“With honking harmonica and saxophone from Craig Bracken beside Perry’s raw vocals and steaming guitar, this is a band which has been road-hardened and rocks out.” Graham Reid (New Zealand Herald)

Darcy Perry is renowned for his live shows, performing with passion, intensity and a ferocious band. Norway’s finest blues piano player Simen Taylor and New Zealand harmonica master Craig Bracken stamp an authentic New Orleans meets Chicago feel over what has been best described "a rhythm section as tight as a drunk Scotsman".

In the early 90’s Perry became part of the New Zealand blues scene as bass player for Manawatu bluesman Tura 'Bullfrog' Rata. A decade later he released his debut album as a guitarist, Blues 4 Dad, dedicated to his father Ross Perry (who died of Cancer in 2002). The rave reviews that followed its independent release saw the formation of the Darcy Perry Band.

Like a bolt of lightning they established themselves on the underground blues scene as a force to be reckoned with, igniting audiences all over the country. The subsequent albums struck like wildfire too; Don’t Hold Back, Heavy Rain and Too Many Hard Miles have garnered righteous acclaim from critics and roots music fans alike.

The Darcy Perry Band entered the national charts in 2006 with their 3rd album Heavy Rain and have since shared the bill with local legends (Midge Marsden, Hammond Gamble, Hollie Smith, Pluto, Little Bushman, The Checks, Golden Horse, the Hot Grits) and a growing list of international artists (Buddy Guy, KT Tunstall, Keb Mo, Wilco, Ian Brown, Paul Ubana Jones, Newton Faulkner, Fiona Boyes, Xavier Rudd, Sugarland, Rod Piazza and the Mighty Flyers, The Holmes Brothers, Watermelon Slim, Chris Cain, Lightning Red, Doc Span).

With a strong work ethic (the fifth album, Phoenix, is in stores now) and a loyal following from their travels, the band is now touring internationally. If you want to experience electric blues in its purest form, this band will deliver. Set after blistering set.

Press Kit

Press Kit (word document)

Festivals: 2002 Onwards

With two decades on the road and five albums as a band leader, Darcy Perry has established himself as one of New Zealand’s premier blues artists.

In addition to the venues (large and small) played all over New Zealand and Australia as part of regular touring and album release tours (Phoenix 2008, Harmonica Masters 2007, Heavy Rain 2006, Don’t Hold Back 2005), the band has also hosted international artists (Watermelon Slim, Sista Jacqui, Doc Span, Yuto Fujiwara, Lightning Red).

Here is a fairly complete list of festivals where the Darcy Perry Band have performed since 2002. Often a debut at a festival resulted in being immediately booked again for the following year.

MANAWATU JAZZ FESTIVAL 2010
Palmerston North, NZ
BLUES ON BROADBEACH
2009, 2010
Gold Coast, Australia
NATIONAL JAZZ FESTIVAL 2003, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2010
Tauranga, NZ
THE MOTOWN EVENT 2010
Napier, NZ
BLUES BREWS & BBQS
2007, 2010
Blenheim, NZ
PARACHUTE 2010
Mystery Creek, NZ
NZ FESTIVAL OF MOTOR RACING 2010
Hampton Downs, NZ
CHRISTMAS AT THE LAKE 2009
Cambridge, NZ
SUMMER IN THE SWAMP 2009
Hamilton, NZ
ONE LOVE SAMOA 2009
Tauranga, NZ
AUTUMN LIGHTS FESTIVAL 2009
Cambridge, NZ
AUCKLAND FAMILY BLUES EXPLOSION 2009
Kings Arms, Auckland, NZ
WHANGAREI JAZZ FESTIVAL 2005, 2006, 2008
Whangarei, NZ
BLUESFEST NZ 2008
Whitianga, NZ
HAMILTON GARDENS SUMMER FESTIVAL 2006, 2008
Hamilton, NZ
POHUTUKAWA FESTIVAL
2006, 2007, 2008
Coromandel, NZ
INTERNATIONAL BLUES FESTIVAL 2007
Sky City Theatre, Auckland, NZ
MASONIC BLUES FESTIVAL 2007
Devonport, Auckland, NZ
SCALLOP FESTIVAL, 2007
Whitianga, NZ
GREAT FITZROY MUSSEL FEST, 2006, 2007
Great Barrier Island, NZ
MISSION BAY JAZZ & BLUES STREETFEST 2005, 2006, 2007
Auckland, NZ
SKY CITY BLUES
2005, 2006
Sky City, Auckland, NZ
GREY LYNN PARK FESTIVAL 2005, 2006
Auckland, NZ
BLUES BREWS & BBQS 2005
Hastings, NZ
LIKE MINDS LIKE MINE HIKOI, 2005
Auckland Domain, NZ
PASIFIKA FESTIVAL 2005
Western Springs, Auckland, NZ
AUCKLAND WINE & FOOD FESTIVAL 2005
The Viaduct, Auckland, NZ
BLUES BREWS & BBQS
2004, 2005
Blake Park, Mt. Maunganui, NZ
KOWHAI FESTIVAL 2002
Warkworth, NZ

