Author: Darren Worrow

Just Meg; an Interview

by Jess Worrow

I confess a few nerves about my first interview, in a coffee shop in Chippenham, however after meeting folk singer-songwriter Meg, it became more like a chat between two friends. Meg is appearing on the line-ups of many local festivals and venues, from Trowbridgeโ€™s Pump, Chippenham Pride and Folk Festival, to MDBTYD festival in Swindon.….

I asked her which gig she was most looking forward to, โ€œthe Minety Festival is where most of my focus is, as it’s the closest,โ€ she explained. Meg is playing the Minety stage on Friday night alongside other upcoming artists such as Boston Green and The Sunnies, and amidst legends like Dodgy, Reef and Scouting For Girls.

But which are her favourite venues and most memorable gigs? โ€œIt’s a difficult question, I find gigs better when there are friendly people and a good environment. I did a gig with Boston Green at Newark Hall in Chippenham; they were amazing!โ€ Meg was passionate about the Pump in Trowbridge, which presents opportunities to upcoming and diverse musicians. โ€œKieran,โ€ she said, โ€œwho runs it is really involved in helping young musicians.โ€

I was keen to understand the difficulties for younger people getting local bookings, at sixteen it must be hard to get gigs being many venues are pub-based. โ€œAt times it can,โ€ Meg said, โ€œI’ve had a few venues whoโ€™ve said no because theyโ€™re 18 plus, so, like bars and clubs, as legally it would be very difficult. Then getting the fan base in because many of them are younger as well.โ€

Whatโ€™s Megโ€™s favourite thing about performing? โ€œThe fact I can do it and that there’s an audience who cares enough to actually listen, and who will come up and talk to me afterwards; itโ€™s really sweet. And of course, I love it! I wouldn’t do it if I didn’t love it.โ€

Glastonbury is a dream gig for any artist, Meg included. โ€œThough I don’t think I’d like to go there unless I was playing,โ€ she remarked. Meg cited Florence and the Machine and Aurora as influences, โ€œthey have been hugely influential on my personal style. When I was first going out, I didn’t have many originals, mainly doing Florence and Aurora covers.โ€ But now Meg is a prolific writer. โ€œAt this point,โ€ she expressed, โ€œI’m doing all originals, but this time last year I only had two and was doing mainly covers. I actually wrote a bunch of songs whilst doing my GCSEs! Itโ€™s a good way to relieve stress. So, I have a lot more material now.โ€

Enough for an album, and at such a young age? Meg was thrilled about an opportunity to record her songs, โ€œI mean thatโ€™s got to be exciting, right?โ€

โ€œI’m so excited for that!โ€ Meg expressed, โ€œI’ve got two days booked, so hopefully I’ll get all the songs I’ve got going at the moment recorded. Yess, there’s going to be an album! We are going to aim to start releasing around September, and then the album will probably come out between then and Christmas.โ€

โ€œI feel like the music industry isn’t always that accessible to become successful in, but at my age, I think I have the freedom to put a lot of time into it, and I’m obviously still supported by my parents, and I love them so much; they help me a lot with it!โ€

I wondered where Meg got her inspiration. โ€œInspired by the work of Aurora and Florence and the Machine,โ€ she began, โ€œI love nature so that can sometimes help. And rain, whenever it rains I seem to get ideas! A month ago it was really misty and I wrote a song which is called Mist, which is one of my favourites. When inspiration strikes you just have to write; I often find Iโ€™ll be writing songs in the back of my school books!โ€

Where did it all begin? โ€œThis probably sounds cliche,โ€ Meg replied, โ€œbut it’s always been there, as soon as I could talk I started singing! I was four when I wrote my first little song. I would always sing with my mum when I was younger which really helped get me into it and my dad played musical instruments so that helped too.โ€

