HEREFORD is getting ready for a massive Blues weekend, starting with Stephen Dale Petit on Friday, March 18, followed by Tommy Allen and his band Trafficker on Saturday, March 19 at The Booth Hall in Hereford.

All the best bluesmen come with a back story, and at 46, Petit has walked a winding path to the head of the modern scene. If his 1969 birth in California’s Joshua Tree desert was prescient – he was delivered by a passing doctor with a passion for the blues – then the acquisition of a Gibson SG at the age of 12 confirmed his calling. “The reason I’m on the planet is to play blues guitar,” Petit told BBC News. “I’m on a mission to spread the word about the blues and about the guitar – especially to young music lovers.”

Guitarist, singer and songwriter Tommy Allen, started out in his younger years working as a sideman to some of the big names in the blues scene; from Mojo Buford (Muddy Waters Band) to Nicky Moore (Sampson and Mammoth). In 2001, Tommy needed a band to perform his own original songs, so Trafficker was born, which led to the release of three acclaimed albums over the next four years and top reviews in national blues magazines.

Trafficker will be supported by Sweet Talk, a young local blues band that are currently making a name for themselves in Herefordshire and beyond.

Doors open at 8pm.