BLUES WEEK
MAY 3 - 9 2026WORKSHOPS
A HANDS ON LEARNING EXPERIENCE
Blues Week is an immersive, hands-on learning experience where blues enthusiasts have an opportunity to study with some of the finest blues artists in Canada.
It’s part workshop, part family reunion. A week of shared meals, transformative music sessions, and the kind of mentorship you only get when you’re learning, eating, and jamming side by side.
Each student chooses a Major Workshop for the week, then mixes and matches Minor Workshops to explore new styles and techniques. Days are full with classes, afternoons are filled with jam sessions and evenings have intimate performances that bring the whole community together.
If you’re looking to grow as a musician, connect with others, and experience the blues up close, Hornby Blues Week delivers!
HOW IT WORKS
MAJOR
Your Major Workshop is your core class for the entire week.
This is where you dig deep with one instructor, build skills day by day, and really settle into your instrument
MINOR 01
Monday Afternoon. Kick off the week with workshops that open up technique, fundamentals, and fresh approaches.
Expect foundational skills, listening, and hands-on exploration.
MINOR 02
Tuesday Afternoon. Dive deeper into style, repertoire, harmony, and rhythm.
It’s a day for expanding your musical vocabulary and connecting concepts.
MINOR 03
Wednesday Afternoon. The week wraps with applied learning, performance, ensemble skills, and jam-ready tools.
Put everything into practice as you prepare for the afternoon jams.
Hornby Blues week is for established musicians seeking high level skills and mentorship from legendary blues artists across Canada.
Classes
Angel Forrest
VOCALS
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Learn to own your lyrics, craft a clear message, and bring any song to life. Discover how to interpret songs authentically, shape phrasing, and express emotion, whether performing your own work or covering others.
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Discover the magic of harmony! Denis will guide you through the art of harmonizing, showing how the right notes can lift, support, and enrich any singer. Learn to shape tone, phrasing, and timing to add depth, color, and brilliance to every performance.
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Discover the magic of performing live with other musicians! Learn to listen, cue, and exchange ideas while letting the music breathe. Master stage etiquette, support your bandmates, and inspire creativity — from the first step on stage to the final bow.
This workshop is designed for anyone eager to explore their unique voice and deepen their connection to authentic expression. Through guided exercises, participants will discover their individual strengths and challenges while learning to trust their instincts and tap into genuine emotion.
We’ll work with natural tools — phrasing, intention, rhythm, and texture — to bring more honesty and depth to your delivery, whether speaking, singing, or performing. You’ll learn to use your voice with confidence and flexibility, understanding what truly suits your range and character.
Together, we’ll uncover your “sweet spot” — that place where comfort meets power, and your true voice emerges with clarity, presence, and heart.
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This workshop is designed for anyone eager to explore their unique voice and deepen their connection to authentic expression. Through guided exercises, participants will discover their individual strengths and challenges while learning to trust their instincts and tap into genuine emotion.
We’ll work with natural tools — phrasing, intention, rhythm, and texture — to bring more honesty and depth to your delivery, whether speaking, singing, or performing. You’ll learn to use your voice with confidence and flexibility, understanding what truly suits your range and character.
Together, we’ll uncover your “sweet spot” — that place where comfort meets power, and your true voice emerges with clarity, presence, and heart.
Brandon Isaak
ELECTRIC GUITAR
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Let’s sing together. I hear so many people singing uninspired, out of character and just reciting a sting of words. I’m going to get you really singing and show you how much fun it can really be. I’ll also teach you how to shift gears and help you find your voice.
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Booking gigs, web sites, EPK's, bios, publicists, managers, grants, making a record. being a leader and running a band etc.
I have a guest speaker with me as well, Cindy Mae, my agent and manager.
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Accompanying your guitar with harmonica or just learning where to start. This is a class for folks who want to add harmonica to their show. I’ll show you basic starting ideas and some turn arounds to accompany your guitar playing. You’ll need a A harmonica and a rack to hold it. I might have an extra rack or two as well with me.
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Playing with more soul, style and finding your own sound.
I hear many guitar players with no direction, just a wall of noise, I’m here to help your music be understood by you, and the listener. This class will make you a better, more soulful, stronger dynamic and interesting guitar player. I will help you find YOUR sound and help you carve out a your unique sound.
