Author: Darren Worrow

Riot Grrl in Devizes? Steatopygous Release Demo

Featured Image: Kiesha Films

In times of pain or stress cats mimic the cry of a human baby to best attract attention. You may not like it, but if you donโ€™t address the situation and aid the pet, you are unfortunately part of the problem. Riot Grrrl is a subcultural movement of anti-punk feminism deriving from the USAโ€™s northwest in the nineties, which, like it or not, has found a new resting place in Devizes thanks to rising teen band Steatopygous…and with a debut demo, theyโ€™re rightfully attracting attention too.

Not Devizes you may whimper, our affluent yet insular market town steeped in tradition, where the most commonly reported crime during October this year was violence and sexual offences, more than double the second on the list, this anti-social behaviour we’ve got a bee in our bonnets about? Seems a rather apt location for youthโ€™s screams of anger and frustration at the inequality of patriarchy to me.

Dealing with issues facing youth, our townโ€™s newcomers, riot front-grrrl Poppy Hillier, bassist Eliza Brindle and drummer Ewan Middleton may well have facetiously named their band after an accumulation of fat on the thighs and/or bum, but their musical subjects are far from ironic or amusing. Neither are they the female answer to NRWO, with their blithe and amicable indie-pop style. This is artistically righteous, a freedom of expression, and just like the catโ€™s meow, you’d better take heed.

Stalwart support act at Trowbridgeโ€™s Pump, a venue dedicated to hosting the upcoming, whereby I saw them first, in June, despite our much younger reporter Flo singing their praises prior, when headlining Devizes Youth Action Group gigs. Steatopygous delivered varying themes there, such as one song on the crisis in Gaza. But the two tracks released on this demo, recorded by Kieran Moore at Komedia, concentrate on matters closer to home and traditional to the ethos of Riot Grrrl; boys taking advantage of a male-dominated world.

Cassowary, a bird with unusual reproduction behaviour which sees the male tend the egg while the female seeks other mates, is the metaphoric name for perhaps the most composed tune of the two. With archetypal driving drums and laden guitar it’s short, fiery and in your face, but perhaps not so aggressive as the other tune, Little Boy, which is a style-defining peach. Angry and unabashed, it takes no prisoners.

Image: Kiesha Films

It is the screech of utmost exasperation, the deliverance of cries typically bottled or only released alone. And therein lies the brilliance and reason of Steatopygous, this erudite anti-sensitive artistic licence opens a matured eye to the vexations and anguish of youth, particularly identifying the uneven game of love and all its sordid undertones. Or if you fall into the category subjected and victimised by the behaviour expressed so poignantly by Steatopygous, theoretically thereโ€™s the emotive response of identifying with it and not feeling alone with your troubles.

This is thunderously original and raw, daring samaritan punk, released on Trowbridgeโ€™s cassette label Sketch Book Records, which if it honours anything, itโ€™s this wholly DIY ethos of Riot Grrrl, and though will remain niche, is something you cannot ignore; phew, I might need a little lie down now!!

Merch at Bandcamp. Instagram. Spotify.

They support Perennial at the Pump on 7th December.

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Chandra Likely To Go Boom!

Buzzwords, like โ€œturbo,โ€ or โ€œsonicโ€ are cliche, overused trends which gain popularity because they sound impressive, even if they are empty of meaning. Iโ€ฆ

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Hedge Monkey Returned Techno Faithfully and Soulfullyโ€ฆ. in Westbury!

Somewhere just outside Westbury a sizable barn hosted the most memorable new year’s eve raves in the mid-nineties, but Iโ€™d never have imagined then, that thirty years later I’d be saying I went out raving in Westbury last night, but I did, sort of!

Attendees at the Westbury Conservative Club yesterday willingly admitted not a lot happened here, but none I badgered about it, Uncle Albert style, seemed to recall any of the raves, nor can I find any record of them online. It is not all in my warped imagination, honest, that I recall a rumour circulating one year that Altern 8 played a live PA. They may have done, but with hazy recollections, my matured mind must consider the very real possibility it could’ve been any number of random nutters dressed in illuminous bodysuits and dust masks, probably was, and no one wouldโ€™ve been any the wiser if it was!

No one there at the time gave a hoot if Altern 8 played or didnโ€™t, it was never an era for live music, (it wouldnโ€™t have been โ€œliveโ€ music anyway,) it was all about DJ culture. Likewise, events for rave die-hards today mostly rely solely on DJs, unless youโ€™re lucky enough to trek to festivals or city gigs from bands like Orbital. That is, not to discredit them, even those who combine cheesy raves with soft play centres, just to say, when local trance-techno collective Hedge Monkey organise something of a reunion, or comeback gig in an era geared more toward actual live music, with instruments and everything, it was something matured, proper, and fantastically different.

โ€œWe were a band years ago,โ€ singer Lou Cox explained for our preview piece, โ€œeven played Glastonbury festival twice! But this was before social media, really. Iโ€™ve been recording music with Jase the whole time, but we never did anything with it. Just recently we decided to get it all back together and itโ€™s been fab, so we decided that we need to have a comeback gig!โ€ Both Jase, the main man at the control tower of Hedge Monkey, and Lou, were que sera sera on what the gig indicated for the future of the band, but based on what I and a packed club of devoted fans, friends and family of the collectiveโ€™s members witnessed, I sincerely hope thereโ€™s more to come.

It was, in technical jargon, banginโ€™. If weโ€™re at the boundary for the westcountry penchant for crusty trance-techno, historically bands emerged from it, like Eat Static, tended to knock out endless layer-building electronic beats, chuck a few samples in and tick them off as a job well done. Not that thereโ€™s anything wrong there, itโ€™s the beats and bass entrancing the crowds and hence giving the subgenre its name, but as a collective Hedge Monkey brought out multiple female singers, who did their parts and returned to the dancefloor with their friends, and a real drummer, with a real drum kit, and these elements gave it body and soul, something I feel often overlooked from the ambience of techno.

Alongside the archetypal gorgeous, plodding basslines of trance it was experimental too, with dubbed rises and delays akin to what Norman Cook later brought to the breakbeat party, but with a squeaking overlay of wobbly 808s it held tightly to acid house, the root of it all. But to repeat myself, for itโ€™s worth noting, each singer brought their own styled vocals to the melting pot, one even brought alto choral tones, and the drummer watching the tempo,  Hedge Monkeyโ€™s sound is unique, as if striving to make the subgenre formulated to traditional pop music templates without rejecting its roots. At one point interpreting Nina Simoneโ€™s Feeling Good, at most though, original compositions which wouldnโ€™t look out of place when LFO and 808 State ruled the day.

Needless to say, without intoxication, as Iโ€™ve matured way past all that, and even booze was off the cards being I drove, I still felt the irresistible urge to shake my thang to this like the noughties never happened! There was a communal, reunion feel to the gig, without cheese, glowsticks, and the poorly researched assumptions of what symbolised the rave epoch, and though not part of that and alone, by the end I made temporary friendships in the manner the rave scene has always advocated, and this besides the sublime sounds, blessed the party with vibes of yore; top one, nice one, and all this grandad needed to be sorted was a nice cup of tea and cheese toastie when I got home! 

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Only The Brave Burn The Midnight Oil

Hurrah, at last! Only The Brave is the debut song from Burn The Midnight Oilโ€™s revised lineup; something Iโ€™ve been anticipating since watching them rehearseโ€ฆ

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Fun Lovinโ€™ Criminals to Headline Minety Music Festival

A Scooby snack-sized pinch punch, first day of the month came from Minety Music Festival this morning upon announcing their headliner for 2025, The Fun Lovinโ€™ Criminalsโ€ฆ.

Set for the weekend of 3rd-6th July, the Saturday will see those infectious Fun Lovinโ€™ Criminals headline the mainstage with their blend of cinematic hip-hop, rock โ€˜nโ€™ roll, blues-jazz and latin-soul, stalwarts of the New York music scene since 1996.

Famed for the worldwide multi-platinum debut album Come Find Yourself, from which we all remember their famed Tarantino movie sampled single Scooby Snacks, the fun Lovinโ€™ Criminals settled in the UK, performed an infamously raucous set at Glastonbury and have amassed six studio albums, two cover albums, and a triple live album. Their comical tales of music, drugs, crime and existential ennui as parts of life in the neon metropolis rewarded them Europeโ€™s best-loved โ€œcousins from New York.

Exciting news for this Wiltshire festival, but far from the only fun lovinโ€™ thing about it. Yes, they grab some major headliners, but this community-driven, wonderful yet affordable festival supports a plethora of established and blossoming local acts, loads of side activities for all ages, and has this generally superb vibe, as I discovered when I dropped in for the Sunday this year, and felt from the one day alone, Iโ€™d found my spiritual nirvana; most well-organised, carefree festival around these parts by a country mile or two!

Addition: You could also be dancing in the moonlight with Top Loader, headlining the Sunday night at Minety!

Tickets are up for grabs HERE.

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Ignore Grandstanding, Devizes is Open, and itโ€™s as Wonderful as it Ever Was!

For the second week running our desperate local rag The Gazelle & Herod have kicked Devizes town centre while it’s on its knees. We say, no, stop it, it’s naughty, and sensationalising only for paper sales and clickbait; Devizes is open, thriving and a wonderful place to visitโ€ฆ. as it always was.

You can monotonously rant your presumptions on umpteen โ€œBritish nostalgiaโ€ Facebook pages that the country is in ruins and is now not a patch of its former self, because of whatever political faction you abhorrent and blame, or ordinary folk from overseas seeking a better life you take for granted. You can whinge there that shops are closing and the High Street is doomed until youโ€™re triggered in so much self-pity your rose-tinted specs drop into your jug of Chรขteau Cheval Blanc. But, by comparison with the nationโ€™s empty shopping malls and dilapidated high streets, Devizes is punching above its weight. We have a great cafe culture, we have independent shops, we have talented folk putting on theatrical shows and live music, and we have an aesthetically pleasing relatively trouble-free town centre steeped in history and legends.

But the front page this week suggests the fate of Devizes town centre is in doubt, when all thatโ€™s really happening is the Town Council are to include a discussion on the town centre and Market Place, at their next monthly meeting, to see if anything needs improvement; nothing usually comes out of these discussions other than some oversized flowerpots! Itโ€™s not broken, it doesnโ€™t need fixing, and itโ€™s likely the council will conclude this is the case.

Last week they splashed the story of how Police now have powers to issue ASBOs to a few โ€œundesirablesโ€ loitering around the town centre, drinking, all across the front page. Whilst Iโ€™m pleased, of course, that anyone causing other folk troubles will be dealt with, it makes me wonder if itโ€™s as serious an issue that itโ€™s highlighted to be. For whether it is being dealt with, or not, it is still creating a potentially damaging image of Devizes by raising attention to the issue and bringing this false ideology to the forefront of peopleโ€™s minds that the town is Wiltshire’s answer to Tijuana, and if you go there youโ€™ll be mugged for your Greggs sausage roll, which you know as well as I, this simply isnโ€™t true.  

I find myself contemplating if the few people sitting around the Market Place are actually causing as regular disturbances as it claimed. They could be, they equally could not be. Iโ€™ve certainly not seen any more trouble there than any other town centre, not even near it, and therein lies my reasoning to rant on the topic. If you want antisocial behaviour, take a look at how we drive through town!

Every town centre has antisocial loiterers, every town centre has congestion, or problems with closing shops or elements in need of replacing. What are you going to do? Stay in forever, with Netflix, worrying about it? Shop online? When the chain reaction of this is the root to the very problems you fear, the problems media is sensationalising! I look at local town centres and see the same thing happening, everywhere; why the need to single out Devizes when really the problem here isnโ€™t even in the same ballpark as others I could mention, but wouldnโ€™t, because it would be as damaging as the negative image the local newspaper seems to want to project of Devizes?

But the real sour cherry on the doggie doing cake is that this slander could not have come at a more inappropriate time. Right now, Devizes NEEDS your support, shopkeepers, landlords and the community as a whole need you to visit.

Since the terrible fire a few weeks ago and consequently access to the Market Place closed to vehicles from the Northgate side to ensure safety, the town is feeling inevitable repercussions. In light of the tragedy, the majority acted faithfully in compliance, we accepted congestion would increase, and planned our journey times better. But traffic is easing now, in fact the closure of the Market Place at Northgate (which we must add is only to vehicles, NOT pedestrians) has quickened the pace of flow at the Brewery roundabout from New Park Street, despite it affecting the amount of traffic using it and the temporary bus stops. Iโ€™ve said before, replacing that roundabout with traffic lights and a box junction could ease congestion, but what do I know?

We cannot discredit the fact this may be so because less are inclined to pass through Devizes, but mostly I believe this can be turned around once it is reopened, provided negative images cast upon the town are not believed and savoured. Plus, it is more likely because weโ€™ve come to terms that we must all use New Park Street and have applied some defensive driving measures; vital to keep traffic flowing. It is not the traffic lights at fault, rather the attitude we take to driving through town.

The solution to easing traffic is as simple as turning a frown upside down; it is driving with consideration for others, as it will help you out in the end too. I illustrate my point with my journey back from town this morning, at around 7am. Iโ€™m planning to turn right at Shaneโ€™s Castle to take the Chippenham road, but the traffic is nose-to-tail due to the traffic lights at the roadworks on Prison Bridge turning green in the coming into town direction. It is not the traffic light at fault, itโ€™s only changing colour, itโ€™s only programmed to change colour, that is its only function and purpose. Itโ€™s the drivers causing the issue, as not one car would consider slowing to allow a gap for me to turn right, when any of them could have, and this would have allowed cars to travel downhill to the lights. In theory it would not have impacted their journey time, because the traffic is flowing less than the speed limit and any car could have easily caught up with the race in seconds.

But so many drivers cannot seem to see the consequence of this, they are driving in an offensive manner rather than a defensive one; an inconsiderate trait that impacts them too rather than helps. You see, because Iโ€™m waiting to turn right, vehicles are building up behind me, and thereโ€™s only one car down the hill at the lights. The lights turn green this side, and I can finally turn right. Now the cars behind me must decide if they should race for the green light in icy and foggy conditions or be stopped by the light changing back to red. 

Itโ€™s rush hour, and they dive into their cars like headless chickens, with a do or die attitude, running late, because an unexpected frosty morning caused them to have to run their engine for a half hour, to save a spray of de-icer. Itโ€™s an everyman for themselves tenet which will inevitably backfire. I found myself wondering how many people will need to turn right at the junction in the next hour, it is a busy route after all. If each time they do, a backlog of traffic builds up behind it, consequently only allowing a few cars to make it to the lights before they turn red again, will undoubtedly in time cause a domino effect further into town, and traffic will be queuing by eight oโ€™clock, at every other roundabout and junction; QED. So, while the traffic coming into town saved a car length by not giving way to cars like mine trying to turn right at Shaneโ€™s Castle, their actions have found them stuck further down the line.  

You should note, Station Road is now open again, so you can get around the Market Place that way and save yourself a few seconds. Top secret leaked info that one, as while it seems Devizes Town Council has made no announcement of this on their Facebook page, certain Facebook groups with a penchant to ban anyone who doesnโ€™t agree with the political opinion of the admin are the only ones in the know; that is the very same selective and insular โ€œevery man for themselvesโ€ attitude we must avoid as the driving like a muppet one, if we are to paint a better picture for our town than the journalists are delivering for sales.

For while yes, perhaps these news items need to be published, thereโ€™s no need for them to be lead stories splashed across the front page when thereโ€™s plentiful positive stories with feelgood factors, locally, of more importance and interest. So, put them inside the paper, small mentions, and counteract them with said positive news that project all the good happenings in towns like Devizes, because there really is, but youโ€™re not reading about them because all you read about is how bad things are, and that is damaging everyone struggling to uphold a business here.

Just stop, slow down, consider the lilies, consider each other! It’s the Winter Festival tomorrow, lantern parade, Christmas market and lights being switched on. No doubt you will be in the Market Place, enjoying the festivities, drinking mulled wine, but will you be back next week, believing what you read and frowning at the few folk drinking there?! Or will you say, โ€œyou know what? In the grand scheme of things, Devizes is a great place to live,โ€ avoid media persuasion and general silliness, drive with consideration, shop here, doing your bit to make it so? Devizes is open, thriving and a wonderful place to visitโ€ฆ. as it always was.

Jolly good show, carry on….

JP Oldfieldโ€™s Advent Cellar Session Videos

Itโ€™s been a busy season for Devizes musician Josh Oldfield. Since our chat early in October his name has been propping up everywhere across our live music circuit. Over the past few weeks heโ€™s been busy putting together “the cellar session,โ€ an hour long live video of covers and a few originals, just in time for Christmasโ€ฆ.

โ€œBasically, it’s my TV Christmas special!โ€ Josh joked, as heโ€™ll be releasing one video of each song from the session every other day on YouTube from the 2nd of December, with the final upload arriving on Christmas Eve. โ€œThink of it as a bit of an advent calendar!โ€ he said.

โ€œThe idea of the Cellar session was to put on a DIY live lounge with no frills or major edits in an attempt to recreate the live environment as much as possible,โ€ he explained. โ€œA lot of work and countless hours have gone into this and hopefully youโ€™ll enjoy the end result as much as I enjoyed making it.โ€

JP Oldfield plays the Sunday sessions at The White Bear on 1st December with John E Wright from 5pm.

Be sure to subscribe to the YouTube channel, HERE, to not miss the uploads!ย 

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House Music All Night Long: Palooza Returns to Devizes

Purveyors of perfect motion, house music promoters Palooza return to The Exchange in Devizes on Friday 20th December, for its grand finale of the yearโ€ฆ..

March of this year saw the launch of Palooza, a project from two local house music diehards to bring the good vibes of house clubbing back to Devizes, and they succeeded with an unforgettable opening night at the Exchange nightclub. Palooza returns one last time in 2024, and itโ€™s set to be the boldest night of the year as they transform the venue into a dance music haven.

Five hours of non-stop music from 9 PM to 2 AM, featuring a stellar lineup of DJs bringing their unique sound across tech house, future house, classics, and techno, guaranteed to bring the beats and keep the energy high. The lineup consists of Grit, Fashion, RodJ, Alchemy, Sun and T-Rex, the latter Paloozaโ€™s first female DJ, from Brighton.

Doors open at 9pm, when thereโ€™s a happy hour until 10pm with half-price drinks.

The last Palooza of the year promises to be an unforgettable celebration of dance music culture. Whether youโ€™re a loyal fan or new to the Palooza vibe, this is a night you wonโ€™t want to miss! No tickets, just pay on the door.

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Rowdefest 26 Lineup Reveal!

Drizzly Sundayโ€ฆagain. Iโ€™ve just finished designing the poster, so allow me to reveal the lineup for Rowdefest this coming May, might cheer us up aโ€ฆ

Agricultural Appropriation with Monkey Bizzle

There’s no sophomore slump for Monkey Bizzle; prolific in their art, these rural chav-choppers return with a second album, Agricultural Appropriation, only five years andโ€ฆ

Doctor Faustus Sells His Soulโ€ฆ. in Devizes!

Featured Image:@jenimeadephotography Just another rainy Saturday afternoon in Devizes, whereby I watched a profound fellow dramatically sacrifice himself to the devil, then popped to Morrisonsโ€ฆ

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Chapters, New Single From Kirsty Clinch

Okay, so, Iโ€™m aย  little behind, recently opting to perfect my couch potato posture and consider hibernation, meaning Iโ€™ve not yet mentioned Kirsty Clinchโ€™s new single Chapters, released at the beginning of the month, which I should have done. Why, you might ask, is it any good? Did you hear me right, itโ€™s Kirsty Clinch?!

Eloquently sentimental as ever, Kirsty suggests it would make the perfect wedding song, and Iโ€™m inclined to agree, though I had my turn already, choosing Ben E King; for prospective newlyweds though, take heed! This bears all the hallmarks of a breezy country classic from the likes of Dolly or Wynette, with a contemporary sense subtler than Swift, that is, added bass by local legend Pete Lamb, who also mixed and mastered this delicate beauty recorded by Kirsty herself.

It trickles like water, with a loose narrative to be interpreted to suit your dreams too, but if thereโ€™s the opening of a new chapter of thoughtful prose, the character in the song admits to being too young to reminisce on previous chapters. In fact, it has been a few years since past chapters opened musically for Kirsty, her Evolution album was released in 2021. She has been concentrating on Westburyโ€™s Award Winning music school, First Melodies, which she created to coincide with a series of preschool music books. I love this project as itโ€™s perfect for Kirsty, but, itโ€™s a warm welcome back to recording, as this song sure makes up for lost time!

Buy Chapters on iMusic HERE

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Chandra Finds Heaven on Earth

Usually I just write what I think, but if I had a point-scoring system this new single from Bristol-based indie-pop outfit Chandra would tick everyโ€ฆ

Devizes Issues Wants You!

Dubiously biased and ruled with an iron fist, the mighty admin of the once popular Devizes Facebook group, Devizes Issues, is using the iconic Greatโ€ฆ

Who Broke into Joyrobberโ€™s Car?!

Poor Joyrobber, got his car broken into, on his birthday too, but avenged them in song! Requiem for my Car Window is this mysterious characterโ€™sโ€ฆ

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Cephidโ€™s Sparks in the Darkness Goes Live at Bathโ€™s Rondo Theatre

Best part of a year has passed since Cephid released the groundbreaking electronica album, Sparks in the Darkness. At the time I said of West Lavingtonโ€™s musician and composer Moray Macdonaldโ€™s alter-egoโ€™s masterwork, it was composed of โ€œgorgeous complex structures and intense electronic textures,โ€ and comparing it thus: โ€œlike Jean Michel Jarre came after dubstep, as if 808 State created Tubular Bells!โ€ On February 8th 2025, Cephid is coming to life, live at The Rondo Theatre in Bathโ€ฆโ€ฆ

Yeah, so I waffled in the review, from Dadaist Art of Noises to Delia Derbyshire and onto Kraftwerk, but it was hard to describe this album, to convey how technically constructed it was, because while contemporary, we usually associate electronic music with dance music ever since the slapadash rave era. While itโ€™s certainly danceable, it also relies heavily on the ambience of prog and space-rock soundscapes of yore, and creates this timeless classic impossible to pin down.

The show will likely be that rare and unmissable occasion, Moray said heโ€™s โ€œvery excited and a little nervous to announce the first ever Cephid live show!โ€ but that he feels, โ€œlucky to have such a great space to perform in, and Iโ€™ll be using light shows, projections, and more to bring the album to life.โ€

Partner Charlotte is producing the show with Nick Beere on sound. Graham Brown of Grace and Fire and The Paradox Twin will be on percussion and keys, and thereโ€™s a solo support performance by ex-Enidโ€™s That Joe Payne.

Since releasing Sparks in the Darkness, Moray has spent a lot of time explaining his thought processes while producing it, and remixing Kleptocracy, the new single from Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark which charted at number 1 in the Official Vinyl Singles Chart in May. If you’re an OMD fan, or just have the slightest interest in any subgenre of electronic music, this will be an unmissable show.ย 

Tickets are HERE.

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Lady Nade; Sober!

Dry January, anyone? Well, Lady Nade just plunged into an outdoor 4ยฐC eucalyptus sauna for a social media reel. But whilst I’d require aโ€ฆ

Ha! Let’s Laugh at Hunt Supporters!

Christmas has come early for foxes and normal humans with any slither of compassion remaining, as the government announced the righteous move to banโ€ฆ

Rooks; New Single From M3G

Chippenham folk singer-songwriter, M3G (because she likes a backward โ€œEโ€) has a new single out tomorrow, Friday 19th December. Put your jingly bell cheesyโ€ฆ

Christmas in Devizes: Everything Happening From Now Until NYE!

Being as we received a taster of wintery weather to come this week, I believe itโ€™s okay to use the C-word; yes, Christmas!!

Hereโ€™s everything weโ€™ve found to do in and around Devizes, so far, from now until New Yearโ€™s Eve, in addition, of course, to decorating trees, picking all the toffee pennies out of the Quality Street tin, and enjoying watching Hans Gruber fall from the Nakatomi Plazaโ€ฆ.

Do remember though our event calendar is constantly updating, so do keep an eye on it, as more events may well be added when theyโ€™re brought to our attention. And if youโ€™re in another town, check our event calendar for events in your area; sorry you are not included here, we still love you, but thereโ€™s only so many hours in a day!

Lets go from this weekend, but be warned, thereโ€™s a lot to get through. Ongoing photographic exhibition at the Valentina Gallery, opposite SoupChick in the Shambles, ends on 2nd December. 

Thursday 21st November sees an Evening of Mediumship with Psychic Medium Nikki Kitt at the Corn Exchange.

Friday 22nd: Public Living Room is open at the Cheese Hall from 1.30-4pm. John Girvanโ€™s celebrated Ghost Walk of Devizes, takes on a Christmas spin. You find tickets at the Wiltshire Museum website. Queen tribute Qween UK plays the Corn Exchange. Recommended trip out of town: boom-bap legends The Scribes are at the Barge on Honeystreet.

Saturday 23rd November: and thereโ€™s a Sighthound Stroll at 12pm. Devizes Eisteddfodโ€™s Junior Showcase at the Town Hall. The FullTone Orchestra is at the Corn Exchange with an 80s special, so get your rah-rah skirts dusted and ready.

The Sylvertones are at The Three Crowns. The Ben Fletcher Band at The Southgate. DJ Emilo is bringing in the sounds at the Exchange. And for a short trip out of town, I recommend The Killer Circus show at Market Lavington Community Hall, with a double-header of mod-indie, britpop and ska with The Killertones Underground and 6 Oโ€™clock Circus. Or The Publicans at the Royal Oak, Pewsey.

Sunday 24th, The Duskers are at the Southgate for 5pm start, same time, itโ€™s nice to see live music back at the White Bear too; Andrew Hurst kicks those Sunday Sessions back into gear.

Tuesday 26th sees Devizes Lions Bingo Night at the Conservative Club.

Wednesday 27th, donโ€™t forget the acoustic jam at the Southgate.

Thursday 28th – do not miss this, the fantastic Ruby Darbyshire is doing a Fantasy Radio Live Lounge from 7pm at The Pelican. The Last Thursday of each month is also open mic time in the Cellar Bar of the Bear Hotel, from 7:30pm.

Friday 29th is the Winter Festival, on go the lights and Christmas begins officially in Devizes! 

12:00 โ€“ 20:00: Indoor & Outdoor Markets and Creative Installations. Lantern Parade at 18:30. 19:00 is Christmas Light Switch On. Window Wanderland begins and runs until 2nd Dec. Look out for the Cascade Chandelier, in the Shambles!

There will be several opportunities to get crafty over Winter Festival weekend with bookable artist-led workshops. More workshops will be dropping soon, so keep an eye on DOCAโ€™s social media! Willow Reindeer Workshop from 10am to 4pm at the Yeoman Room, Corn Exchange. Sarah Jayne Edwards works in willow in all scales, she made the Sanctuary that appeared on the Green in Devizes 2023. Spend a day with her where she will support you to create your own beautiful willow reindeer. 

All materials will be provided on these creative workshops, no experience needed. Event capacity for each is only 8 people. Participants must be aged 16 years or over. There are 2 free places allocated for low-income participants, no questions asked. If you would like to claim one of these places, please email: info@docadevizes.org.uk  

Elsewhere in Devizes, the fantastic People Like Us are at The Three Crowns, itโ€™s the Pour Houseโ€™s official opening party, and karaoke at the Pelican. Big Plus: itโ€™s panto season at the Wharf Theatre with the opening night of Hansel & Gretel; this is superb, Iโ€™ve seen the rehearsal, youโ€™re going to love it, young and old. Hansel & Gretel continues until 7th December, tickets are sold out, but you can join a waiting list.

Saturday 30th sees a Devizes Lions book sale at St Maryโ€™s Church.

Devizes Outdoor Celebratory Arts Winter Festival continues, presenting ‘Crow’ by Avanti Display. ‘Crow’ is a beguiling, genre-defying, beautifully odd show. It teases us with strange images, magical clowning and bewitching visual images. Accompanied by a live inventive score. Video projections expand their comic and curious world, suggesting ideas both profound and absurd. This is a ticketed event at Sheep Street Baptist Church and starts at 6pm.

Also part of the Winter Festival, from 10am to 3pm, thereโ€™s an Outdoor Market with Music & Street Entertainment, and Makery Sessions Craft Workshops at various times. Porcelain Christmas Decorations Workshop at Parnella House from 10am to 1pm, with Geraldine Francis.

Contemporary Wreath Making Workshop at 2pm to 5pm at Parnella House with Nancy Rose Stott, an accomplished maker, best known for her amazing hats. All materials will be provided, no experience needed. Event capacity: 8 people only. Participants must be aged 16 years or over. There are 2 free places allocated for low-income participants, no questions asked. If you would like to claim one of these places, please email: info@docadevizes.org.uk

Thereโ€™s also a Christmas Wreath Making Workshop at Poulshot Village Hall, not DOCA related.

Groovedream at The Three Crowns. Red Light at The Southgate.

And relax, itโ€™s Sunday, but it is December 1st! Curious Kids: Winter Fun at Wiltshire Museum, Devizes. The Pelican has a winter festival Christmas Lunch. JP Oldfield is at the White Bear at 5pm, the Jon Amor Trio residency at the Southgate, same time, and One More Shot at the Black Horse.

Monday 2nd, find a new open mic session at the Pour House, set up by the one and only JP Oldfield; very busy boy atm!

Wednesday 4th December: acoustic jam night at the Southgate.

Friday 6th sees a new regular acoustic session on Fridays at The Southgate, this week has JP Oldfield, Sammi Evans & Bryan Davies playing. White Horse Opera presents some Christmas Music at St Andrews. Itโ€™s Christmas Mixup night at the Exchange.

Saturday 7th, thereโ€™s a tour behind the scenes at Wiltshire Museum, and another Ghost Walk Christmas Special with John Griven.

The Shudders are at The Southgate. James Mitchell at The Three Crowns. The Coco Club Christmas Ball at the Corn Exchange. Christmas Party at the Exchange. Recommendations out of town, find a reggae night with Knatti P at the Barge on Honeystreet and Ruby Darbyshire at the Woodbridge.

Sunday 8th sees a family Christmas Party at West Lavington Village Hall in aid of Juliaโ€™s House. Sunflower Events Christmas Fair at the Corn Exchange. Christmas Fayre at The Barge, Seend Cleeve. 

Music at the Southgate from 5pm with The Wholesome Soul Trio.

Wednesday 11th, acoustic jam at the Southgate.

Thursday 12th is the second Exchange Comedy Night for The Mayorโ€™s Appeal.

Friday 13th thereโ€™s Devizes Good Afternoon Choirโ€™s Christmas Invitation with Children from Wansdyke School at St Andrewโ€™s Church. Young Curators Club: Mid-Winter Celebrations: Yule and Saturnalia at Wiltshire Museum.  

Saturday 14th: Table-top Sale for Camps International to Peru Trip: 12-4pm at The Wharfside. LECTURE: Digging for Erlestoke by Leigh Chalmers and Dr Phil Harding at Wiltshire Museum. And the opening of a new exhibit at the Museum, Megalithic Connections โ€“ Drawings & Etchings by Dave Gunning, which runs until 22nd Feb.

Christmas Market at Hillworth Park, in which Santa is fully booked, but heโ€™s also at, Breakfast With Santa at the Fire Station! Santa! Hey! I know him!

The Big Sound Christmas Concert at the Corn Exchange. Sour Apple at the Three Crowns, The Worried Men at The Southgate. And Karl Maggs has got the Jingle Bangers in the mix at the Exchange.

Sunday 15th, Wish Tree Gathering from 3-5pm at Quakerโ€™s Walk. Devizes Town Band Christmas Party at the Corn Exchange. And  Manos Puestas at The Southgate at 5pm.

Wednesday 18th, acoustic jam at the Southgate. 

Friday 20th, John Grivanโ€™s celebrated Ghost Walk of Devizes, takes on a Christmas spin. You find tickets at the Wiltshire Museum website. 

Devizes most celebrated house nights, Palooza returns to The Exchange.

Saturday 21st: Barrelhouse at The Southgate. Adam Woodhouse at The Three Crowns, and the Long Street Blues Club Christmas Party with the Thomas Atlas Band. DJ Mike Alford is at the Exchange.

Sunday 22nd is the Tractor & Tinsel Run at the Market Place. Charity Fundraiser with Burn The Midnight Oil, new band fronted by the fantastic Chrissy Chapman at The Southgate, from 5pm. 

Monday 23rd: The Unpredictables at The Three Crowns, being anything but unpredictable!

Tuesday 24th: Spend Christmas Eve at The White Bear, where the one, the only Jamie R Hawkins will be singing a few songs with Vince Bell too.

Thursday 26th: The Last Thursday of each month is also open mic time in the Cellar Bar of the Bear Hotel, from 7:30. We assume this will take place as usual.

Friday 27th: Drew Bryant at The Three Crowns. Twixmas Fun Quiz at The Pelican. DJ Stevie MC at the Exchange for an after Christmas Party.

Saturday 28th: The Killertones Underground at The Southgate; nice one!

Tuesday, New Yearโ€™s Eve: find Soundhog Karaoke at The Three Crowns. Back to Skool New Yearโ€™s Eve Party at the Pelican. The Original PJ & Mister M at the Bear Hotel. DJ Karl Maggs at The Exchange, and NYE Party at Seend Community Centre; Happy New Year!

Thatโ€™s your lot, unless thereโ€™s something we missed? Tell us about it, please do, we can add it, it isnโ€™t going to cost you anything more than being nice to me when you see me next! I hope everyone has been good all year, and wish you all a merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

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Burning the Midday Oil at The Muck

Highest season of goodwill praises must go to Chrissy Chapman today, who raised over ยฃ500 (at the last count) for His Grace Childrenโ€™s Centre inโ€ฆ

St John’s Choir Christmas Concert in Devizes

Join the St Johnโ€™s Choir and talented soloists for a heart-warming evening of festive favourites, carols, and candlelit Christmas atmosphere this Friday 12 th Decemberโ€ฆ

For Now, Anyway; Gus White’s Debut Album

Featured Image: Barbora Mrazkova My apologies, for Marlboroughโ€™s singer-songwriter Gus Whiteโ€™s debut album For Now, Anyway has been sitting on the backburner, and itโ€™s moreโ€ฆ

Butane Skies Not Releasing a Christmas Song!

No, I didnโ€™t imagine for a second they would, but upcoming Take the Stage winners, alt-rock emo four-piece, Butane Skies have released their second song,โ€ฆ

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Local Tech Firm Encourages Shoppers to Think Pre-Loved this Christmas

With Black Friday just a few weeks away, Wiltshire based Blackmore Computers Ltd, is encouraging people to think pre-loved if theyโ€™re planning on buying laptops and computers in this yearโ€™s sales…….

Electrical goods are one of the leading categories of intent to buy over the Black Friday and Cyber Monday weekend (29 November โ€“ 2 December 2024) and while discounts on new products can be enticing, second hand devices offer an environmentally friendly alternative without compromising on quality or cost.

Steve Edmunds, Director of Blackmore Computers, said: โ€œThe second-hand laptops we sell in our e-store often have higher specifications than new consumer-grade laptops because of higher initial quality and performance standards which are required in the corporate world. Essentially, theyโ€™re built to perform and last better than consumer grade laptops.โ€

The UK is facing a substantial e-waste problem, generating the second-highest amount per capita worldwide. Research from Material Focus, released in March 2024, highlighted that ‘UK households are holding onto 880 million unused electrical items and throwing away 103,000 tonnes of electricals, costing the economy ยฃ488 million in lost valuable raw materials.โ€™

Purchasing new tech not only places unwarranted demands on the planetโ€™s resources but poses the question for consumers: โ€œHow do I dispose of the old one safely?โ€

ReassuredIT, a new initiative by Blackmore Computers, addresses both problems by providing a convenient and secure way for residents to dispose of electronic devices they no longer need or want and providing them with a voucher in exchange. The voucher can then be used towards the cost of a quality refurbished laptop from the companyโ€™s e-store. All laptops have been refurbished to the highest of standards and present an affordable option for purchasing ‘new tech’ gifts during a cost-of-living crisis.

For a small fee, old devices can be shipped to, or dropped off at, Blackmore’s secure facility near Warminster. Each device is then securely wiped and either refurbished or recycled. More importantly, every customer will receive a certificate confirming all data on the device has been removed.

“Our focus has generally been on corporate contracts and their need for high levels of data safety; however, the number of households storing old devices due to data security concerns is significant,” explained Simon Barfoot, Founder of Blackmore. โ€œI have always been an advocate for sustainable IT and the work we do not only reduces the amount of tech going to landfill but it guarantees the highest standards of data security. Our team of experts restore and refurbish what we can in order to extend the lifecycle of a laptop or computer and tackle the โ€˜throw awayโ€™ culture. Buying new shouldnโ€™t be the default shopping mindset, and purchasing second-hand in 2024 doesnโ€™t mean having less. Itโ€™s about making smarter choices.โ€

To learn more or to register for the Reassured IT service visit: www.ReassuredIT.co.uk

Westbury Trance Masters Hedge Monkey Reunite For Hometown Gig

If rural West Country had a penchant for trance in the happy daze of the mid-nineties, heady nights of fluorescent-clad crusties with eyes like flying saucers and gyrating like robots at the UFO club down Longleatโ€™s Berkeley Suite, or bumbling around a nearby forest afterparty keeping Wrigleyโ€™s in business, trance-techno, it could be debated, tended to be heavily influenced by German Tekno and of Kraftwerk and Tangerine Dream which predated it, and in doing so, often felt rather soulless when compared to rivalling subgenres spawned from the rave era, of house or drum n bass, but there’s an alternative, Hedge Monkey….

House, jungle, happy hardcore, et al, they all had their pros and cons, but I tended to saunter them all with equal love, as I arrived on the rave scene at its inception, acid house, and if any splitting subgenre related closer to those roots it was trance and techno. Louโ€™s smooth vocal chants on Westburyโ€™s electronic dance music ensemble Hedge Monkey blesses it with something bands like Eat Static lacked, a soulful voice and meaning. With an underlying base of trance-techno of yore, Hedge Monkeyโ€™s engineer Jase cherry-picks other dance music influences and moulds them into the melting pot. If Massive Attack came from rural Somerset, their sway to hip hop might be lessened, and you might find yourself with a sound not so unlike Hedge Monkey.

Being honest, I hadnโ€™t heard of them until last night; I may have completed my rave honeymoon when Hedge Monkey was blossoming. Theyโ€™ve three tracks on SoundCloud worth checking out, two new and one being a โ€œsamba dubโ€ of an older tune. โ€œWe were a band years ago,โ€ Lou explained, โ€œeven played Glastonbury festival twice! But this was before social media, really. Iโ€™ve been recording music with Jase the whole time, but we never did anything with it. Just recently we decided to get it all back together and itโ€™s been fab, so we decided that we need to have a comeback gig!โ€

The comeback gig is Saturday November 30th at Westbury Cons Club, tickets are ยฃ8, from HERE. Thereโ€™s DJs until 9pm, then Hedge Monkey swings on stage. If youโ€™ve a passion for dance music of any pigeonholing subgenre, you should take note of this gig.

Based on the tunes, thereโ€™s more going on than mindless techno stomp, the vocals on the first tune Deeper Meanings, echoes out as 808 squeaks build in layers to a bouncing beat akin to Leftfield. Itโ€™s uplifting, euphoric trance, like Warpโ€™s early days, elements took me back, conjured happy memories of fluffy nuggets like Tuff Little Unitโ€™s Join the Future, (or am I showing my age now?!) which used subtle piano to give balance to the hypnotic ambience. Similar here, actual drum beats, guitars, and vocals give it body, makes it a band, which it is, rather than the sole bedroom producer flouting the usual samples.

The second tune, Lou’s Samba Dub Lung, shakes up more experimentally and contemporarily, dubbing a chemical breakbeat. Thereโ€™s absolutely no reason for Plump DJs or The Chemical Brothers not to spin this one in my humble opinion, yet still, thereโ€™s still something underlyingly faithful to the trance techno of its roots, the dirty little tent on a muddy Somerset field!

Final tune to mention, then you can go take your meds; Turkish E, take us back to trance.ย  Itโ€™s seven minutes of bliss, retaining uplifting vocals, squidgy 808s, shroom-inspired twirls and block rockinโ€™ beats. You know, I might have an efficacious relapse if I attend this reunion-type gig, just try to prevent me from waffling Uncle Albert moments; โ€œwhen I was in the rave,โ€ type stuff! Ruffle your matted dreadlocks, unearth your tie-dye T-shirt from the loft, ignore me best you can, and I might see you there!ย ย 

Devizes Writers Group Win Silver Award

Congratulations to Rosalind Ambler and Paul Snook from Devizes Writers Group…

At the National Community Radio Awards held in Cardiff on 16th November Together!, the soap opera written by DWGโ€™s Rosalind Ambler and former member Paul Snook, and produced and broadcast by Warminster Community Radio, got the silver award in the Arts and Culture section. Paul nobly stepped from merely playing the part of Gary the [โ€ฆ]

A bit of a boast โ€“ we got Silver.

Market Lavingtonโ€™s Killer Circus Show This Saturday

Two of the county’s top retrospective cover bands meet for a double-bill of action in Market Lavington This Saturday. Calneโ€™s indie rock five-piece Six Oโ€™clock Circus have diverse influences to win any crowd, but itโ€™s always conveyed with this affirmed nod to the heyday of mod rock, new wave and Britpop. Swindonโ€™s The Killertones Underground likewise will bring Two-Tone ska classics and new wave punk to the forefront in what looks set to be an awesome showโ€ฆ

Saturday 23rd November, Market Lavington is treated to this one-off double-billed headlining show, at their Community Centre. I highly recommend both bands, you will not be disappointed. Killertones you may recall weโ€™ve mentioned many times before, always a hit at Devizes Scooter Rally, and members Cath & Gouldy can equally engage a crowd at the Southgate, often with the more folk-influenced sounding duo Sound Affects.

Six Oโ€™Clock Circus can also be as diverse, shows at the Three Crowns in Devizes and the Southgate too, always make for a blinding nightโ€™s entertainment, despite differences in the crowdโ€™s demographic, proving we all love to be taken back to a time when music was our lives.

Tickets for the Killer Circus Show are ยฃ12 from here; I hope to see you down the front, giving it some like the noughties never happened!

Congratulations to Chloe Boyle, Fundraising for Devizes OpenDoors

Again we find ourselves congratulating and thanking young Chloe Boyle for fantastic fundraising efforts for Devizes homeless charity OpenDoorsโ€ฆ.

With friends and family she spent Saturday morning selling teddies and soft toys outside Morrisons in Devizes, this time raising ยฃ61.40. But if weโ€™ve featured Chloe before they are usually for her individual fundraising efforts. However, it is in her and her familyโ€™s continued efforts in which Chloe has been a hero and an inspiration, raising a grand total of ยฃ1372.95 so far.

What began as a stall selling her own cuddly toys, has amounted to collecting donations from others, and continuing this amazing work. Mum, Julie proudly told me how the community has got behind this, and led her stall to be found regularly around the area, at our many great events like FullTone, and special occasions at Hillworth Park. If you see Chloeโ€™s stall around and about, do take a look and buy a bear or two! Congratulations Chloe, you are a star!

Hansel & Gretel: Panto at the Wharf!

Images: Chris Watkins Media

It was lovely to spend Sunday afternoon at Devizesโ€™ Wharf Theatre, to see how this yearโ€™s pantomime Hansel & Gretel, is coming along. If my preview is behind me now, or if โ€œoh, no, it isnโ€™t,โ€ Iโ€™m happy to confirm ticket holders are in for a real treat, and those without a ticket I urge you to be as quick as a quick thing being quickโ€ฆ..

Tickets for panto at the Wharf sell out fast every year, rightfully. I believe thereโ€™s only a handful left. It may beg the question why Iโ€™m here to preview it at all, but with our Ian hot on the scene of anything theatrical these days, Iโ€™ve missed being at our communal little theatre. While I may not be so knowledgeable on Shakespeare’s plays, I know what I like, and Iโ€™m smitten for a great panto.

First time panto co-director Karen Ellis, who works with Jessica Bone, told me thereโ€™s a slightly different approach this year. I couldnโ€™t tell, Jack & The Beanstalk was wonderful last year, Hansel & Gretel is going to be as amazing as a gingerbread house decorated with sweeties!

A few sweets need tweaking, Iโ€™m at an early rehearsal, neighbouring seats are occupied with ladders and paint pots. Opening night is Friday 29th November, and with extra dates added the show runs until Saturday 7th December, with matinees on the Saturdays. With professionalism abound from whatโ€™s essentially an amateur production, from my sneaky peek alone, Iโ€™ve no doubt, this show is going to absolutely sparkle and thrill young and old equally.ย 

It was interesting, though, to see the inner workings of a panto developing, the many elements needing synchronisation I wouldnโ€™t have contemplated before now, and the attention to detail to something which might seem somewhat improvised to an outsider. It might be a couple of hours of quality family entertainment to you, but from script, expertly crafted by The Wharf Writersโ€™ Group, to this stage where only a few Iโ€™s need dotting and Tโ€™s crossing, has taken a year of hard work from a thoroughly dedicated group of very talented people.

And the hard work explodes like a supernova. As any panto should, the narrative is slight and loosely based on the Brothers Grimm fairy-tale. The show concentrates on slapstick, corny gags, drag, parodies of pop songs, slight tragedy, and a huge dollop of funny banter and audience participation, with a sprinkling of storyline. Brush up on your children’s TV show themes, anything more might be deemed a spoiler, but I can assure you, youโ€™re going to love it; all these elements are in grand abundance, and it thoroughly entertained me.

