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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