Back to where it all began ... For us, It all started many years ago in a small town bar in Louisiana; it was like travelling back in time, dusty, rickety tables, chairs, and a bare wooden floor. Sat on a little platform was a lady and a guy with a guitar, then the lady began to sing the blues. I could have closed my eyes, although I didn’t realise it at the time, I could have been listening to Ma Rainey or Bessie Smith. Quietly listening, and with encouragement from others we joined with the ‘Tell us your story’...

In that low place, we knew and felt the songs were telling us of a deep sadness, borne of a deprivation beyond our comprehension. A story of a real life. I was listening to the 'Blues' long before that, but never really understood, until then, what was meant by 'Feeling the Blues' ... As we go 'Backtracking' we try to show our love and respect for the people and the lives these songs are about, lives of deprivation, sadness and misery, but also, we share their joy. We are honouring them by keeping their presence and their simple music alive and well.

Each time, we are taking a journey back in time to the abomination of slavery, the depth of the spirituals and of course the expressive blues from all those years ago. Our research and journey since that day has been a discovery of the ‘Blues’ that never ends, of a culture and history that has faded in the mists of time, but remains for us to find.

This page is our expression of that research. Offering the music and a little chat about an artist or topic of the blues that perhaps we have forgotten or have neglected. We truly feel where the blues came from must never be allowed to disappear into the mists of time. The myths and legends are often distorted and embellished over the years - It is our privilege to share with you our research and to celebrate with you the legacy, the music and history of the blues - Back, to where it all began.