The Johnny Mars Blues Band
An incredibly special intimate evening of blues and life stories with the legendary American blues harmonica player and his band.
Johnny Mars, a name synonymous with his soul-stirring blues harmonica melodies and captivating vocals, has enraptured audiences for decades with his electrifying performances and authentic storytelling through his music.
Johnny will be performing with an exceptionally talented group of musicians, and you can expect to hear authentic Delta and Chicago blues at its absolute finest.
During his lengthy career, Johnny has taken part in major festivals and tours in the USA, his native country, Australia, and Europe, including the UK where he now lives.
He cites his influences with the harmonica as Little Walter, Junior Wells, Jimmy Reed, and Sonny Terry, and plays both the blues harmonica and his own Mars Harp on stage, sometimes on acoustic sets, and sometimes with the electronic effects which made him famous in the 1980s
Johnny is also loved for his vocals, with a voice that has broadened and enriched as time has gone on. His repertoire includes therefore not only the great Blues and Rock ‘n Roll numbers such as Johnny Be Good, Let the Good Times Roll, Manish Boy, and Sweet Home Chicago, but also classics such as Georgia by Ray Charles and Amazing Grace (for which he improvises a beautiful harmonica riff).
Johnny Mars was born in 1942 in South Carolina. The family moved around a lot when he was young and when he received his first harmonica at nine years old, he was forced to practise it sitting in the car in the yard.
He remembers as a boy listening to jazz on the radio, and sitting in juke joints where he would hear the music of Muddy Waters, B. B. King, Little Walter etc. Aged fourteen, on the death of his mother, he moved to New York State and played in his first blues band.
He played at Woodstock in 1960 and then by the mid-sixties was living in California where he formed the Johnny Mars Band.
What an evening this is going to be and is not to be missed!!
