Euroblues - blues week 2025

Hi HarmonicaUK members!

Here’s some information about a great week-long learning opportunity for blues harp fans!

The Programme

Blues Week 2025 provides an opportunity for blues enthusiasts to come together for a full week of music making. It is a chance to broaden your skills and knowledge in a comfortable, relaxed atmosphere. The program will offer morning and afternoon workshops and classes for all levels. The beginners class is for those who have little or no knowledge of their instrument. The intermediate and advanced classes are for those who already play to varying degrees of proficiency and are ready to learn new tunes, techniques and styles. The evening activities throughout the week will consist of a concert by the staff members, a student concert and nightly jam sessions.

The Classes

Arrival is Sunday and check-in is at 3 o'clock. Dinner will be provided at 5pm and there will be an orientation session at 7:30. Classes will begin on Monday morning and run through Friday afternoon. There will be 2 sessions (one for beginner/intermediate and the other for intermediate/advanced) in the morning beginning at 9:30 and lasting until 10:45. There is a 20 minute break between each class and the second session will start at 11:05 and end at 12:20. Lunch is from 12:30 to 2:00. In the afternoon, the first class will start at 2:15 and end at 3:30. The second afternoon session will commence at 3:50 and end at 5:05. All classes and workshops during the week will last for one hour and fifteen minutes. The program will include Friday night accommodation and check out is 10am Saturday morning.

Featured artists teaching harmonica this year (there are also separate sessions for those attending as guitar players. See here):

GRANT DERMODY, HarmonicaGrant is a harmonica player, singer and songwriter active in acoustic and Chicago style blues, old time, and other forms of American roots music.

Blues Harmonica (beginner/intermediate). Grant’s beginner class will focus on chord and single note tone production, rhythmic playing, tongue blocking, vamping and bending notes. The class will start at the beginning and progress at a comfortably challenging pace.

Blues Harmonica (intermediate/advanced). One of Grant’s classes will focus on improvising and tone production. He will also focus on being able to hear and hold down a groove as a band member or part of a duo. The other class will look at developing repertoire and bringing the emotion and feel that each song requires. The technique follows from there.

LIAM WARD, HarmonicaLiam is well respected around the world for his mastery of the harmonica. He won the National Harmonica League 'Player of the Year' in 2012 and he runs the website: learntheharmonica.com.

Blues Harmonica (beginner/intermediate). This class will focus on building the foundations to help you flourish as a player. It will explore note production, rhythm and blues vocabulary, mastering basic scales, the 12 bar blues format and dive into some great blues licks. Each session will be flexible and adapted to suit the needs and interests of the students.

Blues Harmonica (intermediate/advanced). This class will focus on everything that makes great harp players sound great. Liam will break down classic solos and study the magic of improvisation, distilling the essence of what every great player is doing in their playing. Topics will include tone, textures, advanced bending and shaping a solo. The class will dive deeper into the world of grooves and scales, and work on expanding your repertoire by going beyond the 12 bar blues.

WILL WILDE, HarmonicaWill Wilde picked up his first harmonica at the age of 16 and played it until his lips bled. His live show has been described as “A masterclass of blues harp playing, bar none.” (Blues in the North West).

Blues Harmonica (beginner/intermediate). Will's beginner class will be focusing on foundational blues harp skills such as tone, vibrato, bending, and improv exercises, as well as breaking down songs by the likes of Little Walter and Sonny Boy Williamson.

Blues Harmonica (intermediate/advanced). Will's advanced class will be focused on blues soloing in 1st, 2nd and 3rd positions, taking cues from the likes of Big Walter, Little Walter and Sonny Boy.

Find out more about signing up, fees and what else is on ( for guitar players too!), by clicking here.

See the promotional video here.

GET IN TOUCH      |      TEL + 44 (0) 1242 701 765         |     [email protected]