VETERAN Essex frontman Tim Aves joins forces with US-Scottish blues outfit, the Son Henry Band, for a string of dates this spring.

Tim was the singer, harp player and guitarist with defunct Essex band the Rockin Armadillos, but has now forged an alliance with American singer, guitarist and lap-steel virtuoso Son Henry and his Aberdeen-based band.

Tim says: “Take an Alaskan blues guitarist and a driving Scottish rhythm section and you’ve got one of the most explosive bands to hit British blues in years.

“Son is one of the best lap steel guitarists in modern blues. If you can imagine a cross between Kelly Joe Phelps, Robert Randolph and Jeff Healey you’ll have the right idea. The music is blues of the very highest quality – a mixture of original songs by the two frontmen, plus well-chosen reinterpretations of great old blues tunes.”

The working relationship between Tim and Son was forged in 2007, when the musicians played five gigs in the space of two days at the Dundee Blues Bonanza.

Since then, Tim has travelled to Scotland on a number of occasions to appear live with Henry and his band – bassist Dean Stewart and drummer Kevin Oliphant. He is also contributing harmonica to the forthcoming Son Henry Band album.

They will hit local venues on Saturday, March 28, Blues at the Farm, Barleylands Social Club, Billericay and Thursday, April 2, New Crawdaddy Blues Club, the Belvedere, Crays Hill.

For more details, visit myspace.com/thetimavessonhenryband