THE NIMMO BROTHERS – Report from Skopje Blues & Soul Festival 2007
One of the best gigs at Skopje Blues & Soul Festival 2007 was by great band from Scotland: The Nimmo Brothers!
Scotland has a history of some fine blues bands that expanded their music outside the country and one of definitely the best was the band composed of brothers Alan and Stevie Nimmo. The Nimmo Brothers was founded in 1995 in Glasgow. Previously, they were in a group called the Blackwater Blues Band, which released one album. During it’s existence, a number of musicians passed through, but the core of the band remained with Alan and Stevie. They had a huge following in their native Scotland, but in time they ‘conquered‘ blues fans in whole Great Britain and later Europe, playing a number of blues festivals and countless small venues and bar gigs. Known for their great guitar artistry, concerts by the band were a visual experience, which I have witnessed personally when they played in Skopje.
The band recorded several albums which were greatly received by the fans and critics alike, ‘Moving On’ in 1998 being their first. This album opened many doors for the and, one of them was signing with respectable record label Armadillo records, where they released all their later material: ‘Coming Your Way‘ (2001), ‘New Moon Over Memphis‘ (2003), ‘Live Cottiers Theatre‘ (2004), ‘Picking Up the Pieces‘ (2009), (2012)
Blues fans in Skopje still have a lot of good memories after their gig at Skopje Blues & Soul Festival in 2007. Their stage performance was impeccable, one hour burnout which left the crowd breathless. They played some stuff from their latest album and added a few blues standards which they did in their own way. At one point they played each other guitars simultaneously, something we never witnessed so far. No need to tell the crowd went wild! This festival has seen some great names like Lucky Peterson, Eric Sardinas, Mick Taylor, Louisiana Red, Temptations, UP Wilson, David Honeyboy Edwards, Mighty Sam McClkain, Bernard Allison, Melvin Taylor, Jimmy D Lane… but The Nimmo Brothers’ gig was among the best so far.
After years playing together brothers Nimmo felt that some change in directions was needed, so they decided to pursue solo careers, Alan formed King King, while Stevie started as Stevie Nimmo Trio. Both newly formed bands achieved fine accolades for musical capability and artistry. King King debut album ‘Take My Hand‘ (2012) won the British Blues Album award, whilst the band themselves won the Best British Blues Band award. At the same time Stevie Nimmo Trio is now in full stride with his full-on no-holds-barred line up conquering European blues stages with numerous concerts, releasing new music on the way. For some special occasions Alan and Stevie still perform as The Nimmo Brothers. If you have a chance to see the as the band or separately, don’t miss it!
Gallery –
YT – The Nimmo Brothers – Black Cat Bone
Article by:
Vasja Ivanovski
Skopje, North Macedonia