Starter for ten, neither Hansel, parts shared by two great young actors, Rory Lee and Tamsin Antignani, nor Gretel, similarly played by Emily Edwards and Gigi Underwood, are the protagonists here, rather the main parts depict an investigating police officer, Buttons, and his love interest, comically named Carrie Okie. The latter is played superbly by Georgina Claridge, also responsible for choreography, and the former, Officer Buttons is sublimely brought to life by Darcey Oswin; both masterful and confidently versatile in acting and singing, they work together like the perfect double-act.

Adam Sturgesโ€™ thespianism flare, with a natural ability for improv makes for the quintessential dame; he remained in character and high heels when I chatted to him outside! Is this the first pantomime dame to have a son, I wondered? Shaken, but not stirred and played by Lucas Dowling.

Likewise, Helen Pritchard makes for an excellent witch, and there’s supposed to be a compliment in there! Lesley Scholes is hilarious as a discluded fairy godmother, and the randomly placed comical duo is supplied brilliantly by Oli Beech and Liz Sharman.

Other singing and dancing characters are cast aptly, with Archer Leigh, Jo Benyon-Tucker, Cathy Chappell, Corrin Bishop, Poppy Lamb-Hughes, Emily Webb and Ben Bryan. It wouldnโ€™t be Christmas without a panto, and even a Grinch like me, after watching just a rehearsal for this early in November, could sense sleigh bells jingling and ring-tingle tingling all the way home!

I cannot guarantee your Brussel sprouts will be perfectly timed to coincide with the turkey, but I can assure you without doubt, Hansel & Gretel at The Wharf Theatre will warm your hearts and send you home smiling from elf ear to elf ear!

But hurry and be lucky to pick up the few remaining tickets HERE.

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No Worries; Worried Men at The Pump

Long overdue a visit to the Pump in Trowbridge, Jamie Thyer, frontman of the Worried Men twisted my arm Friday night and there I was, to witness, once again, these wonderful weavers of sublime blues to rock n roll tapestriesโ€ฆ..

Itโ€™s been five months since I was last here in the legendary pump room converted music venue, and it feels good to return to this friendly appreciation society. Steeped in history of Trowbridge nightlife, newfound energy was, quite aptly โ€œpumpedโ€ into the once adored folk club upon Kieran Mooreโ€™s takeover some years ago, in which diversity was widened by the Sheer Music promoterโ€™s vast knowledge of indie bands both local and international. Iโ€™ve said this before; you can see established big names at our cityโ€™s larger venues, but at the Pump youโ€™ll see the upcoming names soon to be big, thatโ€™s its unique appeal.

Despite the Pump bucking the concerning trend of grassroots music venues stumbling on financial difficulties, its future felt dubious at the beginning of 2024 when landlords of the Lamb, the Wadworth pub which houses the establishment planned to leave. A silver lining was emerging from the cloud when I was last there, Kieran was optimistic after meeting the prospective landlords, who were supportive.

It has to be said, my past experiences of the Lamb was such that it felt like there was a psychological barrier between it and the Pump. A thriving pub, but not interacting with a similar ethos of the venue, like the Pump was a welcome entity only for extra bar sales. But, alerted to the new landlords staging live music in the actual pub too, and hosting Brian Reidโ€™s celebrated open mic nights as well, it seemed like the tables were, quite literally, turning.

Confirming this, I spoke to a few punters in the Pump last night, who had curiously wandered in from the pub, delighted in what they were witnessing, and dammit, if I wasnโ€™t suspicious that the couple leaning against the wall by the actual pump itself wasnโ€™t the new landlords themselves, lapping up the music (I shouldโ€™ve asked rather than make the assumption, but it was loud!)

If it feels like a positive new chapter has opened here, the Pump is much the same visually; if it ainโ€™t brokeโ€ฆ. And who could blame those curious punters and the landlords, when the Worried Men do their thing, itโ€™s something to behold and nothing, as the name might suggest, to be worried about.

Three matured rockers, new drummer I think, doing a show Iโ€™ve seen enough times before to know what gorgeousness I was treating my ears to. With a support act awol they started their journey early, no one minded getting a little extra worried, and Jamie mocked the situation, as he does many elements, in his psychedelic surrealist sense of humour.

A grand night indeed. For anyone not versed on the occasions Iโ€™ve reviewed The Worried Men, here at the Pump, their album, and at The Southgate, hereโ€™s how they throw it down. Yes, thereโ€™s life in covers, Jim, but not as we know it. Renowned riffs and rhythms of rock music classics you will acknowledge, but theyโ€™re woven into an original tapestry, a medley of homages in splinters, where the band interpret and Jamie improvs these wild experimental guitar adventures akin to Hendrix, and dare I suggest it, with equal skill and gusto? Okay, with honesty, itโ€™s not far off that unbelievable benchmark.

On Jimi, itโ€™s a personal favourite of mine when elements of The Wind Cries Mary come into play, but equally, the baby, please donโ€™t go blues of Waters and Wolf, to mellowed Flyod-esque moments of sixties psychedelia, smoke on water, Louie Louie, Berryโ€™s rock n roll finales with farewells to Johnny B Goode, all interspersed with original thoughts, observations and compositions, and a jumpinโ€™ Jack flash encore; itโ€™s easy riding, keepinโ€™ on truckinโ€™ as if the age of the Rubix Cube never happened!

And I call it a tapestry, for they are the most skilled pre-Renaissance medium created by the most proficient embroiderers, and The Worried Men are proof that practice makes perfect. Efficiently if cheekily quoting my own quotes, Iโ€™ve said in the past, โ€œand Morpheus said unto Neo, โ€œunfortunately, no one can be told what the Matrix is. You have to see it for yourself.โ€ Funny cos, I kinda feel similar about The Worried Men!โ€ and upon discovering them at the Gate two years ago, I explained Jamieโ€™s gestures thus: โ€œJamie holds an expression of concentration, occasionally looking up at you through these spellbinding Hendrix fashioned excursions, as if to ask โ€œis that alright for you?โ€ Like a dentist with his tools stuck in your gum, you feel like responding, โ€œyes, fine, thank you doctor.โ€

And these quotes still fit, for if thereโ€™s nothing new to report about The Worried Men show, it doesnโ€™t require improvement. The majority of acts at the Pump are younger, upcoming and to catch them irregularly over time you will see them progress. The Worried Men had their talents honed long before I came to report on them, it is, in a sentence, timeless bliss youโ€™ll never tire of hearing.

The Pump is the proof, locally, the message is getting out there: support live music, and I look forward to returning; just wish there was a late night bus to and fro, because if thereโ€™s one good reason to head for Vegas, itโ€™s their Pump! Check out whatโ€™s coming up there.

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Emo Night: Slash Fiction and The Yacht Club Nationwide Tour Comes to Trowbridgeโ€™s Pump

Sheffieldโ€™s DIY punk queer emo five-piece, Slash Fiction will be at the Pump in Trowbridge on Wednesday 20th November as part of their nationwide tour. A winter-warming double-header with their tour buddies, Londonโ€™s math-emos, The Yacht Club, and Devizes’ own upcoming nu-gaze band Enguun, with Steatopygous drummer Ewan Middletonโ€ฆ.

Comparable to Get Up Kids and The Wonder Years, Slash Fiction, recently released their debut album, Gender, Trauma & Friendship, which Kieran J Moore of the Pump hailed as hisย album of the year. They also claim The Yacht Club are equally as wonderful; โ€œthink math-y guitars a la American Football combined with a Jimmy Eat World pop sensibility,โ€ they said. Four members fighting their guitars, The Yacht Club define their style as Revival-Revival Math Rock and have an EP out called IDTTIARTBWY.

Itโ€™s unusual for the Pump to be open for a Wednesday night show. โ€œThis will either prove that we’re mentalists OR that Trowbridge is great throughout the week, and not just at weekends,โ€ they said. 

Engunn proved a hit at Devizes Youth Action Groupโ€™s club nights in February and June. Our reviewer Florence Lee said, โ€œwhen Enguun went onto the stage, I was simply blown away. They are insane. My ears were in euphoria as soon as Ewan Middleton and Joshua Allen started to bless the audience with their music. As a musician, their ability to capture audience attention and put everyone in a trance-like state of freaking out was out of this world.โ€ย 

Tickets Here, from the Pump Website.

Slash Fiction & The Yacht Club

Ian Siegal at Long Street Blues Club

Devizes is often spoiled for choice when it comes to live music. Swindon folk ensemble SGO at the Gate would’ve been an excellent decision for this Saturday night, and I considered dropping by at some point during the proceedings at Long Street Blues Club prior to the proceedings at Long Street Blues Club, but during the proceedings at Long Street Blues Club I concluded I’d have to be criminally insane to leave nowโ€ฆ..

I might be insane, but not criminally, yet! To a packed house, award-winning, and not one to shy away from jesting about it, UK blues legend Ian Siegal came, saw, and revisited his two debut albums as requested by Long Street Blues Club organiser and Devizes mayor Ian Hopkins, enthralling the crowd; including me.

Ian Siegal is a national treasure, his 2009 album Broadside made MOJO magazineโ€™s blues album of the year, but the theme tonight focussed on his debut album from four years previous, Meat & Potatoes, which received four stars in the Penguin Book of Blues Recordings and paved the way for Ianโ€™s sound, and its follow on, 2007โ€™s Swagger. With the original organist from Meat & Potatoes, Jonny Henderson, and drummer Tom Gilkes, he drove sublime Detroit, Chicago and Memphis blues fusions, authentic and raw, to the forefront of a deservedly ostentatious show. Thatโ€™s how you play it.

I’m not up on these albums, detected a chorus mentioning Swagger, but for the most part, I was simply soaking up the sublime moment joyfully and without overanalysing; too easy to go with the flow of Ian’s sound. There were nods to his influences in splices of covers, flamboyant banter, and skilled compositions. It was, in summary, divine blues. Devizes own, Jon Amor joined him for a couple, and Ian spun blues riffs like they were childsplay.

None of this before the support act, young Ruby Darbyshire, who for the first and last time she played here I called it to be the best support Iโ€™ve seen at the club; itโ€™s a double-whammy line-up tonight. Multi-intrumnetalist, Ruby was blowing her bagpipes for Remembrance in the Brittox earlier. Arriving a tad late due to a bus delay, I noted she was already underway, unusually behind a keyboard. Explaining she hadnโ€™t played piano live before, she made a grand job of it, and returned to her guitar where we know and love her best.

A few originals including her timeless Insomnia, and covers from Ella Fitzgerald and Nina Simone to Rag & Bone Manโ€™s Human, she puts her wonderful stamp on them all, rapturously expressive and soulful. To hear Ruby is a magic Iโ€™ll never tire of, sheโ€™s improved her confidence, which is tricky in this appreciation society, where thereโ€™s the silence of a library while performers do their thing. It may be respectful, but a smidgen daunting for anyone on the stage used to more clamorous venues. But hey, anyone who can make Queenโ€™s Is This The World We Created their own fully deserves the upstanding applause she received, from a matured audience who have witnessed many talented people come and go.

Blues stalwarts at the club may have been in the know much longer than me, but Devizine was a learning curve, and when I began it I had no clue how deep the rabbit hole went, this, what I dub โ€œMel Bush effect,โ€ the town’s association with UK blues. When blues supergroup lockdown project Birdmen became a live show at Long Street a couple of years ago, Dave Doherty invited me and it was my epiphany into how the club was continuing Devizes folk’s affection for the blues. This fantastic eye-opening gig was so due to the stellar lineup, in particular frontman Ian Siegal. 

In its review I summarised him as โ€œthe very definition of cool,โ€ but knew I’d have to expand on that next time, which was when he was a guest at the Jon Amor Trio monthly residency at the Southgate in March. So, the extended version was as โ€œcool on a barefoot Bruce Willis pounding through the glass of the Nakatomi Plaza level, he is the Steve McQueen leaping anti-tank obstacles on a stolen Triumph of UK blues!โ€ 

As a quote I was kinda chuffed with, I thought I’d attempt to recite it when I met him after the gig, but intoxication levels took control, and accepting I’d probably stumble out the word Nakatomi, I only mumbled I compared him to Bruce Willis. He didn’t seem impressed, assuming I was referring to the dire commercial album Willis launched in the eighties, trashing soul classics like Under the Boardwalk! Apologies to the man, for I’d archived that album to the back of my mind and wasnโ€™t referring to it at all!

I hope he reads this so I can correct the tit I made of myself! Because last night’s gig was sublime; I never had any doubts, and my concept Ian Siegal is cool, however I express it, sticks! Plus, of course, there will be plenty of other opportunities to make a tit out of myself, Iโ€™m sure!

As for Ian, he seems to be on a permanent tour, find dates on his website, and news of an new album, Stone by Stone, due in April, HERE.

For Long Street, John Otway & The Big Band arrives next Saturday, 16th November, promising to be something different, and with Billy in the Lowground in support. Then, Thomas Atlas Band plays with Two Smiles, A Bang, and a Legend in support, for a Christmas Party on Saturday 21st December.

False Allegations Against Wiltshire Hunt Sabs About Drone Fly Zones is Unapologetically Reversed By Illegal Hunt Supporting Facebook Group

Due to my real job making regular home deliveries I get to know when folk are away on their holibobs, and when they plan on returning. I could, if I wanted, start a โ€œresidents watchโ€ Facebook group for burglars, to ensure those pesky homeowners donโ€™t return early and cause good honest thieves to be inconvenienced while ransacking their homes!

But Iโ€™m unlikely to, really, arenโ€™t I? Because, even if I had no moral standards, someone is bound to grass me to the police who would force me to shut down the group, and perhaps rightfully arrest me. Perplexed by the audacity and with a lump in my throat, Iโ€™m driven to rant about a Facebook group which Wiltshire Hunt Saboteurs today made us aware of in a post, for the group is not so unlike the bizarre scenario of my introduction; different context, same concept; you canโ€™t make up vindictive stupidity on this levelโ€ฆ..

The group is called โ€œSouth Coast Sab Watch,โ€ therefore I presume thereโ€™s regional others. Alas, it does what it says on the tin, and condones and promotes illegal hunting to boot. So, letโ€™s just run through the concept here, shall we, so there can be no mistaking? Itโ€™s a group for criminal hunters, whether they genuinely believe the baloney theyโ€™re maintaining the natural balance of the countryside, or have a sadistic fetish for animal cruelty (as disgraced former Prime Minister and lockdown party animal, Bojo, enlightened us about,) to keep a beady eye on self-organised non-profit collectives out in the field attempting to curb and highlight their illegal activities, and to inform police of said sab groups, if they were ever to incriminate themselves in the pursuit of such.

Is it just me, or can anyone else see a slither of hypocrisy here?! Reminds me of security guards at a factory I once worked at where smoking was banned, who would prowl the site at night looking for staff smoking, with fags on the go themselves!

Itโ€™s been drawn to our attention because of a disagreement over CAA rules when the Wiltshire Hunt Sabs flew drones over a SSSI watching the notorious Tedworth Hunt. The South Coast Sab Watch claimed it was illegal to do this in a statement on their group, and wasted the rural crime teamโ€™s time with the matter.

The hunt sabs responded, stating โ€œDrone Assist, which anyone can check, confirms that the Kings Play Hill SSSI is not a CAA โ€œnon-flyโ€ area for drones at all.โ€ Seems it was perfectly legal to do this, and as a result, the sab watch group fact checked, and updated their post to admit they were wrong and the sabs were right, there was nothing illegal in what the sabs did. They apologised, but only to the followers of the group, not the Wiltshire Hunt Sabs who deserved the apology, which kinda suggests their motive is driven by hateful vengeance; tell us something we don’t already know!

โ€œWe hear the same stupid nonsense from the Beaufort who donโ€™t understand the difference on the maps between barred areas (red areas) and areas where you can fly with caution (yellow areas),โ€ Wiltshire Hunt Sabs explained. โ€œWhat is an offence, the illegal hunting of wild animals with a pack or dogs on ANY location.ย  Also what can be an offence is the disturbing of wildlife on an SSSI which is exactly what a pack of dogsย  and a bunch of horses chasing them through the SSSI constitutes.โ€

Itโ€™s laughable, should you like laughing at the idiocy of a knee-jerk reaction from barbaric snobs so desperate to twist a narrative, but Iโ€™m like, hey, is no one mentioning the elephant in the room? Probably not, itโ€™s likely theyโ€™d much prefer to be on a big game hunt for some ivory. Look, being the hunters were so quick to pick a potential mistake from the sabs in their surveillance of them, before checking the facts, doesnโ€™t it look rather obvious theyโ€™ve something to hide? On a discussion about CCTV in Devizes, a point was made that this is not big brother, if youโ€™re not doing crime then youโ€™ve nothing to worry about; surely itโ€™s the same thing here?

But, more to the point, if they weren’t suspected of illegally hunting, on the grounds many hunts have been caught in the past illegally hunting, and promote and condone it on their social media, the hunt sabs wouldnโ€™t have needed to fly drones in the first bloody place, you utter, utter numpties! For crying out loud, how stupid can you possibly get?!!

It’s with great curiosity as to the defective mind of a fox hunter which caused me to browse their group, where there’s shockingly blatant posts to admit to and pathetically justify their illegal and barbaric activities.

Starter for ten, they love to highlight this wonky idea that they do what they do in order to maintain the balance of nature in the countryside, which poses the question how this is relevant to what they claim to be doing; legally chasing a tea towel garnished with the fake scent of a fox , that will not affect the balance of nature, only cause disruptions for residents. Ergo, they inadvertently confessed to committing crimes against the hunting act.

They home in on our affections for the lovable creatures like hedgehogs, to play with our emotions, claiming badgers are the reason for their apparent decline. Again, in the decade of my nocturnal outside job, it’s not the hedgehog I see in decline at all, in fact there’s an abundance of them, but rarely do I see a badger these days, and I could count the times I’ve seen a fox on one hand. When I do, they’re generally running for their lives, and I futilely plead to their fleeting shadow not to tarnish all humans with the same Basil Brush; boom boom!

Another post called to arms the might of the hunters when millionaire farmers set out to protest in London later this month, against having to pay their fair share of inheritance tax. Not to open another Pandora’s box here, it simply took to mind they are planning to join in the fun whether they’re wanted there, or not. I mean, does every farmer agree with fox hunting, or will they be like the unwarranted gatecrasher at a party? Humm, I could only answer this one with speculation. History repeating though; when farmers protested over fuel rises in 2002, it was hijacked by pro-hunters who changed the objective to suit their whim.

But what amazes and disgusts me most in equal measure, is how social media groups promoting illegal activities and creating falsehoods against those campaigning against it are allowed to continue. Police should shut them down for spreading misinformation, surely, as they would if they were condoning a different crime.

Again, it seems it is up sab organs like our hard-working volunteers of the Wiltshire Hunt Sabs to call them out. Well done once again to Wiltshire Hunt Sabs, you got them lying, hook, line and sinker! As we move closer to the Boxing Day incongruous pageants, we need and support them as much as we can, so find them here and buy them a coffee.ย 

Wiltshire Music Centre Announces New Joint Leadership

Wiltshire Music Centre is delighted to announce the new appointments ofย Danielย Clark as Artistic Director, andย Sarahย Robertson as Executive Director.ย Danielย andย Sarahย join Wiltshire Music Centre in a new co-leadership model. They will join the team in late January 2025, to strengthen the Centre’s role as a culturalย andย creative spaceย andย Arts Council England NPO for Wiltshire.

Sarah is currently working as Director of Communications and Special Projects at Bristol Beacon, where she led on marketing for the rebranding and reopening of the venueโ€™s ยฃ132 million transformation. Sarah’s had a long involvement with Bristol Beacon where she has worked for the past 17 years and been a pivotal figure in the organisation’s evolution.ย During this time, she has also commissioned and managed transformation projects funded by National Lottery Heritage Fund and was a Clore Fellow in 2021. Sheโ€™s also held positions on a number of Boards as Chair for Shakespeare at the Tobacco Factory in 2021-2023, and more recently as co-Chair at Turner Sims.ย 

Daniel has worked in the arts and music industry for over 25 years as a Creative Director, composer and musician. He currently leads the Creative Programme at multi-arts venue, The Story Museum in Oxford, which welcomes over 60,000 visitors a year and delivers a varied programme including learning, exhibitions, events, and participatory activities. Previously he worked as Creative Director for Libraries Unlimitedโ€™s Evolve programme – an imaginative programme of live music, theatre, film, interactive artwork, and workshops supported by Arts Council England, was Founder and Artistic Director of EarFilms, a company exploring 3D audio storytelling for blind and blindfolded audiences, and Music Programmer for After Dark & Dartington Live โ€“ a series of โ€˜secretโ€™ events and concerts on parts of the Dartington Estate.

Speaking of her appointment, Sarah said, “I am delighted to be joining Wiltshire Music Centre as Executive Director in the new year. It is a special place, much loved by audiences and artists, integral to the local community and with a team who are talented and passionate. I am looking forward to working with new Artistic Director, Daniel Clark, to build on its fantastic heritage, keeping the music and musicians at the heart of everything we do.”

Daniel commented, โ€œI’m thrilled to be offered the opportunity to join the team at Wiltshire Music Centre during such an exciting time. This world-class venue has a rich history and an exceptional, dedicated staff and volunteer team. I look forward to working alongside the team and the community to shape an exciting new direction for the centreโ€”one that is deeply connected to the passions and interests of the people it serves, bringing world-class music and musical opportunities to the residents of Wiltshire and beyond.”

James Wetz, chair of Wiltshire Music Centre added, โ€œThe Board are absolutely thrilled to welcome Sarah and Daniel to the team. Their wealth of experience and passion for the music and the arts, will provide the Centre with the right blend of innovation and expertise needed to shape the next chapter. Working with the team, we’re confident they will both be able to build on our strong foundations and move forward our ambitious plans to strengthen and reimagine our place at the heart of music and cultural life in the South-West, helping to keep music accessible and live for young people and the wider community.โ€

We double, triple, quadruple love Wiltshire Music Centre here at Devizine, and would like to wish Sarah and Daniel all the best for their new venture.

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The Lost Trades Float on New Single

Iโ€™ve got some gorgeous vocal harmonies currently floating into my ears, as The Lost Trades release their first single since the replacement of Tamsin Quinโ€ฆ

Barrelhouse are Open for Business with New Album

Rolling out a Barrelhouse of fun, you can have blues on the run, tomorrow (7th November) when Marlborough’s finest groovy vintage blues virtuosos Barrelhouse releaseโ€ฆ

The Soul Sessions from Bristolโ€™s Kaya Street

In 1985 Tenor Saw toasted the lyric, โ€œanother sound is dying,โ€ in Ring the Alarm. It implied his sound was the contemporary champion, yet while it’s true reggae is competitively progressive, this particular tune’s dubplate derived from the Stalag riddim created by Ansel Collins twelve years earlier, as did Sister Nancy’s Bam Bam and numerous others. I appreciate the ethos of dubplates, for a musician to lay down a track and various singers to interpret it, but favour, if you want a true contemporary champion sound, itโ€™s not to regurgitate existing riddims, but to use past influences to create original composition; the more the merrier! I may have opened a Pandora’s box upon receiving The Soul Sessions EP from Bristol’s Kaya Street, but it’s certainly a refreshing and interesting original soundโ€ฆ..

In a promotional shot advertising their latest single Wild Child, getting spun on Daniel Pascoe’s BBC Introducing show, Kaya Street’s main man, Kaya, is shown wearing a Trojan Records logo on his T-shirt, it connotes awareness of their roots. I beg to differ from their accompanying quote, โ€œlike nothing we’ve heard before,โ€ while perhaps not recently, the fusions Kaya Street experimented with here, reggae, soul, and afrobeat, have indeed been tried before, in abundance.

I could cite bands from Misty in Roots to the Clash, and even Bristol’s own Massive Attack. I could point to the logo on the shirt and suggest many discs sought for distribution by Trojan in the sixties experimented in such a manner; take Lord Brynner’s 1966 single Congo War as one of many examples, or even predate this with the notion mento is rooted from African rhythms. Yet, it’s not the ingredients in Kaya Streetโ€™s melting pot which makes it prominently interesting and beguiling, rather the way they stir it, the method in the composition and production. Either that, or I’m an ageing trainspotter beyond the years of all at BBC Introducing!!

The single Wild Child is an enchanting one-drop steppers march, steeped in conscious vocals akin to Marleyโ€™s Get Up Stand Up, denouncing the violent crime epidemic in the UK.

It’s bravely brassy too. In an electric modern world taken for granted, it will wake you up to the roots of reggae, when brass sections ruled the day, something which trends throughout the EP. Iโ€™m more than happy for the EP to flow throughout like this, but, imagine, a pleasant surprise when the second tune, Alfie proves Kaya Street are no one trick pony.

This is positively alive in an uplifting, paced soukous-inspired sound, while the last song Sway sounds more south than east African; funky township jive, reminding me somewhat of Thomas Mapfumo, with such a saxophone solo to rival Hugh Masekelaโ€™s trumpet, least as near as dammit! The penultimate song Be Mine is more commercially western, the offbeat is slight, the theme is romance, the overall vibe is soul, with its silky backing vocals, and again with this consistent concentration of saxophone.

But the best example to highlight my opening point is Low. Low certainly wasnโ€™t my favourite on the EP, to begin with. It starts very lounge jazz, again with the prominent sax and silky vocals, but then subtly and unexpectedly twists into a dubby rockers riddim, so smoothly I had to rewind just to identify when and how this occurred. This alone caused my first impression to alter from, โ€œyeah, this is good,โ€ to โ€œactually, this is a stroke of genius,โ€ and for me to take it back to the beginning and reassess it.

Kaya Streetโ€™s sound, like anything progressive and experimental, is a grower, it creeps up on you. Thereโ€™s narratives to each song Iโ€™ve yet to analyse fully, but the more you listen, the more you detect an element from this vast melting pot of cherry-picked influences, and comprehend the story behind each, and I love it for this!

Being I was digging into the archives to find examples of similar past fusions, a subject I could chew your ears off about, if Brynner’s Congo War is a specimen to skaโ€™s African roots prior to the commercial blossoming of Rasta, as opposed to the more commonly cited jump blues influence, derived from US troops leaving radio masts in Jamaica after the second world war, try The Paragonsโ€™ lesser-known If I Were You for soul train size. Itโ€™s so funky it could be in the Stax catalogue, and is something Be Mine reminded me of; thereโ€™s so much going on here.

Yet as many examples of where and how the melting pot has been stirred, none are apogees; it takes Jamaican born Bronx DJ Kool Herc to reach that climax, when he maintained the procedures of King Tubby and applied it to funk and soul to appease the multiculturalism of New York, and created hip hop. Bristol in the nineties was a kingpin to pioneering a UK hip hop formula, which returned influences full circle and incorporated reggae again. Kaya Street continues this Bristol epoch, reviving it freshly. The Soul Sessions is a revisit, recorded in three sessions in 2012 at Exeterโ€™s Valvetastic Studios, with prolific award-winning producer and musician Jolyon Holroyd.

If I am to find some niggly, itโ€™s a lack of intro; the songs tend to jerk right in, but I guess itโ€™s because I have the single edits here, and Kaya Streetโ€™s impressive lineup is plentiful to convince me they know the formula to extend and polish. It consists of Revelation Roots drummer Dan Salter, bassist Mark Lee from Hot Dub and Kolo, and that gorgeous sax is provided by Ray Beavis of The Clash, Suzy Quatro, and Katrina and the Waves. Kaya himself has previously worked with dub producers The Vibronics and Dubmatix. Herein is an insight to how the influences meld so professionally, so absolutely sublime.

And sublime is a word Iโ€™ll happily use to sum this up, save me waffling further! The initial project was a limited run of CDs for gigs, now for the first time, they are being remastered and released online. Wild Child was released 1st of November, the rest, I believe, will follow, and you need to be there to hear them when they do; Don Letts is raving about this, so hereโ€™s the socials to follow.

LinkTree . Facebook . Insta .

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El Toro Fundraiser at The Old Road Tavern, Chippenham

Over to Chippenham for my dose of live music this Saturday. I didnโ€™t see any chips nor ham, there were some pasties passed around a lively and hospitable โ€œproperโ€ pub, and whilst meeting some favourites old and new, there were also opportunities to cross some must-sees off my list. It was a fundraiser for El Toro, Chippenhamโ€™s music suppliers faced with a fire which destroyed their premises in July. Henry Ray, the shop owner, completed the eveningโ€™s entertainment with his own band, also conveniently called El Toroโ€ฆ..

But letโ€™s get chronological, for itโ€™s unusual for me to head Chippenhamโ€™s direction for a night out, of which Iโ€™m apologetic to the natives for; unintentional, que sera, sera. Though itโ€™s been widely brought to my attention that if I ever was to tread water in the Ham, The Old Road Tavern, aptly on Old Road, is the best place to bookmark; regulars corrected me that it was, apparently, the โ€œonlyโ€ place.ย ย 

Supportive of grassroots music, home of Chippenham Comedy Club, and Brain Reidโ€™s popular open mic session, itโ€™s akin to Swindonโ€™s Beehive, or Devizesโ€™ Southgate, a tucked away treasure, a promiscuously welcoming and traditional watering hole with a nonchalant ethos; fits me like a glove. That was, after Iโ€™d fussed with parking. Iโ€™m not paying six quid or downloading an app when thereโ€™s free on-street a walk away, though Iโ€™m flustered at the fiasco, hoping to catch Will Lawtonโ€™s set already underway.

Eloquently poised at his keys, without backing from The Alchemists Willโ€™s sound is obviously rawer than usual, yet equally as euphoric and harmonious. It is, undoubtedly, always a pleasure to hear his original outpourings in whatever setup he delivers them with. In contrast to the next act, Chippenhamโ€™s young folk singer-songwriter Meg, whoโ€™s divine and insightful observations are so utterly unique, only she could deliver them the way she does, solo with guitar in hand. Itโ€™s a wholesome listenerโ€™s show, delving deeply and honestly into her psyche, identifying her audience with meditative reflections.

This is all taking place in โ€œThe Barn,โ€ exterior to the pub, amidst a fitting outside area, the Barn is a modest venue with low stage, one comfy sofa and school chairs, in fitting with the causal attitude of the boozer. Again in contrast to occurrences at the Barn, a bulky chap called DD is entertaining the troops at the bar with banjo-led ditties and drinking singalongs of the scrumpy & western variety. And he does so with bells on. The lively bar will be central to the event hereafter, at least while El Toro set up their full band in the Barn.

Sharpie, aka, Ollie Sharp, was up next in the bar. Pleased to catch up with Sharpie, itโ€™s been years since mentioning him on Devizine, as frontman of the now defunct indie-popsters Longcoats, from Bath. We fondly reviewed their releases at the time, but never actually caught them live, so it was good to finally meet him. Sharpie records and tours the local circuit with a backing band, but tonight, being a volunteering fundraiser, heโ€™s solo, still equally as engaging. Fusion of indie covers and originals, Sharpie delivered them with passion and professionalism, adding essential banter and stage presence amidst a crowd of regulars seemingly accustomed to having original musicians play their splendid pub.

The showstopper for me was Harmony Asia Thomas, Chippenham singer-songwriter key to organising this event. Though said regulars appeared to know what they were letting themselves in for; this is her local too. Much praise Iโ€™ve heard for Harmony, seen a rather aged video of her performing in Trowbridge, and have been looking forward to catching her live. None of these fully prepared me, as while Harmony passed off a few technical guitar hitches with good banter in a familiar environment for her, and in the excitement at how well the event had traversed, coupled possibly by drinks sheโ€™d had for Dutch courage, she absolutely held me spellbound! Her guitar is an accompaniment, the thrill is in her voice.

The subject matter of her self-penned songs are defined and thoughtful prose, if somewhat customary in comparison to Meg. They involve relationship worries, and tales of fatigue working a busy bar, yet they are never without an inspiring twist. Vocally, itโ€™s as if Ella Fitzgerald came after Kate Nash. I humbly and honestly declare, Harmony can hit those powerful and soulful notes of jazz greats like Nina Simone, loudly and proudly, expressively and defined, yet it is not without the contemporary twist, accented in the kind of feminine pseudo-rap akin to Nash or Lilly Allen. Delivered so utterly passionately, it becomes a joy to hear her, as she glides through expressive vocal arrangements like they are childsplay.

Harmony is young, with time on her hands, telling me she has pinned an albumโ€™s worth of songs down, which is due out shortly, yet I cannot help but attain high hopes for her after finally seeing her perform; as, if she was located in London, sheโ€™d reach an Amy Winehosue level, at least front a professional funky band. But here we are, in Chippenham, and right now Harmony is rightfully loving the attention. If our county contains these small local circuits in which one may be central in one but merging into others isnโ€™t so simple, I tumbled into a Chippenham one last night, and it contains boundless potential talent, friendly bonds and devoted fans, talkative and lovable crazy ones, but devoted nonetheless!

Once unbinded from the spell, I made my way back to the Barn, driven by the accomplished blast of a doubleheader of Led Zeppelin covers. Are El Toro a Zepp tribute, I pondered, as they appeared to have nailed Rock and Roll and Immigrant Song sublimely? Crowds gathered inside, seemingly expectant of greatness, and as far as pub circuit rock bands go, El Toro is on a pegging way above average. Matured rockers against the plethora of younger talent earlier, felt theyโ€™re doing it for the love, and have been for many a year.

Ah, teasing me in, I reckon, as they then delivered a great original next, which could have slipped into the eraโ€™s driving electric blues scene unnoticed. It was within the hard-rock homage, El Toro shine, simply and effortlessly. Their matchless ability to rouse a crowd was paramount, with comical timing set against a tight four-piece which set the ball rolling by fusing a medley of Lynyrd Skynyrdโ€™s crowd-pleaser, Sweet Home Alabama with Warren Zevonโ€™s Werewolves of London, though they adapted the location to Wiltshire, and plonked in an amusing and unsuspected nod to Will Smith, with Getting Jiggy With It, and the theme from The Fresh Prince of Bel Air, being a prime example; it had quickly become obvious, El Toro wasnโ€™t a Led Zepp tribute, nor tribute to anyone particular, rather legends on their own circuit, who know precisely what buttons to press to create a great night for tipsy revellers, and such it was.

Unsure if donations made much of an effect to the campaign, kind of think now, by the culmination it didnโ€™t seem so important as hosting a lively party in a pub, and the Old Road Tavern is the perfect place for it. Open mics here happen on the last Sunday of each month, 7:30-10pm. Devizes-own JP Oldfield supports those banana washtub bassist, kazoo-tooting boaters Devilโ€™s Doorbell next Saturday, 9th November. Comedy Club is monthly, most weekends thereโ€™s something going on here, and even if there wasnโ€™t, it still feels like the place to be for the mild-mannered, open minded alternative in Chippenham; bloody loved it! 

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What’s Happening During November in Devizes?

Remember, remember, weโ€™re moving into November; leaves, loads of โ€˜em! Being as we are no longer doing weekly roundups, hereโ€™s some highlights of events in Devizes during November, but do pay attention, thereโ€™s lots more listed on our event calendar, from all over our county, and itโ€™s always updating, so keep checking in HERE too!

Daveโ€™s birthday beer festival at the Southgate, for the entire weekend and into Monday. Find Sammi Evans, Josh Oldfield & Gordon Thompson there on Friday 1st, and Courting Ghosts, I believe, are there on Saturday; not sure about the rest, but I think the focus is on the beer; if you can focus on beer! Happy birthday, Dave!

Talking taps, we send our best of luck to The Pour House, taking over the old Vaults in St Johnโ€™s Street, Devizes. Itโ€™s their grand opening on Friday 1st.

On Saturday 2nd, there’s a tap top sale in Couch Lane, we have the Lions Club Arts Coaching Day, and Quakers Walk Community Biodiversity Group are bulb planting and preparing wildflower beds. Sunflower Events host a Christmas Market at the Corn Exchange from 11am to 6 on Saturday, 11am to 4 on Sunday.

While those Roughcut Rebels return to the Three Crowns, and Dave’s birthday beer fest continues at the Southgate, Mississippi MacDonald Band kicks off a long month of gigs at Long Street Blues Club, with Sons of the Delta in support. Isosceles Theatre Company are at the Wharf Theatre on Saturday, with a performance of Murder; Just What the Doctor Ordered. In aid of Swindon & Devizes Sands, thereโ€™s a Back to School disco at the Wyvern Club.

Sunday 3rd, itโ€™s Devizes Fireworks at the Football Club. Jon Amor Trio residency at the Southgate. A concert in Chirton too, see poster below!

Monday 4th, The Opening of the Garden of Remembrance at the War Memorial, 10.45hrs.

Wednesday 6th, the regular acoustic jam night at the Southgate, of course!

Thursday 7th, Devizes Film Club is at The Wharf, with a screening of Finnish film Fallen Leaves.

Friday 8th, Muck & Dunder have a DJ set from Dub Pistol Barry Ashworth. Devizes Arts Festival presents a night of comedy at the Corn Exchange. And The Devizes Eisteddfod opens for Music, Speech & Drama, and runs until 17th November 2024. 

Saturday 9th has the Provincial Booksellers Fairs Associationโ€™s Book Fair at the Corn Exchange from 10am. Stone’s Throw are at The Three Crowns. And while Swindonโ€™s amazing folk ensemble SGO are at the Southgate, The Ian Siegal Band are at Long Street Blues Club with Ruby Darbyshire in support, both unmissable!

Sunday 10th: Remembrance in Devizes. 09.15hrs Muster in the Marketplace. 10.00hrs Church Service at St Johnโ€™s Church. After service Reform in Long Street. 11.00hrs Last Post-Two Minutes Silence- reveille Wreath Laying and Parade Marches Back to Marketplace.

Mr Griff & The Grifters play The Southgate, Devizes, from 5pm.

Monday 11th: Remembrance in Devizes. At the War Memorial: 10.45hrs for The National Two Minutes silence.

Wednesday 13th, sees the regular acoustic jam at the Southgate.

Friday 15th find the brilliant Siren at the Three Crowns.

Saturday 16th thereโ€™s a Mynt Image Craft Fair at the Corn Exchange, from 10am. Free entry and a great range of superb quality products.

John Otway makes a welcome return to Devizes, at the Long Street Blues Club, and Billy and the Lowground in support; a different night for the club, highly recommended this one!

Wednesday 20th, sees the regular acoustic jam at the Southgate. Devizes Flower Club is jingling all the way to the Corn Exchange.

Thursday 21st and thereโ€™s an Evening of Mediumship with Psychic Medium Nikki Kitt at the Corn Exchange.

Friday 22nd Queen tribute act, Qween UK at the Corn Exchange, no excuses for spellings from us, that is what it is, lets hope they will rowk you!

Saturday 23rd you can find The Sylvertones at The Three Crowns, but not a lot else I’ve heard about as of yet. Time maybe to pop over to Lavington for this….

Wednesday 27th, sees the regular acoustic jam at the Southgate.

Thursday 28th head down to the Pelican, where Fantasy Radio presents a Live Lounge with Ruby Darbyshire. Also, itโ€™s open mic night at The Cellar Bar, Bear Hotel from 7:30pm.

Friday 29th is DOCA Winter Festival, lights switching on, lantern parade, mulled wine, Devizes Town Band playing Santa Claus is Coming to Town, and all the gubbings; and thatโ€™s when Iโ€™m officially in the Christmas mode! Window Wanderland runs from here until 2nd Dec, and the fun continues into Saturday too!

Double-whammy, the Hazel & Gretel panto opens at the Wharf Theatre on Friday too. Note, due to popularity theyโ€™ve added dates, and it runs until the 7th December now. I will be going to see it long before you, and Iโ€™ll be here to tell you about it; what? Perks of the job!!

Also on Saturday 30th, ever popular covers unique trio People Like Us will be at the Three Crowns. White Horse Opera at Market Lavington Community Hall.

That’s all for now, folks! Did I miss something out? Did you tell us about it?! We update all the time, so, rest assured more will be added when they come in, and if you cannot find something to entertain you here, you can leave town! In a nice way, you understand, we do have roads and Devizine lists events within range of Devizes as well as in Devizes; so remember, remember, to check the EVENT CALENDER!!

And Here is December; Lynx deodorant sets time!

La Bruja; New Halloween Single From I See Orange

There’s a trick and a treat for Halloween from Swindon’s finest alt-rock trio I See Orange; new single, La Bruja, or The Witch translated from Spanish, and it’s certainly cast a spell on meโ€ฆ.

If you’re still unaware of I See Orange, it should be considered folklore cunning craft to overlook them after this; you’ll find yourself sinking in a river! Reviewing them at the Pump at the beginning of the year, I made a beeline to catch them again at Minety during warmer climates. In retrospect I should’ve reviewed their debut four-track EP Lonesome Joy released around the same time as the Pump gig, but missing that window I figured I’d await something new. And here it is, creeping up on us!

Lonesome Joy and a separate song from the same session are generally formulated like all good hefty grunge; rising and falling mood layers, and the single Simply, tended to take a commercial blues angle, as if a metal Cranberries. While these are all positives, with promising roots and truckloads of potential, La Bruja is a constant, progressive, and it doesn’t wait for you to attach yourself to the ambience; it’s a beautiful monster, stomping through a dark forest, chasing you, from beginning to end.

Yards ahead of their previous outpourings, I’d say, its theme perfectly captures the unique identity of the band; a grunge-riot grrrl-garage punk fusion. Charlie Hart and Cameron Hill proficiently drive a hard rock drum and lead guitar arrangement, respectively, behind bassist Giselle Medina, who plays out an ironic kawaii character, a kind of post-goth shลjo kogal, akin to Mieruko-Chan, or Ling Xiaoyu for the Tekken players!

It’s a spookily seductive look, therefore so is this song. It’s as if it’s a direct response to Kip Tyler’s She’s My Witch, with a contemporary edge; lots of haunting, rocking edge. Giselle’s divine, evocative vocals are like a non-stigma emo Greek siren, crying out either an enticement or warning, depending on your fixation for paraphilic disorders; scratch beneath her innocent superficie to discover how deep her โ€œweird shit,โ€ delves, only at your own risk!

And it rocks sublimely, is risquรฉ and unearthly; nothing Monster Mash about it! Here’s their Linktree, and Bandcamp page, Spotify too. If you pop it on your pumpkin playlist, you’ll be grateful I told you and hopefully fill my bucket with Haribo!

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CrownFest is Back!

Yay! You read it right. After a two year break, CrownFest is back at the Crown in Bishop’s Cannings. So put a big tick ontoโ€ฆ

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Chippenham Musicians Gather For El Toro Fundraising Gig at the Old Tavern

The end of autumn shows no signs of preventing there being lots of events locally. We move into November still with a packed event calendar, do check it out. One good way to kick the month into action is a fundraiser at the Old Road Tavern in Chippenham, the first Saturday of November, (2nd.) Itโ€™s raising funds for the townโ€™s El Toro Music Shop which was destroyed by fire damage in Julyโ€ฆ..

Owner Henry Ray reported his music shop had to be closed until further notice in July when fire from a neighbouring property caused a significant loss of products and damage to the building. El Toro was a much loved music store and was an invaluable asset to local musicians. While Henry continues to provide guitar lessons, from a temporary location, he has also had to take on temporary work to cover himself, due to not having fire insurance.

Henry has been fundraising with a new plan to move forward with rebuilding the shop, albeit it may be smaller, but incorporating other products and services to generate maximum footfall. He looks towards the possibility of a partnership, allowing music instruments and accessories to be aligned with anotherโ€™s existing business.

It makes sense Chippenhamโ€™s music community would get behind the project, and the venue will be split into two stages to accompany all those willing to provide a great day of music. I believe much of the organisation for the fundraiser has been done by Harmony Asia, who headlines the pub stage, whilst at the Barn stage the owner of the shop, makes a guest appearance with his band, also aptly named El Toro.

The fun begins at 6pm, with Ben & The Cowboy in the Barn, half hour later music begins in the pub with Chris Tucker. Then the pub venue has DD, and Sharpie, headed by Harmony. The Barn has a solo set by Will Lawton, Meg, and Mac Lloyd. A few names Iโ€™m aware of and all of which I highly recommend, and some acts Iโ€™ve yet to cross off my must-see list, particularly Harmony herself.

Harmony Asia

Tickets are a tenner, from HERE, all proceeds go towards El Toro and bringing back a vital service of music products to Chippenham. If you cannot make it but would still like to donate, there’s a Go Fund Me page HERE.

Chippenham folk singer-songwriter Meg said, โ€œit’s great to be part of an amazing community,โ€ and itโ€™s a sentiment which illustrates how this event will be played out, with a real sense of community spirit; and those are the best kinda gigs! We wish Henry all the very best with his fundraising efforts.

Meg

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Should we be Concerned Over Wiltshire Councilโ€™s Refusal to Engage with Melksham News?

The simple answer is yes, very concerned. Following the publication of an article in Melksham Newsโ€™s last issue questioning the councilโ€™s public notice policy, Wiltshire Council has refused to engage with Melksham News, effectively censoring the newspaper. This disgraceful decision could undermine local press freedom, accountability and local democracyโ€ฆ..ย 

Melksham News, part of the Wiltshire Publications Group, has served their community with integrity, providing factual reporting and holding public institutions accountable for over forty years. However, when recently it reported on criticism of the council for its policy of only using paid-for newspapers to advertise public notices, including the concerns raised by some councillors and the local MP after a motion to debate the issue was denied, Wiltshire Council halted all communications with the newspaper, declining to send press releases or respond to any enquiries. Is this Wiltshire, or North Korea?!

