He’s played with some of the biggest names in blues over the last 40 years and now Sugar Ray and his band the Bluetones headline tomorrow night’s Burnley International Rock and Bues Festival. When you come to Burnley, who will be with you in the Bluetones?

My band will be Monster Mike Welch on guitar, Mudcat Ward on bass, Anthony Geraci on piano and Neil Gouvin on drums.

For those who haven’t seen you, what can they expect from the show?

We will be playing a lot of material off of our new CD Evening The people can expect wailing harmonica, passionate vocals, extremely exciting guitar, world class piano, drums and bass from a band that’s been playing together for the better part of the last 40 years! We play straight ahead traditional heartfelt blues which I think is very rare these days.

Are UK audiences different from those in the US or are all blues fans the same the world over?

The audiences in my opinion are about the same no matter where in the world we are playing, even if the people don’t understand English. The expressiveness of blues music is truly universal.

The harp adds so much to a blues song, do you think it is an underrated instrument?

The harp is one of those instruments that closely emulates the human voice and it can create a beautiful sound. The problem is that it is so easy to carry in your pocket and in the wrong hands it can be a harsh instrument to listen to.

You’ve worked with some fabulous musicians. Which have made the biggest impression?

I have always been impressed by the kindness of the great master bluesmen that I have been privileged to work wit. That saying “you reap what you sow” is really true.

Presumably you weren’t christened Sugar Ray, so where did the name come from?

A great drummer that I used to work with in the 1970’s commented ‘Your voice sounds as sweet as Sugar, Ray’. The name Sugar Ray stuck from that moment on.

*Sugar Ray and the Bluetones, Burnley Mechanics, tomorrow 9pm