blues rock | Musicosity

Brad Cook Trio

Gear up for a captivating night of Psychedelic Blues Rock as the ‘Brad Cook Trio’ hits the Cherry Bar stage on Friday, February 9, 2024. Celebrating the EP ‘Time to Fly,’ the evening highlights Brad‘s retro guitar finesse and classic rock influences, showcasing the band’s genuine love for psychedelic rock and power blues.

Joining the lineup is ‘War Birds,’ fresh back from their recent UK tour. With catchy riffs and powerful vocals, they promise a memorable performance.

Round up your friends, grab a drink, and immerse yourself in the authentic essence of rock ‘n’ roll. Looking forward to seeing you there!

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Psychedelic rock

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Michael McDonald

Michael McDonald (born February 12, 1952) is an American singer, keyboardist and songwriter known for his distinctive, soulful voice and as a member of the bands the Doobie Brothers (1975–1982, 1987, 2019–present) and Steely Dan (1973-1974). McDonald wrote and sang several hit singles with the Doobie Brothers, including "What a Fool Believes", "Minute by Minute", and "Takin' It to the Streets." McDonald has also performed as a prominent backing vocalist on numerous recordings by artists including Steely Dan, Christopher Cross, and Kenny Loggins.

McDonald's solo career consists of nine studio albums and a number of singles, including the 1982 hit "I Keep Forgettin' (Every Time You're Near)". During his career, McDonald has collaborated with a number of other artists, including James Ingram, David Cassidy, Van Halen, Patti LaBelle, Lee Ritenour, the Winans, Aretha Franklin, the rock band Toto,[2] Grizzly Bear,[3] Joni Mitchell, and Thundercat. He has also recorded for television and film soundtracks. McDonald is the recipient of five Grammy Awards, and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of the Doobie Brothers in 2020.

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Walter Trout Band

On his latest single “Waiting For The Dawn,” released today via Provogue/Mascot Label Group, the
iconic blues-rock guitarist Walter Trout urges fans – and himself – to stay strong, in light of all of the
challenges we’ve faced over the past few years. “There were times in this pandemic where I have sunk
into some pretty deep depressions, sitting around, wondering whether life has a point,” Trout recalls.
It’s the latest single from Trout’s new studio album ‘Ride,’ out August 19th. Written in his beloved and
often-missed home in Huntington Beach, California, the album is filled with pointed reflections from
Trout, informed by his decades of stardom in the blues world.
As long-standing Trout fans know, the Golden State has been the bluesman’s home for 47 years. Trout
joined John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers lineup in ’85, before embarking on an acclaimed solo career from ’89 onwards. But before that came

Photo by Austin Hargrave
his chaotic, self-destructive years as a jobbing lead guitarist, whether for
revered-but-tricky blues pioneers like John Lee Hooker and Big Mama Thornton, or an unhinged tenure
in an ’80s Canned Heat line-up controlled by the Hell’s Angels.

Trout’s well-documented excess in this era was darker than a young rock star cutting loose. It could all
be traced back to his troubled childhood in New Jersey, he explains, where an unstable stepfather –
himself the victim of shocking cruelty as a prisoner of war – was a terrifying presence. As 'Ride' took
form, such memories couldn’t help but flavor the music. “This album is obviously what I was going
through mentally and emotionally,” he considers. “All I did was express it. I spent a lot of time crying,
because I would dig down into my emotional core. I want my songs to have some sort of truth to them.”
Some memories that Trout examines on 'Ride' are long-distant but eternally poignant. Try the
deceptively upbeat title track, another song that began as a poem, recounting the locomotive that
rattled past his childhood home each night and enticed him to freight-hop to freedom. “That song is
about what it felt like to lay there in bed and dream about escaping on that train. I also wanted to
express that music has always been another sort of virtual escape for me.”
The stormy "Hey Mama" takes inspiration from the same period, with Trout debating whether his
trauma could have been averted. “I’m not pissed off with my mom and I love her memory,” he says,
“but my wife says, ‘Your mom probably could have done more to protect you from your stepdad’. Yeah,
maybe she could have. But it’s easy to say that looking back.”
Walter Trout is the beating heart of the modern blues rock scene. Respected by the old guard. Revered
by the young guns. Adored by the fans who shake his hand after the show each night, and after five
decades in the game, Trout remains a talismanic figure.
But, however fast or far a man travels, he can never truly outrun his past. On the new album he found
himself eyeing the horizon and the green shoots of his triumphant late career. There was a new record
deal with Mascot/Provogue. A temporary move from California to Denmark to be with his beloved
family. Even now, aged 70, Trout was still writing fresh chapters of his life story.
By now, Trout knows that nobody ever really leaves their old selves behind. But with 'Ride' providing an
emotional release-valve – both for its creator and his loyal listeners – perhaps this veteran artist can
reconcile with his past, accept his future and live in the present as it unfolds. “I think you can interpret
this album title a few different ways,” he concludes. “I mean, this album is definitely a musical ride and I
certainly tried to cover a lot of ground. But, really, life is kind of a ride too, isn’t it? And I want to live
mine to the fullest.”