Melksham News claims it has received written confirmation from Wiltshire Council stating they do not feel able to engage with the publication. In a statement from Wiltshire Publications on behalf of Melksham News, they stated, “We are aware of a statement from Cllr Richard Clewer, leader of Wiltshire Council, in the press that raises concerns about our reporting and our supposed ‘campaign’ against Wiltshire Council.โ€

โ€œIn his statement, Cllr Clewer accuses Wiltshire Publications of running an ongoing campaign over the past two years to pressure the council into advertising statutory notices with us. He also claims that we have continued to present a negative narrative because the council has chosen not to advertise with us.โ€

โ€œWe feel these accusations are inaccurate and misrepresent our intentions. We have written only one article on the matter of public notices, published in our issue on 10th October. This followed the council chairโ€™s decision not to consider a motion from Cllr Jon Hubbard. We categorically deny the claims of an ongoing campaign lasting over two years. The issue of public notices was first raised with the council in September 2023, and we have published only this one article on the subject since then. To characterise this as an ongoing campaign is both misleading and unfounded.โ€

โ€œThe matter of public notice policy concerns taxpayers’ money and public access to information. Our role is to ensure that the public is well-informed, especially on issues of transparency and public spending. Any suggestion that we are highlighting these issues for personal gain is not only inaccurate but entirely inappropriate.โ€

The statement from Melksham News continues, claiming Cllr Clewer stated their reporting has not been impartial. โ€œIt is unfair to accuse us of impartiality based on a single article, especially one that was grounded in data obtained via Freedom of Information requests and included a response from the council,โ€ they said. โ€œWe do not feel it is the role of a statutory body to judge our editorial decisions. Editorial independence is essential to a free press, and it allows us to hold public institutions accountable. Our responsibility is to the public and presenting information based on fact. By refusing to engage with local media over a single article, the councilโ€™s actions undermine the principles of press freedom and open dialogue, which are essential to ensuring accountability and transparency in public institutions.โ€

Melksham News stated it stands by their reporting, remaining committed, โ€œto informing our readers in an accurate and fair manner, ensuring that the community has access to the information it needs to hold its elected officials to account.โ€ And here at Devizine, we stand by them too, believing we all should. On the last few occasions weโ€™ve published anything about Wiltshire Council it was in support of their recent actions; the extension of the bus timetables, permission for a graffiti wall in Melksham; all pragmatic motions which proves when the council get it right it will be reported positively, even by us!! It is a shame then, to have to spoil the run with this, but silencing constructive criticism is deeply concerning to democracy.

In the midst of the past governmentโ€™s โ€˜circus of thievery,โ€™ we are surely all aware of press corruption, undermining press freedom at Conservative conferences and refusing entry to them, and the manipulation of the media to promote their ethos and obliterate opposing opinions. Most of us studied modern history and what happened in 1920’s Germany, don’t make me spell it out. And weโ€™ve even seen this on a local level via unscrupulous control of social media groups by power-tripping councillors, but weโ€™ve yet to realise this is happening to official media groups channelled by the county council, until now.

The shocking fact one lone keyboard warriorโ€™s comment on Melksham Newsโ€™ original Facebook post ludicrously pointed the finger at Prime Minister Keir Starmer, suggesting, โ€œthey are doing what Kier Starmer has told them to do as he doesn’t want the truth coming out so he is censoring all news and negative comments and newspapers telling the truth,โ€ is proof enough, I believe, of how deeply the effect of misinformation is ingrained into forming public opinion and causing hysteria with a false narrative; that an a better education system!

How anyone could link this issue with the new Labour government when thereโ€™s not a red tie in sight at Wiltshire Council is beyond belief. It retains a Conservative majority and the leader of Wiltshire Council, Richard Clewer, the councillor enforcing this infringement of the common law of freedom of expression is a Conservative too. Yet it is worrying evidence that we need a rebalance in media bias; people believe this shit!! Hey, I stubbed my toe on the wheel of my sofa this morning. It’s blatantly obvious what’s happened here; Keir Starmer broke into my house, and moved my sofa a quarter of an inch to the left! 

I shouldnโ€™t joke, this would be propaganda on an Orwellian level if it wasnโ€™t laughably from a Council boasting being named as the seventh-best council in England in the latest IMPOWER Index, judged by how efficiently it delivers core services in relation to their budgets, as I dangerously bounce over the umpteenth pothole pondering if I should follow up on bias and braggart press releases like this! Someone needs to inform Cllr Clewer we have only left the European Union, Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights still stands in British law, giving us the right to freedom of expression. A right I will exercise, cheers me dears!

The newspaperโ€™s operations manager, Joe McCann said, โ€œlocal newspapers like ours are essential for holding public bodies to account and ensuring transparency in local government. By cutting off communication, the council is evading scrutiny and potentially controlling the flow of information, which is not just a concern for us as journalists but for the public as well.โ€ Melksham Newsโ€™s statement suggests similar; โ€œThis sets a dangerous precedent, where councils can silence critical voices instead of addressing legitimate concerns, ultimately undermining local democracy. This is an unprecedented move for a local council.โ€

Wiltshire Councillor Jon Hubbard, who represents Melksham South ward said, โ€œI am deeply concerned and disappointed by the recent correspondence sent to Melksham Independent News, stating that Wiltshire Council will no longer correspond with the newspaper until they approve of the coverage provided. This kind of stance sets a dangerous precedent and threatens the principles of a free and independent press, which plays a vital role in holding local government to account. I sincerely hope that this decision is not politically motivated, as it would undermine the trust between the council and the residents it serves.โ€

โ€œThe press should never be expected to tailor their coverage to meet the approval of those in powerโ€”it is their duty to provide fair and accurate reporting to the community. I call on Wiltshire Council to explain why such a step has been deemed necessary and to reaffirm its commitment to transparency, openness, and constructive engagement with all media outlets. Our community deserves nothing less.โ€

Emma Meese, director at the Independent Community News Network (ICNN), who represents the independent press community, added, โ€œThe role of a journalist has always been to scrutinise and provide news that is in the public interest. It is concerning when a local authority decides it will not engage with the largest news provider in the area, for calling it out on its actions. We have to question the motive behind this decision by Wiltshire Council to try and control the narrative.โ€

Allow me then to speculate, we are, quite simply, face-to-face with a county council desperately clinging onto a dying Conservative philosophy and running scared till the point it fears constructive criticism. Yet by attempting to silence it makes the dangerous assumption we are foolish enough not to conclude from this that theyโ€™ve something to hide, and are doing so via manipulation of the media. Either that, or they really did send Keir Starmer to stealthily shift my sofa quarter of an inch to the right causing me to be unnecessarily tetchy this afternoon. Now, excuse me while I go shout at some Gen Zers vaping in the park like the level-headed indoctrinated boomer the mainstream media has convinced me to be!!!

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Oh Danny Boy!

Oh Danny Boy, oh, Danny Boy, they loved your boyish Eton looks so, but when ye was voted in, an all democracy wasnโ€™t quite dying,โ€ฆ

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A Quick Shuffle to Swindon

Milkman hours with grandkids visiting it was inevitable a five hour day shift was all I was physically able to put into this year’s Swindonโ€ฆ

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Sign of Life; The New Single From George Wilding

Am I going to tell you about this new George Wilding tune, or not? Huh? Oh, sorry mate, what was that again?!

Sounds like George is irked with a distracted nomophobe, much less speaks out for everyone ignored when addressing someone permanently glaring at a phone screen and risking causing a hitch in a relationship; I donโ€™t blame him and suspect most of us have been both victim and guilty of violating basic manners while gawking at someone’s lost cat or unappetising supper photo on Facebook.

Maybe this review will make you think twice, maybe it’s hypocritical even reading it, but whatever; it’s the damn good welcoming home song we’ve come to expect from this local legend.

So, pay attention now, because it’s been a while since we’ve been able to say we’ve a new single from the prodigal George Wilding to mention. He’s been enjoying being the human jukebox aboard cruise ships, guaranteeing his bread and butter, and if he’s got some stories to tell, we’re glad to see him back to tell them.

Sign of Life is out across streaming platforms on the 24th October 2024, we’ll drop a link here to it when available, so check back in or follow his socials. Its working title, Canโ€™t Get Through to You, may be more enlightening, but not so punchy.

George Wilding

A medium-paced post-gothic indie rock riff, comparable to those who dared buck the noncommercial ethos of the subgenres of new wave, The Smiths, The Cure both spring to mind, though George’s distinctive and often adventuresome vocal range should be no stranger to anyone locally based and therefore needs no comparables. This is a grower, creeping up on you, and after a few listens youโ€™ll be hooked. But besides, itโ€™s George, and doesnโ€™t divert from the style or excellence of his previous outpourings; fans will be pleased to hear, I reckon.

Double-whammy, as itโ€™s produced by the amazing Jolyon Dixon, renowned for bringing the best out of many artists new to us; weโ€™re delighted to hear of this perfect coupling. Jolyon told me, โ€œit was great fun working with him, canโ€™t believe we hadnโ€™t done so before!โ€

Look out for it on Thursday, just donโ€™t ignore your better half when they complain youโ€™re supposed to be taking the bins out rather than listening to this amazing new song from George Wilding, as that is what ear-pods were invented for!

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I See Orangeโ€ฆ.And Doll Guts!

There was a time not so long ago when I See Orange was the most exciting new band in Swindon. Their latest offering released atโ€ฆ

Talk in Code Down The Gate!

What, again?! Another article about Talk in Code?! Haven’t they had enough Devizine-styled publicity?! Are their heads swelling?!ย  Didn’t that crazy toothless editor catch themโ€ฆ

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Pumpkins are No Treat for Woodland Wildlife

Dumping pumpkins in the woods is bad for wildlife says Forestry England.

As millions of pumpkins hit supermarket shelves and make their way to gardens, porches, and windowsills across the region, Forestry England is reminding members of the public not to leave spent pumpkins in forests or woodlands.ย 

Each year, well-meaning social media posts circulate that encourage people to leave pumpkins in the woods for wildlife to eat. But pumpkins are not natural to woodlands and can make some animals very poorly, such as our declining population of hedgehogs. Decomposing food waste can also attract pests and spread disease.ย 

Instead, Forestry England recommends getting creative in the kitchen to use up Halloween pumpkins or recycling them at home.ย 

Forestry England senior ecologist, Sam Pegler said, โ€œWhile itโ€™s wonderful that people want to do their bit for nature, leaving rotting pumpkins in the countryside isnโ€™t good for wildlife. Some animal centres may accept a small number of pumpkins for their residents, but these are carefully given to appropriate species and removed before they rot down. This isnโ€™t possible in a forest setting, so is best avoided completely.ย 

My favourite way to use pumpkin is to explore the countless free and tasty recipes online. It isnโ€™t all about soup, pumpkin is brilliant for stews, curries, pies, and even pasta and risotto dishes. If pumpkin really isnโ€™t your thing, it can be disposed of in your food recycling container or composted at home. The high water content of pumpkin makes it a great composting material to add nitrogen and moisture to your compost bin.โ€ 

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New Single: Phil Cooper Still Holding His Breath

If Phil Cooperโ€™s 2018 โ€œThoughts and Observations,โ€ was one of the first albums we ever reviewed here on Devizine, itโ€™s been a while since Iโ€™ve been able to say โ€œa new single from Phil Cooper,โ€ but here we are, and itโ€™s a great place to beโ€ฆ..

As the name suggested โ€œThoughts and Observations,โ€ as Philโ€™s songwriting template, in general, is relatable personal reflection which often provides pointers for his audience, it was brimful of such, and while the new single Still Holding My Breath does likewise, it offers a matured side to Philโ€™s convictions. Plus, it rides that cool acoustic value we know and love him for, remarkably well.

Thereโ€™s a definite and poignant message of perseverance here, opening with the line โ€œlook out world, Iโ€™m here to stay,โ€ and a measure of success whereby the creative mind must continue nonetheless. As is Luke 6:38, the songโ€™s indispensable line, โ€œI still believe the more you put in the more you will get in return,โ€ rewards any labour of love for the hard worker with the notion to keep at it.

Phil is one such hard worker who I see setting himself high goals, and in embarking on many projects, some formulated, others more experimental, has had varied success with them. Perhaps none more than his grouping with Jamie R Hawkins and Tamsin Quin as The Lost Trades. If this modern folk harmony trio has achieved more than the sum of all their parts as individuals, it is with hard work they’ve achieved so and with an โ€œa little help from my friends,โ€ sentiment evident in the depths of this song, and more visually with the excellent accompanying video made by Jamie. The song is, besides the labour applied to The Lost Trades, something wholeheartedly solitary, an introverted savoury sentiment.ย It’s nice to see them take a short break from the trio in order to align themselves once again with their separate identities, as they were before the dawn of The Lost Trades all remarkable within their own rights.

I believe the hard work has paid off for Phil, relatively, making me wonder what his expectations or goals are, what he dreams to achieve, being Still Holding My Breath suggests quintessentially he still has โ€œbarriersโ€ to overcome, but a single this good is surely proof of his worth; it is a valuable song. And in that, this is more an outward facing concept, delivering a message to us.

To the artist personally, do take a deep breath, itโ€™s an outstanding song, Phil; inspiringly evolved from everything which has gone before it. To everyone else, decide for yourself by taking a listen!

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YEA Devizes: DOCA New Youth Project

Devizes Outdoor Celebratory Arts announced their upcoming project, YEA Devizes today. Made possible by a grant from National Grid Electricity Transmissionโ€™s Community Grant Programme, the Youth Event Activity Devizes will be a youth festival area within the International Street Festivalโ€ฆ.

Working with the incredible young adults we have in our community, DOCA will support them to plan and run their own outdoor event, putting all the decisions in their hands and enabling them to show everyone their interests and capabilities. All along the way they will be able to learn and develop the skills needed to put on outdoor events and arts management.

The flyer was designed by their youth advisor, who also helped to develop this fantastic opportunity from the start. If you are between the age of 16 – 21 (up to 25 with SEND) then please use this form – https://tinyurl.com/5xnsrk4p – to let them know if you are interested in being a part of this, whether as part of the core Youth Event Management Panel or further along the line.ย 

If you have any questions then drop them a message or email info@docadevizes.org.uk

Trust me to question the SEND element to this, as it is often the case SEND people will shy away from events due to sensory overload. But Annabel of DOCA is addressing this, and enlightened us, โ€œwe understand that it can be confronting for some people. There are behind the scenes roles where we can help them avoid most of the madness if they wish, although as you say it may be too much for some. We are happy to work with anyone to make the experience work for them if possible – and in fact having someone with lived experience of SEND on the team could help us develop more SEND-friendly event spaces.โ€ Ah, I like this answer!

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Swindon Palestine Solidarity Host Summer Fete

Swindon Palestine Solidarity will be hosting a summer fete on Saturday 23rd August, at 12.30pm – 3.30pm. They need volunteers from 11am – 4 pm. at The Broadgreen Community Centre, Salisbury St, Swindon SN1 2AN…. Bring the family to float a boat for Gaza, send a postcard to Gaza, or play ring toss, ball toss,โ€ฆ

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Stranglers Frontman Hugh Cornwell Coming To Cheese & Grain

Image: John Kisch Legendary songwriter and original Stranglers frontman Hugh Cornwell has announced a run of UK dates this November, accompanied by special guests The Courettes, and it includes Fromeโ€™s Cheese & Grain on Saturday 15thโ€ฆ.. Golden Brown, Strange Little Girl, Always The Sun… sound familiar? All big hits, all great songs, all penned andโ€ฆ

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Talk in Code Announces New Single; More Than Friends

Atmospherically anthemic and reinforced with that infectious rhythmic groove weโ€™ve come to love Talk in Code for, More Than Friends is chockfull of it, and itโ€™s their latest single, to be released on Friday 22nd August 2025 via Regent Street Recordsโ€ฆ. Even if youโ€™re accounted for now, happily married and matured like a fine wine,โ€ฆ

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“Glasshouse” at The Mission Theatre, Bath, July 21st 2025

by Mick Brian With Sandcastles Productions marking its debut production with Charlie McGuireโ€™s original play Glass House, the cast and crew behind this production are clearly anything but inexperienced as the piece delivers its thrills and emotional beats at every turn. What Glass Houseย ultimately delivers is a play packed with fascinating questions about the nature ofโ€ฆ

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Alberta Cross Frontman Joins Line Up for Frome Festival Fundraising Gig

Alberta Cross, along with the up-and-coming local bands Something Moves and BroccoliBoy, will perform at a charity gig on Saturday 30th November at 23 Bath St. All part of a new generation of vibrant and talented musicians calling Frome home, they are helping raise funds to support the costs of running the annual Frome Festival in July…..

Swedish-born Alberta Cross frontman, Petter Ericson Stakee, will be playing an intimate solo set of his anthemic Americana-tinged songs, hot on the heels of his latest UK tour. Alberta Cross has toured extensively across the globe as a headline act and has supported bands such as Oasis, Mumford & Sons, Johnny Marr and Neil Young. They have also appeared in the USA as musical guests on The Late Show with David Letterman and their tracks have featured on hit TV shows Sons of Anarchy and Californication.

Something Moves, the latest project from Chris Briden and friends Matt Ball and Al McNamara, blends influences reminiscent of Radiohead and Nick Drake, resulting in layered, textural, and introspective music. As a primarily studio-based band, this offers a rare opportunity to catch them live. Chris has been a successful musician for many years, with distribution deals and festival slots. Raised in Dorset and spending most of his career in Manchester, Chris settled in Frome a few years ago, starting Something Moves as a solo lockdown recording project. Matt and Al then became part of the writing and creative process further developing the sound.

And BroccoliBoy are a young indie pop trio known for their heartfelt and infectious melodies. Frontman Ted met bassist Eli when they were both working at the Cheese & Grain Bar, whilst drummer Rob has known Ted since ACM music college in Guildford. They recently supported Entitled Sons on the main stage at the Cheese & Grain and are steadily gaining an enthusiastic following.

BroccoliBoyโ€™s bass player, Eli White, who was born and raised in Frome, shared, โ€œI have such fond memories of the Frome Festival from my childhood – The Food Feast especially. I have a very vivid memory of getting up on the stage, when it was held in the town centre, after all the music had finished and pretending I was in one of the bands!โ€ Eli continued, โ€œIโ€™m very thankful to have been brought up in Frome as it is genuinely an amazing place to live. The opportunities for creatives of all ages here to share, learn and grow are immense. The Frome Festival is one of the main reasons for this as it inspires so many people every year, without the Festival we would lose such a big platform to showcase all of the amazing talent we hold in this town so I believe itโ€™s very important to do everything we can to keep it running for many more years to come.โ€ 

Petter from Alberta Cross said of supporting this fundraiser, โ€œI love Frome Festival. It makes the town come alive! I also love the diversity of it with so many different cultural events and music gigs in the short time it runs. It is important for the town and will and should keep building.โ€ He added, โ€œI remember when we just moved here and the Festival was on, we walked through town quite late in the evening after dinner and heard flamenco guitar music coming from the Silk Mill so we stopped in and caught the end of the show and I just remember thinking how amazing that felt to have these kind of things happen in my new hometown.โ€ Petter travels extensively for his work but enjoys coming back to Frome, which he describes as โ€œa small cosy town with a lot to offer, located in one of the most beautiful parts of the world in my opinion.โ€ He recently recorded his new album โ€˜The Thief and The Heartbreaker (Re-imagined)โ€™ at Fromeโ€™s Bert Jansch Studio and it was mastered at Abbey Road Studios. It is a reworking of classic songs from Alberta Crossโ€™s critically acclaimed 2007 debut, including fresh collaborations with Ed Harcourt, Katie Melua, Band of Skulls, Jack Savoretti and others.

Ted Prendergast, who provides vocals, guitar and ukulele for BroccoliBoy, remarked, โ€œFrome Festival is a time to celebrate all things Frome and all the diversely creative and unique people we have living here. My parents took part in Hidden Gardens for the first time this year and loved it!โ€. He added that the band is supporting the fundraiser because โ€œwe believe in the importance of keeping these brilliant creative opportunities alive,โ€ emphasising, โ€œThere is a massive community spirit here and I havenโ€™t seen anything quite like it anywhere else!โ€ 

Chris Briden of Something Moves concurs, โ€œFestivals are a really important way to celebrate community and be part of your local area. Without them, life is just a little bit more grey. Frome is a fantastic place to be creative, and offers more than your average Somerset town, but you can’t take this kind of opportunity for granted, and we want to make sure we hold the door open for loads more artists and bands, writers and creatives who come after us.โ€ Chris noted, โ€œOpportunities like this are more important than ever with many live music venues and festivals closing downโ€.

The Festival team are hard at work preparing for next yearโ€™s programme, taking place on Friday 4th โ€“ Sunday 13th July 2025, with fundraising also playing an important role during the year. Frome Festival is a registered charity that must fundraise ยฃ35k per year to deliver the programme and with recent cuts to arts funding, organisers say the environment is increasingly difficult. Festival Manager Sarah Swales explained, โ€œWe are offering tickets at ยฃ10 to make them accessible to everyone, but we urge people to donate what they can. Another way to support us is by becoming a Festival Friend for ยฃ20 per year, which provides priority booking during the Festival and other perks.โ€

Organisers were keen to thank the performers for their help and urged people to buy their merch on the night. They were also very grateful to the venue 23 Bath St who will be shutting their doors for the last time after the New Year due to the difficult economic climate. “23 Bath St. has really championed live music over the years, and itโ€™s truly sad to see them go. Please support their venue and bar before they close, so they can go out on a high note!” Sarah added.

Festival Director, Adam Laughton concluded, โ€œThis promises to be a superb night that will raise much needed funds for Frome Festival. Weโ€™re very grateful for 23 Bath Street and all the musiciansโ€™ help in making this event possible. Come and enjoy this sensational line up and support our cause as we continue to plan for July 2025. Every penny makes a difference!โ€

Tickets are ยฃ10 from here: https://fromefestival.co.uk/product/fundraiser24/

All proceeds support Frome Festival Ltd. (Charity Number โ€“ 1120329)

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The Mist; New Single from Meg

Chippenhamโ€™s young folk singer-songwriter Meg, or M3G if you want to get numeric, will release her 6th single The Mist on Friday 18th October, and itโ€™s got me thinking about the film Rain Manโ€ฆ.

Showing my age, I saw it at the flicks in 88! Tom Cruise was everywhere in the late eighties, and this film began like any other. Cruise, an egomaniac businessman, but in his reassociation with his lost brother, played by Dustin Hoffman, surprisingly bucked the trend of Cruiseโ€™s Hollywood template. For the masses it was an awakening, raising awareness of and offering a fascinating insight into autism.

In an interview for Devizine conducted by my daughter, this celebrated upcoming singer-songwriter was comfortable discussing her autism. โ€œI honestly donโ€™t think I would be doing this if I wasnโ€™t autistic, in a weird way,โ€ Meg explained, โ€œAll of my songs are about me in some respect and itโ€™s a part of me I canโ€™t escape.โ€ The Mist echoes this sentiment, precisely and wholeheartedly.

At the time of the 2023 interview, Meg figured the single they were discussing, Together was the only song she had written about autism, but connoting her later tunes, I believe others are, perhaps none more than The Mist. It is the most evocative and poignant on the subject, and being, as Meg said herself, โ€œitโ€™s part of who I am and I really value that part,โ€ Iโ€™ll boldly declare this is the best of her singles to date.

Weโ€™ve come so far since Rain Man in understanding, identifying, and accepting autism spectrum disorder. The most important factor, I believe, is that everyone is an individual. Ergo, while at the time we may have considered Rain Man this insight into the autistic mind, it was, actually, only ever an insight into the character of Rain Man.

This song is on a similar level, as Meg opens up and expresses her deepest thoughts on sociability and correlation versus serenity and solitary, angelically. The line in the song, โ€œmy piece of mind got up and left my side, said Iโ€™d be better off without them,โ€ is a haunting example. It is also a fascinating insight, to Megโ€™s sentience, yet in essence, it too is a beautifully crafted song with powerful ambience.

In thoughtful prose it drifts, still as the night air, and candidly as chilly, as if Meg invites you into the depths of her consciousness. It is a tested formula, astute honestly in songwriting, to leave a listener believing theyโ€™ve taken a piece of the singerโ€™s life with them, and in turn, identified with it. Yet Meg does this so utterly uniquely it could only be her thoughts done her way, thatโ€™s the only hook needed; weโ€™ve all put a square peg in a round hole. The solitariness of her delivery matches the theme and it combines into something wholesomely composed, yet sublimely forsaken.

Even the production matches the solitary of the sound, Meg provides her own backing vocals, to create layers of angelic voice, choral, like her thoughts reverberating, questioning or venerating her meaning. She will also produce and master her own work, so it is solely her outpouring, untainted by anotherโ€™s input. And that is what makes it work so wonderfully. That is why Meg can hold a crowd willing to intensively listen, spellbound; Iโ€™ve witnessed this first hand, first time at the Pump, last time at the Tuppeny, it is something worth savouring timeover. If The Mist is a metaphor for the hindrance which obscures Meg from relating to others, it is also our musical Rain Man, a fascinating insight to how oneโ€™s personal autism conducts their innermost thoughts. And that, my friend, is how you write a masterpiece!

The Mist is out Friday 18th, check in then, on M3G’s Spotify page to hear it!

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Watermark: Fulltone Orchestra Brings Enyaโ€™s Iconic Album to Life…

Our very own illustrious orchestra, The Fulltone Orchestra, are staging live performances of Enyaโ€™s 1988 breakthrough album, Watermark in Basingstoke, Bath and Cheltenham later this month. They promise to be symphonic celebrations of the bestselling artistsโ€™ sublime and distinctive sound…..

The Fulltone Orchestra, accompanied by the magnificent female voices of The Cantiamo Choir, revive Enyaโ€™s iconic and pioneering album in a series of live performances, culminating at The Anvil, Basingstoke on the 7th of November, beginning with Cheltenham Town Hall on 31st October, and with a date at Bath Forum in the middle, and that being the 5th November.

This is the unique opportunity music-lovers will cherish. To experience the prevalent and admired blend of Celtic, classical, and ambient soundscapes of Enyaโ€™s ethereal and timeless sound, accomplished with the magnificence of a sixty-five-piece orchestra and the finest singers.

Watermark was not only Enyaโ€™s breakthrough album but debatably her magnum opus. Its commercial success was renowned through its exclusivity, was honoured with glowing reviews and sold over eight million copies.

Now, obviously I’m far too young to remember Enya’s Watermark. With the geographic knowledge of an American box turtle, I only ever knew Orinoco as a Womble, and the single concerned me as to what his “flow” might have referred to!

Arranged by noted pianist and composer, Dominic Irving, this spectacular piece has been specifically written for orchestra and choir, and will transport audiences back to the late 1980s, alongside other hits by Riverdance, Enigma, Clannad and Karl Jenkins.

Conductor Anthony Brown at Fulltone 24. Image: Gail Foster

The evenings will also include the smash hit Lily Was Here, made famous by eighties saxophonist Candy Dulfer, and will be played by legendary sax player, Vicki Watson.

The Cantiamo Choir features Welsh-born vocalist Amelia Jones, recognised for her lucid tone and expressive vocal delivery. The Fulltone Orchestra is a sixty-five-piece orchestra with a variety of acclaimed musicians from the Southwest and is led by Musical Director Anthony Brown. They have past praised performances in venues such as Bath Abbey, Wells Cathedral, Marlborough College and Cheltenham Town Hall, and organise an annual festival, Fulltone, in Devizes; yay, I said Devizes! Editor’s note, the orchestra spawned here; get in, you moonrakers!

Jemma Brown, Fulltone Orchestra Artistic Director said, โ€œWeโ€™re absolutely delighted to be able to bring this much-loved music to audiences across the South this autumn. Watermark catapulted Enya to international fame, with the number one hit, โ€˜Orinoco Flow.โ€™ Itโ€™s sure to be a highlight of our performance. Thereโ€™s something incredibly special about the sound created by a full orchestra alongside the voices of Cantiamo, and audiences can expect an exciting evening of music on a magnificent scale.โ€

Tickets: www.fto.org.uk/enya or from venues.

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Rachel Sinnetta & Rosie Jay at the Crown, Bishops Cannings

Must confess it felt somewhat odd to return to The Crown in Bishops Cannings for my weekly ration of live music. The only pub in the village has been closed a short while, since verbal pitchforks and torches from a crotchety minority who wanted the tavern to be little more than a museum artefact drove the previous landlords outโ€ฆ..

Prior it was a bustling community hub run immaculately with gusto and enthusiasm, hosting a variety of events and raising funds for charities. Seemed crabby witches and even a lord of a manor were prepared to gang-up, lie to police, and misquote Devizine when we failed to appeal to their better nature. It backfired, they didn’t own one, but let’s not dwell.

New landlords are in, pleasant and keen to maintain the pub’s reputation amidst the prying Karens. Sarah, the new landlady praised her new chefs, and the pub hosts an open mic every first Thursday of the month, Tuesday evening quizzes, and intends to begin a men’s mental health group and possibly a football team.

Tonight, however, will be the new owners first live music night, and they’ve wisely hoisted in promoters Wiltshire Music Events to organise it. Though without much advertising unfortunately the crowd was slight. Never the simple accomplishment it may seem when established venues have the monopoly through a regularity of gigs, to sporadically host will require endless bashing about it on social media. It is, however, easier with the increased 49 bus service, that a night bus will drop into villages enroute, of which you should take note.

I’m in attendance not only to support and encourage the importance of entertainment in villages, save the thought of losing your local watering hole. Rather it is because Wiltshire Music Events is hosting two new acts on their roster, one who’ve yet to explore outside of their Salisbury circuit. A wise choice being the neighbouring church is a mini replica of the cathedral to make the bishop feel at home in the Cannings, or at least so the myth goes!

Firstly, in support, young singer-songwriter Rosie Jay, one I’ve been dying to meet and see live since fondly reviewing her first two singles. Rosie didn’t disappoint despite the pedestal I’ve put her on. Her self-penned songs are rippled with the poignancy of the classic template acoustic wordsmiths who made it big will follow; concentration on the hook, something even more essential with the attention span of the Tik-Tok generation.

Her voice is rich, affectionate, and she delivers songs with passion and blossoming stage presence. An interesting choice of covers from a young artist, often, she explained to the audience, inspired by their usage in films. Okay, Elvisโ€™ Can’t Help Falling in Love is timeless romantic, and The Cranberriesโ€™ Zombie is most formulaic, but Dylan’s It Ain’t Me Babe, is a cynical rare choice to pull from her magician’s hat. Though it relates in theme to Rosie’s first song, I Don’t Give a Damn, and her general subjects. Rosie nailed them all, beautifully, with particular evocative expressions in the reclusive and heartfelt jaundiced emotions of Dylan, and likewise her own intelligent compositions.

Currently pursuing a Level 3 Diploma in Music at Wiltshire College and University Centre, Rosie told me of her work on local radio, and was enthusiastic about her forthcoming EP. Part of the growing Wiltshire Music Events family now, as Joylon Dixon has worked with her to produce it. And Joylon accompanies the next performer, the incredible Rachel Sinnetta.

Renowned for a two-year stint supporting Gerry & The Pacemakers, singing to Prince William and recording with Pete Townshend, Rachel intended to tour aย  “Wuthering Heights: The Music of Kate Bush,โ€ project which unfortunately fell through.

Music teacher Rachel  set to tour this tribute extensively throughout the UK; that’s what the blurb told me. All I know is Kate Bush is the vocal epitome of singularity, the individuality debatably overlooked in today’s pop industry, as the penchant to sound akin to Whitney Houston seems paramount.

Just like Dolly, Cher, Tina Turner, Stevie Nicks, Tom Jones, Alanis Morissette, even KT Tunstall et al, you need a seriously powerful vocal range to convincingly take on a Kate Bush cover. And Rachel did, sublimely delivering Running Up That Hill, and popular hits of all the aforementioned. Seemingly having her own deal with god, Rachel naturally reaches the notes with ease, her husky yet divine rock voice is the eloquence and faculty able to adapt to take those powerhouse ballads on with such precision and poignancy, particularly with the female giants. She even rinsed Arthea Franklinโ€™s Natural Women, and left me tingling, Chaka Khanโ€™s Ainโ€™t Nobody too simply wowed. Proud Mary in the key of Tina Turner; who would dare attempt them in an intimate gig such as this?! Rachel Sinnetta made them look childsplay.

Sassy with Tom Jonesโ€™ Kiss, joyful with Erasureโ€™s A Little Respect, covers came thick and fast, coupled with the secret legendary Jolyon Dixon without rehearsal was a match from heaven, and the whole shebang was utterly blissful; shame only us, a few regulars and their dogs were there to witness it. Such is the uphill struggle for new landlords to plant their establishment into a local music circuit, partially my reasoning for doing this blog.

So, take heed now, especially everyone in Pewsey; this wonderful formula, Rosie Jay followed by Rachel Sinnetta with Jolyon Dixon will be continued at the Royal Oak, in Pewsey, with a free gig from 8pm, next Saturday, the 19th October; they are in for a treat.

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Jodie as Adele Tribute Night Fundraising for Devizes School Student to Work in Ecuador

Wiltshire Adele tribute Jodie Evans is all set to ignite the stage on Friday 18th October, at the Bear Hotelโ€™s Cellar Bar in Devizes, with all funds made going to a Devizes School student hopeful to raise enough to visit Ecuador to work over the summerโ€ฆ

Jodie is fast building amazing fan reviews and support for her tribute to Adele, and is taking bookings into 2025 already. Tickets are available at ยฃ10 per person HERE.ย 

The Devizes School Student said, โ€œFollowing volunteering within the Devizes area, I am passionate about giving back and I am looking forward to living and working with the local people, to experience first-hand the issues faced by rural communities in Ecuador whilst making a positive and lasting impact. I will contribute to ongoing sustainable projects that help support communities and protect the biodiverse environment in this amazing country – Thank you for supporting my cause.โ€

We wish them all the best, and hope ‘someone like you’ can help and buy a ticket (see what I did there?!)

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IDLES’ at Block Party

With their only UK shows of the year quickly approaching, the 1st and 2nd August will see IDLESโ€™ and music festival Block Party take overโ€ฆ

The Skimmity Hitchers V Monkey Bizzle: The East/West Somerset Agricultural Hip Hop Turf War!

Forget the feud between Notorious B.I.G. and Tupac Shakur, this is England’s West Country rivals The Skimmity Hitchers and Monkey Bizzle in a vicious rap confrontation which can only end one way; best guess, a drive-by cream tea headshotโ€ฆ.

Seems shameless merch tarts and purveyors of self-dubbed โ€œidiot music,โ€ Monkey Bizzle started it, Mrs McClusky. They put out a T-shirt with their monkey logo copulatory abusing the Skimmity’s badger at the beginning of the month, claiming they were โ€œbetter than the Skimmity Hitchers.โ€ Real hardcore insults, but not an incredibly high pedestal to pop yourself onto.

Offensive on a Carry-On Camping level

As psychologically offended as a millennial watching George & Mildred, and in the spirit of big girl’s blouses, five days ago those bonkers as badgers vegetative veterans of deliberately naff scrumpy and western hip hop, The Skimmity Hitchers hit back, waxed lyrical by what appears to be their mum’s garage, filmed it like the dicks they are, and basically tore apart Monkey Bizzle. In the Facebook video the Hitchers claimed Bizzle stole the term โ€œagricultural hip hopโ€ from its originator, Malmesbury grandmaster Corky, not very famous for the parody track Ginsters Paradise but a legend in his own Tweed nonetheless.

The Skimmity Hitchers laying it down

Factually accurate, Corky possibly coined the term and invented the subgenre, but shared the Hitchersโ€™ post on the issue without comment, therefore best to assume he couldn’t give a wurzel’s combine if โ€œagricultural hip hop,โ€™ as a term,ย  is plagiarised by either of them. Updated: Corky aligned a non-opinion on the usage of the term, but enlightened that “Agricultural hip hop has been around for years before me, and if Monkey Bizzle want to do agricultural hip hop then that’s lush. I haven’t actually heard any agricultural hip hop from them – at the moment they’re doing Scrumpy & Western rap and West Country hip hop, and I do love em.”

While this indicates it’s unclear at this time if Monkey Bizzle have ever even used the term, until they did today in a mock interview pretending this tiff was serious enough to warrant a news channel picking the story up. The interviewer has an earring, for crying out loud, itโ€™s kind of obvious they just scrubbed up a crusty mate, paid him a teenth and put him in a suit.

Corky; staying the fuck away from it all!

The only fact we must face is neither the Skimmity Hitchers nor Monkey Bizzle have progressed hip hop as a genre any further than The Holiday Rap in 1986, and MC Miker G & DJ Sven could’ve put them both, and their legal advisors/drummers on their arses, direct into the moistest cowpats in all of Somerset; thatโ€™s the point, and that’s why we love them both equally and feel it necessary to state the blinding obvious that the whole affair is banter, and a shameless and mildly amusing self-promotion for both parties. Yeah, impressive crusty dreadlocks or not, I’ll rise to that occasion, fill your muddy jump boots.

Monkey Bizzle at a barn

As fans and keyboard warriors jump the bandwagon to side online with either band, unconcernedly call for peace, complain their T-shirt is sleeveless, or conspire both bandโ€™s members are actually the same people, the war shows no sign of resolution yet. When fans conspire about the musician’s members they know they have a little problem in their hands.ย 

At the time of publication, the tempestuous testicle is in the Skimmity Hitchersโ€™ court, Monkey Bizzle hitting back from the video with their own rap video, performed by a fluffy monkey puppet, and calling for the Hitchers to stick to supporting B*Witched, which is also not fact checked. As of yet The Hitchers have not responded in song, using a Japanese proverb in a Facebook post calling the Bizzleโ€™s lyrics โ€œvinegar strokes,โ€ and mocked their usage of the stuffed toy, as โ€œhiding from the camera,โ€ and โ€œrambling randomly like a Yeovil Donald Trump.โ€ Seemingly wanting closure, or just the final word, they asked fans if โ€œany further response from The Skimmity Hitchers is really necessary?โ€ย 

Monkey Bizzle retort with puppet

As a Wiltshire-based blog, we at Devizine Towers are duty bound to remain impartial, and only bring the stupid subject up as a warning to take all necessary precautions not to bum rush the show if youโ€™re planning to cross the border anytime soon to ring-rang-a-dong for a holiday. Though if we had to pick sides in a sinking boat scenario, at least we share a common ancestor with monkeys, whereas badgers are only good for one thing around here; blaming for bovine TB when thick slices of gammon deliberately dilapidated their dairy farm in order to backhand their compensation to their building contractor bestie for a new housing estate on their landโ€ฆoopsy, too much? Of course, that Pandora’s Box is total fabrication and falsehood which would never happen around here, and I take it all back.

Wiltshire Police have published an announcement that any Wiltshire based agricultural hip hop artists living in Somerset, even Frome, should leave now for their own safety and for the sake of their pasties.

We rebuke the concept thereโ€™s any agricultural hip hop artists from Wiltshire currently residing in Somerset, or any at all save Corky. Itโ€™s simply not something we do here. Theyโ€™re not like us over the cider apple border are they? Weโ€™re all โ€˜real ale,โ€™ barbed wire fences and henges, theyโ€™re all dry stone walls and tors. Theyโ€™re as stir crazy as Shelbyville residents in The Simpsons, weโ€™re refined, donโ€™t you know, and thanking you kindly.

We may teeter on the edge of chap hop, but usually if itโ€™s not a folk or electric blues driven wet blanket weโ€™re not interested. Yet, as war often produces positive repercussions, we hope this feud will allow international attention to West Country born scrumpy & western and agricultural hip hop, cos it’s dope, literally. In the manner of fairness, though, tunes both bands are laying down are something simply worth putting up with the agro for, and Iโ€™ll drop links to them here, so we can twitch our curtains in disgust at their antics but still enjoy their porangi poetry and wackadoodle wabblings from a safe distance.

Monkey Bizzle, ready for court!

We live in hope freestyled spontaneous peace raps will commence, least The Wurzels will intervene, knock their bleeding heads together with a goldie looking chain, and they can settle the issue over a skull shaped bong, or some wacky-baccy laced fudge; you know the sort, with a postcard of the bogs at the Bridgewater drive-thru KFC poorly glued to the box.

โ€œWe love our skimmity badger buddies like brothers,โ€ Monkey Bizzle showed the love like a fucking Disney adaption of Fergie and Will I Am, indicating its all showy banter. โ€œSome of them even contain a little monkey DNA in them.โ€ This just eggs the keyboard warriors further into the conspiracy theory theyโ€™re one and the same, but even if theyโ€™re not, theyโ€™re probably related in some form or fashion; weirdos, build a dry stone wall to keep them from gigging in Trowbridge or closer, I say!

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Funked Up Disco Metal; There’s Always Something Happening in Devizes!

Despite summer being a fleeting memory, and time to batten down the hatches for our major events, even if there’s not โ€˜muchโ€™ going on in Devizes at night, there’s always somethingโ€ฆ.

Though tempted by gigs further afield, The Pump in one direction, George Wilding in Pewsey the other, I had had โ€˜one of those weeks.โ€™ You know the sort, I’m sure; don’t ask if not! It persuaded me towards the self-indulgence of too many ciders; a rare thing for me these days, usually I’m happy to drive to a gig, but adamant I was staying in Devizes to booze, I was stuck with the โ€˜somethings.โ€™ Thing was, those things turned out really rather good.

If there’s always something happening in Devizes, it’s largely down to two pubs, The Southgate and The Three Crowns. But Saturday night, The Bear Hotel was hosting a soul DJ night of Motown to disco, by long-standing Melksham based DJ, Maurice Menghini, aka Mister M, and his partner on the wheels of steel, The Original PJ, or Patrick, as I was introduced to him as. Maurice has carved a flexible DJ promotional organisation called Real Music Promotions, for all manner of function, with a personal penchant for reggae. Heโ€™s been at it for years, and is renowned locally.

My round robin, then, began at the exquisite Bear Hotelโ€™s Ballroom, as rubbing shoulders with Maurice has been long overdue. Itโ€™s a matured affair, a blossoming crowd of Devizes disco die-hards gathered, looking for any excuse to dance, and Maurice provided that with the unsurpassed magic of Motown classics, Northern Soul rarities and spanning into later disco discs. They know what buttons to press, supplying lively banter, and request cards on the tables. While itโ€™s a ticketed event, they only weigh in at a fiver, with free live music elsewhere it must be said, a disco is a hard sell by comparison. Nevertheless, variety is the spice of life, all events are valid here, and Maurice and Patrick are ahead of their game; the ballroom is bouncing.

Real Music promised to return for another at the Bear, on New Yearโ€™s Eve. Rest of the time you can find this double-trouble DJ duo regularly at Spencer’s Club at Melksham FC. The Sham, huh? Coming over here, guys, blessing us with soul vibes and forcing Devizes folk to shake their tail feathers, whatever next?!

Allowing the disco to simmer on low heat, I slipped off across the Market Place, to the trusty Three Crowns, black my nose there. Hugely popular with Millennials and a few older who think they are, The Three Crowns is bustling as usual. Itโ€™s ever-lively, the place to be, theyโ€™ve extended their menu and have the knack to attract a variety of the Devizes demographic.

Except, rather than a full band they usually host, more often than not Britpop or classic rock covers, a working combination, the pub hosts dynamic Devizes duo, Funked Up. Also at it for years and locally renowned for it, with a keyboard and saxophone combo the duo deliver the timeless soul-filled pop classics you simply have to dance to, and they deliver them with the gusto equal to a full band. Needless to say, with the drinks flowing, this one will go off.

For the elders, come-as-you are Devizes live music aficionados, The Southgate remains the place to head for, and rightly so. The rare thing of welcoming original music, the authenticity of pub culture of yore, and the general communal atmosphere are its benefits, and we love it for them. Though I confess I preconceived the band by their name, A Smile, Two Bangs and a Legend kinda sounds quirky and loosely thrown together, you know? As if theyโ€™re a nice, smiley conformist ensemble, attempting to break the wedding function band market! I should know better than to doubt the Southgate, as on arrival all-macho, healthy and hard rock was pumping out and A Smile, Two Bangs and a Legend were nearing the end of their first half.

The obvious question upon meeting one of those classic rock enthusiasts of the band, was who was the Smile, because they all looked equally red-blooded, who was the bangs, because as a unit they all made a noise, and who was the legend, because if there was one of those professional, ex-famous musician beatniks who occasionally played bass for some rock god and lived off the stories, it couldโ€™ve been any one of them! I stood corrected and better informed; the band name derives from a Monty Python quote, though a fan, Iโ€™d not heard of before; from the Flying Circus series I believe, trainspotters.

But it wasnโ€™t the origins of the name, rather the expert delivery of rock classics which turned this around. Executions of ZZ Top and AC-DC and all in-between came thick, fast and accomplished. It is precisely what the regulars at the Southgate lap up, a timeless template of prog-rock to the dawn of metal, those hard-hitting powerhouses which time will not allow us to forget. A Smile, Two Bangs and a Legend exceeded my preconceptions with smiles, bangs and were, definitively, legends in their own denims.

As imagining Iโ€™m the soul man Sam & Dave sang about, Iโ€™m inclined to leave the Gate, safe in the knowledge the band had it under wraps. Next time I see smiles, bangs and legends on the roster itโ€™s a confirmed grand night at the Southgate, but then, in six years Iโ€™ve yet to be disappointed. I am, however, curious to see how our Melksham grandmasters are getting on at the Bear ballroom. On arrival things have escalated, the party in full swing is pumping, the Motown classics have progressed to disco ones, and the crowd have had their fill at the bar, and were either shaking their stuff or chatting enthusiastically.

