One Man Band Festival

Innovative, unique and utterly unmissable, One Man Band Festival celebrates the supreme talents of those individual musicians that single-handedly deliver the full sounds of a multi-piece band. Taking place across The Blues Kitchen, with one very special stop at the legendary Jazz Cafe, this is an unmissable week-long celebration of some of the very best in the game.

Wednesday 20th March: Dollar Bill + Hollowbelly in Shoreditch (Free)

Dollar Bill is a one-man band that seemingly achieves the impossible with the wide collection of sounds he delivers at once. It’s raw, stripped down, stompin' and rockin' blues with drums, a guitar, a harmonica and singing going on all at once. It’s vibrant, up-beat stuff that’ll get you dancing John Lee Hooker-style.

Legend has it that RL Burnside crashed into the Buzzcocks somewhere on the M62 and out of that sorry wreckage emerged the one-man punk blues band that is Hollowbelly. With a 3 string cigar box guitar in his hands, a blues harp at his mouth, a pre-war marching drum at his right foot and a 1930's low boy at his left, this is authentic, fast and furious stuff that’ll keep you on your toes.

Thursday 21st March: Son of Dave + One Man Destruction Show in Brixton (£10.50)

A maverick Bluesman providing a one-man harmonica and beat-box experience, Son of Dave has been performing catchy, original, world class shows all around the globe for some time now. With a vast collection of genres all put through his unique musical machine, he’s solidified his mark on a sound which is unmatched and unmissable. This isn’t your average blues show; this is rhythm and blues turned on its head.

He’ll be joined by Fat White Family’s Adam J. Harmer, AKA One Man Destruction Show, who’s created his very own one man rock n’ roll garage n’ blues band. Expect a journey through impeccable covers and original numbers, with a notable rockabilly vibe.

 Friday 22nd March: Bob Log + King Size Slim at Jazz Cafe, Camden (£15)

Bob Log III is, among other things, loud, strange and electrifying. A one man band born out of the burning remains of an Alabama brothel, with the hunger of a rabies infested mutt and an overwhelming desire to not give a f***.

Delta blues meets electro in a live show that can only be described as a man in a jumpsuit and full-face helmet rigged up with a telephone receiver barrelling around in a lifeboat while beating away on a hollow-body guitar. It’s a truly wild affair; but you need to see it to believe it.

Rhythm-led, heavy on the bass and rootsy in the melody, King Size Slim is a powerful performer and a must-see on the blues circuit. He’ll complete the bill with his own musical story to tell.

Tuesday 26th March: Ian Siegal + Big Joe Louis in Brixton (£15)

Ian Siegal brings an alternative presentation of songs from his latest album All The Rage to The Blues Kitchen stage.

Titled Best Male Vocalist and Best Acoustic Artist in the UK Blues Awards 2018, Ian Siegal is a must-see musician for 2019. Classic Rock tags Siegal “a national treasure” and MOJO magazine ranks him “the cleverest writer and most magnetic blues performer in the UK". It's easy to see why: He takes command of the stage in a way very few artists alive today can. Sweat, passion, humour, incendiary slide guitar and a soul-infused voice big enough to fell trees. When it’s just man & guitar those qualities shine through even stronger.

He'll be supported on the night by leading UK bluesman Big Joe Louis, whose style and authenticity are unparalleled on this side of the Atlantic.

Thursday 28th March: Lewis Floyd Henry + Hip Bone Slim in Camden (Tickets on the door)

Whether on Brick Lane where he busks daily, or on YouTube where he’s clocked up millions of views, you’ve most likely come across Lewis. A one-man, multi-genre, traveling sonic medicine show, he can go from Jimmy Hendrix to Biggie Smalls in one great swoop, blending it so smooth that you’d think they were from the same era. It’s raw and gritty, and you can see it first-hand as he closes the Festival in Camden.

Hipbone Slim aka Sir Bald has recorded over 30 largely self-composed albums in styles ranging from rock n roll to blues to surf to ska to garage rock to anything sort of old and good and real and fun. He joins Lewis to play stompin’ rhythm and blues on guitar, harmonica, foot drums and maracas.