Connor Selby has enjoyed a terrific 2023 and 2024 looks to be shaping up equally well. The on-the-rise blues singer and guitarist is set to open for Joanne Shaw Taylor on a run of shows through the Netherlands and the UK in February 2024. Connor continues to support his self-titled album voted a Top 10 Blues Album of the Year by Mojo Magazine. More about Connor Selby and Joanne Shaw Taylor follows:

Legendary blues-rock guitarist Walter Trout returns to the UK in May 2023 in support of his recent ‘Ride’ album, available now via Provogue / Mascot Label Group. ‘Ride’ is Trout’s 30th solo album and received some of the best reviews of his career. The guitarist can justifiably claim to have seen and done it all in his solo career that dates back to 1989 after stints in John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers and Canned Heat, amongst others. Much more about Walter Trout and those all-important tour dates follow:

Gareth Dunlop will continue to promote his excellent 2022 album ‘Animal’ with two upcoming tours and a London headline show. The tours are as the special guest of two very different artists, which reinforces the high regard in which Gareth is held as a songwriter and producer. First up, he’ll be playing shows with English singer-songwriter Lucy Spraggan in May before joining blues/Americana legend Bonnie Raitt for her UK ‘Just Like That’ dates with a solo headlining set at Pizza Express in London’s Holborn squeezed in along the way. Full tour details and a little more about Gareth Dunlop follow:

When Rivers Meet formed in 2019, the husband-and-wife duo Grace Bond (vocals, mandolin, violin) and Aaron Bond (vocals, guitar) quickly established themselves on the blues-rock scene, winning multiple awards along the way, including Blues Band Of The Year at the UK Blues Awards 2021 and 2022. The duo have a new album ‘Aces Are High’ set for release later this year. The first taster from the record, ‘Play My Game’, is a definite statement of intent and bodes well for the upcoming album. Please read on for more about When Rivers Meet, the video for the new single, tour dates and plenty more.

Fresh from a run of shows opening for Beth Hart, singer and guitarist Connor Selby is now back out on the road playing headline shows, including Manchester and London, plus a string of festival appearances. The deluxe edition of his self-titled album has been getting great reviews while Connor has been picking up awards, including "Young Artist of the Year" at the UK Blues Awards for the last three consecutive years (2020, 2021, 2022). We have loads more about Connor, including a selection of videos and those upcoming dates: 

Blues guitarist Kenny Wayne Shepherd and his band will bring their ‘Trouble is…25"‘ tour to the UK in April. The tour marks the 25th Anniversary of the original platinum-certified album release, which the band reinterpreted late last year via a newly recorded multi-format release for the Provogue/Mascot Label Group. The Kenny Wayne Shepherd Band will perform the album in full at the upcoming shows, plus a selection of live favourites. More about Kenny Wayne Shepherd and the tour follows:

Marcus King, the hugely acclaimed singer, songwriter and guitarist, returns to the UK for a string of shows this month (March 2023), in support of last year’s stunning album Young Blood, which was produced by Dan Auerbach of The Black Keys. Part of a European trek, the dates include Marcus’ biggest London show thus far at the Kentish Town Forum. I’d advise getting there early, as support comes from Ida Mae. More about Marcus and those tour dates follow:

Australian singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Nigel Wearne will kick off his UK tour tomorrow, Friday the 13th, in Aldershot alongside acclaimed singer-songwriter Lauren Housley. The duo first met in Montreal, Canada, in 2019 and bonded over a mutual appreciation for John Prine. This chance meeting would lead to the ‘To The Edge’ single, a wonderful minor-key lament ideal for a David Lynch movie. Alongside the tour, Wearne will slip in a solo showcase at UK Americana Music Week on the 25th. The tour dates, video for ‘To The Edge’ and more about Nigel Wearne follow:

You’ve got to admire the folks behind the Black Deer Festival. The independent festival endured two cancellations with the 2020 and 2021 festivals victims of the Covid pandemic. Undaunted Black Deer is back for 2022 with a mix of big names, rising stars and cult artists who could well turn out to be your new favourite because Black Deer is that kind of festival. The RGM team were pleased to cover Black Deer in 2019 as we believe it to be a festival against which others should be judged. I know this sounds like high praise but, we had a great time, the people running things were super friendly and the festival seemed to run like clockwork. The other great news is the free ticket initiative for the NHS and key workers has been rolled over to 2022. The Black Deer Festival is set for June 17-19th, 2022 with Van Morrison, Wilco, The Waterboys and Lucinda Williams leading the way. More details about the acts already booked and the festival follow:

