Voodoo In The Shadows
Fiona Boyes plays deep Blues, influenced by a myriad of traditional regional styles. She has carved an international reputation as a blues guitarist, vocalist and songwriter, and American reviewers have described her as a ‘musical anomaly’ and ‘Bonnie Raitt’s evil twin’!Â
A distinctive finger-style guitarist, her soulful, authoritative style has earned her unprecedented recognition overseas as an Australian artist. Winner of the International Blues Challenge in Memphis, Fiona has also received Blues highest international accolade with 7 nominations in the USA Blues Music Awards for both her electric and acoustic playing, the only Australian blues musician to be so honoured.Â
In recent years Fiona has toured widely, performing at acoustic, guitar, jazz and blues festivals, clubs and cultural centres in 16 different countries.
Equally at home on acoustic or electric guitars, her mostly original repertoire is like a Blues travelogue. Listen to her play and you’ll hear pre-war Delta slide, single chord Mississippi Hills grooves, intricate country blues finger picking along with material drawn from the classic blues sounds of New Orleans, Chicago and Memphis. Fiona continues to joyfully explore the music she loves with recent acquisitions such as cigarbox guitar and a rare ResoLectric Baritone adding new textures to her live show. On her latest release – ‘Professin’ the Blues’ – Fiona digs deep into her love of acoustic blues guitar and songwriting: the roots of the Blues. The album won the Blues Blast Music Award ‘2017 Acoustic Blues Album of the Year’ in the US. As her friend and mentor, the late, great Hubert Sumlin said. ‘She’s got it! I’ve played with all of them – and she’s got it!’
