For 40 years — and counting — Mud Bay has been electrifying audiences with their unique high-intensity brand of roots and blues music. Weathering more than a few storms along the way, they have been hailed as bona fide soul survivors — “The Band That Won’t Go Away” — much to the delight of their legions of fans, who will see Mud Bay performing at a number of local venues in the coming weeks and months.
The five-piece band features four songwriters, three of whom are also lead vocalists.
The five musicians are singer/harmonica player Mud Bay Slim, drummer Murphy Farrell, singer/guitarist Mark Branscombe, bassist Dennis Ingvaldson and singer/multi-instrumentalist Randall T. Carpenter on guitar, steel guitar and mandolin.
But underlying this diversity of writing and performance is a remarkable consistency, the result of a shared vision refined over many years. Distinct as the individual contributions may be, it all comes out sounding like Mud Bay.
Mud Bay band video
The music is danceable, featuring original independent roots and blues with vintage rhythm and blues stylings mixed in.
Their sound reflects a wide range of influences — classic Chicago blues, country, cajun, rock, soul — all finding common ground inside well-crafted, inventive songs.
Proud to have been forerunners of the burgeoning “Indie Blues” movement, Mud Bay has always taken the road less traveled, favouring innovation and interpretation over imitation. Their dedication to expanding and enriching the blues and roots idiom they cherish has never wavered.
Mud Bay’s recent fourth album Colebrook Road receives regular airplay on CBC’s Saturday Night Blues, CFRO, CITR and LG104 and Roundhouse Radio, along with internet radio in Europe, Canada and the US, on community and university radio across Canada and on Stingray Music.
Now with four decades of dues paid, they have earned respect and praise from such blues legends as James Cotton: “Just like playing with family” and the late great Stevie Ray Vaughn: “Mud Bay… More fun!”
In 2018 Mud Bay celebrates 40 years of music making with their fifth independent release, titled “Mud Bay – Live at Lorenzo’s.”
Mud Bay will be performing their songs, old and new, at Abbotsford on Saturday, Jan. 27 in the Eagles Hall, 33868 Essendene, hosted by the Fraser Valley Blues Society. Tickets are $15 advance or $20 at the door.
Other upcoming gigs include: Feb. 17 in Chilliwack at the Triple Play Pub, Feb. 24 at the Crescent Beach Legion, and March 11 at Vancouver’s Fairview Pub for the official release of “Live At Lorenzo’s.”
Keep up to date on Mud Bay at their website: http://mudbayblues.com/wp/ or on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/mudbaybluesband.
Samples of their music can be found on-line on Soundcloud at https://soundcloud.com/mud-bay-blues-band-1/ and on Youtube at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCxaDKwo8bA0RcUqZ3ZZ5wAQ
