John Gregory will be performing a very special show at the Erin Arts Centre in Port Erin, Isle of Man, on Saturday, February 28 2015.
He will be playing songs by some of his very favourite country blues guitar players.
Tickets, priced £8, are available online at www.etickets.im/jg
Alternatively email John at bluejohnmedia@hotmail.co.uk or call him on (07624) 204320.
I was invited to perform at the Deep South Music Fest in Port St Mary (Isle of Man) on Sunday (August 24).
I played a 30 minute set of country blues and had a great time.
Thank you to the organisers, musicians, community organisations and everyone else involved in this fantastic event.
Happy guitar playing,
John
John has announced some changes to his group guitar lessons.
Starting from Wednesday, August 27, 2014, the Port St Mary group will run for one hour – 7pm to 8pm.
The Douglas group will also run for one hour in future – from 7pm to 8pm – starting from Wednesday, September 3.
The Ramsey group will continue to be for two hours – from 7pm to 9pm.
For full details of the group guitar lessons see the group lessons page.
A number of John’s students have been celebrating recently after passing their Rockschool guitar exams.
Seven of John’s students sat exams last month (July 2014) ranging from the Debut exam to Grade Five.
The exams involve students performing songs, playing technical exercises such as chords and scales as well as completing ear tests and demonstrating interpretation, improvisation and sight reading skills.
I am delighted to announce that my blues duo, Blue John and Papa Cass, will be opening a show for the incredible Martin Taylor at the Peel Centenary Centre, Isle of Man, on Saturday, October 18 this year.
Martin is one of the greatest guitarists in the world and it is a true honour to be the support act for the night.
Over the years Blue John and Papa Cass – which features myself on guitar and vocals and my good friend Tim Cass on harmonica and vocals – have opened for a number of amazing musicians at the centre.
Martin is one of my favourite guitarists. I first saw him perform in St Helens, Merseyside, in the late 1990s. I have always remembered that stunning performance and I cannot wait to see him again.
He is also no stranger to the Isle of Man – Martin recorded his Freternity album and DVD here.
Tickets for the show are available at this link: www.etickets.im/cc
Happy guitar playing
John
Guitar tutor John Gregory brought one of the world’s greatest slide guitar players to the Isle of Man last weekend (May 9,10 and 11 2014).
The amazing Michael Messer – and his collaborator of 30 years, the superb rhythm guitarist Ed Genis – performed a sold out concert at the Institute in Laxey on Saturday night.
The concert was supported by the Isle of Man Arts Council and was part of the 2014 Island of Culture celebrations.
John’s blues duo, Blue John and Papa Cass, featuring John on guitar and Tim Cass on harmonica and vocals, was the support act.
Michael invited John and Tim on stage for the finale at the concert.
On Sunday Michael hosted a slide guitar workshop at the Northern Lights Community Centre in Bowring Road, Ramsey, while Ed hosted a blues rhythm guitar workshop.
John said: “It was an incredible weekend and one I will never forget. The concert was absolutely fantastic and to join Michael and Ed on the stage was a real honour. I would like to thank the sound guys at the Institute, Ken and Joe, and the Isle of Man Arts Council for its support.
“The workshops were extremely well attended and definitely inspiring. I would like to say a big thank you to Sam Jenkins at Northern Lights and everyone who attended the concert and workshops. Most of all I would like to thank Michael and Ed for a superb weekend of music.”
I was recently asked by the Isle of Man Examiner to contribute to its Day In The Life feature in the Business News section.
Here is a photo of the article which was published in the April 22 2014 edition.
The article talks about some of the things I do during my working day such as my private guitar lessons, group tuition, voluntary work and more.
I hope Examiner readers enjoyed it,
Happy guitar playing,
John
For more than a year I have been teaching a number of my guitar students the Rockschool guitar grades.
Earlier this month I received the absolutely brilliant news that the first of my students to take an exam, Nikil John, received a merit at Grade Four level.
Nikil has not been playing guitar long at all but is so good he by-passed the earlier grades and went straight for his Grade Four.
A massive well done to Nikil, a highly talented player who has worked exceptionally hard and deserves every bit of his success. Much more success will follow for this young man who is just 17 years of age.
Nikil aims to take his Grade 5 in July and I have a number of other students at different grade levels who will be doing their first exams that month.
Happy guitar playing,
John
A SOLD OUT concert in Port Erin, Isle of Man, raised £1,475 for Manx mental health causes.
Unplugged: A Celebration of the Acoustic Guitar and Other Instruments, was held at the Erin Arts Centre last Saturday (February 22).
A total of £1,000 has been presented to the Manx mental health charity the Service Users’ Network while £475 will be available when needed for a not-for-profit guitar tuition group concert organiser John Gregory runs for people who have – or have had – mental health problems.
The concert featured performances from John, Matt Creer, Pete Woodman, Tim Cass, Chris Gray and Luke O’Reilly plus special guests Tony Knowles, Simon Smith and Kel Smith.
It featured a diverse range of musical styles and in addition to the guitar there were performances on other stringed instruments and the harmonica.
John said: “I am absolutely thrilled at the amount of money we managed to raise at this concert for Manx mental health causes. Thank you to everyone who came along and made it such a memorable evening. I must thank all the musicians who gave their time for free – all of them were superb.
“As well as money generated by ticket sales there was a lot of interest in the raffle we held on the night as the top prize was an acoustic guitar signed by blues rock guitarist and singer Davy Knowles.”
The guitar group for people who have – or have had – mental health problems is called GuitarWorks and takes place every Tuesday at the Archibald Knox pub meeting room in Onchan from 4pm to 4.45pm (apart from if John is on holiday). There is suggested donation of £2 per session to help with running costs. Anyone interested in attending can contact John on (07624) 204320 or email him at Bluejohnmedia@hotmail.co.uk
Blue John’s Deep South Guitar Club at the Patchwork Cafe, Port St Mary Isle of Man, will not be taking place tonight (Wednesday, February 12 2014) due to the adverse weather conditions.
The tuition group will be back in two weeks’ time (Wednesday, February 26).
I apologise for the short notice and inconvenience.
John