JACK BROADBENT

The New Master of the Slide Guitar Comes to Barnoldswick Music & Arts Centre

Some musicians learn the blues. Others live them.

Jack Broadbent belongs firmly in the latter camp. Winner of the 2025 Boisdale Jazz/Blues Artist of the Year Award, presented by Jools Holland, Broadbent has spent the best part of two decades forging a reputation as one of Britain's most exhilarating live performers, one whose extraordinary musicianship, heartfelt songwriting and fearless originality have earned him admiration from some of the biggest names in rock, blues and roots music.

When the prestigious Montreux Jazz Festival hailed him as "the new master of the slide guitar," it wasn't simply recognising a remarkable technique—it was acknowledging the arrival of an artist carrying one of music's oldest traditions confidently into the twenty-first century.

But reducing Jack Broadbent to "just" a slide guitarist would be doing him a tremendous disservice.

He is a storyteller. A songwriter. A performer capable of breaking your heart with an intimate acoustic ballad before igniting the room moments later with a volcanic explosion of blues, folk, rock 'n' roll and jazz. His music carries echoes of Delta blues, British folk, Americana and classic rock, yet never sounds like imitation. Instead, Broadbent has carved out a voice entirely his own—raw, soulful, adventurous and utterly authentic.

It's perhaps no surprise.

Born into a musical family in Lincolnshire, Jack's father, Mick Broadbent, played bass and keyboards with late-70s power-pop outfit Bram Tchaikovsky, giving him an early education in live music. Ironically, Jack's first instrument wasn't the guitar at all—it was the drums, performing with his father's band before discovering the instrument that would ultimately define his career.

What followed was anything but conventional.

Rather than emerging from music colleges or television talent shows, Broadbent earned his reputation the old-fashioned way—busking throughout Europe. Armed with little more than an acoustic guitar, a suitcase full of songs and an old steel whisky flask that doubled as his slide, he developed a completely distinctive sound. The flask became part of his signature style, producing the huge, vocal-like tones that have since become instantly recognisable to audiences around the world.

Those unforgettable street performances quickly gathered attention online, introducing millions to a guitarist unlike any they had seen before. Yet it wasn't simply his explosive slide playing that captivated listeners—it was the songs. Honest, vulnerable and deeply human, they revealed an artist whose songwriting matched his breathtaking musicianship.

The transition from street corners to international concert halls happened remarkably quickly.

In 2018 Broadbent was invited to perform at the London launch of the Rolling Stones' blues compilation Confessin' the Blues. The performance led directly to a UK tour supporting Ronnie Wood, who later praised the young guitarist for "keeping the flag flying." Coming from one of Britain's greatest rock guitarists, it remains one of the finest endorsements imaginable.

Across the Atlantic his reputation continued to grow. After opening stadium shows throughout America for Southern rock legends Lynyrd Skynyrd, the band simply described him as "badass."

Peter Frampton called him "a wonderful player."

Bootsy Collins summed him up in typically understated fashion as "the real thang!"

And perhaps most remarkably, during an open-air concert in Madrid, Broadbent was invited onstage by Sheryl Crow herself to perform the iconic slide guitar on her worldwide smash hit All I Wanna Do—a moment that perfectly illustrated the esteem in which he is now held by fellow musicians.

The list of artists who have either shared stages with Broadbent or invited him to tour reads like the dream collection of any record enthusiast: Bryan Adams, Texas, Ronnie Wood, Peter Frampton, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Little Feat, Tedeschi Trucks Band, Richard Thompson, Johnny Hallyday, Tony Joe White, Robert Cray and Tommy Emmanuel.

During the summer of 2025 he added yet another remarkable chapter to his career by opening for Bryan Adams, alongside Texas, at Spain's prestigious Músicos en la Naturaleza Festival, confirming his place among the world's premier live guitarists.

Festival audiences have long understood what all the fuss is about. Whether appearing at Montreux Jazz Festival or major events throughout Europe and North America, Broadbent possesses that increasingly rare quality of making every performance feel completely alive. There is no script, no safety net and certainly no autopilot. Every note feels discovered in the moment.

His recorded output has developed alongside his growing reputation. Early albums such as Public Announcement and Along the Trail of Tears were wonderfully independent affairs, recorded with a fiercely DIY spirit while travelling and performing throughout Europe. Later releases including the acclaimed Moonshine Blue expanded his sonic horizons, recorded between Nashville and Montreal with world-class musicians while retaining the honesty that first won audiences over.

Then came Ride, recorded after the unexpected interruption of the pandemic while Broadbent found himself stranded in Canada. Originally intended as an intimate acoustic project, it instead evolved into arguably his most ambitious and hardest-hitting album—a thrilling collision of blues, roots rock and fearless electric slide guitar.

Yet for all the accolades, tours and international recognition, Broadbent remains refreshingly restless.

He is currently recording a brand-new studio album at the legendary Abbey Road Studios in London. The forthcoming record, Orchids, promises another fascinating step forward, with the first single Faith revealing yet another side of his artistry as he takes to the piano alongside his trademark guitar work.

Perhaps the most eloquent assessment of Jack Broadbent comes from Bill Payne of Little Feat and The Doobie Brothers, who toured with him and witnessed first-hand what makes him such a compelling performer:

"Jack is a true artist. He is fearless, his horizons are endless. What he shares is reflective of someone who cares deeply, not afraid to question things, not afraid to re-examine if the situation calls for it. In short, he is sharing his life with us. I love his voice. His playing is superb, showing an almost reckless abandon when he gets revved up. He is performing on the edge, and if he falls so be it. The pieces will not break. Jack Broadbent can whisper or shout in equal order with the power and sensitivity that speak volumes. Embrace his music, his life's work. You will be amply awarded."

There could hardly be a finer description.

What separates Jack Broadbent from many contemporary blues musicians is that audiences don't simply leave talking about his astonishing guitar playing—they leave talking about how his music made them feel. His concerts move effortlessly between moments of delicate intimacy and breathtaking intensity, balancing technical brilliance with emotional honesty in a way few performers ever truly achieve.

He belongs to that increasingly rare breed of British musicians who refuse to be confined by genre. Blues, folk, Americana, rock, jazz—they're all simply colours on Broadbent's musical palette. Like the great British originals before him, he has never been interested in copying the past. Instead, he honours tradition while constantly pushing forward, creating music that feels timeless rather than nostalgic.

When Jack Broadbent steps onto the stage at Barnoldswick Music & Arts Centre, audiences won't simply be watching one of the world's finest slide guitarists in the intimate surroundings of one of the UK's most respected grassroots venues. They'll be witnessing a genuine artist at the height of his powers—one whose journey from European street corners to international festival stages has been built not on hype, but on authenticity, extraordinary talent and an unwavering commitment to his craft.

For lovers of blues, roots, Americana, folk, classic rock and exceptional songwriting, this promises to be one of those unforgettable evenings that people will proudly say they were lucky enough to experience in a room of just sixty people. Nights like this don't come around very often.