Coming up, as part of Ealing Summer Festivals, Ealing Blues Festival will bring us outstanding music acts from near and far. Headliners include:
- US Artist Cedric Burnside
- Award-winning Elles Bailey
- Errol Linton
- Papa George
- Grainne Duffy
- 26th & 27th July
- Walpole Park
In the run up to the festival, Alistair Young, Curator, took some time out of his busy schedule to give us an in-depth discussion about how the festival came about and what to expect this year.
Alistair and The Blues Festival
My name is Alistair Young and I first became involved with The Ealing Blues Festival through its founder, Bob Salmons aka Robert Hokum. The Ealing Blues Festival was first set up by Robert Hokum in 1987.
In 2025, my role involves helping curate the artists and music content, as well as help generate PR efforts through the Ealing Club CIC, to boost volunteer involvement, community engagement and awareness of the festival. At the same time, shining a spotlight on Ealing’s legendary contribution to Rock ‘n’ Roll history.
Jazz and Ealing’s heritage
Ealing’s role in bringing the Rolling Stones together was highlighted at the US Rock & Roll Hall of Fame by Stones guitarist Keith Richards, but more about that later… A true understanding of West London’s musical roots can help music fans and artists from around the world connect with today’s contemporary music festivals, venues, and even other fields of culture born out of West London.
I have lived in Ealing since 1996 and it was after reading Ronnie Wood’s biography in 2010, that I first got in touch with Robert Hokum. Ronnie Wood, guitarist for The Rolling Stones, states in his biography; ‘Ealing is the traditional home of British Rhythm and Blues.’ A declaration that inspired me enough to do more research on the subject.
After a while, we set up a website and contacted Robert Hokum to see if he would be interested in helping commemorate the 50th anniversary gig of Alexis Korner’s Blues incorporated at the Ealing Club. He was, without a doubt, interested. Following a fundraising campaign, a blue plaque event took place outside the Ealing Club on March 17th in 2012, attended by Rolling Stones drummer Charlie Watts. The unveiling of the plaque was followed with a gig inside the basement club, 50 years to the day from the opening night, when blues Incorporated introduced electric blues to the UK at that very same venue. It was a seminal moment in British and International Rock, Blues, and Pop music.
Several local exhibitions, including at Pitzhanger Manor and University of West London, took place, print brochures were published and we formed a community Interest Company. This was key to the creation of the successful independent film ‘Suburban Steps to Rockland’ – The Story of The Ealing Club. This critically acclaimed production has been screened internationally and has inspired a new generation of music fans and journalists. Over 30,000 Ealing Club ticketed attendances to live music and film events have now been enjoyed locally, even by tourist visitors from Belgium, Norway, Brazil, Argentina.
Beyond the core of the Ealing Club, we have supported several other initiatives including the black plaque memorial in Hanwell to commemorate Jim Marshall’s pioneering of Amplification. That helped kick off the annual Hanwell Hootie event, while bodies such as Ealing Civic Society have started to create music commemorations for legends such as singer Dusty Springfield, keyboardist Nicky Hopkins and singer-songwriter, Kirsty MacColl. Major contributions were made to SoundBite (West Ealing), The Ealing Music and Film Festival as well as collaborations with Questors Theatre and The Brentford Musical Museum.
This year will be the first time I have been involved with programming musicians, as previously that was handled by Robert Hokum. The first time I had any involvement with the Ealing Blues Festival was in 2011 when The Ealing Club set up its first stand to help raise awareness for the blue plaque campaign, set up to commemorate the Ealing Blues Club. Thereafter we have established an annual presence in Walpole Park with growing support from of a team of eager volunteers that help liaise with others interested in both the history and the contemporary scene.
It’s an absolute honour to be involved with the blues festival and it is really is the only place where Ealing’s connections to Blues-Rock can be properly celebrated & understood.
At the Festival this year
This year, you can expect two days of premium blues music performances with headliners such as US Artist Cedric Burnside and the award winning Elles Bailey whose music is bound to get people dancing in the beautiful surroundings of Walpole Park. To support them is a roster of established blues artists such Errol Linton, Papa George, Grainne Duffy and newbies such as Sister Cookie whose latest album has been much feted by the likes of Mark Radcliffe and Robert Elms.
Ealing has always been a place to discover blues artists in the ascendence and Jack Broadbent and Toby Lee have already gained support from veteran musicians such Ronnie Wood, Lynyrd Skynyrd to Jools Holland and Ruby Turner.
Some of Ealing’s local talent and expertise is getting involved with projects such as the Bob Knight Blues Explosion that will showcase locally based session musicians who have made the area home. Bob Knight has drummed with everyone from the likes of Rod Stewart, Smokey Robinson and Amy Winehouse. Musicians span the generations with the youngest bands Bluezd & MadTalk hailing from the PowerJam Band Project with members all under 18.
Notably, there will be many tributes to the Ealing Blues Festival founder Robert Hokum and a special stage dedicated in his honour.
The atmosphere created for both the Blues and the Jazz festivals is very family friendly with plenty of green space to soak up the summer sounds.
Brand New Heavies
I am excited to see Ealing band the Brand New Heavies returning to the Jazz Festival. At least one member of the band has visited an Ealing Club exhibition and left some great feedback. Be great to see more local artists doing similar homecoming gigs in the future.
Ealing Blues Festival is a gathering. An opportunity for the community to mingle and also host friends from other parts of London or way beyond. As a family event, it’s a great way to bring the generations and all parts of the community together. It’s great for local business owners, hotels and keeps people on public transport. No doubt some revenue is generated for local parks so that it can be reinvested into improving facilities too.
It would be great to see how The Blues Festival can help wider community organisations discover their piece of this area’s much admired contribution to Rock ‘n’ Roll as many different venues and educational institutions could thrive on the back of Ealing’s film and music heritage.
Last October, The Ealing Blues Club and its original founder, Alexis Korner, were worthy of a mention by Keith Richards at the US Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame in Ohio. Ealing’s pedigree as a special music place encourages many eager musicians to come and support the story. West London should sit alongside music cities such as Liverpool, Nashville and Vienna for its contribution to Rock ‘n’ Roll.
In the early 60’s, The Ealing Club brought the Rolling Stones together and was key in nurturing the careers of many others associated with bands such as The Who, Cream, Manfred Mann, The Animals, John Mayall & The Bluesbreakers, The Jimi Hendrix Experience, Fleetwood Mac…
Of course, paying musicians and sound engineers for their time while attracting an audience that is loyal and attentive is also a major factor, artists want to play in Ealing and return. Ealing is a real musical destination for many musicians and fans.
About Robert Hokum, Founder of Ealing Blues Festival
The Ealing Blues Festival was first set up by Robert Hokum in 1987. It was his know-how, and passion for the blues, that helped the event grow from a small gig on a brick stage into a two-day festival of blues music. Over the years, the festival has drawn some of the most recognised names in the genre, while also giving a platform to rising local talent that resonates with new generations.
Robert was responsible for curating 32 blues festivals, that we estimate greeted over 200,000 ticketed visits to Ealing. This legacy has undoubtedly helped Ealing Summer Festivals become a major event in the West London Events Calendar. The core of the festivals was always about jazz and the blues.
Robert’s knowledge of the blues and musical talent was mirrored by his capacity to organise stage artist liaison and liaise with numerous providers that bring together an annual event. Thankfully, in 2025 there is a team of people on-hand via the Events Umbrella who organise ticketing, staging, production, safety, security and catering and all that is required to host such a well-attended, contemporary festival event.
