Davy Knowles has been influenced by several of blues artist like Dire Straits, Rory Gallager, Son House, Eric Clapton, and Bukka White. Singer/songwriter Davy Knowles released his Delta blues EP titled 1932 in March 2017, a bootleg series in April and is ready to showcase his material at the The Southgate House Revival on January 26th.
The Isle of Man native bought a 1932 National guitar during his first U.S. tour 10 years ago and illustrated the delta blues sound vividly on the EP. “I wanted to do something in kind of a tribute in a way to both the guitar and for those kind of founding fathers really,” says Knowles. His father introduced him to Dire Strait’s “Sultan’s of Swing”. “That was the kind of catalyst for me to play guitar was hearing Mark Knopfer.” He started listening to Dire Straits and gradually made his way to Eric Clapton and John Mayall and the Bluesbreakers, more specifically the “The Beano” album.
“On that record there was an Otis Rush tune, a Ray Charles tune, a Robert Johnson tune, and a Freddie King tune, you know there are so many of these great, great covers by these great artists,” says Knowles. “That was really a big introduction for me to go, ‘I really love this song, I need to go and buy everything that was Otis Rush’s, you know, and kind of have that, certainly, sort of like historian looking backwards kind of think to it.”
His EP really embodies the Delta blues sound with tracks such as “First Words of a Changing Man,” “As the Crow Files,” “Watch Maker Blues,” and more. Along with the EP, Knowles came out with a bootleg series that captures the bits and pieces of each of the live performances. People like the Grateful Dead and Bob Dylan have come out with them. Knowles believes that “it's a lovely approach because it's live and it's supposed to be a bit rough and ready and it's supposed to be a little rough around the edges.”
He will be starting his tour January 19th in Southbend, IN and ending it in Chicago on April 24th. Part of the second leg of the tour, Knowles will be honoring musician, Rory Gallager, while playing with Gallager’s old band. “That's kind of a dream come true, really,” says Knowles. Knowles toured with musicians such as Joe Satriani, Sammy Hagar, Jeff Beck, The Who, and even Buddy Guy to name a few.
The show is at The Southgate House Revival on January 26 is at 8 p.m.
