One of Huddersfield’s best-known musicians has organised a free major blues festival in Kirklees which also incorporates a beer festival.
Bluesbury will be held in Dewsbury from Friday, September 12, through to Monday, September 14 and has been organised by blues veteran Pat Fulgoni.
The first Bluesbury festival – Dewsbury’s first ever blues festival – was created in 2024 to huge acclaim from blues fans across the north who flocked to The West Riding pub at Dewsbury Train Station.
The festival will be held on the outdoor Platform 3 stage at The West Riding.
The line-up for Friday, September 12 is Lightning Threads, Chris Martin, Jon Taylor’s Blues Spectrum and Julian Socha.
Saturday, September 13 will feature the Errol Linton Band, Trevor Babajack Steger and Jesse Benns, Pat Fulgoni Blues Experience, Christy Herron Trio and Ash Gray (USA).
Sunday, September 14 will have Backwater Blues, Elsie Franklin Duo, James O’Hara Band and Hot Foot Hall.
These renowned blues artists are coming from as far as the USA, Brixton, London and Gloucestershire as well as Leeds, Huddersfield and Sheffield and boast multiple blues accolades, award nominations and critically acclaimed recordings among them.
Bluesbury is completely free to attend all weekend.
Pat Fulgoni said: “As with Huddersfield and the Huddersfield Blues Club at Smile Bar & Venue we knew there was an appetite for live blues music in Dewsbury from the Saturday Socials I ran at The West Riding over the last couple of years so we had a feeling that Bluesbury would be a success.
“The first festival last year blew us away so we knew we had to come up with something fresh for this year. These are seriously amazing artists who also appear on the programmes of some of the country’s – if not the world’s – most respected blues festivals. To be able to offer this for free is something really special.”
Bluesbury is also a beer festival. The West Riding, run by local pub group Beerhouses, has long built its reputation as a cask and craft ale pub and will have more than 30 beers over the weekend. Freshly cooked food is available from outside caterers Scran & Sup.
Here’s a bit about each of the artists.
Lightning Threads are a young blues band from Sheffield fusing vintage blues rock with soul-stirring energy.
Chris Martin is a long time member of The Rusty Nails Band gang and is known as a “silky fingered bluesmeister, raconteur and teller of unfeasibly tall tales.”
Jon Taylor’s Blues Spectrum is jazzy, funky and bluesy while Julian Socha is a guitarist singer/songwriter from Leeds who loves blues, rock n roll, bluegrass and jazz.
The Errol Linton Band is led by Brixton-born Errol who plays funky blues with a reggae tinge and jazz flavours.
Trevor Babajack Steger & Jesse Benns has a reputation for electrifying live performances and Trevor provides a unique blend of raw blues, roots and Americana.
The Pat Fulgoni Blues Experience are based in Huddersfield and their debut album received considerable acclaim reaching number 3 in the UK blues airplay charts and a nomination in the UK Blues Awards.
The Christy Herron Trio take listeners from 50s clean Stratocasters to fuzz-infused British Blues.
Ash Gray hails from Austin in Texas and plays music anchored in folk, rock, blues and Texas country.
The Elsie Franklin Duo sings and plays acoustic country blues, ragtime and jazz and is regarded as a rising talent on the UK blues scene.
The James O’Hara Band is a local blues legend who always impresses at Huddersfield Blues Club events.
The Backwater Blues trio have been playing all over the north west for more than 20 years, blending hard, soulful blues underpinned by a solid rhythm section.
Hot Foot Hall came from West Yorkshire and are steeped in the foot-stomping, slide-guitar wailing sounds of Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf, and Hound Dog Taylor.
Keep up with all Bluesbury news on the Beerhouses website at https://beerhouses.co.uk/category/the-west-riding/bluesbury/ or on the Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/bluesburyfestival
Written by ANDY HIRST who runs his own Yorkshire freelance journalism agency AH! PR (https://ah-pr.com/) specialising in press releases, blogging, website content, copywriting and ghost-writing autobiographies.