Mist being her personal fav, Meg continued, โ€œThere is this one that’s a calm one; some people say it’s sad, but it’s very nostalgic for me. It’s called Hide in the Rain. There is also another one that’s really helped me through a lot of things, called Together, because Iโ€™m autistic the song has helped remind me I can unmask, I don’t have to pretend to be someone else and it’s fine to be me.โ€

Mentioning Together, about her autism, I asked Meg when she is writing her songs does she try to represent autism? โ€œI think Together is the only song I’ve written about it. But I do quite openly talk about it and I don’t think it should be something people are scared to talk about. For me personally it’s part of who I am and I really value that part of me. It’s made some parts of life difficult but it’s made parts of my life better. I honestly don’t think I would be doing this if I wasn’t autistic, in a weird way. All of my songs are about me in some respect and it’s a part of me I can’t escape.โ€

Does Meg get performance anxiety? โ€œSometimes, it often depends on the gigs. At new environments like a festival Iโ€™ve never been to, or when I’ve got a lot of new songs I haven’t performed, I found then that it can be very nerve-racking.โ€

It was lovely chatting to Meg, I asked her what her proudest musical accomplishment was, so far. โ€œI’m not sure. It’s hard to say, but coming second in Take the Stage in Chippenham, when I was fifteen has to be up there!โ€ And Iโ€™m sure there will be many more!

You can find Meg performing at Minety, Trowbridge Festival, MDBYTD and The Shuffle and regularly at The Pump. 

Follow MEG on Instagram Facebook

Trending……

Letโ€™s Go Swimming with Poppy Rose

Two years ago we fondly reviewed Iโ€™m Ready Now, a debut EP from Bathโ€™s Poppy Rose. I praised her unique take, her thoughtful prose andโ€ฆ

Time to be Thinking About CrownFest!

Itโ€™s time to be thinking about that nearby little village with a big punch and a spire. CrownFest at The Crown in Bishops Cannings is occurring next weekend, Saturday 8th July, and if last yearโ€™s inaugural festival is anything to go by youโ€™re in for a treatโ€ฆ..

Because the whole term โ€œfestivalโ€ has become somewhat ambiguous during these trending times, some pubs seem to take the wonky assumption that you can grab a man with a guitar off the street, put him in a marquee, flog undercooked hotdogs and call it a festival! Crownfest, you should note now, does it proper and gurt lush, and last year was hard to imagine it was their first time. It was professionally put together and catered for all; real stage, side stalls, childrenโ€™s entertainment and rides and plenty of food options. And most importantly of all, it was simply a stupendously friendly and buzzing event.

There was never a point where something was a hassle, like free car-parking, camping is reduced to ยฃ15 per (6m x 4m) pitch this year, pets are welcome, toilets and showers are available and it was exceptionally well presented with friendly but effective security; personally I couldnโ€™t fault it other than the fact I fell off the bus too late to catch Pete Lambโ€™s Heartbeats, as they were running ahead of schedule! What festival have you ever been to which runs on time, let alone ahead of schedule?! It must say something about the dedication gone into CrowFest numero uno, and it showed.

Being punctual isnโ€™t something Iโ€™d usually need to enforce at any festie, but perhaps here, as here is the lineup and (apparent) times! Headline amidst a further couple of tributes, from 9:30 till the close, Bob Marley & The Wailers tribute The Marley Experience is surely something youโ€™d be looking forward to? Only ever witnessing one Marley tribute before called Legends, I have to say that one will be a hard act to follow, but in checking out The Marley Experience online, take it from a reggae aficionado himself, these guys sound equally โ€œtop ranking.โ€

If May brought us the terrible news of the queen of rock ‘n’ rollโ€™s passing, Tina Turner was perhaps the most misunderstood icon of the eighties. The controversial Ike & Tina Turner Revue of the seventies which put her in the spotlight, equally was her trauma. Unlike Marley tributes, Tina Turner ones are plentiful, and this could go either way. Being honest, with tribute acts I find thereโ€™s no inbetween, theyโ€™re either astoundingly great, and pay a homage to the act theyโ€™re attributing, or are a shocking embarrassment! Thing you need to do when deciding on a tribute act is research, and I assume Eddie music coordinator has done his homework, as Kinisha Morgan-Williams, the Tina Turner tribute act booked, sounds โ€œsimply the bestโ€ on this here YouTube vid, and she is on at 7:45.

