‘We get genuinely excited about performing together, no matter what the size or scope of the occasion.’

Ahead of their performance at Isbourne Arts, Winchcombe, last Friday, I chatted with lead vocalist of ‘The Achievers’, Steve Ferbrache, to find out about their blues centred musical journey, their contrasting approaches to recording, and what lies ahead for them in 2026. 

Hi Steve, thanks for taking the time to chat. Firstly, who is involved in The Achievers and what does each person bring to the sound we hear?
We’re a five piece band, I’m the lead singer and rhythm guitarist, Aron plays the drums and sings, Rufus plays the harmonica and sings, Robbie plays the guitar and sings, and Jack plays the bass. He can sing too (apparently) but doesn’t with us!

Where does the band name come from?
We used to be called ‘Steve & The Achievers – an old friend suggested Achievers because it sort of rhymed with ‘Steve’. I went with it because it was a deliberately corny name and we weren’t a serious band when all this started. 

What drew you to creating a band centred on blues music?
We started playing in local pubs as a trio, and didn’t want to rehearse so we mostly found ourselves playing music we could improvise and play with beer! It turns out that the place all our music tastes overlapped was blues and roots music. We then made a CD to sell at gigs, not expecting much from it, and then the UK Blues scene picked up on it. They started nominating us for awards and offering us tours, so we ended up having a pretty strong blues focus. But, most people that come to see us sense a much wider range of influences I guess – country, American roots music, soul, stuff like that. 

‘Our 4-part harmonies are probably the best reflection of how we’ve evolved. It used to take a bit of work but now it feels so natural.’

I understand that some of the members are in other bands as well. How does this impact the compositional process of ‘The Achievers’?
It doesn’t impact negatively at all, if anything it helps because it means everyone is playing and creating all the time so it keeps us on form.

How has your musicianship – either individually or as an ensemble – altered since you first began performing?
Our 4-part harmonies are probably the best reflection of how we’ve evolved. It used to take a bit of work and concentration, but these days it all just feels so natural and comfortable and we can often do it on the fly. I have the easy part really, just singing the top line but our voices seem to blend really well and that’s a blessing! 

Reflecting on your album releases to date, what do you feel those recorded in a live situation offer that those in a studio don’t?
Recording ‘The Lost Arc’, which was done ‘live in the studio’, was one of the best weekends of my life – and I think everyone felt it was a magical, hugely impactful experience. I feel that you can hear that in the album. We went to an old army drill-hall in mid-wales, set up to play and record and had a huge amount of fun. I don’t think those vibes would be achievable in a studio, with overdubs and all the time it takes.        

And on the topic of recording, if someone was watching one of your studio sessions, what would they be most surprised by?
I suppose the camaraderie and ease in each other’s company. That’s what this whole thing is about really – being together. 

Listening to your tracks, the musical structure of blues seems to influence rather than dominate your sound. How do you balance musical variety while staying true to blues roots?
We’re the same as most audiences I guess –  not massive blues fanatics or purists, so we make sure we’re not getting bored or repeating ourselves. Our musical tastes are massively varied so ensuring we’re being true to them is important. We also like to give audiences credit – just because they’ve come to ‘blues’ club it doesn’t mean that’s all they like, so it’s comforting for us to know we can be eclectic where we want to be.

Having watched footage of you guys, it’s clear you bring just as much energy to a performance regardless of venue size. What ensures this is the case?
We get genuinely excited about being together, no matter what the size or scope of the occasion and that is ultimately what creates the energy!   

Which of your tracks to you most enjoy playing live and why this one?  
That’s a tough one – I think any of the one’s where I get to stop for a moment and listen to Robbie play a guitar solo. It always blows my mind! 

As well as others, you’ve previously played Upton Blues Festival. How important do you feel specialised festivals are to the future of the genre?
They’re great if the line-up is suitably varied like Upton, Colne, and a good few others, with a good collection of new acts for people to discover. Most festivals advertised as ‘blues’ festivals will have something for fans of rock and Americana too, and I’m pretty certain people are aware the festivals can be quite eclectic. I love how many people rock-up in their camper vans, reunite with old friends and just have a great time, without being too concerned about what is and isn’t blues.  

‘Our musical tastes are massively varied so ensuring we’re being true to them is important.’

So if you were to curate a festival line up, who would be your top three performers?  
Ouch – that’s a tough one. I think we’d all lose our minds if we got to see The Band or Creedance Clearwater Revival. But if they have to be living and still gigging then we’d go for a few bands we’d shared the bill with who we love – Greg Brice, an amazing fingerstyle player and songwriter, Howlin’ Ric & The Rocketeers – super talented rock n’ roll, soulful lads. Lastly – there was an unbelievable band playing in the foyer of a Hungarian Festival we played once who utterly amazed us – I wish I could remember their names but they had us in a open-mouthed trance for an hour while they played the most unreal fusion of traditional Hungarian folk music, blues, and Jazz.

Where can people see you playing in the next 6 months?
We’ve got lots of preparation to do ahead of our 2026 UK tour, but it was great to close out November with brilliant gigs at Isbourne Arts in Winchcombe, and two gigs at Temperance, Leamington Spa.

And finally, what has been biggest learning curve for ‘The Achievers’ to date?
COVID was tough. We had 2 years of international touring booked for 2020 and 2021, having just won the UK Blues challenge and played the International Blues Challenge in Memphis (Jan 2020). We arrived back from that and everything we’d work towards for the previous 7 years fell apart. We worked incredibly hard to maintain some creative momentum and not get financially destroyed! We actually came out of COVID better musicians, a better band and better friends. 

Thanks Steve Ferbrache for chatting with Listen to Discover
Photography credit Tim Taphouse