The Jon Walsh Blues Band is a real blues band! Not a blues-rock band, nor a rock band disguised as blues band although we may branch out into the odd jazzier number occasionally. Saying that, don’t think that we only play the "crying in your beer" kind of blues because we can boogie along with the very best! This band can conjure up all the different colours and moods of the blues – it rocks, boogies, stomps, howls, cries and weeps.

2006 year was a very good year for us. Much of our success has come from how well our live debut album ("Can You Feel It?") has been received. We shall be releasing our next CD in late 2007. The JWBB is now becoming a familiar name on the at blues club and festival scenes after appearing at The Summer Blues Festival, Lakeside (courtesy Boogaloo Promotions), The Sugarhill Festival (courtesy Boogaloo Promotions), The St Ives September Festival (four years running), The Swanage Blues Festival, Bentworth Blues Festival and Blues on the Meadow. We are also well known at prestige blues venues such as The Basingstoke Blues Club, Talking Heads, Jagz, The Maltings, Reading Arts Centre and other various known blues venues.

Here’s a bit more technical info about the band …..

The JWBB prides itself on playing a wide variety of blues from slide guitar of the Mississippi Delta to the boogies of Texas and the jazz blues of Chicago.

In our usual sets the JWBB will play covers by …..Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf, Tampa Red, Freddie King, Albert King, BB King, Robert Johnson, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Bobby Bland, John Lee Hooker, Mississippi John Hurt, Blind Willie McTell, Son House, Willie Dixon, Elmore James, Blind Willie Johnson, Rory Gallagher, Albert Collins, Otis Rush and many more.

And of course there’s always a number of songs written by Jon in the set too.

PA………… 3kw per channel Peavey, Yamaha, Studiomaster rig which is down-sizeable

Mics………. Sures and AKGs

Guitars ….. Fender, Gibson, Martin, Epiphone, Taylor (you name it – we’ve got it!)

Backline … Fender and Trace Elliot

Drums …… Sonor (vintage & classic) & Zildjan

Keyboards.. Roland & Yamaha

The line up has changed a few times over the years but is now the tightest and most talented ever. All members of the band are tutors and session players and …. er …. over 21! The JWBB are ……

Jon learned music as a youngster with the RSCM (Royal School of Church Music) and now teaches others as a guitar tutor in and around Andover. As well as fronting The JWBB he plays lead, acoustic and slide guitar … and maybe a little harp when he feels bold enough! Jon also writes the original material for the band and even though he wasn’t born in the Mississippi Delta all his compositions are pure Blues.

Jon also performs as a solo act playing many of the well-known and some not so well known blues songs of the 20s 30s and 40s on his Martin and Taylor acoustics and his dobro set up for bottleneck style.

Pete (affectionately known as "Mrs Mills" or "Mojo Miller" by the rest of the band) is the co-founder of JWBB with Jon. He is the maestro of the band having attained a BA(Hons) in Music and is now the Head of Music at a well-known secondary school. In the world of music, if Pete doesn’t know about it – it hasn’t been written. He is a seriously brilliant pianist/organist and fortunately for JWBB, his first love is the Blues.

Pete has previously played with "Soundbite" and occasionally stands in for the Basingstoke Symphony Orchestra, along with his wife, Suzanne, who plays 1^st Cello.

Steve has played bass with Jon on and off for years and is quite simply one of the best bass players in the South (of the UK that is! … his fame hasn’t quite reached Mississippi yet!). Steve’s style is that of a solid but creative bass player who can play delicately (rare these days!) for slow jazzy blues but can also lay down a bedrock of boogie when required.

Steve has been there, done it and worn the T-shirt after playing with "London", "The Vampires" and "The Raiders" on some the UK’s largest stages before joining the JWBB.

Terry is the most recent addition to the band. He has an awesome reputation as one of the best blues and jazz drummers around. Quite deservedly so as Terry is one of the few drummers who, not only drives a band with energy and precision, but also plays with real feel and passion – essential for a blues outfit.

Previously, he played with "Canterbury Tales", "Rod Garfield", "Blues on Red" and "The Blues Boys". When Jon approached Terry to join JWBB he was amazed and delighted when Terry accepted. He is now a firm fixture with the band.

Here are some quotes that Festival and Blues Club organisers have kindly said about us:

"What a great pleasure to have this wonderful band for the final main gig of the weekend!" ...... "….you'll love the Jon Walsh Blues Band!"