HarmonicaUK Festival 2023

2023 details will be available as soon as possible.

2022 details below are for information only, to give a flavour of the event.

The event is being held from 21st - 23rd of October 2022 and will be held at the Hillscourt Hotel near Birmingham, with further accommodation at another nearby hotel.

The weekend schedule is now available!
You can also download handouts for the workshops.

We commence with our annual AGM at 7pm on the Friday followed by a diatonic blues jam in the concert hall supported by Ricky Cool and a lineup of seasoned blues and roots musicians: Steve Ajao guitar, John Roy Potter on bass and Howard Smith on drums. For the chromatic players there is the usual fun and lively jam in the bar supported by the excellent Chris Collis on keyboards; Chris will also be providing accompaniment to some of the main artists.

Saturday and Sunday will be filled with all the fun and opportunities you’ve come to expect with the festival, masterclass workshops by the featured artists and other workshop leaders, for all levels of players in many different genres of music

Our competition this year will be by video submissions sent in prior to the event on or before 9th October like last year’s virtual festival, and will be adjudicated by David Beer, see the competition page for details. Competition winners will be announced on Saturday - see previous winners of the competition here. We will also have an auction hosted by Keith Parker. There will also be trade stands from major manufacturers. The deadline for competition entries is now passed.

A concert by the main artists is on Saturday evening and don’t forget the delegates concert on Sunday afternoon!

If all that is not enough for you, we will be revealing some upcoming plans for the future and introducing a few surprises along the way! Places are limited and subject to availability so don’t delay, further details, prices and booking below.

Please note, accommodation will be booked on a first come first serve basis and once the primary venue is full people will be allocated to the overflow hotel.

Our featured artists this year are:

Sam Spranger, and his band The Bad Day

Sam, a HarmonicaUK Ambassador, is a fantastic player on both diatonic and chromatic harmonicas. He has been playing a mixture of blues and rock with the band for the last seven years. They are known for their energetic critically acclaimed live performances and have appeared at such events as the Isle of Wight festival and Sony Hall in Times Square.

Antonio Serrano

Antonio is considered to be one of the greatest chromatic harmonica players of all time. A virtuoso player, Antonio is joining us in person after leading one of last year’s most popular workshops at our virtual festival. His musical innovation and versatility have seen him introduce harmonica into flamenco music, and he has collaborated with many different artists on projects relating to jazz, tango, classical and pop.

Shima Kobayashi

Shima, a former World Harmonica Championship winner and student of Tommy Reilly, is a celebrated chromatic player and music educator whose repertoire draws on a wide variety of music from chamber music to concertos with orchestras. Exploring all possibilities for the chromatic harmonica is what Shima naturally does.

Rachelle Plas

Rachelle, a HarmonicaUK Ambassador, played harmonica from an early age. She now devotes herself entirely to her passion for music and is an incredible diatonic player alongside her singing and song writing abilities. Her music and music videos receive millions of views on the web, and she has performed in her native France and internationally on prestigious stages, TV and radio. Rachelle will be accompanied by the excellent singer/guitarist Philippe Hervouët.

Mick Kinsella

Well known in the world of harmonica, Mick’s music ranges from blues and jazz to traditional Irish and World music. He is a master on chromatic, diatonic, and bass harmonicas. As a studio musician he has guested on over 100 albums to date and featured on many TV and film scores.

Friday Evening Jam

On the Friday there will be a diatonic blues jam in the concert hall supported by Ricky Cool and a lineup of seasoned blues and roots musicians: Steve Ajao guitar, John Roy Potter on bass and Howard Smith on drums. For the chromatic players there is the usual fun and lively jam in the bar supported by the excellent Chris Collis on keyboards.

We have a limited number of subsidised places available. Please complete and return a bursary form at least 4 weeks before the festival.

The deadline for bursary applications has now passed.