The Blues Kitchen is a live music venue, bar and restaurant specialising in rare bourbon and barbecue. The restaurant currently operates three sites in London; on

Camden High Street The A400 road is an A road in London that runs from Charing Cross (near Trafalgar Square, in London's West End) to Archway in North London. It passes some of London's most famous landmarks. The Northern line ( Charing Cross and High Barne ...

near

Camden Town Camden Town (), often shortened to Camden, is a district of northwest London, England, north of Charing Cross. Historically in Middlesex, it is the administrative centre of the London Borough of Camden, and identified in the London Plan as o ...

Station, on Curtain Road near

Old Street Station Old Street is a National Rail and London Underground station at the junction of Old Street and City Road in central London, England. The station is on the Bank and Monument stations, Bank branch of the Northern line between Angel tube station, ...

Shoreditch Shoreditch is a district in the East End of London in England, and forms the southern part of the London Borough of Hackney. Neighbouring parts of Tower Hamlets are also perceived as part of the area. In the 16th century, Shoreditch was an impor ...

and on

Acre Lane List of A roads in zone 2 in Great Britain starting south of the River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the ...

near Brixton Station. A forth venue opened on

Quay Street Quay Street is a street in the city centre of Manchester, England. The street, designated the A34, continues Peter Street westwards towards the River Irwell and Salford. It is the northern boundary of Spinningfields, the city's business dist ...

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

in 2021.

History

The Blues Kitchen was founded by The Columbo Group's directors Steve Ball and Riz Shaikh, both of whom were voted in the "Top 1000 Most Influential" list by the ''

Evening Standard The ''Evening Standard'', formerly ''The Standard'' (1827–1904), also known as the ''London Evening Standard'', is a local free daily newspaper in London, England, published Monday to Friday in tabloid format. In October 2009, after be ...

'' in 2014 and 2015 in Camden in October 2009. The Columbo Group also own London venues The Old Queen's Head, Metropolis,

The Jazz Café The Jazz Cafe is a music venue in Camden Town, London. It opened in 1990 on the former premises of a branch of Barclays Bank and has had several owners throughout its history as a music venue. In 2020 the Jazz Cafe celebrates its 30th year, h ...

, The Parakeet and Phonox, and was awarded with the Best Late Night Operator 2015 award by

The Morning Advertiser ''Morning Advertiser'' is one of the oldest news publications in the world, beginning as a newspaper in 1794 and being published in hard copy until 2020. In 2011, William Reed Ltd, bought ''The Publican'' from United Business Media and merged t ...

's Publican Awards.

Music and influences

The team behind The Blues Kitchen venues spent years exploring the

Deep South The Deep South or the Lower South is a cultural and geographic subregion in the Southern United States. The term was first used to describe the states most dependent on plantations and slavery prior to the American Civil War. Following the war ...

of the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. Visiting

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

Mississippi Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the Osage ...

and

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...

. They became life-long friends with numerous American musicians, chefs, and Juke joint owners. All of The Blues Kitchen venues serve Southern, pit style, slow smoked barbecue, burgers and chicken wings. The venues host club nights every weekend with DJs playing

Motown Motown Records is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. It was founded by Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on June 7, 1958, and incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmanteau of ''moto ...

, Stax and 1960s rock n' roll records. The live music programme presents new and established

Blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the Afr ...

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun ''soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest attes ...

funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African Americans in the m ...

and Americana artists. The Beekays, The Sierra Band, Atlantic Soul Orchestra and The Reputations all play weekly residencies at the venues.

Seasick Steve Steven Gene Wold (né Leach, 19 March 1951),/nowiki>freight_trains.html" ;"title="freight_trains.html" ;"title="/nowiki>freight trains">/nowiki>freight trains">freight_trains.html" ;"title="/nowiki>freight trains">/nowiki>freight trains/nowiki> fo ...

, Gary Clark Jr,

Martha Reeves & The Vandellas Martha and the Vandellas (known from 1967 to 1972 as Martha Reeves & The Vandellas) were an American vocal girl group formed in Detroit in 1957. The group achieved fame in the 1960s with Motown. An act founded by friends Annette Beard, Rosalind ...

