The Achievers

The Achievers have been around for a while and garnered more than a few accolades and awards in that time – winners of the 2019 UK Blues Challenge which saw them off to Memphis for the International Blues Challenge and nominated for Blues album of the year in 2020.
The Temperance in Leamington Spa has been building a rep as a venue with a great sound and vibe so I expected that this album would have a certain ‘groove’ to it, and I wasn’t disappointed.

This being an acoustic set, the band have a gentle sound, swinging between Blues and Americana and with a softly funky beat to much of their music. Steve Ferbrache takes the lead on vocals and he is nicely counterpointed by Rufus Fry on harmonica, Robert Holmes delivers some beautifully picked guitar lines and Aron Attwood & Jack Thomas are holding the rhythm together, Attwood’s tablas bubbling along alongside Thomas’s bass lines.

The way the band play live is completely different from most bands. They don’t play AT their audience, rather playing FOR the assembled crowd. The music gets you listening intently, the harmony vocals and easy pace of most of the songs creating a space for the listener to really focus.
Their combination of originals, some traditional numbers and a very few covers winning over through familiarity as well as quality. Eric Bibb’s ‘Don't Ever Let Nobody Drag Your Spirit Down’ is great and their version of Larry Campbell’s ‘When I Go Away’ gave me the same chills as Levon Helm’s original version. Of the traditional numbers ‘Mary, Don’t You Weep’ is my favourite, the old spiritual played simply and with real passion.

It's an excellent set, a really good capturing of The Achievers live talents in a very sympathetic setting.