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Blues Party featuring: Hokum Hotshots, Lee Bates & Billy Newton, The Last Gasp Spasm Band, DJ’s & dancers.
Bringing the sights and sounds of the delta Juke Joint to Newcastle!
£8 - 7pm
Newcastle Companions Club,
45-47 Leazes Park Road,
Newcastle upon Tyne   NE1 PG
0191 232 5220

www.jookjointnewcastle.co.uk         www.blueslounge.webs.com

Two of the regions foremost promoters of Blues music are coming together to stage a unique ‘Blues Party’ at Newcastle Companions Club on Friday April 23^rd.

Jook Joint Newcastle, a dancers co-op dedicated to spreading the blues dance gospel, and The Blues Lounge, an acoustic Blues club based in East Boldon, are joining forces to present an evening combining live music, DJ’s and dancing in an event designed to bring back the long gone days of the Mississippi Juke Joint.  

Jook Joint Newcastle is running a blues and lindy hop dance weekend workshop in April with an international blues teacher. People will be travelling to Newcastle from across the UK to take part and to kick start the weekend on Friday 23rd April, there will be dancing to great, live music provided by The Blues Lounge at Newcastle Companions Club from 7pm. Tickets available on the door (£8). Blues aficionados (and non-dancers) are very welcome.

Jook Joint Newcastle teach people how to dance the original dance styles from the classic blues period of the 1920s to the 1950s, when people gathered in jook (or juke) joints to listen to the likes of Robert Johnson, Son House and the Memphis Jug Band. From boogie woogie to the slow drag, there's nothing people enjoy more than moving to raw, soulful music. As Jook Joint Newcastle put it; ‘We just want to party the good old-fashioned way. Nothing can compare to dancing to live music - the charisma and individual styles of the musicians adds a touch of spice that can't be beaten. We are excited to get involved with musicians from The Blues Lounge whose authentic period sound is an absolute pleasure to dance to!’ As well as live music there will be DJ’s playing Chicago Blues, Jazz and R’n’B and more. 

The live music will be provided by some of the UK’s finest acoustic Blues musicians; local duos The Hokum Hotshots and Lee Bates and Billy Newton. The duos will also combine forces with Michael ‘Fruit-Lips’ Watson to perform as the Last Gasp Spasm Band.

The Last Gasp Spasm Band play classic Jug Band tunes and Good-time Blues from the likes of the Memphis Jug Band, Gus Cannon’s Jug Stompers, Tampa Red, Dallas String Band and Memphis Minnie. Jug Band music combines Blues with Jazz, Ragtime and Old-Timey … its party music to be danced to just as it was in the 20’s and 30’s!

Blues dancing has had a major revival in the last few years, in parallel with Lindy Hop (a partnered jazz dance from the 30s and 40s). Blues is once again becoming the party music of choice as more and more people want to dance to real music from real musicians. There are already dedicated scenes with regular dance nights in London, Edinburgh, and now Newcastle.

Blues was the original party music and Jook Joint Blues and The Blues Lounge want to encourage all kinds of Blues fans to come and experience the music the way it’s meant to be! 

www.jookjointnewcastle.co.uk         www.blueslounge.webs.com