This ballroom should have been filled to capacity, soul men and divas of Devizes, or anyone with a penchant for disco dancing of yore should take note, keep your eye on Maurice & Patrickโ€™s future events, we will highlight them on our event calendar, your NYE is sorted there. Such it was, that on a mild night, between seasons of Long Street Blues Club, with no Arts Festival, DOCA, Food Festival, or even a show at the Wharf, that a weekend in Devizes is always on the cards, always there is a few options of something going on, and they’re usually pretty good!

Trending…..

Clock Radio Turf Out The Maniacs

The first full album by Wiltshireโ€™s finest purveyors of psychedelic indie shenanigans, Clock Radio, was knocked out to an unsuspecting world last week. Itโ€™s calledโ€ฆ

Thieves Debut EP

Adam Woodhouse, Rory Coleman-Smith, Jo Deacon and Matt Hughes, aka Thieves, the wonderful local folk vocal harmony quartet of uplifting bluegrass into country-blues has aโ€ฆ

Ducks Review: Shoots Juice Cafe, Devizes

Review: Shoots Juice Cafe, Devizes

Billy in the Lowground are Halfway Up The T-Shirt

Itโ€™s been on my to-do list far too long, overdue to tick it off. Foot-tappin’ West Country folk ensemble, Billy in the Lowground released this album at the end of August, apologies for not mentioning it sooner, but it is worth mentioning, very worth mentioningโ€ฆ.

Rather than baked bean stains halfway up most of my T-shirts, this seven track release Halfway Up the T-Shirt, refers to festival billing. โ€œWhenever we play a festival,โ€ they explained, โ€œwe always look for our name on the official merch, and after thirty-odd years, we’re finally working our way up, away from the bottom line.. Hooray!โ€ 

To be frank, we donโ€™t care where any festival organiser places them on the T-shirt, with an appealing brew of weighty Scrumpy & Western barefoot fiddles and banjo shenanigans, theyโ€™ll lift any T-shirt to expose a rotund hairy belly of upbeat Irish folk, and we love them for that here at Devizine Towers!

Ambiguous is the name, a phrase in a poem about William of Orange defeating the Irish Catholic forces at the Battle of the Boyne, knee-deep in a river, most likely, but other suggestions, like the poem being a parody of Hamlet’s soliloquy, a folk song about William the Conqueror, even “Billy” being slang for a Yankee soldier in the US Civil War, have been passed about, but you didnโ€™t need to know that!ย You only need to know Billy in the Lowground have been musically ploughing their field since 1991, and have consequently become hugely proficient at it.

Halfway up the T-Shirt is seven strong tracks of goodness, not quite an album length but longer than an EP, a novelette if it was work of literature. โ€œFact is, we could only afford to get seven tracks finished before we ran out of cash,โ€ they said, so buy this if only to get them more studio time, because itโ€™s a worthy seven tracks to leave you yearning for more.

Follow My Road is a ripping opening, with guest guitarist Rob Fawcett. Itโ€™s a hard rock groove, a blues theme, with the uplifting riff of The Levellers at their finest. All Hail the Clown follows suit, it rolls heavy with a healthy dollop of sublime fiddle. So the Story Grows, three tracks in, takes us in an irresistible, rootinโ€™-tootinโ€™ bluegrass melody. With Be It Good, Be It Bad the fiddles and twangy guitars of bluegrass continues, but this one really brings out the Dylan-esque rawness of Chris Hibberdโ€™s gritty vocals, uptempo and reminding me somewhat of Subterranean Homesick Blues, if it was recorded live at County Louthโ€™s Ti Chairbre. Unsure why, as the whole album has that raw energy; itโ€™s a Billy in the Lowground trademark, and itโ€™s beguiling.

The album is stylised and flows on a lofty level, given this, Billy should be at the collar of the shirt. Fallen Queen is a monster to hail along to, fire you up akin to The Poguesโ€™ Transmetropolitan, but paced. The penultimate Part of The Show builds in layers unlike the others, and for this itโ€™s the most epic. Already released as a single, the finale, No Chance for a Slow Dance does what it says on the tin. Billy in the Lowground at their finest, it bears all the hallmarks of a magnum opus. Itโ€™s rinsed with upbeat fiddle and banjo, it takes you on a journey similar to The Dropkick Murphy’s, and impossible to stay still to; yet the whole album is gold, sprinkled perhaps with some mud kicked up from the field youโ€™re dancing to it in.

I saw them at the Bradford Roots Festival, in that purpose-built breezeblock beauty. The acoustics in there are incredible, but next time I see Billy in the Lowground Iโ€™d favour it being in an ancient west country boozer where the carpet smells of wet dog hair and the odour of campfires drifts through the windows. Where the cider is passed around a packed crowd of steaming boaters, the band play stacked on top of each other in an alcove, knocking brass plates off the wall behind them! That said, they are at The Three Horseshoes in Bradford-on-Avon on 11th October, not that Iโ€™m calling anyone names!


Harder to Breathe; New Single from Talk in Code

Itโ€™s been a fantastic summer for Wiltshireโ€™s indie-pop favourites Talk in Code. I think Iโ€™ve caught them live at least four times, and only once blagged a lift home from guitarist Snedds, of which is customary to drunkenly chew his ears off on as many random subjects the journey time will allow; I guess that officially makes me a โ€œtalker?!โ€

But hey, nights drawing in, back to recorded sound, and Talk in Code have a new single, Harder to Breathe, out this Friday, 4th October 2024; it is still 2024, right?!

Again this one follows the irresistible building template of the band, bridging the gap between 80โ€™s new wave electronica and 90โ€™s indie pop. This one, I believe, really harnesses the bandโ€™s objectives of creating timeless pop with dynamic eighties synth and guitar combos. The effect is akin to iconic producers like Peter F Wolf or Narada Walden; Harder to Breathe evokes blissful recollections of songs from the peak of the era, from Go West to Madonna, and weโ€™ll never stop dancing to them; try to stop me, I double-dare you!

Harder to Breathe is another universally exemplary precedent of this original timeless anthem ethos Talk In Code are achieving. The sound reaches that blinkered emotion of ones infatuation suffocating the object of their desires, at least in a pop-tastic fashion, as is the theme. At least I think it does, it’s been a long time since anyone was infatuated with me, but once upon a long time ago, believe it or not, some did; funny old world, isn’t it?! No one was even paying them!!

Frontman Chris Stevens said of the single, โ€œwe want to evoke the feelings you have when you meet people that have a huge impact on your life; being overwhelmed, lust, falling in loveโ€ฆthe song addresses if it is simply instinctual to gamble with matters of the heart.โ€

A versatile force live, able to suit a variety of festivals and venues, itโ€™s been a great summer, but the fun doesnโ€™t stop, this tune matches the gusto of their performances, in the comfort of your own home; give it a listen, just don’t try to stop me from dancing!

Pre-Save this beauty HERE. Return Friday in diddy-boppers and rah-rah skirt, I know I will!

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Chatting with Josh Oldfield on Blues, Inspiration, and Drums in Suitcases!

I was chatting to Josh Oldfield last week, a Devizes singer-songwriter I believe weโ€™ll be hearing a lot more of. Though this interview was pending before Iโ€™d had the opportunity to see him perform, coincidentally the Sunday before I was fortunate enough to, at a private partyโ€ฆ.

And it was worth a fortune, Josh has confident stage presence, a guitar soloist with soothing baritone vocals, white shirt and waistcoat, and a vintage suitcase foot-drum akin to a travelling Southern bluesman of yesteryear. ย Connoting retrospective style, the drum gives depth to an otherwise acoustic set, and the show is quirky, but oozing with professionalism, like a one-man skiffle band. Itโ€™s something different from the norm, locally, which was the starting point to our chat.

Josh amended my description as โ€˜slightly different,โ€™ โ€œit’s a fair bit different,โ€ he suggested, โ€œand I didn’t mean to do it on purpose, it’s just naturally how it came out.โ€ Fresh from Peggy-Sueโ€™s local showcasing Don’t Stop the Music Radio Show on Swindon 105.5, he said it went โ€œfantastic; there seemed to be people into it. And I don’t actually know what I’m doing, but it’s something different!โ€

Pinning his sound only for want of conveying it to you, I jested he caused me to think a โ€˜skiffle George Ezra!โ€™ Said with upmost respect, despite Ezraโ€™s commercial success, he never waivers his style, possibly opening a door to others with deep vocal range. Josh ducked the Ezra comparison, concentrating on the skiffle and deepness of his range. โ€œSkiffle’s perfect. It’s something I should have realised with gigs; people seem to like originally. Years ago I’d try and move away from how deep my voice is, because it’s not popular. Professionals and singing teachers will tell you, that because my voice is baritone, they’re like, oh, you got to learn higher range for popular music.โ€

I supposed that was the appeal. โ€œWell, yeah,โ€ Josh continued, โ€œturns out people like hearing the lower ranges, as it’s not so common, and maybe there’s a comeback now, where people are kind of picking that up a little bit more.โ€ We waffled for some considerable time on the templates and expectancies of modern pop vocals, compared to a unique time of yore when a voice was a personal signature. Josh cited Tom Waits and Nick Cave as influences, favouring โ€œobscure stuff,โ€ over contemporary pop.

He first picked up a guitar at thirteen. โ€œMy dad just had a guitar knocking around the house. He used to play a bit, but didn’t really play anymore,โ€ but stressed he didnโ€™t start singing until recently. A couple of months ago he sang at the open mic at the Cellar Bar, โ€œthe first time my mum ever heard me sing, and I’m like thirty now. Singing is not something I’ve been doing naturally throughout the whole thing.โ€

Josh comes across an earnest perfectionist, one who solitarily hones his craft and doesnโ€™t unleash anything until itโ€™s mastered, ergo heโ€™s new on the scene but โ€˜oven-readyโ€™ to give an impressive show. If now is that time to break the local scene, thereโ€™s a valid reason. Given the all-clear from being diagnosed with testicular cancer last year, at twenty-nine years old, Josh expressed, โ€œessentially that’s what ended up pushing me to want to pursue music. I was like, โ€˜I’ve kind of been given a second chance,โ€™ you know? That was the main drive.โ€

At the party Josh pulled some finely penned originals out of his bag as well as adapted covers of crowd-pleasing pop, such as Tainted Love; the set was instantly prodigious. On writing he expressed songs were, โ€œflowing out. They’re just coming. I was being asked last night, what’s this song about? I don’t really have a clue what they’re about. They’re just literally being put down on paper and then, there’s a meaning in there somewhere, you know? It’s more like transposing them. There was a song I wrote on Monday, and I played it on Tuesday on the radio, because it just kind of happened. But then, when I was trying to look at what it was about it, well, I mean, I was watching Clarkson’s Farm the day before. So, there was some stuff about a farm in there, so maybe it’s linked to that in some way!โ€

Capturing a moment no matter how inconsequential at the time, naturally crafting art sourced from it when inspiration strikes, and being as impossible to summarise how and why as it is to transmit a dream, is key to creative genius. That question put him under the spotlight, but he came up trumps!

Our conversation diverted to breaking the local circuits, the balance of adapting to certain venues and niches, as while many want cover bands, few prefer original acts locally, and I affirmed Joshโ€™s self-penned vintage style would suit the matured blues aficionados of Devizes. Though we covered the upcoming more youthful indie-punk scene and talked of Kieran at the Pump. โ€œThat’s more what I remember,โ€ Josh stressed after hearing me on the blues penchant of town. โ€œBack in the day, the whole Sheer Music thing in Devizes. When that disappeared, I thought music in Devizes had disappeared. I thought it was all just, you know, pubs getting cover bands. But getting into it, there’s quite a big scene. It’s just finding it.โ€

Thatโ€™s why we, and people like Peggy-Sue are here! Josh is sourcing all the right channels and appears on Fantasy Radio on the 10th of October.

We continued onto the one-man band thing, and that authentic suitcase drum. โ€œIt’s from America,โ€ Josh explained, โ€œit’s a suitcase with the basic drum built in. There’s a Pan American drum company, only two companies in the world that do it.โ€ I imagined axemen of yore stopping at the crossroads and selling their soul to the devil with it! โ€œWell, yeah, that’s the thing,โ€ he replied, โ€œI want to play instruments where I can take them anywhere. So I got the kazoo as well. I can take that anywhere. I can play acoustic guitar anywhere. I can sing anywhere. When I think blues, thereโ€™s electric, but then there’s the kind of, sitting on the front porch, playing kind; playing just cause you want play,โ€ which led us onto old-archaic bluesmen, of which there could be no doubt Josh has done his homework, alluding to RL Burnside and others. โ€œNo one knew about him until he was like sixty something. He was a sharecrop farmer, and he just lived out there. He had like sixteen children or something, you know? But he didn’t care. And that’s really for me where that kind of foundation comes from,โ€ he said, explaining the story of a blues song he played at the party.

โ€œThat old style of blues, I’m trying to lean towards, to be honest, has a lot in common with punk,โ€ he said and triggered a tangent on pigeonholing when roots intertwine, which developed onto open mic nights.

โ€œEveryone I’ve met has been through the open mics, and I like playing them,โ€ Josh reacted. โ€œThere’s this kind of community around it. Yeah, it can be a bit musician convention, and again, you mentioned Vince Bell, you know that’s where I met Vince. Me and him are looking to play a couple of shows together hopefully later this year.โ€

Playing with the ethos of taking music back to its roots makes Josh flexible, his music fits into folk and blues, so itโ€™s apt to work with acoustic folk singers like Vince, and Josh mentioned working with Jamie Tyler of The Worried Men too, electric blues, a different kettle of fish, but still fits like a glove. โ€œThe live reaction to stuff seems to be great,โ€ he added. โ€œIt’s that people like the music, to be honest, more than anything else that always surprises me. It’s like we were getting messages in while I was on the radio yesterday and people saying that they were really loving it and stuff and that’s surprising.โ€

If Josh Oldfield is modest and wears his heart on his sleeve, itโ€™s a common sign of a creative prodigy. He admitted, โ€œI’m very reserved, introverted. In fact, part of the reason I like playing music is because I don’t have to be in the crowd. I don’t like being in crowds. So if I’m playing the music, I’m not in the crowd!โ€ Thereโ€™s logic there, but in the brief time I saw Josh play, Iโ€™m convinced of what I said at the beginning, I believe weโ€™ll be hearing a lot more of him.

Book Josh Oldfield with Marland Music HERE.

Follow him on social media, links are here Facebook. Instagram

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You; Lucas Hardy Teams With Rosie Jay

One of Salisburyโ€™s most celebrated acoustic folk-rock singer-songwriters Lucas Hardy teams up with the Wiltshire cityโ€™s upcoming talent who’s name is on everyoneโ€™s lips,โ€ฆ

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 Theโ€ฆ

Phil Cooper is Playing Solitaire

Trowbridge singer-songwriter and one third of The Lost Trades, Phil Cooper has actually been doing more than playing solitaire, heโ€™s released a new soloโ€ฆ

No Alarms No Devizes, Aptly in Devizes!

If I’ve been galavanting recently, gorging on other local townโ€™s live music scenes, what better way to return to Devizes than a visit toโ€ฆ

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World Food in Devizes; Thanks Food & Drink Festival!

Devizes Food & Drink Festival came to a close for this year with the most amazing World Food event at the Corn Exchange on Sundayโ€ฆit was yummy on an international scale!

Itโ€™s an annual finale Iโ€™ve missed in previous years, but was persuaded to attend by Dora who was there with a sweet Hong Kong dish of tapioca and melon. And thatโ€™s the premise, any local with ethnic roots is invited to serve a taster dish from their country of origin. One raffle ticket equals one dish, a strip of five costs just ยฃ3, the event is free to attend.

This arrangement makes this event arguably the best one on the Food & Drink Festival program, if the others require a ticket and the opening food market, while diverse in choices of tucker, vendors are left to their own devices and tend to sell fuller dishes at fuller costs, therefore should you wish to try something different youโ€™re committed to a single choice or two. Here you circulate the hall safe in the knowledge that if the dish was not to your liking, itโ€™s only set you back sixty pee, and thereโ€™s lots more options priced the same. It is a reserved and courteous dash, being a first-come-first-served situation and only a set amount of dishes from each table; I arrived punctual, and peckish. Best advice I could give about this event is to try and arrive before me!

For this, those who know the score with this event are queuing as far as the old Natwest bank waiting for it to open as if it was an Oasis reunion gig! And they were right to, it was fantastic and gorged-aciously gorgeous, and Iโ€™d kick myself for not attending before if I wasnโ€™t balancing three dishes of various national dishes! 

If you know me well youโ€™ll know I do love my grub, and Iโ€™ve eclectic tastes, save eggs! Iโ€™m in my element here, trekking the world like Jules Verneโ€™s cutlery, without leaving the Devizes Corn Exchange. Though thereโ€™s less than eighty tables, itโ€™s certainly plentiful. First stop, Zimbabwe for some tasty Sadza Balls, onto a lovely Romanian stew Iโ€™m not even going to attempt to spell, and then Iโ€™m back in Africa, for South African Chakalaka; loved the name, preferred the dish, it was probably my favourite if I was forced to pick one!

It is perhaps for the adventurous, this event, and unlike a more multicultural place, weโ€™re restricted here to Italian, Chinese and Indian restaurants, therefore to explore the more unusual is key to experiencing the best of the occasion. With this ethos, the Western European tables arenโ€™t attracting the same attention as the Eastern European, African or Asian ones. Nevertheless, I tried the Italian one as they had something Iโ€™d not seen before, Lenticchie De Capodana, a lentil stew which they told me is traditionally served at New Year and is therefore more of a household dish than something youโ€™d find in restaurants. Herein is the interesting angle of the event as a whole, these are home cooked dishes and not pampered or adapted to an international palette, as meals in restaurants might well be.

There were a few tables I did not try, such as Scottish haggis, I didnโ€™t so in favour of the more exotic ones, and prevention from over-indulging (of which I was close to the border already.) I mean, when do you get to try Rourou patties with Dalo from Fiji, in Devizes, huh?! This one was particularly unusual, and tasty, as equally as those from the Ukraine, a berry and cream pudding from Denmark, even some apple layered sponge cake from Guernsey; yes, they had puddings too, get in!

Though they didnโ€™t have any drinks, so take a bottle of water with you next year. But do go, it was scrumptious, communal, and a grand finale to the Food & Drink Festival. An event I’m unusually tempted to summarise using science, yes science; step aside Heston Blumenthal!

So, forget about Ebbinghausโ€™ Forgetting Curve, and the pun, and focus on Darrenโ€™s Remembering Curve! Eddinghausโ€™ curve is a hypothesis, his methodology is wrought with debatable flaws, especially by modern thinking. Affective Context Theory is the new bag,ย emphasising vehemence in memory retention, in other words, you cannot learn anything youโ€™ve no interest in. My curve is the physical example, itโ€™s my belly, and once filled so too is my retention to knowledge, because Iโ€™m interested in filling my gut. I learned a lot today about different world foods, and Iโ€™m likely to remember it because Darrenโ€™s Remembering Curve is particularly full now with new foods Iโ€™ve not tried before, see? Okay, donโ€™t base your PHD on it, as long as you get the general gist!

Awl, hereโ€™s to another year, then, cheers, and thank you to all the organisers of the festival and everyone who provided a dish to try; Iโ€™m full!

What else is happening, dude?!

Wiltshire Music Awards Website Goes Live

Last month we were pleased to announce our involvement with the new Wiltshire Music Awards in conjunction with Wiltshire Events UK, details of which areโ€ฆ

Soupchick in the Park

And there was me thinking nothing good comes out of a Monday! Today local bistro Soupchick, popular in the Devizesโ€™ Shambles opened their second branch,โ€ฆ

Family Easter Holiday Events

Devizine isn’t only about music and gigs for grownups, y’know? It’s about events for everyone. This Easter we’ve lots of things to do over theโ€ฆ

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Autumn-Winter Comedy in Devizes

Comedy in Devizes is a rare thing, unless you count visitors turning right at the Shaneโ€™s Castle junction, reading opinions on the Devizes Issues (but better) Facebook group, and the total legend who once climbed on top of the Roses faรงade to drive the lawnmower mounted up there. But we do have three upcoming comedy gigs to look forward to this autumn-winter; chickens, crossing roads….

Firstly, thereโ€™s two at the Exchange fundraising for the Mayorโ€™s Appeal. One is on Thursday the 3rd October. The โ€˜Ginger Viking’ Chris Brooker is compรจre and it features Pierre Hollins, Neil McFarlane and promises guests.ย 

Expect a mixture of brilliant stand up and ditties. Pierre can move from the glaringly obvious to the sublime with frightening ease and describes himself as โ€˜โ€™far-fetched and slightly dangerous.โ€ A comedian and guitar noodler who has supported Lenny Henry and Rory Bremner, and toured with The Flying Pickets, Willie Rushton & Barry Cryer.

Neil McFarlane is a regular act at the highly-regarded Stand Comedy Clubs in Glasgow & Edinburgh. He now performs in locations across the length and breadth of the British Isles, attracting widespread concern. Allow him gently to divert you from the horrific truth of your own existential plight and occasionally use the word โ€˜seepageโ€™.

Hopefully this will keep us giggling until Thursday 12th December, when the second instalment arrives, again with all proceeds going to the Mayorโ€™s Appeal.

Mirth Control’s Geoff Whiting is compรจre this time around, with Alan Francis, Samantha Day and guests. The List described Alan as โ€œbrazen, dark and clever!โ€ Winner of Channel 4โ€™s ‘So you Think Youโ€™re Funny’ at the Edinburgh Festival, Alan is regular on the UK and International Comedy Circuit, appearing on TV’s Mid Morning Matters, Psychoville, with Alan Partridge, Knowing Me Knowing Yule, Alistair McGowanโ€™s Big Impression, Ancona and Co., Alas Smith and Jones, The BBC Stand-Up Show, the Alan Davies Show, Alexei Sayleโ€™s Stuff and Between the Lines.

Samantha explores everything from sex and money, to pronouns and social media โ€” come and find out if you were smart enough to be born at the right time. Comedy Store King Gong Winner and SCF New Comedian of the Year (2022).

Tickets are ยฃ12.00 adv / ยฃ15.00 on the door. Tickets available at Devizes Books, Vinyl Realm and The British Lion, in Marlborough at Sound Knowledge and online HERE.

Between these two, if the comedy moments do wear off, Devizes Arts Festival has a special autumn night of laughs at the Corn Exchange on Friday 8th November. Headline act Hal Cruttenden is one of the top touring stand-up comedians working in the UK. He has made several appearances on โ€˜Live at the Apolloโ€™, โ€˜Have I got news for you,โ€™ โ€˜The Royal Variety Performanceโ€™, โ€˜Would I Lie To Youโ€™ , โ€˜The One Showโ€™ โ€˜The Great British Bake Off: An Extra Sliceโ€™ and โ€˜The Apprentice: Youโ€™re Fired.โ€™ Hal as completed six nationwide toursโ€ฆ.   He is also a highly accomplished writer and actor.

Alieen McQueen, Steve Williams and Geoff Whiting, compรจre for the December gig also makes an appearance here. Tickets for this one can be found HERE, and are ยฃ12.

You could, potentially, do all these and youโ€™d be loaded with gags to ruin trying to tell your mate at work, or I could tell you my camel joke for free, if you like, but if youโ€™ve heard it onceโ€ฆ..

what else is happening, dude?

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Jazz Orchestras and Senegalese Kora to Musical Bingo; New Autumn-Winter Program at Wiltshire Music Centre

Seems like an age since I last visited Bradford-on-Avonโ€™s wonderful Wiltshire Music Centre, though Iโ€™ve been listing their vast range of events on our calendar. Maybe itโ€™s a good time for you to check out whatโ€™s going on there as theyโ€™ve just released their autumn-winter programโ€ฆ.

From contemporary and folk to jazz and classical, thereโ€™s a massive variety. I’d go out on a limb to suggest you’ll not find such diversity in any local music venue. The season begins with some Northumbrian pipe folk with Kathryn Tickell & The Darkening on Wednesday 2nd October. Pupils of The Yehudi Menuhin School, a global leader in music education, present a varied showcase of talent and skill from their young musicians on Sunday 6th.

While Friday 11th gets choral with innovative and creative vocal ensemble The Marian Consort, telling the story of Renaissance art through sound, renowned Pink Floyd tribute All Floyd recreates the Division Bell album on the Saturday at St Margaret’s Hall, while Syrian โ€œQueen of the Qananโ€ Maya Youssef returns to the centre.

BBC Folk Musicians of the Year Andy Cutting and Sam Sweeney group with Rob Harbron on Wednesday 16th for some freeform folk under the guise Leveret. Food critic and MasterChef judge Jay Rayner arrives Saturday 19th as a pianist with a penchant for jazzy โ€˜80s pop; who knew?!

Catherine at the Music Centre really wanted me to highlight the Charity Musical Bingo night on Wednesday 23rd October. โ€œItโ€™s very new for us,โ€ she told us, but if, like me, youโ€™re thinking โ€˜bingo, really?โ€™ note, she explained the spin on it, โ€œweโ€™re planning it to be glitzy and fun, with an added fancy dress competition, live music from quirky covers band FLQ, plus food from Feast Brothers. Itโ€™s a fundraiser for the Centre; instead of numbers on a bingo card, we play snippets of pop songs from the 50s onwards and if they are on your card, you mark them off until you win.โ€ย  That’s my kinda bingo!

Bringing together an electrifying seven-piece band of influential Senegalese musicians and vocalists, master kora player and singer Seckou Keita could have you swaying to the beat of his latest album, Homeland, on Friday 25th October, while The Urban Folk Quartet mix Celtic tune forms, traditional song and cross-genre influences like Afrobeat, Bluegrass, funk and rock, on Saturday 26th.

Kasai Masai at Wiltshire Music Centre, December 2023

October ends with the classical, a lunchtime concert from Italian string musicians Trio Chagall, and weโ€™ve only mentioned the first month. November sees Sir Stephen Hough, The Bristol Ensemble, both Trowbridge and Bath Symphony Orchestras, and Bachโ€™s Brandenburg Concertos with Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment. For folk thereโ€™s Calan and Manran, thereโ€™s a homage to Simon & Garfunkel, and a big weekend of jazz.

And weโ€™ve not yet covered all the family events like Voices for Life where 200 children from local primary schools sing with BBC Young Chorister of the Year, Belinda Gifford-Guy, or youth projects like Wiltshire England Youth Orchestra and Wiltshire Youth Jazz Orchestra.

Weโ€™ve not touched upon the sterling work of the Zone Club at the centre, offering Monthly creative sessions for learning disabled young adults. Thereโ€™s probably more amazing work going on at Wiltshire Music Centre I donโ€™t even know about, but you cannot deny, itโ€™s a fantastic place with a heart of gold. And you need no other reason to pick up some tickets and support their fundraisers, safe in the knowledge youโ€™re supporting a rather special organisation pushing boundaries in local arts and music.

For full program details, and to book tickets, see HERE.

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Ruby, Sunday at the Gate

It’s a rarity that I should drag myself off the sofa on a Sunday these days, one usually reserved for the monthly Jon Amor Trioโ€ฆ

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๐€ ๐๐ข๐ ๐ก๐ญ ๐จ๐Ÿ ๐Œ๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ข๐œ ๐š๐ง๐ ๐Œ๐ž๐š๐ง๐ข๐ง๐ : ๐…๐ฎ๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ญ๐จ๐ง๐ž ๐Ž๐ซ๐œ๐ก๐ž๐ฌ๐ญ๐ซ๐š ๐š๐ญ ๐“๐ž๐ฐ๐ค๐ž๐ฌ๐›๐ฎ๐ซ๐ฒ ๐€๐›๐›๐ž๐ฒ

Review by Pip Aldridge Last week, I had the privilege of seeing the Fulltone Orchestra perform at the beautiful Tewkesbury Abbey beneath the Peace Dovesโ€ฆ

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Wiltshire Music Eventsโ€™ Grand Music Fundraiser In Salisbury Market Place

Wiltshire Music Events UK has hosted tons of memorable events locally, from CrownFest and The Marley Experience at Devizes Corn Exchange, to more everyday gigs at many pubs and venues across the county. Sunday 27th October sees them on their home-turf for a FREE one-day festival in Salisbury Market Place, fundraising for MNDAโ€ฆ..

Salisbury may be a shady area for Devizineโ€™s coverage, weโ€™re still exploring its many circuits and venues and working on expanding our event guide there, but one thing is for sure, this will be well worth trekking across the Plains for. An unforgettable Sunday of music and community in the Market Square, Salisbury, is promised and Wiltshire Music Events havenโ€™t failed us yet!

This eight-hour charity extravaganza is kicked off by the Little Big Band from 1pm. It’s suitable for all ages, and features the celebrated Bob Marley & The Wailers tribute The Marley Experience, which believe me as a lifelong fan of The Wailers, you must see this for yourself, as they are fantastic.

DJ Mark Anthony is on the wheels of steel between acts. Locally renowned vintage blues ensemble, Junkyard Dogs will be there, with the equally amazing The Leon Daye Band. Accompanying multi-musician and technician Jolyon Dixon, who you may know as one half of Illingworth, with Rachel Sinnetta, a singer with a penchant for delivering the magic of Kate Bush, who Iโ€™ve been tipped off more than once to tick off must-see list. The Tipsy Gypsies, a new one on me but I love the name, and Rosie Jay, an amazing young upcoming singer-songwriter weโ€™ve featured but yet to see live too.

The event will host a licensed bar, craft stalls, and food vendors, providing a variety of refreshments and shopping opportunities. Roaming performers will also entertain the crowd throughout the day.

This event is dedicated to supporting the Motor Neurone Disease (MND) Association. MND is a devastating disease that rapidly progresses, affecting the brain and spinal cord. It currently impacts up to 5,000 adults in the UK, with no known cure. The MND Association works tirelessly to improve care, fund research, and campaign for those affected.  100% of all funds raised will be donated to this vital cause.

It starts at 1pm, continuing until 10pm at the Market Square, Salisbury on Sunday, 27 October 2024.

Look out for other gigs from Wiltshire Music Events on our event calendar, and their Facebook Page; I’ll drop some posters below…..

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Results of Salisbury Music Awards

All images: ยฉ๏ธ JS Terry Photography An awards ceremony to celebrate the outstanding musical talent within the city, aptly titled The 2024 Salisbury Music Awards,โ€ฆ

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Food Glorious Food; A Great Start for Devizes Food & Drink Festival

Hot sausage and mustard! Devizes Food & Drink Festival got off to a yummy, yummy, yummy start Saturday, leaving Devizes folk with love in their tummies, exotic burgers, pies and unusual street food! But the renowned annual food festival doesnโ€™t end with the Market, weโ€™ve a week of grub related events ahead of us, pass the soy sauceโ€ฆโ€ฆ

Unpredictable weather didnโ€™t prevent masses turning out for the free market in, conveniently, the Market Place. And they were blessed by a mostly clement outcome. Tucking umbrellas underarm they noshed and drank till their heart’s content with an array of interesting street food stalls, bars and music.

It was all ukuey shenanigans entertaining the feeding folk with a five-piece skiffle ensemble called the Strungout Ukuleles, and they were a satisfying choice. Surrounding them, hay bales were occupied by seated feasters, the Wadworth bar keeping them refreshed. Hawkstone was another choicest booze outlet, but being endorsed by thick slice of gammon Jeremy Clarkson put me off a smidgen, so I opted for a pint from the Dumb Postโ€™s mobile bar, as it came with a delicious pie; not so dumb, huh?!

Food-wise we were truly spoiled for choice. Popular lunches seemed to be from the Japanese noodle stall, an Indian street food one, but particularly The Tibetan one with their tasty momos, and Calneโ€™s vintage yellow caravan, home of Jamaican jerkinโ€™ Miss Aubreeโ€™s Kitchen, which is like a reggae riddim ina ya belly!

Purbeck supplied the ice cream, and there were more cakes and brownies than I could even eat in a month! Stalls selling homemade sauces, preserves, gins, you name it, where there. I was instructed not to return home without fudge, which was an easy challenge and met with my approval, the fudge judge! 

Aside from our regular bustling markets, it is a lovely annual event in Devizes because we get the kind of food stalls we rarely see here, serving the kind of grub we equally donโ€™t get to taste often. Though many assume it’s the be-all and end-all of Devizes Food & Drink Festival, and to them I say youโ€™ve only put a little toe into the water. It continues over the week, with a variety of ticketed food-related events, ones such as we highlighted in this yearโ€™s preview and can be found on our event calendar, and on their website HERE.

Each expert in their field joins the festival organisers for a range of events, with links to the subject of food. So, Hillworth Park has a teddy bear picnic, Devizes Fire Station serves a hot dish, The Wharf Theatre has a film night, screening The Hundred-Foot Journey, Helen Mirren and Om Puriโ€™s battle over neighbouring French restaurants, and so on; even food critic Tom Parker-Bowles is coming to town, but you better get in quick as tickets are being snapped up for the separate events with many sold out already; I did pre-warn you!

This all ends Sunday 29th September with the World Food Day at the Corn Exchange; get there by midday to ensure you get tasters of the variety of world food dishes created by local residents of respective ethnic backgrounds. They come at just a quid a dish, so fill your boots!

Once the Market Place was tidied the Devizes Food & Drink Festival moved into the Town Hall for a ticketed Italian-inspired meal with Italian food-related readings, mostly from the Devizes Writers Group and sponsored by Devizes Books and the Healthy Life Company. It was all very posh, for me, but communal, welcoming and we enjoyed it.

Rest assured those wordsmiths will be analysing my amateurish writing, so I better get my grammar in gear! From contemporary literature to the Roman Empire, we were treated to passages from various sources, from Robert Harrisโ€™ Pompeii to Guardian articles about cheese. Most memorable was Lewisโ€™ reading from Mary Beardโ€™s Emperor of Rome, about the prankster emperor Elagabalus who teased his guests with whoopie cushions and throwing drunkards into cells with toothless lions and tigers, and Roger, Devizes answer to Brain Blessed, boldly reciting Shakespeareโ€™s Julius Caesar!

It was a great start to the festival, which continues throughout the week, you can even take your dogs to one event at Black Dog Coffee; zoinks! Scooby snacks!

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Information Camouflaged by Three Daft Monkeys

Daft monkeys, three of โ€˜em, and I was proved wrong. It seems monkeys are indigenous to Cornwall, and they bring their monkey business to you with their stupendous new album, Information Camouflageโ€ฆ

Believing is not always seeing; I see four members of Cornish gypsy-folk Three Daft Monkeys, assuming one doesnโ€™t wish to identify as simian, at least not a daft one! Describing their latest release as โ€œa rich, life-affirming tapestry that masterfully blends world folk inspirations with wild punk-infused energy and modern storytelling,โ€ theyโ€™re not fibbing about that, itโ€™s fast, furious with pithy prose and bonkers beats.

Imagine Dylan warbled The Times They Are A-Changin’ with samples, brazen fiddles, a cidered Cornish choir and breakneck Balkan beats at a west country festival chock full of drunken jester-hat wearing revellers, if you care to, and youโ€™ll be nowhere near as potty as the opening to Information Camouflage, Power to the Peaceful, causing me to believe, as I suspected, Iโ€™m going to like this, a lot.

Iโ€™m going to like it because Iโ€™m eclectic and yearn for the alternative, the quirky and curious counterculture, and this bears such hallmarks. But importantly, it does so proficiently, with traditional punkish elements, but not amateurishly, as punk was, debatably, in days of yore.

Dipping into a melting pot of whatever happens to tickle their fancy without the confines of mundane normality, the title track follows, levels down the tempo, slightly, with a gypsy-ska bounce. Itโ€™s continuing with the trenchant epigrammatic against tedious and deceitful conventions, a running theme which intensifies. The Fiji Mermaid, which follows, however, is dreamy psychedelic vaudeville, and frivolous.

First formed at the dawn of the millennium, they regularly supported The Levellers, and the next three songs reflect that tension and angered resistance to conformity. Thereโ€™s an acute and poignant side to 3 Daft Monkeys, itโ€™s fierce and floods you in fiddles and free party vibes, yet retains subtle elements of circus noir. In other words, no deep meaning is going to prevent you jigging barefoot in mud, with no idea or care what happened to your boots.

But itโ€™s not the meld of the opposite sides, fun and seriousness, for thatโ€™s common, rather the balance of the two. If Bob Marleyโ€™s Kaya is joyful and Survival is militant, Exodus finds that perfect balance, Information Camouflage is 3 Daft Monkeysโ€™ Exodus. This is My Call, is a prime example of this, rising and falling musically and equally in mood. Easily, which follows eight tracks in, returns us to the airy, with subtle bhangra vibes.

Itโ€™s from a vast melting pot of influences which makes the best-defined โ€œscrumpy & westernโ€ brew of UK folk, 3 Daft Monkeys stir the pot with gusto, edge and expertise. The final three tunes to this eleven track strong masterpiece doesnโ€™t wait for you to get onboard, itโ€™s a frenzied fiddles finale, a west country hoedown, with an acapella last tune.

All this album has done, other than entertain me highly, is confirm that, if they were playing a festival Iโ€™m at, and my mates wanted to go do something different, Iโ€™d be saying โ€œsee you later,โ€ and making haste for the stage 3 Daft Monkeys are on!

3 Daft Monkeys funded this project with a huge independent CrowdFunder campaign, showing clearly how loved this band is by their ever-increasing global fan base.

Information Camouflage is available now as download and CD from www.3daftmonkeys.co.uk/SHOP .Release date for online streaming platforms: 1st November 2024. Thereโ€™s an autumn tour on their website, closest to here is the Exchange, Bristol on November 2nd.

โ€œThis is not just an album, but an experience,โ€ the band explained, โ€œa kaleidoscopic journey through sound and emotion that celebrates life, love, and the resilient human spirit. Itโ€™s a testament to 3 Daft Monkeysโ€™ dedication to their craft and their unwavering connection with their fans, offering a soundtrack that invites you to dance, reflect, and revel in the magic of music.โ€

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RowdeFest 2025!

Okay, I canโ€™t keep the secret any longer or Iโ€™ll pop! While all the hard work is being organised byโ€ฆ

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Wiltshire Business Community Benefit from Free Support

The “Business Fit For Future” programme has launched with startups across Wiltshire seizing the opportunity to participate in free online business planning workshops. This initiative aims to support the local economy by providing essential resources and knowledge to early-stage business owners, helping them future-proof their offering.

The programme has already attracted a variety of businesses, including a rural marketing agency, a cosmetics business, a rural cafรฉ, and a social enterprise supporting older gentlemen in building peer networks.

Online sessions are being delivered by lead programme partners the University of Bath alongside techSPARK Swindon and Wiltshire. The workshops focus on foundational business principles, offering aspiring and established business owners alike the tools to build and refine their business plans.

Andrea Kelly, from the University of Bath Innovation Centre, expressed her enthusiasm for the programme, stating, “It’s exciting to see these workshops get underway. At the University of Bath, we want to support businesses in the region through access to expertise, innovation, and funding, and our partnership with techSPARK and The Future Smiths does just that. We would encourage all aspiring business owners or those considering self-employment to explore the options available to them and make the most of the expertise on offer that will help see their dream become a reality.”

In-person programmes will kick off in Chippenham and Salisbury in October and will run for eight weeks, before moving to Devizes and then Holt. The Future Smiths will be delivering these, and topics covered will include business fundamentals from creating a solid business plan, financial confidence to understanding market dynamics.

All workshops are fully funded by Wiltshire Council and the UK Government through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund The UK Shared Prosperity Fund provides ยฃ2.6 billion of funding for local investment by March 2025.

Aspiring entrepreneurs and local business owners are encouraged to take up the opportunity to enhance their business acumen, ensure success and network with like-minded individuals. To register interest in the upcoming workshops, visit https://www.thefuturesmiths.co.uk/startup

Forestry Operations Due to Start at West Woods

Featured Photo: Forestry England/Crown copyright

Planned timber harvesting is set to begin at popular walking destination, West Woods, from the end of September until March 2025….

The forest will be open to visitors throughout, but Forestry England is asking walkers to help keep themselves and workers safe by following essential route diversions.

In areas of the forest where mature beech trees are growing densely, they will be thinned out. This will give the remaining trees more space to grow to their potential and allow more light onto the forest floor, which improves conditions for ground flora and the wildlife it supports. Operators will also remove ash trees which are close to access routes around the forest and showing signs of chalara ash dieback. This is a destructive disease that causes trees to become brittle, drop branches, or fall altogether so these trees will be removed for safety.

At the same time, they’ll be working to protect the Wansdyke and Long Barrow scheduled monuments in West Woods by reducing bracken, removing trees in poor condition that might cause damage, and clearing any new trees trying to grow. They work with Historic England to plan how to conserve and improve these irreplaceable monuments.

Throughout the works, Forestry England will be taking steps to protect West Woodsโ€™ famous annual display of native bluebells. Vehicle movements will be carefully managed to minimise their impact on soils and bulbs, and timber will not be stacked in areas that are important for wild flowers. All the timber felled in West Woods is certified by the Forest Stewardship Councilยฎ (FSCยฎ) and the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC) as sustainably produced and supplies UK timber mills.

Area Manager, Nikki Morgans said, โ€œWest Woods is a working woodland producing certified sustainable timber, which is a strong, versatile, and renewable material. Many people see forests and woodlands as natural environments, but they are often working landscapes being carefully managed to benefit people, wildlife, and our economy.”

โ€œOur work this winter is not only producing timber, it is essential to support the
future of West Woods and the features that make it so special. The forest is open
to visitors throughout the work but there will be some necessary disruption to the easy access route, and the Wansdyke path will be closed to allow us to work safely.”

Visitors can help us to re-open these routes as quickly as possible by following
safety signs and instructions. Find out more about Forestry Englandโ€™s work in West Woods at Here.

Swindon Gets Shuffling!

Despite the population of Devizes throwing confetti and paint at each other in their most celebrated annual ritual, I believe I picked the right weekend to visit Swindon; deffo, or are they always โ€˜aving it there?!

The Wildcats whipped butt at their first league game of the season on Friday, but my Saturday was dedicated to exploring the arts, something criticised stereotypically by outsiders. I could sigh, with partial agreement, historically perhaps. Swindon caressed industrial boom, somewhere along the line forgoing its arts and culture. This is changing, and fast, the Shuffle is a skeleton key opening said transpose.

What’s not thankfully changed is Old Town, while central Swindon is unrecognisable compared to twenty years ago. Just as Swindon Paint Fest has decorated the walls with impressive street art, the Swindon Shuffle is the event pushing the town’s boundaries in locally sourced live music. There’s few annual events in Wiltshire showcasing entirely local music, I best liken the Shuffle to The Bradford Roots Festival at the Wiltshire Music Centre. Save, this is spread across the choicest pubs in Swindon rather than under one purpose-built complex.

And it is a mammoth simultaneous exhibition of musical talent, a taster of what the county offers, of which it’d be impossible to witness entirely; best I approach this diary-like, apologies to the many bands I missed. We’re talking over seventy acts spread across nine venues for this four-day beast in its eighteenth year, and it remains free, fundraising via donation buckets for Prospect Hospice. 

Available for the Saturday only, my intention is to take as big a bite of it as I can, taste some known favourites and cross a number of must-sees off my ever-growing list.

Swindon Shuffle is a beautiful thing, a convention for local musicians, promoters, media types and aficionados. I stepped off the bus at The Tuppenny, in a hurry and frustrated I’d now missed Sienna Wileman and likely Chippenham’s singer-songwriter Meg, to bump into Sienna’s father Richard, big Shuffle chief Ed Dyer on the door, and luckily, Meg’s dad Paul; the latter meaning Meg was still playing and I managed to catch the last few songs of this unique and emotive rising star.

This tavern was bustling yet functioning happily, a crowd immersed in Meg’s magical words, set the stage for Americana soloist Jol Rose, up next. Something of a Swindon optimistic Dylan, he retains his concentrated narrative songs in favour of the more lighthearted ditties and banter to appease, though there was a poignant one on the Gaza conflict, but whichever his outlook, Jol is a proficient entertainer and skilled master of his craft.

Breaking familiar territory, new one for me, David Corrigan of The Astral Ponies followed, with an inspiring set of acoustic versions of his band’s songs. The dilemma of going tried and tested against treating the Shuffle as a voyage of discovery set in; solved by the next few hours whereby acts I’m making a beeline for I’m aware of but yet to see live. I tend to get over-excited about such prospects, and figured drinking cider like water might help.

Make no mistake, I could’ve cemented myself in at The Tuppenny, such is its comfy atmos, but, hot on this must-see list, Swindon’s Afro-Latin collective Zambalando are due in a coffee shop on Commercial Road called Baristocats, so I’m moving on. The cafรฉ was bustling and I was early, recalling a Facebook post that the Midlife Krisis sound system was set up in the courtyard of Level III, exterior to the Shuffle program. I thought I’d temporarily breach the Shuffle and check. Bass rolling down the street like the millennium never happened, I turned one corner to find a throbbing little afternoon rave going on, with their symbolic milk-float fronted DJ booth, a wall of sound and smiley ravers giving it some.

Observing street art of city magnitude I left assured, Shuffle or no, Swindon has embraced diverse arts on a level unrivalled by its recent history. Only the thought of Zambalando dragged me away from the old skool vibes, but upon arrival back at Baristocats it seemed they’d cancelled. Nevertheless I commandeered a sofa, tea and toastie, chatting to Swindon’s premiere reggae/ska keyboardist Erin Bardwell, who’s collective Subject A played the Shuffle on Thursday. Baristocats are hip, make a damn fine toastie, and XTC’s keyboardist Barry Andrews, aka Stic Basin, was taking us on a blissful journey of ambient dub.

