Album: Connor Selby, 2023
List of songs to check out: Falling In Love Again; If You’re Gonna Leave Me; The Man I Ought To Be
Young troubadour Connor Selby one of the brightest talents on the UK blues scene has been voted the “Young Artist of the Year” for 3 consecutive years (2020,2021,2022) in the UK Blues Awards, the young bandleader-guitarist-vocalist draws on influences as diverse as Eric Clapton, B.B. King, Ray Charles, Free and Van Morrison, creating a soulful blend of hard-hitting blues and emotional, introspective song writing, which, at times, evokes a modern take on the best of the music that inspires him.
There’s a timeless melancholic quality in his music. Relatable in the honest and open way, he draws from anxiety and vulnerability and delivers his songs in world-worn elegance. You can easily see why his soulful blend of blues songs and his emotionally introspective songwriting, alongside his impressive armory of guitar playing touches your soul and pulls on your heart strings.
Connor was raised an Essex village. Spending part of his early years in Connecticut, USA, before relocating to Dubai, UAE, between the formative age of ten and fourteen, and then back to Essex.
Upon moving back to Essex in his teens, his guitar teacher nurtured this passion, for playing the guitar, and allowing the young, introverted blues aficionado to just be himself. He spent lunch times with his teacher, learning guitar and just playing the Blues.
He started out on stages in pubs, moving upwards to small clubs and into the Blues circuit, all the while studying English at university and completing his debut album which lead to opening slots for The Who, as well as Pearl Jam.
Connor also toured in the UK with labelmate Beth Hart in 2023, bringing the soulful ensemble feel of his record to life.
“I don’t really have a right to sing the blues in the way that the original guys did,” he says. “But what I do have is just a genuine love for it, and respect. And hopefully that comes across.”
