Big Will and the Bluesmen - St. Izaire Blues live (2012)
Tour de France - July 28, 2012
After waiting for months we finally went to the south of France on the 23th of July to play some shows (actually we were planning to go a few days earlier for a show in Arras in the north of France but unfortunatly the area was flooded with water and our show was cancelled).
Our van was loaded with gear, equipment, the band (including our guestmusician and friend Peter Struijk) and off we went!
Almost 16 hours later we arrived in St Affrique and after meeting Ben, our promotor, we went to our mountaintop-villa and had some serious sleep. The next day we were jamming in and around the house, had a fantastic time and had some dinner in St Izaire.
The night of the 25th we played a show on the campsite near our residence and with lots of succes. The audience loved the show, bought a good number of cd's and said to us they would come to the St Izaire bluesfestival to see us again on the main stage.
On thursdaynight the 26th we did a gig in St Affrique and with only a French audience we had a great show. Lot of interaction with the crowd and over two hours of playing.
What a great night that was!
Friday we relaxed a bit, we went to the river, had some beers and prepared ourselves for the big day, the St Izaire bluesfestival on the 28th of July. We knew we had to be sharp and full with energy to conquer that beautifull castle with over 600 hundred people...
And man, we did!
We started our set by 21 h p.m and although the sound on stage was'nt excellent we got our bluestrain rolling and after 80 minutes the crowd howled out for more. What a superb atmosphere! After the great Jersey Julieband and Bo Weavil we joined in with the other musicians for a wonderfull midnight blues-jam. We all took our share but Big Will himself had to be dragged off the stage. Blowing his harp the man could'nt stop and the audience went totally nuts!
Round 5 o clock in the morning we hit our beds, completely exhausted but utterly satisfied...
After this succesfull tour the trip back to Holland was a bit tiring but with all our minds filled with sweet memories it was just fine. We knew we did a good job and already we're dreaming of going back to France!
Special thanks to: Ben , Peter & Jonah
And of course all our fans, soundmen etc who made this possible for us to do!! Much Love, Big Will and the Bluesmen: Wil, Henk, Wil & Alex
Le Patio - July 26, 2012
The band played a wonderful show for a great audience in the beautifull town of st. Affrique, and recieved a nice review in the local newspaper the next day.
Camping - July 25, 2012
The first Big Will and the Bluesman show in France is now a fact. 35 degrees, BBQ & blues on the camping, thanks to Jeroen for this gig.
