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Dom
Martin is a Belfast born multi award winning artist who burst
onto the music scene in 2019
with a unique guitar style and voice, captivating audiences
everywhere.
BBC Radio 2 presenter Cerys Matthews - “Absolutely wonderful
stuff” Classic Rock Magazine - "The Belfast guitarist is a
sprawling talent" Walter Trout - "Dom Martin is amazing! A
unique, genuine, vital artist"
makingascene.org - "The likes of Dom’s talent only comes around
once in a lifetime"
Blues in Britain Magazine - "Now and again you stumble across a
rare talent of such sheer genius that you actually wonder
whether what you have witnessed can possibly be for real. Dom
Martin is one such talent"
Music-News.Com - "Dom Martin is an absolutely fabulous
performer"
Rock & Blues Muse - "It’s obvious that Dom Martin is the next
rising star in the global roots scene. Jump aboard now before he
passes you by"
AWARDS
Instrumentalist of The Year - 2023 UK Blues Awards
Instrumentalist of The Year - 2022 UK Blues Awards
(Inducted into the UK Blues Hall of Fame for his third
successive Acoustic Award) Acoustic Act of The Year - 2022 UK
Blues Awards
Acoustic Act of The Year - 2021 UK Blues Awards Acoustic Act of
The Year - 2020 UK Blues Awards Best Solo/Acoustic Act -
European Blues Awards 2019
Dom is fairly unique in that he is an extremely talented multi
award winning performer both as a solo acoustic act (Dom Martin)
and as a power rock trio (Dom Martin & Band). His ability to
perform both shows at large festivals is attractive to festival
organisers looking for quality shows for different stages.
This unassuming musician is another fine product of the Belfast
music factory responsible for Sir Van Morrison, Gary Moore, Paul
Brady, Brian Kennedy, Foy Vance and many more.
Wille
and the Bandits have built a reputation as one of the most
exciting and authentic live
bands to emerge
from the UK. Rooted in Cornwall, their music carries the spirit
of a place that feels almost like the Deep South of the UK —
miles from cities, shaped by wild coastlines, Atlantic weather,
and a culture where individuality
is survival. It’s a landscape
that breeds grit, independence, and
soul — and you
can
hear that in every
note they play.
The group features some
of the finest
musicians in the South
West, each bringing
world-class skill and
fearless creativity to
the stage.
Wille’s slide guitar playing and voice has become the
cornerstone of Wille and the Bandits’ sound,
earning admiration from
both fans and some
of the biggest
names in blues rock. “Wille is a superb slide
player,” says Joe Bonamassa, while Beth Hart praises, “What a
voice and some of the best songwriting you will hear.” His lap
steel work carries fire,
tenderness, and a sense
of vast space —
the sound of a
musician who plays from
the chest, not the
ego.
A another defining
element of their sound
is Stevie Watts on
Hammond organ —
voted UK Blues Instrumentalist
of the Year —
whose rich, swirling
tone evokes gospel
halls, swampy blues bars,
and the cinematic warmth
of vintage rock
records. Harry Mackaill provides a
melodic and powerful anchor on bass, while Zach O’Loughlin’s
dynamic drumming brings the
music to life with
both thunder and
sensitivity, the band’s
music feels lived-in, human,
and powerfully real.
Critics and audiences have drawn comparisons to Led Zeppelin,
Pink Floyd, John Martyn and Ben Harper, while their rhythmic
flow and improvisational fire echo the spirit of
the John Butler
Trio. On stage, they
are electrifying —
named one of BBC
Radio 1’s Top Ten Must-See Bands at Glastonbury, invited
to perform on the legendary Rockpalast, and selected to play the
London Olympics, alongside tours with Deep Purple,
Status Quo, Joe
Bonamassa, Beth Hart, and
Warren Haynes.
The band now enters a new era with their forthcoming album
Salt Roots (2026) — a record that
reaches deep into
questions of identity,
environmental responsibility, and
belonging to the land. Recorded live in the room, the album
captures the energy of musicians playing
together, not programming
— the sweat, the
risk, the electricity
of real performance. Wille and the Bandits remain a
hard-touring band at their core — hundreds of
shows across Europe,
the USA, and
Australia, winning crowds
the old way: by showing
up and leaving
everything on stage.
Whether delivering a
roaring rock anthem or
a hushed moment of
intimacy, they connect with
audiences not just
through sound — but
through soul, honesty
and presence.