, Wayne Kramer of the

MC5 MC5, also commonly called The MC5, is an American rock band formed in Lincoln Park, Michigan, in 1963. The original line-up consisted of Rob Tyner (vocals) Wayne Kramer (guitar), Fred "Sonic" Smith (guitar), Michael Davis (bass), and Dennis ...

Mud Morganfield Larry "Mud" Morganfield (born September 27, 1954) is an American blues singer and the eldest son of Muddy Waters. Early life Morganfield was born to McKinley Morganfield (Muddy Waters) and Mildred Williams in Chicago. He was raised by his moth ...

(

Muddy Waters McKinley Morganfield (April 4, 1913 April 30, 1983), known professionally as Muddy Waters, was an American blues singer and musician who was an important figure in the post-war blues scene, and is often cited as the "father of modern Chicago b ...

eldest son),

The Libertines The Libertines are an English rock band, formed in London in 1997 by frontmen Carl Barât (vocals/guitar) and Pete Doherty (vocals/guitar). The band, centred on the songwriting partnership of Barât and Doherty, has also included John Hassall ...

Kitty, Daisy & Lewis Kitty, Daisy & Lewis are a British band fronted by the siblings of the Durham family. Their music is influenced heavily by R&B, blues, soul, punk, rock and roll, and West Indian music. They are all multi-instrumentalists playing guitar, piano, ...

Fat White Family Fat White Family are an English rock band, formed in 2011 in Peckham, South London. History The band, fronted by Southampton-born and Cookstown-raised Lias Kaci Saoudi, formed in 2011. Lead guitarist Saul Adamczewski was previously the frontman ...

Huey Morgan Hugh Thomas Diaz Morgan (born 8 August 1968) is an American musician best known as the former frontman of rock/hip hop band Fun Lovin' Criminals. Morgan performs both vocals and guitar and combines rock, hip hop, jazz, reggae, and funk influence ...

(

Fun Lovin Criminals Fun Lovin' Criminals are an American rap rock band from New York City. They are best known for their hit "Scooby Snacks", which features samples from films by Quentin Tarantino, and the song "Love Unlimited", which recalls Barry White's backin ...

), Andrew Weatherall, Cedric Burnside,

Tav Falco Gustavo Antonio "Tav" Falco is an American-born musician, performance artist, filmmaker, actor, author, photographer, and dancer. Falco has fronted the rock band Tav Falco's Panther Burns since 1979, and founded a parallel solo career that inco ...

North Mississippi Allstars North Mississippi Allstars is an American blues and southern rock band from Hernando, Mississippi, founded in 1996. The band is currently composed of brothers Luther Dickinson (guitar, lowebow, vocals) and Cody Dickinson (drums, keyboards, elect ...

, RL Boyce,

Cedell Davis Ellis CeDell Davis (June 9, 1926 – September 27, 2017) was an American blues guitarist and singer. He was most notable for his distinctive style of guitar playing. Davis played guitar using a butter knife in his fretting hand in a manner simil ...

Mystery Jets Mystery Jets are an English indie rock band, formerly based on Eel Pie Island in Twickenham, London. The band consists of Blaine Harrison (vocals, guitar and keyboards), Jack Flanagan (bass and vocals), Kapil Trivedi (drums) and Henry Harriso ...

, The Maccabees, Tribes, and The Jim Jones Revue have all performed at The Blues Kitchen. The Blues Kitchen releases live sessions and interviews on their

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

Spotify Spotify (; ) is a proprietary Swedish audio streaming and media services provider founded on 23 April 2006 by Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon. It is one of the largest music streaming service providers, with over 456 million monthly active us ...

channels. Episodes are presented by The Blues Kitchen founder Liam Hart. The Blues Kitchen channels have hosted notable guests including: Ronnie Wood (

The Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the gritty, rhythmically d ...

Bobby Gillespie Robert "Bobby" Gillespie (born 22 June 1961) is a Scottish musician, singer-songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist. He is best known as the lead singer, founding member, and primary lyricist of the alternative rock band Primal Scream. He was also ...

