Eugene ‘Hideaway’ Bridges

With his unique brand of soulful blues and strong echoes of his gospel roots, the hugely talented Eugene ‘Hideaway’ Bridges is already one of the blues elite.

Born in Louisiana in 1963, Eugene was the son of the blues guitarist Hideaway Slim. He sang gospel with his brothers as The Bridges Brothers and at thirteen was entering R&B talent shows and had formed his first band, The Five Stars. At the age of 16, Eugene moved to Texas to join the Air Force, playing in the Air Force band for the next 3 years. On leaving, he joined The New Chosen Singers on guitar and vocals and went on to play with The Mighty Clouds of Joy. Following a move to Houston, Eugene released Blues, Gospel and R&B recordings by the 3 bands he was running at the time. These included the first line-up of the Eugene Hideaway Bridges Band who toured the USA from coast to coast.

Since then, Eugene has toured Europe, Singapore, New Zealand and Australia and has appeared at major festivals all over the USA, winning over new audiences withhis distinctive southern sound. Appearing at Stanley with his big band, Eugene is making a welcome return 8 years after his show stopping performance back in 1998.