Huddersfield Blues Club & Smile Bar & Venue Presents Howlin Mat

Howlin’ Mat is a solo BLUES musician who has performed 1000s of shows all over the world. His escapades include him opening for the Happy Mondays, jamming with a Berber tribe in the Sahara desert and spending an evening with Led Zeppelin legend John Paul Jones on an Island 130 miles inside the Arctic Circle in the middle of winter.

When Mat was introduced to the Cigar Box Guitar [CBG], it was love at first sight and has now become a staple of all his shows. He is now acknowledged as one of the UK’s foremost performers of this amazing instrument. As with every devotee, it wasn’t long before he started to make his own cigar box guitars. In the following years, Mat combined his enthusiasm for the instrument with a genuine desire to encourage other people to ‘join the revolution’. 

The ‘Cigar Box Social’ was born in 2024 and has become a smash hit. He now runs countless workshops with rave reviews and runs stalls at events all round the country. In 2026, Howlin’ Mat introduced a new phase to his cigar box guitar journey, which sees him move into talks to groups of would be Cigar Box Guitar players. He covers the origins of the Cigar Box Guitar and discusses some of the key players on the scene at the moment. He then introduces a wide variety of cigar box guitars and offers playing tips. This is followed by a demonstration of how to make a simple cigar box guitar. And concludes with making a slide from a wine bottle.

Doors open at 7pm

Please note, unless otherwise stated all shows at Smile Bar & Venue are sold as standing only. We have limited seating which is available on a first come basis.

WE ARE A CASHLESS BAR, WE ACCEPT CARD PAYMENTS ONLY.

(No refunds will be given unless the event is cancelled & tickets are none transferable)