November 24 2023, 18:00
Forum, 5 Legionowa Street
tickets: 90 PLN, available at the Forum cinema’s box office (5 Legionowa Street), Ludwik Zamenhof Centre’s box office (19 Warszawska Street) and on bilety.bok.bialystok.pl

Muddy Gurdy

Created in 2012 by percussionnist Marc Glomeau, Muddy Gurdy combines three musical personalities coming from the blues, from traditional musics, and afro-caribean musics: Tia Gouttebel (vocals, guitar), Gilles Chabenat (hurdy gurdy), and Fabrice Bony (percussions).

The trio, who comes from the Auvergne region in Central France, revisits the blues with a hurdy gurdy as a second guitar. The French musicians promote the idea of a “universal blues”, creating a link between the traditional musics from the hills of the Massif Central and those from the American South.
Their first album was released in 2014 under the name of „Hypnotic Wheels”. It mixed original songs with a personal interpretation of North Mississippi Hill Country blues treasures. This album was mixed by Pierre Bianchi. Its psychedelic sounds startle and seduce the audiences.
The band gives about 40 shows in two and a half years in France, Switzerland, and Belgium. Their universe is very trance-like, with an etheral yet organic music. Their concerts are particularly inovative when they perform surrounded by the audience.

In 2016 as the band is thinking about their next album, Marc Glomeau submits the idea of traveling with a basic form to the North Mississippi Hill Country, an area well known for its hypnotic blues. After working on the project for a whole year, the trio finally flies to Mississippi in Spring of 2017. There they record their album with only a laptop, a sound card and eight mics, hence following Lomax and Ferris’ “field recordings” tradition. The recordings take place in the countryside near Como, at people’s places and in places filled with memories. The trio improvises sessions with the grand children of musicians who forged the North Mississippi Hill Country blues: Cedric Burnside, R.L. Burnside’s grandson, Shardé Thomas, Otha Turner’s grand-daughter, and Cameron Kimbrough, Junior Kimbrough’s grandson. In the Delta, they also record with Pat Thomas, Son Thomas’ son.

„Homecoming” is their latest album. This time it was recorded in the Auvergne area as a pagan pilgrimage back to their roots. In a barn, in chapels, in the former ballroom of a mountain café, or with torches in the middle of the night in the crater of a volcano. The album is an absolute tribute to traditional music and culture, thus including first rate local guests and traditional bards: a duo of “bourrée” dancers, a harmonica player, a bagpipe player, and a specialist of “briolage” –ancien ploughmen work songs.

Muddy Gurdy’s music comes from blues music as much as from Auvergne. For the band, it is an indisputable and brilliant demonstration of a Copernican Revolution.
„Homecoming” accompanies –and illustrates– a reflection on the similarities between rural music from around the world, but also on the Creole identity, on modernity and the modernization of cultural traditions. But as the saying goes, Muddy Gurdy never puts the cart before the horse. „Homecoming” is not a dissertation on comparative ethnomusicology. It is just a phenomenal album born on earth and aiming at the stars and transcending space-time to give you the chills.

Errol Linton

Ever since John Walters declared Errol Linton the ‘future of British Blues’ back in 1993 this Brixton born gentleman has been plying his trade and perfecting his art at home and across the world. Over the decades Errol has collaborated and played with many musical greats from the blues world and beyond including Bo Diddley, Tony Allen, Abram Wilson, Doctor John, Screaming Jay Hawkins and most recently US guitar supremo Joe Bonamassa. Linton contributes the haunting harmonica on ‘Lookout Man’ from Joe’s 2021 Grammy nominated album ‘Royal Tea’ recorded at Abbey Rd. Errol has produced several albums himself; the last two studio albums in collaboration with Brassdog records are his first on Vinyl. ‘Packing My Bags’ (‘Chess Records meets Studio One’) recorded at world famous Dean St Studios and ‘No Entry’ recorded at the equally iconic Toerag Studios have been great critical successes for Errol and his band.

After 30 years as a singer, songwriter and the world’s best harmonica player Errol and his exceptional band are still amongst the hardest working groups in Britain. ‘The tremendous King of the UK Blues’ ( Arcadianegra, Spain) perform shows around the capital at least 4 times a week making The Errol Linton band the hottest, happening gig you are likely to go to. As well as sell out shows at the Jazz Cafe & Nells this year the band have headlined many music festivals over the years including Cerys Matthews ‘Good Life Festival’ in Wales. Errol’s band comprises some of the music industry’s most sought after & respected musicians. Suffice to say, in the words of author & journalist Garth Cartwright; ‘that Errol Linton leads the best blues band in Britain. Or, perhaps that should read, the best band in Britain.’

Lachy Doley is a world-renowned keyboardist and singer who has earned a reputation as one of the most dynamic and soulful musicians of his generation. Born and raised in Australia, Doley has been playing music since he was a child and has developed a unique style that blends blues, soul and funk into a high-energy, powerhouse performance. He is best known for his incredible skills on the Whammy Clavinet and the Hammond Organ, and his electrifying live shows have earned him a dedicated following around the world.
Throughout his career, Doley has collaborated with a number of famous artists, including Bootsy Collins, Joe Bonamassa, Jimmy Barnes, and Glenn Hughes. He has also performed in over 20 countries at some of the world’s most prestigious festivals and venues, including the Byron Bay Blues Festival, Montreal Jazz Festival and Sydney’s Opera House.
His performances are always high-energy, charismatic, and soulful, and he has a way of connecting with audiences that is truly unique and mesmerising. Doley’s incredible keyboard skills have also earned him a reputation as one of the world’s greatest organ players. He is often compared to Hammond legends like Jon Lord and Keith Emerson, and been coined ‘The Jimi Hendrix of the Keyboard’.
In recent years, Doley has become a viral sensation thanks to his many live concert videos which have been shared millions of times on social media. His incredible keyboard solos and passionate performances have captivated audiences around the world, and he has been praised for his ability to bring an incredible level of energy and soul to every performance. Whether he is playing with a full band or performing as a solo artist, Doley is always a crowd-pleaser, and his live shows are truly unforgettable.