Sugar Ray Norcia is headlining the Burnley Blues Festival on Saturday 5th May. Tickets for the day are £35. Here's the line up for Saturday:
* Sugar Ray and the Bluetones * Hamilton Loomis * Hokie Joint (Giles King on harmonica) * The Revolutionaires * Larry Garner and the Norman Beaker Band
Had a great time, with some excellent music! * Sugar Ray and the Bluetones: as Adam said great voice and harp. Great end to the evening. * Hamilton Loomis: obviously a great musician and incredible band, but for me a bit too slick. I prefer a bit more edge. * Hokie Joint (Giles King on harmonica). Really interesting find, British punk meets folk, meets blues, will definately listen to more. * The Revolutionaires: great stage presence, good showmanship not really my thing but enjoyable. * Larry Garner and the Norman Beaker Band: great patter, enjoyable.
Overall we had a great day, will definately do again next year. Thanks for the heads up Kingly, hope you made it.
Overall I wasn't that impressed with it to be brutally honest. I thought the sound man didn't do a good job at all. He had the bass guitar and the kick drum way too high in the mix most of the time for my taste.
Sugar Ray was good but looked to be going through the motions to me, rather than really enjoying himself. That's understandable though at the end of a month long tour. I loved his chromatic playing on the vocal mic, his singing was superb, although his amplified harp was a little low in the mix for me much of the time. I'd really like to see him again at a better venue.
Hamilton Loomis was very slick, very tight band indeed. More funk driven rock than blues though.
Hokie Joint were simply the worst band I've heard in years. Full of self inflated egos and cliche ridden music. They simply bored me to death.
The Revolutionaires are very good at pleasing certain sections of the crowd, but not my thing at all.
I didn't catch Larry Garner and the Norman Beaker Band, so can't comment on them.
Overall the festival is a shadow of it's former self. Years ago there were people jamming in the lobby, bands playing in the downstairs bar, a juke joint type atmosphere in the basement and a general vibe to the whole place. Sadly those days seem to have long since passed.
Last Edited by on May 06, 2012 2:06 AM
Think we will have to agree to disagree on Hokie Joint, but I agree with a lot of your other comments. Not having been before I have nothing to compare it with. It certainly wasn't a players festival I had a pocket full of harps just in case, but there was no jamming. Agree with the mix comments, a bit too muddy.
Are there any other festivals you would recommend? Still toying with a harmonica festival locally, just a bad time at work and a family illness to contend with. Watch this space!
Last Edited by on May 06, 2012 1:25 PM
Colne blues festival used to be the event of the year. It's diminished somewhat over the years, but you can still usually find some good bands on there. Dundee blues festival was great last time I went too, although I haven't been for quite a few years. Maryport blues festival can also be pretty good. Those are the only ones I know of in the north.
The 'it's not as good as it used to be' seems to come up routinely, but we had a great time at Burnley Blues Festival. Great crowd, packed venue and plenty of atmosphere. Unfortunately we weren't able to stick around and catch other bands though, so can't comment on them.
Colne festival still has plenty to offer, even if you have to be a bit more selective. We're looking forward to a slot on the British Stage this year, and I have quite a few friends playing across the weekend that I would fully recommend.
Dundee is also a great event - we always have a blast there - totally recommend that one if you can get there. Same goes for Maryport. Newark Blues Festival is another good one in the north.
