Kent DuChaine and Leadbessie - 2 Million Miles And Counting

15th May 2009

Mackays Hotel, Wick
Saturday 23rd May 2009 - 9.00pm

Once again Mackays Hotel, Wick will play host to Kent Duchaine one of the most travelled American Blues players. He travels all over the USA every year and still manages to tour worldwide. The last couple of times he was in Wick he was on his way to play in Orkney. Once again there will be only one performance at Mackays Hotel in Wick - a great chance to hear this exponent of the legendary Johnny Shines blues playing style. Kent loves angling and hopefully he will once again be able to sample his favourite sport once again in Caithness.

Kent Duchaine started in music when his father taught him to play the ukulele at the age of six, at thirteen he got his first electric guitar and formed a band with his buddies in his hometown of Wayzata, Minnesota, playing mainly popular music at private parties and school functions. After reading some liner notes of an Eric Clapton album Kent started researching blues music. He discovered a Robert Johnson album and was astounded and fascinated at the banging sound as the bottle neck knocked against the frets as Johnson slid it up and down the neck of his guitar. Kent used a butter knife at first determined to recapture the wonderful sound. He immersed himself into the blues music of Johnson, Muddy Waters, Lightening Hopkins, T-Bone Walker, Bukka White and never looked back. Kent learned to play the slide guitar and soon developed his own ferocious wild style. In 1970 he opened a show for one his hero's, the slide guitar genius, Bukka White. From 1972 - 1975 Kent performed in a band with Kim Wilson from the present day "Fabulous Thunderbirds". The band backed up blues greats such as Fenton Robinson, Boogie Woogie Red, Luther Tucker, Hubert Sumlin and Eddie Burns. The reputation of the band grew and Willie Dixon arranged a recording contract and a concert sharing the bill with Albert Collins, John Lee hooker, Howling Wolf and Margie Evens. In 1979 Kent met up with his beloved and ever faithful Leadbessie. She's a beat up 1934 National Steel Guitar that wows and astounds audiences when the equally beat up case she travels in is opened and her extra heavy strings are furiously played. Kent discovered and looked up a legendary blues man with the name of Johnny Shines in 1989.

Check out the web site for some samples of his music www.kentduchaine.com
Live is even better with plenty of anecdotes and chat......