So pleased to report that we have a new live album coming out on 15th September! Recorded in Switzerland at the beautiful Köniz Castle, earlier this year. You’ll find a mixture of tracks from our last two albums and a true representation of our live performance. I hope you love it!
Kyla 💙
Hello 2020 and goodbye to 2019…what a year it was! I want to thank you for all helping us to have such an amazing year. There were so many highlights…starting the year on a high jamming with Van Morrison, Eric Bibb, Paul Jones and Bernie Marsden.
Reaching the semi final representing the UK Blues Federation in the International Blues Challenge in Memphis.
Winning the European Blues Challenge in the Azores!
Releasing my dream album to such a great reception, including making it to the top of the IBBA (Independent Blues Broadcasters Association) chart in April and being nominated for Best Album in the European Blues Awards.
The album didn’t win, but I DID win Best Female Vocalist in the European Blues Awards 2019.
The thrill of breaking new ground playing great gigs and festivals all over the UK and Europe, some of them in countries new to us.
Appearing on the front cover (and inside) of the brand new, excellent book, 50 Women in the Blues, alongside Koko Taylor, Etta James, Susan Tedeschi, Bonnie Raitt and Mavis Staples. Phew! What amazing company. Many more Women in Blues share their stories inside, accompanied by great photographs. Click here to order your copy of this fabulous book, by Jennifer Noble, which has been gaining rave reviews.
Then the wonderful news that Pain & Glory reached Number 1 in the IBBA chart for 2019…that means it was the most played album across the Independent Blues radio network throughout the whole year! Wow! I’m so grateful for everyone’s support.
This year is already looking very exciting, too. Danny and I are so proud to be heading back to Memphis as the first ever UK Blues representatives to compete in the Solo/Duo category of the International Blues Challenge. We’ve already received our first slot, which will be part of the International Showcase (purely open to artists from outside of the USA and not counting towards the end result of the challenge) on Tuesday 28th January at 9pm, at Blues City Cafe. It feels like we’ll be returning home, as this was the venue where we played all our shows last year, so we’ll be off to a great start. We’ll find out our Quarter Final slots, for the Wednesday and Thursday, when we arrive.
As a completely independent act (no management, no Arts funding, no record company as we run and fund our own), being able to take part in the IBC is such an important opportunity for us to network and spread our music across the world. It’s impossible to say how much competing in the UK, European and International Challenges has propelled our career and contributed to such a successful year in 2019. A huge thank you to the UK Blues Federation for making it all possible. I’m also very much looking forward to cheering on our UK band representatives, The Achievers! I’m sure we’re going to have a lot of fun together flying the flag for UK Blues.
Make sure you follow me on Instagram and Facebook to keep up to date with our progress and antics!
Please consider joining the UK Blues Federation to support and help keep blues in the UK alive and well. Without them there would be no UK Representatives in the IBC or EBC. If you join, you’ll also have a say in some of the nominations for the UK Blues Awards and the UK Blues Challenge. Just click here.
The rest of the year is already packed with some brilliant gigs and festivals. I hope to see you at one…or a few!
Love Kyla
Sheer joy with this band I love 💖 Finally the dust is beginning to settle, although I’ve not yet settled back down to earth, I feel like I can take a breath to thank everyone for helping us to win the 9th European Blues Challenge.
So very proud to represent the UK 🇬🇧 and the UK Blues Federation and my heartfelt thanks not only to the Chair, Ashwyn Smyth, but to the whole board for such unreserved and voluntary dedication, encouragement, belief and support (both financial and emotional!). Also, special thanks to my soul sister, Kaz Hawkins, for going above and beyond to promote us and help prepare me for the emotional roller coaster that these Challenges have been 💞 I dedicate this award and whole performance to the legend, Dave Raven, who was such a major part of UK and European Blues. I wish you could’ve been here to see us succeed!
Massive thanks to all our fans, family, friends and, of course, the ⭐️CROWDFUNDERS⭐️ who helped us get to the Azores (and Memphis!) physically, but also made us believe we could DO IT through your steadfast and generous support!
Thanks and congratulations to the European Blues Union and Santa Maria Blues for creating such an incredibly successful and smooth running event. It really was spectacular! A fabulous venue and a joy to explore the Azores for the first time 😍
Thanks to the other 21 bands, all winners in their nations, for the camaraderie and great music, and big congratulations to Norway’s Geir Bertheussen Blues Express who came in 2nd place, and our mates, The Dynamite Blues Band, who came in 3rd. You guys rock!
Of course, thanks to my AMAZING BAND. I love this life we lead together, so much fun and connection on and off stage🥰 And thanks to the big, beautiful, Blues family, here in the UK and all over the world, for your words of love, encouragement and congratulations. I’m truly blessed to be a part of this great scene 💙
What a belting album!
Frankly, that could suffice as the end of my review as I have nothing negative to say about it.
For those who don’t know, Kyla Brox is the daughter of Victor Brox – British R&B (in the original sense) royalty and since touring with her father back in the nineties she has had a strong solo career with a powerful sense of soul and Blues at the core of her music.
This album has been more than a couple of years in the making since her last solo album in 2016 and it is a real joy to hear her voice, soulful and gentle, again.
She has created an album filled with classic soul & Blues feel, horns throughout – she was nominated a couple of times for British Blues Awards as an instrumentalist (flute) – and driving beat courtesy of Danny Blomeley (bass) and Mark Warburton (drums).
The songs veer between blasting Blues such as ‘For The Many’ (pinning her politics firmly to the mast) with its blasting horns and rhythmic keyboards and ‘Bluesman’s Child’ (autobiographical) which has a gospel opening but swiftly elevates to an R&B belter to soft and delicate soul songs like the title track with her voice up front and deeply emotional over a whispering keyboard from John Ellis.
The music ebbs and flows, covering a wide range of styles but always with that central feel of a passionate Blues singer and it all has the feel of a well crafted album that represents exactly where Kyla Brox life has brought her so far.
The album closes on her version of ‘Hallelujah’, stripped back and brimming over with purity and passion – about as far as you can get from Alexandra Burke’s version and bringing the song back to its wonderful pain.
Overall, a stunning album, welcome back Kyla Brox.