Gloucestershire band Solid Gone are to perform their latest tracks at Café Rene on Friday evening.

The band have built up a strong following across the country in recent years, their unique sounds of jazz and folk have left audiences impressed. Luke Philbrick, who plays guitar in the band as well as providing vocals, is looking forward to getting on stage in his hometown tomorrow evening. He said: “We love playing in Gloucester, Café Rene is a really great venue. We’ve been lucky to have played there several times before, the acoustics are really good. Being from Gloucester myself it’ll be good to see some familiar faces in the crowd.”

Solid Gone play a mix of blues and folk music, heavily inspired by the legendary Italian composer and orchestrator, Enrico Morricone. Continued Luke: “It’s hard when people ask us what kind of band we are, we mix things up a lot. I suppose we’re a blues band with a bit of folk and skiffle thrown in as well. We have a saxophonist, a harmonica player, a drummer and a couple of us play guitar. We create quite a unique sound.

“Music has been my main passion for most of my life. I learned to play the guitar when I was at school, I played a lot of rock music. It was only in my late teenage years that I started taking things more seriously, I started learning the classical guitar which was a lot of fun. Playing with the guys in the band is a real buzz, that feeling of getting on stage and playing with your mates, you never tire of it. We’re lucky to have so many great venues so close to where we’re based. Café Rene is great, there’s a few venues in Bristol and Cheltenham that we love playing as well.”

Luke has recently returned from a tour of Germany, where he played several gigs. He continued: “I went out on my own earlier this year and played some amazing venues. It was a lot of fun. Playing a solo show is a lot different to being on stage with the rest of the guys from the band.

“I’ll be going back to Germany with a couple of the guys from the band in September which is really exciting. We’ve booked seven dates and are hopefully going to look to increase that to ten or so with a bit of luck. Playing abroad is a great chance for us to get noticed and to play to new audiences. We’ve been playing together for just over five years now. We’re proud of what we’ve achieved, we’re an ambitious band and it would be great to keep the momentum going and see what we can achieve.”