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Little House Godz

Original Australian Rock & Blues from Songwriter and Musician Ross Percy, with John Coupe on bass, and Rohan Way on drums.

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blues rock

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Highly Suspect

Highly Suspect is an American rock band from Cape Cod, Massachusetts. The band consists of twin brothers Rich (bass, backing vocals) and Ryan Meyer (drums, backing vocals), Johnny Stevens (guitar, lead vocals), and Matt Kofos (guitar, synthesizer, backing vocals). After starting as a bar cover band, they relocated to Brooklyn, New York, where they recorded The Worst Humans EP with producer Joel Hamilton.

The band's first studio album Mister Asylum was released in 2015, earning them a nomination for Best Rock Album at the 58th Annual Grammy Awards. The song "Lydia" was nominated for Best Rock Song. Highly Suspect's second studio album, The Boy Who Died Wolf, was released in 2016. Two singles were released from the album, "My Name Is Human", which topped the Billboard US Mainstream Rock Songs chart, and "Little One", which peaked at number 2 on the same chart. Their third studio album, MCID, was released in 2019, their fourth, The Midnight Demon Club, in 2022, and their fifth, As Above, So Below, on July 19, 2024.

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The Radiators

One of the first major bands on the Irish punk rock scene, the Radiators fused the angry, upstart attitude of their peers with a tough, guitar-based attack and intelligent songwriting that would earn them a potent cult following both in Ireland and Great Britain. The Radiators were formed in 1976 when guitarist and singer Philip Chevron, who had been fronting a band of his own, met guitarist Pete Holidai after reading about Holidai's like-minded band Greta Garbage and the Trashcans in an Irish music paper. Chevron, Holidai, and one of Holidai's bandmates, vocalist Steve Rapid, began rehearsing together, and after the addition of bassist Mark Megaray and drummer Jimmy Crash, the new band toyed with several different names before christening themselves the Radiators from Space.

TV Tube Heart
The new group quickly began recording demo tapes of their material, and less than a week after they made their live debut opening for Eddie & the Hot Rods in Dublin on November 13, 1976, they signed with Chiswick Records, and their debut single, "Television Screen" b/w "Love Detective," was released in April 1977. The single went into the Irish Top 20, and Phil Lynott of Thin Lizzy endorsed the band, but their luck took a turn for the worse when the Radiators from Space organized a punk rock festival at a college in Dublin; a fan was killed during a fight at the gig, and the publicity cost the band a number of major bookings, though they appeared on the bill at a massive open-air gig in August with Thin Lizzy, the Boomtown Rats, and Graham Parker & the Rumour. The Radiators from Space made plans to relocate to England, but Steve Rapid opted not to go, and Chevron took over as lead singer; both sang on the group's debut album, TV Tube Heart, which appeared in October 1977.

