Blues festival reviews

Dear Matt, Mrs Matt and all the staff involved with the Bentworth Blues Festival. Just wanted to say it was our first time at the festival, we had a really amazing time we came with friends who have been coming for years. I was the lucky first ticket out of the hat and won one of the guitars, don't think I said thanks, was tipsy at the time so belated thanks. Look forward to seeing you next year.

Your Blues Weekends just keep going from strength to strength! Many thanks to you both, Matt & Karen for all your hard work and making such a great weekend happen.
Cheers,
Stuart, Val & 'the gang'.

ANOTHER AMAZING YEAR. Matt, Karen and Staff just go that extra mile to make everyone feel so welcome. I am so glad to be part of such a great weekend and totally overwhelmed, I think it could run for a week and people would still want more. I am on a downer now but can't wait for next year. Love and best wishes

Thanks for making us feel so welcome at the Bentworth Blues Festival, we had a blast. Nice friendly atmosphere, it was great. Just had a look through the Festival programme nicely put together, creative writes-ups too, well done.

Just off to Heathrow, on a tour of America for about three weeks. First stop Nashville, I hope they like blues infused funky rock down there.

Was a great event, planning on coming along again next year. thanks to all the hard workers behind the bars

Many many thanks for a totally fu@*#n' amazing day ,, and night at your fab boozer.
We all had a brilliant time , thanks for your hospitality , the band had a great time...

Well Karen and Matt

I wanted to say thank you...........That was my first time at the Bentworth blues weekend and I really enjoyed myself! What a fabulous group of people you have working for you and the music was excellent!

Maybe next year the primary school might put on a band too as a starter !!

I can't wait until next year. Thank you very much! By the way my favourites were Northsyde and Suga Mama!!

Happy memories from Bath.

Bridget

What can I say, absolutely awesome Blues week end. Thank you so much for a corker!!!!! xxx

Hi matt just liked to say what fantastic time i had at Bentwoth Blues everyone was so friendly great atmosphere.

Many thanks Chris Atkins

Just wanted to thank you and your hard working team for a fantastic weekend. Brilliant festival! I shall try and come next year.

Thank you Matt for a truly brilliant weekend. The music was excellent and the food and setting fantastic. We really appreciated all the hard work that you, Karen and the staff must have put in to make it such a well organised event

Just like to say what a brilliant weekend it was and will certainly be back next year.

"First time I've ever signed a guitar! and I managed not to have to sing 'Jilted John'. Excellent. Thanks to all

Thanks for a totally awesome time, it was our first year, but it won't be our last! brilliant :-D

"what a Fab day yesterday Matt!! well done to you and the crew!! Great Festival and thanks for having us...we loved it...!!!"

Bentworth was a new high from Sugar Mama. Incredible performance from all the boys. Nearly 2 hours of live download will be available soon.

Just a brief note to say thanks very much for asking us to play at your brilliant music weekend!

We really enjoyed it and were all very impressed with the great atmosphere and how friendly everybody was.

Had a blast at Bentworth 2011 yesterday! Thanks Matt at all who put this fabulous weekend together! X

Hi Matt, just a quick message to say thanks again for putting me on your festival. Had a great time as always and glad the sun came out!

To Matt and Karen and All the Staff
attended or first Bentworth Blues and just cannot describe how good this has left us feeling.

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Val.

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Hi Matt,

Thanks for having us at the Bentworth Blues Weekend 2008 - we really enjoyed ourselves playing for a really appreciative blues audience! We had some really kind compliments from the audience (thanks folks!) and sold a few CDs to boot! Thanks to Tommy Allen for doing the sound for us.

As for the other bands we saw there, we all thought the quality of musicianship etc was very high. Nicki Moore's Blues Corporation, Funky Dory and Loose Shoes we thought were all brilliant! Sorry we couldn't stay longer to see more but we had to get off to another gig in the evening.

Finally a big thank you to all our fans from Aldermaston, Andover, Basingstoke and Ludgershall who came along to support us.

Matt, you put on a top class festival - cheers mate! Looking forward to coming back to The Star on Fri 12th October.

All the best,

Jon Walsh Blues Band.

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Hi Matt

We drove up from Bristol as a gamble after seeing festival advertised on the internet. Thought it was a great festival - organisation, size, bands, people, location, price, camping and on and on. Thanks a lot for organising the festival and hope to attend loads more!

