The UK Blues Challenge 2024 – The Tuesday Night Music Club (8 October)
WORDS: Nigel Foster IMAGES: John Bull
This was never going to be a typical night at the club due firstly because Richard and his club had the honour of hosting the 2024 UK Blues Challenge whereby the winner gets to represent the UK at The International Blues Challenge in Memphis and the European Blues Challenge which is next in Croatia. Then due of course because of the desperately sad passing of Matt Long on Sunday. Matt and mum Fiona and dad Paul are members of the Tuesday Night Music Club family and it was the families first time together to mark Matt’s passing.
So to the 5 acts each of whom had a 20 minute set to lay down their marker and each did that with real aplomb and commitment. The Thomas Heppell Band, Connolly Hayes, The Alex Voysey Band, Alice Armstrong Band and Mississippi MacDonald was the running order.
The Thomas Heppell Band are a real blues power trio and that was fully evidenced in their piledriving set that featured a locked out rhythm section pumping out the groove giving Thomas the foundation to dazzle with some fiery fretwork added to with his strident voice. It was not all pedal to the metal as the trio eased in slow and almost gospel style blues. Thomas loves to entertain and had us joining on the chorus and clapping along more than once Connolly Hayes followed on, a 6 piece outfit of rhythm section, keys, twin guitars and vocals and they showed blues can be a broad church as their style was funky and soul inflected.
Frankie Connolly and Jess Hayes shared lead vocals, Frankie singing low in the register with a clear edge, Jess higher in the register with a honeyed sweetness. The duo also combined for some soulful vocal harmonies. The rhythm section was super tight,the keys bold and the twin guitar salvo was sublime with rhythm and lead locking together.
Connolly Hayes may be the new kids on the block but it is easy to see why they are making the scene sit up and take notice. The Alex Voysey Band were a new act to me, a real bluesy 4 piece band with keys and Alex on lead guitar on top of the drums and bass.
The opening number showed courage and conviction as it was a stretched instrumental that featured Alex’s dextrous fretwork. Their second song had Alex sharing his melodic voice with us giving a soulful feel to the music. Harder edged bruising licks followed in the next number, spliced up with some heavy keys and to close their set the quartet carved out a true blues with feel.
It was always going to be a tough ask for Alice and Kev Hickman to perform because they are not just musician friends with Matt, they are genuine close friends. Alice and Matt played together in the early incarnation of Alice’s band and Kev and Matt became friends when they played together in Matt’s heavy rock band The Revenant Ones and then he took over the drum stool in Catfish. Alice and Matt share the same quirky personality and are kindred spirits and the guys developed a strong bond.
Alice and her ‘boys’ delivered a scorching set built on a powerful engine room that pulsed out a groove, every band’s ’go to’ keyboard wizard Stevie Watts weaved magical patterns and lead guitarist Ollie Knight-Smith carved out sharp expressive riffs. And then Alice, a real tour de force of a vocalist and in the band’s all too short set the leading lady showed she is a powerhouse singer who can span the vocal range moving from way down and deep to high and delicate.
Emotion rose to the surface when Alice performed The Life I Chose that I believe was a Co-write with Joshua Rigal. Beautifully controlled voice displaying feel and passion then the band chopped out some blues leaning into a BB King style number that was true blues.
Then to close the show the evening’s most authentic blues artist Mississippi MacDonald a 4 piece band that switched effortlessly between a blues shuffle, slow blues and blues rock.
Mississippi cranked out the sonics on a Stratocaster and to his left a cool dude with a Telecaster who played just like Wilco Johnson, staccato choppy riffs laid under Mississippi’s coursing solos and clean voice. Then for the judges, the hard part, deciding the winner and after a few minutes Richard introduced the winners as Alice Armstrong Band and from the loud sustained cheers a popular choice.
A well deserved win for Alice and the band and I wish them well for what lies ahead. Congratulations to the other 4 acts who should feel proud of the way they performed. Music was the real winner showing once again its power of bringing people together.