Ghostown
By this time, the band had streamlined their name to the Radiators and had signed a deal with CBS Records for Ireland. In 1978, the band started work on their second album with noted producer Tony Visconti at the controls; the group also added guitarist Bill Morley, who had been a member of Greta Garbage and the Trashcans. An early single from the Visconti sessions, "Million Dollar Hero," was well reviewed after it was released in April 1978, but it stalled in the charts, and the group's ambitious new material didn't click with fans at live shows, and the band stopped touring in England after a combative London gig at the end of October. It wasn't until August 1979 that the Radiators' long-completed second album, Ghostown, was finally released, and despite rave notices from critics, it didn't do well in the charts. By the time the album had finally appeared, Bill Morley and Mark Megaray had quit the Radiators, and rather than tour to support the disc, Chevron focused on writing and staging a musical, The Ha'Penny Place.

Rum, Sodomy & the Lash
The Radiators soldiered on for a bit, recording new material with producer Hans Zimmer, but while two singles were released in 1980 and the band toured Ireland for the first time in two years, tensions grew within the group, and shortly before releasing a farewell single, "Song of the Faithful Departed," in March 1981, the group announced their breakup. In 1985, Chevron joined Celtic folk-punks the Pogues in time for the recording of their breakthrough album, Rum Sodomy & the Lash, and finally enjoyed the international success that had somehow avoided the Radiators. The Radiators reunited for a one-off show in 1987 to benefit a Dublin AIDS group, and the show was recorded for a cassette-only release, 1988's Dollar for Your Dreams. A new song from Chevron, "Under Clery's Clock," was debuted at the benefit show, and a studio recording was released as a single in early 1989; it was later added to a remastered reissue of Ghostown that appeared later the same year.

Alive-Alive-O!
In 1996, the same year the Pogues announced their breakup, a live Radiators album, Alive-Alive-O!, recorded at a London gig in February 1978, was issued. In 2004, the Radiators reunited for a handful of live shows and released a new EP. More shows followed in 2005, and the following year the group recorded a new album, Trouble Pilgrim, which was released in Ireland on October 20, 2006; it featured the group name the Radiators from Space, possibly to avoid confusion with the American roots rock act the Radiators. The album was issued in Great Britain in 2007.

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Art vs Science

Beloved Sydney electronic dance band Art vs Science release their long-awaited new album ‘Big Overdrive’. The vibe-packed record, written and recorded over the past decade includes their recent dancefloor ready single ‘I Saw You’, ARIA club hit ‘SWEAT’ produced by Kim Moyes (The Presets) and their new single ‘Check The Boombox’, which was produced by Dan McNamee and Dan Williams. Rich in melodies, synth stabs and classic Art vs Science experimentation, ‘Big Overdrive’ is a collection of songs that captures the heights of the trio as a groundbreaking alternative dance band, pushing musical boundaries with crafted multi-layered bangers.

Sonically ‘Big Overdrive’ lives and breathes in a way that can be played live to an intimate club audience or to a festival crowd. It’s also a celebration of the band’s longevity performing together for fifteen years. The music was recorded in studios all around Sydney, with a heavy emphasis on DIY. The bulk of the album was tracked at Dan Mac’s parents’ old place in Dural, in a sweaty hotbox near the attic, using a handful of microphones and a bucketload of vibe!

“In the course of selecting the music for this long awaited album, some of these rare sessions were uncovered, and the joy and fun embedded within were plain to hear. Of course, lots of love and expertise came from actual outside experts such as Kim Moyes (The Presets), Alex Gooden (Mix Engineer, SAFIA), Sam Ford (Tone City Records), Joe La Porta (Mastering, Sterling Sound), and Guy Davies (Mastering, Electric Mastering).”
Art vs Science.

Festival ready single “I Saw You” explores a quiet-verse loud-chorus dynamic, with soaring synths and thumping drums. New single “Check The Boombox” was recorded at a friend’s house in Wilsons Creek in the Blue Mountains near Sydney. A full arsenal of old stereo equalisers, a terrible mixing desk, and dusty guitar amplifiers went into this track. “The cost of producing this track was keeping a black and white cat fed and entertained, and lugging the gear from Bondi in a hired Goget van.”