Cheers

John and Tara

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Hi Matt & Karen,

Just a note to say thanks for having us and looking after us so well. We had a great time despite the rain (as did everyone, it seemed !)

I'm just setting up a myspace profile for the band - it's got some live recordings up that you can listen to

http://www.myspace.com/thewhywherefores

Thanks again and hopefully we'll see you another year

Cheers

Emily and Steve

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Matt,
Just a quick mail to thank you & your staff for a terrific day of
music on Saturday if we had known how good it was gonna be we would have
booked for the weekend!

Richard Gudge

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The Star Inn in Bentworth, Hampshire, is well known in the local area as one of best venues for live blues, with a regular roster of quality acts. In addition, once a year the landlord and landlady, Matt and Karen Williams – along with a small army of volunteers - put on a weekend blues festival. This year was the 8^th successive occasion, and the biggest yet, with twenty bands and solo performers spread over three days.

On the main stage, The Robin Bibi band kicked things off on Friday evening. Robin is a quality performer and he didn't disappoint, playing a diverse and entertaining set including a lively rendition of the Hendrix classic 'Fire', as well as playing his guitar behind his head in the classic T-bone Walker style. Following Robin, was Jules Benjamin (who also Mc'd the entire festival), a one-man music machine from Worcester, who played an amusing set (on piano, guitar and harmonica), full of classic numbers to a packed audience. A great start to the weekend!

Saturday lunchtime brought the Sarah Warren Band to the main stage, who played a nice set of punchy blues-rock, although they inexplicably had a break in the middle of their set, and didn't really pick-up the momentum afterwards. Meanwhile on the arena stage – on the village green opposite the pub – the Pete Harris Blues Band opened up with a collection of old-school Chicago blues including a tribute to the recently departed Bo Diddley with a storming version of 'Who Do You Love?' Next up on the Main stage was Trafficker, with local guitar hero Tommy Allen and his new line-up of Chris Lomax on Bass and Micky Barker on drums. Tommy played his usual mix of loud and proud guitar including storming versions of 'Voodoo Chile (Slight Return)' (seemingly a pre-requisite for any aspiring guitar slinger!) and 'Texas Love' from his 'Natures Most Wanted' LP. According to their press blurb, The John Walsh Band 'rock, boogie, stomp, howl, cry and weep' their way through the blues and they did just that on the arena stage, powering though an impressive set. The Dave Raphael Band was next up on the main stage, who seemed to suffer from sound problems, but played their way through some classic blues with aplomb nevertheless.

Meanwhile, the Primo Blues Band was firing up on the arena stage led by drum master Sam Kelly. Unfortunately, the bands guitarist and vocalist only turned up after the band were well into their set, and they were forced to jam instrumentals for the majority of the gig; a major disappointment as this is a band with ability to seriously impress. On the main stage, local outfit Five Field Holler produced an impressive display of New Orleans funk blues, including the classic Dr. John number 'Right Place Wrong Time', as well as some groovy original numbers. They finished off with a swinging cajun-style rendition of the Ian Siegal number 'Life is Too Short to Drink Cheap Wine', which saw a few intrepid souls taking to the dance floor. A good performance from a less well-known band, who on the basis of this performance are capable of moving onto bigger and better things.

Headlining on the arena stage were Cryin' Out Loud, a four-piece with a thunderous sound and an in-your face style. They royally entertained, a by-now packed crowd, with a set list of classic blues rock, including a thumping version of Chuck Berry's 'Nadine'. These boys clearly enjoy themselves when they play, and their exuberance rubbed off on the audience. However, this was mearly a prelude for the supernova of musicianship which was about to explode on the main stage. Funkydory headlined the Saturday night and proved themselves more than capable, unleashing an at times ferocious display, moving freely between blues, funk and rock. The highlight for me was an extended version of the Allman Brother's number 'Whipping Post', which featured a stunning virtuoso display from Jules Fothergill on guitar, ably backed by a superb rhythm section. Vocalist Lorna Reilly was equally impressive, working the crowd to a frenzy. An superb end to a superb day of music!

