About

Rory was born in 1996 and spent the first six years of his life just outside London, in a small place called Warlingham in Surrey. In 2002 he moved to Shropshire, about 50 miles west of Birmingham.
He was brought up within earshot of his dad’s blues and funk roots and quickly established an understanding of these music genres, whilst delving into the arts of punk, rock, hip-hop and everything else in between along the way.
At eight years old after a brief stint learning guitar, he turned his attention to drums and quickly took to the rhythm and beat of this instrument. Rory took lessons until he was 16 and sailed through his grades with distinctions.
At 14 he joined his first band, 2point0, who had moderate success in and around the Shropshire area with their modern punk sound. In 2014 he teamed up with singer Lauren Scarlett and piano player Matt Bell and formed a blues/funk band called The Paprika Blues Band. The band quickly became well established in the West Midlands with their polished sound and have played pubs, clubs and festivals across the country. The summer of 2016 saw them tour Cornwall to great acclaim.
At 18 Rory discovered the sound of the harmonica. After quickly grasping the basics of the harp he brought that into his performance and now plays it live on several songs.
Rory also occasionally drums for Cornwall’s biggest blues/funk band, The Big Sets.
His influences include: The Rolling Stones, Muddy Waters, Harmonica Slim, Brownie McGhee, Maceo Parker, Wax, Chris Barber, Stiff Little Fingers, Toots & the Maytals, The Black Keys and a whole lot more!

the big sets - get down with you