Teenage guitar star to headline blues music festival

Toby Lee is the headline act on the first day of this year's Dereham Blues Festival

A teenage guitar sensation is headlining the first day of a blues festival that organisers hope will bring a valuable trade boost to a market town.

Toby Lee, 19, has jammed with guitar legends including Joe Bonamassa and since May 2024 has been touring with Jools Holland.

Lee is one of the star names at the Dereham Blues Festival, in Norfolk, which begins on Wednesday with a concert at the town's Memorial Hall.

Organisers hope the four-day festival, which sees 60 artists from across the UK play at 14 venues, will raise hundreds of thousands of pounds for pubs, hotels and restaurants.

'Better than Christmas'

"Some businesses have told us that, in terms of the money they make, the blues festival is better than Christmas," said Stewart Aitken, one of the festival's founders.

"The pubs do good business and hotels, restaurants and campsites get lots of bookings.

"It's a great event, features lots of great blues and it's good for the town too which really helps, particularly after the pandemic," he said.

This year's festival, which runs from Wednesday to Sunday, is the 10th. Planning for it began almost as soon as last year's event finished.

Programmes in hand

In past years, on the Saturday and Sunday of the festival, when events run from mid-morning through to the evening, crowds of music fans have roamed the town - festival programmes in hand - choosing which acts to see.

This time, in what the organisers have described as a "community blues explosion", festival-goers can join a blues and soul choir, build a guitar from a cigar box, listen to talks on blues history and even try some West African drumming.

Teenage sensation Lee appeared in a West End version of School of Rock The Musical, winning an Olivier Award.

In 2019, he was flown to Los Angeles to appear on the Ellen DeGeneres Show.

He said: "Dereham Blues Festival is vital for keeping the blues alive in the UK.

"With such a diverse selection of bands of all ages, there’s something for everyone. I’m really looking forward to it.

“I think a lot of young people like the blues without realising it.

"It’s in so many genres of music and is the backbone to most styles of music. It’s our job to bring contemporary blues music to a younger audience."

Lee is playing at the Dereham Memorial Hall at 21:00 BST.