Curtis Salgado & Alan Hager Duo

Curtis Salgado and Alan Hager bring their duo show to The Oast, Rainham on Wednesday 18th November 2026. Just voice, harmonica and guitar — and everything that matters about the blues.

Curtis Salgado is the real thing. Raised in Eugene, Oregon, he co-led The Robert Cray Band and fronted Roomful of Blues before releasing ten solo albums and signing to Alligator Records in 2012. In 1977 he met John Belushi on the set of Animal House and spent hours playing him old blues records — an encounter that directly inspired the creation of The Blues Brothers. He is a multiple Blues Music Award winner, including the coveted B.B. King Entertainer of the Year, and has taken Soul Blues Male Artist of the Year twice. NPR calls him a blues icon with a huge voice. Through liver cancer, lung cancer twice and open heart surgery, he has never stopped performing.

Alan Hager studied under Pat Metheny at Berklee, graduated from the New England Conservatory, and has been Salgado's musical partner since 2003. His slide work sits deep in the Delta tradition of Charlie Patton, Tommy Johnson and Skip James. "He's the best player in the business," says Salgado. "Unlike anybody else."

Together they recorded Rough Cut for Alligator — thirteen songs cut live and unrehearsed, stripping the blues to its most honest form.

The Oast sits beside Rainham station, built in the 1870s. Top room. Parking at the rear.

Doors 7pm.

Featuring - Curtis Salgado

Alan Hager