Kan Mikami/Shiva/Ai Aso

An audience with Kan Mikami can be a powerful experience – far more than you'd think possible from a man who performs with just a battered Gretsch guitar for company. Though he's often pegged as a folk singer, Mikami has always preferred to describe his music as a bona-fide Japanese blues, and the term feels like a better fit for his raw, emotive brand of song. The grizzled veteran will be sharing the stage with an equally grizzled contemporary at Showboat this Friday, as he plays alongside '70s folk singer Shiva, with support form the rather more youthful Ai Aso.