Promoting blues radio across the UK and worldwide

Encouraging promoters and record labels to use the IBBA as a point of contact

Ensuring all member presenters are represented as a unified group

Sharing of information and ideas

Gary Grainger
Blues Show - website
Sundays 6:00 - 9:00 pm - Bishop FM 105.9 - website
Rpt - Wednesdays 11:00pm - 1:00am - Bishop FM 105.9
Tuesdays 12:00-2:00 am - KCOR - website
Rpt - Thursdays 6:00 - 8:00am - KCOR

There are no Blues Police on the show – I play all kinds of blues, as longs as I like it! I won’t play tracks that I don’t like. I feature new releases (sometimes as Album of The Week), blues from the beginning of time right up to the blues of tomorrow, from across the world. I feature a Blues Show diary every week which aims to promote and support local blues gigs. I have studio guests to play live – recent highlights include Aynsley Lister, who also chose all of the music for the show. Telephone interviews recently include Larry Miller (he also chose 3 great tracks to play during the show), and I have recently featured interviews from the Harvest Jazz & Blues festival, Fredericton, with Matt Schofield, and more to follow – including John Mayall, Keb’ Mo’ & Oli Brown. The main purpose of the show is to share the wide variety of great blues music that is out there – I aim for the show to sound as if I am just in a roomful of friends, playing some great music for them.

I first got into the blues by leaving the radio on one Sunday afternoon – I’d been listening to John Peel – and it was followed by either Mike Raven or Alexis Korner. Once I heard those 2 guys I was hooked and although I listen to lots of other music too, the blues has always been my musical home. As a musician, I have been playing the blues from about the same time (I was once in a Country & Western band for 2 years and was eventually told by the singer – “Go & Join A Blues Band!”) and as a solo acoustic act I have recently supported Guy Tortora, Mitch Laddie, Virgil & The Accelerators and more. It sounds strange but I always knew I would have a radio show at some point – I’ve been fascinated by radio since I was a child and I used to listen to a lot of pirate radio stations too. John Peel was a great influence and I also knew that when I did have a show I’d use the same theme tune as he did - “Pickin’ On the Blues” by Grinderswitch – and so I do!