A gig at one of the island’s newest venues in March will kickstart an exciting few months for acoustic blues and ragtime guitarist John Gregory.
He will be paying tribute to his musical heroes at the performance at The Monkey House - the old fire station in Castletown run by Bottle Monkey Brew Co - on Friday, March 10.
John, who is a professional guitarist, guitar teacher and music promoter, has toured the British Isles three times with musicians from the United States and has been performing the blues for nearly 20 years. A recording artist for UK record label Southern Summer Records, he has also performed in New York and Texas. John, of Douglas, said: ‘I do believe anyone who likes the sound of the acoustic guitar will enjoy the night.
‘My concerts are fun and friendly and feature fancy fingerpicking and singalongs and stories about some of the legends of the blues.
‘You really don’t have to be a fan of the blues before you come - but you might just be before you leave!’
He added: ‘One thing I always do is to tell people about the great African-American musicians who pioneered this style - and subsequently influenced popular music as a whole.
‘Their music has had a profound effect on the course of my life.’
Tickets are £5 and are available from etickets.im/bjm. Doors open at 7.30pm for an 8pm start.
The year is shaping up to be another busy one for John.
In January 20 acts played at his guitar student concert and earlier this month he performed at the Coffee Station at the House of Manannan in Peel.
On March 26 he will be hosting a guitar workshop by South African guitarist Tony Cox. Tony is performing at the Centenary Centre in Peel on March 24.
On April 1 John will be performing in the Atholl Room at the Centenary Centre at the Acoustic Delight concert on the bill with Jon Lightfield and Jeff Jepson.
One of the American musicians John toured with in 2019, Toby Walker, will be coming back to the Isle of Man in October for two dates, with John as the opening act.
He is also in talks to bring another leading American blues act back to the Isle of Man too later this year.
For further information about the guitar workshop or the gigs email John at blue [email protected]