Welcome back Aynsley Lister!!! (Page 14 of 15)

January 2019
Jan15 uk  Milton Keynes  The Stables - Band
Jan17 uk  Bilston  Robin 2 - Band
Jan18 uk  Guitar Weekends - 18-20 January 2019  Denham Grove, Uxbridge - Tuition
Jan25 uk  Guitar Weekends - 25-27 January 2019  Denham Grove, Uxbridge - Tuition
Jan29 uk  London  100 Club - Band

February 2019
Feb02 uk  Winchester  Discovery Centre  Solo
Feb19/20 uk  Lowdham  The Old Ship  Solo

March 2019
Mar08 uk  Crawley  The Hawth - Solo
Mar24 uk  Bristol  Bristol Jazz & Blues Festival - Band

April 2019
Apr13 uk  Sheffield  HRH Blues 5 - Band
Apr26 de  Koln  Blue Shell - Band
Apr27 de  Freudenburg  Ducsaal - Band
Apr28 de  Dortmund  Musiktheater Piano - Band
Apr30 de  Kirchheim-unter-Teck  Club Bastion - Band

May 2019
May01 de  Metzingen-Glems  Hirsch - Band
May02 de  Metzingen-Glems  Hirsch - Band
May03 de  Jena  Blues Im Paradies Festival  Band
May04 de  Habach  Village - Band
May05 de  Postbauer-Heng  KiSH - Band
May07 de  Augsburg  Spectrum - Band
May08 de  Kaiserslautern  Kammgarn - Band
May09 be  Verviers  Spirit Of 66 Band
May 10 nl  Kwadendamme  Kwadendamme Blues Festival  Band

Planning for the rest of the year:-

July 2019
Jul 04 uk Farnham  The Maltings
Jul 05 uk Basildon  New Crawdaddy Blues Club
Jul 06 uk Eyes Meadow, Duffield  The Eyes Have It Music Festival
Jul 07 uk Linton  Linton Festival
Jul 13 fr Saint Julien En Genevois  Guitare en Scène Festival
Jul16 gr Corfu - Greece  Corfu Rock School July 16th - 23rd Tuition
Jul27 it Gorizia, ITALY Blue Notte Gorizia Festival
Jul 28 uk Uckfield  Uckfield Civic Centre

August 2019
Aug 24 ch Glarus Sound Of Glarus Open Air - Band
Aug 29 uk Bilston - DOUBLE BILL WITH IAN PARKER Robin 2 - Double Headliner
Aug 31 de Brücken  Evangelische Kirche

September 2019
Sep 01 de St.Wendel  Kurhaus Harschberg
Sep 03 de Haiming  Gewölbe - Solo
Sep 04 cz Usti nad Labem Narodni Dum - Solo
Sep 05 cz Jablonec nad Nisou Klub Na Rampe - Solo
Sep 06 cz Brno Rusty Nail Music Club - Solo
Sep 07 cz Olomouc Bounty Rock Cafe - Solo
Sep 12 at Vienna  Reigen
Sep 13 at Velden  Bluesiana Rock Cafe
Sep 14 at Kufstein  Kulturfabrik
Sep 20 uk West Sussex  Lindfield Arts Festival
Sep 21 uk Malvern - Malvern Cube - Double Headliner w Ian Parker
Sep 26 uk Farnham  The Maltings - -solo
Sep 28 nl Assen New Blues festival - band
Sep 29 nl Apeldoorn  Bluescafe

October 2019
Oct 01 de Pforzheim  Kulturhaus Osterfeld
Oct 02 at Rankweil  Altes Kino
Oct 03 ch Seewen  Gaswerk
Oct 04 ch Rubigen Mühle Hunziken - Band
Oct 05 ch Aarburg Musigburg - band
Oct 12 nl Den Burg Texel Blues - Band
Oct 24 de Bensheim Musiktheater REX - Band
Oct 25 de Tuttlingen Restaurant Rittergarten - Band
Oct 26 de Reichenbach Die Halle - Band
Oct 27 de Soest Alter Schlachthof - Band
Oct 29 de Ansbach Kammerspiele - Band
Oct 30 de Münster Hot Jazz Club - Band
Oct 31 de Duisburg Grammatikoff - Band

