Live Gig Review
Erja Lyytinen
Waterloo Bar, Blackpool
10th April 2025
Think you know what Blues Rock sounds like?
Think again.
Finnish guitar sensation Erja Lyytinen has much in common with other luminaries such as the amazing Jared James Nicholls, who are players of the absolute highest calibre, who can make the guitar produce sounds you wouldn’t believe, deliver solos of the utmost beauty, whilst still leaning heavily into a rock sensibility. Yes, it’s the Blues but done in a way that is hugely entertaining and accessible, whilst remaining true to its roots; it’s 21st century Blues Rock and deserves to be heard far and wide. It’s a shame then that so many are hung up on labels, trying to pigeon-hole artists into a particular style or genre for easy categorisation. It’s reductive and often does the artist a dis-service, as is the case for Erja, for in being labelled simply a “Blues Rock” artist, this hugely talented performer may not be being heard by the wider rock fraternity, which is a damn shame, as there is so much in Erja’s performance and playing that would delight any fan of guitar-based music, regardless of style or genre.
Erja opens her set with Ball and Chain from her recently released album “Smell the Roses” and it’s immediately clear why she has the title of the Queen of Slide Guitar. Fabulously dextrous slide runs, lead into a driving verse and infectious chorus, Erja letting fly, her talent and guitar playing magnetic to the extreme. With just a bass player and drummer to accompany her, it’s all about Erja, as it absolutely should be. A towering talent, her passion for her craft shows in every note she sings and plays.
Anyone who has ever tried to sing and play guitar at the same time, will know how fiendishly difficult it is, so anyone who can do both with such consummate skill and grace should be rightfully lauded. The fluidity and effortless delicacy of Erja’s playing is quite simply jaw-dropping. Stood at the front of the stage, she is the picture of an artist completely where she should be, at one with her instrument, lost in the music, all consumed by it, a conduit to something mystical and magical.
The bulk of the set is made up of songs from the new album, Erja telling us that she’s “going to rock our Thursday” and over the ninety minutes of her set she proceeds to do exactly that. Take the none-more-metally titled Going to Hell; an ode to the devilish charms of the Blues it rocks harder than many mainstream rock bands could hope for, Erja dispensing with the slide for this one and making her guitar sing and cry with a blazing solo and melodramatic arrangement. For make no mistake, she is not just the Queen of Slide Guitar but Queen of Guitar, full stop.
Similarly, latest single Abyss is a beast of a tune, switching between a huge 70s inspired riff to a delicate strum to beautifully atmospheric effect. It’s sweeping in its breadth and range with so many thrilling musical passages and changes, it’s a mini-epic in its own right. And over it all is Erja’s sublime playing, faultless in execution and feel, light and shade fighting for dominance in the Abyss. It’s the longest song on the album affording greater space and opportunity for more devastating sonic histrionics.
Tonight’s crowd is very much a “listening” audience, however it’s also a very appreciative one, reserving its energy for the songs' end, when they dutifully go somewhat crazy.
The only ballad is the hauntingly, echoing beauty of Empty Hours, where Erja deploys her slide brilliance to devastating effect to punctuate and colour this paean to heartbreak in shades of blue. It raises the hairs on the arms, with a desolate, emotive core screaming of pain and loss that leaves you a ruined wreck as it fades to black…
Pulling us back from the brink of despair, she ups the tempo and wisely changes the mood with the propulsive and groovy, You Talk Dirty, complete with another immaculate solo, this one fast, furious and fun. And whilst you may not always associate the Blues with fun, Erja plays with such an innate sense of joy and exuberance, it’s hard not to be swept along by it.
So throw away your pre-conceptions about what Blues Rock is and check out Erja Lyytinen (and Jared James Nichols whilst you’re at it) and discover if you haven’t already, just how vital and exciting Blues Rock can be – it may not be what you’re expecting but you may just find your new favourite artist in the process...
