An Evening with Welsh guitar phenom JAMES OLIVER
Welsh guitar phenom James Oliver with his band makes their New Haven debut.
James won the Emerging Artist of the Year Award at the 2020 UK Blues Award and this year his band was nominated for the 2023 UK Blues Band of the Year Award. He plays high-energy Blues, Rock n roll and rockabilly. James Oliver has already rubbed shoulders with many of the greats of the guitar firmament Albert Lee..Bill Kirchen..Greg Koch to name a few Now, having recorded three vital, very contemporary albums, he is preparing to write a new chapter of not only his career but also Welsh music history.
James Oliver plays a "fiery mix of blues, rockabilly, rock and roll with lashings of true rhythm and blues on the side,'' according to one recent review.
"He and the band put a fresh complexion on the sounds of Duane Eddy, Link Wray and a bit of Hank ... " the review said. His progress since forming Glas in early 2012 has been steady with nearly 2000 gigs since, playing every gig in the Valleys before expanding horizons beyond. See him on stage, though, and spectacular is very much the word. Little wonder the late, great Deke Leonard of Man/Iceberg fame was moved to say that ‘Speaking as a guitarist, James Oliver scares the hell out of me.’ Bill Kirchen says .James Oliver is the real deal, a passionate roots rocker loaded with guitar firepower.
As music business veterans will tell you, success is 10 per cent inspiration and 90 per cent perspiration. As he enters the next stage of his career, James Oliver has a track record that shows he will not allow an ounce of his talents to be wasted. And with new musicians to interact with, chances are the music in store will exhibit hitherto unheard dimensions to delight his growing army of fans.
Oliver, 31 can give you a long list of inspirational American musicians. Meanwhile, on his 2020 album, "Twang," Oliver plays blues, rockabilly, rock and country and it is all original material. He won a Blues "Emerging Artist Of The Year" award.…it’s all here in one explosive pickin package.
“James Oliver is one of the UK’s most revered and incredible next generation guitar masters,” said Giles Robson, a multi-award-winning blues harmonica icon from the United Kingdom.
John Leckie, the legendary producer for John Lennon, Pink Floyd and Sammy Hagar, called Oliver the “Best guitarist in the UK.”
Blues in Britain Magazine said that Oliver is regarded as “a force of nature in his native Wales, an R&B icon in Sweden, and a guitar hero to his social media fans.”