Raunchy blues-rock from the lady who wears her heart on her sleeve – Bex Marshall will be the opening act for the 3rd Emsworth Blues Festival, presented by WemsFest and Harbour Records over the weekend of 17-18 January 2025.‘….at last a woman who plays guitar like a goddess, sings like an angel, writes like Dylan and smiles like the devil’ – Booker T.
UK British Blues Award winner and 4 time European Blues Awards nominee Bex Marshall’s unique style of guitar playing is a combined technique of slide, blues rock, ragtime and roots pickin’.
Her voice is a powerful melting pot of old black woman’s heartache and rock diva soul. Bex is a writer of distinction and notability. She pushes the boundaries of blues. Her songs have been called ‘timeless touches of genius’, and now she tours internationally solo or with a three-piece band which augments her unique style of of virtuoso playing. Born In Plymouth, Devon, she was the product of two very different families: blue-blooded landed gentry (her great grandfather was the Squire of Cornwall) and Irish Romany (her great grandmother was the original fairground fortune teller Madam Olga).
As a child at family gatherings, her uncles would always play and stand her on the table to sing. At 11 years old she was given a 1963 Gibson Hummingbird by her Uncle David and started playing – she got hooked on instrumentals and classical guitar standards, which stretched her fingers and gave her a great basis for her own music to develop: flamenco, ragtime, country chicken pickin’, rock, and on to blues and roots where she is now in her element.
She always had a passion for travelling; it is in her blood. Trained as a croupier at 18, she began her travels around the world working gaming tables on cruise liners to Park Lane, even dealing illegal poker games in Amsterdam. She hitchhiked the coast of Australia on cattle trains – always with a guitar on her back, living and storing tales.
‘Bex Marshall is a heartwrenching singer, a dazzling guitarist, and a charismatic stage presence. Whatever she does, you’re in safe hands… but heh, not TOO safe’ – Charles Shaar Murray
‘…sounds like a breakthrough album’– Rock n Reel (R2) UK
‘…Marshall’s album is of such class and maturity, without an apparent weakness or filler’ – Blues Matters UK
‘…As a writer she’s mastered the art of making new material sound like its been found in long-forgotten vaults’ –Net Rhythms UK
‘…She has harnessed the power of the blues without resorting to cliché or plagiarism’ – Spiral Earth UK
‘…deserves wider recognition for her spit and saw dust vocals and fluid resonator guitar licks’ – Classic Rock Magazine UK
‘..Marshall’s competent axework has Mark Knopfler’s feathery touch’ – LA Weekly US
‘…the blues ‘Black Guitar’ culminates in a slide guitar clamour Derek Trucks would be pleased to call his own’ – Downbeat Magazine US
‘…a younger version of Bonnie Raitt. Seldom do we hear such blues inflected rawness in female guitar players and its so refreshing to hear it done with such authenticity and assurance’ – Folk and Roots Magazine UK
‘…..Bex Marshall’s voice draws up the ghosts of old blues women’s heartaches’ – Outlaw Magazine US
‘…the absolute stand out on this album is Marshall’s vocals’ – Root of Rock Magazine NZ
‘….She has all those essential vocal frailties that make the difference between soul and soulful’ – Folk and Roots Magazine UK
Bex’s first release ‘Bootlace’ was released on Numinous Records in 2002. Her second album ‘Kitchen Table’ (released May 2008) pushed Bex to number 13 in the USA ‘UK artists chart’ and number 20 in the USA national Americana Music Association Chart. ‘The House Of Mercy’, released Sept 17th 2012, received stunning reviews worldwide along with her stand out sessions recorded for Paul Jones‘s & Bob Harris’ BBC radio 2 shows. ‘The House Of Mercy’ won 3rd Best British Blues Album of the year Award 2013 and is featured in DOWNBEAT magazine’s ‘Best Album of the Year’ list 2013 with a rare 4-star review. Guests musicians on the record are Don Wayne Reno (banjo), Dale Reno (mandolin) & Jake Byers (acoustic bass), all from Hayseed Dixie, plus B J Cole (dobro), Eileen Healy (fiddle) and Brigitte DeMeyer adding backing vocals, along with The Bex Marshall Band of Barry Payne (acoustic bass), Crispin Taylor (drums), Danny Bryan (percussion), Toby Baker (keyboards) and newest edition, gospel singer Shola Adegorove.
Bex Marshall’s brand new album ‘Fortuna’ was released and distributed through Dixiefrog Records in March 2024 alongside three single releases supporting the album: ‘5am’, ‘I Cant Look You In The Eye’ (remixed & re-released) & ‘Preaching To The Choir’.
Licensed bar helps support WemsFest – As always, we’ll have our licensed bar serving delicious beers from Langham Brewery 🍻 as well as wines, local cider, nonalcoholic beers, and soft drinks. All profits from bar and ticket sales are reinvested in the local community.
Tickets available now at Bookends and Harbour Records and online here
Doors open 7.30 for an 8pm start
If you require special assistance or have mobility difficulties, please contact us in advance and we will do our very best to accommodate you so that you are comfortable.
Please park considerately. Church Path is parking for residents only, but there is plenty of free parking in town car parks off Bridge Street and Palmers Road.
Event Venue
St James Church Parish Hall, Emsworth, Hants, PO10 7DP, 21a Church Path, Emsworth, PO10 7, United Kingdom,Emsworth, Havant
Tickets
