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Dereham Blues Festival 2026 Dereham: Wednesday 1st July / Sunday 5th July 2026 Will Wilde: Harp-led Blues at Dereham Memorial Hall 1st July 2026  Whoah, the summer we have been having has been real Blues country weather!  The unrelenting, enervating heat and hot breezes, have set up the 14th Dereham Blues Festival perfectly. Five straight days and nights of the finest, free, live blues music in the country are on the way in the old market town and it looks like all its hours will be blessed with good weather for wandering from pub to pub to cricket club and the Ellenor Fenn Garden to soak up the free music on offer.  The whole shebang kicked off last night with another stunning opening show at the Dereham Memorial Hall . It was sold out  of course.  The star attraction for the opening night was Will Wilde and his band, who hail from the Brighton.  Will’s specialism is playing the blues harp, the entry level instrument for so many to blues musicians. Whet...

Take Your Pick - Dereham Blues Festival      James A Oliver and The Toby Lee Band Dereham Blues Festival 10th Anniversary Opening Show 2024 - 10th July 2024 Dereham Memorial Hall  "It was in tune when I bought it" James A Oliver, never a dull moment. Dereham Blues Festival kicked off, clashing with England’s Euros match against the Netherlands, on a warm, humid July day, perfect for wallowing in a bluesy mood.     I made it into my seat just after James A. Oliver’s band were hitting their straps. I wish I had been on time. This guy is non-stop entertainment.  What a performer and such fun!  I am sorry to have even missed a minute of his set. Oliver asked if there were any Welsh in the hall, but that was met with an embarrassed silence and a disappointed “Oh!” from Mr Oliver.  In his oversized black suit, Oliver gives the appearance of a mild-mannered science teacher, who has stepped out of his classroom to entertain the staff with h...

The Big Gig Santiago & The Soulmovers and Mississippi MacDonald Dereham Memorial Hall, Saturday  25 th  May 2024 Santiago & The Soulmovers, Dereham Memorial Hall. (c)CLP   Absolutely chucking it down.  Branches breaking under the combined weight of foliage and very heavy rain.  Perfect for the drive out through flooding, via a phantom road diversion, to Dereham for an evening of blues.   Arriving slightly frazzled by the evening’s journey, I really needed to hear something to relax me, soothe my worried mind and slow me down.  Thankfully, I found it within the comforting confines of Dereham’s picture-book Memorial Hall.   Mississippi MacDonald strolled on stage in a classic black showman’s suit with shiny seams, with mighty fancy lapels, wide as a Concorde delta wing and just as aerodynamic.  He strapped on his Fender CS ’61 as he greeted the audience with a Londoner’s  “Good evening, ladies’n’gennelmen. ...

Danielle Nicole Band, Ross Stewart & The Shunters, Rockavox Dereham Blues Festival 2023, The Memorial Hall, Dereham   Wednesday, 5 th  July 2023   With an itinerary of Camden Town, Dereham, somewhere in Sweden (via Oslo to a destination that was not clear to the guitarist, Brandon Miller), the intrepid Danielle Nicole Band from Kansas City, have had to face up to some logistical challenges in the past few days.  Happily, such challenges were pushed aside by Nicole and her band and the evening ended with roars of appreciation and a standing ovation from the knowledgeable audience who had been totally engrossed in the show from the opening beats. Danielle Nicole Band, Ross Stewart with Doreen and Stewart Aitken of  The Dereham Blues Festival 2023 (Photo: Caroline Stewart) On the night, there were two other issues to address.  Firstly, where to get a drum kit from in Dereham, less than 24 hours before headlining the gig?  Award winning...