Richard Gjems is known as one of Europe’s leading blues harmonica players. He has performed with a wide range of artists, from American blues musicians such as Big Bill Morganfield, Taildragger, and Bill Sims to Norwegian artists like Stein Torleif Bjella, Malin Pettersen, and the DumDum Boys, and has contributed to nearly 200 releases and soundtracks across various genres. In addition to his solo album *The YouTube Sessions 2020/21* and two albums with pianist Tor Einar Bekken, he released the album *Rory at The Hotel* in February as part of the band Muskogee Hotel.
With this year’s album with The High Rollers, *One Hand Clapping*, Gjems emerges as a distinctive voice in a modern musical landscape populated by blues, Americana, and heartland rock. Together with The High Rollers, he creates a unique musical universe built on a symbiosis of gritty blues riffs and symbolic poetry. The ghosts of John Lee Hooker, J.J. Cale, and Arthur Rimbaud hover on the horizon. Songs about obsession, spirits, and lost love blend seamlessly with musical tales of more down-to-earth subjects like horses, cold gravel, trenches, and flood dikes—all draped in a blue dreamscape of distorted guitars and spellbinding harmonica. In addition to Gjems (harmonica/vocals), the band consists of Kristian Nordgård (guitar), Pål Wennersten (guitar/mandolin), Per Amundsen (bass), and Stig Eilertsen (drums).
Dark Season Blues©2026
