Paulie Boy Blues Live at the Cluny 2
Having flown in from Maryland, USA, Paulie Boy was ready to give his all when performing in this intimate venue. He has gained traction throughout the states and recently in some areas of the UK too. After performing up and down the country in January 2026, he was back for more.
I sat down with Paulie ahead of his headline show at the Cluny 2 in Newcastle, alongside his UK touring band – Adam Crookes (drums) and Harry Stalker (bass).
Caitlin Barlow: Overall, you have a very strong, 70s, psychedelic rock vibe. Who would you say are your biggest musical influences?
Paulie Boy Blues: My biggest influences are originally Jimi Hendrix and Stevie Ray Vaughn, and Philip Sayce. Theres a lot of players I look up to y’know; Lightning Hopkins, Robert Johnson, the list goes on and on, Freddie King, Buddy Guy.
Barlow: I saw you played with Philip Sayce in Scotland just the other day, how did it feel to be on stage with one of your heroes?
Paulie: I think that was the coolest moment of my life to be honest. It’s so crazy to look over just a few feet and my hero was standing right there, and I could see the sweat on his face. It was just crazy! I’ve been going to his shows for years and I really look up to the guy, and I’ve learned a lot from him. It was really cool to play with him, and I’m very grateful, forever for that.
Harry Stalker: And everyone thought you were Scottish...
Paulie: Yeah! People thought I was Scottish! That was really funny.
Barlow: Was that your first time playing in Scotland?
Paulie: No, my UK debut was in Scotland, it all started in Scotland. I’ve played a lot in Scotland, I’m not sure how many times but quite a few.
Barlow: Have you performed as a trio in Scotland?
Stalker: We have.
Adam Crookes: Back in January, we had two shows in Edinburgh and one show in Glasgow together.
Barlow: How do your audiences differ between the UK and the US?
Paulie: I feel like I have better results here in the UK and we get pretty interactive crowds. The crowds in the US are good too, I just played New Orleans and that was a wonderful experience, but I keep coming back to the UK, I like it here.
Barlow: Do your fans range in ages and backgrounds or do you have a certain demographic?
Paulie: Yeah, all different. I have a fan here called ‘Alan Mackie’ he's an old Glaswegian man, probably in his 70s. But I also have people here in Newcastle that are really young. These guys [motioning to Adam and Harry] are quite young.
Barlow: How did you form this trio?
Stalker: Well, my band supported Paulie at ‘Head of Steam’ in summer 2025. Then he asked me to play bass for him and asked if I knew any drummers, so I suggested Adam Crookes. Then we went on tour in January.
Crookes: We did eight dates across the country. Started in Newcastle and went to Brighton, Manchester, Liverpool..
Paulie: Four dates in a row too!
Crookes: We bond really well on stage and perform great as a trio. I really enjoy it.
Barlow: Are there any artists who would be on your bucket list to perform onstage or work in the studio with?
Paulie: Philip Sayce. But I just did, which was really cool!
Barlow: Would you want to work on an album with him?
Paulie: Yeah, that would be sick! But there's so many people, there's a lot of people in the past I would love to jam with if I could. I could list 30, 40, 50 people...
Stalker: I don't know if there's anyone I would really wanna make an album with.
Paulie: Oh, I have an answer! Billy Cox. He used to play bass with Jimi Hendrix. If I could play a couple songs with him and get it recorded, that would be really cool.
Crookes: There’s a guy called Gregory Isakov from Nevada, he’s almost country and quite bluesy. I would love to make an album with him.
Barlow: The Northeast has a very vibrant, active music scene as you’ll know, especially in Sunderland and Newcastle. Would you say it is the same in your hometown?
Paulie: No, it's not the best to be honest.
Barlow: Are you one of the few who has that drive and ambition to make being a musician work as a career?
Paulie: From out there, perhaps... I can't say I’m the only one though, there's a guy called ‘Daryl Davis’ who was a very successful keyboard player and I’ve met him. He lives in Montgomery County just like me, he’s a lot older though, he toured with Chuck Berry for about 30 years. So, I’m definitely not the only blues player out there but right now, maybe...
Crookes: That makes you quite unique as well, as an American guy coming over to the UK.
Paulie: Yeah, and the Americans I do see touring the UK only seem to visit London, Manchester and maybe Edinburgh. But we’ve played Sunderland, Newcastle, Leicester, Blackpool, and a few other places.
Barlow: What initially got you into music and performing?
Paulie: Honestly, I was studying music history in high school and a couple of my teachers saw that I was paying more attention in that class, compared to my other classes. And they started giving stuff to listen to and showed me a lot about blues, and I got really obsessed with it. I got really into the culture and history of it all and I suddenly realised that it was important to me that it stayed alive, and I use my life as a vessel to keep the blues going forward.
It was now time for the band to head out on stage. With the lights down low, a bushel of fans dispersed throughout the venue and ‘Come On (Part III)’ by Stevie Ray Vaugh faintly playing through the speakers.
Paulie Boy took centre stage and opened with his original ‘Rooster’, a more upbeat and jangly track, which features light vocals and heavy guitar distortion.
Paulie continued to shred his way through the set, using a range of pedals made for him by ‘Mustard FX’ in Cornwall, England. His on-stage collection includes; a ‘War Pig’ which is ‘a faithful yet enhanced version of the original Dallas Rangemaster’ - Mustard FX, an ‘Octavia’, a ‘Fuzz Face’, a ‘Sabbadius Univibe’ and a ‘1977 Wah Wah’ into a Marshall full stack. The ‘Octavia’ is completely custom built just for him, using vintage parts.
Meanwhile his guitar has ‘Straton Audio Paulie Boy Blues signature model’ pickups installed, which are hand wound in Ohio, USA.
The band then performed one of Paulies few releases, ‘Chasing The Dragon’. This track begins with a slow groove which is accompanied by husky vocals and a prominent bassline. The power of the 1977 Wah Wah pedal certainly shines through on this tune. ‘Early One Morning’, which is a personal favourite of Paulies’ to perform, was next in the set. With a rather fast tempo, the bass continues to stand out in this track, alongside jazzy keys that liken to the late Ray Manzerek. This short but sweet tune really livens up the set and adds an extra jig in peoples' step.
After two more originals, Paulie then covered Jimi Hendrix’s ‘Voodoo Child (Slight Return)’ and ‘Come On (Let The Good Times Roll)’, paying a homage to one of the legends that inspired him to perform.
With a little extra time, the lads then decided to perform ‘Going Down’ before departing the stage.
There is a certain beauty in that Paulie Boy Blues has the creative freedom to mix up the set when appropriate and maybe wail his guitar for a few minutes longer than usual. As he jumped into the crowd to make you one with the music and graciously interacted with fans throughout the set, Paulie never came across as nervous or shy. Self-proclaiming to be more of an entertainer, rather than a writing artist, he certainly puts on a show.
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