Damian Graham
DRUMS
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with Suzie Vinnek
FOCUS: 12/8 feels, shuffles, and swing grooves
We’ll dig into how bass and drums lock together in swing-based feels — from slow 12/8 blues to driving shuffles. Students will practice setting tempo, shaping dynamics, and discovering where to sit in the groove.
We’ll also look at how small timing choices — laying back, sitting right on it, or pushing slightly
— can totally change the feel of a tune.
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with Suzie Vinnik.
FOCUS: Funky 16ths, 8th-Note Feels, Pop and R&B Styles, Rhumba
We’ll move into straighter grooves and talk about creating a tight, solid pocket. Students will try different ways to lock in while keeping the music alive and breathing.
Other concepts we’ll look at will include:
Less is more - playing for the song
Non-verbal communication between players
Developing and building your own personal groove repertoire
How great rhythm teams stay connected naturally
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with Paul Pigat and Suzie Vinnick
Come put all your new musical wisdom into practice! All students are welcome to come and play and sing the blues with Paul, Damian and Suzie. There will be blues song booklets available and we’ll jam familiar and new blues tunes.
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Each day we will explore the history of the drums, where it started, and the grooves that have made people move throughout time. We will be listening to great drummers, and learning how to support/accompany your fellow musicians.
With a focus on : Positive Practice Routines, Hand technique, Warming up/Warming down, Drum set tuning, choosing drums and cymbals (beginning with calf skinned 30’s to modern day kits - I’ll have a great selection of the gear I use all the time for you to try!) Essential grooves, Essential Attitudes!!!
Ethan Askey
BLUES HARP
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INTERMEDIATE TO ADVANCED
Dig in to the minor scales by deepening your understanding of playing third and fifth positions. Add huge colour and expressive range to your blues harp playing: third position comes in real handy for playing the chromatic harmonica as well as the blues harp, while fifth position also opens up more funk and reggae-oriented blues grooves. This workshop will be Illustrated by some close listening to Junior Wells, William Clarke, Rick Estrin, and others.
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INTERMEDIATE TO ADVANCED
This workshop will focus on first position or “straight” harp playing. It offers some fresh alternatives to the classic blues sounds of cross harp (second position), both on the low end using deep draw bends and up high using the blow bends. For students who also play guitar, first position harp playing lends itself well to playing harp accompaniment using a rack. We’ll listen to Jimmy Reed, Sonny Boy Williamson II, and John Hammond Jr. to get in the swing of it.
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BEGINNER TO ADVANCED.
This workshop will involve mostly playing and improvising within a group setting, to gain hands-on experience in how blues musicians come together to create sound that is more than the sum of parts, and to create meaningful moments of emotion and communication. We’ll jam the 12-bar blues for starters, and make sure all participants understand how the chord changes work and then explore the ways in which your harmonica playing can fit into those chord changes and different rhythms. We’ll listen hard and play soft!
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BEGINNER TO ADVANCED
There is a world of music hidden inside the “tin sandwich”, better known as the blues harp. A skilled harp player can coax many sounds from the tiny instrument, and with a set of harmonicas played in different ways there is almost no end of expressive possibility. This workshop will cover some history and the fundamentals of the instrument, and it will provide insight to the playing styles and techniques of some of the blues harp masters. We’ll explore concepts of modal playing and vocabulary, tone and phrasing, accompaniment, and soloing. Students will be able to make practical applications of this knowledge immediately.
Jesse O’Brien
KEYS / PIANO
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We will look at the many styles of the incomparable Otis Spann.
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Going through the music of legends Jerry Lee Lewis, Little Richard, Fats Domino & the great Johnnie Johnson who played on Chuck Berry records.
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We will look at greats like Ray Charles, Dr John & Professor Longhair and how they all blend different styles into their blues playing such as Jazz, country, gospel & N’Orleans.
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In this workshop, we will explore the style, feel & classic licks of some of the giants of blues piano and demonstrate how they have inspired a whole new generation of players.
From Boogie Woogie to Slow Blues, we will look at left-hand patterns, essential riffs, and grooves, and make sure everybody understands them and play away.
We will explore playing solo and along with others. In addition to the basics if there are any specific things you were hoping to learn, you’ll have a chance to ask and we will work on them. It’s recommended to bring a set of headphones (any quality) in the event, you’d like to work on something individually while the class is playing something else.
Ndidi Onukwulu
VOCALS
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This class we will focus on harmonies, all types of harmonies, blues harmonies, r and b harmonies, classical harmonies. Harmonization is key to song development and a fun way to use your voice to add more to already established melody.
