FOR those of you who haven’t come across Joanne Shaw Taylor, let's enlighten you to this national treasure of ours.

Born in 1986 in the West Country, Joanne is an axe-wielding British blues guitarist and songwriter who is rightly receiving worldwide recognition and acclaim from fellow musicians such as Joe Bonamassa and Eurthymics' Dave Stewart.

Her performance on Monday night at a busy Fibbers showed everybody in the audience exactly why. Strapping on her battered guitar, Taylor never let up for one moment in her whole set.

Her sound is best described as raw, with razor-sharp playing and a very expressive voice that has its roots as much in soul and it does in the blues. All this was underpinned by an extremely tight backline of drums and bass which really gelled with Taylor’s aggressive style of playing.

The band enjoyed their performance as much as the audience, with plenty of smiles on stage and some nice story introductions about the inspiration behind the next song to be played.

Throughout the show, Taylor unleashed a collection of lightning-fast solos, especially on Going Home, tipping her hat to such legends as Stevie Ray Vaughan and Albert Collins, while the slower-paced songs, such as Tried, Tested & True, allowed her to demonstrate a mellower, laidback style that showcased her talent to great effect.

Plenty has been written in the music press about Taylor, as well as her young contemporaries, such as Philip Sayce, Oli Brown and our very own Yorkshire lass Chantel McGregor, to make this old reviewer happy in the knowledge that British Blues is in safe hands for future generations to enjoy live.

Review by Alex Calnan