Hicks won the 2021 Blues Foundation Award for ‘Best Emerging Artist Album’ and has picked up support from the BBC Radio 2 blues show as well as plaudits from the likes of Classic Rock magazine who said “[Hicks] has Harlem under his fingernails and the touch of a natural-born bluesman. His fresh, clipped guitar style and vintage holler suggest an anachronistic soul man.“ It was Guitar Techniques ‘Album of the Month’ upon release praises him saying, “Harlem is a very strong album and Hicks really is one to watch out for,” whilst Powerplay magazine proclaimed“ Harlem is an album that showcases his extraordinary talents.” He has also picked up support from Blues Matters, Blues in Britain and more.
He has recently wowed audiences in the US with a run of shows including supporting artists such as Joe Louis Walker, Samantha Fish and Shemekia Copeland.
He grew up in Harlem “around a lot of great musicians,” he says. The city has been synonymous with vibrancy, art and music ever since the Harlem Renaissance of the 1920s and 1930s. Music runs through the veins of the city, so there was no doubt that the young Hicks, who was only 6 years old when he started playing the guitar, was going to absorb those surroundings. By 13 he was on the stage at the Cotton Club, four times a week, as lead guitarist in the clubs’ 17 piece band and was already playing in legendary venues such as St. Nick’s in Sugar Hill and the iconic Lenox Lounge which Malcolm X had been a patron, and had seen the likes of Miles Davis and John Coltrane grace the stage.
His full debut, ‘HARLEM’ is produced by multiple Grammy Award winner Kirk Yano (Miles Davis, Public Enemy, Mariah Carey), and showcases Hicks as a writer, player and interpreter. Originals such as the roadhouse ready ‘421 South Main,’ the gospel shuffle of ‘Have Mercy on Me’ and the aching instrumental ‘Riverside Drive,’ he rubs musical elbows with staples such as “’Everyday I Sing the Blues’ and ‘It’s Alright,’ a Latin-tinged take on Blood, Sweat & Tears’ ‘I Love You More Than You Will Ever Know,’ a funked-up romp through Gary Wright’s ‘Love is Alive’ and a searing rendition of Sonny Boy Williamson’s ‘Help Me’ that closes the album.
“[Hicks] has Harlem under his fingernails and the touch of a natural-born bluesman. His fresh, clipped guitar style and vintage holler suggest an anachronistic soul man. “ – Classic Rock 8/10
“Harlem is an album that showcases his extraordinary talents” – Powerplay 9/10
“Harlem is a very strong album and Hicks really is one to watch out for” – Guitar Techniques – Album of the Month 5/5
“A highly polished debut” Blues in Britain
*Toby Lee * Dubbed a future superstar of the blues by Joe Bonamassa, 17 year old Toby Lee boasts an impressive musical CV. Toby’s journey started at just 4-years-old when his Grandma bought him a yellow and green ukulele. This little instrument went everywhere with him and he played it constantly – mainly tunes by Elvis and Buddy Holly. When he was eight he got his first electric guitar for Christmas while staying at a hotel in Cornwall. By chance, staying at the same hotel was Mick Box from Uriah Heep. Mick gave Toby some great advice and some picks and from that moment, Toby knew exactly what he wanted to do when he grew up! Toby spent a year playing the role of Zack Mooneyham in the original Andrew Lloyd Webber West End production of School of Rock the Musical. He won an Olivier Award for “Outstanding Achievement in Music” with School of Rock. “It’s a long way to the top if you wanna Rock n Roll” but Toby is definitely living the dream. He has appeared on many TV shows around the world including TFI Friday twice, Little Big Shots USA, Spain and the UK, Comic Relief, Michael McIntyre, The X Factor, Ant and Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway, Blue Peter and Tonight at the London Palladium where he performed with McFly. He jammed with Ronnie Baker Brooks at the Blues Heaven Festival in Denmark and the video went viral with over 115 Million views. Toby now has over 400 million views on social media. Toby represented the UK at the 2018 International Blues Challenge in Memphis – later that year he was announced as the Young Blues Artist of the Year at the UK Blues Awards. He was also featured in a television documentary called Child Prodigies. In 2019, he was flown to Los Angeles to appear on the Ellen Degeneres Show, where he performed and was interviewed by Ellen. Toby has shared the stage with a host of stars including Buddy Guy, Billy Gibbons, Peter Frampton, Slash, Lukas Nelson, Kenny Wayne Shepherd and has appeared alongside his hero, Joe Bonamassa at the Royal Albert Hall. He recently appeared on This Morning with Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby promoting his album “Aquarius” which reached number one in the Official Jazz and Blues Album Charts. With restrictions lifting, Toby is looking forward to touring with his band and has dates booked throughout 2022 in the UK, Europe and the USA. Toby has been a Gibson Artist since the age of ten and is endorsed by Blackstar Amplification and D’Addario Strings. He is currently working on a second album due for release in April.