“How 2 Stay High” was recorded in one session at Dan Mac’s house in Thirroul, whilst “Sweat” saw the band recruit Kim Moyes from The Presets to beef up and bangify. “Joe La Porta was enlisted to give SWEAT its beautiful sheen and thump, while Guy Davies was chosen to make DANCE the most thumping it could be” Art vs Science

Dan Mac produced many of the tracks on ‘Big Overdrive’; finding weird locations and setting up mics in bedrooms and kitchens to capture Dan W’s epic drum performances. Jim as always provided the solid synth bass lines and creative counterpoint that makes the band more than the sum of its parts.

“Big Overdrive is a celebration of jamming and making music which is fun, different and experimental. It’s a collection of tracks written over most of the band’s lifespan, with an emphasis on songs which we think are beautiful in their weirdness. The themes of the songs span love, loss, exuberance, life, death and passion. And dancing.” Art vs Science

Since 2008 Art vs Science has been widely acclaimed for their dynamic live performances and energy on stage. With their insistence on playing everything 100% “live” weaving intricate dance arpeggios – played by human hands – with real drums, real presence, and a bass sound that is uniquely their own. Dan Mac, Dan W and Jim Finn’s clear musicality is empowered by a collection of random keyboards plugged into huge guitar amplifiers and pedals which inspired one critic to call them “AC/DC with keyboards”.

They’ve performed at nearly every major Australian music festival including: Falls Festival, Splendour in the Grass, Bass in the Grass, Parklife, Good Vibrations, Big Day Out, and a range of boutique festivals such as Festival of The Sun, St Kilda Festival, Caloundra Music Festival, Wine Machine, Red Deer Fest, NYE On The Hill, The Great Australian Beer Fest, The Bacardi Express and Mountain Sounds. Art vs Science also performed at the Keep Sydney Open rally in 2016 and has supported Groove Armada and The Chemical Brothers.

Peaking at #2 on the ARIA charts, their album “The Experiment” won an ARIA for Best Independent Album in 2011. They currently have over 136K Spotify monthly listeners including 4.9million streams for their ubiquitous hit ‘Parlez Vous Francais’, 2.3million plays on Apple and over 7millon views on Youtube.

Art vs Science will be returning to the festival stage playing at the Caloundra Music Festival on Friday, 30 September, and Wine Machine, along with Flight Facilities, Lime Cordiale, Masked Wolf, San Cisco and many others in December!

ART VS SCIENCE TOUR DATES
Friday 30 September, Caloundra Music Festival, Queensland Tickets
Saturday, 17 December, Wine Machine, McLaren Vale, South Australia Tickets

“Stoked to be playing at the Caloundra Music Festival again this year. Had a ball at the 2017 one. Also keen as beans for another round of Wine Machine, this time in South Australia. Psyched!”
Art vs Science

PRAISE FOR ART VS SCIENCE

Art vs Science – The Experiment album – 200 Greatest Australian Albums Of All Time – Honorable Mentions List
ROLLING STONE AUSTRALIA

“It’s easy to tell why crowds love these boys. Their music is laced with happiness: it’s addictive, plus their live shows involve inflatable penguins!”
MUSIC FEEDS

“Unlike most hyped-up artists, this claim wasn’t far from the truth, with singles like ‘Magic Fountain’ and their debut album, The Experiment, going on to cement the band as household names in no time.”
TONE DEAF

“The Sydney trio’s new tune is definitely larger than their previous stuff, with their signature, fast-paced synth blending super nicely with rolling piano chords, bouncy vocals and hectic drum work.”
PILERATS

“Art vs Science have always been capable of producing – an album that is sharp, full of confidence and great musical execution.”
AU REVIEW

ART VS SCIENCE are:
Jim Finn (vocals, keyboard)
Dan McNamee (vocals, guitars, keyboard)
Dan Williams (vocals, drums)

