Chart-topping, UK, 9-piece Blues Band Seeks Lead Vocalist/Guitarist to Join & Front the Band

The Band are nominated for Best Live UK Blues Band and Best UK Blues Album for “Sand & Stone” 2021 by the UK Blues Federation.

CBO (The Chris Bevington Organisation) are looking for a Lead Vocalist/Guitarist to join and front the band, following the amicable departure of Scott Ralph from The Organisation.

CBO is an IBBA chart-topping UK 9-piece blues band who perform at UK Festivals and Blues Events across the UK and Ireland/Europe (such as The Cambridge Rock Festival, The Great Rock & Blues Festival (Skegness), The Great British Rhythm & Blues Festival (Colne), Upton Blues Festival, Linton Festival, and many more, notable venues and festivals).

The album line-up of The Chris Bevington Organisation includes Chris Bevington himself (on bass); guitar wizard Jim Kirkpatrick (from FM, Bernie Marsden, Rhino Edwards); the fabulous vocal duo of Kate Robertson and Sarah Miller (from Nearly Dan); and the vocal and guitar talents of Scott Ralph, who is now moving on. The band also boasts a fantastic brass section comprising of Ben Oakes (sax) and Lewis Topping (trombone), whilst the rock solid drums of Neil McCallum (Climax Blues Band) and keyboard skills of Dave Edwards complete the strong, cohesive nine-piece line-up.

“The Chris Bevington Organisation, are a mega collective of polished musicians, giving a superb big band sound of blues, soul and funk. They are musicians of class and this is evident from this well produced album.  All I can say is just superb.” said UK BLUES FORUM

Their latest, full 11-track album, ‘Sand and Stone’ was described by Pete Clack of BLUES IN BRITAIN/BLUES WRITER IN KEEPING THE BLUES ALIVE as “… one of the best albums I have heard in quite some time for a variety of reasons.  The band are solid, full of life and powerful, the recorded sound is absolutely of the very finest, so all makes this a wonderful and exciting album. Album of the year? –  you bet it is, but this is an absolute classic that deserves to be heard.”

Now, Scott Ralph, CBO’s frontman, lead vocalist and guitarist is stepping down and the band are looking to recruit new talent to fill his much-admired shoes. As Chris Bevington explains, “2020 has been a year like no other for everyone and it’s been no different for CBO, we have had the highs regarding the release of ‘Sand & Stone’ and subsequent great airplay and chart success.

“Very sadly, after the release of the album, Scott decided to make the very hard decision to leave the band. It goes without saying what an amazing contribution he has made to the band’s success, in the studio —writing, producing —and live performances and friendship since we both got together back in 2014.”

Now, entering 2021, the band is looking to the future: CBO will move forward and begin its new adventures and create albums and music and build on what they have achieved so far.

Chris Bevington has put together a spec for performers wanting to take up the opportunity and step into Scott Ralph’s shoes, taking the band forward and further. Check it out, including the samples of CBO’s work so far, and make contact with Chris himself to toss your caps into the CBO ring!

WHAT CBO IS LOOKING FOR

What am I looking for in a front man/singer/songwriter? How do those roles fit into the band and what’s our sound and style?

• We are looking for someone who has a love of blues music, who has a good rapport with the audience and wants to be part of this highly successful UK Blues band
• A deep appreciation and love of the music of Jimi Hendrix, SRV, Joe Bonamassa, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Robert Cray, Walter Trout to name a few.
• The vocal team in CBO is very strong and includes Sarah Miller & Kate Robertson on BVs to support the lead vocalist/frontperson.
• Jim Kirkpatrick is on lead and rhythm guitars, hence the lead guitar and rhythm guitar is shared, so they work as a team, which is a key part of the band: the energy of the 2 guitars and the ability to work together are trademarks of CBO.
• The band has a full brass section as well and this is a key reason for the CBO big sound.
• Although CBO is a 9-piece band, in certain circumstances it goes out as a 6-piece and the main vocal and guitar work may have to be done by 1 person. This is because Jim sometimes has other commitments.
• We are a very tight musical outfit with a reputation for excellent live performances. The band are known to be friendly and happy team and this shines through in their live performances.

What is the vision for CBO moving forward?

• For the future, we would like to plan for a 5^th album and normally Jim would work with someone to write and produce the album, which is normally composed of all original tracks.
• The ability to be able to contribute and/or write would be very advantageous.
• The band have had continual chart success in the UK and produced 4 albums, so the band are very well known in the UK. We want to build on this success, so hard work and commitment are essential together with reliability, but with the emphasis on enjoyment and fun.
• Playing slide guitar would be advantageous but not essential.
• The band membership stretches across a wide age range, from 23 – 59.

Where is the Chris Bevington Organisation based?

We are based in Stoke-on-Trent, but we tour all over the UK from Cambridge to Edinburgh.

Regarding how we rehearse, we always accommodate where people live and wherever possible we try to use technology to help in the current situation. However, as restrictions relax, we will arrange locations to rehearse to suit everyone involved in order to avoid too much travel.

How Do People Apply?

Please make contact with Chris via his e-mail address – chrisbevington@talktalk.net or by the band website contact page – www.chrisbevingtonorganisation.com/contact/

How will we conduct auditions?

We plan to arrange a zoom meeting to explain the bands vision and also to answer people’s questions and generally just a ‘get to know you session’.

We are planning to send 2 tracks that we have recorded without vocals and guitar which will allow the artist to record their vocal and guitar work if this is possible.

N.B. Due to COVID restrictions we obviously cannot audition in the normal manner but will accept any digital recordings, YouTube recordings or any Projects that the person has done.

Reference Material

If you want to listen to the band, the albums can be found on Spotify and YouTube and I can provide all links to you to enable you to check the band out.

Website Contact:

https://www.chrisbevingtonorganisation.com/contact/

Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/chrisbevingtonmusic/

Twitter: @chrisbevmusic

YouTube Channel:

https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLHEY6eKStM08m0seC3UlxHgUc0-K7D1FE

Digital Links:

These are the two latest Albums

https://ditto.fm/cut-and-run

https://ditto.fm/sand-stone