The Kent International Blues Festival

The 1st Kent International Blues Festival will be held on 19th January at The Appleyard in Sittingbourne.

This will be an epic one day event including the talents of 5 legends of the blues .

We have:

• JOHN PRIMER
• TORONZO CANNON
• NORA JEAN WALLACE
• OSCAR WILSON
• GILES ROBSON

Plus an awesome band performing with these legends

This is a very exciting opportunity to catch the best blues the world  has to offer !!!!

"A True Living Chicago Blues Legend"

John Primer 

“When me & Giles Play the blues we put hot sauce on it so you can feel it”

2023 saw John inducted into Blues Music Hall of Fame and win the Memphis Blues Music Award for “Traditional Male” the highest honours in the blues world.

John Primer has undisputedly helped build the sound and style of Chicago blues as we know it today. The echos of tradition bellowing from the birthplaces he played such as: Maxwell Street, Theresa's, Checkerboard and Rosa's Lounges, pulse from every chord in his fingers today. John Primer is a Chicago Blues Living Legend.

Moving to Chicago in 1963, he started on the path of becoming a great bluesman, getting his first steady gig at the legendary Maxwell Street in Chicago on Sunday's and at the famous Theresa's Lounge seven nights a week for seven years! Playing 7 nights a week for 7 years, John performed with such originators as Sammy Lawhorn, Junior Wells, James Cotton, Buddy Guy, Magic Slim and more, all innovators sculpting the sound of Chicago Blues 7 nights a week. John was taught by the founding fathers of the blues!

He worked hard and impressed Willie Dixon enough to go on tour with him and his Chicago Blues All-Stars Band. At this point he was known and John's dream finally came true in 1981 when he got to play with his idol, Muddy Waters! Muddy served as a father figure to John, teaching him how to be a great bandleader, how to play slide guitar, and instilling in him the importance of keeping the blues true and traditional and to keep it alive for the next generation. Muddy changed his life forever.

After Muddy's untimely death, he joined up with Magic Slim & The Teardrops for the next 14 years, traveling all over the world. John originated the "Chicago lump" (the iconic Chicago “Blues shuffle) sound with Slim's bassist and brother Nick Holt. While John was the bandleader of Magic Slim & The Teardrops, they won the W.C. Handy Award a few times for "Best Blues Band" and are still thought of as not only one of the best blues bands but also the inventors of the "Chicago lump" sound today.

In 1995 he began leading his own band, The Real Deal Blues Band. He has been recorded on more than 87 albums with 17 albums in his own name. He has written and produced more than 55 songs on more than 6 record labels including his own, Blues House Productions. Earning 2 Grammy Award nominations, given 2 Lifetime Achievement Awards, inducted into the Chicago Blues Hall of Fame, awarded the "Muddy Award" for being a traditional blues icon, winning a Blues Music Award, Blues Blast Award and many more.

In 2023 John was awarded the highest honours the blues world can bestow when he was inducted into the Blues Hall Of Fame and won the Blues Music Award for “Best traditional male”.

The Band

In 2023 John was backed by acclaimed British blues harmonica virtuoso and singer, Giles Robson and his band for his appearances on the Living Legends Of Chicago Blues tour that swept through the UK for a series of sold out shows.

 Featuring France’s best rhythm section Pascal Delmas on drums and Antoine Escalier on bass, John enjoyed playing with the Giles and the group so much he was immediately keen to play with them on more shows.

John stated to the ecstatic audience of the last show on that tour “when me and Giles play the blues we put hot sauce on it so you can feel it”.

Giles Robson was the first UK or European blues artist to appear on Chicago’s legendary Alligator Records who called him a “blues giant, absolute master of the form” and the third only UK blues artist after Eric Clapton and Peter Green to win a coveted Blues Music Award in Memphis. French based Pascal Delmas and Antoine Escalier are France’s most in demand rhythm sections by visiting USA artists.q

Giles says of performing with John “as a disciple of Chicago blues, working with a Chicago blues legend with the history, talent and commitment to the art of blues like John Primer is a humbling honour and a dream come true”.