Traditionally the Sunday at the Bentworth festivals is a more chilled-out affair, with more acoustic acts and laid back performances. Opening the proceedings on the main stage was Australian Roland Chadwick, who performed acoustic fingerstyle and delta-style slide numbers, interspersed with some humour, mainly related to the relative performance of the Australian and British Olympic teams! A nice way to start the third day. Following Roland, was Danny Kyle and Pete Shaw on guitar and upright bass respectively. These guys are pure class, and it showed with a mesmerising performance of delta blues, showing that you don't need a wall of amplifiers to produce a powerful display. Their performance was so mesmerising in fact, that your reviewer missed Frenchman Claude Bourbon and solo one-man-band Mickey Flynn who were playing inside the pub. However, from what I've heard both put on good shows. Following Mickey was Denise Marie from New Orleans, who plays 'bayou blues, swampy jazz and funky folk' according to her biography. Playing solo, with just a Fender Stratocaster, she did just that, producing a good, well rounded performance.

On the main stage, the Nigel Bagge band fired up, moving the pace up a notch. They have a great smooth, controlled, sound which went down very well, including a nice version of the Delbert McClinton song 'Blues as Blues Can Get'; a very tasty performance. I missed Michael Berk in the pub bar, but he evidently played with his usual fleet fingered style. On the main stage, the Spike Drivers then put on an impressive display, with unusual songs, interesting instruments and intelligent arrangements. Superb guitar from Ben Tyzack was complemented by a seemingly never-ending supply of percussion widgets which added a very nice dimension to an already beautifully paced set. A well deserved standing ovation greeted them at the end of their set. The final act of the weekend was Jules Benjamin, resurrecting his act from the Friday evening, although this time he was joined by some of the Five Field Holler boys, to rip through a short set of classic blues rock tunes. The dance floor was packed, and everybody whooped and cheered through a thoroughly enjoyable mini-set, leaving a thoroughly satisfied (and well refreshed!) crowd to find their way home through the Hampshire night.

Overall, this was a fantastic festival, with a great selection of diverse and interesting bands. Big thanks to Matt and Karen for all the hard work required to organise something of this scale, and a big slap on the back to all the helpers – being it manning the BBQ, selling tickets, keeping the beer flowing etc. – who are vital to a successful festival. I for one, can't wait until next year!

The three day Bentworth Blues Weekend now in its eighth year is a benchmark of what a fun weekend of Blues should be about. It's difficult to cover all twenty acts so forgive the subjectivity and brevity.

The festival opened in fine style on Friday with The Robin Bibi Band and Jules Benjamin on the Main Stage. Benjamin operates as a one-man hurricane on guitar and keyboard delivering a diverse range of material. In contrast, "hard workin' and hard rockin' Bibi offered a more time-honoured driving blues.

So not to be outdone, Pete Harris Blues Band hit Saturday's Arena Stage with a fine kicking boogie performance. The next act The Jon Walsh Band with ace harp player Hugh Burden brightened up the gloomy glowering sky never losing the tempo set up by Harris' previous solid set.

Meanwhile back on the Main Stage Trafficker with guitarist Tommy Allen and his new line-up of Chris Lomas on bass and Mickey Barker on drums blew everyone away with a spacey set driven more by rock than blues with a blistering take on Jimi's Voodo Chile and Dave Edmunds' Standing at the Crossroads.

Saturday's final act on the Main Stage, Funky Dory with their mix of 'strong originals and reworked covers' failed to impress. To be fair probably not the band's fault more a case of blues burnout in a tired and emotional audience suffused by some of the finest local Blues (and beer ) around.

The final day, Sunday and the weather was looking decidedly dodgy but hey the Blues don't give a damn and the festival offered a more chilled opening with Claude Bourbon in the Bar and Rowland Chadwick on the Main Stage.

Both are classical in their approach with Bourbon's playing a nod to world influences. In contrast, charismatic Chadwick offered up Heartbreak Hotel, All Along the Watchtower and a haunting slide Walkin' Blues.

Then back to the 'Crossroads' with Robert Johnson who apparently, said Chadwick , aired an earlier version called 'Down in the Cotswolds.'

This Aussie joker was to be followed by Kyle and Shaw, Nigel Bagge Band, Spikedrivers and to close, Benny the Wedge.

Overall, the weekend was a fantastic opportunity to capture the essence and history of classic blues that in the UK, we owe to the pioneering efforts of the late Alexis Korner and of course his protege and Godfather of the Blues, John Mayall.

A lot of hard work must have gone into this mini festival and so congratulations to Matt and his team at The Star for pulling it off for the eighth year and keeping the Blues alive and relevant.