For those of you who know me well, you will also know what a massive fan I was of the late, great Matt Long. Indeed, you can read my heartfelt tribute to him in a previous post on the website. https://www.leedsbluesclub.co.uk/r-i-p-matthew-long/
I have talked about the influence Matt has had on my musical journey including providing the inspiration for wanting to be involved in promoting live music, following an absolutely unforgettable performance at the Colne Blues Festival when Matt was barely out of his teens. That gig was almost spiritual. To see this young guy performing with his guitar and singing with a passion that just absolutely blew me away. From that day on I tried to see Catfish and Matt as many times as possible and have listened regularly to all their albums and always came away with the belief that here was a genuine world class talent.
We had Catfish and Matt lined up to play at the Cross Keys in 2023 but prior to that happening, Matt received his cancer diagnosis and although he bravely tried to carry on there were times that his treatment precluded his ability to perform and reluctantly we had to cancel.
Matt did eventually get to perform for us at the festival that we organised in March 2024 in tribute to our dear late friend and mentor Steve Beastie. And what a day it was. During that day it was such a delight to spend a bit of time with Matt and his wonderful wife Sam who I am delighted to say has remained a friend since that day.
When Matt passed away just over a year ago, it was likely that Catfish would just break up and go their separate ways but that seriously underestimated the character of the remaining members of the band which includes Matt’s dad Paul, and so in spite of the fact that Matt is totally irreplaceable, if they could find a new guitarist whose ability could get close to Matt’s then why would they want to waste all that wonderful material they had written and perfected over the years?
So, I am delighted to report that they didn’t have to look too hard to find an outstanding young guitarist who was already beginning to establish himself as an impressive performer on the blues scene in Alex Voysey. At the same time without Matt Long they couldn’t really continue to use the Catfish name and so Burning Rope was born and has time has now moved on we have managed to line up this terrific band to play for us at the Cross Keys on October 31st.
This is going to be a very special gig in our line up, there is no doubt about that. Of course, we are getting used to seeing some high quality performances at our little club but this will have the added emotion of including the spirit of the unforgettable Matt Long.
If you haven’t ordered your tickets yet then please get in touch. It would be a fitting tribute to Matt, the Long family and the rest of the band if we can sell out and show our love and support in the best possible way.