Toronzo Cannon: A Modern Blues Master

Experience the Raw Power of Chicago Blues

Toronzo Cannon is a force to be reckoned with. This dynamic blues guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter is electrifying audiences worldwide with his high-energy performances and soulful music.

Great guitar player, excellent vocalist, amazing personality. 
—Joe Bonamasa

"I want my songs to be heard and experienced, not just listened to," says cliché-defying, internationally beloved Chicago bluesman Toronzo Cannon. With his richly detailed, truth-telling original songs, blistering, inventive guitar work and impassioned vocals, Cannon is on the cutting edge of today's contemporary blues scene and is known as one of the genre's most creative artists. His sound is inspired by his heroes, including Hound Dog Taylor, Muddy Waters, Elmore James, Albert King, Son Seals and Jimi Hendrix. On his third Alligator Records album, Shut Up And Play!, Cannon blazes his own path with 11 emotionally-charged originals. From serious to humorous, his imaginative songs are fueled by his powerful, cathartic guitar solos and his soulfully authoritative voice. 

Shut Up And Play!, co-produced by Cannon and Alligator president Bruce Iglauer, finds Cannon, a former Chicago Transit Authority bus driver, delivering timeless stories of common experiences, often unfolding in uncommon ways. His passionate and focused guitar playing sets his lyrics ablaze. From the first radio single, the unassailable I Hate Love, to the gospel-inspired, autobiographical Had To Go Through It To Get To It, to the slow-burning, reflective Guilty, to the deeply personal Message To My Daughter, Shut Up And Play! tackles the gamut of human emotions. Song subjects range from the heartbreak of lost love, to the humor of daily life, to the pain of feeling invisible in today's society, all as seen through Cannon's wide-open eyes. 

Shut Up And Play! is bookended by two of Cannon's most striking compositions, both a mirror of the times. The opener, the exuberantly performed blues scorcher Can't Fix The World, shines a light on hypocrisy and duplicity, while unleashing dynamic, memorable guitar solos echoing the intensity of the vocals. The closer, Shut Up And Play!, takes a deep look inside, as Cannon vents his anger at being told to keep his opinions about the world to himself. As the defiant vocals command attention, Cannon's frustrations pour into every note. Chicago's New City declared, "Toronzo Cannon spins the innate human capacity of misery and regret into a kind of furious ecstasy." 

"I write what I know, what I feel," Cannon says, "I like to put myself in the shoes of the subjects of my songs. This record is about the things going on in my life since 2019--it's a document of what I've seen and been through, but the stories are universal. And it's my way to get past negative things and keep my own sanity. Listen to the lyrics. I am a Black man in America. These are NOT protest songs. I try to create honest, common sense understanding with my songs." 

Toronzo Cannon was born in Chicago on February 14, 1968, and grew up in the shadows of the notoriously tough Robert Taylor Homes. Theresa's Lounge, one of the city's most famous South Side blues clubs, was close by. As a child, Cannon would stand on the sidewalk outside the club's door, soaking up the live blues pouring out, while trying to sneak a glance inside at larger-than-life bluesmen like Junior Wells and Buddy Guy. He also heard plenty of blues records growing up in his grandfather's home, and listened to soul, R&B and contemporary rock on the radio. 

Cannon's sister gifted him his first guitar at age 22, and his natural talent enabled him to quickly master the instrument. Although his initial focus was reggae, he found himself increasingly drawn to the blues. "It was dormant in me. But when I started playing the blues, I found my voice and the blues came pouring out." He absorbed sounds, styles and licks from Buddy Guy, Albert Collins, Hound Dog Taylor, B.B. King, Albert King, Freddie King, Jimi Hendrix, J.B. Hutto, Lil' Ed Williams and others. Although influenced by many, Cannon's biting, stinging guitar sound is all his own. 

