The Blueswater

The Blueswater is an Edinburgh-based blues band known for its high-energy rhythm and blues style and extensive presence at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe​. The six-piece group consists of Felipe Schrieberg (vocals), Charlie Wild (guitar), Jed Potts (guitar), Gordon Jones (harmonica), Ewan Gibson (bass), and Simon Gibb (drums)​. Influenced by the Chicago blues sound of Chess Records and the droning grooves of Mississippi Delta blues, The Blueswater delivers gritty performances characterized by thick guitar riffs and frenzied harmonica solos​. The band gained prominence with their award-winning blues history show Blues! at the Edinburgh Fringe, and they have since toured internationally and even composed music for a BBC program​​.

Early History

The Blueswater formed in Edinburgh, Scotland, and made their debut at the 2011 Edinburgh Festival Fringe with a stage show called Blues!​. Blues! is a live music production that tells the story of the blues genre by performing songs of the artists who defined blues and shaped modern music​. Frontman Felipe Schrieberg conceived the show as a musical journey through blues history, backed by a versatile lineup that could expand from a duo to a large ensemble as needed​​. The 2011 run of Blues! was met with critical acclaim, and the following year the band won a Mervyn Stutter “Spirit of the Fringe” award for the production​​. This recognition at the world’s largest arts festival helped establish The Blueswater’s reputation on the Scottish blues scene. By 2012, the success of Blues! enabled the band to begin touring the show across the UK​. In 2013, The Blueswater received support from Creative Scotland to further develop their productions, allowing them to stage more ambitious shows following their Fringe triumph​.

Musical Career

Building on their Fringe success, The Blueswater became one of Edinburgh’s hardest-working live acts. They regularly perform in local venues and have taken their music abroad. In 2016, the band released a five-track EP titled Around Here and made national television appearances on STV to promote it. The same year, they embarked on an international tour through blues heartland cities in the United States, including Chicago, St. Louis, Nashville, and New Orleans​. During the 2016 Edinburgh Fringe alone, The Blueswater scheduled around 100 performances in various formats over three weeks, making them “the most ubiquitous act on the Fringe” that year​. Their vigorous touring schedule has also included festival dates such as the Islay Whisky Festival and overseas events like the Blossom Blues festival in Zurich​.

In addition to live touring, The Blueswater have contributed to media projects. In 2018, British comedian Stewart Lee commissioned the band to compose and perform the title music for his BBC Two stand-up special Content Provider. The Blueswater’s original track, humorously titled "Stew’s Blues", became the show’s theme song​. Stewart Lee announced the collaboration to his fans, noting that the Edinburgh blues band was “all over the Fringe” at the time and offering the Content Provider audience a free download of "Stew’s Blues"​. This project brought The Blueswater’s sound to a national television audience and highlighted their versatility beyond the stage.

The Blueswater have remained a fixture of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe each year. In 2022, they celebrated a milestone with a special 10th anniversary edition of their Blues! show​. This anniversary performance featured an expanded 10-piece band and refreshed setlist, once again selling out Fringe venues and showcasing the group’s longevity. Outside of the Fringe, The Blueswater continue to perform around the UK, often appearing at blues clubs, arts centers, and festivals. Their dynamic lineup allows them to scale their performances from intimate acoustic sets to full electric big-band shows, keeping them in demand on the blues circuit​.

Awards and Recognition

The Blueswater’s signature Fringe production Blues! earned significant accolades early in the band’s career. In 2012, Blues! received a Mervyn Stutter Spirit of the Fringe Award, recognizing it as an outstanding contribution to the Edinburgh Fringe​. The show also garnered critical praise from festival reviewers, including five-star reviews from publications ThreeWeeks and Broadway Baby, and a four-star review from Fest Magazine, indicating widespread acclaim in the Fringe press​.

Mainstream media and notable figures have acknowledged The Blueswater’s impact. The Scotsman wrote that the Edinburgh act “have built a solid reputation in blues circles, both in Scotland and further afield”​. Niche music outlets have been equally positive; for example, Blues in Britain magazine hailed The Blueswater as “definitely a band to watch!”​. Esteemed Scottish crime novelist Ian Rankin attended one of the band’s Fringe performances and gave it a glowing endorsement, calling it a “terrific set of blues songs performed with zest and wit” and a “great night out”​. Fellow Fringe veteran Stewart Lee praised Blues! as well, dubbing it “blues-based edu-tainment” for its engaging mix of education and entertainment​. Such praise from critics and public figures has cemented The Blueswater’s status as a leading blues act in Scotland.

Collaborations and Side Projects

Throughout their career, The Blueswater have expanded their creative reach by collaborating with other artists, especially in their Fringe productions. In 2015, they launched a spin-off show titled Blues! – Roots of the Blues, which explored the early origins of blues music. This project featured Edinburgh musician Toby Mottershead, frontman of roots band The Black Diamond Express, as a guest performer and narrator​. In Roots of the Blues, Mottershead combined lecture-style storytelling with live music, presenting an “excellent selection of blues tracks” from the genre’s pioneers in a 50-minute program​. The partnership with Mottershead brought additional authenticity and depth to The Blueswater’s Fringe offerings, given his background as a blues historian and slide guitar specialist.

The band has also worked extensively with singer Nicole Cassandra Smit, who became a prominent feature of their shows. Nicole Smit’s powerful, blues-drenched vocals have fronted The Blueswater’s productions such as Blues! itself and the related show Queens of the Blues. Queens of the Blues is a concert experience created by The Blueswater to celebrate the women of blues, and Smit has starred as the lead singer in these sell-out Fringe performances​. Her collaboration with the band began in the mid-2010s and added a new dimension to their projects, highlighting classic songs by blues queens with Smit’s dynamic voice. Critics noted that Smit “steals the show” with her expressive range, and she has since become a familiar face in The Blueswater’s extended lineup​​. The ongoing partnership with Nicole Smit culminated in live recordings (such as Blues! The Live Albums 2015 & 2016, on which she appears) and acclaimed performances at the Fringe and other festivals.

In addition to Mottershead and Smit, The Blueswater often invites other guest musicians to join their live shows or Fringe runs. They have curated multiple Fringe events under the banner “Blueswater Presents,” collaborating with fellow blues artists and vocalists to create diverse blues-themed shows. These side projects — ranging from intimate acoustic blues nights to large ensemble tributes — demonstrate The Blueswater’s commitment to keeping the blues genre alive and accessible to new audiences. By working with a variety of talent, the band continuously refreshes its repertoire and showcases different facets of blues, all while maintaining the gritty, engaging style that has become their trademark​.

This article "The Blueswater" is from Wikipedia. The list of its authors can be seen in its historical and/or the page Edithistory:The Blueswater. Articles copied from Draft Namespace on Wikipedia could be seen on the Draft Namespace of Wikipedia and not main one.

---