To call Brett Littlefair a bluesman would be selling him short. Which is why, when people ask, “What kind of music do you play?” Brett’s answer is always, “Footstompin’, Toetappin’ Boogie.”

Getting a guitar for a birthday or Christmas present from his family was nothing new to Brett but on Christmas Day 2018 he received one that was a ‘game changer’. It had only three strings and was made from a discarded cigar box. But he played it all that day until his fingers couldn’t take any more punishment. His mind was made up, that this was the musical direction he wanted to take. Drawing on the influences of the Mississippi Delta and North Mississippi Bluesman such as RL Burnside, Asie Payton and Junior Kimbrough, Brett carved out a sound that was well suited to three and four stringed instruments. 

In just two years he has managed to rack up millions of views on Facebook and build an international following with regular livestreams to his ferocious followers who call themselves the Clangang. The first album, Red Devil Lye, was a high energy, live-take performance, originally intended to be used as a demo for blues festivals, venues etc. But it had a certain magic quality that hearkens back to the early recordings of bluesmen from the Delta and Chicago, who didn’t alter their recordings with composite takes. One of the songs, Where’ve You Been, was used on the 7 Network in Australia for the travel show, South Aussie With Cosi.

After such a positive start in the middle of a pandemic, Brett released his second album, Footstompin’, to a hungry audience. Footstompin’ spent 10 months in the Australian Roots and Blues Airplay charts and has received very favourable reviews in publications such as Rootstime in Belgium and the highly regarded Blues Blast Magazine in the USA. The accolades were followed by an award – 2022 ARBA Blues Album Of The Year.

His new release Toetappin’ is a brooding, atmospheric album that captures Brett Littlefair as raw as the emotions he wears on his sleeve. Stripped back to a suitcase kick drum, tambourine and his cigar box guitars, the one-take performances range from chugging, toe-tapping rhythms to stirring, lyrically-hypnotic pieces. According to Blues Blast Magazine, Brett “delivers some fine solo performances on songs that move the listener hypnotically and make their toes tap at the same time.”

Brett has also featured at Blues Festivals across Australia and with the restrictions of the pandemic receding, he is looking to international performances in the future.