Photo by Jac Brown.
WELCOME TO LOWTHER’S JAZZ & BLUES FESTIVAL 2025
Following the successful launch of our award-winning Folk, Roots & Maritime Festival in 2024, we wanted to try something different for 2025.
Much like last year, and our passion for folk music, we’re celebrating the many facets of the jazz and blues genre, and the work we’ve already done with our regular Jazz Club to give you a free-to-enter event, perfect for trying something new.
Over the weekend, you’ll be able to experience around 16 free performances including The Small Town Playboys, Gwenifer Raymond, Lol Goodman Band, Liz Jones & Broken Windows, Steve Ray Ladson, and more! Be sure to also check out the exhibition featuring work by local artist Richard Marshall.
We’ve worked hard to ensure this festival is free for all to access. To put on this event, we’ve invested around £10,000 in artist fees and infrastructure, so we ask - if you can - to please support us. Whether that’s as a oneoff donation or by purchasing a limited VIP Upgrade - your support is vital.
SATURDAY 2 AUGUST
ALL DAY
RICHARD MARSHALL EXHBITION THE CHAPMAN STUDIO/IN THE GARDENS
1PM THE SMALL TOWN PLAYBOYS THE CHAPMAN STUDIO
2PM
JOHN CARROLL THE MARQUEE
CEROC DANCE WORKSHOP IN THE GARDENS
3PM
POLLY MELLOR THE MARQUEE
THE DAVE PETIE BAND THE CHAPMAN STUDIO
4PM
MIKE TAYLOR (SOLO) THE MARQUEE
ROUTE 55 THE CHAPMAN STUDIO
5PM
KEITH CRUDEN THE MARQUEE
GWENIFER RAYMOND THE CHAPMAN STUDIO
7PM THE MONARCH BLUES BAND THE CHAPMAN STUDIO
8.15PM
LOL GOODMAN BAND THE CHAPMAN STUDIO
SUNDAY 3 AUGUST
ALL DAY
RICHARD MARSHALL EXHBITION THE CHAPMAN STUDIO/IN THE GARDENS
1PM HOWLIN’ MAT THE MARQUEE
JANEY FRASER BLUES BAND THE CHAPMAN STUDIO
2PM PAT CLARKE & MICKEY GELDER THE MARQUEE
3PM
SPIRAL SCOUTS THE CHAPMAN STUDIO
4PM THE BLUES REVELATION THE CHAPMAN STUDIO
BUILD YOUR OWN CIGAR BOX GUITAR WORKSHOP WITH HOWLIN’ MAT THE MAIN HOUSE BAR
5PM OLD ROPE THE CHAPMAN STUDIO 7PM STEVE RAY LADSON THE CHAPMAN STUDIO
8.15PM LIZ JONES & BROKEN WINDOWS THE CHAPMAN STUDIO
Please note venues may be subject to change.
MEET THE PERFORMERS MIKE TAYLOR
every audience.
MEET THE PERFORMERS JOHN CARROLL
uniquely improvised style but never too far away from his blues roots.
He has a great rapport with the audience and likes to get everybody involved with the music.
An evening with John Carroll will take you on a journey of over a century of music and definitely leave you wanting more.
“A mesmerising musician & performer, definitely a name to watch out for.”
Colin Campbell, Blues Matters Magazine
MEET THE PERFORMERS
THE DAVE PETIE BAND
stage, the David Petie Band doesn’t just play music - they leave a mark.
Real music. No apologies. Come feel it.
luminaries as Eric Clapton and Jeff Beck. Unfortunately very little of their guitar skills came to Keith, instead, he was ‘blessed’ with a deepish voice that is useless for anything other than doing ‘doo wops’ to 50’s pop songs.
Currently lives in a shack nestling in the mountains of Blackpool and spends most of his time trying to perfect his mother’s ‘lemonade’ recipe.
Occasionally busting out the geetar and hitting it with enough ferocity while at the same time shouting a few nonsense lyrics, he occasionally gets somebody to pay to hear him (although they usually ask for their money back!). This is the latest venture in a long line of failed attempts at rock stardom, and he is fully expecting this to turn out to be just as successful.
Hobbies include playing dead and knitting woollen breasts.
played with a huge amount of swing, so bring your dancing shoes!
Expect to hear a mixture of well-known classics and hidden gems from the 1940’s to the 1960’s, covering T-Bone walker, Nat King Cole, Big Joe Turner, Magic Sam, Ray Charles and more.
The band is made up of a super-tight rhythm section of drums and double bass, wailing tenor and baritone sax, two hot guitars, and rugged male vocals.
Between them, the musicians have around 200 years combined experience from playing in many bands-covering all kinds of genres from jazz to big bands, to blues, rockabilly and rock ‘n’roll and various points in-between and around the edges.
finger, Mat follows in the footsteps of his musical heroes such as Mississippi Fred McDowell and Muddy Waters and onstage he combines his musical talents with hilarious tales of his time on the road.
Workshop
Join Mat on Sunday 4 August 2025 at 4pm for Build Your Own Cigar Box. Learn about the origins of the Cigar Box Guitar, be given a demonstration and have a go at making your own. Booking required at Box Office or lowtherpavilion.co.uk.
MEET THE PERFORMERS
PAT
CLARKE
&
MICKEY GELDER
Blues in the style of Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee.
They’ve appeared at clubs and bars all around Manchester and the North-West including several times at the Colne Blues Festival.
Their combination of vintage songs and original compositions showcases the lighter, fun side of the Blues.
Pat and Mickey are delighted to be playing at Lowther’s Jazz & Blues Festival.
