The last time Oli Brown was on a stage in Milton Keynes was back in March when RavenEye returned home and wrapped up their It’s Not Over ‘Til It’s Nova tour.
Now, after a fantastically successful couple of years that has been well documented on this page (tours with Slash and Kiss, a critically acclaimed debut album and a burgeoning fan-base) the band are heads down working on a new album.
But frontman Oli has slipped the leash long enough to pack in a solo UK tour.
The 12-date road trek marks the 10 anniversary of his acclaimed blues album Open Road, and it comes to The Stables on Thursday (July 19).
Oli will be joined by a couple of familiar faces at the date - RE’s Aaron Spiers will pick up on bass, and King King’s Wayne Proctor will be on drums.
“It’s a blues powerhouse rhythm section behnd me, so expect a fun night,” he told Sammy Jones.
“I’ll be playing a mix of old and new songs. It’s been a long time since I’ve played the blues in Milton Keynes, so I’m excited to be coming back and playing at my favourite venue too.
Recent housing proposals have seen the future of the venue under threat, which would be atragedy for the area. Oli says it’s an integral part of the Milton Keynes scene: “The Stables is everything for developing musicians!
“You need venues like The Stables to give local artists a home to play as well, and it’s sad to see it under threat.”
And how difficult has it been working towards the new Raven album while taking on this solo jaunt?
“I think I had high hopes thinking it would be easy to balance both, but it has been so difficult as there has been so much going on with the band. It’s hard to find the free time to balance them both. But as we get more control of our schedule I’m looking to put on more blues tours as well.”
Will RavenEye fans be surprised by the solo material?
“I have no idea what the crossover is any more. When RavenEye started out it was primarily the blues audience that checked us out.
“Now it has kind of flip-turned. It’s exciting!”
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