In a show that took us on a journey through the world of deep delta blues and roots music, American guitarist and singer Catfish Keith proved once again that he is a master of his craft.

His show at the Tivoli mined some absolute gems from the tradition that laid down the bedrock of country blues. It was a foot-stomping, string-bending performance that provided two solid hours of music that re-visited the greats of the genre.

Opening and closing with numbers by the extraordinary Blind Willie Johnson, Catfish treated his small but appreciative audience to mesmeric renderings of music by Leadbelly, Mississippi John Hurt, Bukka White, Skip James and many more, including his self-penned Fist Full of Riffs, a track inspired by the blues guitar genius of Lonnie Johnson and Eddie Lang.

Playing three different custom-built guitars, he took numbers that often dated back to the 20s and 30s, caressed them into life and fired them up with powerful vocals and stunning guitar work.

The title track from his latest album Mississippi River Blues even brought us a little Jimmie Rodgers style yodelling as he performed a moving tribute to his late brother-in-law Billy Cahill. My personal favourite was his astonishing reworking of the Jessie Mae Hemphill number Eagle Bird which buzzed and quivered through the brain as he wrenched some real magic from his guitar.

But the most poignant moment came as he sang the John Hurt lyric ‘I’m a poor boy a long way from home and that ain’t no way to get along…’ There was something heartfelt about this from an America guitarist on a long, long tour during the night of the 2016 US election.

Jeremy Miles