Guy Davis with special guest Michael Roach

Guy Davis is a two-time, back-to-back Grammy nominee for Best Traditional Blues, a musician, actor, author, and songwriter. Guy uses a blend of Roots, Blues, Folk, Rock, Rap, Spoken Word, and World Music to comment on, and address the frustrations of social injustice, touching on historical events, and common life struggles. His background in theater is pronounced through the lyrical storytelling of songs “God’s Gonna Make Things Over” about the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre, “Welcome to My World”, and “Got Your Letter In My Pocket”. His storytelling is sometimes painful, deep, and real, an earthy contrast to modern-day commercial music, meant to create thought, underlined by gentle tones from his guitar or banjo fingerpicking.

Guy won “Keeping The Blues Alive” Award, and was nominated by The Blues Foundation for Best Acoustic Album of the Year, Best Acoustic Artist of the Year, and Best Instrumentalist. In fact, he's been nominated nearly two dozen times by the Blues Foundation.

Among hundreds of newspaper appearances, he's also been featured in articles or reviews by New York Times, Village Voice, Boston Globe, Pulse Magazine, Blues Magazine, Acoustic Guitar, Dirty Linen, Songlines, Blues Blast Magazine, Living Blues, Down At the Crossroads, The San Francisco Chronicle, Association For Independent Music (formerly NAIRD), Playboy Magazine, National Public Radio (NPR), "Folk Alley", and Sirius.

When asked about his experience as a performer, Guy has replied, “There is no tale so tall that I cannot tell it, nor song so sweet that I cannot sing it.”

MICHAEL ROACH

Michael Roach, of Washington, D.C., USA, sings and plays guitar in an East Coast style of blues that dates back to the 1920s.  After spending several years learning directly from such well-known figures as John Jackson, ‘Bowling Green’ John Cephas and ‘Philadelphia’ Jerry Ricks, Michael has developed his own style and is now an exceptional performer.  He interacts with his audience and he entertains as he plays. 

For over 35 years, Michael has conducted numerous workshops throughout the USA and Europe.  As a cultural arts performer, he has promoted African-American culture through the use of blues music.  Michael is the Director for the annual Blues Week 2000 - 2024 programme (a week of lectures, guitar, harmonica, piano/keyboards and vocals tuition) at Exeter University (2000/2004), the University of Northampton (2005/20016), the University of Worcester (2015), Hartpury College (2017/2023) and the University of Northampton (2024). 

Michael also presented 'Deep Blue', a three part series on blues music featured on BBC Radio 4 in March 2003.  It is Michael's communication skills together with his musicianship that has enabled him to bring about a greater understanding of blues music and the Black experience.  He has recorded 7 albums dating from 1993 and is well established in traditional blues music circles around the world.

Genres:  American Roots, Blues, Folk, Spoken Word, New Artistic Renaissance

Instruments: Vocals, 6 & 12 string guitar, harmonica, 5 & 6 string banjo, didgeridoo