Start time: 8pm | Studio 27 seated
Will Wilde is a force to be reckoned with – a phenomenal harmonica player with a voice to match. The singer and songwriter from Brighton brings his blues rock sound to Hastings this October.
Will’s intense harmonica style steals the spotlight from the traditional blues rock guitar, with a sound that owes as much to Gary Moore as it does to Sonny Boy Williamson. “I’m always looking to make new sounds with the harmonica, pushing its boundaries, trying to change people’s perception of it.” In fact Will has gone one step further and created his own signature “Wilde Tuned” harmonicas so he can play licks that weren’t possible before. “They enable me to hold my own with any blues rock guitarist”.
Will gained popularity on YouTube with his mind blowing harmonica covers of classic rock guitar solos, such as Lynyrd Skynyrd’s Free Bird, which racked up over 3.8 million views, and helped him gain his 100k+ subscribers. These videos brought him to the attention of blues rock guitar legend Walter Trout, who invited him to play on his album Broken, which went to number one on the Billboard Blues Album Chart. To return the favour, Walter played guitar on the title track and first single from Will’s new album The Blues Is Still Alive.
Will has released four studio albums and one live album: Unleashed (2010), Raw Blues (2013), Live In Hamburg (2015), Bring It On Home (2018) and Bad Luck Friday (2022), as well as appearing as a guest harmonica player on albums by Walter Trout, Toby Lee, Brave Rival, Earl Thomas and Krissy Matthews. His earlier releases reflect more of a traditional Chicago blues sound, but over time he has developed a more intense style that draws from the classic rock and blues rock music he grew up on.
Will is nominated “Instrumentalist of the Year” and “Contemporary Blues Artist Of The Year” in the UK Blues Awards 2025, and will support Eric Clapton at his Sandringham Estate gig in August 2026.
