Macclesfield born and now Cheltenham based Alex Voysey and his Trio thrilled the Temperance café crowd in Leamington Spa, Warwickshire. The line-up was the excellent Alex Voysey (guitar and vocals), backed up by the virtuosity of Ben Hands (6 string bass guitar) and Paul Arthurs (drums).
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Alex’s passion for blues music began as a teenager when he came across Joe Bonamassa’s album ‘Don’t Talk’ and was immediately hooked and inspired by the virtuosity and complexities of Joe’s playing.
Alex is a passionate advocate for the benefits of music-making on young people and was recently appointed as a Youth Ambassador for the UK Blues Federation. He also works for Rock Steady as a tutor, inspiring young musicians of the next generation.
As well as the trio and full four-piece band Alex also goes out with touring theatre shows ‘Old Dogs, New Tricks’, a blues experience show bringing a virtuosic twist to both traditional and modern blues. ‘Faux Bonamassa’ playing tribute to Joe Bonamassa and songs from his wide catalogue. And the newer ‘Best of the Blues’ which is a new and rockier blues show highlighting those artists who were Alex’s influences, as well as including original material.
The evening’s set, in two parts, played all the songs from his 2023 album release ‘AV3’, many from his debut 2020 album ‘Head in a Blur’ and a few tasters from his new album ‘Blues in Isolation’. His new album is released on 16th March 2024 with a gig at the Cheltenham Playhouse with his four-part band as his ‘Best of the Blues’ Experience. He will be joined by Bristol musical theatre director Andy Alpass on keyboards.
His songs in the first half included as the opening song the original ‘Drive On’, with a great guitar solo from Alex, ‘The Worst is Yet to Come’ recorded by artists including Keb’ Mo’, then original songs ‘You Better Come Back Home’ & ‘Run Away’. Next up was a classic Kenny Wayne Shepherd song ‘True Lies’. This was followed by ‘Away to Mississippi’ which is another original and one of the first songs for the AV3 album, which Alex explained got the music and lyrics written in record time, unlike a lot of his songs. The song is ironically about finding it hard to write lyrics!
The first set came to a close with a Joe Bonamassa song ‘Love Ain’t a Love Song’ which included a bass guitar solo from Ben Hands and Drum solo from Paul Arthurs. The first half finished with another original with ‘Alone’ which featured on both ‘Head in a Blur’ and ‘AV3’ but with very different versions. This song was dedicated to all those with a speech impediment or stutter, which Alex does though as he found out not when singing!
After a break for a beer or wine the band returned for the second set with another original song ‘Forbidden Rock N Roll Jam’ which was a great bluesy number with great drum backing and great bass playing supporting Alex’s vocals and guitar work.
For the next song ‘The Ballad of John Henry’ written by influence Joe Bonamassa, Ben decided to play his bass guitar virtuously on the floor, with some passionate singing from Alex with some quieter interludes before a great finish. This was followed by a Stevie Ray Vaughan classic ‘Texas Flood’. Next up was another song on both the ‘AV3’ and ‘Head In A Blur’ albums (but with different arrangements) ‘Walk in my Shadow’ which Alex uses the final chord as his text alert on his phone! And included great interplay between lead and bass guitar with a strong drum rhythm.
The show finished with another original with ‘Not Over You’. After appreciative applause the trio came back for a Jeff Beck song ‘Spanish Boots’ which he wrote with Rod Stewart and Ron Wood. This first track from the ‘AV3’ album was released on the day that guitarist Jeff Beck died.
Alex is now excited to perform at the Cheltenham Playhouse on 16th March 2024 debuting his new album 'Blues in Isolation'. Tickets can be bought via this ticket link
