IN the words of promoter Nigel Burnham, "this could be the last time, maybe the last time, I don't know, that outsider folk legend Michael Hurley plays The Band Room".

"This time the United States national treasure will draw level with The Handsome Family on five record-breaking shows apiece at the North York Moors venue that the Handsomes' Brett Sparks very generously once called 'The greatest small venue on Earth'."

Now 76, Hurley grew up in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. As a teenager in the 1950s, he fell in love with the music of Fats Domino, The Everly Brothers and Bo Diddley on the radio and was enthralled by the records of Blind Willie McTell, Hank Williams and Uncle Dave Macon that he sought out.

"Hurley's music sounds old, like it has always existed, and simultaneously singular, like something you've never heard anyone else play quite like that before," says Burnham. "From the the Village beatniks in New York City, where he started in the early Sixties, to the hippies in Vermont, to the Americana fans, indie rockers and freak-folkers from the last two decades, Michael's music never fails to find fresh new ears."

Hurley, who specialises in what he calls "jazz-hyped blues and country and western music", last released an album of new recordings, Bad Mr. Mike, in 2016.

He now lives on the American West Coast, where he combines making music with being a cartoonist and watercolour artist. "His appearances on the British Isles have been scarce over the past decade," says Burnham. "Old and new fans should not pass up the rare opportunity to catch Michael in action."

Tickets for Friday's 7.30pm gig at The Band Room are on sale at £15 at thebandroom.co.uk or on 01751 432900.