Alex McKown - Hebden Bridge Blues Festival 2013
Alex McKown, second time nominee for a British Blues Young Artist award has been lauded by The Hat before and I last saw him at the great Newark Blues Festival. Crikey - what a difference a few more months on the road can make. Here was a cracking mature performance from an old pro. Having had not one, but two car calamities on the way to Hebden, Alex got the black cloud's
Seriously Silver Lining with stand-in back line of Layla and Joey from Detroit Breakdown. Standing solidly on his right side was the Sheffield stellar saxophonist Simon Peat who has accompanied Rod Stewart, Joss Stone, Amy Winehouse and Tina Turner in the past when he is not fronting his own group. Far from being phased in such company, Alex fronted a fantastic energy pumped set with a new found voice and frequently swapped frenetic exchanges with all of his bandsmen that got the lively crowd hollering in appreciation. Exciting, breathless, uplifting, jaw dropping – and no, I'm not going to harp on about his age...suffice to say that, if this is the future then it's in pretty safe hands.
