturday £65.50; Sunday £65.50. Camping: (Full Festival tickets only, per 2-3 berth tent) Cherry Hinton £61.50, Coldham’s Common (second site) £42.50.  All ticket prices include booking fees.
Facebook / Twitter / Snapchat: camfolkfest

Box Office 01223 357851 or 
www.cambridgefolkfestival.co.uk
Cambridge Folk Festival is promoted by Cambridge Live with support from Cambridge City Council