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Rob Caudill

People stop Rob Caudill in airports for autographs. They stare at him in restaurants. And when he struts on stage, women scream themselves hoarse. Why? Because Caudill is a dead-on Rod Stewart Impersonator. He's got the high-definition jawline, the shock of spiky blonde hair, but most importantly, he has the nose. Vocally, his distinctive, naturally-raspy voice sounds like the legendary Stewart, and his range easily nails every high note from Stewart's younger days. So, it's no surprise this singer has carved out a career 'recreating' Rod Stewart. From kicking out soccer balls to spinning mic stands, to belting out all of Rod's greatest hits - Caudill's high energy show is a must-see event for people of all ages. When Rob was just seventeen, people started telling him that he looked like Rod Stewart - a phrase Rob would hear repeatedly from almost everyone he met for the rest of his life. He began his musical career after graduating high school and moving to Memphis, TN to study music at MSU. "I've got the greatest job in the world, making a living doing something I love." While in Memphis, Rob began playing bass for local bands around town and doing session work. As bass player for a band called "The Breaks" Caudill got his first major opportunity when they signed to RCA Records. The Breaks' first single, "She Wants You", was played in heavy rotation on MTV music television which caught the attention of Bugle Boy Clothing, who used The Breaks for their first commercial on MTV. After a few years, The Breaks disbanded, so Rob put together a group called "The Willys" that included legendary guitarist Shawn Lane. They quickly became one of Memphis' hottest bands. Rob also began doing session work with Joe Walsh of the Eagles and jammed with many others such as John Entwhistle of the Who, along with members of Cheap Trick, Allman Brothers Band, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Survivor and Red Hot Chili Peppers just to name a few. In 1996, he realized he couldn't escape the remarkable natural resemblance to Rod Stewart so he heeded the advice of Joe Walsh and began his tribute career. Rob put down his bass, bought some wild clothing and diligently studied lots of Rod's videos, vocals and mannerisms.Now, more than a 15 years later, he is still spinning his mic stand and kicking soccer balls out to audiences everywhere. When he leaves town he is armed with his "Tonight's the Night Band," a repertoire of more than 100 Stewart songs (covering everything from the beginning years of The Faces to the Great American Songbooks), and a wardrobe of loud, mostly custom made suits that match Rod Stewart's attire to a tee. He has been working with the world famous Legends in Concert show out of Las Vegas for the past 15 years. He also works independently doing a high energy two hour show and claims "I've got the greatest job in the world, making a living doing something I love." A true international sensation, Rob has performed:•For The Sultan of Malaysia•At a wedding for a Malaysian Princess•At the Miss World Philippines Beauty Pageant•At Autoracing's MotoGP event in Sepang Malaysia•At the AFF Suzuki Cup Football (Soccer) Matches between Malaysia and Indonesia in Kuala Lumpur and Jakarta Rob’s performed his Tribute to Rod Stewart all over the world including: Australia, Cambodia, Canada, China, Finland, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, Singapore, South Africa, Sweden, Thailand, and theUnited States

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Dane Blacklock and the Preacher's Daughter

Dane Blacklock moved to Melbourne in 2010 and immediately fell in with a bad crowd. Those unwashed miscreants from the wrong side of the tracks that were up to no good. They were into pre-marital sex, illicit substances and rock and roll music. Dane began frequenting live music venues where he was exposed to a host of grimy, rough, blues and country artists. His poor innocent mind was never the same. Soon he was practicing guitar, and 'jamming' with other would be musicians, he formed rock and roll 'groups' with his friends, first Golgotha Motel, a rough and ready savage little enterprise, then the later more refined evolution, Dane Blacklock and the Preacher's Daughter, who together created a kind of doom-folk grime blues hootenanny sound. They played around the Fitzroy and Collingwood area in dive bars of low moral calibre. Now after years of fraternising, dallying, drinking alcoholic beverages, playing music, and other dangerous behaviour, Dane plays with the Preacher's Daughter ...

