The Big Un-Easy Halloween Extravaganza

When two UK artists made the pilgrimage to New Orleans, a part of New Orleans returned home with them....

Join Rockabilly band Unlucky Strike and Voodoo Blues legends Jo Carley and The Old Dry Skulls for a Double Feature Halloween Extravaganza on Friday October 25th at The Foxlowe Arts Centre in Leek for a night of music, dancing and a pinch of voodoo magic...

If you like story driven lyrics and epic rockabilly guitar solo's, then buckle up and knuckle down for the vintage fuelled ride of your life!

If the Rockabilly genre is a lovingly restored classic car that has been kept in original pristine condition, then Unlucky Strike is the full Custom Hot Rod having the outward appearance of a timeless classic but with a modern engine and performance.

Their Neo Rockabilly style pays homage to traditional themes and tones but with a more contempary writing style.

Since 2020 they began building a following online via Facebook live gigs which caught the attention of Leek Blues and Americana Festival event organisers who loved the bands Modern Rockabilly approach and their inventive ways of creating a bigger live sound through the use of vocals, one guitar and a looper pedal. Since playing at the Leek Blues Americana Festival in late 2021 where they supported The Hawkmen who are a popular London based rockabilly band.

Hitting the ground running in 2022 they secured a slot supporting the acclaimed Canadian Rock band The Damn Truth as part of their UK tour. Through out 2022 the band showed no signs of slowing down with a summer full of festival slots before seeing out the year with their debut full band performance and first annual Halloween Ball where they played to a sold out audience to finish out 2022.

2023 has seen Unlucky Strike playing more festivals and Completing their debut album named "Meanwhile, Back In The Lab..." released on October 28th which coincided with their second annual Halloween Ball featuring Thomas Truax.

They are looking forward to their third full band Halloween performance in 2024 set against a New Orleans backdrop. The Big Un-Easy.

Jo Carley and The Old Dry Skulls (UK) are a band like no other and will be bringing their Voodoo Vaudeville Blues on tour to the UK and Europe in 2024. The music takes influence from early vaudeville blues acts such as Victoria Spivey via Cab Calloway, Wilmoth Houdini and Wanda Jackson, but adding a creepy and theatrical twist that echoes Dr John and Screamin Jay Hawkins, all with an upbeat dose of old timey rock n roll, skiffle, calypso and a 1930's vibe.

They've got stories of deals with the devil, demons in love, witchdoctors, ghosts, ghouls, journeys to the deepest jungles and other exotic adventures that are all told using sweet melodies and syncopated sounds. The whole show is led by voodoo queen of England Jo Carley as she takes the audience on a journey to Voodoo Island, telling tales of the strange happenings and even stranger characters. Backed by her song-writing partner and husband the Zombie-like Tim Carley, who churns out blues-tinged rhythms on an old archtop guitar, kick drum and rattlin shoe, with fellow fiend James Le Huray providing the final ingredients of the spell, in the shape of double bass and banjo.

Jo Carley and The Old Dry Skulls combine the voodoo sounds and syncopated rhythms of the blues, but uniquely delivered with an old timey vaudeville twist. It's music that makes people wanna come down and shake their bones!

Halloween Attire Recommended but not Compulsory