Mississippi
MacDonald sounds like he should be on Stax or Hi. He has a
strongly southern soul inflected vocal delivery, musical
accompaniment that sounds just like Albert King turning up on
the Malaco label, a tight, controlled band that is right on the
top of its form, and songs that come straight out of the classic
southern soul-blues songbook. He is a 3x British Blues Award
nominee with a multi-album back catalogue. In 2021, he signed to
APM Records, releasing his album "Do Right, Say Right" in
November. In a short time, the record has reached number 1 on
the IBBA British Blues Charts, and the top 10 of the Roots Music
Report Blues / Contemporary Blues charts. RocknloadMag.com said
this :"The album is a joy to behold and to anyone who has even
tried tackling the guitar you’ll know there is playing the blues
and then there is “playing the blues” and Mississippi does the
latter. We are very lucky in the UK to have such a rich pool of
players of serious quality that we can call our own and
Mississippi is another one to add to that list"
“We’ve
arrived at the party fashionably late…” Bison Hip were formed
by long-time friends during a lockdown Zoom call in 2020. “I
don’t know who actually suggested it first”, explains vocalist
Paul, “but right away it just seemed like a great idea. Maybe it
was the mid-life crisis at play!” The band are all over 50, with
the exception of keyboard player and spring chicken Steven, who
clocks in at a youthful 41. By the time they finally got
together in early 2021, the blueprint was clear. “We wanted to
take our love of blues and rock, and mix it up with our
experiences of life” adds Paul. “Between us, we’ve been through
so many things in life, ups and downs, some successes and plenty
of failures, we wanted all of that in the music. Lastly, we
needed to wrap it up in the DNA of our hometown, Glasgow, and
hopefully that’s what we’ve achieved”. Built on the backbone of
true Scottish grit, the ethos is clear: real musicians, real
instruments, no click tracks, culminating in a unique blues rock
sound telling real life stories. With 2 EP’s already released,
and a debut album coming in April 2023, Bison Hip have hit the
ground running. “There’s plenty more to come, we’re on our way
up!” Bison Hip are: Paul Sloway – vocals | Malcolm Button –
drums Steven Radziwonik – keys | John Gilmour Smith – guitar
| Graeme Carswell – bass
Snake
Oil Band have been snaking their way across the UK for over a
decade, thrilling audiences in bars, clubs and festivals with
their fast-paced high energy take on the best blues and soul
classics going. A 5 piece band with the sound of a much bigger
outfit, Gemma Elmes provides powerhouse vocals and rhythm guitar
alongside Hugh Evans with his uniquely energetic vocals and
harmonica. Tony Harris wields a mean axe, and the cool Jeff
Dudley on bass and Ed (always hits the) Marks on drums complete
the line-up. Bring your dancing shoes and expect a great night
whenever the Snake is in town!
The
15 year old East Lancs rock n roll runaway Mel
Outsider absconded from school to spin the waltzer cars on the
fairgrounds and walked the ponies for the travelling circus.
A love of adventure and the open road saw him move on to
form Brit Blues rockers as vocalist for The Outsiders UK and
complete a staggering 286 live gigs in 365 days in 1991.
The Outsiders UK released 4 albums and were a popular live group
on the European circuit. The final album was critically
acclaimed “Everything’s Gone Vintage” 2016.
The new
Lancashire based group The Mel Outsider Reformation retains the
services of musical director and bassist Matt Pawson and
guitarist Liam McCartan.
Dan Arnold joins on guitar
alongside Mr Smith on drums.
Barney Williams from The
Milltown Brothers takes organ, piano & keyboard duties.
Andy Morell plays sax and leads the pocket central horns.
Powerhouse vocalist Hayley Gaftarnick and the sublime Ellie
Coast (both Leeds) are on accompanying vocals.
The
project was produced in Accrington by Real World Studios Mark
Jones, who describes the album as “the rock n roll “Dante’s
inferno” for the 21st century.”
Mark has produced,
engineered and worked with such luminaries as Peter Gabriel, Cat
Stevens, Patti Smith, The Blue Nile, Wishbone Ash, The Ting
Tings, Black Grape and Goldfrapp to name a few.
Aided and
mastered by Grammy winner Mark Phythian (Coldplay).
Mel
has produced 28 albums for artists including Michael
Chapman, Heads Hands and Feet along with New York songwriter /
poet Angela Costa (winner of Alan Ginsberg prize).
He
travelled and worked with Delta blues legend David Honeyboy
Edwards who was the only living musical connection to Robert
Johnson. Mel also plans to release an album of unheard
“Honeyboy” recordings later 2022.
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