About Clare Free
With four acclaimed albums, extensive UK and European touring, and airplay on radio stations worldwide, Clare Free has carved out a reputation as one of blues-rock’s most expressive guitarists.
A multi-award nominated artist in the British Blues Awards, the People’s Music Awards, and winner of the WRC Award for Best Acoustic Performance, Clare’s music blends raw emotional honesty with the grit and swagger of blues-rock through her unmistakeable songwriting and sound.
Photo credit Rob Stanley
Photo credit Chris Furness
Clare cut her teeth in respected bands including Misdemeanor (with Matt Schofield, Gini Hobson, Maurice McElroy and Constance Redgrave of Spikedrivers). She guested with Larry Garner at the Lugano Blues Festival, and joined Dana Gillespie on two tours, one to India and another as the nightly opening act at the Mustique Blues Festival for three weeks. Later, she joined 99lbs.
Clare stepped out as a solo artist when she released ‘Be Who You Are’ in 2010. The self-penned album, which fuses blues, rock and country, earned glowing reviews in the UK and the USA.
Later that year she released the four-track EP ‘How It Is’ which sold out within weeks. All four of the tracks hit the CD Baby blues top ten simultaneously. ‘Funky Mama’s Kitchen Blues’ went on to reach the finals of both the British Blues Awards (Kevin Thorpe Award for the Best New UK Blues Song) and The People’s Music Awards.
In 2011, Clare won the WRC Award for Best Acoustic Performance, and was nominated for Best Female Vocalist in the British Blues Awards.
February 2012 saw Clare release her second album ‘Dust and Bones’. This album, again written entirely by Clare, earned worldwide praise in the press and achieved airplay around the world. In 2014 Clare released the acoustic, diary-style album ‘Butterflies’. This was only available in very limited numbers and offered exclusively to a small group of fans.
For the next three years Clare toured extensively. She played up to 100 shows a year and built a loyal fan base.
In September 2015 Clare released the single ‘Sniper Fire’ before taking time out to welcome her third child.
She returned to touring in 2017. Her fourth studio album 'Where Are You Now', mastered at Abbey Road Studios, was released in 2020. It became the 20th most-played album of 2020 in the IBBA chart. This was followed by two singles, ‘Call Trade Descriptions’ (2021) and ‘I’ll Never Love Again’ (2021).
In 2025, after requests from fans, Clare released the album 'Butterflies' to the wider public. In keeping with its personal diary-style nature, it is only available on CD.
Photo credit Marie-Dominique Fache
Photo credit Paul Telford-Dinsmore
Clare’s music has been played on BBC Radio 2, BBC Three Counties, BBC Oxford, BBC Radio Cambridgeshire, BBC Radio Norfolk and numerous international online radio stations. She has been featured in Guitar and Bass Magazine, PlayMusic Magazine, Gear Magazine, Blues in Britain, Blues Matters, Classic Rock Blues, Blue Monday Monthly (USA), Blues News Norway, Guitar International Magazine and more. She has also made countless live radio appearances.
Her festival credits include Skegness Rock and Blues Festival, Maryport Blues Festival, Upton Blues Festival, Blackburn Blues Festival, Broadstairs Blues Bash, Hebden Bridge Blues Festival, Scunthorpe Blues Festival, Beer Blues Festival, and Gouvy Jazz and Blues Festival (Belgium).
With a catalogue defined by authenticity, passion and emotional depth, today Clare continues to evolve as a guitarist, songwriter and performer. Whether plugged in and playing with her band, or in her intimate acoustic performances, her music remains unmistakably her own.