Special Victor Brox tribute night announced for 2024 Great British Rhythm & Blues Festival in Colne

On Friday 23rd August, friends, family and colleagues of Victor will come together at the Pendle Hippodrome to celebrate an incredible career which spanned over 60 years.

Victor, who worked with the likes of Eric Clapton, Charles Mingus, Muddy Waters, Dr John, Leonard Cohen, BB King and many more, performed at the inaugural Great British R&B Festival back in 1990, as part of his Victor Brox Blues Train band.

The blues musician, who was born in Greater Manchester and became a huge draw in the Manchester clubs in the 1960s, was also a special guest at the 2018 Great British R&B Festival, when he joined his daughter Kyla Brox on stage at the Pendle Hippodrome for a memorable performance.

Kyla, who has been described by many as “the finest female blues singer of her generation”, will now headline a star-studded tribute to her late father at this year’s Great British R&B Festival, performing at 11pm on Friday 23rd August with many special guests set to join her on stage.

Before that performance, Artistic Directors of the festival, Colne Blues Society, in partnership with Kyla, have announced a fantastic line-up of Manchester-based artists, in tribute to Victor.

These include Paolo Fuschi & The Outsiders who will feature Bo Lee on bass, who played bass for Victor for over 40 years, as well as Franny Eubank & His Blues Band, The Norman Beaker Band and finally, Kyla Brox & Friends.

Tickets are selling fast for the tribute to Victor, who was described by Jimi Hendrix and Tina Turner as their “favourite white blues singer” and is fondly remembered as one of the best UK blues singers and performers of all time.

To celebrate the tribute night, Colne Town Council and the Colne Blues Society have announced a special ticket discount for a limited time only, with festival goers able to secure a Friday night ticket for £30, reduced from £40, by using the discount code: KYLABROX30

All tickets can be purchased online here: https://www.bluesfestival.co.uk/tickets/

Kyla Brox, who will headline the Friday night at this year’s Great British R&B Festival, said: “Me and my siblings have been trying to think of a way of celebrating our Dad’s life, and I happened to get a message from the people who organise the festival here in Colne suggesting that it might be nice to collaborate on a tribute to Victor at the festival this August.

“I will be getting up and performing at least one song with each of the bands playing as part of the tribute, which will be unique and new collaborations.

“I will end the night by performing with my band and we’ve got a whole host of extra special guests who are going to jump up and play with us.

“It will be a brilliant celebration of Victor’s career. It will be emotional but I just want to have a really good time and celebrate the music that he made and the man that he was.”

Simon Shackleton, Festival Coordinator at Colne Blues Society, said: “I think it’s a fantastic concept that will bring lots of people to the festival.

“There’s a lot of love for Victor Brox and Kyla in the blues community and there are lots of incredible blues artists based in Manchester that were associated with Victor, and we’ve got quite a few of them coming to play as part of the tribute.

“It is going to be something very special.”

The exciting announcement comes just weeks after the full main stages line-up was announced for the 2024 Great British Rhythm & Blues Festival, which takes place over the August Bank Holiday Weekend (23rd – 25th August 2024).

Organisers of the 2024 Great British R&B Festival, Colne Town Council in partnership with Colne Blues Society, have announced a star studded line-up featuring 50 artists across three stages including the Pendle Hippodrome, The Exchange Project Stage and The Little Theatre Acoustic Stage.

Headlining the 2024 festival will be multi-award winning guitar virtuoso, singer, songwriter, producer and band leader Matt Schofield and The Matt Schofield Trio; multi-award winning Irish guitarist Dom Martin & Band, hailed by many as the successor to the legendary blues/rock artists Rory Gallagher and fellow Belfast man Gary Moore; and Kyla Brox & Friends.

Full festival tickets are priced at £110, working out at just £2.20 per band over the weekend, while individual day tickets are also available, alongside camping tickets.

Alongside the two main venues, Colne Blues Society will also be programming the Official Fringe Festival which will see 150 performances across 15 Official Fringe venues, which are free to attend.

To keep up-to-date with this year’s event, visit The Great British R&B Festival’s social media channels and their website: https://www.bluesfestival.co.uk/