Eighteen-year-old blues phenomenon Toby Lee is setting out on his first full UK tour this month. 

Born and brought up in Oxfordshire and now living in Cornwall, Toby has been able to achieve remarkable things in such a short space of time. The Young Blues Artist of The Year 2023 is an extraordinary musician.

He featured as Zack Mooneyham in the first West End production of School of Rock and has since shared stages with a host of blues legends such as Buddy Guy, Peter Frampton, Billy Gibbons, Slash & his hero Joe Bonamassa whose Mediterranean Blue Cruise he joined back in the Summer.

His musical journey started when his grandma bought him a ukulele when he was just four-years-old. At that age, he was becoming immersed in his family’s love of music. 

Speaking to the Voice he explained: “My parents have always been into music, my dad would always have vinyl records playing throughout the house and my mum loved to sing. We had drum kits, pianos, ukuleles, guitars, basses in the house.” 

When he was eight, Toby received his first electric guitar for Christmas while staying at a Cornish hotel. This was a significant moment for Toby and his strong love of playing guitar started growing from there. 

“I just picked one up, fell in love and really enjoyed it,” he said. “I guess it was just something that clicked with me. I had a ukukle to start with which I still have, but it wasn’t until I took up playing a full-size electric guitar that I really fell in love with it, to the point where I thought this is what I want to do for the rest of my life. I felt that this is just the best feeling in the world. I stuck at it and played and played and just never got bored of it.” 

Toby’s been partnered by Gibson Guitars since he was 10 and is endorsed by Blackstar Amplification and D’Addario Strings. He is the youngest member of the Gibson Alliance – a select group of world-class musicians chosen to help shape the future of Gibson Guitars and inspire a new generation of players.

He has just spent time in Nashville filming for Gibson as well as travelling to Texas at the invitation of the Buddy Holly Foundation to attend songwriting workshops. This was a special moment for Toby as the pioneering Buddy Holly is a huge inspiration to him. 

“Buddy was the main reason I picked up a guitar in the first place,” said Toby. “I just fell in love with his music straight away, purely because it was so simple but so effective. Buddy tended to use three chords for most of his stuff, but he made those three chords better than something with 150 chords. 

“He had something about him and I loved it, there was a Buddy Holly musical which I went to so many times. I’ve just come back from the US and I actually got to see his hometown and visit the Buddy Holly museum which was a huge reality check for me. This little kid that grew up listening to his music and absolutely loving it, to be stood right next to what he played his music with was a surreal moment.”  

After portraying his musical talents on social media when he was still a kid, Toby gained a big following which saw his career begin to take shape. Weekly jams became a popular blues fix for fans, while his guitar-playing profile developed and reputation grew. 

Since then, he has appeared numerous times on both British and American radio and television, including landing a guest spot on the popular Ellen DeGeneres Show in the United States in front of over 10 million viewers, as well as performing with McFly on ITV’s Tonight at the London Palladium.

However, there was another outing on the famous Palladium stage recently that Toby will be treasuring forever: “One of my main career highlights was a show I did a couple of months ago which I got involved with at the very last minute. 

“It had the craziest line-up ever, there was me, Brian May, Ronnie Wood, Van Morrison and James Burton. The show was a tribute to Burton who was Elvis Presley’s guitarist. 

“There was just an endless list of legends and for some reason, there was me. For them to trust me with that kind of opportunity was an absolute honour.”

Toby now resides in Cornwall where he has been living for the past four years and has developed a soft spot for the county. However, his love and connection with the Duchy started way before making the big move down permanently when he used to travel in his family’s campervan to visit his loved ones on the coast. 

“My mum’s family were from Marazion so we would always come down to see them or come for a holiday,” he said. “We’re quite a small family and so we decided to move house a few years back and it’s the best decision we’ve made. 

“We’re really into our old Volkswagen’s and love camping so we would come down in our old campervan multiple times every year which was great. I loved Cornwall as soon as I came visited and it’s where I’ve always wanted to live growing up so it was a dream come true when we moved.”

Toby is embarking on his first full headline tour with his band who are all based in the south west. 

The tour started last Saturday at Exeter Phoenix and will finish in December with a special celebration gig in Stroud to honour blues legend Geno Washington’s 80th birthday. 

“I can’t wait to get out and do my first headline tour. I’ve done support tours before, but I’ve always wanted to tour with my own band which is something that has been a dream of mine.” 

Toby’s very keen to perform at more Cornish venues in the future, particularly as he and his band have been working on a new album which is set to be released in 2024.

“When the album comes out we’ll be doing a tour, whereas for the moment we’re playing a mix of new and old stuff at our gigs. 

“We recorded the album in Perranporth and as soon as the tour is booked there’ll be a lot more Cornish shows for sure. 

“We’ve also got a few top-secret things coming up at the tail end of this year that will be out next year. We’re planning to go full hog with the album coming out in 2024 so I’m super excited for that.”

For more information on Toby’s career and to keep up to date with his latest performances, visit: www.toby-lee.com/