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In this minor class we will focus on developing and understanding our unique tone and how that affects the notes we want to sing vs the notes we should sing. We will delve into what tone is and how to understand and play with it in order to strengthen the uniqueness of our voices and the styles of singing we wish to do.
We will re enforce our work on vocal dynamics and how that affects our pitch and delivery. All of these things are important tools to incorporate when singing particularly in the blues. We all have our natural delivery rhythms and places in vocal melody that feel important so let’s explore what those places are and how we can play in those spaces more.
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This minor class will be all about working on our vocal delivery and our performance styles. How we sing a line dictates how the line is meant to be felt and how it sits with the rest of the instrumentation.
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This major vocal workshop will focus on understanding the voice as an instrument while discovering new ways to approach vocalization . We will build our voices and work on discovering our unique tone, delivery and dynamics and how those all fit not only in blues music settings but in any genre of music. This will be a class in which we play learn and grow in confidence and performance capabilities.
Our voice is the most powerful instrument we possess learning how to use it is key to clear self expression. All you need to bring is your healthy self, your voice and a willingness to explore and create.
Paul Pigat
ELECTRIC GUITAR
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So theres a a note riff that everyone knows. you know, the walking bass pattern that you may have learned when you first started. well that riff can be taken to into the stratosphere and in many ways the cornerstone of a lot of my playing.
Lets explore this "riff" and see where we can take it over blues and other types of changes!
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Some folks react like a cat to water when I suggest a theory lesson. However, having an understanding of the basics of how music works will open your eyes to new possibilities and sounds that will transport your playing to another level!
Don't worry! We won't get so deep that it will be like a math class! lets try and take some easy concepts like applied dominants and the use of passing chords and take the blues uptown!
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with Damian Graham & Suzie Vinnik
Come put all your new musical wisdom into practice! All students are welcome to come and play and sing the blues with Suzie, Damian and Paul. There will be blues song booklets available and we’ll jam familiar and new blues tunes.
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Its no secret that i lean toward the swinging side of the blues. Lets have a look at some of my influences like T Bone Walker, Charlie Christian, Hollywood Fats and Bill Jennings to name a few and glean some nifty little ideas from them. We wonʼt be learning solos note for note though.
We will take a few small ideas from a bunch of sources (some of my stuff as well) and learn to incorporate them into our playing. Remember what Duke said, It donʼt mean a thing if it ainʼt got that SWING!
Steve Dawson
ACOUSTIC GUITAR
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This class is focused on acoustic slide guitar using fingerstyle technique, with a thumbpick (although not required), in two essential tunings: Open G and Open D. We’ll work on slide control, right-hand feel, tone, and phrasing, and learn repertoire from the blues and country blues canon. The goal is to build solid, usable techniques you can apply to your own playing, while developing a strong sense of groove, touch, and musicality on the slide.
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Since 1959, the tune “Sleepwalk” has been the iconic sound many people associate with the steel guitar. In this class, I’ll strip it down and show you how to play one of the coolest melodies ever written, and how to pull off some of the techniques in the song - harmonics, vibrato, and chordal playing. You’ll need a basic dobro-style bar, and either a lap steel, or a simple nut extender, which can instantly turn any guitar into a lap steel for about 20 bucks. No previous experience necessary.
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In this class, I’ll be teaching one of my favorite styles - Hawaiian steel guitar from the pre-WW2 era. This style is infectious, bluesy, and can add a wild twist to your playing. Some lap-style experience is necessary, as well as either a lap steel, or a simple nut extender ($20 string raiser to convert any guitar into a lap steel). I’ll show you a standard and give you a few turnarounds to chew on - the Hawaiian equivalent to the blues progression ending.
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In this class, I’ll show you some techniques and ways to think about chords and melodies that will open up the possibilities of how to perform simple blues songs with unique arrangements. We’ll unlock some new chordal possibilities and venture up into some uncharted neck territory. If you’re stuck in a rut playing acoustic blues, this class might be what you’re looking for
Steve Marriner
ACOUSTIC GUITAR
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Open tunings, slide and more! Learn to use the bottleneck slide to evoke the sounds of Son House and Muddy Waters or Elmore James and Robert Nighthawk. We’ll also look at how John Lee Hooker got some his signature voicing using open tuning and a capo!
