Thornhill Blues Festival

Aynsley picked up the guitar at 8 and played his first gig at 13. One year later on a family trip to San Francisco, he was jamming at ‘Lou’s Bar’ on Pier 49. Brought up on his father’s record collection, he had learned to play by ear and would sit for hours in his bedroom playing along to old 45s of Freddie King, John Mayall and Eric Clapton.

He spent the next few years honing his craft and would play with anyone, anywhere. By the time he was 18, he had worked his way through various bands and decided to form his own. The band recorded two albums, but it was the second of these two that started things happening. Aynsley had begun writing and it was the three original numbers of this album that attracted the attention of Ruf Records ’ head honcho Thomas Ruf.

In the summer of 1998, they signed a deal. Armed with an album worth of original songs and a handful of covers, Aynsley went into the studio with Producer Jim Gaines and set to work of his first major album, ‘Aynsley Lister’, featuring a guest appearance by Walter Trout.

It would prove to be the start of a long and fruitful career taking him over the next few years all over Europe and working with some of the top names on the circuit. While Lister’s roots may be the blues, his own material incorporates more contemporary influences. His hard-hitting rhythms and guitar work are reminiscent of a young Clapton.