Dubbed a future superstar of the blues by Joe Bonamassa, 17-year-old Toby Lee boasts an impressive musical CV.
Toby’s journey started at just 4-years-old when his grandma bought him a yellow and green ukulele. This little instrument went everywhere with him, and he played it constantly – mainly tunes by Elvis and Buddy Holly.
When he was eight, he got his first electric guitar for Christmas while staying at a hotel in Cornwall. By chance, staying at the same hotel was Mick Box from Uriah Heep. Mick gave Toby some great advice and some picks and from that moment, Toby knew exactly what he wanted to do when he grew up!
Toby spent a year playing the role of Zack Mooneyham in the original Andrew Lloyd Webber West End production of School of Rock the Musical. He won an Olivier Award for “Outstanding Achievement in Music” with School of Rock. “It’s a long way to the top if you wanna Rock n Roll” but Toby is definitely living the dream.
He has appeared on many TV shows around the world including TFI Friday twice, LittleBig Shots USA, Spain and the UK, Comic Relief, Michael McIntyre, The X Factor, Ant and Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway, Blue Peter and Tonight at the London Palladium where he performed with McFly.
He jammed with Ronnie Baker Brooks at the Blues Heaven Festival in Denmark and the video went viral with over 115 million views. Toby now has over 400 million views on social media.
Toby represented the UK at the 2018 International Blues Challenge in Memphis – later that year he was announced as the Young Blues Artist of the Year at the UK Blues Awards. He was also featured in a television documentary called Child Prodigies. In 2019, he was flown to Los Angeles to appear on the Ellen Degeneres Show, where he performed and was interviewed by Ellen.
Toby has shared the stage with a host of stars including Buddy Guy, Billy Gibbons, Peter Frampton, Slash, Lukas Nelson, Kenny Wayne Shepherd and has appeared alongside his hero, Joe Bonamassa at the Royal Albert Hall.
Toby has been a Gibson Artist since the age of ten and is endorsed by Blackstar Amplification and D’Addario Strings.