Lloyd Spiegel, a top Australian bluesman, will light up the Mauao Performing Arts Centre. Photo/supplied
One of Australia's leading blues artists and most respected guitarists, Lloyd Spiegel, plays Tauranga tomorrow. Spiegel is a veritable "force to be reckoned with", and a showman known for high-energy performances, says Laura Collins of the Back Porch Blues Band. "He is international class and you have to see his
performance to believe it," she says.
Collins saw him perform five years ago and says "he just knocked my socks off, so I thought I have to have him back."
So keen was she to get him over here, that she offered to be his tour manager and he is now performing throughout the North Island this month.
Spiegel has toured all over the world, played some of the best-known blues festivals and performed with legendary artists including Buddy Guy, Etta James and Ray Charles. He performs a range of musical genres and can turn his hand to the likes of Bob Dylan, Peter Frampton and Willie Nelson's music.
The virtuoso guitarist is a driving force in Australian blues and his most recent recording, Tangled Brew, was the most-played Blues CD on Australian radio throughout 2010 and 2011, picking up rave reviews. His recent 12-month Australian tour drew sell-out audiences.