Prior to the private dancer, thereโ€™s an Abba tribute, Abba Allstars from 6pm. Again, I find myself contemplating my โ€œno in betweenโ€ theory of tribute acts, and the Chiquitita video shows, even for someone like me whoโ€™s not the biggest Abba fan, these Allstars are proficient and sound sublimeโ€ฆ.they might make an Abba fan out of me yet!

Though Iโ€™m a 100% fan of those Junkyard Dogs, on at 4:15pm; a local band of the fiery blues variety and never to be missed. Cap’n Rasty’s Skiffle City Rockers, on at 2:30, is a new one on me, but the name alone is enough to entice. Then, along with Fantasy DJ Marc Anthony, and Guinness Book of Records holder for freestyle football skills Dan Magness, who did keep-me-ups for twenty-four hours, and causing me to wonder how he went to the loo during it, (I will ask him and report back) we also have Gloucesterโ€™s fantastic and energetic alt-rock collective, the Leon Daye Band, who kick off proceedings at 1pm.

With all that in mind, I suggest you head on down to the Crown at Bishops Canning and grab a ticket, or online here, but if you go in person no chatting up the infamous gorilla statue, though; I saw her first!ย 

Trending……

Manning Lifeboats, In Devizes!

Manning the lifeboats with Devizes Arts Festival in landlocked Devizes last night, and I didnโ€™t even get a sticker. I did shake a tailfeather outโ€ฆ

Devizes; Full of Scummy Mummies!

Guys out on โ€œthe pullโ€ on Thursday in Devizes were cut short. The Scummy Mummies were back in town, and youโ€™ve never heard so manyโ€ฆ

Major step towards revitalising Devizes Assize Court as the new home of Wiltshire Museum

Exciting news for Wiltshire Museum in Devizes, who has received initial support from The National Lottery Heritage Fund for an ambitious and exciting project โ€˜Assizes for Devizes: Unlocking Wiltshireโ€™s Storiesโ€™.ย  Made possible by National Lottery players, the project aims to revitalise the derelict Devizes Assize Court into a vibrant community hub and iconic new home for Wiltshire Museum and its world class collection.….

Development funding of ยฃ300,748 has been awarded by The National Lottery Heritage Fund to help Wiltshire Museum, working closely with the Devizes Assize Court Trust, to progress plans for the project before applying for a full National Lottery grant in 2025.  If successful, work would start on the Assize Court building in three- or four-yearsโ€™ time, with a target opening date of 2030.

โ€˜Assizes for Devizesโ€™ aims to create a cultural and community destination at the heart of Wiltshire, supporting tourism and the regeneration of the local area.  Essential conservation works to the Assize Court will enable the revitalisation of the building to include a multi-use community and event space, a designated learning area and innovative new museum galleries.  The project will also include an exciting programme of local activities, events and volunteer opportunities.

During the two-year development phase we will be holding community days, including โ€˜pop-upโ€™ exhibitions to seek the views of local people on plans as they progress.  These ideas will be developed with Purcell, our appointed architects, along with adjoining owners, Wiltshire Council and Devizes Town Council.

