The Hardchargers announce gig dates for spring and summer 2018
The Hardchargers are an exciting new chapter in Northern Ireland’s long history of world-class blues artists.
After eight years of thrilling audiences the length and breadth of Ireland, and four self-released singles, the band have just releases their first album Scarecrow which featured the original line up of, Lonesome Chris Todd (guitars/vocal), Richard J. Hodgen (drums/washboard) and Dave Thompson (bass/ukulele bass) Together this lineup performed 80-90 gigs a year throughout Ireland from 2012 to the end of 2016, from backwater bars to repeat bookings at the island’s biggest blues and rock festivals.
‘The sound of the HardChargers going into 2018 and beyond will be very similar to what we produced before. New players will bring their own thing, but the songs, song structures and guitar and voice are the same as before. I’m looking at it as an exciting adventure, a fresh start – the same, but different. Scarecrow is a fantastic encapsulation of the original band, in my view, and 2018 will most certainly see the HardChargers building on that – with new songs, gigs in new venues and new territories, but the same energy as always!’ – Lonesome Chris Todd:
Going forward, the HardChargers will be a more flexible entity, with front man Lonesome Chris Todd joined on any given occasion by a bassist and drummer drawn from a new pool of six players – including the highly-regarded Ali MacKenzie (bass) and Davy Kennedy (drums), formerly of the Mighty Mojos, and Jan Uhrin (bass) and Peter Uhrin (drums), formerly of the Kaz Hawkins Band.
The Hardchargers will continue to incorporate an exhilarating back-porch section into their set with resonator, washboard and ukulele bass, the band are steeped in inspiration from the greats of the pre-electric blues – Blind Willie McTell, Blind Willie Johnson, Bukka White, Willie Brown – to the progenitors of electric blues such as Lightnin’ Hopkins, Howlin’ Wolf and Frankie Lee Simms. The Hardchargers live set is an electrifying reimagining of all of the above, combined with the lyricism of Lonesome Chris Todd’s real-world blues and a musical language exquisitely refined from all of blues/roots and rock history since.
Tour Dates
February 2018
The Hardchargers, Sat 3. Marine Bar, 2a Marine Parade, Whitehead, Carrickfergus, Co Antrim, Ireland BT38 9QR Tel: 028 9335 3796 Admission Free — From 10:00 p.m. — 1:00 a.m.
The Hardchargers, Fri 23. Ards Arts Centre Town Hall, Conway Square, Newtownards, Co Down, Ireland BT23 4NP, Tel.0208 9181 0803 Tickets £7.00 — From 7:30 p.m.
The Hardchargers, Sat 24. Ardhowen Theatre Gallery Bar 97 Dublin Road, Derrychara, Enniskillen, Co Fermanagh, Ireland BT74 6FZ, Tel: 028 6632 5440 Tickets £10.00 — From 9:00 p.m.
March 2018
The Hardchargers, Sun 4. Horatio Todd’s 406 Upper Newtownards Rd, Belfast, N Ireland BT4 3EZ, Tel.028 9065 3090 Admission Free — From 8:00 p.m.
The Hardchargers, Sat 10. Belfast Nashville Singer Songwriters Festival, Titanic Concert Room, Clayton Hotel Belfast, 22-26 Ormeau Ave, Belfast, Ireland BT2 8HS. Tel:028 9027 8555 Tickets £6.00 — From 8:30 p.m.
The Hardchargers, Fri 30. Hop House 44 High St, Bangor, Co Down, Ireland BT20 5AZ, Tel: 028 9122 6080 Admission Free — Doors 9:30 p.m.
The Hardchargers, Sat 31. Dirty Duck 3 Kinnegar Rd, Holywood, Co Down, Ireland BT18 9JN, Tel: 028 9059 6666 Admission Free From 9:30 p.m.
June 2018
The Hardchargers, Fri 1. Downpatrick Arts Centre 26 Irish St, Downpatrick, Ireland BT30 6BP
The Hardchargers, Fri 29. Hop House 44 High St, Bangor, Co Down, Ireland BT20 5AZ, Tel 028 9122 6080 Admission Free — From 10:30 p.m.
September 2018
The Hardchargers, Thurs 6. Armagh Marketplace Theatre 9 Market St, Armagh, Ireland BT61 7BW, Tel: 028 3752 1821
The Hardchargers, Fri 28. Hop House 44 High St, Bangor, Co Down, Ireland BT20 5AZ, Tel: 028 9122 6080 Admission Free — From 10:30 p.m.
The Hardchargers, Sat 29. Ballyearl Arts and Leisure Centre, 585 Doagh Road, Newtownabbey, Ireland BT36 5RZ, Tel 028 9034 0202 — From 8:00 p.m.