Benny Guitar Carr

Benny Guitar Carr

Benny Guitar Carr is a guitarist from Devon who is passionate about blues, jazz and roots music. Ben performs regularly as an energetic and engaging solo artist playing slide guitar and building up a big sound using a cajon, drum kick pedal and tambourine. Ben also has a rockin’ band The Hot Rats and a foot stomping duo Ben & Sy’s Stompin’ Blues.

Elements of blues, jazz, folk and self-penned songs are warmly portrayed through warm and soulful singing. Through his music, Ben celebrates blues heroes such as Bessie Smith, Lead Belly, Big Bill Broonzy, Robert Johnson and Howlin’ Wolf. Also you can expect to hear music influenced from some of the great crooners of jazz, from Bing Crosby to modern day artists such Tom Waits.

Ben & Sy's Stompin' Blues This high energy duo features Ben singng and playing percussion using a cajon and drum pedal. This drum pedal beats the back bone to the rhythm of the music and compliments the intricate cigarbox guitar picking, syncopated with a tambourine, tastefully executed to build a one-man band sound. In addition to this already very full sound, Simon Lane plays a very distinguished and melodic harmonica, complimenting Ben’s percussion section with a foot stomp, cajon and tambourine – creating a very big and funky sound. The music crosses over delta blues, country, chicago funk and music from rock and roll legends including Fats Domino, Buddy Holly, Jerry Jeff Walker and Jonhny Cash.

The Hot Rats Ben Carr fronts the funky rockin’ blues band ‘Benny Guitar Carr & The Hot Rats’. The Hot Rats are made up of Ben on vocals and guitar, Tom Carr on double bass and Aly Day on drums.

Driven by energetic big band style drumming, they deliver their own fresh hard hitting sounds with big funky grooves and infectious walking bass lines, punctuated by Ben’s soulful vocals and electrifying guitar leads. They play a sensational funky blues sound, which people have compared to the work presented by The Chess Record Label. The band play a wide range of material including original compositions and roots blues and rock n roll interpretations from artists including Freddy King, Brian Setzer, Muddy Waters, Howlin Wolf and Willie Dixon.

Ben plays a selection of vintage sounding guitars from a custom made cigar box guitar to original Harmony guitars from the 1950s and 60s.

No matter where you come from, no matter what the weather The Hot Rats will get you up and dancing.