Neil Billington Band

Described as the “Hendrix of the harmonica“, one of New Zealand’s premier harmonica players, Neil Billington, will be returning to the Blues Club backed by the consummate skills of Deane Hunter on guitar, Ross McDermott on bass and Richard Te One on drums.

Neil is a frequent performer at music festivals around the country, playing with a wide selection of top national musicians. His versatility on the instrument is unsurpassed and he is equally at home whether playing in the ‘Chicago-style’ of Little Walter on the blues harp or reflecting the more sophisticated jazz sensibilities of Belgian jazz great, Jean ‘Toots’ Thielemans, on chromatic harmonica.

Neil has recently returned from yet another tour of Japan, where he has previously guested with New Zealand’s Mike Garner at the ‘Live Magic’ blues festival in Tokyo, and was invited to play with the lead act, slide-guitar legend Sonny Landreth, described by Eric Clapton as ‘one of the most advanced guitar players in the world’. Neil has also featured as a guest international performer at the Moridaira Hohner harmonica festivals.

Supporting Neil are Deane Hunter, one of the most individual and inventive guitar players on the local and national scene, Ross McDermott, a master of the electric bass, and Richard Te One, the “shuffle king” on drums, combining to create a rhythm section of unsurpassed feel and drive. Fasten your seat-belts for a night of high octane blues.

Neil Billington Band – Capital Blues at the Crossroads Thursday 22 August, 2019. Video by Michelle McRae: