Track 7 - Joe Kelly and The Royal Pharmacists
True blues from a camper van parked in NP19...
It's easy to consign the idea of the itinerant blues singer to myth (Robert Johnson) or caricature (Seasick Steve) but in 2018, Joe Kelly is as close as you'll get to the real thing. Having spent the last couple of years calling a dilapidated camper van home and playing hundreds of shows armed with just a beaten-up guitar, a stomping foot and a harmonica, Joe decided that enough was enough, breaking free of the limitations of the one-man band and enlisting the services of a hand picked troupe of the finest local guns for hire, the ‘Royal Pharmacy’.
Debut single ‘Devil At Your Door’, an apocalyptic folk-blues with roots instrumentation and a contemporary edge proved an immediate hit with regional radio DJs earning the band a BBC Horizons grant and setting Joe up for a fruitful summer of festival appearances and an Italian tour.
The Launchpad funding saw Joe Kelly & The Royal Pharmacy begin work on their debut album at the renowned Monnow Valley studios, the first single from which, ‘Babylon’, was released in November 2017.
Listen more here: http://facebook.com/joekellyofficial
You can catch them live at The Gallery Space (Newport Market) on Record Store Day.
Joe Kelly and The Royal Pharmacists have contributed a track to the RISE Propaganda curated vinyl record, released on 21st April 2018.