An explosion of blue hot acoustic slide roots/rock, poker twisted with a whippin' of Bluegrass, a versatile guitarist with a unique earthy melting pot of a voice. Bex Marshalls outstanding virtuoso guitar playing is a mixture of exposed blues and ragtime frails augmented by her stunning whiskey soaked vocals and diverse, but always poignent writing.
A Devonshire lass now residing in London, the product of two completely different family's, one blue blooded landed gentry, the other Irish Romany's she had a great live musical background growing up, at every family gathering her uncles would play for the family, she was given a 1973 Gibson Hummingbird when she was 11, classical guitar playing was her first passion, she got hooked on instrumentals and classical guitar standards which stretched her fingers and gave her a great basis for her own musical creations to develop, flamenco, ragtime, country chicken pickin, rock and on to blues, roots and slide/dobro. She plays on an Ozark 3515E Electro Acoustic Biscuit resonator, wood body with a lipstick pickup and a cutaway through a Fender Frontman 25R (with reverb). Bex is endorsed by 'ELECTRIC LADY' Eccelshall Guitars, hand made by Chris Eccleshall and Eddie Cameron from Devon.
She always had a passion for travelling, its in her blood and she trainer as croupier 18 and began her travels around the world which inspired her song writing, from dealing illegal poker games in Amsterdam to hitch hiking the coast of Australia alone on cattle trains, always with a guitar on her back. She is an adventuress, a writer, seasoned guitar player and passionate vocalist, her musical influences are varied and many although comparisons have ranged from JJ Cale to Hendrix and Derek Trucks, and her music has been described as…."Bonnie Raitt and Led Zep jamming in an everglade moonshine joint".
She is a troubadour, telling her tales with humour and wit, honesty and slang, a musical inspiration, poetry to blues, an instrumental turbine of melody, people gawp at her fearless playing.
Bex Marshalls latest release 'Kitchen Table' is a mix of roots, rock rags entwined with bluegrass frails and home down blues slide and has received stunning reviews to date and has special guest players Don Wayne and Dale Reno from Hayseed Dixie.
After three tours of the US 2008/9, Bex got to number 13 in the US 'UK artists chart' and the record, 'Kitchen Table', went to number 20 in the US Americana Music Association Chart. (AMA Chart). Bex was officially invited to the Folk Alliance in Memphis to showcase her album 'Kitchen Table' in Feb 2008.
Bex played major UK festivals in 2010 including opening the first ever dedicated blues stage at Glastonbury and Maryport Blues Festival along side Booker T. BBC Radio 2s Paul Jones recorded the show and interviewed Bex for his show shortly afterwards and has invited her back in the new year with her full band for a live session at the BBC Maida Vale Studios when Bexs new studio record is finished.
Bex has shared stages with various international artists including Bob Dylan, Blues legend Tony Joe White, The Counting Crows, Joe Bonamassa, Billy Bragg, The Dubliners, The Proclaimers, Alabama 3, Paul Jones, Robert Plant, The Yardbirds, The Pogues and Country Joe Macdonald to name a few. Bex was also invited as the first ever female guitarist to play for the Clonikilty Guitar Festival in Southern Ireland in 2007 alongside Thin Lizzys 'Eric Bell'.
Her song writing is highly praised in her latest album reviews…."Touches of genius" "Staggering" 'Intelligent and interesting','Timeless' '… sounds like a breakthrough album'– Rock n Reel (R2) UK
'…Marshalls album is of such class and maturity, without an apparent weakness or filler' – Blues Matters UK
'…As a writer she's mastered the art of making new material sound like its been found in long forgotten vaults – Net Rhythms UK
'She has harnessed the power of the blues without resorting to cliché or plagiarism – - Spiral Earth UK
'deserves wider recognition for her spit and saw dust vocals and fluid resonator guitar licks…Classic Rock Magazine UK
'Marshalls competent axework has Mark Knopflers feathery touch' - LA Weekly US
'.the blues 'Black Guitar' culminates in a slide guitar clamour Derek Trucks would be pleased to call his own' – Downbeat Magazine US
a younger version of Bonnie Raitt. Seldom do we hear such blues inflected rawness in female guitar players and its so refreshing to hear it done with such authenticity and assurance' – Folk and Roots Magazine UK
Then there's her voice….Tina Turner, Janis Joplin, Joan Armatrading, Beth Hart, Bonnie Raitt…. '…Bex Marshall's voice draws up the ghosts of old blues women's heartaches', Outlaw Magazine US
'…the absolute stand out on this album is Marshalls vocals' – Root of Rock Magazine NZ
'….She has all those essential vocal frailties that make the difference between soul and soulful', Folk and Roots Magazine UK