November 2019
Nov 01 de Oldenburg Charly's Music Pub - Band
Nov 02 de Hannover Bluesgarage - Band
Nov 03 de Frankfurt Das Bett - Band
Nov 06 de Bonn Harmonie - Band
Nov 07 de Bremen Meisenfrei - Band
Nov 08 de Hamburg Downtown Blues Club - Band
Nov 09 de Hamburg Downtown Blues Club - Band
Nov 14 se Sweden - Gothenburg Auktionsverket Kulturarena - Band
Nov 15 se Sweden - TBA Details soon! Band
Nov 16 se Sweden - Vänersborg  Folkets Hus - Band
Nov 23 uk Southampton Blues at the Bowl - Band
Nov 27 uk Cheltenham Vonnie's Blues Club - Band

December 2019
Dec 05 uk Farnham The Maltings - Band
Dec 06 uk Derby Flowerpot - Band
Dec 14 uk Nottingham - SOLD OUT Lowdham Indoor Arena - Band
Dec 15 uk Sheffield The Greystones - Band

January 2020
Jan 28 uk London 100 Club - Band

Aynsley & Ian Parker, from their double-header gig at Malvern Cube - 21st Sept 2019

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kT26ghuYdl8

Fingers crossed (though it does make guitar playing awkward...) Aynsley has announced a run of European dates for autumn:-

September 2020
Sep 11 de Joldelund  Guitar Heroes Festival (Duo with Ben Poole) - Solo/Duo
Sep 12 de Joldelund  Guitar Heroes Festival (solo, no band) - Solo

October 2020
Oct 02 de  Hamburg  Downtown Blues Club - band
Oct 03 de  Hannover  Bluesgarage - Band
Oct 04 de  Hannover  Bluesgarage (Extra Date) - Band
Oct 06 de  Bremen  Meisenfrei - Band
Oct 07 de  Oberhausen  Zentrum Altenberg - Band
Oct 08 de  Münster  Hot Jazz Club - Band
Oct 09 nl  Weert  De Bosuil - band

November
Nov03 de  Bonn  Harmonie - solo
Nov04 de  Karlsruhe  Jubez - solo
Nov05 de  Frankfurt  Das Bett - solo
Nov06 de  Freiburg  Jazzhaus  solo
Nov12 at  Vienna  Reigen - solo
Nov13 at  Velden  Bluesiana Rock Cafe - solo
Nov15 de  Mannheim  7-er Club - solo
Nov16 de  Metzingen-Glems  Hirsch - solo
Nov17 de  Metzingen-Glems  Hirsch - solo
Nov18 ch  Aarburg   Musigburg - Band
Nov19 ch  Rubigen  Mühle Hunziken - Band
Nov20 at  Rankweil  Altes Kino - Band
Nov21 ch  Fiesch  Inch Club - Band

Aynsley has some great CD's, his music is really good, not sure what's not to like.  His latest CD has a cover of a Tommy Castro song on it.  It's really good.  I was the guy that introduced them to each other, and they are going to tour together in the UK at some point not sure when but it's something that will happen.

Might be a little "naughty" here, getting in before the pro-pundits. but here goes.... So, I'm currently wearing out an advance copy of Aynsley's first album in slightly over 5 years; Along For The Ride.  Not that Aynsley has been away anywhere, other than like the rest of the World, seemingly in hibernation until it was safe to emerge and tour. And now that copies have been sneaking out from the merch stand at Aynsley's recent gigs, lets see if we cen make a trickle become a deluge...

If truth be known, Along For The Ride was just about ready back in 2020, just as things turned weird, so Aynsley took the decision to shelve things, until a more appropriate time. Fair dos then, with an album in the can, it might go part the way as to why Aynsley resisted the temptation of a stopgap "covers" or "acoustic" album, not that they wouldn't have been welcome.  Then, for someone who's grist is observing life, the unprecedented events of the last couple of years just kept getting weirder, and that meant that songs were changed about, songs were added: this album wades in at a good 60 minutes; it might well have ended up as a double.

So, what do we have here? Well, Aynsley hit the studio, this time not with the road band, Boneto & Jono, but instead Stuart Ross on bass, Ross Stanley on Keys, Russ parker on Drums, Gavin Conder & Jessica Greenfield on backing vocals and an intriguing Accordion credit - Stephen Darrell Smith. In the producer's chair, guitars & percussion a familiar name, Scott McKeon, last heard on here as part of the Rufus Black collective. This has certainly paid off; the mix and overall sound is absolutely superb; even 25 years in the game Aynsley is raising the bar of his own high standard. The keys are down in the mix compared to other recent albums, but with the support of backing vocals there's rich tonal cushion through which Aynsley's vocals punch with clarity and authority; however, it's the guitars which really come alive, whether Aynsley is finding new drive, or the frisson of working closely with another rated player. The other change of note is that only the vocals were recorded at Aynsley's usual haunt, Superfly Studios and I would say that this change has added a touch more edge than previously.