(

Primal Scream Primal Scream are a Scottish rock band originally formed in 1982 in Glasgow by Bobby Gillespie (vocals) and Jim Beattie. The band's current lineup consists of Gillespie, Andrew Innes (guitar), Simone Butler (bass), and Darrin Mooney (drums) ...

), Nathaniel Rateliff,

Kurt Vile Kurt Samuel Vile (born January 3, 1980) is an American singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and record producer. He is known for his solo work and as the former lead guitarist of rock band the War on Drugs. Both in the studio and during li ...

, Hermanos Gutierrez, Monophonics, Margo Price, Graham Nash,

Steve Earle Stephen Fain Earle (; born January 17, 1955) is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, author, and actor. Earle began his career as a songwriter in Nashville and released his first EP in 1982. Initially working in the country music g ...

, The Blind Boys of Alabama, The Budos Band, Lee Fields, Charles Bradley,

Justin Townes Earle Justin Townes Earle (January 4, 1982August 20, 2020) was an American singer-songwriter and musician. After his debut, EP ''Yuma'' (2007), he released eight full-length albums. He was recognized with an Americana Music Award for Emerging Artist ...

Jimmie Vaughan Jimmie Vaughan (born March 20, 1951) is an American blues rock guitarist and singer based in Austin, Texas. He is the older brother of the late Texas blues guitarist Stevie Ray Vaughan. Several notable blues guitarists have had a significant ...

, Rival Sons, Fantastic Negrito,

Ryan Bingham George Ryan Bingham (born March 31, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist and actor whose music spans multiple genres. He is currently based in Los Angeles. As of 2019, Bingham has released six studio albums and one live album, t ...

, Robert Finley,

Songhoy Blues Songhoy Blues is a desert blues music group from Timbuktu, Mali. The band was formed in Bamako after being forced to leave their homes during the civil conflict and the imposition of Sharia law. The band released its debut album, ''Music in Exile ...

Keb Mo Kevin Roosevelt Moore (born October 3, 1951), known as Keb' Mo', is an American blues musician and five-time Grammy Award winner. He is a singer, guitarist, and songwriter, living in Nashville, Tennessee. He has been described as "a living link ...

Marcus King Marcus King (born March 11, 1996) is an American musician, singer, songwriter and guitarist. He is best known as the frontman, lead singer and guitarist for The Marcus King Band. His 2020 album ''El Dorado'' received a nomination for Grammy Aw ...

, George Clinton ( Parliament-Funkadelic),

The Black Crowes The Black Crowes are an American rock band formed in Atlanta, Georgia, in 1984. Their discography includes eight studio albums, four live albums and several charting singles. The band was signed to Def American Recordings in 1989 by producer Geo ...

, Gary Clark Jr, Drive By Truckers, Robert Cray,

Wilko Johnson John Andrew Wilkinson (12 July 1947 – 21 November 2022), better known by the stage name Wilko Johnson, was an English guitarist, singer, songwriter and occasional actor. He was a member of the pub rock/rhythm and blues band Dr. Feelgood in t ...

White Denim White Denim is an American four-piece rock band from Austin, Texas, United States. Their music is influenced by dub, psychedelic rock, blues, punk rock, progressive rock, soul, jazz, experimental rock with home-based recording, jamming appro ...

, Cage the Elephant, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club and

. Weekly episodes of The Blues Kitchen Radio are released via

. The Blues Kitchen is also the current record holder for the World's Longest Musical Jam, having hosted a 100-hour non-stop music session in June 2019 to celebrate their tenth birthday. The three-day event saw 500+ artists take to the stage, raising over £10,000 for the

Help Refugees Choose Love (formerly Help Refugees) is a UK-based non-governmental organization (NGO) which provides humanitarian aid to, and advocacy for, refugees around the world. In 2016, it became the largest grassroots distributor of aid in Europe. Choo ...

& Camden Music Trust charities.

References

telegraph.co.uk ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally. It was fo ...

London's best new restaurants
on thrillist.com
Wonderland Loves: The Blues Kitchen on wonderlandmagazine.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Blues Kitchen Barbecue restaurants Restaurants in London

History

Music and influences

See also

References

External links