Aynsley Lister - Hebden Bridge Blues Festival 2013
Aynsley Lister is one of those guitarists that real die-hards with fixed views about their blues have terrible trouble with. Not so The Hat, who loves the rule breakers. Anyone who can start a set at a hundred miles an hour, stop off briefly for a slow blues, divert for a short self-penned tribute to the TV series 'Life on Mars' and finish up with a standing ovation whilst playing a stunning 'Purple Rain' gets The Hat's vote every time.This was proper headlining at a grown-up Blues Festival. Clearly we were in the company of an accomplished musician but also one who could both get the audience involved with numbers like the shouty chorused 'Straight Talking Woman' and then get the place quietened down with a beautiful self-penned tribute to a Friend.
Many of the numbers were from his soon to be released album 'Home' which is clearly going to be an essential purchase for fans. Aynsley has also surrounded himself with a top flight close-knit band and in particular his keyboard man shone when they played a delicate extended version of 'Feelin' Good'.
Aynsley is the classic blues crossover artist and is clearly as much at home on a rock based stage as he is on a pure blues based one - indeed, in the past, he has toured with Lynyrd Skynyrd and played Glastonbury with huge success. At Hebden he managed to bring that complete range of styles to the stage and deliver them brilliantly with elan and style to an ecstatic audience.