Martin Nye, Chair of Wiltshire Museum, said โ€œWe are delighted that the Heritage Fund have supported our project to restore this wonderful building and give a home that is fit for purpose for the award-winning Wiltshire Museum. We are all excited by the opportunity to connect the Assize Court building to the rest of Devizes, and to create a vibrant destination for the very wide range of visitors who come from far and wide to see our marvellous collections.โ€

Peter Troughton, Chair of the Devizes Assize Court Trust, said โ€œThis fantastic news is a vital and hugely encouraging step on the long journey to giving a new life to this important building.  The financial help that the project has received to date has been invaluable, enabling us to get to where we are today.  Our thanks to Historic England, Devizes Town Council, a number of charitable trusts and individuals who have made this possible.โ€

Stuart McLeod, Director of England – London & South at The National Lottery Heritage Fund, said: โ€œWe believe that investing in heritage means investing in the community it belongs to. It has the power to make our communities better places to live, bring a sense of pride and boost the local economy. Weโ€™re pleased to support Wilshire Museum with their Assizes for Devizes project. It will not only see a Grade II* listed building brought back to life, but also create a space for the community and a new home for the Wiltshire Museum. We look forward to working with the team to progress their plans to apply for a full grant at a later date.โ€

A key part of the work over the next two years will be to raise the significant additional funding required to complete the project through applications to trusts and foundations and in securing philanthropic support.

The Wiltshire Museum has been engaging visitors since 1874 in its current buildings on Long Street, Devizes and is home to Designated collections, including stunning treasures from the Stonehenge and Avebury World Heritage Site landscape.

The Devizes Assize Court was built in 1835 and has been derelict since the 1980s. It has been on Historic England โ€˜Heritage At Risk registerโ€™ since the schemeโ€™s inception in 1988.

Ooh Ah, Shuffling to My Dadโ€™s Bigger Than Your Dad…

If you fancy having a whole heap of fun while helping raise some funds for Prospect Hospice, who have provided end of life care to the people of Swindon and north east Wiltshire for over 40 years, you have two exciting festival options.…..

Firstly lands in your lap on Saturday 22nd July, when Swindonโ€™s Old Town Gardens plays host to My Dadโ€™s Bigger Than Your Dad Festival. Bit long-winded name for a festival, but it’s certainly original and stands out, provided the idea of primary playground sayings for festivals doesn’t trend on the back of it and we have The My Dad’s a Blackbelt in Karate Festival, or even worse, The Ooh Ah Lost my Bra in my Boyfriendโ€™s Car Festival!

In its third year the festival is a tribute to Dave Young, the former landlord of The Victoria and 12 Bar who died in early June 2021 at Prospect Hospice after a hard-fought battle against cancer. The festival has raised over ยฃ24,000 for Prospect Hospice in its first two years.

Headline sponsor this year will be Future Planning, an independent financialย planners and mortgage advisers based in Swindon. Acts include countywide favourite rockers, The Ukey Dukes, Kova Me Badd, The Vooz, and Splat the Rat, ska and reggae cover giants Train to Skaville, sonic indie darlings Atari Pilot, upcoming indie post punk favourites Viduals, The Pop-Punk Revolution Tour, crazy rappers Imperial Leisure, and in a comedy rock subgenre of their very own, we can never forget the Real Cheesemakers. Plus thereโ€™s acoustic goodness from Hip Routeโ€™s Jim Blair, Drew Byrant, Joel Rose, Meg, Jules Hill, Shedric.

If this isnโ€™t enough for you, Swindon Paint Fest will be hosting an area of creativity with six fantastic local artists demonstrating their talents by live painting in the Sunken Garden. There will also be a guided spray paint and acrylic pen workshop led by Emma from Old Townโ€™s Mams gallery where  participants will be able to have a go with using the spray paint and acrylic pens onto a canvas board creating an artwork which they are able to take home. 

Caryn Koh from Swindon Paint Fest said, “We at Swindon Paint Fest are excited to collaborate with My Dad’s Bigger Than Your Dad event which is a great initiative raising money for Swindon’s Prospect Hospice.โ€

Food and drink vendors, including Gurt Wings, have been brought in to keep revellers fed and watered, as well as an independent business market and a funfair area for children.

Adult tickets are a purple one, ยฃ20 from their website mydadsbiggerthanyourdad.co.uk . Paper tickets are also available from Holmes Music, The Tuppenny and The Castle Inn.

