Packed festival programme will prove Orkney really is the home of the blues
(Story dated: Thursday, September 15)

Getting down to business - Mean Business are one of the locally-based bands to perform at this year's blues festival.

The cream of the worldwide blues world arrives in Orkney this week for the sixth annual Orkney Blues Festival.

Organisers are saying it’s their biggest yet, and with legends such as the British Blues All Stars headlining, they can’t be far wrong.

The festival officially opens this Friday, with the Umbrella Parade in Stromness at 2.30pm.

The fantastic Charlie Morris Band will kick off the music in the Stromness Hotel at 5.30pm, and from then on in, the entertainment is non-stop.

Highlights of the programme include the All Stars’ performance taking place in Fusion, Kirkwall, on Saturday night, while esteemed artists Tam White and Gerry Jablonski will also be appearing throughout the county.

Jimmy Hendrix Re-experienced will be a popular gig, after the success of their last visit, and Glasgow band Roost will be another favourite, having already gathered a following of their own in Orkney.

One of the most significant additions to this year’s festival is The Blues Academy Day, at Stromness Academy.

This event will offer people young and old the chance to learn a few blues licks, and get even more involved, and you never know -you could run into a British Blues All Star browsing for local talent!

Activities include talks, demos, workshops, sessions, and busking, and the whole experience looks set to have something for everyone.

Half-hour busking slots can be booked, from which all proceeds go to the festival.

One-to-one 15-minute sessions in guitar, bass and drums will also be taking place throughout the day.

The Blues Academy Day will feature performances from Gerry Jablonski at 2pm. Following that, there will be an under 18s band concert, and then Jimi Hendrix Re-experienced will perform at 8pm.

Local musicians will be responsible for a lot of the tuition. Professional guitarist and well-known local instructor, Adam Clarkson, will teach ‘Blues You Can Use’ — an education in practical blues guitar playing.

Mike Walker will show people ‘How to get a good guitar tone,’ and Mark Shiner will be teaching blues fiddle as well as hosting a guitar set-up clinic.

Kirkwall drummer Graham Simpson will help people improve their technique, and Lefty, from Jimi Hendrix Re-experienced, will be showing people the secrets of Hendrix’s sound - a subject he has studied his whole life.

Son Henry will also hold a lap steel guitar workshop.

Hot food and refreshments will be available in the ‘club’ - a place for musicians and non musicians alike to relax.

Organiser, Mike Walker, explained that the first Blues Academy event is attracting a lot of interest: “It’s all looking very promising and we have had people who are playing at the festival volunteering and people coming out of the woodwork to offer seminars.

“The whole idea of the seminars and the one-to-one sessions is to try to give folk enough scope to learn what they want to learn.

“It’s not strictly blues, although we’ll be trying to impress that blues is the crucible for the whole rock music thing.

“We’re hoping that people will come along, regardless of musical taste. It will be a fusion of lots of different types of music as well as blues. We want people to make it what they want it to be.

“The initial idea to do it came because so many of the events in the blues festival have been in licensed premises, so there’s been a feeling of exclusion for under 18s.

“We wanted to put on a whole day of stuff which everyone can come to, and that will have a family atmosphere. That is what we’re trying to do. If you play something, bring your instrument and you’ll get in free. If you sing, bring a moothy.

“ We hope it will work -it’s just fun at the end of the day. It’s really to try to give something extra to the festival-goers. The under 18s have not been that well served in the past.

“It’s nice on a family level, and if folk are really serious there will be people there who are quality, and others who are just there for fun -everyone should get something out of it.”

Besides the Blues Academy Day, the rest of the extensive programme will have something for everyone, whether it be big-name acts, small acoustic visitors, or local talent.

This year, Shapinsay’s very own blues band, Mean Business will make their first appearance at the Orkney Blues Festival, in the Ferry Inn Hotel at 4.30pm on Saturday, September 17.

The band, who were formed by session drummer Dave Pepper in the mid-1990s, originally included guitarist Lawrie Thompson, and Michael Thorpe, as well as Dave, Walter Gorman and Billy Eunson. They played together for about a year before splitting.

Sadly, Dave Pepper died a short while ago, but some of the core members came together again last year, and decided to start up again.

The new line-up, essentially a five-piece, now features Steve Bacon on keyboards, John Pettigrew on guitar, Billy Eunson on bass, Walter Gorman on vocals and Riou Lidderdale (also from Via Tomorrow) on drums. The band will also be joined on the night by another of Orkney’s best young drummers, Dylan Pepper, and a guest vocalist.

Mean Business will play a set of blues classics to suit all tastes, and as one of three local acts, will be a good representation for Orkney.

Also on Saturday, SAS Blues, featuring a few ‘well-known faces’ will perform an acoustic set in The Cafe at 2pm.

The other local name on the bill is Rory MacLeod -ex-circus clown, fire eater and one man soul band.

Although Rory has travelled the world, he now stays in Orkney with his family. To his credit, he composed the music for the award-winning televised animation show Creature Comforts.

He plays a range of instruments, including guitar, harmonica, trombone and various percussion, including finger cymbals. Catch Rory in the Royal Hotel in Stromness at 8pm, tickets £6.

Blues festival organisers are gearing up for a fantastic weekend, and can’t wait to see how it all works out.

A spokesman said: “Our preparations are almost complete and we can’t wait for the first chord to be struck. All the ticketed shows are selling well both locally and from outwith Orkney and we are both heartened and excited by the worldwide interest that the festival is receiving.

“With 15 top notch visiting acts augmenting the local talent on display it has the makings of another memorable weekend; proving once again that Orkney really is the home of the blues.”

For more information, gig lists and ticket information, log on to www.orkneybluesfestival.co.uk.