Blues in the Bar Featuring Kaspar Berry Rapkin & The Swamp Dogs

Kaspar Berry Rapkin & The Swamp Dogs are a British rock and blues trio known for delivering raw, authentic Delta and North Mississippi trance blues with a heavy, modern edge. Frequently praised for the intensity of his playing, frontman Kaspar Rapkin blends traditional slide guitar craftsmanship with contemporary power. The band’s sound blends original Hill Country acoustic textures with aggressive 1970s blues-rock, gospel, and metal. Imagine Mississippi Fred McDowell fronting Free with Rory Gallagher on lead guitar and you're getting close. The Swamp Dogs rhythm section utilizes non-traditional blues instruments such as cello and washboard, giving their live set a distinct swampy, atmospheric groove. Rapkin’s love affair with the blues began around age 12 when he heard Stevie Ray Vaughan’s Pride and Joy while he was playing the computer game Guitar Hero. A family friend gave him his first guitar on the condition that he actually learned how to play it. He did, and five years later, on his 18th birthday Kaspar travelled to New Orleans to play in venues such as B.B. King's Blues Club. There, he was spotted by producer Harold Marcho, leading to his early studio recordings in the United States. The band’s 2026 album Blues From The Land Of The Living is an 11-track collection featuring originals like Vices and Pearly Gates alongside re-imagined blues classics like Son House’s Death Letter and Fred McDowell’s Highway 61.