John Fairhurst

A Wigan native, John has been honing his craft on the road combining his passions for people and music for years. The result is an awe-inspiring wall of sound rooted in his northern blues background, with a gritty mournful deep-south attitude and a voice to carry it home. With a bottle-neck blues style referencing the likes of Son House, comparisons to the finger-picking of John Fahey, a leaning towards the psychedelic 60’s rock of Hendrix and Led Zeppelin and the ever present influence of Indian raga, John’s music is a real melting-pot of diverse musical traditions. His eclectic mix of influences wrapped up in a powerful blues style has been heard around the world, including SXSW, Glastonbury, Green Man, Tarragona, The Secret Garden Party and Edinburgh Festivals. He has four CD’s currently on release, all of which have been received with critical acclaim, the Guardian describing the “Joys of Spring” as “truly exquisite” and his latest album, “Saltwater” also receiving rave reviews in the music press. His latest credits include residencies on the Harley Davidson European Festival, a tour with Johnny Winter plus contributions to the sound tracks of two recently released major films, "The Beat Beneath my Feet" and the Martin Scorcese-produced "Light My Way". Fresh from a triumphant appearance at this year's Glastonbury Festival John will be appearing with a Special Guest (he's keeping us guessing!) to perform a searing set of acoustic blues. Epitomizing the sound of modern British blues this will be John's fourth appearance here at the Club, and if the others are anything to go by this promises to be a very special night indeed. We love John here and we have little doubt you will too. Highly recommended.

"a dark and powerful voice coupled with a bottleneck slide and Southern style stomp...The songs are strong on melody and chorus...his solos are monumental...but overall you are left with an impression of his vocals...he makes a sound that has many layers and levels – the more you unpeel the more you get out of it" Blues Matters;
“Possibly the finest guitarist you’ll ever see" Chris Long, BBC