But Ash Grunwald was up for it, and so were the punters at The Junkyard. Neither party was disappointed.

Given how the pandemic has smothered the life out of the live music scene, it was a flicker of optimism that we are closer to returning to normal.

For Grunwald, with nearly two decades of gigs and nine albums to his name, it was truly a return to his roots. And he was enjoying it - relaxed and engaging, and in good form.

Over the course of 90 minutes, Grunwald played a tasty mix of tunes from his extensive original songbook, pulling half a dozen from his Anthology (released in 2020), and a few from his collaboration last year with Josh Teskey (including Ain't My Problem, Something With Feel and Low Down Dog), and a few selective covers.

A blues man he may be, but he's a distinctly Australian breed.

He draws from subject matter right in front us frequently, like It Rained, a new tune from his Josh Teskey album, all about the rain on the North Coast where he lives. As he sings: "It rained and it rained 'til I thought it would never stop coming down."

Or Take The Drop, a surfer's blues tune if ever there was one. It's an oldie but a goodie for Grunwald. He told the audience he had hit the waves at Crescent Head on his way down, and Newcastle, with plans for another surf on Thursday.

The loose set included taking song suggestions from the crowd, which led to a blistering version of Goin' Out West, as well as Low Down Dog, Money and Breakout.

His cover of Voodoo Child near the end of the show was probably the greatest crowd pleaser.

About those covers, a great blues tradition; he pulled out a very funky "baritone" guitar to play Human, by Rag'n'Bone Man; and threw in a searing rendition of Howlin' Wolf's How Many More Years about 10 minutes later.

His guitar skills are intense, beautiful, a sight to behold. His vocals just as wondrous, in their own right.

Grunwald has taken to the road in a new van, with shows in NSW this week, Victoria in March and Bluesfest at Easter.