_Toby Walker at the Plough, North Devon, England
_"You really were tremendous (dare I say it, even better than Tommy Emmanuel!)."
John Lyon - Entertainments editor Mid Devon Reviewer: John Lyon - Entertainment Editor - Mid Devon
LITTLE man, big sound, huge personality. What the New Jersey-based guitar finger-picking maestro lacked in the height department he more than made up for with a memorable night of Blues.
The Plough Arts Centre, Torrington in beautiful North Devon took on a cabaret feel, candles on tables, drinks on hand, providing a very intimate night club atmosphere in which Toby felt at home, immediately creating a bond with the audience.
Over the years he has studied with Blues guitar greats and this provided a rich tapestry of the music’s history, peppered with personal references to performers from past.
He’s just one man and two guitars, but it was finger-pickin’ good. Through stunning instrumentals like Toby’s Boogie Woogie and Chesapeak and Sligo Bay, to risqué Blues songs like Cookies and It Takes All Night, with a few standards thrown in taking everyone back to the Delta of the Thirties. This great exponent of the Piedmont style made his guitar ‘talk’ - freight train driving wheels and galloping horses here, orchestra horn and drum sections there, all contributing to paint wonderful pictures. Fast licks, flowing forceful playing highlighted the performer’s love of the music. And the in-between links of anecdotes and stories of a colourful life on the road and learning at the feet of the masters were sharp and humorous. There wasn’t a moment when the evening flagged and gave everyone a memorable experience.
Toby tours the UK most years, but don't make the mistake of missing him next time round.
John Lyon - Entertainments editor Mid Devon Reviewer: John Lyon - Entertainment Editor - Mid Devon
LITTLE man, big sound, huge personality. What the New Jersey-based guitar finger-picking maestro lacked in the height department he more than made up for with a memorable night of Blues.
The Plough Arts Centre, Torrington in beautiful North Devon took on a cabaret feel, candles on tables, drinks on hand, providing a very intimate night club atmosphere in which Toby felt at home, immediately creating a bond with the audience.
Over the years he has studied with Blues guitar greats and this provided a rich tapestry of the music’s history, peppered with personal references to performers from past.
He’s just one man and two guitars, but it was finger-pickin’ good. Through stunning instrumentals like Toby’s Boogie Woogie and Chesapeak and Sligo Bay, to risqué Blues songs like Cookies and It Takes All Night, with a few standards thrown in taking everyone back to the Delta of the Thirties. This great exponent of the Piedmont style made his guitar ‘talk’ - freight train driving wheels and galloping horses here, orchestra horn and drum sections there, all contributing to paint wonderful pictures. Fast licks, flowing forceful playing highlighted the performer’s love of the music. And the in-between links of anecdotes and stories of a colourful life on the road and learning at the feet of the masters were sharp and humorous. There wasn’t a moment when the evening flagged and gave everyone a memorable experience.
Toby tours the UK most years, but don't make the mistake of missing him next time round.