Second option is in September when, from Thursday 14th to Sunday 17th, Swindonโ€™s Old Town comes alive with locally-sourced live music in a pub stroller type fashion with Swindon Shuffle. The lineups at five music venue boozers, The Victoria, The Hop Inn, The Beehive, The Tuppenny, and the Castle basically reads like a whoโ€™s who of local music, and itโ€™s all free, provided you spare a little cash for Prospect Hospice buckets scattered around the venues. Fringe events are also to be found at Baristocats and the Prospect Hospice Books & Media shop.

โ€œThis yearโ€™s event is shaping up to be the biggest ever and includes something for pretty much everyone out there,โ€ The shufflers say, and theyโ€™re not telling fibs. Swindon Link, Sheer Music, Swindon Folk Club, and many others all muck in to help create the enormous homage to David Young and raise funds for Prospect. I made it down last year for just Saturday. I’m thinking I might need to find a B&B this year and a sudden attack of skivalitis from work this time around!

From alt-rock of All Ears Avow and Modern Evils, to the sludge doom of Phantom Droid. The likes of Stay Lunar, Moon UK, Viduals and Chasing Dolls keep the indie-kids dancing and there are first shuffle experiences for up and coming bands Trippy Kicks, I See Orange, and  Mirrored Faces UK.

If something rootsier is more your thing, you are also well-catered for with the widescreen americana of Matt Owens Music & The Delusional Vanity Project and Concrete Prairie headlining stages, along with folkier offerings from the likes of Fly Yeti Fly, Canute’s Plastic Army and Splat The Rat.

Subject A bring a touch of Ska and Reggae to proceedings and there is creative and impossible to pigeonhole music from Will Lawton and the Alchemists, Richard Wileman / Karda Estra & Amy Fry Music and new band The Wheel 2!, who feature many of the faces behind the amazing and much missed Diagonal People. Thud and Bone Chapel bring some blues to proceedings and Swindon Folk Club again curates a stage.

With over sixty acts on the main bill you need to put this in your diary, but for now, whether your Dad is bigger than my Dad, or not, all eyes are focussed on 22nd July, when the wonderful park venue of the Old Town Bowl comes aliveโ€ฆ.and to think, thereโ€™s some wonky folk who groan Swindon is a cultural void, same ones still probably trying to get their bra back from their boyfriendโ€™s car, ooh ah!

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Pride Where Pride is Needed

Pride month finds me wondering if Pride events are actually needed more in our smaller market towns where awareness and acceptance is perhaps lesser thanโ€ฆ

After Ruby, Barrelhouse and RowdeFest 26

Images by Jess Worrow A busy late spring weekend across the county, with major events from Bradford-on-Avon to Swindon, but I’m bringing quality acts Iโ€ฆ

Weekly Roundup of Events in Wiltshire: 28th June – 4th July 2023

Hey, busy week this week, hereโ€™s what’s happening across the county. Donโ€™t forget thereโ€™s more info on these, ticket links and irregular updates on our fantabulouso Event Calendar, so get ahead one step ahead of the game!

Ongoing, Hail the Curious, the inaugural exhibit at The Forbidden Carnival in Chippenham; check it out by the end of the month. Devizes Tennis Club starts week one of their Tennis Holiday Camp at Devizes Tennis Club; book here.

Wednesday 28th:

Ah, the regular acoustic jam at the Southgate, Devizes.

Jo Brand: Work In Progress at Swindon Arts Centre.

William KZ at The Bell, Bath, The Beat featuring Dave Wakeling at Bath Forum. 

Thursday 29th:

Open Mic at Stallards, Trowbridge.

B-Sydes & Old Man Boom at The Tuppenny in Swindon, while Something Underneath and Chasing Dolls are at the Vic, Drew Bryant is at Timmyโ€™s Bar, and Coldplay tribute Coldplace at The Wyvern Theatre.

