UK Blues Challenge winner 2023, Errol Linton and his band entertained the packed crowds, of over 450 people, on the last day of the Guiting Music Festival in a double header with Elles Bailey.
The hot and sunny day had brought out those from the Cotswolds and wider area to the delightful village of Guiting Power in Gloucestershire, with Blues in Britain magazine in attendance.
The band line-up was Errol Linton (vocals & harmonica), Lance Rose (bass), Richey Green (guitar), Petar Zivkovic (piano) and Gary Williams (drums).
Errol and his band are based in Brixton, London and have been playing the reggae infused blues for over 30 years, and were very proud to represent the UK at the International Blues Challenge in Memphis, Tennessee, USA and for the European Blues Challenge in Braga, Portugal.
The set included a variety of music styles with blues, reggae and roots music included for the appreciative audience. The music influences come from the US Deep South including Louisiana and New Orleans as well as the reggae beat from his parent’s home of Jamaica. As Errol told the crowds ‘My Father came over from Jamaica in 1959, followed by my Mother in 1960’
Errol is a great harmonica player and choose from a range of different harmonicas to give powerful playing matched with his vocals, with great backing from his band with time allowed for great guitar breaks from Richey, piano highlights from Petar and the strong rhythm section of bass and drums from Lance and Gary.
Errol was very pleased to be recently invited onto the BBC Radio 2 Blues show hosted by Cerys Matthews to publicize his newest album ‘Break the Seal’ with a couple tracks played on the show.
The set included songs from his albums released over the years particularly from his new album ‘Break the Seal’ including the title track ‘Break the Seal’ and the hit single ‘Country Girl (City Girl)’. Also featured were funkier Reggae songs including ‘Packing My Bags’ including a drum solo from Gary.
The band finished their set to a standing ovation with a quick blues & roots song with ‘So Many Women’