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blues rock

Folk Rock

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Gwyn Ashton

In Sydney, Australia in the 80s Gwyn Ashton was one-time lead guitarist for Stevie Wright and Swanee and in the 90s he moved to Melbourne and played on two of The Masters Apprentices Jim Keays' solo albums. Ashton opened for Rory Gallagher, Junior Wells and various blues bands from the USA when they came to Australia. Asked by Billy Thorpe if Mick Fleetwood could sit in with his band, Ashton was instantly on the short list as lead guitarist with according to Mick's sound engineer "something big but we can't say who it is", but he was told to get his passport together! One can only imagine...

After relocating and playing the European circuit for three years by 2001 the now Virgin Records France recording artist Gwyn Ashton was nominated at third position as ‘Guitarist of The Year’ in Guitar Part Magazine. First and second positions were Jeff Beck and Gary Moore, fourth was Popa Chubby, fifth was Guns N Roses Izzy Stradlin. Ashton’s first gig in France was opening for Buddy Guy with ex Rolling Stones Mick Taylor on before Gwyn. Ashton questioned this and said 'we don't deserve to be on after Mick. It's the wrong way around' but the organisers insisted on this as his popularity in France had grown. Ashton then played the Paris Music Trade Show where Fender France presented him with a new Stratocaster.

With numerous worldwide radio appearances under his belt, in the '90s Ashton appeared live on a radio show in Kent, England with Bert Jansch. He played on a derelict Dutch train carriage on the pirate station Radio London in the Netherlands and networks in Australia including various ABC stations and public radio. He was also interviewed and played a live performance in France on Paris Inter.

Ashton then co-headlined Garden Blues Festival in Marseille with Robben Ford and on the bill with Ray Charles at Cognac Blues Passions. At this time Ashton had two of his albums simultaneously in the Amazon France Top 100 charts. He has played many guitar and blues festivals including two appearances at the Acoustic Festival of Great Britain, Popkomm in Berlin, Guitar Heroes Festival in Germany with Mick Taylor and has conducted blues masterclasses at London’s Guitar Institute, Guitar X and Academy of Sound in Birmingham and Exeter, England. Ashton also played the 10th annual ’Thanks Jimi’ Festival in Wroclaw, Poland onstage with Bernie Marsden and Jimi Hendrix’s brother Leon Hendrix, leading 8000 guitarists playing ‘Hey Joe’ in the market square setting a new ‘Guinness Book of World Records’.

For five years Ashton was Gerry McAvoy’s choice for fronting the Rory Gallagher celebratory group Band of Friends, replacing Thin Lizzy/Motorhead guitarist Brian Robertson. They headlined the first two Ballyshannon Rory Gallagher Festivals with members of The Dubliners opening for them. Rory’s brother Donal was taken aback by Ashton’s interpretation of his late brother’s guitar playing stating ‘I like the way you put your own slant on Rory’s music, you don’t just copy him’. The band consisted of Gerry, Lou Martin, Brendan O’Neill, Mark Feltham and Dennis Greaves, all who at the time played in the band Nine Below Zero. Gerry and Brendan played on Ashton’s ‘Fang It! album with Greaves producing it. The album received great reviews and won many awards for ‘Album of The Year’ in a host of magazines.

Italian guitar company Liutart then asked Ashton to design his own signature guitar which he uses to this day with the configuration based on his favourite classic guitars - Gibson Firebird, Danelectro and Fender Telecaster pickups. Ashton called this 'the ultimate slide guitar'.

Since then Ashton has been touring Europe with many acts including The Yardbirds, Johnny Winter, Peter Green, Slade, The Sweet, Canned Heat, Magnum, The Troggs and headlining his own shows. He has also played dates in England with Van Morrison, Robin Trower, Jeff Healey, Tony Joe White, Walter Trout and 15 arena shows, including Wembley, with the legendary Status Quo with Francis Rossi asking him about co-writing and Rick Parfitt wanting some slide guitar tips. Ashton has shared the bill twice with Joe Bonamassa, once at Birmingham NEC for Music Live and once at a guitar festival in Sweden. Ashton has performed at guitar shows appeared twice on Czech National TV, ZDF TV in Germany and in Bulgaria on Slavi's Show, Slavi being the 'Bulgarian Jay Leno' with an audience of two million. This coincided with Ashton's concert for the American Chamber of Commerce celebrating American Independence Day, 50 years of Bulgarian occupancy and the 50th anniversary of the Stratocaster, the show being organised by Fender Bulgaria July 4 2004.

