One man band extraordinaire Steve Hill Will Join Danny Bryant As Support.

As part of a U.K. tour this May, the incredible talent of Danny Bryant will be in full evidence at the Citadel in St. Helens, as the music of both he and his support Steve Hill, will be performed and relished in a feast for the senses.

With his fourth studio album set to be released this coming April and following on from the critically acclaimed Blood Money and Temperature Rising, Danny said, “When I began writing this album, I knew that it was going to be one of the toughest challenges of my career. It wasn’t lack of material, it wasn’t a lack of desire, but I realised from the beginning that, if this record was to achieve the things I wanted it to say, I would have to go deep inside of myself with these songs and confront memories and emotions I didn’t really want to face.

Most of all, be completely honest in my writing or it wouldn’t work. The year preceding this album was, for personal reasons, the very hardest of my life. In the space of six months I lost one of my oldest and closest friends and shortly thereafter my father passed away, after a long tough illness. Dad played bass in my band for many years and together we stood side by side playing over two thousand shows, we travelled the world together, he was my best friend and the bedrock of this family.

I was struck with a deep depression and crippling anxiety and in times like this I have always found salvation within music. So these songs are dark in subject matter, they are about isolation, despair, and dark times. They question things that I previously had never considered.

But this is not an album of dirge music, don’t misunderstand. Indeed, many of the songs are upbeat in tempo and reveal a much more rocky influence to my music. They are heavy laden with guitar and deserve to be played loud! I am incredibly proud of the results because this collection of music is all the things that, for a long while, I couldn’t articulate in everyday life. The long nights and the endless searching.

Musically speaking, this album features my core band alongside the members of my full 9-piece Big Band, a project which I love touring with. It’s great to hear the brass and keys on these songs, they add new and rich textures and I find myself feeling musically more refreshed, inspired and dedicated than I have for many years.”

When it comes to one-man bands, guitarist and singer extraordinaire Steve Hill has no limits. The truest definition of a one-man band; Hill performs standing up while singing and playing guitar, his feet playing bass drum, snare drum, hi-hats and with a drum stick fused to the head of his trusty guitar, any other percussion within reach. An overnight sensation 20 years in the making, Steve Hill is an ambitious and raucous force to be reckoned with.

Steve Hill’s album Solo Recordings Volume 1 won “Album of The Year” at the 2013 International Blues Challenge; the album was also nominated for a JUNO award.

In January 2015, Hill was awarded four coveted Maple Blues Awards including Electric Act of the Year, Guitarist of the Year, Recording/Producer of the Year and Entertainer of the Year.  Solo Recordings Volume 2 won the 2015 JUNO Award for Blues Album of the Year.

2017 saw the U.K. release of Steve Hill’s album Solo Recordings Volume 3 and shows an artist at the top of his game and proves why the Montreal Gazette called him “the meanest guitar player in Canada”.

Throughout his career, Steve Hill has shared the stage with many of his musical heroes including Ray Charles, BB King, ZZ Top, Jimmie Vaughan, Hubert Sumlin, Jeff Beck and many others. Over the course of nine albums he’s explored everything from hard rock, country, and stoner rock to folk music while always incorporating the essence of his first love, the blues.

Steve Hill’s reputation as an exciting performer has provided him the opportunity to showcase his talents at some of Canada’s biggest music festivals including the Montreal Jazz Festival, Ottawa Bluesfest, Jazz Winnipeg Festival, Saskatchewan Jazz Festival, Kitchener Blues Festival and more.

Tickets for Danny Bryant and Steve Hill at The Citadel in St. Helens are available to purchase now and are priced at £15.