Leading British blues rock lights King King (below), following their seven date Acoustic tour, will play a hometown headline set at the Glasgow Blues Rhythm & Rock Festival at the Oran Mor on Sunday, 26th April. Glasgow’s favourite sons have already been saluted as “the best blues-rock band in the world” (Blues Rock Review), credited for “setting the blues world on fire” (Classic Rock), nominated for Best New Band at the Classic Rock Roll Of Honour and handed back-to-back British Blues Awards. They’ve proved their mettle on bills with Thunder and John Mayall, triumphed as far afield as Mumbai and taken the roof off major venues from the 02 Glasgow to Wembley Arena.
The eighth edition of the twice-yearly event features six bands, including the Scottish tandem of the high-octane Gerry Jablonski Band and fast rising blues rock outfit Bison Hip, who were nominated in the UK Blues Awards for Best Emerging Act Of The Year. The festival line-up is completed by Steve Pablo Jones, the Lightning Threads and Thomas Heppel.
“We’ve arrived at the party fashionably late…” Bison Hip were formed by long-time friends during a lockdown Zoom call in 2020. “I don’t know who actually suggested it first”, explains vocalist Paul, “but right away it just seemed like a great idea. Maybe it was the mid-life crisis at play!” The band are all over 50, with the exception of keyboard player and spring chicken Steven, who clocks in at a youthful 41.
By the time they finally got together in early 2021, the blueprint was clear. “We wanted to take our love of blues and rock, and mix it up with our experiences of life” adds Paul. “Between us, we’ve been through so many things in life, ups and downs, some successes and plenty of failures, we wanted all of that in the music. Lastly, we needed to wrap it up in the DNA of our hometown, Glasgow, and hopefully that’s what we’ve achieved”
Built on the backbone of true Scottish grit, the ethos is clear: real musicians, real instruments, no click tracks, culminating in a unique blues rock sound telling real life stories. With 2 EP’s already released, and a debut album in April 2023, Bison Hip have hit the ground running. “There’s plenty more to come, we’re on our way up!”
Lightning Threads (above) are an electrifying power trio, thundering out of Sheffield’s legendary blues rock scene, and influenced by the great rock musicians of another time. Often compared to The Black Keys, Gary Clark Jr, Cream and the Doors. They have also shared stages with the likes of Chantal McGregor, Darnell Cole, McHale’s Permanent Brew, Tom Killner, The Fargo Railroad Co., Emilia Quinn, The Daybreakers, and William the Conquerer at some of the UKs biggest venues.
Since forming in 2019, they’ve had HEADLINE shows at Sheffield’s legendary The Leadmill and The Greystones, as well as unforgettable festival appearances to thousands at Witney Music Festival (supporting Bez, Happy Mondays); Bunkerfest (supporting Beans on Toast); and DN One Live (supporting Sandi Thom). Featuring face-melting guitars, groove-ridden bass, and a multi-talented drummer who plays tubs and keys at the same time; audiences can’t get enough of our fresh and uniquely energetic electric blues rock, slipping in references to crowd pleasing classics such as The Chain and Light my Fire.
Tickets can be purchased at: https://www.solidentertainments.com/blues/glasgow/tickets.html
