Cat Squirrel is the new band of super producer Mike Vernon. Some will remember him from Dark Season Blues in 2017, when he played with The Mighty Combo. Vernon was looking forward to returning to Longyearbyen with his Spanish band, but has been banned from traveling by his doctor for health reasons shortly before the festival. However, Cat Squirrel quickly decided to carry out the festival jobs with their own vocalist. The musicians all have long experience, and serve up a hefty mix of new self-composed songs and classic blues inspired by their role models, legends such as Big Bill Broonzy, Muddy Waters, Little Walter and John Lee Hooker. The members of Cat Squirrel have each played with many famous blues names, from Kirk Fletcher, Monster Mike Welch and Magic Slim and the Teardrops to “our own” Kid Andersen and Dark Season regulars John Primer and Quique Gomez.
Guitarist Carlos Moreno, or Kid Carlos, first met Vernon ten years ago and joined his previous band The Mighty Combo. Together they put together Cat Squirrel, and they also wrote the songs for their debut album “Blues Wat Am” (2023) together. Carlos was particularly excited to be joined by what he believes is Spain’s best harmonica player, Mingo Balaguer. He’s also full of praise for the rhythm section, Oriol Fontanals (bass) and Pascual Monge (drums). They are now looking forward to their Svalbard debut at Dark Season Blues, and wish Mike Vernon a speedy recovery!
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