Pour une poignée de blues: Mike Lécuyer draws his new show

Mike Lécuyer launches Pour une poignée de blues, a new show dedicated to French-language blues. In this first episode, he pays tribute to Lionel Raynal and introduces us to La Bedoune and Belgian musician Froidebise. He also unveils two new segments, featuring an old blues song by Roger Mason and a Bob Dylan adaptation by Francis Cabrel.

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POUR UNE POIGNEE DE BLUES 01 – Mike Lécuyer

Emission 01 : Hommage à Lionel Raynal – Everyday I have the blues, Paris a le blues (avec BJ Scott) // LA BEDOUNE – Mon ami Jeff // Jean-Pierre Froidebise (Belgique) – Est-ce que j'ai tort // Un vieux blues du XXe siècle : Roger Mason – Blues de la poisse (1971) // Autour du blues : FRANCIS CABREL – Comme Blind Willie McTell.

This first episode opens with a tribute to Lionel Raynal, who passed away on July 8, 2026. The guitarist and singer had developed a rock-infused blues style, sometimes described as “hard blues.” He spent much of his life in the Fontainebleau area and played with Rock ‘n Roller before founding Reverend Blues Gang, which later became The Reverend.

Mike Lécuyer has selected two songs to look back on his career: the standard Every Day I Have the Blues and Paris a le blues, performed with B.J. Scott.

Next comes La Bedoune, an Occitan duo featuring Greg Perfetti on guitar and percussion and Cécile Perfetti on vocals, bass and percussion. In recent years, the group has notably been named French-speaking Blues Artist of the Year, won the French Blues Challenge and reached the final of the International Blues Challenge in Memphis. The duo is featured in the show with the song Mon ami Jeff.

The show then heads to Belgium with Froidebise and Est-ce que j’ai tort. A guitarist and singer, he has performed with various blues, rock and jazz bands. He is also the creator of a performance show inspired by his own book, Manuel de survie à l’usage des artistes en milieu hostile.

The “An Old 20th-Century Blues” segment gives Mike Lécuyer the opportunity to bring forgotten or little-known songs back into the spotlight. For this first edition, he has chosen Roger Mason, an American guitarist and singer who made a name for himself in France during the 1960s and 1970s, notably by taking part in the American Center’s hootenanny evenings.

The musician released around ten albums, including Le Blues de la poisse in 1971. The show features a version recorded live for television during a programme hosted by Philippe Bouvard.

Finally, “Around the Blues” focuses on artists whose careers occasionally cross paths with the genre. Francis Cabrel performs Comme Blind Willie McTell, his adaptation of a song by Bob Dylan. The track appears on Vise le ciel, an album entirely devoted to French adaptations of the American singer’s repertoire, following an approach already taken fifty years earlier by Hugues Aufray.

Combining tributes, discoveries and archive recordings, this first episode lays the foundations for Pour une poignée de blues and highlights the diversity of blues performed in French.

🎵 On the programme:

• Lionel Raynal – Every Day I Have the Blues
• Lionel Raynal with B.J. Scott – Paris a le blues
• La Bedoune – Mon ami Jeff
• Froidebise – Est-ce que j’ai tort
• Roger Mason – Le Blues de la poisse
• Francis Cabrel – Comme Blind Willie McTell

👉 Broadcast times on Blues Actu Radio

📅 Friday at 10:00 a.m.
🎙️ Saturday at 3:30 p.m.
🌙 Sunday at 5:00 p.m.