Finalists in the 2025 UK Blues Awards, The Swaps are Beth Brooks (vocals), James Knight (guitar and vocals), and Adam Phillips (guitar and vocals).
They have been honing their blend of blues, soul and folk for many years in different line-ups but have recently found the real magic (and national recognition) as an acoustic trio. The Swaps build most of their music around Beth’s jaw-dropping vocals (“magic in that voice,” Blues in Britain) and the instinctive guitar interplay between James and Adam (“awe-inspiring...acoustic music at its very best,” Blues Matters). The dynamics and variety of textures they achieve with only two instruments and three voices is astonishing. All three are songwriters, which perhaps explains the variety and exceptional quality of their material.
The Swaps return this summer with Fast Train, their first studio album as a three-piece, and their most intimate and emotionally resonant recording to date. Released by Stingo Records on 13 August as CD and digital download, the record will arrive on streaming platforms later this year.
After slimming down from a five-piece electric band to a stripped-back acoustic trio, The Swaps have emerged with a distinctive new sound: open, naturally rhythmic and quietly bold. Built around the soul-drenched voice of Beth Brooks and the interweaving acoustic guitars of James Knight and Adam Phillips, Fast Train explores themes of loss, longing, dreams, and the complexities of navigating the modern world. The songs were recorded live to capture the magic of three humans making music in a space together, and then enhanced with subtle layers of synth, piano, bass, voice and percussion.
The band have a large and fiercely loyal following in their hometown. They host a monthly Blues Club at Leamington’s legendary Temperance, one of the UK’s most prestigious small venues. Blues Club sells out months in advance as soon as tickets go on sale. Guests at the club have included members of The Specials and Dr. Feelgood as well as folk and blues stars like Tim Edey and Stevie Watts. Building on this local success, The Swaps are now starting to earn national recognition, thanks in part to their five nominations in the 2025 UK Blues Awards — a clear sign that their new acoustic direction is striking a chord far beyond the Midlands.
“All three of us are songwriters and while we didn’t talk about it beforehand we all seemed to be asking the same question. How do you find your way in a world that throws so much at you: love and loss, planetary collapse and personal joy, mental distress and optimism,” says James Knight. “We love all kinds of blues but feel that it’s too easy to fall into tired cliches. There’s so much more you can do with the inherent drama of the form.”
Musically, Fast Train has one foot in the blues and the other in the singer-songwriter folk of Nick Drake and Paul Simon, while in Beth’s voice you can hear hints of Aretha and Annie Lennox. It’s a beguiling, soulful mixture brought together by quietly modern production, shifting between bare acoustic intimacy and dreamlike sonic textures.
From the quiet drama of “Echoes” and title track “Fast Train”, to the layered ambience of “Shadows” and “Wolf,” to the skipping groove of “Scars” and the poppy hooks of “All You Do” and “Sweetheart”, Fast Train combines emotional depth with musical invention.
This is folk-blues for the modern day— rooted in tradition, reaching forward, and resonating now.
Doors 7pm. Show 8pm
You may also like the following events from The Sound Lounge:
Also check out other
Music events in Sutton,
Entertainment events in Sutton,
Performances in Sutton.
