Blues Hotsak 2026: Dr. Feelgood, DeRobert and Barrence Whitfield, three nights of blues in Soraluze

Dr. Feelgood, one of the bands that shaped British pub rock in the 1970s, play on 20 November at the Herriko Antzokia in Soraluze (Gipuzkoa) for €15. It is the first of the three international theatre concerts at the heart of the eighth edition of Blues Hotsak, which runs from 6 to 22 November, with two warm-up dates in Elgeta and Eibar and a week of activities in Soraluze, from the 16th to the 22nd. Dates, venues and tickets are on the Blues Hotsak page.

The festival was founded in 2019 and is organised by the cultural association Errabal Kultur Elkartea, with support from the Basque Government, the Provincial Council of Gipuzkoa, Soraluze Town Council and Kutxa Fundazioa. The organisers trace its origins to the jazz and blues tradition of the Bajo Deba area, with series such as Debajazz and the Ibetondo jazz festival, and to a record label specialising in these genres that has been operating in the town for thirty years. In 2024 its line-up brought together Santiago Auserón, JP Bimeni & The Black Belts and La Blues Company.

Three nights at the Herriko Antzokia: Dr. Feelgood, DeRobert and Barrence Whitfield

The order of the three nights traces a fairly clear line: from British rhythm & blues to Nashville soul and, to finish, the most full-throated rock and roll.

Dr. Feelgood open on Friday 20th. Lee Brilleaux and Wilko Johnson founded the group in the early seventies on Canvey Island (Essex), and that era left behind the live album Stupidity and songs such as Roxette. Neither is still in the band: Brilleaux died in 1994 and Johnson left in 1977. According to the organisers, the current line-up is Robert Kane on vocals and harmonica, Gordon Russell on guitar, who returns after playing with the group in the eighties, and the rhythm section of Kevin Morris and Phil Mitchell, who have more than four decades in the band. They have already been in Spain this autumn: in September they headlined San Pedro Rock in San Pedro Alcántara, a free open-air event. In Soraluze they will be introduced by the bertsolaris Aissa Intxausti and Josune Aramendi.

On Saturday 21st it is the turn of DeRobert & The Half-Truths, a soul and funk group from Nashville led by Memphis-born singer DeRobert Adams and drummer and producer Nick DeVan. Their sound is that of the sixties and seventies, with a raspy, gospel-rooted voice and a horn section, and they have shared the stage with Charles Bradley and St. Paul & The Broken Bones, among others.

Closing on Sunday 22nd is Barrence Whitfield, who has been singing at the top of his lungs for more than forty years, first with The Savages; the organisers describe him as one of the last active rhythm & blues shouters. He comes with MFC Chicken, the rock and roll band led by saxophonist Spencer Evoy, to revisit the repertoire of his early years. According to the organisers, Soraluze is the final date of his tour of the peninsula.

Elgeta and Eibar open the festival two weeks earlier

Blues Hotsak leaves Soraluze on two Fridays to make itself known in neighbouring towns. On Friday 6 November, at 19:30, Barcelona saxophonist Dani Nel·lo, formerly of Los Rebeldes and now playing with Los Mambo Jambo, presents the album Bric-à-Brac at the Ozkarbi Kultura Elkartea in Elgeta with his Organ Trio: Gerard Nieto on organ, Jan Nieto on guitar and Ramon Angel Rey on drums. It is the saxophone and Hammond organ format that packed out rhythm & blues and jazz clubs in the late fifties.

On Friday 13th, at 19:00, the Teatro Coliseo (Coliseo Antzokia) in Eibar hosts Lagunak Sessions: Catalunya Harmonica Summit, an album coordinated by American producer Greg Izor that brings together several names from the Catalan blues scene: Sweet Marta, Little Jordi, Johnny Big Stone, Oscar Rabadán, M. A. Lonesome, David Sánchez and Victor Puertas. The guest is Javier Laguna, from Arrasate, who brought the group together. According to the festival, it is the only date on which they can be seen together live. Tickets for Eibar are sold through the Kutxabank online box office; the price of the two warm-up dates has not been published.

Blues Hotsak 2026 programme in Soraluze, day by day

The big concerts are at the theatre, but the week also includes literature, film, workshops and music at the gaztetxe and in the street, as listed on the official poster:

• Monday 16th, 19:00, Kalebarren 8: book club on Frankenstein agurgarria, by Petti and Ana Galarraga.
• Wednesday 18th, 19:15, theatre: screening of The Commitments, by Alan Parker.
• Thursday 19th, 19:00, theatre: Petti and Ana Galarraga, a recital with songs and images on Mary Shelley's Frankenstein.
• Friday 20th: harmonica workshop for young people with Joan Pau Cumellas at 17:00 at the Gaztelekua, and Dr. Feelgood at 19:00 at the theatre.
• Saturday 21st: harmonica workshop for adults at 10:00, music school combo at 11:30 at the theatre, Joan Pau Cumellas, Paul San Martin and Romain Gratalon at 13:00 in Etxaburueta, DeRobert & The Half-Truths at 19:00 at the theatre and Sweet Marta & The Blues Shakers at 22:00 at the gaztetxe.
• Sunday 22nd: departure at 08:00 from the square to the Karakate and Irukurutzeta dolmens, with prior registration; The Ubangi Stomp at 12:30 in Santana; La Perra Blanco at 14:00 in the Plaza Zaharra, and Barrence Whitfield & MFC Chicken at 19:00 at the theatre.

There is a discrepancy over La Perra Blanco's concert: the main poster puts it at 14:00, while the Sunday page on the festival website says 13:30. To avoid missing the start, it is best to be in the square by 13:30. Alba Blanco's band, from Cádiz, has spent eight years touring Europe with its mix of rockabilly and blues. Before them, The Ubangi Stomp, from Alicante, present Crits, their tenth-anniversary album, built on boogie-woogie, rhythm & blues and rock and roll with piano and saxophone.

The poster also announces childcare, pintxo-pote, walking routes and Txikiblues, the children's programme; the website adds a photo rally. Their times have not yet been published.

Tickets: €15 per theatre concert and no festival pass

The three nights at the Herriko Antzokia are sold separately on Entradium, at €15 plus fees: €15.36 per ticket. Each concert has its own page: Dr. Feelgood, DeRobert & The Half-Truths and Barrence Whitfield & MFC Chicken. They can also be bought in person at the Iratxo shop, at Plaza Barrixa, 1, in Soraluze. There is no festival pass: seeing all three nights costs €46.08. In 2024, theatre tickets cost €12, according to La Ganzúa, so this year they go up by three euros per concert.

Saturday's harmonica workshop for adults with Joan Pau Cumellas costs €51.21 including fees, places are limited and participants must bring their own harmonica. The other events in Soraluze are not sold online and the festival has not said whether they are free. The organisers ask attendees to use public transport. To combine the trip with other events, ModoFestival lists the festival calendar for Gipuzkoa and the festivals in Spain in November 2026.

Sources: official Blues Hotsak website (home page, day-by-day programme, poster and ticket sales), consulted on 22 October 2026; Entradium sales pages for each concert, organised by Errabal Kultur Elkartea; Mondo Sonoro (20 October 2026) and Rock Culture (21 October 2026); La Ganzúa, on the 2024 edition.