Three years running he played at Deep Purple keyboardist Don Airey’s charity show near Cambridge, England with members of Whitesnake Bernie Marsden, Mickey Moody and Neil Murray, plus Uli John Roth, Robert Hart and Jimmy Page’s first choice for Led Zeppelin vocalist Terry Reid. Don has played on two of Ashton’s albums ‘Prohibition’ (alongside Chris Glen and Ted McKenna from Sensational Alex Harvey Band, Ian Gillan, Michael Schenker Group) and ‘Radiogram’ which also features guest appearances from Kim Wilson (Fabulous Thunderbirds), Robbie Blunt (Robert Plant), Mark Stanway (Magnum, Phil Lynott’s Grand Slam) and Mo Birch (Robert Plant, Go West, Paul Rodgers, Culture Club). Ashton has recorded eight albums, some with special guests mentioned above.

Ashton has been invited onstage with some of the greatest blues and rock musicians including ex Black Crowes Marc Ford who also asked him to play lap steel on a studio session in Los Angeles. They also played three duo shows together. He jammed with Walter Trout, the legendary Canned Heat and Hubert Sumlin at blues festivals in England and Germany, bassist extraordinaire Jerry Jermott (BB King, Aretha Franklin) and Cactus and former Vanilla Fudge bassist Tim Bogert in Los Angeles and he even sat around David Crosby's dining room table trading licks on acoustic guitar with the former Byrd's legendary singer, songwriter. Jackson Browne and Robert Plant have both commented favourably on Ashton's playing and both been part of his audience. Ashton has even been known to sit around former Rainbow and Alcatraz singer Graham Bonnet in his living room, playing and singing Beatles songs together! He's also played with Steely Dan's Elliott Randal and former Jethro Tull's Mick Abrahams at a fund-raising show in England. Tull's former drummer Clive Bunker was Ashton's first UK drummer and Ashton played two shows with ex Rick Wakeman singer Gary Pickford-Hopkins.

During a tour of Spain, Ashton found himself jamming with former Wings drummer Geoff Britten who played on ‘Venus and Mars’. In Austin Texas, he was invited onstage with the hierarchy of the Austin scene including Derek O’Brien, Malford Milligan, Chris Duarte, Roscoe Beck and Frosty.

Eric Johnson’s bassist Chris Maresh joined Ashton on a 2018 German tour with Welsh drummer Chris Sharley from the 70s band Sassafrass. Budgie’s Burke Shelley gave Ashton a CD to learn their songs as they were possibly looking for a replacement guitarist at one stage. Shelley’s blues band opened for Ashton at a Christmas party at Tawe Delta Blues Club in Swansea, Wales. They were introduced by Dire Straits and Rockpile drummer Terry Williams.

Ashton’s first Czech Republic gig was with BB King at Golem Blues Festival, where he was the only other musician apart from King's entourage allowed in the dressing room prior to his

performance. Ashton has recorded nine albums, some with special guests mentioned above.

Gwyn Ashton’s critically-acclaimed release ‘Solo Elektro’ saw him reinvented as an alternative progressive blues-rock solo artist with elements of 60s garage rock, psychedelia, acoustic roots and some good old-fashioned rock 'n' roll influences. The follow-up power-duo album - 2019's Sonic Blues Preachers features ex Bon Scott Fraternity drummer John Freeman.

An inductee into the South Australian Music Hall of Fame for recognition of his contribution of sharing original Australian music with the world, Ashton's show is retro with a modern evolution as he crosses the boundaries between indie rock and the blues, mixing his electric set with acoustic lap side and steel-bodied resonator guitars along the way. His two-hour show takes his audience on an eclectic musical mesmerising story-telling journey, as he engulfs and engages them in a hypnotic musical adventure, showing music has no boundaries.

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blues

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