Ventnor Fringe 2023: The Soul of the Blues (SOLD OUT)

'If you want soulful, classy blues with a jazzy tinge, Laurie McVay is your man'. So said Blues in Britain magazine and it’s hard to disagree. This show will take audiences to a place where blues meets soul and jazz - to irresistible effect. Laurie McVay and the High Rollers take a fresh, vibrant approach to the music. Audiences may pick up on a range of echoes – such as Ray Charles and B.B.King - but the sound is totally contemporary, emotionally tuned to unleash the eternal ‘Soul of the Blues’.
Laurie McVay is a blues singer/songwriter/musician, who takes a distinctly modern and eclectic approach to his bluescraft. His approach was described by one critic as ‘uniquely soulful and uncommonly melodic’ and it has been faithfully represented on his two albums to date, My Kind of Blues (2014) and East Side Blues (2019). McVay is also a committed and passionate performer, whose vocal approach has been compared to a range of blues and soul heroes, including Sam Cooke and Bobby Bland. To quote the American magazine Blues Blast, McVay ‘croons his way to soul-blues paradise’.

McVay’s band The High Rollers is modelled on the versatile blues five-piece outfits that can be found in the blues bars of Chicago. Andy Charles (guitar), Alan Nicholls (piano), Tim Hollis (bass) and Graham Matthews (drums) are masters of the art of mixing blues with touches of funk and jazz. The ‘Soul of the Blues’ show will see them join McVay in performing originals from the albums, with some unrecorded material and ‘original covers’ of songs by a range of artists, including Elmore James, Muddy Waters and Billie Holiday.

Sunday 23rd July 2023 - 9.30pm - 11pm
Tickets: £12, £8 Under 25
All Ages