Described by The Sunday Times as “an Irish blues singer of real integrity’, Gráinne Duffy is making a welcome return to UK venues this March having conquered America.
Demand for her in the US has been unparalleled with numerous festival appearances including Telluride Blues & Brews alongside Ben Harper, Gary Clark Jr and Joe Bonamassa and then renowned Roots & Blues festival in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
She is NOT to be missed!
Gráinne Duffy was born in Castleblayney, Co. Monaghan, Ireland and raised in a family of seven. As a schoolgirl she sang in her local choir and in a family band with her sisters. The band was bred from their love of music, which Duffy accredits to her mother. Not having a television in their home when they were young, her mother instead allowed them to own a family record player, on which they all were encouraged to get a record on their individual birthdays and Christmas.
This broadened their interest in music, and they began listening to artists such as Aretha Franklin, The Pretenders and The Rolling Stones. Around that time Gráinne discovered Fleetwood Mac and the blues playing of Peter Green, whom she cites as one her main guitar influences.
In 2007 Gráinne embarked on her solo career and released her remarkable debut album Out of the Dark. The big success of the album led Duffy to play 3 days on the Acoustic Stage at Glastonbury Festival in 2008. The same year she performed support to major acts including Robben Ford and The Yardbirds. This was followed up with her becoming the opening act to artists such as Little Feet and Paul Brady.
2010 marked her participation at leading blues festivals in Ireland such as Warrenpoint Blues Festival headlined by Van Morrison. During 2011 she her second album Test of Time. The album received rave reviews with The Sunday Times quoting this is “An Irish blues singer of real integrity” and Classic Rock Magazine saying, “In this album Duffy is bringing soul to enhance her blues sound and Celtic roots experience”.
During 2012 she became an artist in high demand on the summer festival circuit in UK and began extensively touring in England. 2013 confirmed the growing reputation of Duffy and she began her first concerts on the European Continent with festivals in Bulgaria, Holland, France and Belgium. She also gained local recognition in Ireland headlining her home festival “Harvest Time Blues” in September in her native Co. Monaghan.
By the end of 2014 Duffy was voted Best Vocalist and Best Artist in the Blues Matters Writers Poll. She repeats the achievement the following year!
Gráinne’s tours in Europe and Canada as well her leading festivals achieve great international success with recognition for her as a stellar artist increasing across the globe. The end of 2016 sees Duffy on tour for her first time in Australia at the well-known Woodford Folk Festival. In February 2017 she is among the leading artists to be asked to take part in the renowned Mahindra Blues Festival in India sharing the stage with Billy Gibbons (ZZ Top), Lance Lopez (Supersonic Blues Machine), Shemika Copeland and the new arising guitar star Eric Gales for the final festival concert.
In April 2017 she released the single Where I Belong. The official video supporting the single becomes “choice of the week” of Vents Magazine, UK and Ditty TV in USA. During September Duffy released her long-awaited 3rd studio album of the same name. The album again achieves rave reviews in the specialized press Blues News Norway, Blues News Germany, Blues Matter UK and by many radio presenters in UK, including Bob Harris and Paul Jones from BBC. Duffy played a live session for the very popular Bob Harris TV show “Under The Apple Tree” and conducts numerous interviews and live sessions for BBC broadcasts in London, Liverpool, Bristol, Scotland and Ulster. The album is officially released at a concert in “Nells Jazz & Blues Club”, London, with high praise reviews by “Blues in Britain” and “Get Ready To Rock”.
The summer of 2018 sees Grainne share the stage at Cornbury Festival, UK alongside fine artists like Alanis Morissette and Mavis Staple and in the winter, Grainne performed a support tour for Paul Carrack (Mike & The Mechanics) during his UK tour.
Duffy releases her 4th studio album Voodoo Blues during October 2020. It is warmly received internationally achieving # 7 in UK IBBA Top 40, # 13 in USA RMR and # 8 in France Powerblues charts. The album led Duffy to be winner in the Independent Blues Awards 2021 in the category “Best Modern Roots Artist“.
2023 sessions lead to release of Grainne’s 5th studio album Dirt Woman Blues in May. The album enjoys great success entering immediately the RMR Top 50 and NACC Top 30. It reaches # 1 in both Contemporary Blues and All Blues charts.
Also # 2 in the UK IBBA Top 40 (May’2023) and # 2 in the Australian International Blues Airplay. In July 2023 the album was nominated for Blues Blast Music Awards 2023.
https://www.facebook.com/GrainneDuffyOfficial
https://twitter.com/grainneduffy
https://www.pinterest.co.uk/grainnelduffy
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwSSlXUndbFwBULqGrwjYKg
