Elgar Festival Director Kenneth Woods swaps his baton for his other great musical love, blues guitar! Joined by his regular bandmates Joe and Steve, and the UK’s blues rising star Alex Voysey, come and hear Elgar’s themes reimagined and threaded into a journey through blues history including music by Robert Johnson, Howlin’ Wolf, Led Zeppelin, Joe Bonamassa and many others.
Tickets £10. Cash bar available.
Saturday 1st June at 10:00pm
Henry Sandon Hall
Royal Porcelain Works
Severn Street
Worcester, WR1 2NE
Or call Worcester Theatres on 01905 611427.
Ken Woods and the Old Blue Gang
Ken Woods guitar
Joe Hoskin bass
Nathan Thomas drums
And special guest
Alex Voysey guitar
Tickets £10. Cash bar available.
Origins of the Blues
Featuring music by:
Son House, Skip James, Robert Johnson, Ledbelley, Howlin Wolf, Willie Dixon, Led Zeppelin, Lennon and McCartney, Kenneth Woods and Elgar.
When not busy conducting orchestras and directing festivals in the UK and USA, Kenneth Woods is a lifelong guitarist and student of the history of the blues and the African American musical traditions that grew from it. In a festival week in which we explore the Origins of Inspiration, Woods, his bandmates, and special guest, Alex Voysey, take listeners on a journey through the history of this most important musical form. From the birth of the Delta blues in the poverty-stricken Jim Crow south, through the worldwide triumph of rock and roll, this concert is a celebration of how a generation of self-taught musicians inspired millions and changed the world forever.
Guest guitarist Alex Voysey is one of the best young contemporary blues players in the UK and a rising star on the blues scene. His passion began as a teenager when he came across Joe Bonamassa’s album ‘Don’t Talk’ and was immediately hooked and inspired by the virtuosity and complexities of Joe’s playing. So began his love and exploration of a huge range of blues music, whilst Joe has continued to be both a huge influence for Alex’s development as a musician as well as the inspiration to become the best player possible.His own band, formed in 2021, are now in great demand on the UK blues circuit offering up formidable musicianship and virtuosity in their performances and were recently cited as ‘outstanding, energetic and breathtaking’ after their debut at Swanage Blues Festival. Their trio album AV3 reached number 10 in the IBBA charts in January 2024. Their new originals album ‘Blues In Isolation’ produced by Paul Long who has also worked with the great BB King and Steve Winwood, launched to a sold-out Cheltenham Playhouse in March and the first single to be released ‘Whisky and Wine’ was hailed by renowned jazz and blues broadcaster Spencer Evans as ‘exceptional’. Alex is a passionate advocate for the benefits of music-making on young people and was recently appointed as a Youth Ambassador for the UK Blues Federation. He also works for Rock Steady, inspiring young musicians of the next generation and has developed taster day sessions aimed specifically to help young musicians with speech disfluency. Since graduating from Leeds College of Music in 2017, Alex also frequently works as a session guitarist with many of the country’s leading symphony orchestras, including the Hallé, CBSO, RLPO, RTE Dublin and Manchester Camerata.