Trevor was a founder member of The Move and stayed throughout their career. He then played with the wonderful Steve Gibbons Band. He played and sang and recorded with Jimmi Hendrix, Steve winwood, Robert Plant and many more before starting his own unique blues band. With members of his band from all the great Birmingham bands of the last 30 years this is one helluva collection of musicians.

Inspired by the likes of Traffic, Blind Faith, Jess Roden, Santana, Little Feat and Jimi Hendrix to name but a few The Cohen Brothers play a totally unique blend of rock, blues, funk, jazz and soul. The combined talents of Julian Crook on keyboards and vocals, Sean Griffin on guitars and harmonica, Dave Smaylen on drums, Brian Richards on bass and Pete Cottom on electric percussion with the added bonus of special guest Abby Brant on vocals soon had the intimate surroundings of the sixteenth century inn The Prince of Wales in Ledbury totally rocking. It has been a long time since I’ve seen an entire audience completely enthralled by a band. To say the atmosphere was upbeat would be a gross understatement. So I knew they could play live but we all know transfering that feeling to tape is no certainty so what of the album. © Martin Leedham. First published on RYM June 2011

The Cohen Brothers play a mixture of original material and carefully selected songs from other artistes who have inspired and influenced them. The band’s style ranges from blues and soul to rock, jazz and americana. They regularly gain comparisons to Steve Winwood/Traffic, Santana, Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, Steely Dan and Paul Weller. The band recorded and released their debut album “Moving On” in 2009 and in 2011 released follow up album “This Is Life”.

Joe Topping is a singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist from the Wirral, whose musical journey so far has been as colourful as it has varied. Joe has always been surrounded by music; his dad, Tom, who in addition to being a semi-pro musician ran a folk club and put on gigs by people as varied as Billy Connelly to Stephan Grapelli, from Martin Carthy to blues musician Blind Jessie Fuller. Many of these influences filtered down to Joe who is playing anything from traditional British folk music to Delta blues slide guitar. Joe also “has a gift to write songs that will last and that others will want to sing” John Wright. And “one of the most beautiful voices I have heard” Chris While. At gigs you are just as likely to hear him playing the mandolin, bouzouki, harmonica, dobro or banjo as you are the guitar.

Joe’s obvious talents have also been seized upon by folk/rock legend Ashley Hutchings who in December 2007 asked him to join his band, “The Rainbow Chasers” alongside Ruth Angell and Jo Hamilton. Since Joe joined the Chasers have been playing in arts centres and theatres across the UK and Italy. A new album is planned for 2010. “The best acoustic group in the country” Phil Beer, Show of Hands.

Sidewinder was conceived and has spent the last year travelling from gig to gig like a circus family, performing in blues clubs across the south of England and spending this summer supporting bigger names at open air festivals. The group has developed a unique approach to stagecraft and playing, open, humorous, direct. This was an opportunity to play the music which has stood the test and continues to influence generations of young musicians. Joining Dave Gray on stage is Stuart McMahon on bass and vocals. Originating from North of the border, Stuart is one of the rare breed of bass players who sings. Inspired by the likes of Jimmy Dewar, Phil Lynott and Sting he provides the solid, driving bottom end as well as the lead vocals. Steve Mayes had just returned from playing in Spain and took the opportunity to complete the trio on drums. With extensive studio experience as well as his passion for playing live, Steve works the rhythm that’s driven Sidewinder forward.

Before my visit last month, I hadn’t seen the amazing Bobby Valentino for maybe 20 years. I saw him perform back in, I guess, the mid 1980s with The Hank Wangford Band and then, around 1990, solo with his own backing band. He was always talented – a great fiddler and singer who was a distracting lookalike of actor Clark Gable from Gone With The Wind. Now, after 25 years, his fiddle playing has a subtle, seeming effortless flow to it, the sound moving from violin to mandolin to ukelele and to an almost mini-orchestral sound on some songs.

And, on Thursday night [at the Wickham Arms, Brockley], he played ornate backing to the wonderful voice of Paul Astles (Shedload of Love). Like Randy Newman with the inferior and vastly overrated Bob Dylan, if Paul Astle’s name were Paul Weller, he would be selling albums by the lorryload and playing arenas around the country. His voice is that good. And, with Bobby Valentino complementing him, it was an astonishing night. He switched from Johnny Cash to Neil Young to Merle Haggard to his own songs as effortlessly as Bobby Valentino’s violin swooped around him – and he made each song his own: none a copy.

SO IT GOES – John Fleming's blog

The well-balanced musical mixture of Tommy Allen and Johny Hewitt has come from years of love and passion of the true blues. These two guys in everyday life perform in totally different style bands; though grown from the same roots, these roots are where Allen and Hewitt meet and take us on their very own journey to where the delta headed to Chicago and became electrified. You would have seen and heard music like this along Maxwell Street every day with the likes of Robert Nighthawk, Carey Bell and many other artists who bridged that pre-war acoustic and post-war urban electric styles. Tommy Allen and Johny Hewitt, the duo, are no-frills, no-nonsense, raw and honest and like Johny says, “Let the music speak for itself”.

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