Adam Sweet

Adam first picked up a guitar aged 7. He took to it quickly, but the primary school guitar classes didn’t exactly set his imagination on fire. A brief foray into classical guitar also failed to provide the spark he needed, but his interest in the guitar continued to gently smoulder into his early teens. It was at this point that Adam was taken to see his first ever gig when The Hamsters came to play the Marine Theatre in his hometown of Lyme Regis, and suddenly things began hotting up. Inspired by this first live experience, and with the help of some of his Dad’s old records, he began unearthing the classic rock riffs and driving blues of the 60s and 70s that he had been missing out on. It didn’t take long to form his first band with a couple of likeminded classmates and by the age of 15 they were performing regularly on the local circuit. In the years that followed Adam could regularly be found recreating the music of his new-found guitar heroes around the South West of England. Since those early days bands have come and gone but Adam has steadily honed his craft and found his voice, and with over 1,500 gigs under his belt is now successfully carving out a solo career.
 

His debut album ‘Small Town Thinking’ was released on Devon based label NEO Music at the turn of 2013/14. With his acoustic guitar providing the foundation, and a collection of songs crafted in collaboration with award winning stalwart singer/songwriter Steve Black, Adam and producer Alan West built the album from Alan’s East Devon studio, calling on Alan’s good friend and Nashville based producer Thomm Jutz to add a little extra magic in the form of some of Music City’s finest session players. The album steadily gathered critical acclaim throughout 2014 with plays on BBC radio as well as Blues, Rock and Roots stations around the world. Adam’s “timeless” gift earned him a feature in Classic Rock’s Blues Magazine as ‘One to Watch’, and the rave reviews of the album included a full 5 star rating and ‘Album of the Month’ in Guitar Techniques Magazine, praising the album for offering a “whole new perspective on the (blues) genre”.

Adam’s latest release, ‘Take Your Time’, is a stripped back acoustic offering that perfectly captures the essence of his acclaimed one-man shows. The 5-track EP, performed and produced solely by Adam, again features material co-written with Steve Black, as well as a track written with founder member of Level 42, Boon Gould. Tracks from the EP have received airplay on Blues, Roots and Americana shows in both the UK and Europe, and have been featured heavily on BBC Introducing throughout 2017. Acoustic Magazine declared in their review of the EP that “if there were any justice, (he) would have been swept up by Jools Holland’s researchers long ago”, and veteran music journalist Alan Cackett hailed Adam as “simply among the most original and visionary young musicians currently on the cusp of widespread discovery ”.

Adam is a regular fixture around West Country venues and has built a solid and loyal following in the region, whilst at the same time continuing to take his music to new audiences further afield every year. In this respect 2018 has been his best yet and Adam has travelled to all corners of the country playing clubs, concerts and festivals as well as completing his first solo tour of the Netherlands. 

Adam is also increasingly performing with his new look power trio, the Adam Sweet Band, featuring British blues stalwart Ian Jennings (whose CV includes the likes of Jeff Beck, Robert Plant, Eric Clapton and Mick Fleetwood to name but a few!) on electric and upright bass, and session ace Garry Kroll (Mark Ronson, Joss Stone, Sandi Thom) on drums. This new line-up has already performed a handful of high profile gigs including the main stage at Upton Blues festival in July, and Adam will be recording his new album and touring with the band in 2019.