Matt Schofield Announces West Coast Tour Alongside Additional Summer Appearances
Provogue / Mascot Label Group Debut Far As I Can See Further Establishes Schofield as One of The Blues Brightest Stars
Matt Schofield has revealed summer touring plans that include an extensive west coast itinerary. The guitarist, singer, songwriter, and producer will launch the run on July 18 in Sacramento, CA at Harlow’s Night Club. Additional appearances will take him through California, Oregon, and Washington before wrapping the western swing at the Kaslo Jazz Festival in British Columbia on August 2. Schofield will then spend August in the Northeastern U.S. and September in the Midwest. Prior, he is touring in Europe, where he has become a significant attraction. In North America, the legend inches closer, supported by fans, the blues community and prestigious publications including L.A. Times, which stated, “In Schofield the UK has produced the best blues guitarist from any country in decades. Head and shoulders above the herd.”
Provogue / Mascot Label Group released their Schofield debut Far As I Can See on February 18th to rave from critics and fans alike. Schofield has been frequently lauded as the British blues guitarist of current times, and about the new album, Glide Magazine wrote, “One of his strongest works to date…,” while Blues Rock Review introduced a Q&A with the artist publishing with, “A member of the British Blues Awards Hall of Fame, Matt Schofield is widely respected as one of the UK’s top contemporary blues guitarists.” Overseas, Guitarist Magazine stated simply, “There isn’t a better British blues guitarist playing currently.” With his debut album for Provogue, Schofield finds himself as representative for the long tradition of British Blues on the ultimate blues guitar label, and gaining a home amongst his peers ~ the world’s greatest contemporary blues players.
Denny Ilett
Schofield’s career has been gaining momentum for the last several years on both sides of the Atlantic. Successful runs in the UK, Europe and North America have been met with critical acclaim and exponentially increasing audiences. Far As I Can See is Schofield’s fifth album, offering two choice covers from his musical heroes alongside nine original tracks. Long-time fans will anticipate the epic slow blues of “The Day You Left,” as the guitarist re-harmonizes a traditional 12-bar form. The album’s second cut, “Clean Break,” is a classic trio shuffle, while “Getaway” exhibits Schofield’s eagerness to continue finding new ways to play the blues, integrating odd time signatures into the genre. The instrumental cut “Oakville Shuffle” features a cameo by Denny Ilett, one of Schofield’s favorite U.K. jazz/blues guitarists. With “Hindsight,” the horn section is in full flight in a setting Schofield describes as “…what if Albert Collins and Maceo Parker sat in with Tower of Power.” Additional tracks include the upbeat and simple organ trio track “Everything,” the Texas-blues nod to Jimmie Vaughan with “Tell Me Some Lies,” and “Red Dragon,” which is a tribute to Hendrix’s approach to the blues ~one take, all live, late at night, with the band following his every move. As a life-long fan of Albert King, Schofield pays his respect when taking on “Breaking Up Somebody’s Home,” and covers the classic “Yellow Moon.”
Schofield with “The Mayor” Jeff Guilford of JJ Guitars and Tomo Fujita at the JJ Guitars booth at NAMM ’14
Schofield is an inspired character. His lyrical approach is driven by stimulation from all facets of life’s experiences and the impact of what he reads, watches and absorbs obviously affect his deepest thoughts; the artist’s openness to all that life has to offer is best displayed with the album opener, “From Far Away.” The singer finds inspiration from Carl Sagan and offers, “I’m a big lover of science, humanism and their related philosophies. Lyrically I have known for a long time that I wanted to do something inspired by Sagan’s incredible and inspiring monologue ‘Pale Blue Dot’ ~ this song is my tribute to his beautiful, stirring words.”
Schofield is no stranger to accolades and has been honored as the recipient of major awards that include British Blues Awards Guitarist of the Year in 2010, 2011 and 2012, making him the first guitarist in the British Blues Awards Hall of Fame. He also was complimented by Mojo Magazine with Blues Album of the Year in 2011 and received the nod for British Blues Awards Album of the Year 2010. He was rated in the top ten British Blues guitarists of all time by Guitar & Bass Magazine alongside such icons as Eric Clapton and Peter Green. In the Penguin Book of Blues Recordings, Schofield is one of only two living British artists to gain a maximum four-star rating.
Confirmed Appearances Include:
7/18 Sacramento, CA Harlow’s Night Club
7/19 Santa Cruz, CA Moe’s Alley
7/20 San Francisco, CA Yoshi’s SF
7/22 Napa, CA City Winery Napa
7/24 Walla Walla, WA Main Street Studios
7/25 Portland, OR Star Theater
7/26 Seattle, WA Highway 99 Blues Club
8/02 Kaslo, BC Kaslo Jazz Festival
8/08 Gravenhurst, ON Peter’s Place Live
8/09 Kitchener, ON Kitchener Blues Festival
8/12 East Harwich, MA Cape Cod Jazz Festival
8/14 Bearsville, NY Bearsville Theater
8/15 Woonsocket, RI Chan’s
8/16 Morristown, NJ Morristown Jazz & Blues Festival
8/17 Bay Shore, NY YMCA Boulton Center For The Performing Arts
9/11 Chicago, IL City Winery
9/12 Danville, IL Phases of the Moon Music & Arts Festival
9/13 Auburn Hills, MI Callahan’s Music Hall
10/11 Helena, AR King Biscuit Blues Festival
