Ma Bessie's Speakeasy

Building on her passion for the "Empress of the Blues", Julia Titus shares the music of Bessie Smith and her contemporaries with a new generation of listeners.

Nicknamed the 'Empress of the Blues', Bessie Smith was the most popular female blues singer of the 1920s/30s. She is often regarded as one of the greatest performers of her era and was a major influence on other jazz singers.

The show chronicles Bessie's life from a one-room shack in Blue Goose Hollow, to becoming the highest-paid black entertainer of that time, to the tragic accident on Route 61 in September 1937 that ended her life aged 43 years.

Mixing Julia's rich, warm vocal sound with a dynamic band - that look, as well as sound the part - Ma Bessie and Her Blues Troupe perform a narrated show, featuring classic blues and jazz tunes from the inter-war years, such as 'Alexander's Ragtime Band' and 'Ain't Nobody's Business', as well as showcasing many of Bessie's songs and a selection of original songs and hand-picked covers from the last fifty years of popular music.

Ma Bessie returns for an unforgettable evening of music and storytelling, weaving through the intoxicating sounds of the 1920s and 30s Prohibition era. Celebrating the legendary voices of Bessie Smith, Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday and more, this captivating new show will leave you spellbound and wanting more.

Ma Bessie performs with George Webster on piano, Clare Hirst on sax/clarinet, Dom Geraghty on bass and Luke Trenwith on drums.