If Iโ€™m complimenting Swindon, may as well include some infrastructure too, for tucked behind the now commercialised Regent Circus is the steep Prospect Hill, ingeniously with a pub at both the top and bottom. This would be my resting place for the duration, the short distance from the Beehive to the Castle manageable, if uphill, to switch between multi-musician Richard Wileman & singer and saxophonist Amy Fryโ€™s gorgeous experimental jazz-come-psychedelia at the Beehive, and Liddington Hill whoโ€™ve created their own subgenre, Celtic-grunge, and were currently giving it whatโ€™s for at The Castle. Allowing me to cross two must-sees off my list. Liddington Hill was brilliantly loud and in your face, everything Iโ€™d imagined and more, and crowds gathered to salute that.

Unlike the Beehive, I was unfamiliar with the Castle, yet felt immediately at home; it had been invaded by both โ€˜Talkersโ€™ awaiting the headliner, and cheesemakers from Calne, real ones! Itโ€™s fine, off territory, no dispute, love The Real Cheesemakersโ€™ hilarious wurzel take on heavy rock, and boy did they blast it superbly!

Only good things heard about the next band were certainly not fibs. The Belladonna Treatment is a remedy for an off-balance in indie-rock, pop and punk; all subgenres were subtly intertwined idiosyncratically, and beguilingly delivered to sardine-packed admirers, and a new fan here. Unfortunately Trunk, the penultimate act at the Castle I had to miss due to an emergency burger mandate. Itโ€™d be fifteen minutes wait at the chippy, I was content, itโ€™s opposite the Victoria, Swindonโ€™s stalwart music venue and one I unusually gravitate towards.

Age thing, the lineup was particularly heavy and aimed at the younger demographic at the Vic tonight, NervEndings headline, and Iโ€™m well aware of their force of nature as they spawned in Devizes, adding our quintessential blues module to their furiously yet accomplished sound. A whistlestop no longer than a burger on a grill, enough to note it was equally as packed and having it there as the Castle, Lucky Number Seven were ensuring it.      

But if you know me well enough youโ€™ll know if indie-pop virtuosos Talk In Code are there, so am I. Itโ€™s a march back to the Castle for a grand finale of eighties-tinged goodness. I never doubt, Talk in Code pulled it out of the bag, the place was thumping, the crowd were jumping, and the end, for me, to Swindon Shuffle was the icing on an exceptionally tasty cake.

The show continued Sunday, had to miss Concrete Prairie, Courting Ghosts, Cooper Creek, Leon Daye, and others, but I believe I took a fair bite out of this extravaganza, this local music expose, certainly enough to know if you only spend one weekend a year in Swindon, youโ€™d be best advised to make it this one.

You can still donate online to Swindon Shuffle’s fund for Prospect Hospice HERE.

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Wiltshire Council to Trial Street Art Wall in Melksham

Dope Wiltshire Council keepin’ it realz n ting, piloting a new legal art wall in Melksham to give artists the opportunity to showcase their talent without vandalising property; have we entered a new era for the county council, or a parallel universe?! Did they sustain a head injury breakdancing at County Hall?! Like, whatever, it’s both surprising and welcome news….

Perhaps they’ve looked at Swindon Paint Fest and seen how our nearest neighbour are decorating their town so wonderfully. The new art wall will be situated at the underpass on the A350 Bath Road in the town, and while it will continue to be managed and monitored by Wiltshire Council, a local community arts group will take on the day-to-day running of the wall, including the maintenance and cleaning of the artwork.

It will be the responsibility of all the users to ensure they keep to the specified area and adhere to the code of conduct, which includes no offensive tags and respecting all users of the underpass. All materials, such as paint and other art supplies, will be provided by the wall users, and the council will step in to remove any inappropriate artwork if required.

While this sounds subjective and restrictive towards freedom to express discontent in art, as street art often does, it’s a promising start we hope will expand into other towns. I guess we simply have to accept that the Council will be judge and jury on what constitutes “offensive.”” Not excluding, of course, the notion if they are to push too strictly on this, graffiti artists will simply go elsewhere, illegally, and the whole scheme is at risk of failure.

Image taken from this year’s Swindon Paint Fest

Cllr Nick Holder, Cabinet Member for Highways and Street Scene, said, “Graffiti is a longstanding antisocial issue across the country, and so we’re pleased to be able to trial this legal art wall in Melksham, with the hope it can be a success to roll out into other areas of the county.“

“We’ve spoken to other authorities, mostly in urban areas, that have trialled similar projects, and they have seen a fall in illegal graffiti, along with increased engagement with the community, and we hope we can do the same here in Wiltshire.“

I believe, and hope, they will be pleasantly surprised by the results, artistically, but the divide between what constitutes art and what constitutes vandalism is subjective and open to debate. Yet Mr Holder says, “We hope to see some fantastic artwork showcased on the wall once it launches later this year – along with a decrease in illegal graffiti in Melksham during the coming months.“ And I have to tip my hat to that, for while it’s too late for me and my spray paint days are over, it is the art movement of today, and like it or loathe it, it’s here to stay.

To get involved in the project, people should contact Richard Rogers, Strategic Engagement and Partnerships Manager, on richard.rogers@wiltshire.gov.uk(opens new window).

Have Your Say on Forestry Englandโ€™s Future Plans for West Woods and Collingbourne Woodland

The newly drafted forest plan for West Woods and Collingbourne is open for public consultation until Monday 7 October. The plan outlines how each woodland will be managed over the next 10 years to provide sustainably grown timber for the nation, promote public access for informal recreation, and improve habitats for wildlifeโ€ฆ.

The main aim for West Woods, near Marlborough, and Collingbourne, near Ludgershall, is  to gradually diversify the tree species. This helps to attract more wildlife and increase the forestsโ€™ resilience against threats, such as future climate conditions and pests and diseases.

Forest Planner at Forestry England, Abby Parravani said, โ€œforest plans define the long-term, beyond-our-lifetime vision for the nationโ€™s forests and set out how we will work towards this over the next ten years. We are keen to involve the local communities who use and value these woodlands to give feedback as they will see the forests evolving over the coming decade.โ€ 

Photo credit: Forestry England/Crown
copyright

Forestry England is an agency of the Forestry Commission. It manages and cares for the nationโ€™s 1,500 woods and forests, with over 285 million visits in 2023/24. As Englandโ€™s largest land manager, they shape landscapes and enhance forests for people to enjoy, wildlife to flourish and businesses to grow. They are continuing the work we have already started to make the nationโ€™s forests resilient to climate change, and pledge by 2026 to create at least 6,000 more hectares where they will integrate wilding activities in productive forests, increase the diversity of visitors to the nationโ€™s forests and have one million hours of high-quality volunteer time given to the nationโ€™s forests, and planting at least 2,000 hectares of new, high quality, predominantly broadleaf woodlands.  

To view and provide feedback on the draft plan, visit HERE. For more information on forest plans see HERE.

Photo credit: Forestry England/Crown
copyright

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Devizes International Blues Festival in January

Benefits of having a Mayor who runs a blues club! Devizes blues fans get a late but great Christmas present when Mayor Ian Hopkins brings us this peach, a Devizes International Blues Festival on Saturday January 18th at the Corn Exchange; this news should warm you up!

“This is the biggest show I have everย put on,” Ian told us, and he’s put on a few in his time! It promises to be an all-day festival, starting at 2pm and containing a great line-up of blues stars. Any profits will go to the Mayors Appeal.

“We will be creating a intimate atmosphere of a blues club limited to just 250 tickets. There is a special Early Bird of ยฃ45.00 prior to 1st November when price rises to ยฃ50.00,” he explained, seemingly and understandably excited, you probably are too! Book now at Long Street Blues Club website, or tickets are at Devizes Books and Sound Knowledge in Marlborough.

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In Retrospect With Gary Martian

So yeah, not only has Cracked Machine and Clock Radio drummer Gary Martin added a letter A to his name to make it sound moreโ€ฆ

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The Juggernaut Delivers Back at The Southgate

If there’s been welcomed stand-ins for the monthly Jon Amor Trio residency at the Southgate in Devizes recently, Ruzz Evans and Eddie Martin, Jon โ€œthe juggernautโ€ returned from a break to deliver ten or more bulky pallets of sublime unadulterated blues to our own Sunday juke-jointโ€ฆthat’s how you do it, Devizes style!

Do we need to go further? Most Devizine writers have covered past sessions in our own individual ways, including myself, but equally in agreeance with anybody and everybody who’s ever attended one, this is where it’s at on a Sunday afternoon, this is the alternative Sunday roast.

I’ll keep it short, but have to say, you won’t find a more apt scenario for the idoim โ€˜time flies when you’re having fun,โ€ given the Jon Amor Trio residency at the Southgate is into its third year. And it’s become something of a town tradition; they’ll be throwing confetti at it next!

Said tradition usually comes with a special guest, many of whom return for gigs within their own right and band, but this month’s proved that’s just a bonus ball, as Jon did without this time, and with the best drum and bass duo Tom Gilkes and Gerry Soffe, they absolutely and undeniably shook the jammed joint.

If you’re still not in on this after us endlessly waffling about how good it is, that’s you’re perogative, but it’s not too late neither is it an exclusive club, you’d be welcome.

With the autumn season atย Long Street Blues Club pending, this was just what the blues aficionados of old Devizes town needed right now, therefore I feel confident to speak for us all when I sincerely thank Jon, Tom and Gerry for bringing us this monthly gem.ย  The formula is the first Sunday of each month, but keep an eye on our calendar or socials for any possible changes, and be there for the next one!

Deadlight Dance New EP Chapter & Verse

Marlborough gothic duo Deadlight Dance are due to release an EP of new material. Itโ€™s called Chapter & Verse and itโ€™ll be out on Ray Records on 13th September 2024โ€ฆโ€ฆ

Nick Fletcher and Tim Emery, aka, Deadlight Dance, stripped back a collection of their favourite new wave-goth classics and recorded them at the 12th century All Saints Church in Alton Priors last November, releasing them as an album, The Wiltshire Gothic, in March. If the Wiltshire Gothic excelled in uniqueness for acoustically recreating the sounds which inspired them, Deadlight Dance prove theyโ€™re no one trick pony with this new EP, as while it equals to the eminence of The Wiltshire Gothic, it does so for entirely the opposite reasoning.

After this acoustic beauty of echoing mandolins the effect is immediate, Deadlight Dance pull out heavy synths on this EP, a stark difference you may also find in their live gigs, swapping from acoustic to synths at the halfway house. Itโ€™s electronica punchy and as positively eighties as the original new wave and gothic songs they covered for The Wiltshire Gothic, of Joy Division, Sisters of Mercy, Fields of the Nephilim, et al, but all five tracks are their own work, completely original.

The only similarities with the last album is that thereโ€™s a theme, this time within the subject matter rather than the production, and naturally, itโ€™s as proficiently entertaining. The concept here is something to appease their old English Lit teachers at the Sixth Form where they met, as each track is inspired by a book character, in one word titles. So, the tracks are Montag, Rosemary, Charrington, Judas and Monster, leading me to rustle my mindโ€™s archives as to the books they represent; I got four out of five without Google, honest, sir, do I get a merit mark or something like that?!

Opening sonic, like OMD in their prime, book-burning firefighter Guy Montag of Fahrenheit 451 is the first subject and this is the only tune here which uses a sample, from the 1966 film adaptation Iโ€™d imagine, but Iโ€™ve not seen it, only read the book like a good boy! Obviously, futurism fears, flames and the controversial connotations of Ray Bradburyโ€™s magnum opus is ideal for a gothic related song, and we are off to an engagingly good start.

The second song is the one I guessed incorrectly, itโ€™s the girlfriend of the neurotic Gordon Comstock in Orwellโ€™s Keep the Aspidistra Flying, Rosemary Waterlow. Concentrating on her relationship frustrations, the song is a haunting echo in plodding synths, again, an ideal candidate for Nickโ€™s howlingly vocals.

Sticking with George Orwell, though this one remains instrumental, the antique dealer come undercover Thought Police agent in Nineteen-Eighty-Four, Mr. Charrington is the next subject. Again, itโ€™s a haunting sound enough, it needs no vocals, it twists in metallic scraping undertone, dark and mysterious futurism, it would evoke the perfect mood for the score to any possible remake, or in turn the soundtrack to the previous UK government who seemed to view Orwellโ€™s masterpiece a self-help guide; apologies, couldnโ€™t resist adding that!

Fourth tune in, is called Judas, no prizes for citing the book it comes from, but after the gloom of Charrington, the sound is surprisingly uplifting, capturing the pop side to classic goth rock, like The Cure. Iโ€™m undecided if the song is sympathetic to the actions of Jesusโ€™ grass Judas Iscariot, if it furthers to question the integrity of the bible more generally, or both. But itโ€™s an interesting atheistic angle, and an astutely written song.

Thereโ€™s a bass stomp verging on techno intro to the final song, Monster, reminding me of a fast coming of Jaws, then the synths swirl and Nickโ€™s off thirty seconds into the melodic narrative of Mary Shellyโ€™s Frankenstein, or the The Modern Prometheus, a gothic novel indeed. It caused me to consider Frank Millerโ€™s reinvention of Batman, a character whoโ€™s mysteriously shadowy edge was lost through the passage of commercialisation, particularly via TV, and how he gifted us The Dark Knight version.

Frankenstein portrayals are so commonplace, and often comical, it obscures the harrowing nature of the original story. As they do with all the book characters here, Deadlight Dance captures the mood, the intensity and torment of Mary Shellyโ€™s monster, through music, as by Sergei Prokofiev captured the characterisations of Peter, the Wolf and other animal side characters. Itโ€™s an absorbing prose, excellently manufactured, and brings gothic rock of yore back into the forefront. Not forgoing, when contrasted with the Wiltshire Gothic, it shows diversity in Deadlight Dance, both are returns to โ€œconceptโ€ in albums, something dearly overlooked in todayโ€™s one track Spotify world. It leaves me wondering where theyโ€™ll go next, but feeling confident each new progression will contain cognitive connotations amidst this hail of gothic rock, and these are the elements which makes each release a treasure.

Chapter & Verse will be released on Ray Records on 13th September 2024, across streaming platforms and available to buy on Bandcamp. Follow Deadlight Dance socials to keep in the know.

Find Deadlight Dance supporting Canute’s Plastic Army at the Tuppenny, Swindon on 19th September.ย 

Also, these:

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Personal Recommendations For Swindon Shuffle

Supporters of local live music know, least they should do by now, that Swindon is the place to head this following weekend, 12th-15th September, because it’s that time of year when Swindon gets shufflingโ€ฆ.

Yep, The Swindon Shuffle is the town’s longest running ever-growing music festival, taking place over multiple venues and it’s free save for bucket collecting for the very worthy charity, Prospect Hospice. Swindon Shuffle, eh? Swindon Dilemma more like; thereโ€™s so, so, so many quality acts to look forward to, some clashes, thereโ€™s tough decisions ahead!

Find the full line-up on their website HERE. But it’d be impossible to mention it all, so here’s my personal preferences for unmissable acts over the long weekend, with as many Bandcamp or Spotify (if I have to) links to the artists as I can find, so you can get acquainted before the weekend.

If I was able to attend the entire thing, which is unlikely Iโ€™m afraid, but if I could, here’s how I’d approach the task. Thursday 12th is easy-peasy, 8:15 at the Tuppenny for Adam Woodhouse’s Thieves, impressive bluegrass goodness. Then pop to the Hop for some sonic pop rock with Atari Pilot, followed by the experimental dub of Erin Bardwell & Dean Sartain’s Subject A, with Heather O’Neill, Neil Sartain, Matty Bane, Harki Popli and others, it’s a gorgeous sound from an amazing collective.

Friday 13th gets trickier to pick. Hooch at The Castle for a 19:15 start. There’s two Hooch’s on the local circuit, one is an okay cover band, but this Hooch is the one you need, they’ll brew covers too but have a wonderful discography of originals in a Californian surf-rock fashion.

Then it would be over to the Victoria by 21:15 do NOT miss the sublime grunge of I See Orange, they’re one of my new favourite things, and that wonderful noise of Viduals follow, punking it up with Chasing Dolls for the finale. While I’ve not seen Chasing Dolls I’ve heard only good things about them, and after a blast of the other two I believe I’d be too exhausted to venture anywhere else by then anyway!!

Saturday 14th is an early start at The Tuppenny, daughter of Swindon’s answer to Mike Oldfield, Richard Wileman, Sienna Wileman is one I simply have to cross my must-see list, meaning I’ve got to get into Old Town by quarter-to-three, but it’d be worth it. Chippenham’s wonderfully unique folk singer-songwriter M3g follows Sienna, and we love M3g here at Devizine. And Meg is followed by Swindon legend Jol Rose, it’s a heaven-sent acoustic afternoon.

Then I’d be off to find Baristocats; love the name, not been there yet, but they’ve got Latino melting pot ensemble Zambalando, who, since fondly reviewing their album, I’ve been dying to catch live. Then, a bit of a dilemma, it’s a toss up between Liddington Hill at the Castle at 19:15, who, like Zambalando, I’m fanatical about after reviewing but yet to catch live, but unlike them they’ve created their own subgenre, โ€˜celtic grunge,โ€™ donโ€™t you know?! Yeah, this, or the aforementioned Richard Wileman with Amy Fry, same time at The Beehive. It’s about this time in the proceedings when I really need cloning technology to drastically drop in price!

Hey look, any of these bands are worth trekking to the roundabout metropolis for, together it’s heaven in Swindon; whoโ€™d have flunked it?! As much as I’d like to be at the Vic for a very loud triple bill of Lucky Number Seven, Phantom Droid and NervEndings, I’m tempted towards the Castle to finish Saturday off in style. Calne’s comical metallers The Real Cheesemakers are on at 20:45 there, followed by Truck, who I don’t know, but will be holding out for Talk in Code as a grand finale; those boys, we love โ€˜em!

Sunday and we’re back to easy pickings, Cooper’s Creek at The Tuppenny for 15:15, onto The Beehive for a marvellous evening, Courting Ghosts, The Leon Daye Band, and Concrete Prairie at 19:30. Concrete Prairie, though, has to be done.

That would be my dream Shuffle this year, if oh, erm, that doesn’t sound a bit rude. But hey, Iโ€™m only tuning into a tried and tested formula for choices, and thereโ€™s so many acts on the roster here I should be paying a visit to, but which ones? Feel free to comment here on the social media shares, and let us know which ones you think we should be there to see!

I mean Iโ€™ve heard great things about Reuben’s Daughters, Abstraction Engine, B-Sydes, Emma Doupรฉ, and many others, so perhaps I need to be a little more adventurous?! Whatever decisions you make, youโ€™ll be safe in the knowledge The Swindon Shuffle cherry-picks the finest local talent and brings them to you in a mahoosive arrangement of gigs, at nine separate venues in or around Old Town, and itโ€™s the best time youโ€™ll ever have in Swindon, unless, you never know, you might prefer shopping and a squashed Big Mac?!

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Tickets for Calne Music & Arts Festival on Sale Now

Running from the 4th to 13th October, The Calne Music & Arts Festival celebrates its 50th anniversary, and tickets for the varied events are on sale nowโ€ฆ.

Arts Festival President Carole Browne said, โ€œin the year that we celebrate our 50th anniversary, our Patron, Dame Judith Weir, who was composer in residence at the 1975 festival, will be handing the baton to another prestigious composer, Brett Dean, who will take up the position in 2025.โ€

โ€œWe are indeed fortunate to have so many musicians and artists who have made their home in Calne. This is a year of many anniversaries. 40 years ago the iconic Harris factory, established in 1770, which dominated the centre of Calne and became its biggest employer,was demolished. Joseph Priestley โ€˜discoveredโ€™ oxygen in Calne 250 years ago. We will mark these anniversaries with special concerts and a community art project featuring over 500 pigs, painted and decorated and on view all over the town.โ€

โ€œAn exhibition in the Heritage Centre throughout October will catalogue, with brochures and press cuttings, the past 50 years as well as featuring a selection of chosen piglets.โ€

As usual there will also be the art exhibition at Marden House, presenting hundreds of pieces from beginners to internationally exhibiting artists from in and around Calne. The exhibit is open at various times throughout the festival.

Festival week starts with a free family day at Marden House, on Saturday 5th, with a 360-degree immersive Theatre Dome experience, Calne Samba Band, Clareโ€™s Circus, a variety of activities by Calne Wordfest, Music and Art workshops throughout the day, an art treasure hunt, stilt walker and more.

Irish Soprano Michelle Sheridan Grant and Scottish Bass-Baritone Peter Grant bring you an eclectic musical evening, also on the 5th. A Gala concert which will be followed by tea, The Ridgeway Ensemble – ‘Walk in Beauty’ on Sunday. Thereโ€™s also a free life drawing session, and Evensong at St Marys.ย 

Accomplished soloist, passionate chamber musician and repetiteur for Opera Ddraig, George Fradley will perform Beethoven’s Sonata Op.109, Chopin’s Ballade No 4 and the Bach-Busoni Chaconne in D Minor, on Monday 7th October. Also The ‘Major Minors’ is a community choir bringing together children from primary schools in Calne and surrounding villages under the direction of Bethan Fryer. They will be joined by Cherhill Youth Theatre and the school choir of Heddington school on Monday. Thereโ€™s โ€œdrink & drawโ€ sessions, and Calne Wordfest Writersโ€™ group joins the celebration of Priestley 250.

Tuesday 8th sees Music Scholars of St. Mary’s School, Calne, then some banjo with the Leon Hunt Trio. Wednesday an Art Talk by Gail Brown and Isla String Quartet. Thursday,ย  Music Scholars of Marlborough College and world music with Eastern Strings and Nabra Trio. Friday 11th sees a clarinet recital with local clarinettist Simon Parker, Opera Anywhereโ€™s Gilbert and Sullivanโ€™s Patience.

Saturday 12th sees Australian now Calne artists Brett Dean and Heather Betts in conversation with Genevieve Sioka, an evening of traditional Andalusian Guitar and Flamenco dance with Flamenco Loco, Calne Choralโ€™s Cloud Messenger from Gustav Holst Gloria-Vivaldi, and a grand finale party!

The Calne Music & Arts Festival box office is open now, you can see the full program and book tickets from HERE.

What else is occurring, dudes?!

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Pantomime Audition at The Wharf Theatre, Devizes

Auditions for this year’s pantomime at The Wharf Theatre in Devizes are on Sunday 8th September at 2.30pm, at the theatre; could you make a great Hansel, Gretel, or maybe, dare I say it, a wicked witch?!

Yes, this year’s panto is all gingerbread houses in dark forests, and Officer Button and Mrs Brooke Bond hoping to find Hansel and Gretel. They’ve many varied roles available and are particularly looking for a young man who can sing and dance a little, approx 16-30 yrs, for the lead male role.

There’s no need to be a member of the theatre at this stage, just turn up on the day.

This fun adaptation of the Brothers Grimm classic Hansel & Gretel will run from November 29th till December 7th, 2024, by The Wharf Writersโ€™ Group and directed by Karen Ellis & Jessica Bone. Tickets available at their box office and Devizes Books.

Pantomime at the Wharf is always a magical experience, and usually a sellout show. I loved Jack & The Beanstalk last year, but that’s behind us nowโ€ฆoh no, it isn’t!!

A Chat With Nothing Rhymes With Orange; Goodbye Devizes, or Chow For Now?!

Devizes-own indie-pop-punk youth sensation Nothing Rhymes With Orange smashed the Exchange on Friday as a farewell to their local fanbase. They pursue a music course together at Bristol Uni; but is this goodbye forever, or just Chow for Now? (there’s a pun there, but only for ardent fans!) I met them at their rehearsal the day before to ask this, chat about their past, prospects, breakfast cereal intake, and Jennifer Anistonโ€ฆ.

If you noted new songs on Saturday, why one was named Jennifer, if you observed the song Manipulation, once used as an encore, was pushed to the middle of the set, or if you’re generally wondering how they’ll cope living and studying together in one house, all will be answered!

Background first. A couple of years is all it’s taken Nothing Rhymes With Orange to build a phenomenon locally, the likes I once compared to The Hoax thirty years ago. I quoted myself to nightclub owner Ian James, who agreed, reminiscing about the Hoax playing Jools Holland’s show. They may not have reached that level yet, but this present conjunction is the make-or-break period. Many school bands fold here, as life takes them in different directions. Ergo, key to gauging their thoughts is to cast their minds to the beginning and discover how close knit they are.

So once we established the original lineup of frontman Elijah Easton, guitarist Fin Anderson-Farquhar, drummer Lui Venables, and bassist Ivor Ritson formed NRWO at Devizes school, Ritson being replaced by Sam Briggs soon after, I wondered if they were friends beforehand. โ€œWe all knew โ€˜ofโ€™ each other,โ€ Sam and Lui confirmed, โ€œkind of knew each other separately from Lavington,โ€ Fin added. โ€œBut then we didn’t talk to each other!โ€ Sam completed. Elijah agreed, stating heโ€™d known Lui since about twelve years old, โ€œbut we didn’t speak until I was about sixteen,โ€ when they both joined another band.

Sam brought it to present day, โ€œif youโ€™d have asked us at the start, like five years ago, if you’d all be living in the same flat togetherโ€ฆ.โ€ Which bought a round of laughs, I believe Lui bantered about Sam. โ€œI would have been like, what are you talking about?!โ€ Sam completed.  Youngest in the band, Fin, reminisced, โ€œme and Sam used to play in a band together, when I was in year 7 and he was in year 9,โ€ then added โ€œnarcolepsy!โ€ Iโ€™m uncertain if thatโ€™s the name of the band, or if he suffers sleep disorder!

Theyโ€™re venturing to Bristol to study the same music course, residing at the same residence. Sam pointed out last year ago thatโ€™s the furthest theyโ€™d gigged. โ€œThis year we’ve done everywhere compared to last year.โ€ Story checks out, alongside many festival bookings, they also made first steps in London, โ€œyeah, Camden in two weeks,โ€ Sam replied. But when they get there, and people don’t know them, how does it compare to being in Devizes with fans singing back to them? And which do they prefer?

Image: Gail Foster

As harmonious as they perform, they agreed they love playing both, Elijah complementing, โ€œwhen you go to these places and then you see people enjoying your music as well, that’s a whole other experience.โ€

Sam exampled a gig at Bathโ€™s Komedia, balancing the two, โ€œthat was half and half. Some people at the front who knew us. But then there was about 500 other people, which was mental!โ€

On the potential pressures of communal living I used an example; an occasion when I woke up one morning to discover the pasty Iโ€™d planned to take to work had a bite taken out of it, and was placed inconspicuously back into the fridge!

Fingers for such inconsiderate tomfoolery was immediately pointed to Elijah, with milk! He confessed heโ€™s on about seven bowls of cereal a day! โ€œBut I buy them,โ€ he reasoned. โ€œI think that’s the difference. When we were at the start of Sixth Form, I didn’t really know what I was going to do,โ€ he furthered, โ€œand I didn’t know I was going to Bristol. I had no idea what I was going to do with it.โ€

Image: Gail Foster

Sam added, pointing to Fin, โ€œI think I was the only one of us three, and maybe you, who knew you were going to do music at college, maybe…โ€

โ€œYeah, because I have no other option,โ€ Fin complemented!

Sam continued, โ€œI was already going to do that before I even got in the band together, I injected that into you a little bit when I turned up.โ€

โ€œI think now we’re just throwing ourselves all in,โ€ Elijah said, โ€œabout two years ago, we were doing it and not sure what we were going to do.โ€ There was a mutual agreement it was because, โ€œwe love it.โ€

Maybe they can deal with subtle musical differences, but when it comes down to breakfast cereal, that could be the limit which pushes it over the edge! Yet when citing their musical influences, they all wanted to say the Fontaines, even when I first opened the door to see Elijah bouncing around the hall with his guitar, Sam sitting picking his like it was made from diamond, Fin with the expression of motivated concentration, and Lui holding it together on the drums, it was like a gig without the audience, and all these elements indicates mutual appreciation for their common goal, drives an instinctive pledge, a motivation to bond and therefore to work harmoniously, and hard.  As Elijah expressed, โ€œwell, it’s like we’re brothers now.โ€

While the guys were taking the interview seriously, there I was back on pastry products, implementing an unwarranted light-hearted angle, joking on the Greggs steak bake falling apart lyric from their song Monday, was his own fault for going to Greggs. Yet in this I was pondering those amusing themes of pitiful everyday scenarios like Lidl Shoes too, as all good punk should, against the balance of romantic themes, and this brought about how they tackle cliches in pop when creating a song, and methods they use to compose them.

Image: Gail Foster

โ€œI’ll probably come up with some lyrics,โ€ Elijah revealed, โ€œif thereโ€™s a lyric that is unbearably cliche or, obviously, there’s something in it that you could make fun of or compare to another songโ€ฆ If we make a song that sounds like a YouTube montage, one of us will bring it up, and bluntly say this sounds cringe. We just get rid of that. Looking back on our old songs, we sort of did. If you think Manipulation, when I listen back to that now, I think it’s a bit cliche, but part of cliche people still have a love for.โ€

Manipulation was their crowd-pleaser and often used as the encore, I had previously noted it had been pushed to the middle of the setlist for tomorrowโ€™s gig.

Sam theorised, โ€œthereโ€™s a familiarity in cliche. In some sense you can find beauty in it โ€˜coz you can try hard to avoid a clichรฉ, and write with an ambiguous sense about something, but people still need to understand it, and I think itโ€™s easy to go away from what people know. You know what you’re thinking, other people don’t. The hardest part is the balance of trying to write something people can understand and connect with as well as not thinking it’s cliche. That’s the difficult art to master.โ€

Do they have a template when creating songs, or do they sporadically come together naturally? โ€œThey’re all different, really,โ€ Elijah answered, โ€œwe all do instrumentally. I’ll think of some lyrics, but it can change from song to song. The recent ones, we’ve been coming up with loads of new ones, and the new format is, we’ll think of some lyrics, we’ll cook it quietly, maybe get the first product ready, and then get the whole band in and finish it into this final product.โ€

Image: Gail Foster

Eiljah praised Samโ€™s input. โ€œAnother thing that’s changed is having Sam in the band, because we’ve written differently compared to when we wrote Manipulation and songs like that and didn’t have Sam in the band. Sam’s changed the dynamic again with how the template is, and now we’ve got him playing guitar, we’ve got like three songs greatโ€ฆ.โ€

Fin added, โ€œwhen we started, we were sitting down and going, โ€˜we need to write a song,โ€™ now itโ€™s like, ooh, a new song come up, letโ€™s do that, it’s less sitting down and going, โ€˜we are writing a song right now.โ€™โ€

I could sense professionalism establishing through experience and understanding the natural passage of creativity is to recognise and develop when inspiration strikes. The new songs are patently more skilled than previous three-minute punker blasts, to concentrated and prolonged instrumental sections akin to prog rock, yet retaining edge, NRWO are crafting a unique style and are united in perfecting it. The gig at the Exchange confirmed this.

Sam said, โ€œthat’s the most important thing to stay with when you’re writing a song. It’s to not write a song because you need a song, but it’s to write a song because you want to write a song. We’ve done it before. You sit down and you’re like, oh shit, we’ve run out of ideas. We’ve played all these songs a thousand times. Let’s write something new, but 99% of the time nothing comes out of that. It’s more likely to come out of just sitting down and you’re jamming or you’re sitting in your room.โ€

Elijah added, โ€œFor me, you know, the song starts as an emotional output, experience. We’ll have a week of not trying to write anything, and you have like, a shit day or, you go to a party or something and then, suddenly, you wake up about 3:00 in the morning, write this song and then go back to sleep! And then I’ll wake up in the morning. I’ll send Sam a voice-note on my phone singing.โ€ Like the song Monday, I reasoned, that happened, didnโ€™t it? โ€˜I’m having a typical Monday, write a song about it!โ€™

Image: Gail Foster

โ€œIt’s interesting the links you can find,โ€ Sam responded, โ€œEli might have written some lyrics, and then a month later I’ve wrote some guitar parts, and I’ll send it to him. What I was feeling at the time I wrote that guitar part was the same as what he was feeling when he wrote some lyrics another time. And those two things end up being a song.โ€

โ€œI think we’re sometimes technologically on a wavelength as well,โ€ Elijah followed with, โ€œwe’ll literally write a song on WhatsApp, we’ve done that on voicemail!โ€

Thinking this has all gone rather serious, I asked the guys, โ€œwhoโ€™s in it for the music? Whoโ€™s in it for the chicks? And who’s a bit of both?!โ€ And you should realise I cannot divulge full details, but some decided on otherโ€™s behalf, few suggested they were spoken for, few opted for both, but when it returned to seriousness, the music was the overall winner.  โ€œI’m definitely in it for the music,โ€ Elijah claimed, then professed to writing a song about his fixation for Jennifer Aniston, whoโ€™s erm, four years older than me, โ€œwhen she was in Friends,โ€ he clarified! Fin hoped Jennifer might marry him off, but they performed the song at the Exchange, none of the female fans seemed to fuss!

Nothing Rhymes With Orange at Devizes Street Festival

We moved swifty onto the course at Uni. โ€œWe’re almost all doing the same thing,โ€ Fin explained, but stressed there was differences. โ€œThere’s production,โ€ Elijah added, โ€œturning it from live music into songs, how to record and how to get all the right equipment and recording settings.โ€

โ€œIt sounds like all you’re going to be doing is playing guitar or drums or whatever,โ€ Fin informed, โ€œbut it’s getting bookings, arranging gigs. There’s also business and event management in it as well. Yeah. So it’s kind of it’s the performance and โ€˜around itโ€™ as well as like just standing and playing shows.โ€

โ€œWhich is pretty good because I mean, we’re kind of been doing it for a year!โ€ conveniently led me onto my next question, if they could put forward what theyโ€™ve already achieved as a project? Elijah scrubbed the โ€˜homeworkโ€™ idea but welcomed the thought they would โ€œhelp us achieve more and bigger opportunities, links into festivals and meeting new people and into new studios.โ€ Just being in Bristol alone is beneficial to this, surely?

โ€œWe started to struggle recently with the fact that there’s only so much you can gain from being in a little town,โ€ Sam expressed, โ€œthough itโ€™s been nice.โ€ This took us on the angle of finding venues wanting original music over cover bands. โ€œThat’s the thing,โ€ he continued, โ€œyou often get, โ€˜ooh, can you play covers? Which is fine. What’s been good, is to get such a strong fan-base. It’s been easy because there’s not much else around.โ€ Using a gig from May, at the Three Crowns in Devizes, where the usual requirement is cover bands, such is the reputation the boys have attained, fans will sing their songs back to them in much the same way classic covers will evoke.  

โ€œYeah, it’s just brilliant,โ€ Elijah smiled. โ€œWe met loads of people, had amazing gigs in Devizes. I’d like to think this is the start; we’ve got this band now, and we know what we want to sound like, we know what we want to play like, and we know how we want to perform. So we’re just taking the same thing, and the main goal is trying to get it as big as possible, which is a bit crazy! Crazy, but I think the whole thing is a bit crazy, because if you’d have told me and Lui like what, five years ago, we’d even beโ€ฆ.โ€

โ€œYeah,โ€ Luiinterrupted, โ€œitโ€™s mental where weโ€™ve comeโ€ฆ.โ€

And it is. I asked of their influences, but rather they concentrated on upcoming guitar bands like Wunderhorse, found solace in the smaller stages at Reading Festival, and stuck to their guns of analogue guitar music rather than experiment with tech. I pushed them on synths and backing tracks. โ€œI don’t think we necessarily want it for ourselves,โ€ Elijah said, โ€œbut I think it’s inspiring to see a band going into mainstream with just their guitars and nothing else because I think it’s rare now.โ€

Fin expanded, โ€œa lot of the people in the top ten are just one person,โ€ and we spoke of the depletion of mainstream bands. โ€œA randomly inspiring one, because I could list 1000 bands which inspire me,โ€ Sam added, โ€œthat’s the obvious thing to say, but besides that, like Reading the other day, we saw Georgia Smith, and itโ€™s cool to see, not thatโ€™s inspiring our music, but to see there’s a band playing behind her. If you listen to her on Spotify, there’s garage beats and it’s all produced and processed stuff; that’s coming round a bit more as well. You see these people who traditionally would have a backing track and a microphone, coming out with band behind them. Which is really cool as well, on the basis, one; it gives you different points of view on what you could go to as a band later down the line, and also the fact that there’s more room for itโ€ฆ.โ€

โ€œItโ€™s good to see music live,โ€ Elijah prompted a chat about smaller gigs versus the mainstream. โ€œI will always love loads of fans, always,โ€ he suggested, โ€œwhen you see like all those faces out in front of you, and it’s like geez!โ€

We spoke of naturally maturing a sound but being uniformed against selling out or diversifying your style, ending with me supposing thereโ€™s a formula you stick to for however long that roller coaster rides.

โ€œIf you change in the right way, you can never be wrong,โ€ Elijah replied, โ€œwe’ve probably got an album of songs now that we’d all be happy recording and releasing. But if we did another one, we stick to the same formula, but say, a third album, normally people get bored of it.โ€

Sam added, โ€œthere’s changing in style, which can degrade a band potentially,โ€ but turned the focus onto โ€œa loss of energy,โ€ for the flailing attention of the public on a band. Sam figured it wasnโ€™t the change in style of a band, โ€œbut if you don’t retain that energyโ€ฆ.one thing you shouldn’t do is not change your style and try and stick to the same thing, if none of you want to do it, because then it’s just going to sound like you don’t want to do it. And I think, personally for me, and otherโ€™s might feel differently but I find it more important if you needed to do a little change in style to promote the fact that you like what you’re doing now, I feel like that’s better and I think to an audience that’s better conveyed if someoneโ€™s enjoying themselves on stage playing what they like. That’s better to see than someone playing what you want but not enjoying it.โ€

But Iโ€™m going to twist the narrative to influences, because I believe the lads have been a contributor to encouraging younger locals to practise and form bands too, and wanted to ask them if they had any advice for them. Iโ€™m unsure how true this is, they suggested they wasnโ€™t aware of it, but were happy to hear of it. But the advice was definite and unified; โ€œdon’t give up.โ€ โ€œYeah, just do it.โ€ โ€œIf you wanna do it, do it. It’s clichรฉ, butโ€ฆ.โ€

โ€œEven if you got no idea what you want to do,โ€ Eljah added, โ€œif you like something and you’re enjoying it, just do it! Because otherwise you can’t just be miserable if you’re not doing it. If you listen to people who say, oh, that’s terrible, don’t do that, stop, stop playing, what are you guys doing? Yeah, there’s no one to be doing anything, if everyone just listened to them, youโ€™ve just gotta enjoy yourself!โ€

It seemed to me weโ€™ve a lovable, carefree frontman, lavishing in the moment, rightfully, against Sam, the articulate analysist, pinning their thoughts, and the whole band are tight, hardworking and motivated; thatโ€™s a winning combo. Sam added, โ€œdon’t compromise your originality for the sake of other people, I think is the biggest thing. Because at that point you’re enjoying yourself. And that takes me back to what I said earlier on, yeah? A band enjoying yourself is a band in its best place.โ€ And this made a perfect summary of NRWO, our town should be proud of what these guys have attained, but the killer question is after such a great gig at the Exchange, is this us parting ways, or just Chow for Now?!

Nothing Rhymes With Orange

โ€œThe main thing is we’ll be back,โ€ Elijah promised, and went off rambling slightly! If I know anything about student life, theyโ€™ll be back when they run out clear underwear! But when they do, Confucius say, Nothing Rhymes With Orange will have attained vast advances beyond the sphere of knowledge here in Devizes, and if the Exchange gig was more refined than ever before, their return will be something else! Until then, we at Devizine wish them all the best with their studies and lives in Bristol; if you can call making rock music a study, I call it shirking!!  That Ain’t workin’!!

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YEA Devizes: DOCA New Youth Project

Devizes Outdoor Celebratory Arts announced their upcoming project, YEA Devizes today. Made possible by a grant from National Grid Electricity Transmissionโ€™s Community Grant Programme, theโ€ฆ

The Mist; New Single from Meg

Chippenhamโ€™s young folk singer-songwriter Meg, or M3G if you want to get numeric, will release her 6th single The Mist on Friday 18th October, andโ€ฆ

Traffic Lights to be Installed at the Black Dog Crossroads For Political Point Scoring

Reports of another road traffic accident at the notorious Black Dog Crossroads near Lavington today coincides with Wiltshire Councillor for the Lavington constituency, Dominic Muns taking to Facebook to announce a new investment for Highways in the county will include traffic lights at the crossroads to be installed by spring next yearโ€ฆ.

Hey, look, donโ€™t get me wrong, it is good news, of course it is. For a campaign which has been running for decades to finally become a reality, hopefully we can now look forward to a time when the crossroads is safer. But safety is far from the top priority in Mr Munsโ€™ rather inane and quite frankly aberrant pontification. What is clear from this is that it has been pushed forward predominately for political point scoring.

Knowing this will attract media attention, the angle of Mr Munsโ€™ announcement is based solely on what he perceives as a golden opportunity to slag off any and every opposition party. It is a shameless excuse to praise his own political party when the angle of the accomplishment isnโ€™t a political matter at all, and couldโ€™ve been better projected as a safety measure ticked off, for the good of a community.

As a Conservative councillor for a majority Conservative county council, Dominic Muns states in comments criticising the political angle heโ€™s used in this video, that heโ€™s โ€œhad enoughโ€ of apparent โ€œconstant local Conservative bashing!โ€ Whoa, there, because pointing out the manipulation of the media to push a right-wing agenda is โ€œbashing?!โ€ Have people no right to be critical of a government who held parties and profiteered from a pandemic, a government who exploited their entitlements, bankrupted the country, condoned inequality, and supported genocide? Asking for a friend!

Face facts, Mr Muns, for if you are to make this political, as you have for whatever inane objective, these are the bigger reasons why the nation decided change was needed, putting up traffic lights at a road junction isnโ€™t going to right that wrong, unfortunately, and the idea you think it will is the justification I needed to express my opinion that this was yet another cheap shot by Conservatives still in a temper tantrum over the recent democratic election results. Whatever reasons the Lib Dems, as he claimed, voted against this larger highways budget Iโ€™m certain will be earnest and likely involve a financial concentration on areas also in need to be upped, after years of Conservative tomfoolery and their gross misuse of public spending.

I cleared the issue up with our MP Brian Mathew, who said he welcomes the news about the traffic lights at the Black Dog Crossroads. “I was there this morning as the Police were clearing up a crash. It’s a danger spot and it’s over time that it was sorted,” he told me.

“In terms of the rest,” he continued to explain, “the Lib Dems voted against the overall budget back in February budget, because the Tories wouldnโ€™t support free parking for blue badge holders, support extra funding for area boards to support our communities, or fund Visit Wiltshire. The ยฃ10 million he is referring to wasnโ€™t in the budget and therefore we couldnโ€™t have voted for it even if we wanted to! This is typical Tory electioneering at the taxpayer’s expense. Perhaps there should have been a debate on what else we could have spent ยฃ10 million on.”

So, there it is, no joyful notion of the improvement of safety matters, no remorse for accidents already happened while the council dilly-dallied around this obvious issue for decades, no accreditation for the work of local campaigners over said time, just a video suggesting, โ€œlook at us lionhearted Conservatives, we did this, and all the otherโ€™s are big poo-poo heads who hate you,โ€ while he braggarts against a background showy of his own affluence; his fireplace is bigger than my house, dammit! Unbelievably tactless and shameful to use matters of safety for political points on any level, especially on a local level.

Perhaps we should question why it has taken decades to put this into motion, during which most of that time the Conservatives have been in power and certainly been dominant in WC. And we could possibly add the utter disgrace the road network has dilapidated into, countywide, while they threw thousands at an imaginary feasibility study to play choo-choo trains, or promote a pointless king’s ransom to hide Stonehenge. Maybe go as far to suggest smaller solutions couldโ€™ve been actioned to ease dangers of this crossroads and every other major road junction in the area, like ensuring the trees and bushes are trimmed appropriately; visibility, imagine! The closure of the truck road close by did nothing but add traffic to the junction itself.

Perhaps we should be thankful for the loss of a Conservative majority nationally as it appears to have shoved a rocket up the backsides of Tory councillors who made minimal changes when they were in power?! Oh dear me, what a shameful excuse; while supportive and grateful for Mr Mannโ€™s continued efforts in achieving this issue, it is good news, it’s entirely the wrong angle Iโ€™m afraid!

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Barry Ashworth of Dub Pistols to Play DJ Set at The Muck & Dunder, Devizes

Barry Ashworth, one half of the mighty big beat pioneers The Dub Pistols is heading to Devizes in November for a DJ set at our fantastic Caribbean holiday at home rum bar, The Muck & Dunderโ€ฆ.

Dance music in the UK came of age in the mid-nineties. Subgenres blossomed from the rave scene, but left maturing ravers adrift. Appeasing an upcoming generation, โ€˜hardcoreโ€™ rave separated into โ€œhappyโ€ and jungle, while house music began to get tiresome. It was, as it ever is, up to the UK to progress dance music, and they’d use the indigenous breakbeat house, a fusion of hip hop and reggae.

What Coldcut, the Prodigy, Norman Cook, and acts like the Chemical Brothers laid down next was a phenomenon, naturally, the next stage, and filled a gap. Big Beat would accommodate our love of hip hop and dub reggae, fuse them into a universal party style. This is where The Dub Pistols fit into the story.

