Bands At The Bridge

Organised by Kingston Media – to raise money for Dorothy House and Wiltshire Air Ambulance – the 3rd of May saw Bands At The Bridge come to the Bridge Inn, Horton …

With the sun peeking out and the rain clouds temporarily parting I had the opportunity to head on down to Bands on The Bridge, a mini festival-style event at the Bridge Inn on the outskirts of Devizes. Organised by Kingston Media – in a step away from their usual publicity/catering work – the event saw eight bands and solo performers stretched across the afternoon and evening of the Bank Holiday Saturday, all in aid of Dorothy House and Wiltshire Air Ambulance.

From the moment of entering, you could feel a strong sense of excitement, and although the crowd wasn’t big, they definitely had the enthusiasm side nailed as each of the performers was met with cheers and dancing.  

The first band I had the opportunity to see that evening was Burn the Midnight Oil. They started with a cover of Dreams and soon had everyone singing along, before launching into a set of original songs, which saw dancing, cowboy hats and even people howling like wolves for a short time (there was more context to it than that, I promise!).

Although all songs they played – other than one – were originals, they played them which such skill that without knowing their setlist beforehand you wouldn’t have known that they weren’t just covers of songs that you just didn’t know, which can take a lot of skill to do right. All their songs were great, but I’d like to give a mention specifically to Scapegoat and Werewolf, which were my two favourites of the evening. It was clear their focus was on well played and polished originals, which they were fantastic at and which the audience clearly appreciated. 

Dreamcatcher came quickly next, a band that originally started as a Fleetwood Mac tribute, but their tastes broadened to encompass a load more songs of the same sort of style – although rest assured, they still had a healthy dose of Fleetwood throughout. Their 45 minutes setlist saw a variety of different songs, broken strings and even the sun (for a short appearance, which had everyone cheering) with a main focus on stuff from the 60s and 70s, the sort of songs that everyone would know and have a little dance to.

The Dreamcatchers played well, and despite the small crowds, it was clear the audience enjoyed their material and it fit in well for that kind of event. 

By far the most appreciated band of the evening were The 789s, a Bristol based events band. It’s fair to say they were some of the most skilled players of the evening, with their four-person line up seeing drums, bass, guitar and vocals. Once again, their setlist focused on well-known and easily danceable songs, seeing performances of Come On Eileen, Don’t Look Back In Anger and many more that had everyone excited.

I had a quick chat with their lead singer Ally who said a lot of the songs she enjoys performing are 70s funk and disco style numbers and that that was what she grew up with around the house. Their high energy songs soon had everyone up dancing and singing along and it seemed that 45 minutes wasn’t enough for the audience, after two back-to-back encores at the end of their set leading to a few extra songs, which were just as impressive as – if not better – than the rest of their set.

With their skilled instrumentalists, incredible talented singers and a well-polished setlist I thought it was perfect for this kind of event and clearly the rest of the audience agreed. Ally went on to say that the energy people gave her made it a really fun gig to be playing at.  

The last performance of the evening saw headliner Almost Elton take to the stage. By this point the audience were invested in whatever performance would come next, so he was met with a great reception after setting up a keyboard and mic followed by a quick outfit change into a feathered coat and a not entirely convincing wig.

He had a longer set than others, and being an Elton John tribute act ran through all the favourite songs of Mr John – even bringing some random audience members on stage to ‘help’ with the vocals on Don’t Go Breaking My Heart. It was a good way to round off an event like this, everyone knew the songs, everyone sang along and everyone danced. 

All in all, Kingston Media pulled off an enjoyable event with some fantastic performers throughout the evening. As well as the four I’ve babbled about above I’ve heard great things of both Jane Bennet’s and The Sitting Ducks’ sets (and actually all of the rest of the performers) and was sad to miss them.

Although the crowds were a little small, that is completely normal and to be expected for the first year of this sort of event (and in fact, their first ever event of this type). They had the traditional festival atmosphere nailed and a great venue to go along with it. So, here’s hoping for it to be done again next year, maybe with a bit more sun though?! 

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