Ben and Tom Waters bring boogie-woogie to Minack Theatre

A stage best known for open-air Shakespeare and clifftop sunsets is about to sound very different. On Minack Theatre‘s stage on Friday 25 September, barrelhouse piano and wailing saxophone take over for a night built entirely on rhythm, courtesy of a father and son who have spent years touring the world together.

Decades on the boogie-woogie circuit

Ben Waters is one of Britain’s most celebrated boogie-woogie and blues pianists, known for performances built on energy, humour and old-school rock ‘n’ roll spirit. Over a career spanning decades, he has shared stages with some of the biggest names in music, among them Jerry Lee Lewis, Chuck Berry, The Rolling Stones, Ray Davies and Jools Holland.

The saxophonist who left school to tour the world

Joining him is his son, saxophonist Tom Waters, whose musical education began on the road rather than in a classroom. Tom started playing saxophone at eight years old and was performing alongside some of the greats of rhythm and blues while still a child. By thirteen he had left traditional schooling altogether to tour full-time with his father, and together they played around 900 shows in 52 countries over three years.

Tom went on to graduate from the Royal Academy of Music and has since built a career of his own, working across jazz, rhythm and blues, funk, Latin and soul.

Foot-stomping piano meets soaring saxophone

Expect plenty of spontaneity as father and son bounce off one another on stage, Ben’s decades of experience meeting Tom’s youthful energy and versatility. It is a show built as much on their relationship and shared sense of fun as on the musicianship itself. The Minack’s dramatic clifftop setting overlooking Porthcurno Bay has hosted everything from Shakespeare to opera, and for one night in September it makes room for the enduring pull of blues, boogie-woogie and rock ‘n’ roll.

Getting tickets

Ben and Tom Waters play the Minack Theatre on Friday 25 September 2026. Tickets are priced from £12 to £36 and are available from the Minack Theatre.