Kent Duchaine has spent his life singing the blues and playing Delta style slide guitar on the first love of his life Leadbessie, his 1934 National Steel Guitar.

He lived the life of a blues troubadour moving from town to town singing for his supper and educating the young in the joys of true blues.

Today Kent is no longer the solo guitarist taking the lonesome road, he has a son, step son and wife, but Leadbessie is still closest to his heart - at least when he is performing.

The blues maestro will be making a welcome return to Swindon's Beehive pub, Prospect Hill, in Old Town on Thursday January 26 from 8.30pm.

Kent's first steps on the blues road were with a band called Aces, Straights and Shuffles, where he was spotted by Willie Dixon, who compared him to a young Muddy Waters.

Willie took the band under his wing, arranged a recording contract and set them up playing with such names as Howlin' Wolf, John Lee Hooker and Albert Collins.

Kent never looked back, spending years listening to, hanging out with, opening up for, travelling and playing with most of the blues greats including Muddy Waters, Big Mama Thornton, Koko Taylor, BB, Albert and Freddie King, Willie Dixon, Bukka White, Johnny Shines, Robert JR Lockwood, Mississippi Fred McDowell, Furry Lewis and Son Hous.

In the late 1980s Kent was based in Alabama and met one of his heroes, Johnny Shines. For the next three years they toured together and Kent still recalls this as one of the best times of his life.

There will be tour tales aplenty between the songs, Muddy Water, a reefer and champagne is a corker, when he comes to Swindon to play at the free gig. For more details visit http://kentduchaine.com/ - Flicky Harrison