Acoustic Blues Weekend of Workshops, Jams and Performance
The Atrix, Bromsgrove B60 1GN from Friday 27th February to Sunday 1st March 2026.

The Program
The program will offer classes starting on Friday from 1pm to 5pm followed by a staff concert at 8pm. On Saturday, classes will run from 10am to 5pm followed by an evening jam session from 8pm to midnight for ‘participants only’. On Sunday, classes will run from 10am to 3pm. The classes will cater for all levels of ability and we recommend you bring along a portable recorder for future reference. The tutors for the ‘Acoustic Blues Weekend’ are Rollo Markee (Harmonica), Homesick Mac (Bottleneck Slide Guitar), Dariush Kanani (British Fingerstyle Blues Guitar), Michael Roach and Abie Budgen (Country Blues Guitar).

The Classes
Friday 1 to 5 followed by an evening staff concert. Concert will start at 8pm
Saturday 10 to 5 followed by an evening jam session. Jam session will start at 8pm
Sunday 10 to 3

Registration Fee 
The weekend fee is £200. A single day rate is £70 for Friday and includes the evening concert. Saturday is £90 and includes the private jam session for ‘participants only’. The rate for Sunday is £60. Advance booking is required. To reserve a place, you must book directly with Euroblues Promotions. For bank transfers, our account name is Euroblues Promotions Limited, our sort code is 20-20-15 and our account number is 60473928.

Regarding accommodation, we will be staying at The Premier Inn (Bromsgrove Central). It is a two-minute walk from The Atrix with Free Parking. They are offering a good rate for the weekend (around £50 a night) and it's best to book early before the price goes up.

Class Description

Rollo Markee started playing blues when he was a teenager and has been performing professionally for thirty five years. Pete Johnson (Jazz FM) states, “Rollo Markee is one of the most authentic Blues harmonica players this country has produced for years”. He has developed a rich, passionate and authentic blues voice. His valve amplified harp playing is full of tone, style and energy.

Over the weekend, Rollo will be teaching scales and playing different positions, improvisation technique, being a blues singer / blues vocals, awareness of beat and rhythm, rhythm playing and how to include melody, and building song structure.

For the students who are interested in an amplified sound, Rollo will conduct a session on amplification. He will demonstrate the key techniques used to create a balanced tone and a resonant chamber for producing a full bodied sound. If you have a personal mic and a small amp, do bring it along.

Homesick Mac has been playing music since 1975. His main influences were Doc Watson, Brownie McGhee and Sonny Terry and early country blues players. Between 1995 to1999, Mac formed an acoustic duo together with the legendary British slide master Sam Mitchell. In 1996, they recorded a CD ‘Two Long From Home’ that received great reviews worldwide.

For the weekend, Mac will guide you step-by-step into the art of acoustic slide playing. He will cover open and standard tunings, how to achieve good slide tone, playing the melody and laying a strong foundation with techniques and insights to keep you growing long after the workshop.

In the more advanced parts of Mac’s weekend classes, students will explore how to make their slide playing more expressive, dynamic, and complex, blending technical skill with musical storytelling. He will help students to enhance and refine their tone, craft more complex melodies, integrate slide with chords to create layered arrangements in a song, and seamlessly combine slide parts with fretted passages - unlocking the best of both worlds.

Also, Mac will a have section on 'Making Music With Others'. He will introduce students to the best practices when several guitarists are playing slide in a jamming or practicing situation. Mac will discuss how to best coordinate the performance by listening to each other, how to keep time and find a common groove in a relaxed manner.

Dariush Kanani is a fingerstyle guitarist specialising in folk, blues, ragtime and the British folk legendary guitarists. Captivated from a young age by the guitar playing of Bert Jansch, Davy Graham and John Renbourn, Dariush has performed, studied and taught with some of the most influential figures in fingerstyle guitar. These include Renbourn himself, Stefan Grossman, Clive Carroll and Wizz Jones.

For the weekend, Dariush will be exploring the blues influence in the playing of British fingerstyle guitar pioneers, Bert Jansch, John Renbourn and Davy Graham. His sessions will be for intermediate to advanced level guitarists who can play an alternating bass.

The Friday session will consist of an overview of ideas and techniques to be explored on the Saturday & Sunday sessions. He will look at the highly effective ‘sixth’ interval and its use in fingerstyle blues guitar playing - with examples in the keys of A & E - featuring runs, riffs and turnarounds. Also, Dariush will look at how to play a classic Memphis Slim/Fats Domino style, piano bass-line with examples in Key of E and Key of G (featuring open G tuning).

The Saturday session will consist of an overview of ideas and techniques to be explored on the Saturday & Sunday sessions. He will look at the highly effective ‘sixth’ interval and its use in fingerstyle blues guitar playing - with examples in the keys of A & E - featuring runs, riffs and turnarounds. Also, Dariush will look at how to play a classic Memphis Slim/Fats Domino style, piano bass-line with examples in Key of E and Key of G (featuring open G tuning). The guitar breaks feature a host of exciting, improvisational ideas. We’ll be learning the tune and exploring these improvisations Davy employed in detail. The characteristic ‘sixth’ interval is a hallmark of this arrangement. We’ll be exploring the effectiveness of this interval and ways to employ it in your own improvisations. *A full tab transcription will be provided to each student.

On Sunday, Dariush will teach Bert Jansch’s instrumental ‘Blues’ from his 1968 album ‘Birthday Blues’. This is a contrapuntal/counterpoint, instrumental 12-bar blues in the Key of E. It features a classic Memphis Slim style piano-blues bass line while simultaneously employing a top line over it.

The challenge is to play both parts together, clearly and cleanly - A deceptively tricky little piece that is really fun to play.The piece can be the bedrock for a song to add vocals over and also works well with another guitar or harmonica improvising over the top. Bert also used this tune as the backing to his version of ‘Betty & Dupree’ - the folk-blues standard. *A full tab transcription will be provided to each student.

Michael Roach sings and plays guitar in an East Coast style of blues that dates back to the 1920s. With 7 albums to his credit, he is firmly established in traditional blues music circles. Abie Budgen was inspired to play blues guitar when she heard the music of Big Bill Broonzy and Skip James and recorded 'Chakori', her first CD in 2014. Abie has since become a passionate teacher and lifelong student of blues and gospel traditions.

For the weekend, Michael and Abie will use songs by Memphis Minnie, Blind Willie McTell, Blind Lemon Jefferson, Papa Charlie Jackson and the Memphis Jug Band to cover the fundamentals of how to play an alternating bass line with your thumb and pick out the melody lines with your fingers at the same time. Students will be given practice tips to develop the techniques needed to play in the style of the featured artist. The songs will be demonstrated on a level from easy to advanced versions to give all students the ability to play it.

Songs will include, Me and My Chauffeur Blues, Black Rat Swing, Where Is My Good Man, Statesboro Blues, Little Delia, Warm Up To Me, Bad Luck Blues, One Dime Blues, Salty Dog, Shake That Thing, Stealin', You May Leave But This Will Bring You Back, and more. Tab will be included.

 

 

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