To coincide with his June 18th appearance at Black Deer Festival singer/songwriter/guitarist Jack Broadbent has announced a run of UK shows. The seven dates will see Broadbent sharing billing with acclaimed acoustic guitarist Mike Dawes (Justin Hayward Band). Jack is touring in support of his excellent Ride album and will continue to do this via European shows in July opening for Richard Thompson. More about Jack and the tour follows.

With touring plans for many artists remaining uncertain Guns N’ Roses have rescheduled their 2021 European trek to 2022. Additional dates have been added in Europe and singer/guitarist Gary Clark Jr will be opening many of the shows including the London dates at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium where original tickets remain valid. Full details and a statement from Guns N’ Roses follows:

To mark the 30th Anniversary of the release of their debut album The Black Crowes have announced a European tour for Oct/Nov 2020. Chris and Rich Robinson will reunite to play the classic album in its entirety. If hell can freeze over then it seems the Robinson Brothers can also put their differences aside which is great news for fans. The tour starts in Dublin on October 10th and includes a string of UK shows. Tickets are on general sale February 7th with pre-sale from Wednesday, Feb 5th. Please read on for more about the tour including a full list of dates:

Marcus King will visit the UK in February for a run of shows in support of his recent ‘El Dorado’ album. Marcus has created quite a stir with ‘El Dorado’ which finds the 23-year-old singer and guitarist exploring his roots on a terrific record that mixes blues, country and classic rock with the soulful sounds of the South. ‘El Dorado’ could well prove to be a watershed moment for Marcus King. More about Marcus King including the tour dates and a brilliant take on ‘Wildflowers & Wine’ from the record follows:

ZZ Top formed back in 1969 and to mark the event the Texas blues legends have announced a run of European dates for 2019 to mark their 50th anniversary as a band. The dates include a show at the SSE Arena, Wembley on 12th July 2019 with special guest Jimmy Barnes. Tickets for the Wembley show are on sale from 10am on Friday November 16th. Links to tickets and more about ZZ Top follows:

Acclaimed guitarist Tommy Emmanuel will return to the UK in March 2019 for a run of dates. Well known for his hugely entertaining live shows, these latest dates follow the release of his Accomplice One album in early 2018. The tour will also feature leading blues guitarist JD Simo, who appears on Accomplice One and with whom Tommy has toured in the USA. Tommy’s thoughts on the upcoming tour and those all important dates follow:

Ferris & Sylvester will get 2019 off to a bang with their first UK headline tour. The duo played over a hundred shows in 2018 performing all over Europe from the smallest venues to London’s BST in Hyde Park. Tour dates and the video for their recent ‘Burning River’ single follow:

The Sheepdogs are fast becoming a favourite here at RGM towers. Their recent ‘Changing Colours’ album is a must listen for classic rock fans who enjoy the likes of The Allman Brothers and The Band. The thing that really cemented our interest in the band was a stunning show at the Borderline last year (review). The guys are fantastic live so it’s great to share the news that the band will be touring the UK with Rival Sons in Jan/Feb 2019. Please read on for the tour dates, the video for the infectious ‘Saturday Night’ and more about The Sheepdogs:

Canadian act The Sheepdogs will be visiting the UK in late October for a run of dates before that hit the European mainland. The rescheduled dates are in support of their recent ‘Changing Colours’ release and include London’s Borderline on November 5th. The quadruple Juno Award winning act have been compared to The Band, The Allman Brothers Band and The Flying Burrito Brothers, which gives you a good idea of where they’re at musically and ‘Changing Colours’ lives up to those comparisons. A full list of the tour dates and more about The Sheepdogs follows:

BluesFest 2018 at The O2 this October was already looking pretty impressive with the likes of John Fogerty, Steve Miller Band, Robert Plant, Robert Cray and Van Morrison already on the bill. The promoters have now added more impressive names with the always excellent Zac Brown Band bringing their individual brand of Southern/Country/Jam rock to the O2 with special guest Beth Hart. The festival takes place October 25-27th with artists performing in the main arena and at the Indigo venue of the O2. More about the acts, the festival and ticket details follow:

A true guitar legend, Duane Eddy will make a rare visit to the UK in October 2018 as he celebrates his 80th birthday year with shows in London, Glasgow and Manchester. Tickets for the shows are available from 9am on Friday June 8th. Duane Eddy's twangy guitar sound is one of the most recognisable and influential sounds in the history of rock music. More details about the shows including ticket links and a little more about Duane Eddy follows:

London duo Ferris & Sylvester are currently on tour with Lucy Spraggan and to coincide they’ve released their latest single ‘Burning River’. You can catch Ferris & Sylvester on tour in November as they’ll be playing headline shows with BBC Introducing in the South West of the UK and prestigious London support slots with Trampled by Turtles, Welshly Arms and Jerron ‘Blind Boy’ Paxton. More about the duo and a stream of ‘Burning River’ follows:

Dana Fuchs released her fourth album 'Love Lives On' to universal acclaim earlier this year gaining positive reviews from a variety of publications representing the blues, country and classic rock communities. The album will now see a welcome vinyl release on 27th July via Get Along Records / Membran and to coincide with this a short run of UK dates have also been announced including The Borderline in London on September 21st. Much more about Dana Fuchs including the video for the impressive title track of 'Love Lives On' follows:

The annual Stone Free Festival is returning to the O2 in London for a third year. The first announcement of acts for the 2018 festival features a cool mix of prog, blues and hard rock acts including many 2018 UK exclusive performances. On June 16th German rockers Scorpions will perform with thrash act Megadeth as special guests. June 17th finds YES featuring  Jon Anderson, Trevor Rabin and Rick Wakeman closing the festival with support from ex Supertramp mainman Roger Hodgson and blues guitarist Joanne Shaw Taylor. Many more acts will be added so this is looking like a great weekend. More info about the festival and a host of other things happening at the O2 over the Stone Free weekend follows:

In these days of fleeting one-hit wonders and reality TV, when the average attention span is measured in seconds, the fact that a band can announce a 50th anniversary tour is to be applauded. Jethro Tull are up there with the likes of The Rolling Stones, who they appeared with in 1968 at the ill-fated Rock and Roll Circus event, in the longevity stakes. Ian Anderson has led his troops through the decades rarely making a musical mistake and the result is a very impressive body of work which will be celebrated early next year. The latest line-up of the band with Anderson at the helm will perform a run of shows in the UK in April 2018. Tour dates and ticket details follow:

The Mavericks return to our shores for a run of dates in February 2018. The band are touring in support of their Grammy-nominated 'Brand New Day' record. The album has two nominations for Best Americana Album and Best American Roots Song for 'I Wish You Well.'  The dates include a prestigious London show at The Palladium. More about The Mavericks and those tour dates follow:

The Lone-star collective known as The Texas Gentlemen will visit the UK for a showcase AmericanaFest gig at London's Oslo on January 31st as part of a short UK tour. The band are toured in support of their well received and wonderfully eclectic 'TX Jelly' album. The guys are much in demand as a backing band for a host of artists including Shakey Graves, Joe Ely and Kris Kristofferson so great things are expected as they're sure to cover all the roots bases. More about the band and those dates follow:

The duo of Martin Harley and Daniel Kimbro will release their new album of blues-Americana 'Static In The Wires' on February 10th. The duo will support the release with an extensive UK tour in March 2017. More about the duo, tour dates and a sample of tracks from the album follows:

Guitarist Saiichi Sugiyama and his band will be touring the UK in Early 2017 to promote his upcoming album which is due late April 2017. A video for the first single from the album 'Melting Away' is now available and features the late Andy Fraser of Free. Fans of early 70's blues rock should check this out. Those tour dates, the video and more about Saiichi Sugiyama follows:

Marty O'Reilly is in the UK on a solo tour. O'Reilly can usually be found fronting his Old Soul Orchestra but for this tour he has only a guitar and a harmonica for company. So expect some of his best songs, and a few more he loves to play, in a run of intimate venues. Tour dates and much more about Marty O'Reilly follows:

The White Buffalo will return to the UK in January 2017 for a set of UK dates. In other great news for White Buffalo fans his back catalogue is to be made widely available in Europe for the first time. For more info about the tour, the reissues and a message from The White Buffalo please read on.