You know when you’re at school, and there’s that one kid that’s great at everything? They’re nice to talk to, funny, and are usually extraordinarily talented. Well, Charlie Bedford is that kid.
Though only 17 years old, Bedford is a Melbourne Guitar Show veteran, having performed his neo-blues-meets-rock stylings there each year since 2015. In 2018, Bedford is bringing his feel-good, toe-tapping jams back to Melbourne stages alongside some of the biggest names in the guitar world. Despite the crowd of guitar whizzes and seasoned musos that the show attracts, Bedford isn’t too worried about his upcoming appearance.
“I don’t really get nervous anymore. I’ve been playing guitar since I was about six, and started playing in proper venues when I was 12. In the 2015 Guitar Show, I got up to play with Lloyd Speigel and I was nervous that time because the whole crowd were guitarists so I felt like they were all watching my hands, and it was very cold. But it was fine, and Spiegel is one of my biggest mentors, so it worked out.”
For the past two years, Bedford has travelled to Memphis to compete in the coveted International Blues Challenge Youth Showcase. 2017 saw Bedford compete with his old band, but this January he braved the challenge as a solo act. While the first IBC Youth Showcase was “like a dream,” the second was more of a network-based business trip.
“This year, I knew where everything was and could catch up with all the people I’d met, and they introduced me to more people. The first year I was there, I was invited by Jerry Williams to check out Royal Studios, and he gave me a private tour. I also got to spend a whole night recording in Sun Studios,” Bedford says.
He has seemingly never wasted a second in advancing his skills and industry knowledge, and is unsurprisingly the recipient of much guidance and mentoring from his older and more experienced peers. As an ambassador for the Melbourne Blues Appreciation Society, Bedford has benefitted from the Youth and Blues Program for the past four years. The program allows young Melbourne-based musos to meet, work together, and engage in conversation with guest professionals from various factions of the industry each week – all for free.
“It’s absolute gold for us. You get to work with each other, you make groups, they bring mentors through every fortnight. I highly recommend any young artists who are into blues to check it out. It’s where I met most of the people who have supported me the most; the program’s invaluable.”
Throughout his career, Bedford has received too much advice to wrap his head around – the most quintessential encouragement of recent years was being told that he would have to start singing.
“I only began singing two or three years ago. I wasn’t confident with my voice, but a lot of my friends and other people at jams said that if I wanted to be the band leader, I needed to sing,” he says. “I also liked the idea of being able to do whatever song I wanted, so I decided ‘Alright, I’m going to try the singing thing.’ I got lessons and now it’s half of what I do.”
Despite all of this institutionalised help, Bedford’s grassroots love for music was honed early on at home.
“It all started out with my dad – he would say, ‘A day without music is like a day without sunshine.’ He played guitar in bands when he was younger – he was in the New Zealand pop-punk scene – and he originally taught me how to play. Then I got into B.B. King, who is probably my biggest inspiration on guitar. I also really admire Eric Gales, Lloyd Spiegel and Robert Cray,” Bedford says.
“King is my overall influence, which is weird because I don’t listen to him that often anymore. He gave me the foundations upon which I’ve built everything I’ve learned. It all blends together and you’re left with this weird mix of inspirations, which becomes your own sound.”
