Over the past decade Rebecca Downes has released six highly acclaimed albums and an EP, Stranger Blue, which showcase her impeccable vocal range, timing, dynamics, expression and intonation. The latest single now with an accompanying video, “These Days,” is the first track from her next album due out on October 31, 2025 which promises to be a massive success if it continues in this vein.
So what has it taken for Rebecca Downes to become a rising star making such a positive impact in the world of blues and rock music?
Rebecca possesses the immense talents, resilience, and energy needed to pursue a successful career as an independent artist with her own record label, Mad Hat Records. She has earned the reputation as one of the UK’s most respected trailblazers who is promoting the blues-rock genre internationally. The award-winning West Midlands bandleader, singer, songwriter, and guitarist also works as a vocal coach and is a teacher at Birmingham Central University and the city’s Music Institute preparing students for their future creative careers. She is a role model, a Brand Ambassador for the Forging Ahead Initiative established to mentor new and emerging rock bands.
Rebecca’s creative musical partnership with co-songwriter Steve Birkett, together with the stellar musicians in her band, is another key factor. Their original lyrics and captivating performances both live and recorded are taking the genre in an exciting new direction.
When talking about “These Days,” Rebecca explains: ”The lyrics mean the world to us. It was written for the times we are living through right now, for me both personally at the time and with what’s happening in the world.”
The message is strong and unambiguous:
Some days I try so hard to understand
Some days I don’t know, don’t know who I am
And all this time, this time wasted
Caring what they thought
Has left me strung out and now
I will not be bought
These days
The haunting atmospheric intro to the video with its glorious sound effects is repeated in a series of dramatic crescendos throughout the song, interspersed with delicate piano keys, intricate guitar strings from Steve, and other contrasting quieter moments. The background vocal harmonies are simply magnificent. Neil Ablard’s dynamic and metronomic drumming holds it all together enabling Downes’ peerless, powerful voice to soar majestically.
The strikingly unconventional video location enhances and complements the song. The disused Myloi station and yard on the ‘mothballed’ one metre gauge railway system on the Peloponnese Peninsula in Greece is where the footage was shot on two successive nights in temperatures of 36-38 degrees Celsius!
What this epic production reveals is that management companies, publicists, and recording contracts are not always an essential prerequisite to becoming an elite musician.
Rebecca Downes – Vocals
Steve Birkett – Instrumentation and Backing Vocals
Neil Ablard – Drums
Recorded and Produced by Steve Birkett and Gavin Monaghan
Mixed and Mastered by Gavin Monaghan at Magic Garden Studios, Wolverhampton
Mad Hat Records Limited 2025
