Eric Bibb, Warwick Arts Centre, June 26
This was the final date on Eric Bibb’s latest concert tour and he had made a last minute dash from Paris to Warwick after his original plane broke down.
But he showed no sign of tiredness, just an endeari
ng enthusiasm for his music and for keeping the audience entertained.
Wearing his trademark flat brim hat, the 56-year-old African-American singer performed some of his favourite numbers in his wonderfully smooth voice, accompanied by a talented band.
This man sings the blues but combines it with other musical styles such as folk and gospel.
He admitted that when people ask him to describe his music he can’t, but he does add the word “blues” on the end of some of his song titles.
He described how he came to write Destiny Blues in his kitchen at 4am, going from despair to elation by breakfast time after finishing the lyrics.
Eric loves his guitars. He used three in this session and always tells his partner that you can never have too many guitars.
Drummer Larry Crockett, bass player Trevor Hutch- inson and brilliant guitarist Steffan Astner combined to make the perfect accompaniment for Eric’s songs.
The foursome certainly got the audience enthused, particularly with the rousing Bibb anthem Needed Time.
Eric was born in New York, the son of the folk singer Leon Bibb and has rubbed shoulders with many top musicians including Bob Dylan, Taj Mahal and Paul Robeson.
The warm-up folk singer Emily Maguire belted out some of the songs from her second album, Keep Walking.
Peter Gawthorpe
Verdict: Brilliant blues
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