Paulie Boy Blues

US bluesman swaggers into Salford

Story by Matthew Murray

26/01/2026

On a dark Wednesday night we ventured out into the streets of Salford to find the Eagle Inn Pub where up and coming Texas Blues guitarist Paulie Boy Blues would be playing. I exaggerate slightly as it is in the nice part of Salford, where Manchester City centre and Salford jut up against each other.

The venue part of the pub holds about 30 people, at a guess on the ground floor, and has an unusual first floor balcony looking from on high down on the stage that holds a few more. I was fortunate to be able to chat backstage to Paulie after the gig as he was winding down from his ferocious performance. This is Paulie Boy Blues first tour dates in England, having previously toured in Scotland, in Glasgow and Edinburgh, as well as in his American homeland. Paulie Boy, a moniker that has stuck since growing up in a household with a long lineage of Pauls, including his Dad and Grandad, has been addicted to the guitar since his late teens. Initially introduced to Hendrix and Stevie Ray Vaughan’s music by a couple of his school teachers, he headed down a blues rabbit hole discovering more and more. As a result he picked up a guitar at the age of 19 and has rarely put it down since. Initially practising for hours though the night in his Montgomery County house basement, perfecting his licks as well as a few Jimmy Hendrix inspired tricks. He frequently likes to wow audiences with his white pimped out Fender Strat, playing it behind his head or with his teeth. “The pickups are done by a guy in Ohio. They're called Stratton Audio Pickups. They're custom one of one, just made for me. They're underwound. Yeah, they sound tripped out.” “The pedals I was using today were handmade here in England, actually. The Tribal Boost pedal they made I was using for the 1st time today.” Paulie, described some of his other musical influences: “Jimi Hendrix is high up the list. He probably is my number one favourite but also Robert Johnson, Lightning Hopkins, Texas Alexander, Freddie King. Did I say Johnny Winter, Stevie Ray Vaughan along with Philip Sayce” “I mean, I feel like something that people wouldn't guess about me is that I like bluegrass a lot. Doc Watson, Billy Strings, Elizabeth Cotten. I like that stuff a lot.” I asked about some of the guitar showmanship, including “how hard is it to play behind your head?” and “does it hurt your teeth?” About the teeth part “Not Really, It can, though. Stevie Ray Vaughan knocked one of his teeth out doing that, you know? No joke. But my mom sees that, she's like, stop playing with your teeth!” “I used to do it in my basement (playing behind his head), but at this point, I don't really find it to be difficult. I genuinely don't think it's any harder to play behind your head than normally as long as you can play normally without looking at it, it's the same really, you know.” His journey to the English tour has been one of chance and fortune. Originally journeying to Scotland a year or two back to see a Glaswegen, now ex-girlfriend. “She introduced me to the Glasgow blues scene, Howlin Wolf bar, Glasgow. played out there a couple times. I got to sit in with local bands. The Midnight Blues band is like a pretty well established Glasgow band, I sat in with them.” This year the tour starts in England and eventually leads back up to Scotland, to Glasgow and Edinburgh. There is a bit of time for a bit of sightseeing in between or after, he spoke in wonder for a moment at some of the castles he’s seen here. The set tonight was mainly made up of covers, but with a Paulie Boy Blues take on them. Original classics intertwined and his own lyrics and trademark Texas blues inspired licks. Some of them he described as “more of a complete spinoff of the original” Paulie was joined tonight and for the rest of the UK tour by an excellent drummer and top draw bassist from Sunderland and Newcastle, UK -performing under the guise, ‘The Yorkshire Puddings’. Paulie is very upbeat for the future saying they are playing a UK festival this summer amongst other things. He’s got no plans to slow down or stop. “I'm still out here still standing, still swinging straight up. Straight up. I'm not gonna stop until I drop.”