Page 7 - BiTS_10_OCTOBER_2025_Neat
P. 7

THE BiTS INTERVIEw: MARY STOKES
      Mary  Stokes  and  her  band,  from  Dublin,  Ireland,    have

      toured  throughout  Ireland,  Europe,  and  the  U.S.A,

      performing at numerous festivals and in many of the most

      iconic blues clubs in the world. This award winning singer

      has captivated global audiences with a characteristically

      Irish approach of passion, honesty and integrity which she

      has  continually  brought  to  her  interpretation  of

      contemporary Blues music.



      Ian  McKenzie  spoke  to  her  and  her  partner,  blues  harp
      player Brian Palm, at their home in Dublin.




    MS:  Ian, hi, how are you?

    BiTS:  Hello Mary, how nice to speak to you. Mary, let’s make a start. First, please tell
                                                                   me  how  an  Irish  girl  became

                                                                   enamoured with the blues.

                                                                   MS:  Well, Ian, I would say that there
                                                                   are  many  influences  and  not  least

                                                                   because certainly I grew up in a family
                                                                   where blues was part of the language
                                                                   that  I  learned  as  a  little  kid.  My

                                                                   brothers played music and much of it
                                                                   was blues. But, you know, I was very
                                                                   lucky because what happened was, I

                                                                   met Brian. I was young when I met
                                                                   Brian,  who  was  already  a  blues
                                                                   enthusiast.         He      was       blowing

                                                                   harmonica  when  we  met  at  a  very
                                                                   young age, and I suppose what is most
                                                                   relevant here is that we jammed, we

                                                                   played together in flats and in all sorts
    of different situations, and we’d busk.

    BP:  Parties, gatherings.


    MS:  Parties and gatherings and learn together. I think what was useful, or what is
    relevant, is that we did start busking blues and busking acoustic blues in Dublin
    many, many moons ago before it was more of a performance. So we took our roots
   2   3   4   5   6   7   8   9   10   11   12