Now based in the USA, Mitch is back on his home turf to present The Blues. The album was showcased in one Sydney show last year on the 25th anniversary of his debut on the Australian blues music scene whereMitch has worked since the age of fourteen. He worked with with fellow Balmain boys, Alex Lloyd and Declan Kelly  in The Beefs, then moved on to join the Bondi Cigars, before forming his own very successful band, Papa Lips, in 1994, with Declan Kelly, Clayton Doley  and his sister, Kara Grainger.

Forward to today and Mitch Grainger has gained an international reputation and audience for his harmonica skills. Type “Harmonica Lessons" into YouTube, and Mitch’s video is the first one on the list. In this hi-tech world Mitch Grainger is now collaborating with artists from Hollywood, to Botswana, while teaching people from all walks of life around the globe how to play their first ever note on the blues harp. And now, ‘The Blues’ is a signpost of artistic and personal growth that brings Mitch out of a recording hiatus and into the spotlight. Achieving this wasn’t easy. In the period since his first solo release ‘Love and Demons’ in 2006  which spotlighted eclectic, pop roots performances.

In 2012  Mitch re-located to the USA with no contacts, name or reputation, landed at ground level and started again.

“I knew I had to play music and needed to explore more of what the USA had to offer. In previous visits I had felt something in the air, something that really confirmed America as the birthplace of the blues," Mitch said.

"The blues is where I started and I knew I had to go back to find it, the music that first inspired me to pick up and play. 

"After living here now (Los Angeles) for 3 years the blues has seeped in through my skin and got into my bones … alone at night I found myself playing more and more blues. Just smoking, listening to the greats and then playing my own interpretations of what I heard.

"That’s how this record came about. It just came out through me as a feeling and I happened to have a studio at home to record it.”

Legends of the blues genre like Skip James, Blind Lemon Jefferson, Lighnin’ Hopkins and Jimmy Reed are where Mitch drew the inspiration for ‘The Blues’ from - with covers making up 11 of the 13 tracks on the album. It’s a deep blues record that deals with death, loss and heartache and would likely be best listened to late at night with a whiskey or out on a remote highway.

“My first intention was to make myself feel better through playing my music— just me, my harmonica and guitar playing some songs. But I found recording and listening back just as enjoyable and after about 6 tunes were recorded I decided to go until I felt I had a record," he said.  

  Mitch has a matinee show at 3.30pm at The Federal Hotel, Bellingen on Sunday, October 25.