Today’s Throwback Thursday travels back to 2013 and the sixth Abertillery Blues Festival.
Running over July 12 -13, the festival boasted international blues acts in its line-up at Abertillery Park including Marcus Bonfanti, Mud Morganfield, Grainne Duffy, Mick Pini, The Blockheads and Lucky Peterson.
Saturday afternoon’s line-up included Ystrad Mynach’s sibling rockers Henry’s Funeral Shoe aka Aled and Brennig Clifford. The Festival was a gig the pair were particularly looking forward to, as Aled told Andy Howells in an interview at the time.
“Abertillery Blues Festival is something I’ve gone to for a couple of years. To go as an artist is going to be enjoyable. We’re going to be playing some new songs, we’ll be playing old songs, we’ll be playing some crowd pleasers.”
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Please the crowd they did, presenting a sound and charisma on guitar and drums which most bands double their size would find hard to produce. The audience were enthralled with favourites such as Dog Scratched Ear and Don’t Believe What You Read.
The energy projected across their set hit a memorable crescendo climax as Aled threw his guitar into the air and it crashed on to the stage broken.
Henry’s Funeral Shoe have continued to be one of South Wales most revered rock acts and released their latest album Smart Phone Rabbit Hole in September 2019.
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