Scouts have a brief history and the subject matter of their music varies greatly. It can swing from sultry laments on love, life, loss and the human condition, to Rowdy observations on our social situation.
Life is a Spiral and we all Scout for answers. Check out their music at spiralscouts.co.uk
MEET THE PERFORMERS THE BLUES REVELATION
roots with modern flair, crafting a sound that resonates with both purists and new-age blues lovers alike.
Their sound is a dynamic fusion of fiery guitar solos, soulful vocals, and a rhythm section that grooves with unrelenting passion.
From intimate blues clubs to major festivals all over the UK, their performances captivate audiences with infectious energy.
The band is currently recording their first studio album and getting ready for exciting times ahead.
MEET THE PERFORMERS OLD ROPE
songs and give them an ‘edge’. We have a reputation of giving our songs a gritty and quite loud treatment, some have described it as ‘Punk Blues’.
We have opened for Dr. Feelgood, John Verity and King King
After a couple of lineup changes and Covid, the band went into hibernation at the beginning of 2024. This event is a reunion for us with our original lineup with Mike Cummings on guitar and vocals, Keith Cruden on guitar and vocals, Alan Pearson on Bass guitar and Dave Layton on drums, we will also be joined by Jim Coupe on keyboard.
MEET THE PERFORMERS ROUTE 55
Route 55 have been together for approximately 8 years.
Prior to this they went under the name of Fate. They play rock music, rock and roll and blues, tailoring the sets to the venues requirements. They have played all over the North West area, including twice at the Cavern in Liverpool.
They are based in Lytham and Preston and especially like to play locally.
Achievement Award winners, The Blind Boys of Alabama. He also sings and plays with 4-time Grammy nominee Robert Randolph and the Family Band.
He is now setting out on his own musical journey, bringing his own musical genre to light entitled ‘Blackgrass Brothercana’, on a mission to keep the ‘blues, funk, pop, soul and rock n roll’ alive.
MEET THE PERFORMERS
Fusing funky piano, soulful sax, groovy guitar, and rock-solid rhythms, this dynamic group delivers a high-energy show that’s as tight as it is entertaining — a must-see for live music lovers.
MEET THE PERFORMERS
LIZ JONES & BROKEN WINDOWS
roots 6 piece, with turns of psychedelia and folk-rock. A band with something original to say in what’s been called “peaceful debauchery”. Fronted by their songwriter, with “a voice to wake the dead”, but this is music nuanced by every member, for lovers of rhythm, vibe, dynamics, and that classic ‘live group’ sounding only like themselves. Fans of the blues may recognise members from Blues’N’Trouble, Scotland’s finest boogie band that toured with BB King.
“Corralling some of Scotland’s best players, this six-piece have the talent to roam beyond the prescribed pentatonic box with some winningly wonky gypsy-jazz.” Classic Rock Magazine
“As nifty as it is exuberant, inebriated sway, a collectively textured double-measure slice of product.” RnR Magazine
MEET THE PERFORMERS LOL GOODMAN BAND
Lol Goodman Band have built a reputation as the band to see on the blues/rock circuit, playing almost 100% original blues/ rock inspired material’; with Five critically acclaimed albums released.
The band toured the USA in 2019 including the famous Whisky a Go Go in LA; have headlined most of the UK’s blues festivals and clubs; and played headline slots two years running at the HRH Blues Festivals at the O2 Academy, Sheffield. They have featured on numerous regional BBC radio shows and their Just Wanna Say album Launch Party Gig was aired live on BBC Radio Lancashire; with the Band taking over the whole of the Blues show spot for that week.
“This band is building a strong reputation - all members have plenty of experience in the music business reaching back many years; they give a performance that will appeal to many blues lovers.” Blues in Britain
MEET THE PERFORMERS
GWENIFER RAYMOND
Raymond signed to San Francisco’s Tompkins Square Records in 2017, with who she released her first two albums.
Her first proper gig was at the Thousand Incarnations of the Rose Festival in Maryland, where she hung with heroes such as Glenn Jones, Marisa Anderson, Daniel Bachman and Peter Walker and was presented by Henry Kaiser with a 1880s Joseph Bohmann guitar which she feels may be possessed by some fingerpicking demon.
The Guardian has described her as a “profound talent” and Uncut Magazine has championed her “fast-developing talents as a composer of eerie menace.” She has since toured Europe, the US and Canada with the likes of Michael Chapman, Michael Hurley, The Handsome Family, Lankum, Charlie Parr, Richard Dawson, Ryley Walker, and Squid.
MEET THE PERFORMERS
JANEY FRASER BLUES BAND
The Janey Fraser Blues Band was born out of the Urban Arts Centre in St Annes On The Sea, the members have over 150 years experience between them.
Jane Fraser on Vocals
Phil Medley on Drums
Keith Black on Bass
Ben Hudson on Guitar
MEET THE PERFORMERS POLLY MELLOR
Polly Mellor is a songwriter & producer crafting her own original music from her small studio here in Lancashire.
She writes, performs, arranges and produces all her music, which features a range of live and electronic instruments. Her styles lean into classic dance linn drum patterns alongside acoustic or electric guitar, which give a balance of slick pop and live country. Her style has influences of country and rock, to give it that feel good, clap your hands and sing along vibe.
HELP US KEEP OUR FESTIVALS FREE!
Events like these are really important.
By making them free, we’re able to ensure everyone is able to have access.
Putting on a free event of this scale is expensive.
Please consider donating if you can.
Whether £1 or £100, your donation helps us keep music alive and ensure we can continue keeping our outdoor festivals free.
to find out more about all the ways you can support us.
