Mike Vernon & Cat Squirrel (UK/ES)

If you’re at all interested in the blues and have a few decades behind you, you’ve probably heard music produced by Mike Vernon – from Fleetwood Mac, Chicken Shack, Ten Years After and John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers to American blues veterans such as Buddy Guy, Freddie King and Muddy Waters. After more than 60 years in the business, in recent years he has increased his activity level on the live front, now with his Spanish friends in the band Cat Squirrell: Kid Carlos (guitar), Mingo Balaguer (harmonica), Oriol Fontanals (bass) and Pascual Monge (drums). Together they serve up a heady mix of new originals and classic blues inspired by Vernon’s teenage role models – legends like Big Bill Broonzy, Muddy Waters, Little Walter and John Lee Hooker.

Vernon released two solo albums in the 70s, and now he feels he has come full circle. After moving to Spain, his desire to perform returned and he released two more albums in 2015 and 2018. He believes his voice has become stronger and more mature in recent years, which bodes well for his return to Dark Season Blues. The last time was in 2017 with The Mighty Combo. We dare say that his new combo is just as “mighty”!

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