As for the tracks, well, to whet your appetite, opener "Amazing" builds from a loose, delta like to a rolling Blues monster and "No One Else But You" is a beautiful slice of Blues Revue that deserves to be underpinned by a 10-piece horn section. And before you drift off in Aynsley's comfortable tones, he mixes it up a bit with a couple of his heaviest tracks possibly to date, the spitting "Made Up My Mind" (listen out for Scott McKeon's solo in this track) and "Is This Really Happening". However, the feature[s] have to be the couplet "Eve Part1" and "Eve Part 2: Love You To Death" which are simply outstanding; Inspired by the Killing Eve Tv show; Part 1 is very much like a TV show theme, if you remember Clapton's simplistic yet haunting "Edge of Darkness" music from the 1980s; there's something very sinuous and sensuous about this "theme". Part 2 then is the full cinematic experience by comparison and Aynsley lays down probably his best solo to date.

Like I say, I might be a tad naughtily premature posting this now, but as soon as the pre-orders come out (release date Nov 11th)  treat yourselves and get it slapped in. When it is available, you'll recognise Anthony Greentree's cover artwork and the couple walking into town for their "Early Morning Brew" but take the time to look a little more closely for visual clues to some of the tracks on the album.

Aynsley has announced a raft of dates for the 1st half of 2023, and is re-visiting some old haunts: -

Tue, JAN 31  100 Club  London, United Kingdom

Mon, MAR 6  Junction 2  Cambridge, United Kingdom

Tue, MAR 7  The Globe  Cardiff, United Kingdom

Wed, MAR 8  Vonnies Blues Club  Charlton Kings, United Kingdom

Thu, MAR 9  Ielford's Warehouse  Chester, United Kingdom

Fri, MAR 10  The Stables  Milton Keynes, United Kingdom

Sat, MAR 11  Blakeney Harbour Room   Blakeney, United Kingdom

Thu, MAR 16  Farnham Maltings  Farnham, United Kingdom

Sun, APR 9  O2 Academy Sheffield  Sheffield, United Kingdom

Sat, APR 15  St Mary's Church, Twyford  Twyford, United Kingdom

Wed, MAY 3  Jubez großer Saal  Karlsruhe, Germany

Thu, MAY 4  Spectrum  Augsburg, Germany

Fri, MAY 5  Festhalle Dudenhofen  Dudenhofen, Germany

Sat, MAY 6  Die Halle  Reichenbach An Der Fils, Germany

Sun, MAY 7  to hoop  Rheinberg, Germany

Grab a ticket and get "Along For The Ride",,,

Newcastle; Cluny; 16th Sept 2023

Is it just me, or does it seem that Christmas is especially early this year? I mean, Halloween stuff isn't out the stores yet and here's Aynsley & the band on what's traditionally the last leg of the year's touring. (Actually, asking the man himself, it turns out there's some sound reasoning behind the move, other than freshening things up; getting the tour in before colds and flu strike.)

Anyway, one thing you are guaranteed, whatever the time of year, is that Aynsley, Craig & Jim (standing in for Jono on this leg) deliver a quality show and this one had something extra. Aynsley isn't playing it up, but this year is his 25th anniversary as a professional and so the set featured a clutch of number that IO haven't heard played together since he toured the Tower Sessions album; and that now marks his career mid-point. As there's still loads of dates to run over the next couple of months, I'm not going to spoil the set list surprise, but Everything I Need was last night's opener and Soundman made an appearance, and that was just the first set.

It's not all about the nostalgia though, three songs from Along For The Ride were featured as well as a couple of more recent numbers, but have to say, it was great to hear the older numbers again, and hearing the band stretch them out and freshen them up. Goes without saying, Ayrsley's solos were masterful exercises in tone and structure and he really looked to be enjoying the playing and the crowd's reaction. Can't deny either, Craig Bacon was owning it behind the drums and we were treated to a couple of pounding solos. And what a great stand-in on bass Jim was; Jono unavailable for this week-end; some magic running lines from that side of the stage.

As you'll expect, I'm going to say this was another great evening, which it was; but that bit more special that Aynsley took a look in his rearview mirror, but I;m sure, "the ride" will continue a few more years yet.