Giles Robson's Up Close With The Blues, Temperance Cafe - 2024

UP CLOSE WITH THE BLUES - TEMPERANCE CAFE 2024

Three very special evenings out in 2024 Featuring Giles Robson’s 10 Night Sell Out 5 Star Smash Hit Edinburgh Fringe Blues Show. Enjoy journeys through the world of the timeless blues legends interpreted by Giles Robson, one of contemporary blues music’s most celebrated stars in Wawrickshire's favourite intimate music venue, the Temperance Cafe in Leamington Spa. Tickets are strictly limited to 50 people per night.

Doors 7:00pm

Show: 7:45pm (2x 45 minutes sets)

Close: 11:00pm

Friday 3rd May - Giles Robson’s Up Close With the Blues: Celebration Of The Mississippi Blues Legends Grooving, emotional and with powerful lyrics with strong humour step into the world of Delta Blues and the work of such artists such as Robert Johnson “Crossroads”, Charley Patton “Spoonful”, Blind Lemon Jefferson “Matchbox Blues” and Son House “Death Letter Blues” and more contemporary star such as Kingfish, “Outside Of this Town” RL Burnside “Goin Down South” and Junior Kimbrough “Meet Me in The City”.

Friday 13th September - Giles Robson’s Up Close With the Blues: Tribute To Muddy Waters & Howlin’ Wolf The “Hoochie Coochie Man” Muddy Waters and the “Mighty Tail Dragger” Howlin’ Wolf were the two musical giants of Chicago Blues, with a legendary rivalry and equally legendary catalogue of powerful and iconic songs. For Muddy Waters think “Hoochie Coochie Man”, “Got My Mojo Working”, “Rollin’ Stone” and for Howlin Wolf think “Smokestack Lightning”, “Little Red Rooster”, “Killing Floor”.

Saturday 21st December - Giles Robson’s Hail To The Kings! BB King, Albert King, Freddie King These Three titans of the blues might have had the same surname but they created three unbeatable legends with their stellar back catalogue of hits and performances around the world. For BB King we have “Rock Me Baby”, “Sweet black Angel” “When Love Comes To town”, “The Thrill Is Gone”. Albert King “Born Under A Bad Sign”, “Crosscut Saw”. And “I’ll Play The Blues For You”. For Freddie King “I’m Tore Down”, “Hide Away”, and “San-Ho Say”.

Giles Robson Biography

Promotional Video:

Too Hot For The Devil:

Clarksdale Train:

“Award winning harmonica playing genius”

Daily Sport (UK)

“Worth his place in blues harmonica history”

American Blues Scene

Decades long commitment, respect and focus towards the art of blues music has seen Blues Music Award WinnerGiles Robson build a dreamlike career. Hohner Harmonicas calls Giles Robson “One of the finest blues harmonica virtuosos in the world, an acclaimed master showman and singer”.

The ONLY UK or European artist to appear on Chicago’s legendary Alligator Records who described him as “A blues giant, absolute master of the form”. He is only one of THREE UK blues artists alongside Eric Clapton and Peter Green to win a coveted Blues Music Award in Memphis (The Grammys of the Blues) alongside blues legends Joe Louis Walker and Bruce Katz for their album Journeys To The Heart Of The Blues. His albums are in the top of the world’s most prestigious music magazines critics polls – Mojo Magazine, Living Blues and Downbeat.

He tours over fifteen countries a year and works with some of blues music’s most legendary figures. Ex Muddy Waters and Magic Slim guitarist and celebrated blues star John Primer says “When me and Giles play the blues we put hot sauce on it so you can feel it”. Emmy Award winning blues harmonica master Billy Branch calls Robson “A great Harmonica player in his own right”.

In 2023 he sold out all 10 nights of his "Up Close With The Blues Show at the world renowned Edinburgh Fringe Festival. The Edinburgh Fringe is one of the most highly competitive ticket sales environments in the world. One of the greatest celebrations of arts and culture on the planet, The Edinburgh Fringe has nearly 60,000 performances of over 3,500 shows across 320 venues and is surpassed only by the Olympics and the World Cup in terms of global ticketed events.

The intimate blues show has received a rave 5 star review from Edinburgh Arts Reviews

“Blues music as it is meant to be heard – in a small setting, close to the audience, not on a huge stage where the audience are small shapes on some distant horizon. The blues is full of warmth and humour, and it is this same personal warmth and humour that Giles Robson so effortlessly brings to stage with him to put his audience at ease and connect with them immediately. A virtuoso display of just what a range and depth of music and emotion the blues-harmonica is capable of in the right hands. Giles also is a fine blues vocalist, and for me it is always the human voice that is ultimately the defining sound of The Blues.” *****5 stars

He plays and sings beautiful, powerful, emotional and timeless blues with a deep groove and laden with intense feeling. He is widely considered one of the world’s greatest blues harmonica virtuosos and an impressive singer. He plays harmonica in his own accomplished and distinct style that captures stunned audience’s hearts and imaginations with his mixture of superb technique, rhythmic power, tonal control and sensitive emotional expressiveness. Witnessing Giles Robson live is a dazzling, and unforgettable experience as audiences from around the world constantly discover.

“One of the finest bluesharmonica virtuosos in the world, an acclaimed master

showman and singer”

Hohner Harmonicas

“He is probably the best

modern harmonica player, British, European OR American.

When you come across a true maestro,

it is worth cherishing”

Music News

“Blues giant, absolute master of the form”

Alligator Records Chicago

Official Website:

Host or Publisher Giles Robson