02/07/2024
The Poor Box Brothers are Marc Clements and Ben W King
Having played with innumerable bands on the road for over 40 years (including session work
with Ginger Baker, Andy Rourke of The Smiths, and Van Morrison) Marc decided to get back to
basics with harmonica player, Ben, and play the music that inspired him as a teenager.
Ben has been playing guitar for over a decade, having grown up listening to all kind of blues. He
picked up the harmonica in recent years and hasn’t put it down since.
Acoustic Pre-WW2 Blues
Stripped down to its basic constituents, a rural sound, Marc’s finger-picking style is known as
‘Piedmont’. Syncopated and dynamic, it has a kind of rag-time feel, with its origins in south-east
Virginia and Atlanta, Georgia. Ben’s sax-like harp playing reflects the music’s Delta origins.
“The Poorbox Brothers evoke the era of Speakeasies and roadside juke joints” Time Out
“You were awesome!” The Packhorse Inn, Bath
“The guitar playing sounds like two guitarists” Facebook