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We’ll investigate how the thumb can be both the bassist and the drummer in your one-person-orchestra! Learn to pick melodies with your fingers while maintaining the rhythm with your thumb.
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12 bar blues? 8 bar blues? 1 chord blues? Let’s talk about forms of blues music and how to navigate the chord changes and learn the dialects of the different genres of the style. Discover the intricacies of the language and understand when and why to play certain licks.
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It don’t mean a thing if it ain’t got that swing! The guitar in its earliest incarnation, is THE rhythm instrument. Together, we will explore the foundations of rhythm guitar playing in a blues context. We’ll cover different styles of acoustic blues - Delta, Piedmont, Texas and more! We’ll examine the techniques and subtleties of many iconic acoustic blues guitar heroes - Lightnin’ Hopkins, Mississippi John Hurt, Robert Johnson and others.
Steve Strongman
ELECTRIC GUITAR
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Bends, Vibrato and Pentatonics.
Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced
What do all the greatest guitarists have in common ? You know who it is after just a few notes….BB King, Freddie King, Clapton, Hendrix, Wes Montgomery, Joe Pass, Mel Brown…the list goes on. We all use the same notes, yet the greats make them their own. How?
In this course, we will dig into the foundations of Blues guitar playing, specifically, vibrato, string bending, and expanding the blues pentatonic scale. No matter what level of playing you are at, there is something here for everyone. Every guitarist is different, and we will dig deep into finding and developing our own unique voice on the instrument.
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The 7 “Forms”
Learn how to see the guitar fretboard in it’s entirety by connecting different shapes, and understanding how licks can connect to other positions on the guitar, breaking out of the “Blues Box”.
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Back by popular demand
Intermediate, Advanced
Explore the depth of adding the slide to your playing toolbox. Whether using Open or standard tuning, or exploring fretted notes behind the slide, the power of the slide will shine through and open your musical ideas.
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Let’s explore some of the ideas and techniques that go into songwriting - and how different artists go about writing (and finishing) a song….and what makes a great one. We will also discuss understanding the building blocks of songs, and how to tear them down.
Suzie Vinnick
BASS GUITAR
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with Damian Graham.
Focus: 12/8 feels, shuffles, and swing grooves
We’ll dig into how bass and drums lock together in swing-based feels — from slow 12/8 blues to driving shuffles. Students will practice setting tempo, shaping dynamics, and discovering where to sit in the groove. We’ll also look at how small timing choices — laying back, sitting right on it, or pushing slightly — can totally change the feel of a tune.
-
with Damian Graham
Focus: Funky 16ths, 8th-note feels, pop and R&B styles, rhumba
We’ll move into straighter grooves and talk about creating a tight, solid pocket. Students will try
different ways to lock in while keeping the music alive and breathing.
Other concepts we’ll look at will include:
Less is more - playing for the song
Non-verbal communication between players
Developing and building your own personal groove repertoire
How great rhythm teams stay connected naturally
-
with Paul Pigat & Damian Graham
Come put all your new musical wisdom into practice! All students are welcome to come and play and sing the blues with Paul, Damian and Suzie. There will be blues song booklets available and we’ll jam familiar and new blues tunes.
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A bass major.
We’ll explore:
Different blues song structures and grooves — shuffle, swing, walking, funk, and more
Some of our favorite bass players and their styles
Scale patterns, hammer-ons, pull-offs, and turnarounds
How to start and end songs with confidence
Song tags and short fills for flavor
Playing with drummers and other musicians
A bit of basic music theory
How we care for our musical tools
Jamming and soloing together
Terry Robb
ELECTRIC GUITAR
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Standard and Open tunings. Looking at the Delta Blues playing of Charley Patton, Son House Fred McDowell and post war playing of Elmore James and Muddy Waters
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Keys' of G, D and others. Chord shapes and playing melodies
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Soloing in the style of Lonnie Johnson, T Bone Walker and others. Playing Rhythm behind in a band and as a duo.
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Covering Alternate Thumb picking of Mississippi John Hurt and Piedmont playing and the advanced Ragtime playing of Gary Davis and Blind Blake.
Monotonic playing in the Style of Lighning Hopkins and Robert Johnson.
Delta Blues of Son House, Charley Patton and others.
Rob Lutes
SONGWRITING
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The great songwriter Sammy Cahn, when asked "Which comes first, the melody or the lyrics?" famously responded: "What comes first is the phone call."