Formed as a DJ duo around 1996 in London, Barry, and Jason O’Bryan, created a fluctuating collective and began recording tracks by 1998. No strangers to Wall of Sound, The Social and Brighton’s grounding, The Dub Pistols are prolific, amassing seven studio albums to date, and working on numerous film and video game soundtracks.

Aside my Uncle Albert moment, what we can expect from The Dub Pistols isn’t akin to my retrospective waffling, though Jason left the collective fourteen years ago, Barry and the band has continued to progress the sound to suit contemporary dance music, collaborating with UK rappers like Rodney P, and remixing tracks from Ian Brown, Limp Bizkit and The Crystal Method.

I think we’re in good hands for a large night, and again, The Muck & Dunder bucks the Devizes stalwarts of particular musical genres to provide us with quality dance music acts. The Dub Pistolsโ€™ Barry Ashworth comes to The Muck on Friday 8th November. Tickets are not available yet. Follow them on social media for updates, I’ll share the news on ours or pop into Muck for a Piรฑa Colada or three; you’re worth it!

This Weekend is Devizes Carnival; What Else? I Want More! Whaaaa!!!

For that certain some-Karen who drove through town last weekend, jumped on social media to waffle off the clichรฉ rant โ€œnothing happens in Devizes,โ€ but Iโ€™m not personally willing to do anything about it other than moan on social media, and to everyone else who most likely didnโ€™t, who either was, or wasnโ€™t, hiding away from her in the British Lion for Black Rat Monday, Carnival is THIS WEEK, my darlings!!

So what else is going on, you know, like fringe events, after parties, warm ups, and such like? Well, hereโ€™s what we know, for what itโ€™s worth because you know when you want to find whatโ€™s happening you come here, you sensible people; shame thereโ€™s not more like you!!

You know thereโ€™s been DOCA workshops all week at Pamela House, right? Tomorrow (Wednesday) theyโ€™ve carnival workshops open to all from 11am to 2:30, bring your own picnic. Then from 3pm thereโ€™s a giant puppet workshop. Thursday from 10am-4pm pretty much the same, bird puppets making, open carnival workshops and bring your own picnic.

The Camerados of Devizes Public Living Room have also been getting their hands dirty, designing carnival banners. They meet every Friday at the Cheese Hall, from 1-4pm, itโ€™s a wonderful free social group, and you can help them put the finishing touches to their banners.

Early bird warm ups , the Southgateโ€™s regular acoustic jam on Wednesday evening, the best way to spend a Wednesday evening. And of course, the Carnival Quiz at Devizes Town Hall, at 7pm.

On Friday 30th our phenomenal youth band, Nothing Rhymes With Orange plays a farewell gig at the Exchange nightclub. After huge success locally and blossoming further afield the guys are heading off to Bristol to study music together. Iโ€™m hoping to meet up with them beforehand, run a quick interview type chat thing, and I have some Cliff Richard CDs they can take to inspire them on their way! On at 9pm at the Exchange, The Vivas support them, and the party continues with an indie disco with guest DJs Thorfinn (I think we know him!) and fantastic regular DJ Stevie MC. Tickets HERE>>

Failing them, thereโ€™s an eighties disco down the Dolphin.

Or, if you’re staying in, don’t forget Andy and Som can deliver homemade Thai Curry to your door, yes Thaiday Friday, and Som is preparing the super tasty Thai green chicken curry with onions and green beans, accompanied with soft Thai Jasmin rice.

Saturday 31st August is Carnival Day, you could work some motivation at Quakers Walk Parkrunโ€™s Pacers Week, a regular free parkrun with the option to pick your speed between 20 & 40 minutes. You can challenge yourself or just pick a speed you want to be constant at. There is no obligation to run with the pacers, you are still able to run/walk at your own pace. This is an open event anyone who wants to run, walk or jog the 5K course is welcome. I’m exhausted just typing it!

Or you could take yourself along to Wiltshire Museum for the final day of The Wiltshire Thatcher exhibition.

Now, carnival, at 5:45pm, departing from The Green. The parade takes around 2 hours, expect the Parade to reach the halfway point around 7pm-ish. Roads close on the Parade circuit from 5pm โ€“ 9pm, with Sidmouth Street closing at 4pm. Donโ€™t forget! If you park in one of the car parks on route, you wonโ€™t be able to exit until after the parade is finished and the road closures have been lifted. Find any other info direct from DOCA HERE.

Look out for Devizes Salsa Groupโ€™s Surprise Flash Dance, at midday at the Brittox!

Afterwards, thereโ€™s blues, pop, rock and funk covers & originals at the Southgate withย Freepeace. Trash Panda are at The Three Crowns and are always lots of fun! And if you feel like giving it a go yourself, it’s carnival karaoke time at the Pelican!

But if you want to go beyond Thunderdome, you need to get yourself to the Corn Exchange, where Simply the Best Kinisha Morgan-Williams becomes Tina Turner, and youโ€™ll be impressed by this even if youโ€™ve only a passing interest in Tina, I kid you not. Hereโ€™s our preview on that. Hereโ€™s your ticket.

Then, all you have to do after that is descend a flight of stairs, as DJ Karl Maggs is in the mix at the Exchange until 2am.

Sunday 1st September, Vince Bell graces the famous alcove at the Southgate from 5pm. If nothing ever does go on in Devizes, as he says, “you ain’t ever leaving!”

Thatโ€™s this coming weekend in Devizes, people. Yeah, but you know, I agree with Karen, itโ€™s a disgrace, nothing ever happens in Devizes!!

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Autumn-Winter Comedy in Devizes

Comedy in Devizes is a rare thing, unless you count visitors turning right at the Shaneโ€™s Castle junction, reading opinions on the Devizes Issues (butโ€ฆ

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Swindon Gets Shuffling!

Despite the population of Devizes throwing confetti and paint at each other in their most celebrated annual ritual, I believe I picked the right weekendโ€ฆ

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The Lost Trades September Tour Comes to Pound Arts

Trowbridge-Devizes finest musical export for a decade or two, acoustic folk vocal harmony trio, The Lost Trades, step out for a nationwide tour this September. The closest they come to home is Pound Arts in Corsham….

The groupimg of Phil Cooper, Tamsin Quin, and Jamie R Hawkins, fantastic artists within their own rights, was always going to be a winner. If you don’t know them, you’ve not been reading enough of Devizine!

Yes, you’ll inevitably going to catch them performing solo on the circuit, Tamsin next Thursday at The Tuppenny, Swindon, with most apt support, Ruby Darbyshire. She also has a music & storytelling show with her partner Oliver Lavery at Burdalls Yard in Bath, on Thursday 19th September!

As for the boys, they can be a bit more sporadic, as us guys generally are, and you can find their gigs pop up on their respective Facebook pages, often accompanying each other’s as it was at Trowbridge Festival.

But the real chicken dinner is to catch them together as the trio, The Lost Trades. We wished there were a few more gigs locally, but hey, best eastwards is Camberley. Best westwards is Corsham, pick up tickets HERE.

Schools Lego Building Challenge From The Great Western Brick Show

Calling all future Lego engineers! Be the Brunel of tomorrow and build a bridge to help achieve net zeroโ€ฆ..

To celebrate the 21st anniversary of the Great Western Brick Show at STEAM at the Museum of the Great Western Railway in Swindon, the organisers are inviting local schools to take part in their Brick-building challenge to help fight climate change.

The Great Western Brick Show runs Saturday 5th October and Sunday 6th October. You can get a ticket here.

Or, schools or Lego groups can enter this fun competition for a chance to display your teamโ€™s model at this yearโ€™s show and be in with a chance to win LEGO prizes for your school. What’s awesome about that? I’ll tell you shall I? Everything!!

The challenge is to design and build the railway bridge of tomorrow to help achieve net zero.

In the same way that Brunel approached the challenges he faced with new solutions, which nobody thought possible, they would like to invite pupils to become creative about todayโ€™s challenge.

How can we solve one of the biggest challenges the planet is facing right now? Achieve Net Zero, those brickers ask.

They would like pupils to design a sustainable railway bridge of the future using their imagination to design a model that will deal with this issue.

There are no right answers to building the Lego railway bridge of the future, so pupils can solve the challenge in any way they choose. The more creative and imaginative you are, the better!

The build must consist entirely of LEGO Bricks and can include Duplo and Technic.

As the winning entries will be displayed during the Great Western Brick Show on the 5th and 6th of October, the builds must be stable enough to be transported easily and should require minimal setup.

Entries can be made by individual pupils or teams of up to 3 pupils. Other details are down to the imagination of the builder(s), but they should show creative ways of dealing with the challenge set.

For competition details and a full technical brief, see HERE, and get building!!

Fulltone Confirmed For 2025 in Devizes

The Fulltone Orchestra has confirmed today that their annual festival will take place on The Green in Devizes from 25th โ€“ 27th July 2025โ€ฆ.

โ€œItโ€™s hard to believe that exactly one month ago, we were on The Green setting up for what we thought might be the last Fulltone Festival,โ€ they said today.

โ€œFulltone is run by a small group of volunteers and is funded solely by ticket sales plus a few generous local sponsors. Ticket sales hadnโ€™t been great leading up to this yearโ€™s festival, and we really thought that it might have run its course.โ€

Image Gail Foster

A last minute rush on ticket sales for the festival this July, the smooth running of the event, and overwhelmingly positive feedback have been the benefactors which caused the organisers to make a u-turn on not holding a Fulltone Festival next year.

I reasoned based on rumours about camping possibilities it may be relocated outside the central town, but organiser Jemma Brown confirmed it will remain on the Green due to popular demand, and the Rowdy Cow site could become a camping area with a shuttle bus operating to and fro.

Jemma also explained they’ve dropped the word โ€œfestivalโ€ from the title of the event, and from next summer it will be known more simply as Fulltone โ€˜25. I like this, it’s a unique event and on the reputation it has amassed over the years it needs no more explanation than this.

Image: Gail Foster

Acts are already being considered and booked, and Jemma also mentioned the possibility of fringe events happening in town venues. All exciting developments, and we wish them all the best with these early planning stages for what has become a jewel in the Devizes event calendar.

Fulltone โ€™25 will take place on The Green from 25th โ€“ 27th July 2025. Early bird tickets will go on sale at 9 am Saturday 24th August 2024.

The Light at the End of The Bottle of Dog

The Light at the End of The World is a fourteen tracks strong album which scores a goal directly from the kick-off with the aptly titled opener Letโ€™s Go. Released at the beginning of the month (August 2024) the timeless goodness of hard rock is firing off on all cylinders, and it doesnโ€™t wait for the opponent to tie their shoelaces. What did you expect? This is a band called Bottle of Dog, who use a logo design adapted from the Newcastle Brown Ale labelโ€ฆ.

Lady Red follows, then Push Up Push On, and this Chippenham three-piece indie self-defined raw powerhouse shows no sign of letting up. Thereโ€™s something ZZ Top about all this love at first sight monster. The band was accidental; formed from a one-off gig, now on their two-hundredth, a splendid accident.

Their Facebook blurb pigeonholes it as indie, combining โ€œseventies classic rock sounds with modern day indie,โ€ yet I find it takes four tunes to meander from the outright frenzy of early eighties hard rock. The riff of Chancing hints at mod rock of the same era, something that reminds me of the Undertones, or and especially, Secret Affair. Better Than Me, which follows immediately after tingles with a goth rock edge. Clearly thereโ€™s more going on here than the initial blast, but through influence nods it never loses its frenetic, loud and proud edge.

Okay, The Light at the End of The World doesnโ€™t dare to experiment, opting for the tried and tested rock template, and only moving from subgenre to subgenre, but it does so thunderously and with the โ€œif it brokeโ€ notion; hard not to like unless youโ€™re George Gershwin! And anyway, before you know it, Loveable Idiot at the halfway point has taken us back to hard rock, and you wonโ€™t be complaining. Itโ€™s authentic noise, lyrically felicitous and admissible for the bill.

Three quarters through the album you consider yourself safe from getting a slushy or moody angled track, Bottle of Dog give it their all throughout. Break the Page perhaps the pre-eminent, a rolling riff to make to hurry your fag and get back inside the pub to headbang! The penultimate Captainโ€™s on Board, has an anti-establishment yell, providing adequate narrative over the rolling drums and a โ€œHey!โ€ chorus, which leaves you confident the audience of a live gig will be singing back to them no matter how unaware of these confident originals they are, or pissed they happen to be!

And we finish with Zombie Town, which quotes London as the inspiration, alien to the communal Chippenham, yeah, keep your nose out, pal! Unsure if any inner meaning to this, or if this is quite a light at the end of any road, or album, as the title may suggest, but it sure is fiery fun, quality blaring and doesnโ€™t come up for air. If a metaller went to a boozer expecting covers of Ace of Spades and Hallowed Be Thy Name, or punk wanting White Riot and Teenage Kicks, neither would go home disappointed if Bottle of Dog simply runs off this album.ย 

They play the Fleece in Bristol 8th September, The Royal Oak, Corsham 2nd November, Colerne Liberal Club on 7th December.

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Get ‘Lifted’ by Chandra

Chandra, Hindu God of the Moon, with his own NASA X-ray observatory named after him, and also frontman of a self-named friendly Bristol-based four-piece pop-punk band Iโ€™ve recently been introduced to; busy guy, I have to tell you about themโ€ฆ..

This band has been together since April and knocked out five singles already. The latest, Lifted is as the same suggests. Itโ€™s feel-good factors and amusing hooks immediately warm to you, but at the same time itโ€™s an intelligently crafted grower, simply infectious! Chandra has put six tracks into an EP, titled Lifted too.

Chandra explained, โ€œI spent a while trying to figure out my sound and what I wanted to write about. So the first few songs are very much me finding my way. Lighters To The Sky was a eureka moment and the song where things suddenly clicked.โ€ You can hear this as this track is on the EP, alongside Pretty, Smile and I’ll Be There, perhaps rawer by nature, prototypes, but this upbeat sound with hints to carefree merriment has been perfected sublimely. Lifted is so commercially viable Iโ€™m going tingly, an elevating and uplifting anthem.

โ€œI spent 2023 releasing singles in order to put a band together because literally nobody was interested in being in an originals band when I first started looking for people,โ€ Chandra told us, so band members are from Bristol, Patchway, Trowbridge and Chandra himself is from Berkeley. โ€œWe’re a bit all over the place but Bristol is our common ground and where we play the most.โ€

Only geographically all over the place, I might add, Chandra sounds polished. We chatted about the desire of local circuit venues wanting cover bands, a frustrating reality for bands trying to produce original material. โ€œBristol is basically a hive of musicians who mostly play for two or three different covers bands,โ€ he expressed, โ€œand that’s fine of course, but playing covers just doesn’t give me that buzz. Originals is a tough slog but I get so much satisfaction  from the reactions. It means a thousand times more to me.โ€

This led me to name-drop Trowbridgeโ€™s Pump as a venue dedicated to original music and also promoting upcoming artists too. As I suspected theyโ€™re on this, and play there on Friday 4th October with Ben Waller & The Tell Tale Signs. Closer by date, they support Laissez Faire at the Thunderbolt this Thursday.ย 

The elevation to the latest single Lifted is bursting with potential, Smile (No Fox Gibbon) marks a milestone, thereโ€™s contemporary pop-punk goodness of Blink 182 or Green Day, yet melded subtly with English charm, whereas Lifted is defined, idiosyncratically melodious and my new favourite thing. Iโ€™m unsure where the final song Overload fits chronologically, but it is a moralistic acoustic chicken nugget, a gorgeous committed sound, displaying a more mellifluous side to Chandra.

The scope here is encouraging, but the compelling steadfast template theyโ€™ve created is simply irresistible already. If Chandra isn’t headlining by autumn I call for a national inquiry into why not!

What else is happening?!

Get ‘Lifted’ by Chandra

Chandra, Hindu God of the Moon, with his own NASA X-ray observatory named after him, and also frontman of a self-named friendly Bristol-based four-piece pop-punkโ€ฆ

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Some Days with Paul Lappin

Paul’s self-made cover to his latest single, Some Days depicts a fellow sitting under a tree pondering life, while an autumn zephyr blows leaves aroundโ€ฆ

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Assassination in Pewseyโ€ฆDโ€™Ska Assassination!

There was an assassination in Pewsey last night โ€ฆ a ska assassination; pick it up, pick it up, Pewsey!

Like buses, ska bands are around these backwaters, which put me in a dilemma. Safe in the knowledge those Killertones will skank up the Southgate in Devizes, I sought to head east to the vale of Pewsey where Eddie Prestidge’s Wiltshire Music Events hosted a new one on me, at the Bouverie Hall, south west’s own D’Ska Assassins.

Salisbury based Wiltshire Music Events have fast become renowned for putting on events of the highest quality, here they gave us CrownFest, a Devizes Corn Exchange sellout with The Marley Experience and countless pub gigs. In the spire city their Tunnel Rat studio is bringing the best out of upcoming artists, but they also love gigging out in the sticks!

The sum of these parts equates to a gig with my name all over it. You know, or should do by now, how much I love my ska. You’ve got to have eclectic tastes to do a thang like Devizine, but influenced by the pop of my childhood and discovering my dad’s old Bluebeat and Trojan records, my penchant for the offbeat remains paramount.

House-duo Illingworth kicked off the proceedings of this Motor Neurone Disease Association fundraiser, which though may sound unlikely, being mature skinheads mingled with Pewsey’s curious or retrospective aficionados, their unique brand of pop-rock classics mounted to a massive appreciation from the audience. End of the day, most skinheads are aware musical links between reggae and rock are close-knit, and hey, they just love music, period.

Therefore the warm up was complete and refined, John and Joylon did their thing exquisitely as ever, to encourage skinheads to dance to Dolly Parton is one thing, but they pulled great Bowie and Boomtown Rats covers out of their bag of tricks, and everyone loves a finale of Hey Jude no matter how much hair is on their heads.

It was a quick changeover for a seven-piece ska band, which backfired somewhat, as the engineering hadn’t the opportunity to soundcheck. I sighed as adjustments were quickly made, the enthusiasm of the band seemed to wane too, and on the grounds amateurish ska cover bands we get aplenty here, often murdering the sound I love, I feared this could go Pete Tong. They slammed straight into fifth gear with archetypal upbeat Bad Manners and Madness covers and the crowds were aptly enthused. But picky me felt it wasn’t the greatest of its kind I’ve bore witness to, fortunately I was proved wrong rather abruptly.

Seems the name Dโ€™Ska Assassins doesn’t include the assassination of the sound at all, and it felt like the band were merely warming up. All my fears were quashed, three or four songs in, like someone stuck a rocket up their butts. D’Ska Assassins suddenly came alive. Rock steadying the pace a smidgen, here’s my surprise; for a ska cover band to come booming out to such an upbeat intro is unusual, normally they build up and Madness and Bad Manners classics are savoured for a finale. Now concerned they’d played their trump cards too soon, despite a renovated faith D’Ska Assassins had something special; they proved me wrong a second time!

There’s always plenty of upbeat classics in a repertoire of Two-Tone, and D’Ska Assassins, after slowing the pace in the middle of the set, laid down those Specials and The Beat covers thick, fast and accomplished; the latter D’Ska Assassins frontman expressed their joy at supporting at the Cheese and Grain. It was a fairytale ending, with moonstomping in boots and braces, as the crowd didn’t really stop dancing throughout the proceedings. Equating to a brilliant and memorable night. D’Ska Assassins came, saw, and shone like proper job Bobby Dazzlers.ย 

All the typical elements of a decent ska cover band they pulled out of the hat, astutely handling stage banter, especially when the keyboardist nipped out for cigarette halfway through the set, else covered Ranking Roger’s vocal contribution to Stop! But the true magic was their ability to sustain the pace and enjoyment, slipping in a few original pieces, which is rare, and rarer still, sound at best with the slower reggae tunes. Other unusual elements to the D’Ska Assassins show compared to the archetypal Two-Tone cover bands was the strength of the brass with only one, rather sublime female trumpeter, and lead guitar solos akin to Junior Marvin accompanying Bob Marley and the Wailers.

They perfectly balanced all the elements they broke the moulds of, together with those you’d expect from a ska gig, covering those versed classics, encouraging audience participation and wearing Fred Perry shirts, and they produced a frenzied and highly entertaining trouble-free show at the rather welcoming community venue Bouverie Hall.

As for Wiltshire Music Events, you only need to stay tuned here as we’ll blow their trumpets for them, they’re going from strength to strength. Finalise carnival night in Devizes with a trip to the Corn Exchange where they’ll show off their link to Kinisha Morgan-Williams from Manchester, the finest Tina Turner tribute you’re ever likely to see.

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Ruzz Up The Gate!

I was intending to start this along the lines of โ€œyou don’t need me to provide another reason why I love The Southgate,โ€ butโ€ฆ

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Local Book Review: Dadโ€™s New Dress

Spent most of Pride month, and the following month too (what? Iโ€™m a slow reader and a busy chap!) reading an apt book, given to me be by a local amateur author, Molly Andersonโ€ฆ…

Okay, itโ€™s blatantly obvious from the off Molly is a pseudonym and while written third person narrative the motivation to write this comes from personal experience. Dadโ€™s New Dress is the eye-catching title, immediately evoking the archaic comical connotations of a Carry-On film. Yet while thereโ€™s subtle elements of humour, humour and drinking concerns away are just two of the initial coping strategies of the main character, Suzie, when she receives an email from her father informing her, heโ€™s coming out of the closet at seventy-years old and wants to identify as female. Shock and concern are the others. Now you see the reasoning for anonymity.

I like to think Iโ€™m acquiescent and submissive towards homosexuality and transgender, as is the virtue of modern thinking. Despite not being a construct I personally gravitate to, I take the opinion as someoneโ€™s gender preference affects me in no way whatsoever, why should it matter or bother me? Then I sympathise with the unpleasantness and misery anyone in such a position must face by the prejudices of others, and, taking this with the historical pretexts which has progressed us to this common acceptance, I feel, as the month of June suggests, pride. Pride that we now live in a society where the majority accept and are supportive of homosexuality and transgender rights.

Though weโ€™ve reached this triumphant stage in equality thereโ€™s a concern rearward thinking traditionalists promoting homophobia is growing. As an open-minded person, I assume I wouldnโ€™t succumb to such, but while Iโ€™ve had a few friends come out as gay, Iโ€™ve never had something so monumentally significant as a close family member tell me they want to change gender, like my dad. ย Dadโ€™s New Dress raises this alarm, challenges one’s resolution towards the notion, should the reader put themselves in Suzieโ€™s shoes, and perhaps they should, perhaps we all should, for it brings to the boil several areas of common concern.

Though they live in separate countries, the twenty-something daughter Suzie was clearly once Daddyโ€™s girl, and the revelation has shocked her, the progression of the narrative is her coming to terms with it.

It’s loosely written, chatty, the dialogue often obscures the darkest thoughts of Suzie or otherwise, perhaps too much, for me; I wanted to get deeper inside her head, and feel a first person narrative may’ve worked better for this. This is a feminine orientated coffee break read, and, without stereotyping too much, women tend to favour this style; chick-flick! Youโ€™ll get expansive off-topic conversation, subtly humorous and thoughtfully laid out, and know precisely what every character is wearing! Rather than a more masculine approach; Suzie doesnโ€™t murder her father and escape hanging out of a helicopter while a rainbow uniformed SWAT team try to pick her off!

If youโ€™re looking for comic book sensationalism, this isnโ€™t for you. Itโ€™s steady, reality-driven substance which knowledgably raises several interesting questions. Could you maintain your acceptance of the equality of gender preference, knowing next time you see your old man heโ€™s going to wearing a dress?! It must be said, Suzieโ€™s concerns teeter on the homophobic to begin with, or at least confusion as to how she will now interact and address her father. If that is, to be concerned for her own wellbeing and future interactions with her father isnโ€™t rather selfish, the emotions her father must be dealing with are not really covered from the one-sided angle the author has taken.

Weโ€™re treated to many of Suzieโ€™s reminiscences, recollections of interactions with her father as a young girl, and while thereโ€™s vague hints of his gender orientation, it goes obviously unnoticed by the innocence of her childhood. It is these parts which are the best written and emotive. They will come to the forefront when Suzie reunions with her father and rebuilds their relationship. The family bond shapes her blossoming acceptance for her fatherโ€™s desires, despite the growing intensity of the issue, from the initial etiquette in public and the paranoia of otherโ€™s reactions, to the later concerns for his gender realignment operation and partners, and throughout, her complete failure to use the correct pronouns!   

Yeah, so itโ€™s diary-like, with an erm, an open-ended but happier ending, and it is certainly thought-provoking. The creativeness of writing and ability to drive a plot here isnโ€™t as polished as it could be, yet it is inspired, and written with honour, dedication and emotion. Its charm is this individualised touch.

We live in a better world, not only for those with gender matters, but also for the scope of literature. Mainstream publishing limits material to the select few experts, whereas self-publishing opens the opportunity and freedom of expression to everyone. Everyone has a story to tell, this is Mollyโ€™s (or their real name,) and itโ€™s told for anyone to read.

You can buy Dadโ€™s New Dress, (not buy your dad a new dress!!) at Devizes Books, or online here.

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Some Days with Paul Lappin

Paul’s self-made cover to his latest single, Some Days depicts a fellow sitting under a tree pondering life, while an autumn zephyr blows leaves around him, and perfectly sums up the mood of the singleโ€ฆ.

It’s breezy, everyday contemplation, and as smooth as Fonzie in a health spa, as is Paul’s distinctive, euphoric style! A style which he cites Britpop as an influence, a genre I’m not so knowledgeable about, ergo can’t think of a suitable comparison within it, hence the reason I dub Paul’s prolific outpourings as unique, and also suggest it’s artists like Paul who’ve redirected my attention to its worth.

Maybe you could think of a Britpop group similarly so leniently exquisite, but I always hear an edgy wailing guitar in even the most saccharine. I feel the pink moon rising, this is akin to my most favourite of Paul’s flavoursome releases, the intimateย Live at Pink Moon Studios EP recorded during lockdown.

Paul Lappin

There’s a sunny side of the street narrative, in the face of challenges to wreck your optimism, apt for the mood of the sound. In a way, like Elbow’s One Day Like This. Paul levels it up a notch, though, throws his curtains wide but puts his boots on and actually goes out for a sunny ramble! I get the impression that’s when his inspiration strikes, as it feels so honest and homey! And this is the result, try it for size, and check his backlog discography too, for everyone is like this, a winner.

Paul was from Swindon, his Bandcamp bio still suggests this, but he now lives in the South of France. His output reflects the finer quality of life there, such that updating his Bandcamp bio is easy forgotten against wine, good food and music! But to note we’re supposed to review local artists, there’s a tenacious Swindon link to justify mentioning him, and when you hear his beautiful songs you’ll understand why I’m reminding you!

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The Next Season at the Wharf Theatre

Featured image byย Chris Watkins Autumn, finish your ice lolly, as we need to to start thinking about it! Our wonderful, one and only, theatreโ€ฆ

A Perfect Picnic in the Park

A perfect sunny(ish) Sunday at Hillworth Park in Devizes, if not to overcome one’s fear of public speaking while dressed in a giraffe onesieโ€ฆ

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Mojo Workin’ fo’ Autumn: Long Street Blues Club’s Next Season….

Itโ€™s when you hear those American addresses, like house number 21,456 Park Avenue, you realise Long Street in Devizes is a long street only comparable with neighbouring streets! Even then itโ€™s only averagely longer, and seems quite short to walk along when you know three-quarters of the way down thereโ€™s world class blues acts giving it whatโ€™s for.

All hail Long Street Blues Club, home of a blues appreciation society as large as the town itself; letโ€™s have a gander at their upcoming season, shall we?

Iโ€™m not going to jinx the clement weather by saying it, hopefully, but it will be classed as the autumn-winter season for the established juke joint within a Conservative Club, so letโ€™s pretend the nights are not closing in and view this a preview of whatโ€™s to come when it does, okay, good for you? The fun doesnโ€™t end in summer here, yโ€™know?!

Thursday 10th October kicks it off, with some southern fried and heavily drunk Mississippi delta blues, when Heavy Drunk, Watermelon Slim and Leonardo Guiliani team up for an electrifying Trans-Atlantic tour and see here as why weโ€™re so fortunate to have Long Street!ย ย 

Multi-award-winning Watermelon Slim was perhaps best summed up by the late Jerry Wexler (co-owner Atlantic Records, producer for Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin) who described him as โ€œa one-of-a-kind, pickinโ€™ n singing Okie dynamo.โ€ Sons of the South soul outfit HeavyDrunk has made waves with their signature raspy vocals and Americana infused sound.

Their Mississippi delta blues, powerful gospel, and hard-hitting rock โ€˜nโ€™ roll energy charged their 2023 album You Donโ€™t Know Me, which was released to raise awareness and funds for the crumbling grave of music legend Robert Johnson.

UK based independent musician, guitar player, and singer-songwriter Leonardo Guiliani joins The Mississippi Delta Blues Experience 2024 fresh off the release of his 2023 album Rogue. Produced by four-time Grammy award winner producer Tom Hambridge, Rogue showcases Guilianiโ€™s talents inspired by the acoustic singer-songwriters and electric jam bands of the late โ€˜60s and the โ€˜70s.

It doesnโ€™t end with this Mississippi Delta Blues Experience, for little over a week later, on Friday 18th October, the legendary Wishbone Ash will play the Corn Exchange for a Mayorโ€™s Appeal fundraiser; thatโ€™s what you get when the mayor is the key organiser of a blues club!

Wishbone Ash embarked on the nascent progressive rock scene in 1969, far too long ago for me to be around, but if I was I like to think Iโ€™d be waving my bell-bottoms and freaking out to it with a flower in my hair. Theyโ€™ve a distinctive brand of melodic rock, inspired equally by British folk traditions and American jazz and R&B, and still do it fifty years on. 

If thatโ€™s not enough to twist your temptation, support comes from our one and only Johnny B. Goode, Ruzz’s Guitar Trio, and if youโ€™ve not heard of him youโ€™ve not been reading Devizine enough!!

Last gig of October is on Friday 25th, grandson of the legendary RL Burnside and legend within his own right, Cedric Burnside brings his new album Hill Country Loveโ€™s UK tour to Devizes. He has built up a formidable reputation as one of the most original blues performers of his generation, and was recognized with the 2024 Mississippi Governor’s Art Award for Excellence in Music, which should be quite enough accolades for us. As with most of them, demand for this gig will be very high indeed so early booking is essential.

Things are no slow train running when we look at November either, on Saturday 2nd, following a sensational support slot with Giles Robson last year, Mississippi MacDonald makes a return by demand from the clubbers.ย 

English soul-blues singer-songwriter and guitarist, fronting a four piece band, Mississippi MacDonald is a six times British/UK Blues Awards and three times US Independent Blues Awards nominee signed to APM Records and appearing on BBC Radio 2โ€™s Blues Show with Cerys Matthews. 

Yes, get in! Sunday 9th November sees Ian Siegal and band return to the club. No stranger around these parts, as part of the Birdsmen project with Jon Amor and the Docherty brothers, as a guest of Jon and within his own right, damn, Iโ€™ve mentioned it before, but Ian is the very definition of cool!

Heโ€™s the multiple British Blues Awards winner and hot tip of everyone from Mojo to Classic Rock. Heโ€™s the songwriter whose recent CD releases sound like career peaks, but are only the start. From one night to the next, he might be a solo acoustic performer or a blood-and-thunder bandleader. Siegal is known as a bluesman, but itโ€™s just one shade in the palette of an artist who slips between continents, eras and expectations.

Saturday 16th November is the date John Otway brings his big band, and hereโ€™s one I know so many cry at me to see, but Iโ€™m yet to tick off my must-see list. Pop’s most amazing eccentric English singer-songwriter who has built a sizeable cult audience through extensive touring, a surreal sense of humour and a self-deprecating underdog persona, Otway is punk essence, remembered for accidentally misjudging a step in order to jump on an amplifier and sent it and him tumbling on the BBC’s Old Grey Whistle Test!

Otway’s sixth single, the half-spoken love song Really Free reached number 27 in the UK Singles Chart. An appearance on the BBC’s flagship music programme Top of the Pops, where Otway & Barrett were introduced by Elton John, Otway was finally a star!

Support comes from the foot-tappinโ€™ folk of Billy in the Lowground, a fine choice in my humble opinion.

And thatโ€™s it, save for the, (dare I say it while the sun is shining?!) Christmas Party onย Saturday 21st December with The Thomas Atlas Band. Garage funk in style, his band takes in members of The Brand New Heavies and The Brothers Groove. Heโ€™s no stranger to Devizes, guesting with Jon Amor Trioโ€™s regular Sunday session at the Southgate, returning to our answer to the O2 in his own right, and playing a gig at the club between them!

A Smile Two Bangs and a Legend support on this one, who Iโ€™ve heard about, love the name but not had the opportunity to witness for myself, but it will be Christmas party and a half, even if I donโ€™t like to even mention the C word until December and apologise to like minded others!

Long Street Blues Club is one of those strange things if you donโ€™t know it. Turn up, observe raffle ticket buying, check out the ham or cheese rolls on the bar, and think what have I done, is this a Saga excursion? Then correct yoโ€™ bad self, when you witness top class blues acts from both near and as far away as possible, and realise this is the Devizes Blues Preservation Society HQ; and they shoโ€™ got their mojos workinโ€™.

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DOCA Picnicing in the Park!

With the unfortunate cancellation of Devizes International Street Festival this year due to Arts Council cuts, all eyes are on our wonderful Hillworth Park nextโ€ฆ

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MantonFest Magic, Again

With the danceable penultimate act attracting a packed crowd, I observed a young teenager, who, on spotting a disregarded beer bottle, picked it up andโ€ฆ

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Lawrence Art Societyโ€™s annual exhibition at Devizes Town Hall

Impressive, in a word, is the Lawrence Art Societyโ€™s annual exhibition at Devizes Town Hall this year, in both quality and quantity; you’ll be amazed at how many talented artists there are locallyโ€ฆ.

It runs up till Saturday, drop in even if you’ve only a passing interest in art. For there’s a good range of styles and movements depicted, from the best part of fifty local artists, one founder member of the society, Elizabeth Allen, posthumous exhibits in tribute and honour. Thereโ€™sย some abstract, in both paintings and copper wire and stone sculptures, yet perhaps as a whole leaning heavier towards fine art, the traditional landscapes and portraits; itโ€™s all very Devizes!

Named after Devizesโ€™ most famous artist, Sir Thomas Lawrence, a child prodigy whose early career began here when his parents owned the Bear Hotel, in association, the Lawrence Art Society has been running since his time, but was formally established in Devizes in 1953. Annual Membership is ยฃ20, ยฃ6 for students, they have monthly meetings and live art shows at the Conservative Club; but this is their annual showstopper, and itโ€™s free to windowshop!

Thereโ€™s a few names Iโ€™m aware of, such as Simon Bishop and Jenny Pape, but more new to me than I could possibly list, youโ€™ll just have to pay it a visit! But I give mention not only to the lovely gentleman I chewed the ears off about Hogarth, Gillary, and Victorian Childrenโ€™s illustrators, and was so wrapped up in our chat I didnโ€™t get his name! But also David Lewis for breaking the running theme with some abstract futurism, Joy Tickell for wonderful acrylic collages, Marilyn Silvester for some colourful Chagall-eske depictions of Devizes during the market, Susan Thompson for her colourful Escher-type designs, and Helen Stanfield for that, wow, monochrome oil of a Yorkshire terrier, so cute, and I donโ€™t care for terriers much!  

Browse the vast selection of near-on 260 pieces of artwork, with a chance to purchase, vote for your favourite, buy some greetings card prints, and gamble with a raffle ticket or two. I took a snap or two as a teaser, pay a visit to see for yourself. Devizes Town Hall is open from 9:30am-5:30pm on Friday, but the show will finish half hour earlier on Saturday, at 5pm.ย 

I asked the ladies on the front desk if many younger artists join the Society, to mixed responses. While even I know of a few, such as Bryony Cox of the White Chalk Gallery, with her fantastic Turner-fashioned seascapes and clouds, thereโ€™s always a risk of losing such a founded group in the future should younger artists preconceive the group as not age appropriate for them. All I can say on this is donโ€™t overlook the experience of learned artists as they can and will help you. I myself feel rather inspired after browsing the Town Hall today, be warned!!

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Imberbus is running this Saturday !

Following on from last monthโ€™s email, this is a final reminder that yearโ€™s Imberbus service will be running this coming Saturday โ€“ 17th August 2024. This year there will be up to 40 vehicles in operation, providing departures every 10-15 minutes from Warminster Rail Station, starting at 9.30am. Many journeys will be operated by more [โ€ฆ]

Imberbus is running this Saturday !

Weekly Roundup of Events in Wiltshire: 14th-20th August 2024

Hereโ€™s our bitesize look at whatโ€™s happening in the wilds of Wiltshire this coming weekโ€ฆ.

Everything listed here is on our event calendar; go there for links and more info, as it takes too much time to link them all in. It may also be updated as more events come to our attention, so check in later in the week too!

Ongoing: A Wiltshire Thatcher: A Photographic Journey Through Victorian Wessex runs at Wiltshire Museum, Devizes, until the end of August.

Wednesday 14th

Quidditch is the sport for Kids Summer Sports at Hillworth park, Devizes this Wednesday.

Acoustic Jam at the Southgate, Devizes.

Devising Drama  for 7-11 Years, and LEGO Stop-frame Animation for 8-14 Years at Wiltshire Music Centre, Bradford-on-Avon.

Mizizi at The Bell, Bath.

ArcTangent Festival in Bristol opens.

Thursday 15th

Opening day for the Lawrence Art Societyโ€™s Exhibition at Devizes Town Hall. Running until Saturday. 

The Ripples & Jol Rose at the Beehive, Swindon. The Little Mermaid at The Wyvern Theatre, runs until Saturday.

Friday 16th

Lost Pubs of Devizes guided tour. Devizes Camerados are at the Cheese Hall with Wiltshire Museum; help them to design a carnival banner.

Apache Cats at The Three Crowns, Devizes.

Meat Loud at the Neeld, Chippenham.

Exhibition on Screen โ€“ My National Gallery at Pound Arts, Corsham.

Band X at the Three Horseshoes, Bradford-on-Avon.

The Daybreakes at The Vic, Swindon. Lonely Road Band at the Beehive. Liddington Hill & King Attitude at the Castle. Men in Vests & Adrianaโ€™s Keys at Underground. 

Saturday 17th

Lego & Toy Fair at The Melksham Assembly Hall. Martyโ€™s Fake Family at the Grapes, Melksham.

Killertones at the Southgate, Devizes.

Seend Summer Village Breakfast at Seend Community Centre. Sausage & Cider Day at the Brewery Inn, Seend Cleeve.

Famous Hangover Sessions at the Lamb, Marlborough: Rave Against the Regime, All Ears Avow, Trash Panda, Band U Like, Hooch.

Floaty Boaty Event at The Barge, HoneyStreet.

Dโ€™Ska Assassins at the Bouverie Hall, Pewsey. 

The Piggy Bankโ€™s 3rd Birthday, Calne.

Unlock Reset Festival near Chippenham.

White Horse Military Show, Westbury

41 Fords at the Three Horseshoes, Bradford-on-Avon.

Midlife Krisis Summer Family Fete in Swindon. Stop Stop at The Vic.

This Is The Kit at the Cheese & Grain, Frome. Sergeant Thunderhoof at The Tree House.

Sunday 18th

Heritage Walk of Devizes. Hen House Brides will host a pop-up shop in Devizes Town Hall giving brides-to-be a rare opportunity to browse the entire White Studio London and White Studio Curve collections and discover the dress of their dreams.

Will Edmunds at the Southgate, Devizes from 5pm.

Open Mic at the Red Lion, Lacock.

Fly Yeti Fly at The Richard Jefferies Museum, Swindon from 1pm. Zambalando at GWR Park, Swindon from 3pm

Will Edmunds Band at the Three Horseshoes, Bradford-on-Avon.

The Blues Cafรฉ Orchestra at The Bell, Bath

Monday 19th

DOCAโ€™s youth filmmaking project Selfievaultion begins, see the poster for details on this. 

Sliders at The Bell, Bath.

Tuesday 20th

Ian Bateman Quartet for Jazz Knights, the Royal Oak, Swindon.

Kiefer Sutherland at the Cheese & Grain, Frome.

Important note: events which come to our attention from now on, will be updated on the Event Calendar and NOT HERE. So, be sure to check in from time to time, use the Event Calendar to find more info on everything listed on here, and for ticket links, etc. Use the Event Calendar to check for updates and planning ahead.

Did we miss you out? Did you tell us about your event? Itโ€™s not that we donโ€™t like you, itโ€™s because Devizine uses many sources to collate these listings, and sometimes we miss a few things. Listing your event here is free, but please make it easier for me by messaging or emailing the info, and then, and this is the really important part, make sure Iโ€™ve added it and let me know if not!

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Thank you for your response. โœจ

Have a good week!

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Talk in Code are All In for New Single

Swindon indie pop virtuosos Talk in Code released their brand new single, All In, Yesterday, via Regent Street Records. And We. Love. Talk inโ€ฆ

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Elles Bailey – at Sound Knowedge, Marlborough

by Ben Niamor

A first outing on Saturday to Sound Knowledge for Devizes favourite Elles Bailey, whose latest album dropped Friday, and this mini tour of a handful of record stores gave us a rare intimate opportunity to enjoy an artist whoโ€™s enormous growth and success has her playing a frequently different kind of larger venue, than the small venues I first saw her in some years ago nowโ€ฆ

Indeed she had played Cropredy the day before, and Glastonbury earlier this year..! I will be honest here, I am a fan.. have been for years. She has always surrounded herself with the most amazing musicians and today was no exception, Joe Wilkins and Demi Marriner, both close friends of hers and co writers and conspirators in the new album, and it showed, the happy ease with which they delivered the meaningful verses of a selection of fine songs from the new album, a real treat.

I already loved 1972, a stand out song partly I confess owing to my having watched the video many times.. that was shot in and around Devizes by some other incredible musicians and creatives, many of us are more than familiar withโ€ฆ the gorgeous humans over at Growvision.. aka Robin and Greta of Beaux Gris Gris fame. Itโ€™s a fantastic video even if you werenโ€™t a D Town native like me.

The song is about a time without mobile phones, and all the trappings of life we think we canโ€™t survive without though most of civilisations history has doneโ€ฆ

Another favourite for me, as Elles does open retrospective and human warmth and truth better than mostโ€ฆ Leave the light on – An open love letter to her husband . An open hearted reflection on how she can live her dreams, and if as the inspiration for this song dictates she arrives home late, her home will provide all the welcome and support imaginable, literally a light left on, like a home fire burning.

Thereโ€™s a theme in Elles entire being, certainly all my interactions with her, a real appreciation and gratitude for all lifeโ€™s opportunities, the love and support of everyone.. the record buyer and fan, of her amazing team and family.. the whole journey.

Perhaps thatโ€™s a marker, a lesson for many less wholesome people in todays music industry..? Be real and treat everyone with love and appreciation and karma will underpin your own growth..? Certainly seems to have worked here.

Anyhow, I digressโ€ฆ the album was gonna be called Silhouette Under a Sunset, originallyโ€ฆ Silhouette in a Sunset – a great new song about souls who you feel have known each other before we have met in this lifetimeโ€ฆ such is the immediate warmth or common ground.

Turn off the news – talks of being grateful for being able to lose ourselves in books, records, etcโ€ฆ a guilt of being able to escape the world at are worst.. summarised in being able to turn off the e-news, which of course sometimes many find they cannot.

Another truthful reflection on life.. Truth ainโ€™t gonna save us – When you have to call the end of a relationshipโ€ฆ the truth and conflicts of lifeโ€™s harder moments.. written with Matt Owens beloved of SK of course in his own right..

Of course all this very real subject matter is wrapped in such gorgeous music, and lighter moments that it connects you with the truth and reflection that makes much of Elles music resonate so strongly with us the listener.

I talked to some new listeners exposed by this local opportunity and hardcore fans alike in the throng, and many with shirts declaring admiration for Elles and other contemporariesโ€ฆ We are fortunate locally we have the incredible Sound Knowledge, and many great venuesโ€ฆ we are considered very well in this area for the love and support of it all.

To quote something Elles shared.. โ€œ โ€œThereโ€™s no destination.. only dreams to realiseโ€ Of course store appearance limited coloured vinyl and deluxe albums were flying out the door.. check out the album and catch Elles on tour, join the ride. Thankyou once again to Elles and Sound Knowledge for all they do.

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Marlborough, I’ve Seen Your Pants

โ€œWe can’t stop here. This is Tory country,โ€ I chuckled while fiercely yanking the handbrake, as if Dr Gonzo was in the car. We can say that now, (wink!)

One can be infamous on Marlborough’s Facebook group by not applying sufficient handbrake on the High Street, as if K.I.T.T had a blonde moment. But I’m not here for that. I want to see their Pantsโ€ฆ.

Memories flood my neurons as I saunter to the Parade; shirking in Waitrose for a measly ยฃ2.20 per hour, hoping to get off with a goth girl outside the Dragon on New Years Eve, waiting for an older mate to return with a bottle, hiding down the alley where Victoria Wine once stood. The majority of shop facades have changed, the rest remains the same, even the most uninspiring nugget of hip hop graffiti the world over, on the wall of the alley. It’s offended the cliquey since the eighties, I checkedโ€ฆyep, fading but still there.

Same deal down the Parade, much the same, save The Crown is now โ€œDan’s,โ€ and they’ve a posh looking cinema. Years I spent in Marlborough, no flicks, moved to Devizes where they had one, it shuts down and one opens in Marlborough. Maybe I jinxed it.

