UNDER the Edge Arts are proud to support the Wotton Blues Festival on Saturday 24 and Sunday 25 September.

Wotton will be hosting an amazing range of performances and workshops at a range of venues over the weekend. For full details see the Blues Fest Programme which is available for £2 from Fish out of Water Gallery in Wotton and from many of the venues. Limited edition Wotton designed and printed, Blues Fest Tee shirts are also available for just £10 from Fish out of Water.

Booking is essential for the free workshops, so please contact Jim Sinkinson on 07527813404 or e-mail jamessinkinson16@gmail.com

Saturday 24th September

· 13.00: Delta Blues virtuoso, Steve Page will be running a workshop looking at great guitar licks, classic walk downs and the fundamentals of slide guitar at 1pm in Wotton Town Hall

· 15.00: The acclaimed acoustic blues guitarist, Rick Payne will be running Master class and guitar clinic Saturday 24th September 3pm at UTEA in the Chipping Hall.

· 17.00: Learn harmonica with Ben Hewlett at UTEA in the Chipping Hall. Bring your own harmonica or buy one at the venue. www.harmonica.co.uk

Sunday 25th September

· 13.00: Bring your guitar and a small amp along to the chipping Hall for Electric blues guitar for rhythm and lead with James Aldridge. There will be a mixture of 12 bar blues, extended and alternative chords, modes & phrasing, all aimed at helping you develop more variation in your playing. A basic understanding of rhythm and lead playing is needed for this workshop

· 15.00: Acoustic Blues Guitar with Chris Finch at The Star Inn Market Street. The focus of this workshop will be on developing blues chord progressions, variations and basic level improvisation. This workshop holds a maximum 10 people with their own guitar and some basic level of competence.

· 17.30: Build a Band. A fun session for Blues enthusiasts of all ages equipped with ANY instrument and any ability (even spoons are welcome!). Numbers ore limited due to hall capacity, so please book in advance.

After his afternoon workshop an Saturday 24th September, the acclaimed acoustic blues guitarist, Rick Payne will be performing his authentic acoustic blues finger picking, guitar at UTEA in the Chipping Hall at 8pm.

Rick will be performing many traditional styles of the blues including delta blues, piedmont, ragtime and slide.

Rick's magical, incandescent touch has earned him numerous accolades over the years, R&B Magazine said "The guitar playing is simply amazing, it expresses such emotion you have to sit back in awe…’"

Rick's intricate finger picking and soaring slide have audiences captivated as he draws every nuance out of every note and covers the whole gamut of blues styles and much more; earning him headline appearances at blues, folk, jazz and classical festivals as well as tours to USA, Europe and Scandinavia.

Reviewers have described Rick's concert performances as 'heart wrenching and passionate, delicate and scorching, seriously brilliant, totally absorbing and spellbindingly evocative with raw and fiery vocals to match and, Impressive guitar playing; bears comparison with early Ry Cooder.

To find out more you can visit Rick Payne's website at http://www.rickpayne.co.uk or UTEA at utea.org.uk