Multi-award winning singer and bassist Lisa Mann will be flying over from America for the Great British Rhythm and Blues Festival in Colne over the August bank holiday weekend. John Anson caught up with her before she made the trip

For those who haven’t seen you live before, what can the audience expect from your set in Colne?

First I want to express how excited I am to return to the UK, I am hoping more people will see me perform live and enjoy themselves when they do. That way I can keep coming back to such a beautiful place. Guitarist Dudley Ross put this tour together- I’ll be performing with him, as well as keyboardist Stevie Watts and drummer Mike Horne. They are all powerhouse musicians, so audiences can expect a high energy set of original blues and classic R&B! We all enjoy each others company as well, I think the camaraderie comes across to the audience. We simply have a blast performing together, and sometimes we can’t stop smiling.

Your sound combines, soul, blues rock and country – what has influenced your musical direction over the years?

I’ve been influenced by everything I’ve heard over the years. As a child in West Virginia, I was exposed to country music, but I also listened to R&B and soul on the radio. I have a lot of early bluesy hard rock influences, especially bands like Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, Cream and Deep Purple, who re-invented the blues sounds that I later came in contact with.

We American blues musicians owe a debt to UK musicians who keep the blues alive when it faced a slump in the US market. When I began playing blues in earnest some years ago, I fell in love with artists like Etta James and Ruth Brown, both of whom incorporated rock, soul and country styles into their music.

I’m also a fan of male artists like Little Milton, Johnny Guitar Watson, and Jimmy Reed. Milton’s vocal dynamics, Watson’s affectations, and Reed’s phrasing have had a great influence on my singing style.

I also have extensive experience in heavy metal (thanks again, UK!) and I am still very much influenced by those musicians and vocalists, in subtle ways when I sing and play blues.

Which came first for you, the bass or the vocals?

The vocals came first, because I was born with that instrument. I bought my first bass between the ages of 11 and 12, I walked home from school every day for an entire year and saved my lunch money to buy it.

There’s something inherently cool about female bass players, who were your female role models?

I thought Suzi Quatro was cool, but she wasn’t necessarily a role model. Roger Glover, Jack Bruce, John Paul Jones, Geezer Butler, and Steve Harris were my role models. There just weren’t that many female players back then, and besides that’s not an issue for me anyway. It’s all about the music.

What advice would you give yourself as a youngster just starting out in the music business?

Network, connect with lots of people, but make sure you’re not taken advantage of. Get advice from elders who are successful on specific matters. Leave your ego behind and realize there are a thousand other talented artists working just as hard as you. This is not a competition. Also, get used to eating and living on the cheap, and learn to sleep in a van or on a plane.

What is your relationship like with UK audiences?

I love UK audiences! They are very attentive, paying attention to the lyrics and soloists. It’s a great pleasure to play original songs for a listening audience.

You have either won or been nominated for a number of awards in the past three years. What does that mean to you as an artist?

It is definitely an honor to have been nominated and received these awards. The Blues Music Awards are voted on by members of the Blues Foundation, many of whom are in the music business themselves. Our regional Cascade Blues Association is similar. It means a lot when awards come from your peers.

After Colne, what does the rest of the year have in store for you?

I have been travelling a lot this year, and it looks like I will not be doing too much travelling in the late fall and winter of 2018. I’m actually looking forward to spending a little more time in my home region, the Pacific Northwest.

It’s a couple of years since your album Hard Times, Bad Decisions. Is there any new music in the pipeline?

I am working on a side project, it is not blues. That is taking some time away from recording new contemporary blues songs, however I have written several songs and have been performing them live. Perhaps the time I have at home in the winter will allow me to record these songs, they are bit more rootsy than my previous work. I will definitely have a new blues CD the next time I return to the UK.

Playing fantasy festivals, which three artists or bands (alive or dead) would you put on for your line-up and why?

Since it’s a fantasy, I’ll pick those who have gone beyond. How about the original Fabulous Thunderbirds with Keith Ferguson on bass, Little Milton Campbell, and Etta James!

Music fans always love recommendations about what to listen to. What is the one album (yours or someone else’s) which they must have in their record collection and why

BB King’s Live at the Regal. It’s a hot, high energy record that will disabuse anyone of the mistaken notion that blues is a sleepy, sad kind of music. For musicians of all stripes, everything you need to know about the blues is on that record.

Lisa Mann plays Colne Muni on Sunday, August 26. For full details of the Great British Rhythm and Blues Festival visit www.bluesfestival.co.uk