From 1996 through 2002, Cannon played as a sideman for Tommy McCracken, Wayne Baker Brooks, L.V. Banks and Joanna Connor. But he was determined to prove himself. In 2001, while continuing to work as a hired-gun guitarist, he formed his own band, The Cannonball Express. By 2003, he was working exclusively as a band leader. His first three albums—2007's My Woman (self-released), 2011's Leaving Mood (Delmark) and 2013's Blues Music Award-nominated John The Conqueror Root (Delmark)—document his rise from new kid on the block to promising up-and-comer. 

Cannon fulfilled that promise with the 2016 release of his Alligator Records debut, The Chicago Way, with his maturity as an artist on full display. The album was hailed as the emergence of one of the most electrifying bluesmen to burst onto the international stage in decades. The groundbreaking 2019 follow-up, The Preacher, The Politician Or The Pimp, built upon the foundation he'd laid, creating and defining his vision of contemporary blues. Local, national and international media all took notice. CNN filmed Cannon leading a tour of Chicago blues clubs and then broadcast the piece around the world. Local Chicago television station WGN won an EMMY award for their piece on Chicago's new blues master. England's tastemaker MOJO magazine declared The Chicago Way the #1 Blues Album Of 2016, and The Preacher, The Politician Or The Pimp as the #2 Blues Album Of 2019. 

Cannon has been nominated for ten Blues Music Awards, and, as his fan base expands, so do his friendships with famous musicians. Gary Clark, Jr. declared, "Toronzo is a beast. He lights the room up," and Joe Bonamassa rightly pronounced, "Toronzo's a great guitar player, excellent vocalist and an amazing personality." 

Cannon has performed at clubs and festivals at major cities all over the U.S. and continues to bring his music directly to his fans. He's toured Canada, the UK, made his way across Europe and even to Japan. He has played the Chicago Blues Festival on ten separate occasions, bringing tens of thousands of his fellow Chicagoans to their feet. His live performances unfailingly earn him heaps of critical praise and hordes of wildly enthusiastic new fans. "Listen to a master bluesman at work," declared the UK's Blues & Rhythm magazine. "This is modern blues at its creative best." 

Now, with Shut Up And Play! Toronzo Cannon delivers his songs with purpose and passion. "It's not about the solos," says the man whose blazing guitar work continues to impress, "it's about the songs. People get used to everyday life, so it's easy to miss the things around them. I know the problems of Chicago, the hardships. I write about those things. But I love my city, warts and all. I grew up here. It molded me and gave me the people and places I know and love. And it produced the Chicago blues giants that came here from down south. I'm proud to be from Chicago and to be able to stand on the shoulders of every great Chicago blues musician who came before me." 

All the attention he's received only makes Cannon more focused. "I feel like I've become an ambassador for Chicago blues. People expect a lot from me," he says. "But it's good, because I'm forced to keep upping my game." And like all the Chicago greats who have come before him, blues is his life's calling. "You don't choose the blues," he says. "The blues chooses you." 

Nora Jean Wallace: A Blues Powerhouse

Experience the Raw Emotion of the Blues

Nora Jean Wallace is a legendary blues singer whose powerful vocals and soulful delivery have captivated audiences worldwide. With deep roots in the Mississippi Delta, her music is a true reflection of the blues tradition.

“Nora Jean sounds just like I did when I was her age. She is one of the new upcoming women that’s singing the real blues. I know she is going to make it.” – Koko Taylor

Nora Jean Wallace (formerly Nora Jean Bruso) is a Chicago Blues singer with deep Delta roots. Like so many blues greats that hail from the Delta of Mississippi, Nora Jean Bruso was born and raised in Greenwood, a town in the heart of this blues-rich region. From birth her father, Bobby Lee Wallace, a professional blues singer and sharecropper, and her Uncle, Henry “Son” Wallace, a blues singer and guitar player, infused the blues in her soul. Also contributing to her musical education was her mother, Ida Lee Wallace, a gospel singer, and her grandmother, Mary, who ran a juke house. As a child Nora would sneak down to her grandmother’s place on Friday and Saturday nights and listen to her relatives sing blues classics. It was during these years that Nora developed a love for the music of Howlin’ Wolf that has continued to the present day.