Blues Man

“Perry's voice is wailing while his guitar screams, struts and cajoles the essence of the blues." Dave Burgess (Capital Times)

Darcy Perry became part of the New Zealand blues scene in the early 90s when he started playing bass guitar for Manawatu bluesman Tura 'Bullfrog' Rata. A decade later Perry released his debut album as a guitarist, 'Blues 4 Dad', dedicated to his father Ross Perry who died of Cancer March 5th, 2002. The rave reviews that followed its independent release saw the formation of the Darcy Perry Band.

The band began performing in pubs, bars and venues around the country. In October 2002 they made their first television appearance, playing live on the Good Morning Show. Then in April 2003 they were invited to the National Jazz and Blues festival in Tauranga. Entering the district relatively unknown, they played 2 shows that had crowds overflowing onto the streets. They became the talk of the town after their passionate performances.

At the end of 2003 the main studio at Stebbing was booked to record the original blues album, 'Don’t Hold Back'. The resulting twelve songs (recorded in a tight three day schedule) were written and arranged by the band with a drive to capture the energy and magic that people experience at their live shows.

Appearances for 2004 started with the huge Blues Brews & BBQs event at Blake Park, Mount Maunganui. A welcome return to the Bay of Plenty, for the National Jazz Festival saw an increase in the band fan base and an almost fanatical rush to grab a copy of the new Don’t Hold Back CD. Other highlights included featuring in the Roots Music series (on the new Maori TV channel) and playing live on Hyundai Sports Café.

Darcy Perry continued performing with his band at various venues in Auckland including The London Bar, Occidental Belgium Beer Cafe, Lincoln Green and the Kings Arms. He headlined at both the Blues Brews & BBQs in Mount Maunganui and Hawkes Bay. A third year at the Tauranga Jazz Festival was hugely successful. The band also made their first appearances at the Mission Bay Streetfest, Pasifika and the Auckland Food & Wine Festival.

New Zealand Music Month 2005 saw the first performance at Sky City, where the entertainment management at Sky City were so impressed with the show, the band were immediately secured for two nights in the New City Bar for the third AB vs. Lions test.

The Darcy Perry Blues Band established themselves on the underground blues scene as a force to be reckoned with. Their award winning album Don't Hold Back garnered righteous acclaim from critics and roots music fans alike. With a loyal following from their travels, fans awaited the next album which the band recorded in October 2005 at Revolver.

Heavy Rain was released in July 2006 on their new label RMA (Roots Music Aotearoa), consisting of twelve new original tracks highlighting the band's ardent appreciation of electric blues. The label was launched to help promote New Zealand blues and roots music. The album debuted on the top 10 heatseeker charts on C4 and at number 31 on the New Zealand independent music charts. With a sellout nationwide tour promoting the new album, special guests included Regan Perry (Cornerstone Roots), Andrew Hall (dDub) and Whirimako Black.

