Darren Watson is one of New Zealand's most original & unique blues voices. In a career spanning almost three decades he has recorded and released music that has gained both critical and commercial success on his own terms. As leader of legendary '80s Kiwi blues band Chicago Smoke Shop, and as a solo artist he has toured with numerous blues music legends and worked alongside a few too. He's had multiple NZ Music Award nominations, and been a winner in the prestigious International Songwriting Competition several times. 

Prestigious US magazine Blues Revue says: 
"New Zealand's Darren Watson has crafted a beautiful album in Saint Hilda's Faithless Boy (Red Rocks Records), a set of backward-looking (but by no means retro) blues recorded with a bracing, contemporary sonic treatment. Watson pops his guitar strings like Johnny 'Guitar' Watson on She Got It All, mines soulful, Robert Cray territory on Love Is An Ocean, and channels Howlin' Wolf in full, stomping intensity on A Desperate Man. Dig the swampy roots-rocker He Don't Love You, the serpentine The Bitter Suite, and the acoustic slide reading of My Love Will Never Die - leagues from Otis Rush's original stylistically, right there emotionally. Watson's hearty vocal approach sounds utterly honest. The supporting cast is superb." 

"Saint Hilda's Faithless Boy gets better each time I listen to it." 
- Bill Mitchell, Blues Bytes, USA 

"This is world class. We are lucky to have him. More people should know that." 
- Simon Sweetman, Dominion Post 

"A strong, and long overdue album." 
- Graeme Reid, elsewhere.co.nz 

"...the quality of his songwriting and the easy assertiveness of the performances convince." 
- Gary Steel, Metro

released 11 January 2010
Independent