Many of those fond memories are located in the Lamb, once Vyv and Jackie’s flagship Waddies. One from the mid-nineties when we gathered to see โ€œMoose’s new band,โ€ which we had high hopes for, knowing the giant goth Moose Harris was in New Model Army and The Damned. Surprised but drunkenly amused upon them delivering a set of pop covers in a heavy metal fashion, whereby the theme to Bob the Builder was their showstopper!

Pants was supposed to be a one-off joke, a Marlborough Spinal Tap, but that knob jockey Jim Davidson is still touring, why not perpetually repeat their nonsensical gag? It never seems to wear thin, if it ever had any depth!

Undoubtedly the funniest interview we’ve done was with Pants, when they played the landlord’s retirement, but morso I ran it because I knew it’d be as funny as fuck, and it was..

Significant because Pants is a Lamb exclusive, a Marlborough thing. No one else would dare book them, and equally it’s likely they wouldn’t be arsed to play there! Would the new management be as inviting to this bizarre and self-deprecating ritual? Would they continue their legendary live music rep in Marlborough?

Glad to report they’ve improved on it. Less sporadic, live music is now weekly, the back of the yard has a summer ankle stage, and there’s a communal and hospitable atmosphere. Such is this community feel, the sound man for Pants, Lee Mathews has his own band supporting, The Vooz, and local legendary drummer Dan Tozer is drumming for both.

The Vooz kicks the proceedings into gear. It’s high-energy contemporary punker pop covers neatly delivered with enough gusto for four bands in one, and sprinkled with some originals, such as one about getting wasted outside Swindon’s Brunel Rooms, indicating there’s a historic penchant for the lively and swearing for swearing sake hairdressing frontman. Lee is a force of nature, providing only vocals he bounds around the stage, banters on a local level, posing for selfies with nipples on show, and generally raises a roof even if there isn’t one; a legend in his own shirt.

Yeah, archetypal are the singalong covers, Arctic Monkeys, Green Day, and a Lemonheads version of Mrs Robinson, but it’s entertainingly tongue-in-cheek and proficient; apt for what’s to come, especially the comical Kylie cover!

With anticipation brewing, Pants took their time to set up, reminding me somewhat of the Dolly Parton quote โ€˜it takes a lot of money to look this cheap,โ€™ it takes Pants a lot of prep to sound this shit! I mean, they opened in the black warlock cloaks of a heavy gothic band, only to throw them off and cover Abba’s Mamma Mia with black wig, starry spandex bodysuit and black tape crosses over nipples. And I travelledโ€ฆfor this!

Yeah, I travelled because we share this desire for undervalued self-deprecating and ironically overstated disparagement and weirdly define it as humour. Pants are deliberately shit, that’s the joke, beneath it they’re proficient musicians but that’s the last thing they’ll confess to being. Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band did this, Spinal Tap, Barron Knights, but rarely do we see it today. Things are more lateral, pragmatic now, you’re either a great band, or a shit band pretending to be great, not the opposite.

As darkness fell over Marlborough, the town gathered to catch a glimpse of something as traditional as the Mop Fair. Pants covered every pop classic you wouldn’t want them too, Don’t You Want Me, Turning Japanese, and from Girls Aloud’s Love Machine to Sparks This Town Ain’t Big Enough of Both of Us. Tiger Feet at the finale I’ll give them, but they rolled out medleys of Kung Fu Fighting with You Sexy Thing, they used an out of time hooter for Tainted Love like it was a bloody seventies quiz show with Bob Monkhouse, they did Hey Mickey and the Theme from the Sweeny, for crying out loud, what is wrong with them?!

They tried so hard to make this gig as shit as they possibly could, but even failed to do that. The crowd lapped it up, it was highly entertaining, hilariously tongue-in-cheek, but like a kebab, you need a few pints inside you to fully appreciate the silliness of a Pants show, and being I was drivingโ€ฆStill, I managed more than my quota of laughs.

The Lamb rocks, the Vooz are fantastic and Pants are no Y-fronts, proper comfortable silk boxers. I’m glad I’ve seen them again after thirty plus years, and look forward to 2054 when they’ll hopefully progress from the seventies!

Meanwhile, next Saturday is another Famous Hangover Session at the pub, with a number of bands playing, worth the trip… or try a tea room with Danny K, whatever floats your boat!

Few Remaining Tickets for The Importance of Being Earnest at West Lavington Manor House and Garden

Tickets are limited and selling fast for a staged reading of Oscar Wildeโ€™s most renowned comedy masterpiece, The Importance of Being Earnest, performed in the glorious setting of West Lavington Manor House and garden, on Sunday 8th September 2024โ€ฆ.

Itโ€™s undoubtedly Wildeโ€™s magnum opus, a timeless hilarity of dissimulation getting out of control, which I cite as the influence of many classic comedy series, particularly Fawtly Towers and Rising Damp.ย ย 

Itโ€™s a promenade performance, moving from space to space, which means seating will be limited. The โ€˜stageโ€™ consists of the Hall and garden of West Lavington Manor. The show promises to go on whatever the weather, so be prepared.

The Old Bag Theatre Company have assembled a superb, and unconventional cast to bring Wildeโ€™s play to surprising life in a setting he would have adored.

All profits from the performance will be donated to The Nestling Trust,ย  a UK Charity established in 2013, with the support of people from a small community in Wiltshire, to give protection, and hope of a future, for destitute and abused children of Nepal, also to help provide basic healthcare and health education for people living in remote areas of the country without any medical facility.ย 

Performances take place on Sunday 8th September at 2pm and 6pm. The grounds will be open from Midday for browsing and picnics, camp chairs are allowed but not in the house. There will be a bar available. But remember, if you take muffins, eat them calmly!

Tickets are ยฃ20 (includes a glass of bubbly) available from HERE.

Enquiries to: oldbagtheatrecompany@gmail.com

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LilyPetals Debut EP

One of many young indie bands which impressed me at Bradford Roots Festival, and proof thereโ€™s more than the name suggests at The Wiltshire Musicโ€ฆ

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Hollychocs Chocolate Experiences for Autumn & Christmas Released

I canโ€™t believe itโ€™s been the best part of six months since my son and Iโ€™s half term chocolate making workshop at Hollychocs in Poulshot, it was so much fun and I was as excited as little Charlie Bucket! Holly has released their new program of events, their Hollychocs Experiences for the Autumn & Christmas periodโ€ฆ.

From their signature Hollychocs Experiences, to masterclasses, delicious tasting events and family friendly fun at Halloween, a Spooktacular Chocolate Experience for all ages, and two types of workshops for Christmas; there’s something for everyone.

Their first ever Christmas Tasting Evening sold out quickly last year so they’ve added two more dates to come and try before you buy, but youโ€™ll still need to be quick, spaces are limited, this is not a Willy Wonka sized factory!

In addition to their program, which you can find here, Hollychocs has a taster session in conjunction with the Devizes Food & Drink Festival on Monday 23rd of September, which you can find here.ย 

These experiences are a fantastic way to learn all about the world of craft chocolate, try a new skill and they make the perfect gift for birthdays and Christmas. Find my account of the experience at a family chocolate making workshop, here. But really, if I type the word chocolate one more timeโ€ฆโ€ฆ.!!

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Swindon Community Flocked to Protect our Town and itโ€™s Residents

People from the Swindon community flocked to protect their town and itโ€™s residents, in anticipation of the rumoured far right anti-immigration march through their town today….

With suggestions of a large violent gang threatening their asylum hotels, mosques and immigration services, they guarded all the possible targets in large numbers from 2pm until 8.30pm. 

It became clear that the rumoured attack wasnโ€™t going to happen but the community spirit was high. New friendships were forged and the movement grows.

One of the people at the counter demonstration said, “There is no way we would allow those violent thugs to intimidate our community. Swindon is a multicultural, welcoming town. We wanted to show our solidarity and strength. It was heartening to hear of the anti racism movement across the country outnumber the far right. We had eyes all over our town, covering all areas, and a great mobilisation model. We can call numbers at short notice and will continue to do so while there is a threat.”

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Weekly Roundup of Events in Wiltshire: 7th – 13th August 2024

Hereโ€™s what weโ€™ve found in the wilds of Wiltshire this coming weekโ€ฆ.

Everything listed here is on our event calendar; go there for links and more info, as it takes too much time to link them all in. It may also be updated as more events come to our attention, so check in later in the week too!

Ongoing: A Wiltshire Thatcher: A Photographic Journey Through Victorian Wessex runs at Wiltshire Museum, Devizes, until the end of August.

Get Your Event Listed Here FREE โ€“ Please Donate If You Can

Wednesday 7th

Acoustic Jam @ The Southgate, Devizes

Chippenham Museum Creative Writing Group – Maud’s Way
Little Piccolos (3 Months-5 Years)
Pottery Painting (12-19 Years)

TRAGEDY: ALL METAL TRIBUTE TO THE BEE GEES + SURREAL PANTHER @ The Vic, Swindon

LGMX @ The Bell, Bath

Thursday 8th

Family Workshop: Victorian Portrait Photography brought to life! @ Wiltshire Museum, Devizes

Sparkly Singers
*SOLD OUT* SASS Circus Skills Workshop (5-13 Years)
A Different Thread – Trio

Friday 9th

Summer Crafts 4 Kids โ€“ run by Wiltshire Museumโ€™s Youth Panel, Devizes

Rock the Tots – Summer Party! (0-10 Years)

The Corinthian Causals @ the Three Horseshoes, Bradford-on-Avon

The Navigator (U) with live piano score by Meg Morley

CREATURE CREATURE @ The Vic, Swindon

Echo Den @ the Beehive, Swindon

Pete Allen’s Jazz Band – CANCELLED

Tangled up in Blues Festival @ Radford Farm, Somerset

Hillbilly Hootenanny
Ion Maiden – LIVE AT THE TREE HOUSE

Saturday 10th

Camera Amnesty @ Wiltshire Museum, Devizes

Family Workshop: Victorian Portrait Photography brought to life! @ Wiltshire Museum, Devizes

Rabbit Rabbit | A Tribute to Chas & Dave

Muddy Manninen & Patsy Gamble Band @ The Southgate, Devizes

James Mitchell @ the Three Crowns, Devizes

Seend Fete

The Vooz & Pants @ the Lamb, Marlborough

Mid-Life Krisis @ The Barge, HoneyStreet

https://thecivictrowbridge.co.uk/tc-events/fleetwood-shack/

The Radio Makers @ the Three Horseshoes, Bradford-on-Avon

WIZARDS OF OZ (THE OZZY OSBOURNE TRIBUTE) @ The Vic, Swindon

Progressive @ the Beehive, Swindon

Luke Philbrick & the Solid Gold Skiffle Invasion @ the Castle, Swindon

Kavus Torabi & The Witching Tale – Live At The Tree House

Sunday 11th

Innes Sibun Trio @ The Southgate, Devizes 5pm

Cooper Creek @ The Richard Jeffries Museum, Swindon 1pm

Swindon Palestine Solidarity March: Regent Circus, Swindon, 11:30

HORIZON LINE @ The Vic, Swindon

Innes Sibun Trio @ the Three Horseshoes, Bradford-on-Avon

Rag Mama Rag @ The Bell, Bath

Monday 12th

Chippenham Film Club August feature

Piotr Jordan @ The Bell, Bath

Tuesday 13th

Singing Day (7-16 Years)

CALLUM SMITH ORGAN TRIO @ Jazz Knights, the Royal Oak, Swindon

Lonely Tourist @ The Bell, Bath

Important note: events which come to our attention from now on, will be updated on the Event Calendar and NOT HERE. So, be sure to check in from time to time, use the Event Calendar to find more info on everything listed on here, and for ticket links, etc. Use the Event Calendar to check for updates and planning ahead.

Did we miss you out? Did you tell us about your event? Itโ€™s not that we donโ€™t like you, itโ€™s because Devizine uses many sources to collate these listings, and sometimes we miss a few things. Listing your event here is free, but please make it easier for me by messaging or emailing the info, and then, and this is the really important part, make sure Iโ€™ve added it and let me know if not!

Have a good week!

Ruzz Up The Gate!

I was intending to start this along the lines of โ€œyou don’t need me to provide another reason why I love The Southgate,โ€ but this is Devizes. Being I overheard a conversation between a person by the ticket machine in the carpark, and their friend at their car three yards away, which went: โ€œgotta put yer registration in, int ya,โ€ to the reply โ€œyou can get it off the number plate,โ€ I reconsidered, maybe some do need a reminder!

Thing was, festival after festival, I was supposed to have a weekend off, grandkids visiting, but the temptation of Ruzz Guitar standing in for Jon Amor for his monthly residency was too great to resist, coupled with the fact I needed a break from drawing Paw Patrol characters, litter-picking Harbio off the sofa and being a human climbing wall.

In no time at all I was sighing relief at our dependable Gate, replacing Peppa for aย pint of Rosie’s Pig; my guilty pleasure. Oh yes, you wanted yet another reason why I love the Southgate, at least a reminder; because even if you’ve stayed in for the weekend, it’s never too late to have a change of heart, Sunday afternoon sessions from 5pm are equally as satisfying as those of the Saturday night.

You knew this, I’m sure. Jon, with the fantastic drum and bass duo, Tom Gilkes and Jerry Soffe have turned this faithful and friendly tavern into a divine monthly juke-joint for many moons now, with guests the calibre you’d gladly fork out a ticket for. They’re also the kind of gig which appeals to the guests, nearly always returning within their own right to the Southgate.

So with Saturday a guaranteed hoedown with Marlborough’s blues giants, Barrelhouse, for a Sunday with Jon unable to attend, the cavalry was called in. There’s some great guitarists in the south-west, there’s the sublime few, and then there’s Ruzz, so good they named the guitar after him. In America they’re calling our regular Johnny B Goode the “Pistol from Bristol,” and the boot fits.

They got our mojo working for an encore, preceded by the perfect execution of Ruzz’s slide guitar interpretation of Armstrong’s Wonderful World, and my personal favourite original, Sweet as Honey. It was a superb finale to a spellbinding set, the likes you can always rely on with Ruzz, fronting his trio, Blues Revue or, evidently, Tom & Jerry too.

The guitar is what Ruzz is a virtuoso of, Gretsch knows this and endorsed him. If he was a chocolatier he’d be endorsed by Teuscher, if he was a stamp collector it would be a stamp collection worth seeing! What a fantastic afternoon at the Southgate, again!

Ruzz is back in Devizes Friday October 18th with his Trio, in support of legends Wishbone Ash at the Corn Exchange, it’s the first gig with profits going to the Mayoral Appeal; a welcome advantage to having a Mayor who runs a blues club!! Tickets here.

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Canuteโ€™s Plastic Army; Hollow Children of Men

New single out today from Swindon-based gothic-folk duo, Canuteโ€™s Plastic Army, and itโ€™s three yeses from meโ€ฆCan one person give three yeses? Iโ€™m way past caringโ€ฆ.

If youโ€™ve loved the previous single Wild, like me, or caught them gigging, usually in Swindon (but they did grace us with their presence at the Southgate in the spring,) Hollow Children of Men is a seven-minute chronicle from Anish Harrison & Neil Mercer, chock full of enchanting wisps and ethereal acoustic moods. It rises and falls, itโ€™s epic, and if itโ€™s not a magnum opus, I want to be there when they release such a song.

Itโ€™s the kind of song which takes you on a journey, through darkened woods, in mist, and leaves you spellbound, unable to leave the forest it drifted you intoโ€ฆ. And if that all sounds like whimsical wordplay for the sake of flattery, take a listen for yourself why don’t you?!

Homestead; New Festival Coming to the South West from Husband and Wife team

A brand new festival will be coming to the South West countryside in 2025, from a husband and wife team with years of experience across some of the UKโ€™s best-loved festivals…..

Homestead is the culmination of a decade of dreaming for Will and Jess Lardner, a Bristol based couple who have been running and working across many of the countryโ€™s most revered and groundbreaking festivals. Having honed their crafts creating incredible experiences for others, they are now launching their own creation and taking everything they have learned to create the perfect balance of hedonism, escapism and relaxation.

Combining music, food, comedy and luxury camping, Homestead will be an intimate weekend, exclusively for those over 25, allowing attendees a rare opportunity to get away from it all and take time for themselves down in the beautiful West Country. For those that want to let their hair down, there will be an impressive lineup of artists to dance the weekend away, whilst those wanting to reconnect with themselves can attend mind-broadening talks and wholesome workshops. Food will play a central role in Homestead, with a roster of respected chefs offering up delicious creations that will make you feel truly looked after with every bite. Comedy will be a late night, rowdy affair with some of the UKโ€™s best comedians coming along for the ride. 

Speaking about Homestead, founder Will said, โ€œWe are creating something for those of us who are growing tired of the suffocating crowds and the homogenised festival landscape. Homestead will deliver a highly curated programme of music, food and comedy with the added bonus of something not usually associated with a festivalโ€ฆ great service and an intimate crowd. We donโ€™t want to say too much for now, but we can promise Homestead will be full of personal touches and amazing experiences!โ€

John Rostron the CEO of the Association of Independent Festivals (AIF) had this to say, โ€œItโ€™s wonderful to see the green shoots of a new festival emerging, offering some hope for new energy and new audiences after one of the toughest periods for independent festivals that weโ€™ve ever known. There’s an enormous appetite for festivals in the UK and what drives that demand is the refreshing of ideas, new innovations, and the constant joy in creativity that festivals like Homestead offer to everyone.โ€ย 

Pre-registration for Homestead is now open, with more information being revealed over the coming months. To be the first in the know, sign up www.homesteadfestival.co.uk

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A View to a Thrill

“The Thrill of Love” at the Wharf Theatre by Ian Diddamsimages by Chris Watkins Media Just over a year ago, the Wharf theatre performed aโ€ฆ

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Sing Another Love Song with Rosie Jay

Second impressive single from young Salisbury singer-songwriter Rosie Jay is released today. Sing Another Love Song; a sound of the summerโ€ฆ..

Her debut breakup track I Don’t Give a Damn, had an interesting hook, this has too, but is far more optimistic, and eternally beguiling. It is, technically, the better of the two, revealing a potential for eminence in its confident and outstanding delivery.ย 

If it hints of connotations the infatuation of the theme is one-sided on the part of the author, itโ€™s open-ended for interpretation; maybe the love interest simply doesnโ€™t share their passion for a good love song?! Thatโ€™s their issue! 

For thatโ€™s what this is, breezy and cool, acoustic and pop-folky, with the perfect flowery scent of Kirsty MacColl in both theme, musically and vocally. Such is the magic of local producer Jolyon Dixon, to filter the inner superlative of an upcoming artist and nurture it to the forefront. And in such youโ€™ll hear a similarity with Rosie to his duo Illingworth with John Smith, should youโ€™ve caught them on our live music circuit. Then again, the whole gypsy-esque vibe, there’s hints of Irish, and I’m awarding the Corrs as another comparison; as with MacColl, these are high accolades indeed!

Here this now, itโ€™ll brighten up your day. Yet, gorgeous as this song is, with the blossoming potential it displays, I believe itโ€™ll be rudimentary in a short period of time, and the best of Rosie Jay is yet to come. You need to be here to hear it when it does. 

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Devizes Food & Drink Festival 2024 Program Announced

We love Devizes, we love food, and we love drink too! What’s not to like when the Devizes Food & Drink Festival launch, (or could we say lunch?!) their program of events for this year?!

HollyChocs

The Festival runs from 21st-29th September, in which during that time you could be tasting tucker from Italy to Ukraine, the latter from Soup-Chick, take your dog for a meal, or your teddy bear, lunch in a old mill, explore the realm of gastronomy with Professor Charles Spence, taste the delights our local chocolatier Holly, try hot dishes in the safety of the fire station (!!), sample what the folk who built Stonehenge had for dinner, and the usual unusual meals in various locations and lots more besides!

SoupChick

On the eve of the festival, Saturday 21st September, the free Street Food & Artisan Market, in the Market Place from 10am โ€“ 4pm, with music by Strungout Ukuleles. And the festival finishes (or should I say fishes?…no, I’ve clearly taken the joke too far now, and must punish myself with an ice cream) with the World Food event at the Corn Exchange on Sunday 29th from 12:30pm. This is the other freebie event where you can enjoy tasters of the flavours of the world for less than ยฃ1 per portion . The festival promises foods from Austria to Zimbabwe, exploring real home cooking from local residents who have far flung roots.

I’ve personally never attended this grand finale World Food gig, yet, and get told off by foodie Dora every year for it! I will try extra this time, Dora, honest!

Get the details of all the events and how to book them, Here.

Plus, of course, I will add them all to our event calendar next update, I just need a fish finger sandwich first, all food chat has given me an appetite.

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Cotswold Water Park to be Renamed

Here’s a prime example as to why I could never be a councillor…..

Cotswold District Council will vote on changing the name of Cotswold Water Park to Cotswold Lakes because visitors turn up expecting water slides, being the term is usually used for water theme parks.

How two dimensional is that thinking? Imagine having to sit through meetings with people so utterly boring that’s the best solution they could come up with, when the potential here is staring them in the face. A million people visit the water park annually, many of them willing to pay for access to a water theme park they mistakenly thought that it wasโ€ฆhello? Earth to Cotswold District Councilโ€ฆ.

Instead, they’ll probably spend thousands on graphic design and signage changes, when all they’ve gotta do to keep the name is install some bloody water slides, and get rich very quickly!

Matthew Millet, development officer at the Trust, said the name was “never fit for purpose” and that it is “about time” a new name was found to reflect what the lakes really offer. Now, that’s thinking outside the box; someone wiped the cobwebs from the cogs of their minds!

“Fun” must have a different definition for those councillors to mine. You could section off a tiny area of the lakes, you could give the people what they want, what they thought they were turning up in their armbands and Speedos for, or you could just carry on as you were, hoping a carp will take the bait!

Wiltshire Council Leader Weeps Over The Scrapping of the Stonehenge Tunnel!

Tory tears welled at County Hall this week, when Cllr Richard Clewer, leader of Wiltshire Council threw his teddies from his pram over the Government’s motion to cancel the A303 Stonehenge tunnel project, while The Stonehenge Alliance welcomed the announcement by Chancellor Rachel Reeves to cancel the ยฃ2.5bn scheme as a โ€œlow value, unaffordable commitment.โ€

Clewer whimpered, โ€œWe are extremely dismayed and disappointed at the Government’s decision to cancel the A303 Stonehenge tunnel project. These improvements are needed now to ease traffic congestion on the A303 and reduce traffic in our communities, and also ensure economic growth in Wiltshire, unlocking jobs and investment in the wider south-west region.โ€

The Stonehenge Alliance alongside supporter-organisations such as Ancient Sacred Landscape Network, Campaign to Protect Rural England, Friends of the Earth, Rescue, the British Archaeological Trust, and Transport Action Network, believe the road should have been binned in 2020 when it was recommended for refusal, after a six month examination, for the damage it would cause to the World Heritage Site. The Examination Report, written by five planning inspectors, who presided over a six month examination, recommended that the application be refused.

Yet Cllr Richard Clewer continued, โ€œIt has taken many years of lobbying and working closely with partners, including National Highways, to bring this major infrastructure project to Wiltshire, and so it is a huge blow to get to the stage when construction is ready to begin, only to have this taken away from us at this late hour,โ€ despite it seems these studies and a refusal from the High Court, the Conservative government at the time simply ignored them and continued to award contracts to construction companies regardless. So when the WC leader states, โ€œThere has already been ยฃ160m spent on this project, and cancelling it now wastes that huge investment,โ€ who’s fault is that?! If I didn’t get planning permission to build a shed in my garden but paid a bloke to carry out the work anyway, I would bear the cost for my misjudgement, surely? It’s called acting responsibly!

John Adams, chair of the Stonehenge Alliance said, โ€œThis is a vindication of all the work of so many people over so many years from supporters around the world. National Highwaysโ€™ misguided project was called out for what it was: low value and unaffordable. It was also highly damaging. Now that it has been scrapped, we need to move on. As soon as the budget is there, we need to ensure, as a priority, that local traffic is better managed and rail access to the South West improved.โ€

Tom Holland, historian and president of the Stonehenge Alliance, expressed his enthusiasm for the cancellation. โ€œThis is wonderful news,โ€ he said. โ€œThis entire monstrous project, a proposal to drive a gash of concrete and tarmac through our most sacred prehistoric landscape, should never have got off the drawing board. That cancelling it will also save ยฃ2.5bn is obviously an additional perk.โ€

The councillor proposed the โ€˜monstrous project to drive a gash of concrete and tarmac through our most sacred prehistoric landscape,โ€™ would โ€œreturn the Stonehenge landscape to something like its original setting.โ€  

He’s certainly done his homework, young Dick, because it’s a lesser known fact the ancient Britons built a gurt concrete motorway tunnel underneath Stonehenge, and it even had a Little Chef. The Egyptians built a flyover over the Pyramid of Giza too, to ease 4th dynasty congestion in Cairo. The Hanging Gardens of Babylon was just a multi-storey car park decorated with a few hanging baskets, and the Mohawks made a giant plug to plug up Niagara Falls, so their canoes could cross the sea five minutes quicker!

Its original setting is impossible to recreate now, unless you’re Dr Who, and itโ€™s as close as it ever will be, with the mounting campaign to wreck it, which the councillor is promoting and cannot see the hypocrisy in his outburst! But to further the gibberish, Clewer finished this sentence with the unbelievable, โ€œand allow local communities greater access to the ancient stones and the surrounding World Heritage Site.โ€ Greater access, really? I beg to differ, itโ€™s been fine for five thousand years, now, all of a sudden, it feels like they want to hide it, unless you cross their palms with silver; typical Tory all round.

Theyโ€™ve already rerouted traffic on the upper road, so you cannot access it unless you cough up ยฃ37 for a ticket, and should the tunnel have been constructed youโ€™d never know it was there at all. The next generation of locals would be like Tess of the d’Urbervilles, despite living close theyโ€™d be oblivious to its existence.

Face it, his last paragraph was simply a smokescreen, when really the focus of his whinge was more about reducing โ€œrat-running in our communities, to reduce journey times to the wider south-west, to boost economic growth in Wiltshire, and to unlock jobs and investment across the region.โ€ 

It mayโ€™ve eased congestion, but destruction of the environment to do so would have been certain. We risked losing our World Heritage Site, its status as such, the appeal to tourism, the capital this brings to the county, and its historical and sacred connotations, and letโ€™s face it, for nothing more than to get Gareth and Diane from Shrewton to Andover five minutes earlier. And that’s the real truth about this vanity project, a complete disregard for our environment and the financial benefits obtained from it to small businesses relying on tourism, simply so colossal building contracts can be backhanded to Conservative donor bum chums.

There never was a thought given to the elephant in the room, that the area is littered with undiscovered sites of archaeological importance, which once discovered by digging there, potentially wrecking, would halt the process and massively increase the cost of the project, spiralling it billions over budget. It would have been a horrorshow for future generations to frown upon us and ask โ€œwhat the hell were they thinking?โ€

The Stonehenge Alliance explains the original budget of ยฃ1.7bn is from around 2017 and is clearly out of date. In an answer to Danny Kruger MPโ€™s Parliamentary question on the 12th March 2024, which admits that even in 2018, the construction cost was estimated to be ยฃ1.9bn with maintenance costs of ยฃ8m a year. With construction inflation being so high since then, it is likely that the combined total cost of the scheme is over ยฃ2.5bn and thatโ€™s before it runs into any difficulties tunnelling in phosphatic chalk.

Regardless of the facts, Cllr Richard Clewer concluded, โ€œWe will remain committed to this project and will continue to work closely with all stakeholders to try to bring this project back to Wiltshire.โ€

But who is the proverbial โ€œWeโ€ here? The Wiltshire Council press release suggests all the councillors are behind Mr Clewer on this one. Rather I favoured to ask our shiny new MP, Brian Mathew, also on Wiltshire Council, a penny for his thoughts, not that I gave him a penny, but still he replied, โ€œI have been against the Stonehenge Tunnel since I first heard about it in around 2009. I was the only Councillor to speak out against it in 2017 when I was first elected to Wiltshire Council.โ€ 

When Rachel Reeves outlined her proposals to Parliament, she said Labour would not go ahead with the A303 Stonehenge scheme, but she didnโ€™t say it was cancelled. However, in the published policy paper the scheme is listed as cancelled, therefore Clewer’s claims to remain committed to a project definitely cancelled is wasting time in office and even more taxpayer’s money; they failed to fix the existing roads from defects the size of moon craters for years, let alone engineer a project as technical as this!

It surely then serves as an example of how this immature response to the results of the general election in many of our Conservatives remaining in positions of power is simply going to hinder progress, and it’s time, now the deed is done in parliament, to eradicate this Conservative ethos which values the financial gain of multinational companies over that of smaller businesses and the aesthetics of our communities, across the board, once and for all.

Much less, we suffer from hairbrained vanity building schemes such as this, destroying our heritage, wildlife and tourist attractions just for the sake of easing congestion without the need for the drastic environmental measures necessary to be sustainable. It’s time to improve public transport in Wiltshire, so Gareth and Diane can get from Shrewton to Andover by choo-choo train. Get with the program, silly boy! 

Weekly Roundup of Events in Wiltshire: 31st July – 6th August 2024

Weโ€™re into August already; Christmas before you know it, so you better get outside and taste the sun while it lastsโ€ฆ.

Hereโ€™s what weโ€™ve found in the wilds of Wiltshire this coming week, provided the Earth isn’t hit by a meteoriteโ€ฆ.a meaty feast pizza-orite, maybe, that’s okay, and the kind of cataclysmic event I dream about…โ€ฆ

Everything listed here is on our event calendar; go there for links and more info, as it takes too much time to link them all in. It may also be updated as more events come to our attention, so check in later in the week too!

Ongoing: A Wiltshire Thatcher: A Photographic Journey Through Victorian Wessex runs at Wiltshire Museum, Devizes, until the end of August.

Wednesday 31st

Acoustic Jam at the Southgate, Devizes.

Big Jam Session at the Vic, Swindon.

Loonaloop at the Bell, Bath.

Thursday 1st

School Holiday Pirate Boat Trip on the Kenavon, sailing at 10.30 and 13.30 from Devizes Wharf, for a Treasure Hunting adventure on the Kennet & Avon Canal.

Sparkly Singers at Lansdowne Hall, Derry Hill.

Tell Your Story โ€“ Theatre Acting and Directing workshop at Central Methodist Church, Chippenham.

Aldbourne Music Festival starts, running over the weekend.

Fraser Anderson with Bex Baxter & John Parker (Trio) at Chapel Arts, Bath.

Wickham Festival begins.

Valley Fest at Chew Valley also opens.

Friday 2nd

Professor Elemental & Madam Misfit at the Barge, Honeystreet, with the Real Cheesemakers in support. Not everyday we get Chap Hop here, so Editor’s Pick of the Week!

Humdinger at The Bear, Marlborough.

People Like Us at The Brunel Launch Party, Chippenham.

Music For Miniatures have an Under the Sea Tour at Marden House, Calne. 

Talk in Code at The Three Horseshoes, Bradford-on-Avon with Ruby Darbyshire.

โ€˜Spirit of the Bluesโ€™ with Julia Titus, Mike Denham & Steve Graham at Chapel Arts, Bath. 

Cydonia Knights at The Vic, Swindon. Tiger Split Outfit & Jim Blair at the Beehive.

Connor Selby at The Tree House, Frome. Coda โ€“ Led Zeppelin Tribute at the Cheese & Grain.

Saturday 3rd

Curious Kids: the Circus at Wiltshire Museum, Devizes.

Barrelhouse at The Southgate, Devizes. Maurice Menghini has a reggae night at the Bear Hotel.

Stripped at The Lamb, Marlborough.

Rave Against the Machine at The Barge, HoneyStreet.

Seven Wonders: The Spirit of Fleetwood Mac at Melksham Assembly Hall.

People Like Us at Calne Liberal Club.

Summer Party in the Park at Island Park, Chippenham.

The Buttmonkies at West Wilts Cons Club, Trowbridge.

Ooh Beehive at the Beehive, Swindon. Talk in Code at the Castle.

Westbury Cider & Beer Festival at Fullingbridge Farm.

The Blunders at the Three Horseshoes, Bradford-on-Avon.

The Dung Beatles at Chapel Arts, Bath.

Flea and Collectables Market at the Cheese & Grain, Frome. Wrecking Ball โ€“ A Nashville Experience in the evening.

Sunday 4th

Ruzz Guitar at The Southgate, Devizes from 5pm.

Mark Green Blues Band at the Three Horseshoes, Bradford-on-Avon.

At It at The Richard Jefferies Museum, Swindon, free from 1pm.

Monday 5th

The Pop-Up Youth Cafe will be on the Green in Devizes from Monday until Friday 9th.

Princess Dance Party (2-4 Years) and Barbie Dance Party (4-9 Years) at Wiltshire Music Centre Bradford-on-Avon.

Tuesday 6th

Trio Paradis Cafe Concert: Scenes of Childhood at St Andrews, Chippenham.

Music for Miniatures presents The Owl and The Pussycat (3-7 Years) at Wiltshire Music Centre Bradford-on-Avon.

Rod Kelly Trio for Jazz Knights, at the Royal Oak, Swindon.

Important note: events which come to our attention from now on, will be updated on the Event Calendar and NOT HERE. So, be sure to check in from time to time, use the Event Calendar to find more info on everything listed on here, and for ticket links, etc. Use the Event Calendar to check for updates and planning ahead.

Did we miss you out? Did you tell us about your event? Itโ€™s not that we donโ€™t like you, itโ€™s because Devizine uses many sources to collate these listings, and sometimes we miss a few things. Listing your event here is free, but please make it easier for me by messaging or emailing the info, and then, and this is the really important part, make sure Iโ€™ve added it and let me know if not!

Have a good week!

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Devizes Scooter Rally Rules, OK?!

If it’s been a fantastic weekend on Devizes Green with the orchestral Full-Tone Festival, further out of town scooterists, mods, skins and anyone else with a penchant for the merger of such retrospective subcultures gathered for an equally thrilling event, Devizes Scooter Rally 2024, backed by the shack of a soul boss, most turnin’, stormin’, sound o’soulโ€ฆ.

You’ll have to excuse parts omitted and see this as an overall piece, because in trying to juggle both events there were times I was going between them, times I stopped home for my chips, and times when I generally slouched on the sofa contemplating getting my arse in gear! But what I did catch at Devizes Scooter Club’s most prestigious annual do, was off the scale brilliant; I expected no less based on their past rallies.

It might also be a smidgen inequitable on Full-Tone that I spent more time at the Rally. It’s walking distance from home, not having a scooter myself, and such is my right to satisfy what’s more my cuppa; the dirty down jollity of working class revelry! Note, then, despite eclectic tastes required to do this blog, my first music love will forever be ska and consequently reggae; it’s the offbeat, see? It’s that little jump, mek ya wanna skank up da riddim, not forgoing the heavy basslines or class brass. Unfortunately, itโ€™s something we’re rarely blessed with here, so when it is in my neighbourhood, anything and everything else must get put on the backburner. 

And moreover, when we do get ska or reggae around these backwaters, it’s not usually of the quality we’ll see today at the Rally. And there lies my reason for savouring the opportunity against an orchestral happening elsewhere in town, fantastic as it was. The epiphany came with the finale of the Saturday, when London’s Goldsteppers stepped up to the challenge and truly blew me off my little dancing feet.

Band changeovers were quicker than the queue at the bar, which is no fault of the exceptionally hard-working bar staff, rather the given after navigating winding B-roads on a hairdryer on wheels, the punters camp up, and drink, they drink a lot!

After an electric set by Southampton’s Butterfly Collective, who had already raised the level with a varied melting pot of Kinks to Happy Mondays, and finishing on a reggae classic, I arrived back in the tent to be sublimely slotted into my comfort zone by these Gold-stepping Bobby Dazzlers. The beautiful sound of ska, seemingly attentive to original ska and rock steady, an often overlooked linkage between ska and reggae despite being the most creative period in Jamaican recording history, rather than the commonplace Two-Tone cover bands.

Alton Ellis, early Wailers songs and other cherry-picked rarities were given the Goldsteppers makeover, and it was something to behold. I could say this was the best ska band I’ve seen, but I’ve seen Desmond Dekker, Jimmy Cliff et al, so I think they’ll understand and be satisfied when I say this was the perfect and best homage to that golden era of reggae Iโ€™ve witnessed for many a year.

Staying true to the original compositions and delivered with an unmatched tightness, so accomplished were Goldsteppers, their own originals didn’t sound out of place, and were welcomed by the frenzied crowd. The archetypal Pressure Drop from The Maytals, the classics came brassy and bassy, with astute attention to detail, passion and pitched with perfect banter. And while we’re talking brass is class, it should be noted the enthusiastic frontman, who introduced himself to me as Sam, unless I misheard, also blew saxophone with incredible clout; legend! Dammit, if they even, for humorous effect, ska’d up a cover of Wham’s Edge of Heaven and made it sound like Justin Hinds & The Dominoes recorded it in 1964! 

But what Goldsteppers did for reggae greats, headliners on the Friday, All That Soul, did for The Motown and Stax years. I’ve seen this show before, The Scooter Club booked them for a gig some years ago, this time only furthered my conviction that there’s no better homage to sixties classic soul in the UK, currently, than All That Soul. They were divine, on vocals, timing and showmanship, creating a sensation impossible not to savour in awe. Are we on Soul Train in 1969 right now?! No, still in a field near Devizes!

You could say this would suit a function, like a wedding, and many function bands attempt classic soul covers, varying in quality; it only depends on the level of your alcohol intoxication in how enjoyable they are! But not with All That Soul; you could go stone cold sober and come up dancing, because thereโ€™s nothing commonplace about them, neither clichรฉ; it’s a billion levels up from the best function band you could possibly book with any amount of generosity from your bank manager!  

I only caught the end of the Decatonicsโ€™ set, but they sounded bloody awesome too, guess I was caught chatting to all those friendly faces on arrival. Because Devizes Scooter Rally is so communal, so hospitable it borders on one big happy family occasion.

Aside from bringing financial gain to Devizes as scooterists putt-putt off on ride-outs and to explore town, itโ€™s an asset to our locality through being a well-organised and respected event. Our blossoming Scooter Rally is an attraction midway between your average scooter rally, which can often be no more than a local cover band and a bloke flogging hotdogs while enthusiasts chat shop, and an over commercialised large scale and renowned rally which borders festival proportions and consequently losses its edge and appeal.

So, while thereโ€™s space to grow this event, itโ€™s perfect the way it currently is, and damn, itโ€™s one amazingly unforgettable weekend for locals with only a passing interest, as much as it is for all the national aficionados who gathered on the site with the winks of knowledge that theyโ€™ve discovered a secret rally on top of its prime right now.

Devizes Scooter Rally is set to rev into 2025 already, set on the 25th-27th July. Same time, same place next year then? You betcha life, from me, and you really need to experience it too, with me, on the dancefloor, with your boots and braces! We got three million miles to reach the moon, So let’s start getting happy now….

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My Complaint About Devizesโ€™ Full-Tone Festival!

Images Used With Permission of Gail Foster

Chief organiser of the Full-Tone Festival, Jemma Brown has always been high on my list of local folk of admiration, but went a notch higher Sunday upon delivering a sly quip on stage, in retaliation to a lone keyboard warrior inanely slating the festival on Facebook, while the majority of locals, and visitors from afar, basked in the sunshine and glory of what was the ultimate, (and possibly final of this kind,) showcase of our fantastic homegrown Full-Tone Orchestra, their momentous accomplishment, and all the gorgeous gubbings which went with it!

I was sunbathing on a Muck & Dunder deckchair at the time, enjoying one of their Piรฑa Coladas, the like only they seem to know how to create this side of the Atlantic Ocean, and a hearty chuckle impulsively launched from my cake hole. Oh my, the audacity of the ranting warrior caused a desire in me to march that silly sausage down to the breath-taking stage, allowing them to observe, even if momentarily, a sixty-piece orchestra harmoniously labouring sublimely, while a local youth sings their heart out at the most memorable, prestigious, and significant opportunity of their lives so far, to the tears of joy from their mum in the audience, overwhelmed with pride, and the smiles from those enjoying it, then ask this ranting nobody to confirm their complaint was not driven solely by selfish jealousy!

A neighbour of mine has a tendency to rev his motorbike in his garden. I cannot fathom why he needs to do this, neither appreciate the noise, but to ramble on about it on social media isn’t going to achieve anything but further verbal conflict. All I know is when you’re within the range of that stage, the divine acoustics immerse you, and even if it’s not your cuppa, you cannot deny the magnitude of the moment, just one weekend of it was all that was ever asked, the musical might of something you rarely get in Devizes, or anywhere for that matter.

Then, you turn away at your own free will, and note though it may have appeared so, you are not trapped in the Royal Albert Hall, you’re still on the familiar Green in Devizes, and deckchairs surrounds you like a day in a park, teetering with locals, spellbound and appreciating said moment. That is the magic of the Full-Tone Festival; go grab yourself a G&T or a Rowdy Cow ice cream, maybe get your face painted, return whenever you feel like it. It’s neither a sitting concert because of the freedom to come and go, nor a day in the park, because there’s a mahoosive and effective seamless programme of wonderful and varied music waving across the site; it is unique, iconic, and symbolic of everything great about Devizes.

All comes at a price, though, is another I hear plenty. Comparatively not so. Look around you, it’s over the pound mark for a Crunchie bar in a petrol station, and your average festival or a two-hour pop star’s gig will triple the price tag of Full-Tone’s three day extravaganza, if not more. You can only reasonably complain if your ears and eyes are shut.

Look! Look at that extravagant stage, wonder how many lines the technicians are juggling, watch the procession of musicians coming and going from the stage akin to the precision and order of an antโ€™s nest, though in pretty frocks! Consider every sidestall and those relentlessly working to serve you, the security, the first aid, the unison of everything coming together as it did, is both costly and executed with such professionalism I cannot fault it neither reason why anyone else would complain; it would be insanity to do so. Even conductor Anthony Brown waving his baton around for two solid days is enough to sympathise with any repetitive strain injury heโ€™s likely to have developed!

Though I must say again, it was a shame it clashed with the Devizes Scooter Rally, an event also dear to my heart. In such, there were large chunks of both I missed in a desperate attempt to attend the two. I missed the Friday night, when Jemmaโ€™s Devizes Dance Academy replayed their musical Six, accompanied by the fantastic Ruby Darbyshire and Devizes indie popsters Nothing Rhymes With Orange, but console myself safe in the knowledge based on past experience, this would be a guaranteed chicken dinner.

There were so many elements I sadly missed. I know our prodigy Jess Self knocked it out of the Green with Annieโ€™s Tomorrow, but I was made up by catching Six performers Ruby Phipps and Lisa Grimeโ€™s sublime solos during the James Bond theme section. Amidst the pro singers, these local youths held their own, and walked nervously but magnificently through it like it was butter on hot toast. There was the jazz big band on Sunday to make up for missing a Beatles tribute duo, and again, Talk in Code I know wouldโ€™ve smashed it.

Thereโ€™s simply too much to put every detail into words, but as an overall assessment based on what I witnessed or was gutted to be told how great what I missed was, The Full-Tone Festival again was a spectacular community event on a scale Devizes arguably hasnโ€™t seen since the Boto-X, and the Green looked once again as full as the first paid Full-Tone Festival was three years ago. It will be a shame to see the Green fallow next year, but we look forward to the prospect of it returning in whatever different shape it’ll be.

Notwithstanding the financial gain from visitors to the town and local businesses this attracts, alone for itโ€™s sheer capacity for not only providing a showcase for the orchestra, which will again venture out to the cities to perform at their prestigious venues, and attract the big names within the theatrical, classical and opera to grace our town, but also for showcasing upcoming local talent, Full-Tone receives no complaint from me, (the headline was just a sneaky clickbait trap, ha-ha!) Neither could I justify writing a single negative word about it. If I had to, it would be that we cannot do it bimonthly!

It was, as it has been each time, a fantastic event, and is loved by so many. Look again at dancers dancing, somehow, to the Chariots of Fire theme, kids in fairy wings, the old fellow napping in a deck chair with a bucket hat over his faceโ€ฆlook and take heed of everyone, enjoying themselves โ€ฆ.my hat would come off to everyone involved, if it didnโ€™t risk a sunburned bald patch!

Oh, go on then, everyone involved deserves a factor 50 sunblock, because you shine so bright!

See, Iโ€™m done and dusted with whinging; yep, that satirical rant column from many years ago, that I ask Jemma if she remembers, upon my request for more ammo, how she replied, rather I could highlight the positive things happening in town, and how that ended up with me meeting them at a rehearsal for a newly formed orchestra in Rowde school hall? Not that Iโ€™m blaming anyone for Devizine, I’ll take that rap(!!), more so thinking, wow, how far Full-Tone has come from that acorn, and how I’ve followed that inspirational progression.

Fantabulous and all and every synonym Microsoft Word will match it with, but whatโ€™s more to say? Please, if inclined, add your own thoughts to my waffle on the social media shares and Iโ€™ll transform them onto the bottom here. Help me create a fuller overview, tell me why you think Full-Tone Festival will be seriously missed from our event calendar next year and what you enjoyed about this one, thank you, and thank you Full-Tone and everyone who helped make this such a memorable occasion.

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Let’s Clean up Devizes!

You’ve got to love our CUDS, the Clean up Devizes Squad, hardworking volunteers who make the town look tidy and presentable. Here’s your chance toโ€ฆ

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Can You Volunteer to Help Devizes Opendoors?

