Band

Highway 491 play their own tunes and old-school blues the only way they know how:
With energy, intensity and raw, exciting enthusiasm.

The Beginning 2012-2014

Evolving from a weekly jam session in 2012, by 2014 they’d become a raw Blues duo featuring Cameron Arndt on guitar/vocals and harmonica, and Alex Dick on drums. They played live stages throughout Scotland that year, and released their 5 track EP, Extended Play in September.

2015-2016

The band returned in 2015 with an expanded 3-piece line up featuring Garry Murrie on bass. They released a video/single, Four Days In New York City – filmed on location in NYC (and Bathgate!) – and played shows across the country including a maiden appearance at the legendary King Tuts Wah Wah Hut in Glasgow.

2017

2017 saw a bit of a shake up in the band, with Jamie Slattery arriving on bass and vocals in time to contribute to the new record. In The Loop – The Acoustic Session was released in September and features 9 tracks recorded over three sessions with a varying cast of musicians. It’s rough, it’s raw, and it’s exciting! Check out some reviews of the new CD and other stuff below! Cameron took the record on the road with two successful solo tours of Europe, taking in over 20 gigs in 8 countries.

2018

In 2018 further great musicians joined the band, with drummers Chris Gardner (IKARI) and Chris Small (Red Pine Timber Co) both playing shows with Cameron and Jamie. June, meanwhile, saw the band invited to play King Tuts for a third time, this time supporting the awesome Fantastic Negrito from California. Cameron was joined by The Naked Feedback’s Derek Whiteford and Jack Oliver (drums & bass respectively) and Taped Live’s Leo Barrie (guitar) for the gig – Highway 491’s first ever as a four piece.

2019

In January 2019 the band released their full-length debut album, ‘These Places, In This City.’ After a successful string of gigs with the four piece line-up in mid-2018 the time seemed right to hit the studio. Recorded in October 2018 at Ice Breaker Studios in Perth, Scotland with producer David MacFarlane, Cameron, Leo, Derek and Jack were joined by special guests Chris Small and Bob Fridzema on a track apiece. The album was released 11th January 2019 and celebrated with a launch gig at Dreadnought Rock in Bathgate. Find out more about the album, listen to the record and order it on CD/download on this page.

Later in the year Cam relocated to Germany, but returned to play in Glasgow with the band in the summer, before further gigs in Bathgate and a solo support for Big Boy Bloater at The Ice Box (Glasgow) before Cam and Leo undertook a mini-tour in Germany with 4 gigs in 4 days in the Cologne region.

Interviews/Reviews

Review: ‘These Places In This City’ album review by Blues Enthused (Dec 2019)

‘Blues may be their roots, but it feels like they’re being pulled towards something more outside the box’ Iain Cameron of Blues Enthused.com takes a listen through the album from The Record with it’s ‘jungle drums, hoots of harp, ominous bass and bleeping guitar’ to the ‘appealingly counterpointed guitar riffs’ of A Lie Agreed Upon.

Review: ‘These Places In This City’ album review by Off The Record (Dec 2019)

As well as the versatility of each of the artists, Highway 491 shows off the sheer prowess of their musical abilities throughout. This is an exciting and strong album release’ Off The Record checks out and review’s our record!

Review: Highway 491 at King Tut’s, Glasgow by Dean Anderson (May 2018)

‘The most explosive line up to date’ says Dean Anderson in his review of our gig supporting Fantastic Negrito at the legendary Glasgow venue.

Review: In The Loop CD Review by Rock And Roll Traffic.com (Aug 2017)

Chris Small for Rock And Roll Traffic calls it ‘a very impressive record with catchy riffs, great attitude and songs that will leave you humming them all day long.’ Read on!

Review: In The Loop CD Review by NHC Music (Oct 2017)

NHC’s Thomas Neil on the song In The Loop, ‘I like this track a lot, it’s a good opening number and serves well as the title track of the album, If I’d heard only this song from the group it’d have me looking for more. You get a real live performance vibe from these tracks.’ Read on!

Review: Live at The Vale, Glasgow (April 2015)

Review of our Glasgow show for the 4NYC single launch, also featuring The Rag N Bone Man & The Black Denims (by Miff Morris)

Review: Live at NHC Music (Jan 2015)

Cool review and pics of our second instore session at the NHC Music Store (by Miff Morris)

NHC Spotlight Interview (Nov 2014)

Interview with NHC Glasgow: This is what we’re about, and what we’re up to!