Stage at Ealing Blues Festival to Be Renamed After Founder
Tribute to Robert Hokum following his death last year
Ealing Blues Festival founder Robert Hokum (aka Bob Salmons) performing at the 2021 Festival
June 23, 2025
Acts at this year’s Ealing Blues Festival will be performing on The Robert Hokum Stage after it was announced it would be renamed in honour of the events founder.
Robert Hokum was the blues musician alter-ego of Bob Salmons, who died in October 2024. Bob started the Festival in 1987 for a few local bands in the Walpole Park bandstand. 38 years on, audiences regularly reach 10,000 at what is now one of the biggest blues events in Britain.
The announcement of the renaming of one of the two stages comes as more details are revealed of the line-up for the weekend of Saturday 26 July and Sunday 27 July.
Alistair Young, director of the Ealing Club Community Interest Company that helps curate the Festival, said, “This is a fitting tribute to a man who did so much for music in west London.
“The Ealing Blues Festival started as a community event, and it’s grown to become one of the best-attended blues gigs in the UK, combining serious music with great entertainment. It combines up-and-coming acts with established talent to support the performers of the future. “
Aerial view of the Ealing Blues Festival
The 2025 Ealing Blues Festival will begin with a DJ set from Gaz Mayall whose bluesman father, John Mayall, was inducted into the US Rock Hall of Fame in October 2024, the same year as Ealing Blues Club founder Alexis Korner. It was at Korner’s basement venue opposite Ealing Broadway that blues-based rock music originated by musicians who played with groups such as the Rolling Stones, Cream, The Who, Manfred Mann, The Yardbirds, The Pretty Things, Jimi Hendrix Experience, and The Animals.
The event will again be presented in association with the Ealing Club Community Interest Company.
Mr Young said: “Our community-based roots continue to be reflected in low advance admission ticket prices available now from this link https://www.ticketline.co.uk/ealing-summer-festivals.”
Afternoon at the Ealing Blues Festival
Highlights include:
Headliners Saturday 26 July
CEDRIC BURNSIDE - Headlining the Hokum Stage on Saturday, Cedric Burnside, the grandson of the legendary R.L. Burnside, will perform at Walpole Park in a UK exclusive show. In 2021, he won the award for Best Traditional Blues Album, which firmly established him not only as a descendant of Hill Country Blues but also as a leading figure in contemporary blues.
ERROL LINTON, Supporting Cedric is Brixton born and bred British Blues, singer, writer and harmonica player, Errol Linton. This is the funky stuff, blues with a reggae tinge and jazz flavours, rooted in the Mississippi and New Orleans, Kingston and London.
JACK BROADBENT—Over on the Big Top Stage, Jack Broadbent is a singer-songwriter known for his ability to evoke deep emotions while also energizing audiences, blending Blues, Folk, Rock' n Roll, and Jazz. His rise began with his exceptional slide guitar playing, which gained him fame and respect for his songwriting. From busking in Europe to performing on the world stage, he has shared the spotlight with rock legends. Ronnie Wood of the Rolling Stones praises Broadbent for “keeping the flag flying,” while Lynyrd Skynyrd simply calls him “badass.”
Headliners Sunday 27 July
ELLES BAILEY – headlining the Hokum Stage, Elles Bailey is an award-winning artist who has powered her way to the forefront of the British Americana and Roots scenes. With uplifting melodies and a smoky voice, Elles’ 4th studio album, ‘Beneath the Neon Glow,’ has received rave reviews, reached #1 in the UK Official Blues Charts, and won Album of the Year at the UK Blue Awards 2025, exploring love’s many facets through honest songwriting.
TOBY LEE – Closing the Big Top is another rising star of the UK blues scene: Toby Lee, the award-winning guitarist and vocalist who has performed on stages such as the Royal Albert Hall with Jools Holland and at Glastonbury. In both April 2023 and 2024, Toby was honoured as the Young Blues Artist of the Year at the UK Blues Awards, making him the first artist to win this accolade three times.
EALING BLUES FESTIVAL 2025 RUNNING ORDER
SATURDAY 26 July
THE HOKUM STAGE with MC Gaz Mayall 14:00-22:30
Gaz's Rockin Blues
Ian McHugh Robert Hokum Tribute
Harry Collier
Papa George
Gráinne Duffy
Elles Bailey
THE BIG TOP STAGE with MC Ian McHugh 13:00-22:00
Leoni Jane Kennedy
Alix Anthony
TJ Holyboy Johnson & The Preachers
Bob Knight Blues Explosion
Sister Suzi
Toby Lee
SUNDAY 27 July
THE HOKUM STAGE with MC Gaz Mayall 14:00-22:30
Gaz's Rockin' Blues
Bluezd
Geoff Garbow Band W/ Terry Marshall
Sister Cookie
Errol Linton Band
Cedric Burnside
THE BIG TOP STAGE with MC Ian McHugh 13:00-22:00
Madtalk
Tom Scammel
Conor Hughes
Paul Cook Blues Band
Zoe Schwarz Blue Commotion
Jump 66
Jack Broadbent
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