Oli Brown

It's a long climb from the schoolyards of Norwich, UK, to the top table of the British Blues scene, but Oli Brown has scaled it in just four years.

The pivotal moment came at 15, when he was invited to the US as the guest of Blinddog Smokin', this morphed into a mentoring scheme, with Oli sharing bills with Buddy Guy and Taj Mahal. Before that, I didn't care what the music was, I just wanted to solo, he admits. they taught me many things about Blues music, about stagecraft, about walking tall, speaking to the audience PLUS they made me start singing! Oli also cites the wisdom imparted by legends including John Mayall, Walter Trout and Robben Ford.

Fast-forward to 2008 and Ruf Records witnessed an explosive UK gig and signed Oli on the spot. Open Road was released that same year