Toby Lee (born 27 January 2005) is a British guitarist. He appeared on the television shows ''

Little Big Shots ''Little Big Shots'' (also known as ''LBS'') is an American variety television series co-created and produced by Steve Harvey and Ellen DeGeneres. The series features children demonstrating talents and engaging in conversation with the host ...

'' and ''

The Ellen Show ''The Ellen Show'' is an American television sitcom created by and starring Ellen DeGeneres that was broadcast during the 2001–02 season on CBS, airing from September 24, 2001, to January 11, 2002. It also starred Cloris Leachman, Martin M ...

'', and he starred in the musical ''

School of Rock ''School of Rock'' (titled on screen as ''The School of Rock'') is a 2003 comedy film directed by Richard Linklater, produced by Scott Rudin and written by Mike White (filmmaker), Mike White. The film stars Jack Black, Joan Cusack, White and Sa ...

''. At eight years old he taught himself how to play. He became a global sensation after playing guitar at B.B. King's Blues Club in 2015, when he was ten years old.

Career

Toby Lee posted a tribute video to

B.B. King Riley B. King (September 16, 1925 – May 14, 2015), known professionally as B.B. King, was an American blues guitarist, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He introduced a sophisticated style of soloing based on fluid string bending, sh ...

when he was 10 years old. The video went viral and Lee developed a following. After he gained a following on

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

and on

Facebook Facebook is a social media and social networking service owned by the American technology conglomerate Meta Platforms, Meta. Created in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with four other Harvard College students and roommates, Eduardo Saverin, Andre ...

his career began to take shape. Toby Lee has had 350 million views on YouTube. Lee is now sponsored by

Gibson Guitars Gibson, Gibson's or Gibsons may refer to: Business * Gibson Appliance, a former American refrigerator manufacturer * Gibson (guitar company), an American manufacturer of guitars, other musical instruments, and audio equipment * Gibson Greetings, ...

. In 2016, he played Zack in ''

School Of Rock ''School of Rock'' (titled on screen as ''The School of Rock'') is a 2003 comedy film directed by Richard Linklater, produced by Scott Rudin and written by Mike White (filmmaker), Mike White. The film stars Jack Black, Joan Cusack, White and Sa ...

'' at the

New London Theatre The Gillian Lynne Theatre (formerly the New London Theatre) is a West End theatre located on the corner of Drury Lane and Parker Street in Covent Garden in the London Borough of Camden. The Winter Garden Theatre occupied the site until 1965. On ...

. In 2017 he performed the blues with Ronnie Baker Brooks at the Blues Heaven Festival in Denmark, and the video amassed over 115 million views on Facebook within a year. In 2019, Lee played with

Joe Bonamassa Joseph Leonard Bonamassa ( ; born May 8, 1977) is an American blues rock guitarist, singer and songwriter. He started his career at age twelve, when he opened for B.B. King. Since 2000, Bonamassa has released fifteen solo albums through his inde ...

at the

Royal Albert Hall The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London, England. It has a seating capacity of 5,272. Since the hall's opening by Queen Victoria in 1871, the world's leading artists from many performance genres ...

. Lee is playing on an upcoming

Peter Frampton Peter Kenneth Frampton (born 22 April 1950) is an English-American guitarist, singer, and songwriter who rose to prominence as a member of the rock bands the Herd and Humble Pie. Later in his career, Frampton found significant success as a s ...

album.

has called Toby Lee "a future superstar of the blues". Some refer to him as the "future of the blues". He performed on the 2024/25 edition of

Jools' Annual Hootenanny ''Jools' Annual Hootenanny'' is a TV show presented by Jools Holland and broadcast on New Year's Eve as an end-of-year special edition of his series '' Later... with Jools Holland'' on BBC Two in the United Kingdom since 1994. From the show's ...

Awards

*Young Blues Artist of the Year at the UK Blues Awards (2018) * Bob Harris Emerging Artist Award at the UK Americana Music Awards (2025)

Albums

*EP "10" (2017) *''Aquarius'' (2021) *''Icons Vol. 1'' (2022) – covers album *''House on Fire'' (2024)

References

External links

Official websiteToby Lee playing with Ronnie Baker Brooks
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lee, Toby 2005 births Living people Musicians from Oxfordshire English blues guitarists British blues rock musicians Progressive rock guitarists 21st-century English male musicians English male stage actors English male musical theatre actors