Music: Blues · Country · Rock

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A little piece of British 1970s music history comes to the Dordogne this September when Lou Stonebridge performs at La Bougeotte in Saint-Avit-Sénieur.

Stonebridge was a vocalist and keyboard player in the later incarnation of McGuinness Flint, the British folk, blues and country-rock group whose musical family tree stretches through Manfred Mann, John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers, Gallagher & Lyle and later The Blues Band.

McGuinness Flint had enjoyed major British success at the beginning of the 1970s with “When I’m Dead and Gone”and “Malt and Barley Blues”. Stonebridge joined after the departure of the original songwriting partnership Benny Gallagher and Graham Lyle, playing keyboards and singing on the band’s later albums Rainbow and C’est la Vie.

Following the break-up of McGuinness Flint, Stonebridge reunited musically with Tom McGuinness as Stonebridge McGuinness. Their 1979 single “Oo-Eeh Baby” reached the UK chart and earned the pair an appearance on Top of the Pops.

An intimate Dordogne concert

This isn’t an arena revival show. That’s precisely the attraction.

Stonebridge brings his blues, country and rock repertoire to La Bougeotte, in the beautiful historic village of Saint-Avit-Sénieur. The organisers describe the atmosphere as warm and authentic — an appealing opportunity to hear a veteran British musician in a very different setting from the clubs and concert halls associated with his earlier career

Saint-Avit-Sénieur itself makes the evening worth the journey. Arrive early enough to explore the old village and its extraordinary abbey church before settling in for the concert.

For guests staying at Le Petit Capelier, this is exactly the sort of event that makes September in the Dordogne special: a historic village, an intimate venue and a musician with roots stretching back into Britain’s 1970s blues and folk-rock scene.