There was something special about seeing Davy Knowles back on a Manx stage on Tuesday night, not just because he was performing with blues supergroup Band of Friends, but because, as he put it himself, 'this is always going to be home for me.'

The Manx blues guitarist, now based in Chicago, was performing at the Peel Centenary Centre alongside Belfast bass legend Gerry McAvoy and drummer Brendan O’Neill - both long-time collaborators of the late Rory Gallagher.

For many in the packed audience, it felt like a full-circle moment, with plenty remembering Knowles from his earliest gigs in the island.

‘It’s always a joy,' Knowles told Island Life when asked what it was like to be back performing on the Isle of Man. 'It’s kind of nice to get a good top up. This is always going to be home for me.'

The performance came just weeks after Knowles received the prestigious Global Ambassador Award at Media Isle of Man’s Awards for Excellence in November, where he described the honour as 'surreal' and was visibly overwhelmed by the reaction from the Royal Hall crowd.

Tuesday’s show also followed a difficult festive period for the guitarist.

Before Christmas, Knowles shared the sad news that his mother Janet had passed away, writing at the time that it had been 'a strange and sad season,' adding that music would be a healer as he returned to touring with Band of Friends.

That emotion wasn’t far from the surface in Peel.

Knowles admitted that playing back home carries a weight that’s different from anywhere else in the world.

'For me personally, because of my connection to the Isle of Man, it’s kind of emotional to play,' he said. 'There’s a lot of people in that audience that were mentors of mine… even if it wasn’t in a musical fashion, it was in the support. They were at the gigs when I was a teenager.'

Despite now living in the US, Knowles joked on stage that Chicago has its similarities to his hometown of Port St Mary, drawing laughs from the crowds.

Band of Friends paid a heartfelt tribute to Rory Gallagher, who died in 1995 aged 47, with McAvoy and O’Neill sharing stories and memories of their former bandmate.

Many of the songs performed were deeply personal to the trio, and the audience responded in kind, moments of hushed attention followed by feet on the floor and dancing as the night wore on.

When asked about what Rory would make of the band, the three agreed he'd be more than impressed.

The band’s arrival in the island hadn’t been without drama, after flight disruption earlier in the week, but Knowles was simply happy to be back.

'We were meant to come in yesterday,' he said. 'The flight was cancelled… but we got here - and that’s the main thing.'

And when asked if there's anything urgent they plan on doing while here, they all agreed a photograph in front of the Bee Gees statue was vital.

With shows (now sold out) continuing on Wednesday and Thursday in Peel, it was clear this homecoming meant as much to Davy as it did to the audience.

Sometime we need a reminder that no matter how far a Manx musician travels, some stages will always feel a little more like home.