"With this release the Darcy Perry Band continue to cement their position as the premier contemporary blues rock act in NZ. Heavy Rain follows two other full CD releases which signalled their intention to assume the electric blues 'throne' which at this stage seems to be vacant as Midge Marsden moves into the position of blues sainthood." Mike Butler

Too Many Hard Miles was then released hot on the heels of the electric Heavy Rain, which was a joint effort from Darcy Perry and Craig Bracken. It was their "Alone & Acoustic" (Buddy Guy & Junior Wells, Alligator Rec '91). The release of the album caught the attention of Blues Revue (USA) and the title song was released on their music sampler disc, with a glowing review in the magazine.

"Whenever any blues artist who is perceived as 'electric' releases an acoustic album, it's got to be a bit of a 'laying the cards down on the table' situation, like pulling your electric boxers down, barring your soul and going for 'real' blues cred... this is a collection of great acoustic blues, all original songs and their soul's are shinning true blue!" Mike Butler

Darcy Perry continued to have success on the festival circuit, sharing the bill with local legends (Midge Marsden, Hammond Gamble, Hollie Smith, Pluto, Little Bushman, The Checks, Golden Horse, the Hot Grits) and a growing list of international artists (Buddy Guy, KT Tunstall, Keb Mo, Wilco, Ian Brown, Paul Ubana Jones, Newton Faulkner, Fiona Boyes, Xavier Rudd, Sugarland, Rod Piazza and the Mighty Flyers, The Holmes Brothers, Watermelon Slim, Chris Cain, Lightning Red, Doc Span).

From the debut album in 2002, to his most recent record, Phoenix released late 2008, Darcy Perry and his band became a recognisable name in the NZ blues/rock scene, earning the title “New Zealand’s Premier Blues Band” for their albums and their enigmatic live performances, igniting audiences all over the country. 2009 saw the addition of new artists to the record label and marked the official beginning of Perry’s career as an international blues artist, performing at the iconic Blues On Broadbeach in Australia.

“Australians and New Zealanders share a love of honest music. I’ve had the pleasure of performing and touring with a few Australian artists, including Fiona Boyes, Nick Charles, Lloyd Spiegel and Doc Span. They are real ‘salt of the earth’ blues musicians.” Darcy Perry

An impressive list of music festivals and international support slots in his career, Darcy Perry is a blues artist whose passion is performing, keen to integrate his music into Australia permanently, and share the love by taking Aussie artists over to New Zealand. His mission is to keep the energy of blues music live and kicking.

Before The Blues

Samuel Darcy Perry was born on the 1st of December 1972 in Thames, New Zealand. He was raised in a musical household and followed in his father’s footsteps as a brass bandsman, given a trumpet at age 7. Darcy began his music career in brass bands at 11. In his teens he picked up bass guitar to jam and play gigs with his brothers and local musicians. At 18, Te Kuiti Highschool friend, Stephen Chadwick, gifted him a Huang Star Performer.

"On harmonica, Sonny Terry was an early influence - I've been playing those same few licks for the past two decades!" Darcy Perry

In the early nineties Perry became part of the New Zealand blues scene as bass player for Manawatu bluesman Tura 'Bullfrog' Rata. By the end of that decade he had joined several bands, including the enigmatic Naco Mama, and recorded three albums of original music.

“Nacho Mama was a three-piece band, with two American brothers. We played on the opening night of the Mountain Rock festival to a record thirty-five thousand people. It was awesome!” Darcy Perry

With encouragement from Bullfrog Rata, he moved from playing bass to slide guitar and later electric guitar. Perry worked alongside blues icons Bullfrog Rata, Midge Marsden and Shayn Wills, before fronting his own band in pubs and clubs around the country.