The Blues Kitchen Festival

London has long since established itself as something of an expert when it comes to providing a staggeringly broad range of opportunities for music lovers across the genres, to get their festival fix without muddying themselves or their dignity by having to pee in a field.

Obviously, wherever there is a will there is a way, but sometimes even the most hardcore amongst us must admit that the concept of returning to four solid walls and (relatively) clean porcelain furnishings is a major pull factor.

Thankfully, this more chilled out approach to festival season has been truly embraced by everyone’s favourite North London rhythm and blues venue, The Blues Kitchen, in their eponymously titled The Blues Kitchen Festival, taking place in Camden this May bank holiday weekend.

Starting from this Sunday and lasting for a week, the Blues Kitchen will be host to all the live music, authentic soul food and bourbon you could ask for in an eight-day vintage knees-up – with some rare appearances from some of biggest blues pioneers from the last 50 years thrown in for good measure. And with most of the events being free of charge, there is no excuse not to start your festival season early!

Every bit as good as his old man, Muddy Water’s son, Mud Morganfield will be kicking off proceedings with a special show on Sunday 29 May with support from young rockabilly upstarts The Caezars and one man band Dollar Bill.

Mark Flanegan – Jools Holland staple and favourite amongst  musical icons including Amy Winehouse, Eric Clapton, Paul Weller and Chaka Kahn – has come a long way from a childhood spent rocking a ukelele. But now, still fuelled by the same diet of The Beatles, Hank Williams and Ray Charles, Flanegan presents his own band on the Blues Kitchen stage on Tuesday 31 May.

If they say a festival is only as good as its headliner then The Blues Kitchen Festival has nothing to worry about. Headlining the Thursday are legendary 60s act, The Groundhogs, entertaining the crowds with songs from their seminal record Split, fronted by Tony McPhee. Riled up and ready to roll, the Blues Kitchen’s very own rhythm and blues club night The Roll & Tumble Club will keep spirits up until 2am.

With accordion madness from Slim’s Cyder Co, dirty boogie from Charlie Hangdog & The Lowdown Highs and fire-eating from Anna the Hulagan, Friday places you in the hands of the creators of infamous London rock n’ booze night ‘Gypsy Hotel’ with their new night, ‘Gumbo Rumble’. The UK’s finest rockabilly band, Jack Rabbit Slim (bonus points spotting the Pulp Fiction reference) continue their monthly residency at the Kitchen offering high octane rock n roll and rockabilly defying you not to dance til the whisky runs out…or until 3am when they throw you out.

For those of you who fancy yourselves as the next Johnny Cash, Sunday’s closing party will be kicked off with the traditional Sunday Jam giving you the chance to join the Blues Kitchen Band on stage. For blues aficionados and newbies alike, The Blues Kitchen Festival looks set to give you a baptism of fire into the gritty world of blues, bringing the authentic sounds and tastes of the deep south to Camden Town.

Check out the website for a full line up. The Blues Kitchen Festival is taking place from Sunday 29 May – Sunday 5 June at:

The Blues Kitchen
111-113 Camden High Street
Camden
NW1 7JN

Tel: 020 7387 5277