Jon Amor Blues Group may well be a slightly laid back name but if the debut album reviews are anything to go by, the advice would be to fasten seat belts and reach for the safety goggles. This outfit is going to kick up some dust!
   With the ability to move between delivering majestic classic blues numbers to a more progressive style of rock-blues, their music has been compared to the 70s Rolling Stones at their best, with a large shot of blues slamming you in the face for good measure!
    Jon first expressed an interest in learning the guitar when his brother loaned him his acoustic, showed him how to play a few chords nd then urged him to practice, practice, and practice! His influences were really split into two different modes, one related to playing an instrument and the other was about the music itself.
    "The man who inspired me to play guitar was Mark Knopfler" he states, but it was through Eric Clapton that he discovered Muddy Waters, Buddy Guy and BB King. He immediately fell in love with the rough and the raw of early blues.
    Just over two decades ago Jon was one of the founder members of The Hoax, a young, high energy blues band who’s reputation grew swiftly to that of, ‘the most exciting live act of their time’. The Hoax disbanded in late 1999 and Jon went on to start a solo career.
    He quickly formed his first band Amor which went on to make a couple of highly acclaimed albums. Never being one to let things slide or stagnate Jon split Amor and what followed was several different solo projects which produced a string of superb albums which proved what an extremely talented songwriter and musician he is.
    His latest band draws inspiration from the older blues icons and the more modern bands such as the Black Keys and Jon Spencer Blues Explosion. The JABG sound certainly packs a punch with its un-tempered and gutsy roots.
    Graham Rhodes of Blues in the North West, after listening to their debut album last year wrote, "The band draws on some classic blues influences, but marry it to a modern, groove laden style," which goes some way to introducing the high energy, blues driven outfit... carlislebluesfestival.com