Nora’s singing career in Chicago began in 1976 when her Aunt Rose heard her sing at home and brought her to several clubs she was promoting. It was at the Majestic on the West Side of Chicago that Nora sat in with Scottie and the Oasis. She was invited to join the band and spent several years with them before Scottie’s unfortunate passing. During this time many local Chicago musicians, most notably Mary Lane and Joe Barr, encouraged Nora and taught her the finer points of her craft.

Nora’s big break came in 1985 when Jimmy Dawkins saw her perform at a local Chicago club and invited her to join his band. For the next seven years Nora toured and recorded with Jimmy and his band and appeared on two of his CDs, Feel the Blues (JSP, 1985 & 2002 with a bonus NJB track) and Can’t Shake These Blues (Earwig, 1991). She also released a single, “Untrue Lover” (Leric, 1982) and her first solo release in 2002, Nora Jean Bruso Sings the Blues (Red Hurricane).

While touring Europe, Canada, and the United States, Nora refined her performing skills and developed an international fan base. She appeared on many major festivals including the King Biscuit Blues Festival in Helena, AK, the Chicago Blues Festival and the Pocono Blues Festival.

Nora has lived a life full of passion and pain, triumph and despair, and with it has come a wisdom out of which art is born. Living involves pain but offers redemption as well. That is what the blues is all about.

Oscar Wilson: A Modern Blues Master

Experience the Raw Power of Chicago Blues

Blues with a feeling is something that Wilson has known about from an up-close-and-personal perspective ever since he was a young child growing up on the south side of Chicago on 43rd Street in a six-room apartment split by two families. His talent was undeniable from the get-go, as Wilson was virtually born to play and sing the blues. His mother knew a lot of bluesmen like Junior Wells and Big Smokey Smothers and Elmore James … Little Mack Simmons, Honeyboy Edwards who all used to come their house Friday night fish fries and would sit there and play. As a little boy, he was always more interested in what they were doing than anything else. Now the highly acclaimed front man of the much-loved Alligator Records Recording artists, The Cashbox Kings, where his vocals not only the icing on the cake of this highly popular outfit but also the albums have showcased his knack for powerful and humorous song-writing.  

Giles Robson: A Harmonica Maestro

Experience the Raw Power of Blues

Giles Robson is a force to be reckoned with in the world of blues music. This multi-award-winning harmonica virtuoso, singer, and songwriter is captivating audiences worldwide with his incredible talent and soulful performances.

Multi award winning, internationally recognized Blues harmonica virtuoso, singer and masterful showman Giles Robson has had a dream musical career. The ONLY UK or European artist to appear on Chicago’s legendaryAlligator Records who described him as “A blues giant, absolute master of the form”. He is only one of THREE UK blues artists alongside Eric Clapton and Peter Green to win a coveted Blues Music Award in Memphis (The Grammys of the Blues). His albums are in the top of the world’s most prestigious music magazines critics polls – Mojo Magazine, Living Blues and Downbeat and he yearly tours over 15 countries across the world a year.

He plays and sings beautiful,powerful, emotional and timeless blues with a deep groove and laden with intense feeling. He is widely considered one of the world’s greatest blues harmonica virtuosos.  He plays in his own accomplished and distinct style that captures stunned audience’s hearts and imaginations with his mixture of superb technique, rhythmic power, tonal control and sensitive emotional expressiveness. Witnessing Giles Robson live is a dazzling, and unforgettable experience as audiences from around the world constantly discover.