I dropped into the new(ish) home of Devizes Opendoors today to meet Mitch, poke my nose in, chat about the work they do and how they need more volunteers. Based at the Southbroom Centre on Victoria Road now, itโ€™s a huge improvement from the last time I visited them at the St Johnโ€™s Parish Room some years agoโ€ฆ

Supporting anyone with homelessness, in sheltered accommodation, or dealing with vulnerability issues, Opendoors is as the name suggests, open for drop-ins and providing cooked meals and food bank vouchers, offering a laundry and showers, and helpful advice when dealing with support agencies. It is, in short, an invaluable asset to anyone who falls upon challenging times in our town. And face it, no one knows whatโ€™s around the next corner, it could happen to any of us.

Whenever I spark up a conversation with someone that I see in town who appears to be on the road, I ask them if theyโ€™re aware of the facility, and I guess through word-of-mouth, all seem to know of it. Mitch spoke positively about changes to government policies regarding homelessness, such as the proactive Homelessness Reduction Act, and Trowbridgeโ€™s mental health, drug and alcohol support service Turning Point. Angie added how they provided breakfast before they got the bus to Turning Point, โ€˜cos theyโ€™re nice like that!

And thatโ€™s what we need to focus on, the local, day-to-day aspect of Opendoors, and quash preconceptions if you were to volunteer, youโ€™d be slaving away in a Victorian workhouse or dingy inner-city soup kitchen. The team were finishing up when I rocked up, Thursday the session runs from 11am-1pm, same on a Monday, and Wednesday itโ€™s open for breakfast at 9.30am, running until 11:30. Friday is an afternoon session from 1-3pm, a roast dinner I believe. The cook was busy cleaning the kitchen, others gathered to collapse the tables down because the centre is hired out, and a kidโ€™s karate club is tonight.

Everyone mucked in, and I sensed a real community spirit about the place. Mitch suggested very rarely was their aggravation with users of the facilities. As youโ€™d imagine, most are too appreciative of it to bring any grievance with them, despite the understandable frustration of their individual situations. In fact, one fellow strode in too late, but they accommodated him, nonetheless, chatted with him, and gave him a bag of food to take away, he was grateful and passive; we are not beyond Thunderdome, just beyond the bridge by the sports club!

Support accommodation is the most common situation in Devizes, and a recently opened Wiltshire Council seven-bedroom property, though this is for those with priority needs, like disabilities or children. Mitch estimated only three people are currently sleeping rough here, โ€œbut a lot of the people we support are either sofa surfing, or boaters.โ€ The latter can vasty range in needs, some were โ€œsimply living a tin can,โ€ whereas others were self-sufficient yet came in to use the showers. While everyone is an individual case, all needs are catered for and welcomed here without discrimination; the centre refer to them as โ€œguests.โ€ Itโ€™s this, which despite any presumptions you may have, makes it congenial, seemingly a happy place. Thereโ€™s even nice sofas and a bookcase, I couldโ€™ve made myself quite at home!

Opendoors operates with around fifty to sixty volunteers, there are many varied roles you could help with, managing food or the clothes bank, helping guests with problems, cooking or serving meals. Mitch stressed the flexibility of both the roles available, and the rota, which she draws up weekly on a spreadsheet. You would be free to decide what shifts you can do, and the minimum, Mitch said, was an hour a month, which is dandy for the busiest of us to accommodate into our schedule, surely?

Guided tour was brief but effective, showers, then an office where guests can get online, and further on, a room where dried or tinned food bags are prepared, working in coordination with the Devizes Food Bank, and a surplus of donated goods from Morrisons and Marks & Spencer. So, a guest at Opendoors can expect four meals a week, and a food bag on Thursdays, as well as use of the facilities, access to warm clothes and donated food. Iโ€™d imagine the kettle is always on, and thereโ€™s other factors I admit I didnโ€™t consider, things like toiletries.

A typical shift operates with a team of six. They run with two cooks, level two trained, and Mitch suggested they could put anyone interested on the necessary courses, which included things like first aid too, and there was scope for progressing with a scheme called โ€œbefriending,โ€ individual case support training. They usually have a receptionist, someone to coordinate the provisions, and someone floating between needed tasks. With holidays and illnesses, Mitch explained how sadly they were forced to close some sessions, and a lack of volunteers meant the teams were feeling pushed to take on more than they wanted to. She felt sorrowful about the situation and often has to step in herself.

โ€œFour sessions a week,โ€ Mitch emphasised, โ€œbut people are more than welcome to do one a week, one a month, whatever theyโ€™re comfortable with.โ€ She continued to say she was sure there were people willing to help but might not know about them.

Thatโ€™s why I was there, to let people know about it, encourage people to help in any way they can. Because Iโ€™ve been that sofa-surfer, Iโ€™ve camped in the forest, slept on the wheelarch of a van. And, you know, you can raise funds and even self-awareness doing a big sleep out, and thatโ€™s all good, but remain safe in the knowledge youโ€™ll be returning home as soon as itโ€™s done. You cannot fully extract from this the daily psychological disinclination and stress of being unsettled, wondering where the next meal is coming from, and the humiliation for some, of having to endure this with no silver lining in sight.

Opendoors is invaluable. Like many similar organisations across the world, it offers local folk in need, valuable help and advice, and of course, food, clothes, and hope of shelter, those simple things we all need, and often take for granted. I was honoured to meet up with them once more, to see their new premises and how the organisation has progressed, and I remain grateful and astounded by the challenging work put into it from volunteers, staff and trustees. And hope some reading this will say, you know what, Worrow is right for once in his silly life, I can spare some time to help!

Hereโ€™s their website if you do, or contact Nadia for more information, on manager@devizesopendoors.org.uk

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The Next Season at the Wharf Theatre

Featured image byย Chris Watkins

Autumn, finish your ice lolly, as we need to to start thinking about it! Our wonderful, one and only, theatre in Devizes is currently โ€œdark,โ€ for maintenance, installation of new equipment and stage enhancement. But thereโ€™s a new season coming soon, and tickets for a variety of performances beyond panto and into 2025 are up for grabsโ€ฆ

The theatrical term โ€œgone darkโ€ indicates the venue is closed to the public. No lights mean no show. Historically, when theatres go dark one is left lit light at the centre of the stage. Itโ€™s known as the โ€œGhost Light,โ€ believed to guide spirits and ghosts around the building.

Wharf Theatre

While it may be a fire safety hazard too far for us today, candles were used in times gone by, and this may explain why many theatre’s often burned down in the Shakespearean era. Iโ€™m not a fountain of knowledge, I pinched it from the Wharf Theatreโ€™s Facebook post! But we canโ€™t have ghosts snapping up all the tickets for themselves, so hereโ€™s the lowdown on performances theyโ€™ve got lined up for us from August.

Sat 10th August: sees Rabbit Rabbit, a tribute to those cockney sparrows, Chas & Dave. Performed by the renowned trio, Triple Cream with their fantastic musicianship & witty banter, this show will have you smiling from ear to ear!

Mon 2nd – Sat 7th September: Abigail Newton directs British playwright Alan Bennettโ€™s Talking Heads. Three dramatic monologues taken from the BBC TV series from 1988.

Thur 12th September: Devizes Film Club screens joyful British comedy Scrapper.

Fri 20th September: Relive Hancock’s Half Hour with award-winning theatre company, Hambledon Productionsโ€™ recreations of three, โ€˜lostโ€™ episodes from the original television series. Missing from the BBC archives, this UK Tour will mark the very first time these hilarious scripts have been brought to life since their original broadcast.

Sat 28th September: Jazz Britannia. Britain’s best New Orleans jazz combo Baby Jools & The Jazzaholics take you on a musical journey through the birth of British Jazz.ย 

Mon 21st – Sat 26th October: Nic Proud adapts and directs Shakespeareโ€™s Pericles, Prince of Tyre. A man on an endless voyage of peril, with romance and killing.

Sat 2nd Nov: Murder: Just What The Dr Ordered. From Isosceles Theatre Company who brought us a sold-out performance of The Man Who Left The Titanic last year. Set in Edinburgh, between 1827 and 1828, science and murder cling together in a dance of death.

7th Nov: Devizes Film Club screens Aki Kaurismรคkiโ€™s Fallen Leaves, a Finnish film about a romance between a supermarket girl and a metalworker against a backdrop of economic disparity and war in Ukraine. Winner of the 2023 Cannes Film Festival Jury Prize.

Thu 28th Nov – Sat 7th Dec: Panto Time! This year the Wharf Theatre presents Hansel & Gretel. Karen Ellis & Jessica Bone take direction roles for the gingerbread house traditional pantomime. Alway popular, book this asap.

Mon 27th Jan – Sat 1st Feb: Veronica’s Room. John Winterton directs the first Wharf production of 2025, a chilling mystery thriller by the author of Rosemaryโ€™s Baby, exploring the thin line between fantasy and reality, madness and murder.

Tickets now on General Release HERE. Please note that Devizes Library is closed until 24 July which includes the Community Hub Box Office. Support our lovely local theatre.

Weekly Roundup of Events in Wiltshire: 24th-30th July 2024

Jam-packed July! If thereโ€™s always lots to do throughout the year, July especially so!  Hereโ€™s what weโ€™ve found in the wilds of Wiltshire this coming weekโ€ฆ.

Everything listed here is on our event calendar; go there for links and more info, as it takes too much time to link them all in. It may also be updated as more events come to our attention, so check in later in the week too!

Ongoing: A Wiltshire Thatcher: A Photographic Journey Through Victorian Wessex runs at Wiltshire Museum, Devizes, until the end of August; review here.

Marlborough Open Studios is running until 28th July. 

Wednesday 24th

Acoustic Jam at the Southgate, Devizes.

James Mortonโ€™s Groove Den at the Bell, Bath. Edinburgh Previews at The Rondo Theatre, Sophie Duker & Garrett Millerick.

Thursday 25th

Womad opens its gates, for some very lucky people!

Open Mic at the Crown, Aldbourne.

Free Music in the Foyer of the Neeld, Chippenham from 7:30pm with Meg, and Kane Pollastrone

Mark Thomasโ€™s Gaffa Tapes at Pound Arts, Corsham.

Loonaloop at The Beehive, Swindon.

Edinburgh Previews at The Rondo Theatre, Bath, Chloe Petts & Katie Norris. The Peter Gill Live Rock โ€˜nโ€™ Roll Big Band at Chapel Arts.

Childrenโ€™s author Michael Rosen is at the Cheese & Grain, Frome.

Friday 26th

The Unpredictables at The Raven, Poulshot.

Kenavon Venture Music Night at Devizes Wharf. Guided Tour of the Lost Pubs of Devizes with John Griven. Devizes Scooter Rally opens for the weekend. Full Tone Festival: Six on the Green with NRWO & Ruby Darbyshire, Fulltone opens officially on Saturday.

Glamarama at The Crown, Aldbourne.

Trowbridge Festival opens. Be Like Will at The Red Admiral, Trowbridge.

The Bookshop Band at Pound Arts, Corsham.

Nin UK, Korn Again and the Spouky Kids at The Vic, Swindon. Prime Youth Theatreโ€™s Grimm Tales at Swindon Arts Centre opens and runs until 27th July. The Ultimate Classic Rock Show at the Wyvern Theatre. KillerTones at The Moonrakers, Swindon.

Death is a Girl at the Three Horseshoes, Bradford-on-Avon.

Little(ish) Women at The Rondo Theatre, Bath. Dan Whitehouse โ€“ A Night Of Glass at Chapel Arts.

Heathen Apostles at the Tree House, Frome.

Flocksteady Live at The Baa, Salisbury, with Captain Accident & the Disasters headlining. 

Saturday 27th

FullTone Festival continues in Devizes. Devizes Scooter Rally continues in Devizes. The Roughcut Rebels at The Three Crowns.

Trowbridge Festival continues.

Calne Bike Meet.

The Hardcore Troubadours at The Crown, Aldbourne.

The Red Bstrds, Hometown Devilry & Dee Dee at The Old Road Tavern, Chippenham.

Kiri Pritchard-McLean: Peacock at Pound Arts, Corsham.

Modern Evils at The Vic, Swindon.

41 Fords at The Seven Stars, Winsley. The Fortunate Sons at the Three Horseshoes, Bradford-on-Avon.

Edinburgh Previews at The Rondo Theatre, Bath: Sara Barron & Jonny Pelham. Mark Thomas: Gaffa Tapes at The Rondo Theatre. Matt Joe Gow at Chapel Arts.

Heathen Apostles at the Tree House, Frome.

Bristol Comic & Gaming Con

Sunday 28th

Guided Tour: Heritage Walk of Devizes with John Griven. Red Sun at The Southgate, Devizes.

Potterne Festival

Owl Fest: Wiltshire Blues & Soul Club, Lacock.

Chippenham Morris Dancers at The Barge, HoneyStreet.

Summer Festival Brunch at Civic, Trowbridge.

Barton Street Regulators at the Three Horseshoes, Bradford-on-Avon.

Simon Kempston & Jake Puntis at Schtuum in the Queenโ€™s Head, Box.

The Dom Dilemma at the Bell, Bath.

4 of Hearts at Richard Jefferies Museum, Swindon 1pm. Marlborough Academy of Dance and Drama at the Wyvern Theatre, Swindon.

The Mayor of Salisburyโ€™s Birthday Bash at Salisbury Market Place.

Monday 29th

Family Workshop: Victorian Portrait Photography brought to life! at Wiltshire Museum, Devizes.

Tuesday 30th

Summer African Jazz Session at Jazz Knights, Royal Oak, Swindon.

Chris Murphy & Barney Kenny at the Bell, Bath.

Important note: events which come to our attention from now on, will be updated on the Event Calendar and NOT HERE. So, be sure to check in from time to time, use the Event Calendar to find more info on everything listed on here, and for ticket links, etc. Use the Event Calendar to check for updates and planning ahead.

Did we miss you out? Did you tell us about your event? Itโ€™s not that we donโ€™t like you, itโ€™s because Devizine uses many sources to collate these listings, and sometimes we miss a few things. Listing your event here is free, but please make it easier for me by messaging or emailing the info, and then, and this is the really important part, make sure Iโ€™ve added it and let me know if not!

Have a good week!

What’s Occurring…..

Mantonfest 2024

Images: Gail Foster Whilst festivals around us come and go Mantonfest has been a constant of the Wiltshire music calendar since 2009….. The 29th of Juneโ€ฆ

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Talk in Code & Laissez Faire at The Southgate, Devizes

Gallivanting through festival season omits crucial visits to my local watering hole; I’ve missed it sooo much, and now feel thoroughly refreshedโ€ฆ with a hint of hangover!

With Ian dispatched on the 49 to My Dadโ€™s Festival in Swindon, and a double-whammy of FullTone and Scooter Rally pending next weekend, leaves me a free Saturday to enjoy a cider or five down my favourestmost tavern The Southgate.

They’ve ciders leftover from Beer Festival for three quid a pint, my favourite poison, and being my favourestmost indie popsters Talk In Code are doing their thang there, it’s a no-brainer; favourites all round.

Hardly been an age since giving Chris, Snedds, Titch, and Jambo some deserved attention on Devizine, being Minety was only a fortnight ago, but they’re a band I never tire of seeing. Plus I was interested to see how this would play out, being while the Gate is renowned for hosting original acts such as Talk in Code will insist on doing, there’s a common epoch to appease the blues aficionados of Devizes, else provide quirky alternatives like folk or jazz. Talk in Code is decidedly matured pop with indie roots, using subtle backing tracks to create ambience, so I worried the unusual fit might fail to create a sensation. I stand corrected and should never have doubted.

Such is their ability and universal appeal, to slot as neatly into something like FullTone and another such different shape like The Southgate. With two forty-five minute sets, a longer shift than usual, Talk in Code decided to warm the crowd by dipping into their more indie-rock back catalogue, and deliver the newer songs of a more eighties pop rock vibe towards the finale. Arguably, this could’ve been reversed as an audience younger than the Southgate regulars attended to begin with,ย  to even out later. On the other hand the later songs infuses the party and rouses the crowd better, so by the beginning of the second half any concerns I might have had were quashed, and Talk in Code brought the house down with a jumping frenzy from a more diverse demographic than usual in the pub.

Such humbling merriment is, after all, what the Southgate vibe has always been about, and achieves as a standard; one damn fine reason among others why it’s my favourite pub.

It’s a world apart from standing on a stage with the audience at some distance away, to cram yourself into the Gate’s legendary alcove and literally have an audience so close to kiss you! It can be daunting, it might expose tricks you can hide on stage, but when played right, it’s the communal relationship creating an atmosphere you cannot attain with an audience standing twenty feet away from the stage. Talk in Code are utterly flexible on this. They need not adapt to suit the surrounding, but rather, what they deliver guarantees to work on any level of location and set.

And the sum of it all did produce another memorable gig at the trusty Southgate. Kicked off with an impressive support set by Bristol indie-rock trio Laissez Faire, a new one to me who could’ve easily taken a headline slot, and regularly does elsewhere. With a harder rock edge than Talk in Code, they had an acute sense of balance in bringing frenzied bridges and even-paced melodies. Their original compositions taking a hint of grunge, were confidently delivered and adroit, with attention to wider appeal than simply thrashing something out, I detected equally proportioned nods to the punker side of eighties mod rock as well, which is always a win for me.

Yet another top night’s entertainment for free, that you’d gladly buy a ticket for, at the dependable Southgate; they never fail to please. Laissez Faire, an introduction to a name to keep a keen eye on, followed by a band we’ve tracked the progress of for many years, and with a building mass of followers dubbed Talkers, on a local level at the very least, provide such a universal sound it’s impossible to ignore their success. Talk in Code by name, but there’s no cryptic mystery as to why they’re one of the very best bands on the circuit.

FullTone Festival and Scooter Rally; Big Weekend in Devizes

Next weekend (26th-28th July) is a biggie in our humble town, there’s the FullTone Festival on the Green, and Devizes Scooter Club revs up for their fourth Scooter Rally too. Which one is for you? Are they so obviously such vastly different events, your mind is made up already, or is it a dilemma of which to attend?

We cannot ignore the elephant in the room; do I think it’s a shame there’s a date clash on two of our best events in Devizes this summer? Yes, of course I do, but that’s the way the cookie crumbled, and here I intend in the order of fairness, to reason on both the differences and similarities between them, such that they attract different crowds.

Though both events differ, both also attract people into town therefore are financial assets, and most importantly whichever you attend you’re guaranteed a great time.

Me? I’m covering both, the idea is, at best, to hover between them, it could fail. I’m not ruling that out, but I’m too spontaneous for silly things like planning! Besides, I continually toil with what makes large events such as these good, you know? What are the perimeters on my scorecard when they differ so? It’s not as easy as you may think! 

A recent subsidiary of this thought process came via the Minety Music Festival a few weekends ago. I liked that, liked it a lot. It was a level above the โ€œaverageโ€ festival we hold here. Though neither the Rally nor FullTone can be described as average by any stretch of the imagination. Both punching above their weight and both are possibly the best time you’re likely to get in Devizes, until such a time Disney builds a theme park at Hopton!ย 

Fulltone Festival 2023 Image Gail Foster

The premise was that Minety provided three stages and so many other things going on between them. I raced from stage to stage hoping to take in as much as possible, but to see it all was impossible.

I once argued that while FullTone is a monumentally awesome event, it didn’t meet my criteria of being a festival as such, on account it is a single stage hosted by the orchestra though allowing a few other acts in between. It was surely defined better as a conglomerate of concerts. I come from the Glasto school of thought, whereby a festival is multiple elements coming together in one big mesh. But, that’s a pedestal.

I’ve changed my mind on this, as FullTone have extended the ethos of different acts over the years, plus the orchestra and all its elements is a country mile above a set group like a rock band gig. Plus again, it seems these days putting a man with a guitar under a gazebo and flogging undercooked hotdogs constitutes a โ€œfestival,โ€ and thus I must go along with that even if unwillingly!

You only need to look at the development of FullTone’s program over the past years to know this isn’t a true reflection. Look at the surprise Friday night add-on where Six will be re-enacted and popular youth acts like NRWO and Ruby Darbyshire play. And besides, the upside of the single stage format means you don’t miss any of what you’ve laid down your dollar for, and believe me, you’ll love Ruby, or Talk in Code equally as much as Kerry and Ricardo pulling out a Queen set, or dancing the night away to eighties reconstructions by a full orchestra; that diversity is something you’ll not find elsewhere, in Devizes if not internationally.

Fulltone Festival 2023 Image Gail Foster

Similarly the Scooter Rally is a single stage, but the class acts booked will see something of a rarity in town. You don’t find live reggae or ska acts on the pub circuit here, it’s costly. And being all the acts are tried and tested; All That Soul, for one example, will provide the ultimate tribute to the Motown sound on a level high above others locally, as they did at a Scooter Club night of yore. Overall The Rally is a godsend on our event calendar. Making it a given that both these events, while different, share success because they book the very best entertainers within their separate niches.

It can be the little touches which maketh the occasion. The Scooter Rally providing free transportation to and from the site to Devizes is something other event organisers should take heed of.

Both examples of the assurance quality acts is not something which has been skipped on, serves as mahoosive pros to the single stage format, because you’ll not want to miss any of it trudging from stage to stage. It’s an opinion, rather like a GCSE RE question; there’s no wrong answer.

Last weekend I was in the green room tent at Picnic in the Park, and it’s there which changed my mind on this opinion-based query. I met festival maker Sam, who looked exhausted, dropping off fire extinguishers at various locations, and I pointed out the fact that rarely do organisers get the opportunity to enjoy the event like a punter as there’s always something to be lugged around, moved, and catered for.ย 

I had a taste of this when volunteering for a Street Festival of yore, constantly running wheelie bins to and fro like a videogame character, while being asked the bleeding obvious by attendees!

Fulltone Festival 2023 Image: Gail Foster

At Picnic in the Park I also spoke to Simon the sound engineer, chatting about the last Scooter Rally he expressed the work involved in accommodating a ska band compared to the average four-piece rock band. There were so many more lines to collate, what with the usual brass section. This made me ponder the technical requirements of a full orchestra at FullTone, and singers and, crickey, I can’t imagine what else!

The reason I involve myself in events is partially because I’m in communication with the organisers and if they need a hand I’m willing to muck in. The second reason is to understand exactly what, and how much goes into organising such events we promote on Devizine, so I can sympathise with the hard work they do to provide us with such grand entertainment.

So I find myself evaluating between all parts; the punter, the organisers and the acts, trying to find middle ground. Sometimes bands get frustrated with organisers, and visa versa, sometimes punters get annoyed if not everything is perfect, but the reasons for any frustration at events is because bringing all the elements together, ensuring every loop has been tied, and every regulation is accounted for, is a mammoth process taking incalculable hours, intricate planning, and manpower, which punters simply don’t take into consideration at the box office.

True, cost is paramount to the punter, now more than ever. You look at the price and think, what am I getting for my money? I agree, I do this too, it’s only natural. But more and more, as I witness the inner workings of such large events, what efforts are put into them, mostly behind the scenes, or often taken for granted, it never ceases to amaze me, especially being for all their efforts organisers rarely get to sit back and enjoy the day as a punter would.

For example, take FullTone‘s stage. Its shape has become iconic in Devizes. The acoustics are absolutely incredible and unlike any other outdoor event locally. The cost of this, the construction and the managing of it, to bring you an experience you’ll remember forever, is worthy of the ticket price alone, and we’ve not accounted for the numerous site jobs, from the erection of the fence, securing the event to insuring food and bar stalls are rightfully placed, and so much more.

Take the campsite at the Scooter Rally as another example, you’ve got revellers drinking, vehicles moving to and fro, punters enjoying themselves, and everything they’ll not consider has to be considered by organisers, fire safety, first aid, and again, so much more. It’s a headache for the most hardened skinhead!

Conclusion, there’s more than meets the eye in arranging any event or working them, none more than these big ones, and that’s why they cost. You either meet such a cost or lose the opportunity, and then what? Are we reduced to living on Facebook?!

I also accept the idea, as you are a paying customer that it is your right to override such considerations, but hey, as a customer you’ll be the first to complain if things don’t go precisely to plan! I know I will; jump to it, organisers, do my bidding!!

The bottom line is, though for slightly different reasons, both the Scooter Rally and FullTone Festival will be amazing events, among the very best Devizes has to offer, and whichever you choose, the weekend looks set to be a cracker. 

Know that FullTone will be the last for a while, and if it does return it pledges to be something quite different. Know also, that, The Rally is highly enjoyable, a hospitable and solely unique event around these backwaters. It doesn’t even adopt the tagline festival, but compares to one in considering it’s way above your average scooter rally. You’ve got seven quality live acts over the two days, most other rallies struggle to provide one cheapest ska or Britpop cover band on their circuit.

But I’m not asking you to stand and stare, or shed a tear for the plight of the organisers, for they do it for the love of it, and if they didn’t they wouldn’t. All I’m saying is, the colossal labour, the attention to detail which goes into staging these occasions should be considered when deciding if you’re going, to either, or if you’re going to stay in with a bag of Lidl cheesy puffs, watching reruns of Come Dine with Me on the telebox, or another annoying show where other people, somewhere else, are enjoying themselves!

You don’t need to concern yourself in what’s in someone you don’t know, or never likely to knowโ€™s knicker draw, when you could be skanking up the Whistley Road like you’re Suggs on a day out in Camden, or lounging in your deckchair on the Green, immersed in the unmatchable acoustics of the FullTone Orchestra, like you’re King Charles in the royal box at The Albert Hall! 

Fulltone Festival 2023 Image: Gail Foster

Furthermore, while this particular article concentrates on events within the castle on the dividing line, further options are available to you outside that boundary. Trowbridge Festival, Potterne Festival and even a little occasion called Womad are also set on the same weekend. May this also suit to assure you we report such impartially, and as a labour of love rather than for financial gain. Therefore there is no just reason for us to be dishonest or biassed. Organisers and artists we may oblige, but the priority in retaining said honesty is aimed foremost towards the sake of the customers. Ergo, whilst we’re respectful of all the hard work which goes into event management, we might not condone our analysis of it to be deliberately or unfairly critical, we more simply won’t report on it, we will tell you, the customer, fairly, however, if it rocks our world and would also rock yours.

And now you know where we stand, I hope you can take heed when I repeat myself, which while I accept is a symptom of middle-age, it stands affirmed whatever event we’ve mentioned you should choose to attend, based on previous year’s experience, it comes guaranteed you’ll have a fantastic time!

Phew, I’m glad I’ve got that off my chest. Now, pass me my tie-dye t-shirt and festival jester’s hat, and let’s party!

For Tickets for the Devizes Scooter Rally, find Devizes Scooter Club on Facebook.

For Tickets for the FullTone Festival, find here.

Trending……

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Devizes Arts Organisation Launches Fundraiser to Save Future Community Events

Featured Image by Simon Folkard

Following the announcement earlier this year about the cancellation of the Devizes International Street Festival due the loss of Arts Council funding, DOCA has been working hard to enable the remaining core community events to go ahead without charging an attendance fee.

The Arts Council funding covered all events and not just the Street Festival, but by cutting out the more costly and time consuming event, theyโ€™ve been able to push ahead with Picnic in the Park, Carnival and Confetti Battle with the Colour Rush using a combination of reserves and local fundraising.

Having just completed a very successful and well received Picnic in the Park on Sunday, at which the attendees were happy to donate a suggested ticket price of ยฃ5 if they could, DOCA are looking ahead to the much loved Devizes Carnival on 31st August. A crowd-funder has been set up to raise the funds necessary for the operational costs such as barrier hire and first aid, as well as the workshops to support participation. This crowd-funder is nearing the end of its run and they desperately need individuals and business to help them hit the target and take it over the finish line in the next few days.

DONATE HERE

DOCA have committed to running this yearโ€™s Carnival, so if they donโ€™t receive the funding from this public crowdfunder, they will need to cover it all from their reserves. As a charity, this would leave them at risk, as they would not be able to continue fundraising and planning for future events such as the Winter Festival, should the main source of income fall through again.

Production Director Annabel Lake said, โ€œWe are doing everything we can to ensure Devizes Carnival doesnโ€™t follow in the sad footsteps of so many other carnivals around the country that have had to cancel in recent years. Having experienced how much Carnival means to the people of Devizes, and the efforts put in by schools and groups across town who have come together to help build it back up again post Covid, it would be a real shame to lose this wonderful traditional event in our town, which dates back well over 100 years. Just think, if each of the 3,000 spectators could afford a ยฃ3 donation then weโ€™d be able to cover all the costs โ€

The other big challenge being faced is finding enough volunteers to help on the day so if anyone is able to help marshall the event, or canโ€™t afford to contribute money but would still like to support it,  please get in touch with DOCA (info@docadevizes.org.uk)… unless of course you want to take part in the parade – itโ€™s easier than ever now whether you are a individual, family, group or even a local business. The theme this year is Home is Where the Heart Is, so it would be great to see local businesses represented in that vision of โ€œHomeโ€ as they are such a key part of our town. 

The Carnival Crowd-Funder will close on Monday 22nd July. The Carnival parade will take place on Saturday 31st August.ย 

Daisy Chapman Took Flight

Okay, so, if I praised the Bradford Roots Festival last weekend and claimed to have had a fantastic time, itโ€™s all as true as Harrisonโ€ฆ

New Nothing Rhymes With Orange Single

Friday is over, I’m a day late to the party, but there’s a new single from Devizes-own Nothing Rhymes With Orange, and you’ve not heardโ€ฆ

Learn the Art of Chocolate with HollyChocsย 

Devizes-based chocolate engineer Holly Garner, 2023 Chocolate Champion for the Southwest, has launched her new chocolate classes for the first half of 2024โ€ฆโ€ฆ From learningโ€ฆ

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Weekly Roundup of Events in Wiltshire: 17th- July 2024

Jam-packed July! If thereโ€™s always lots to do throughout the year, July especially so!  

Hereโ€™s what weโ€™ve found in the wilds of Wiltshire this coming weekโ€ฆ.

Everything listed here is on our event calendar; go there for links and more info, as it takes too much time to link them all in. It may also be updated as more events come to our attention, so check in later in the week too!

Ongoing: A Wiltshire Thatcher: A Photographic Journey Through Victorian Wessex runs at Wiltshire Museum, Devizes, until the end of August.

Marlborough Open Studios is running until 28th July. 

Wednesday 17th

Acoustic Jam at the Southgate, Devizes.

Memory Cinema at Swindon Arts Centre screening Kind Hearts And Coronets. Big Jam session at the Vic, Swindon.

Fromage en Feu at the Bell, Bath

Thursday 18th

Amadeus Orchestra at Wilthsire Music Centre, Bradford-on-Avon.

National Theater Live: Present Laughter (Encore Screening) at Pound Arts, Corsham.

Memory Sing at Swindon Arts Centre. Chicago Blues Brothers at the Wyvern Theatre.

Lonely Tourist at The Tuppenny. Larkham & Hall at The Beehive. Preacher Son & Sons of Liberty at The Vic.

Back to Moo Moo at The Rondo Theatre, Bath.

Friday 19th

Event by Babois Eats the Lizard at the Dog & Fox, Bradford-on-Avon. 

Avalon Comedy Network: Michael Odewale, Grace Mulvey, Sahib Singh & Luke Honnoraty at Pound Arts, Corsham.

I Know the End at Swindon Arts Centre, repeats Saturday. 4ft Fingers & Slagerij at The Vic, Swindon.

Upton Blues Festival opens.

Saturday 20th

New Moon โ€“ A Psychic and Spiritual Fayre at Devizes Corn Exchange from 11-4pm. The Roughcut Rebels at The Three Crowns. Talk in Code at The Southgate.

Market Lavington Vintage Meet Family Fun Weekend

Living Among… Reflections on Solitude and Nature: An evening of classical and folk music for violin and voice, with new work from composer Dylan Fixmer, also guest on piano and guitar at St Peter’s, Marlborough. Glamarma at the Bear. Rom 101 at The Lamb.

Reggae at the Pelican, Froxfield with Razah I-Fi.

Classic Ibiza at Bowood House

Glenn Darren & The Krewkats at Melksham Rock n Roll Club.

Cider, Reggae & Rum Festival in Trowbridge.

Ultimate Floyd – Pink Floyd Tribute Show at The Neeld, Chippenham.

The Thomas Sladden Quartet at Wiltshire Music Centre, Bradford-on-Avon.

Malin Lewis Trio at Pound Arts, Corsham.

SGO at Richard Jefferies Museum, Swindon from 1pm. Rammied at The Vic. World Music Club at The Beehive. There’s a rally for Plastine at Faringdon Road Park. Julie Scott’s Academy Of Dance – Let Us Entertain You Again at the Wyvern Theatre.

But, Editorโ€™s Pick of the Week is in Swindon this week, itโ€™s My Dadโ€™s Bigger Than Your Dad Festival for Prospect House at the Old Town Bowl; Ian despatched to find out more and report back!

Carpenters Tribute โ€“ Rainy Days, Mondays & Good Old Dreams at Chapel Arts, Bath.

Frome Record Fair at the Cheese & Grain. The Guns N Roses Experience afterwards.

Sunday 21st

Fantasy Radio is at Hillworth Park, Devizes with Andrew Hurst from 2pm-5pm. Jerry Crozier-Cole Trio at The Southgate, Devizes 5pm. Apparently, thereโ€™s a Family Fun Day at Avon Road Park, Devizes; Deadlight Dance are playing but Iโ€™ve heard nothing more about it. Sunday Sounds at the Muck & Dunder, free entry.

GM Dance Academyโ€™s Summer Showcase at Wiltshire Music Centre, Bradford-on-Avon.

Schtumm X-tra Presents Sarah Gillespie & Chris Montague at The Queens Head, Box. 

Kirris Riviere & Delta du Bruit at the Bell, Bath.

Jol Rose & Rachel Birkin at Richard Jefferies Museum, Swindon 1pm. Embrace All Festival, Swindon. Emma Doupe at The Vic. JHS Dance – Seasons Of Dance at the Wyvern Theatre.

Frome Childrenโ€™s Festival at the Cheese & Grain.

Monday 22nd

Wonder Gigs: Seasons at Pound Arts, Corsham.

Kevin Dempsey at the Bell, Bath.

Later with Frome College at the Cheese & Grain.

Tuesday 23rd

Rob Lear Band at The Piggy Bank, Calne.

Karen Sharpe Quartet at  Jazz Knights, Royal Oak, Swindon.

Week one of Devizes Tennis Clubโ€™s Summer Tennis Camp begins.

And thatโ€™s your lot, for now!

Important note: events which come to our attention from now on, will be updated on the Event Calendar and NOT HERE. So, be sure to check in from time to time, use the Event Calendar to find more info on everything listed on here, and for ticket links, etc. Use the Event Calendar to check for updates and planning ahead.

Did we miss you out? Did you tell us about your event? Itโ€™s not that we donโ€™t like you, itโ€™s because Devizine uses many sources to collate these listings, and sometimes we miss a few things. Listing your event here is free, but please make it easier for me by messaging or emailing the info, and then, and this is the really important part, make sure Iโ€™ve added it and let me know if not!

Have a good week!

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A Perfect Picnic in the Park

A perfect sunny(ish) Sunday at Hillworth Park in Devizes, if not to overcome one’s fear of public speaking while dressed in a giraffe onesie and fantabulous tie, but most definitely for a picnic, for the kids to play, and for a fantastic treat from DOCAโ€ฆ

With the unfortunate cancellation of Devizes International Street Festival due to Arts Council funding cuts, DOCA pulled out all the stops for a fantastic and most memorable Picnic in the Park this year.

Slightly deceiving name, Picnic in the Park, if you didn’t know. For while there’s picnicking and yes, it’s in the park, there’s plentiful side stalls, a bar and enough entertainment to deem it a mini festival, of sorts. Mayor Ian Hopkins opened the event, hilarious street circus artist Able Mable filled the gaps between the bands perfectly with her own brand of clowning and superb audience participation. She was the very definition of entertainment.

Kai Carterโ€™s Old Time Hustle made for an amazing kick off. Beguiling guitar, trombone and fiddle, foot-stomping magic moments as suggested on the tin, finding time for some facts about pigeons and to delightfully deliver long lost covers, particularly those of Virginia’s country legend Patsy Cline. They made tradition look cool, very cool.

Second act was equally as lovely and skilled.  From Manchester, Good Habits created the most divine sound, and wonderfully full and bassy, considering it was just a cellist and an accordion duo. Particularly adroit was their Kate Bush cover, but then, their original compositions held equivalent poignancy. They’re the kind of duo who could fit into any festival and simmer an audience in awe.

Delighted to have some input, the third and final act was my personal choice. Local family collective, The Sarah C Ryan Band were perfect for this kind of communal event, they’re unique and original, smooth and cool. It’s a paced, universal sound, reflecting masterful pop-rock classics like Kate Bush, Genesisย and Fleetwood Mac, yet distinctive. Rarely have they played Devizes, so I was hopeful you’d take heed, as their performance was as memorable as the day was in general.

I caught Sarah and the band last week playing the fantastic Minety, which while I thought was awesome, I believe they played even better here at Hillworth. Perhaps being the headliner here renewed their confidence, perhaps it was Simon at the control tower showing off his new kit, or rather, I favour it was more about the flavour of the glorious day.

DOCA’s ability to bring the best out of Devizes, even at their more simpler events is something to behold with pride. For yep, indeedy, the entertainment was first class, the organisation dedicated, the vibe was positively gleaming, someone threw me a Penguin biscuit (thank you!) but above them all is the sum of their parts, monumental in what can be achieved by pulling resources together.

It may not have been the England football team’s night, (who could’ve predicted it?!) but it certainly was DOCA’s day in Hillworth. Just thought you should know, in case you’re thinking I shouldn’t review an event I was involved in. You should note I only helped them drink their tea and ate all the brownies which were supposed to be for the musicians! It’s the real festival makers, those kindly volunteers who really make DOCA what it is, so the last thanks goes to them as we head towards carnival on the 31st August with renewed sense of anticipation.

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Okay, so there must be a truckload of local social and political ranting to cover, but itโ€™s new yearโ€™s day, Iโ€™m going to waffle aboutโ€ฆ

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Last Remaining Tickets for Trowbridge Festival

The 50th Anniversary of the now legendary Village Pump Festival, which was brought back to the UK festival circuit in 2018 by director Nicholas Reed, are down to their last 100 tickets; be as quick as a quick thing being quickโ€ฆ.

Driven by the uk festival exclusive for the debut duo performance from long time British folk legends Maddy โ€œSteeleye Spanโ€ Prior, who graced Trowbridge’s Village Pump venue in the early 70s, prior to any fame and fortune and jon โ€œbellowheadโ€ boden. This incredible partnership gets its first live performance at a venue that kick-started their early careers in what is such a significant moment in the festivalโ€™s history.

Also on the line up are the fast becoming deeply respected The Bar-Steward Sons of Val Doonican, in what is surely a festival headline debut! The Barnsley trio offer up their usual wit and humour, but with recent new addition Jamie Roberts, brother of the wonderful Katheryn Robertโ€™s who will also be performing with her duo with her partner Sean Lakeman. 

Itโ€™s a true folkers line up, which includes โ€˜Gilmore-Robertsโ€™, โ€˜Sykes-martinโ€™, โ€™Stonegallowsโ€™ and festival stalwart โ€˜Keith Christmasโ€™. Ceilidh from โ€˜Spill the Whiskeyโ€™, and some world music from the Bath-based klezmer band โ€˜Ninotchkaโ€™ and โ€˜RSVP Bhangraโ€™.

Unmissable highlights recommended by us at Devizine, and to interfere with an otherwise fine press release with our own opinion, (as we care to do!) would include Gaz Brookfield, Mr Tea & The Minions, Concrete Prairie, Be Like Will, Billy in the Lowground, Fly Yeti Fly, Devilโ€™s Doorbell, The Lost Trades, Thieves, and of course, Ruby Darbyshire and Nothing Rhymes With Orange; this is stellar line-up of tried and tested local talent alongside the headliners.ย ย 

Unlike other festivals, Trowbridge offers free camping with their weekend tickets. This offers unrivalled value for money and set in the beautiful Wiltshire countryside, basking in the shadow of Westbury White Horse.

Trowbridge Festival runs from 26th-28th July.

Those last few tickets are HERE, folks!

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Weekly Roundup of Events in Wiltshire: 10th – 16th July 2024

Jam-packed July! If thereโ€™s always lots to do throughout the year, July especially so!ย ย 

Hereโ€™s what weโ€™ve found in the wilds of Wiltshire this coming weekโ€ฆ.

Everything listed here is on our event calendar; go there for links and more info, as it takes too much time to link them all in. It may also be updated as more events come to our attention, so check in later in the week too!

Ongoing: A Wiltshire Thatcher: A Photographic Journey Through Victorian Wessex runs at Wiltshire Museum, Devizes, until the end of August; review here.

The Frome Festival is underway, and ends on 14th July. Cheltenham Music Festival also, ending on 13th July. 

Marlborough Open Studios is running until 28th July. 

Wednesday 10th

Acoustic Jam at the Southgate, Devizes.

Three Choir Showcase Concert at the Wiltshire Music Centre, Bradford-on-Avon, featuring BCG Choir, PSG Choir and the Horizons Choir. Jam at the Boathouse.

A Lunchtime Recital with flautist Klio Blonz at Pound Arts, Corsham.

Cheritang at the Bell, Bath. The Dreamer Live at The Rondo Theatre.

Scott Mickelson at The Beehive, Swindon. Chocolate Theatre presents The Full Monty at Swindon Arts Centre. Infant Voice Festival at the Wyvern Theatre.

Paul Masonโ€™s The Bob Morris Lecture at The Cheese & Grain, Frome.

2000Trees festival opens near Cheltenham.

Thursday 11th

James B Partridge Presents: School Assembly Bangers at Pound Arts, Corsham.

Fly Yeti Fly at The Tuppenny, Swindon. Erin Bardwell & Friends at The Castle.

Richard Herringโ€™s Can I Have My Ball Back at the Cheese & Grain, Frome.

Friday 12th

โ€˜Steve Davisโ€™ and โ€˜Kavos Torabiโ€™ at the Barge Inn Honeystreet.

Marlborough Festival opens and runs all weekend. Comedy Night at the Town Hall. El Toro at The Bear, Marlborough. Luke Gittins with Ash Smith at The Green Dragon. 

Double Bill at Pound Arts, Corsham with Ben de la Cour & Holysseus Fly.

Black Charade & Fell Out Boy at The Vic, Swindon. Funkinsteins at The Beehive. Viggo Venn at the Wyvern Theatre.

One Chord Wonders at The Boathouse, Bradford-on-Avon. Future Plan and Lindup Brothers at the Three Horseshoes.

Faith at The Rondo Theatre, Bath.

Peatbog Faeries at the Cheese & Grain, Frome. An Dannsa Dub at the Tree House.

Saturday 13th

Devizes Beer & Cider Festival. Humdinger at The Three Crowns, Devizes. Thomas Atlas at The Southgate, Devizes.

Josh Kumra and Mica at the Bear, Marlborough. On Remand at the Crown. 

Reading Dub Club at The Barge, HoneyStreet.

Everything Changes at Melksham Assembly Hall.

Adrenaline Stompers Festival at Club Venom in Westbury.

Characters Stage Schoolโ€™s Annie at Wiltshire Music Centre, Bradford-on-Avon. Innes Sibun Trio at The Boathouse. 

John Hegley: An American in Luton at Pound Arts, Corsham.

Bar Tape at The Rondo Theatre, Bath. The Spirit & Sound of Steely Dan โ€“ Nearly Dan in concert at Chapel Arts. Salt Beef Reuben & Friends at the Bell, Bath.

Hooch at Royal Oak, Bishopstone. Phantom Droid, Thrakian and Hora at The Vic, Swindon.

Miss Kelโ€™s Academy Of Dance: Stars And Stripes at the Wyvern Theatre.

Flash Harry at the Corner House, Frome. Gary Davies Sound of the 80s at the Cheese & Grain.

And Somerset Kaya Reggae Festival at Caryford.

Sunday 14th

Editorโ€™s Pick of the Week is Picnic in the Park at Hillworth Park, Devizes from 12-5pm; hope to see you there! Jamie Williams & The Roots Collective at The Southgate, Devizes straight afterwards.

Wiltshire Young Musicians Summer Festival from 1.30pm at the Wiltshire Music Centre, Bradford-on-Avon. Tom Cornnell at The Boathouse. Luna Barge at the Three Horseshoes.

Jon Amor Trio at the Bell, Bath.

Richard Wileman & Amy Fry at Richard Jefferies Museum, Swindon from 1pm. Kitty Langan Studio โ€“ Schoolโ€™s Out at the Wyvern Theatre.

Frome Symphony at The Cheese & Grain, Frome.

The Godney Gathering in Somerset opens.

Monday 15th

B D Lenz at the Bell, Bath.

Tuesday 16th

Alex Vietch Quartet at Jazz Knights in the Royal Oak, Swindon.

Ben de la Cour at the Bell, Bath.

And thatโ€™s your lot, for now!

Important note: events which come to our attention from now on, will be updated on the Event Calendar and NOT HERE. So, be sure to check in from time to time, use the Event Calendar to find more info on everything listed on here, and for ticket links, etc. Use the Event Calendar to check for updates and planning ahead.

Did we miss you out? Did you tell us about your event? Itโ€™s not that we donโ€™t like you, itโ€™s because Devizine uses many sources to collate these listings, and sometimes we miss a few things. Listing your event here is free, but please make it easier for me by messaging or emailing the info, and then, and this is the really important part, make sure Iโ€™ve added it and let me know if not!

Have a good week!

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