Cahn did not write as a passtime or for his own creative enjoyment. He, like many songwriters from the Tin Pan Alley era, and many still today who write for advertising, film, and television, wrote songs as a form of employment, as an assignment for money.
Simulating this situation, Rob will talk about the Tin Pan Alley model - how the system worked during that golden age - and then assign songwriting tasks to individuals or teams so they can explore this "task" based form of songwriting.
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Rob teaches the history of popular music in workshops and schools. In this session, he will use images, recordings, and his own performances to throw light on the fascinating evolution in American popular music over the 19th century.
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The evolution of music, including the blues, was aided by many accidental heroes - figures who didn't see or intend the mammoth impact they had on popular music.
From Sidney Story, the alderman behind the creation of the red light district in New Orleans that was an incubator of jazz from 1897 to 1917, to Frederick Hager, the classical violinist from Pennsylvania who became musical director at Okeh Records and was persuaded to let Mamie Smith record "Crazy Blues" in 1920, the history of music has many of these fascinating, sometimes hidden characters. In this session, Rob will tell the stories of several of these figures, and perform or play recordings of the music linked to their significant, if unintended, place in music history.
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Rob will use historical references and traditions and his own songs to lead an exploration of songwriting and the creative process.
Rob is a firm believer that the best way to learn a craft is to practice it. Working individually and in groups, and following a couple different approaches, participants will generate songs or parts of songs during the workshop. Rob is a music history geek, loves songs and language, and enjoys being with people in a creative space. He knows he will be surprised and inspired by the participants in this workshop.
MONDAY MINORS
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OWN IT
with Angel Forrest
Vocals -
SINGING THE BLUES
with Brandon Isaak
Vocals -
HOW TO SWING
with Damian Graham & Suzie Vinnick
Drums & Bass -
DIGGING FOR GOLD
with Ethan Askey
Blues Harp -
THE STYLES OF OTIS SPANN
with Jesse O’brien
Piano -
HARMONIES
with Ndidi Onukwulu
Vocals -
THE RIFF
with Paul Pigat
Guitar -
SLEEPWALK YOUR WAY INTO LAP STEEL
with Steve Dawson
Acoustic Guitar -
OPEN UP
with Steve Marriner
Guitar -
ANATOMY OF A FRETBOARD
with Steve Strongman
Guitar -
SLIDE GUITAR
with Terry Robb
Guitar -
TASK WRITING
with Rob Lutes
Songwriting
TUESDAY MINORS
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THE MAGIC TOUCH
with Angel Forrest
Vocals -
THE MUSIC BUSINESS
with Brandon Isaak
all -
STRAIGHT(ER) GROOVES
with Damian Graham & Suzie Vinnick
Drums & Bass -
TALKING STRAIGHT
with Ethan Askey
Blues Harp -
ROCK AND ROLL
with Jesse O’brien
Piano -
DYNAMIC TONE
with Ndidi Onukwulu
Vocals -
THE DREADED THEORY LESSON
with Paul Pigat
Guitar -
HULA BLUES
with Steve Dawson
Acoustic Guitar -
FINGER PICKIN GOOD
with Steve Marriner
Acoustic Guitar -
THE DEPTH OF THE SLIDE
with Steve Strongman
Guitar -
OPEN TUNINGS
with Terry Robb
Guitar -
THE STORIES BEHIND THE SONGS
with Rob Lutes
Songwriting
WEDNESDAY MINORS
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TESTING 1...,2...
with Angel Forrest
Vocals -
HOW TO BLOW IF YOU SUCK AT IT
with Brandon Isaak
Guitar & Harmonica -
PLAY AND SING THE BLUES
with Damian, Suzie & Paul
Drums, Bass, Guitar -
BLUESBERRY JAM
with Ethan Askey
Blues Harp -
BLUES AND BEYOND
with Jesse O’brien
Piano -
VOCAL DELIVERY & PERFORMANCE
with Ndidi Onukwulu
Vocals -
FINGERSTYLE BLUES ARRANGEMENTS
with Steve Dawson
Acoustic Guitar -
THEORY TURNAROUND
with Steve Marriner
Guitar -
THE OCEAN OF SONGWRITING
with Steve Strongman
Guitar -
IMPROVISATION & RYTHM
with Terry Robb
Guitar -
ACCIDENTAL HEROS
with Rob Lutes
Songwriting