Artist: Connie Lush.

Support: Davy Edge, Aethelred’s Bluesmen

Venue: Thornton Hough Village Club

Friday, September 4, 2026.

As a venue, Thornton Hough Village Club is fast earning a reputation of a place to be seen. It’s past has seen the likes of Chris Difford and Paul Dunbar appear here. In its future, Ian Prowse, Xander & The Peace Pirates and Demi Marriner are set to take the stage. Small – safe to say intimate – it might be, but the atmosphere and energy the place encourages is second to none.

So, what better venue than this for The Wirral Blues Club to invite one of the region’s true Blues icons, Connie Lush, to appear for a sold-out night of music, nostalgia and good, solid entertainment. No small event this: instead, an evening of magic transpired.

First up: poet, actor, and renowned musician Davy Edge. There’s little to say about this multi-talented and all-round lovely man that hasn’t been said before. His voice is in fine fettle, as are his fretting fingers as they bend and pluck the strings of his semi-acoustic guitar to a spellbound audience. If that isn’t enough, he not only sings and strums; Davy also plays harmonica faultlessly, a precursor to what’s to come.

Edge has charisma which makes his self-penned numbers all the more poignant. Trail of Tears – inspired by a chance meeting in an Irish shop, with a man carrying a statuette of a Native American and his horse – is astonishing, both in its message and its delivery. Beautiful too are Autumn Leaves, and I Thought I Felt It Rain, both of which put me in mind of Nils Lofgren at his solo best.

Next up are Aethelred’s Bluesmen. A big band with a big reputation, these are Wirral Blues Club’s and Thornton Hough Village Club’s resident band. Delivering a mix of Blues covers including a superb Handbags and Gladrags and Little Red Rooster, alongide their own originals, vocalist and harmonica man Ian Boyle leads his five-piece through an hour’s worth of majesty, alongside a few laughs and not a little appreciation for the audience and venue itself. A truly memorable set, delivered with style and substantive panache.

The last time I was lucky enough to see Connie Lush on stage was at The Mold Blues Festival, way back in 2017. A lot has happened during the intervening years, although one thing that has remained unchanged is her incredible voice. Rich and resonant, Lush delivers Blues standards such as Summertime and Nobody’s Fault But Mine, with relish. Aided by the brilliant keys and guitar of Mike Neary, and a returning Davy Edge, Connie clearly delights in being back where she belongs: beneath the spotlight, centre stage, singing her heart out. Howlin’ Wolf’s Built For Comfort is a real highlight, while her performance of I’d Rather Go Blind, supported now by Aethelred’s Bluesmen, is quite simply sublime.

A quite beautiful night staged by Wirral Blues Club and Thornton Hall Village Club, and all for less than the price of a pint at the bigger – supposedly better – venues.