Comedy at Komedia in Bath with Phil McIntyre presents Danny Bhoyโ€™s Now is not a Good Time, Danielle Ward and Tread Softly Productionsโ€™ hilarious, intelligent and seriously moving, no-holds-barred look at being a woman in comedy, The Half at the Rondo Theatre.

Friday 30th:

The acclaimed Welsh film, Translations gets a screening at Melksham Assembly Hall, Helen gave us a preview, HERE.

Drew Bryant is at The Pelican, Devizes, with Illingworth at The Three Crowns. And we look forward to Devizes first Pride on Saturday with Drag Queen Bingo at The Wyvern club and an LGBTQ+ Club Night at The Exchange.

Thereโ€™s an Open Mic at Marlborough Town FC, Swipe Right play the Bear, and Reading Dub Club with the Jah Lion Movement visits the Barge on Honey Street.

B-Sydes at the Pump, Trowbridge, with Old Man Boom in support.

Opening is the amazing Minety Music Festival, nr Malmesbury, and happening all weekend.

Chippenham Comedy Festival starts at the Old Road Tavern, and continues until Sunday 2nd July.

Modern Evils, Viduals and Trippy Kicks at The Vic, Swindon, while Moon and Truck are at The Castle, and Jon Amor Trio at the Beehive. Comedy at The Wyvern Theatre with Phil McIntyre presents Danny Bhoyโ€™s Now is not a Good Time.

Iona Lane with Malin Lewis at Pound Arts in Corsham.

Spectrum at The Three Horseshoes, Bradford-on-Avon.

The Ministry of Burlesque cabaret at Komedia, Bath, while the Rondo Theatre have Eleanor Higgins and Bush Productions queer cult sensation, In Pursuet, following two sell-out runs at Edinburgh Festival Fringe. And โ€˜Your Songโ€™ โ€“ a Celebration of the Songs of Elton John at Chapel Arts.

Keith Brymer-Jones is at The Memorial Theatre, Frome, with Led Zep tribute Coda at the Cheese & Grain.

Saturday 1st:

Marlborough Open Studios starts, and runs over the first four weekends in July between 11am and 5pm. This is a countywide open studios extravaganza where you can visit many different local artists in their studios. 

It is Mantonfest near Marlborough time again; yay! Nothing Rhymes With Orange are at The Barge on Honey Street.

Free to take clothes, swap and donate at Devizes Swap Shop at St James Church from 11am-2pm. It is Devizes first Pride at Hillworth Park, and of course, the 22nd Devizes Beer & Cider Festival. To finish, Jamie Williams & The Roots Collective will continue from the beer fest over to the Southgate.

Thereโ€™s the Heddington and Stockley Steam Rally and Country Fair. 

Becky Lawrence & The Reason play The Green Dragon in Market Lavington.

Saucy Jack at The Pilot, Melksham.

Barney Kenny & Chris Murphey at The Pump in Trowbridge.

Matt Woosey at Pound Arts in Corsham.

Trowbridge Symphony Orchestra at Wiltshire Music Centre in Bradford-on-Avon, and highly recommended Adam and the Ants tribute Ant Trouble at The Three Horseshoes, with The Sylvertones at The BoatHouse.

Italia Conti at The Wyvern Theatre, Swindon. My Chemical Romance and Fallout Boy tributes at the Vic, The Black Charade and Fell Out Boy!

Figgle Fest 10th Anniversary, at Figheldean Village Hall Salisbury.

Tribute to Small Faces, the Small Fakers Band has sold out Chapel Arts, Bath.

Gordie Mackeeman & His Rhythm Boys at Frome Memorial Theatre, with An Evening with Simon & Oscar from Ocean Colour Scene at The Cheese & Grain, and Foo Fakers & Nirvanot at the Tree House.

Sunday 2nd:

Carmelaโ€™s Wiltshire Wonder Wheels 100km & 10km Charity Cycle Ride.

Jon Amor regular session at the Southgate in Devizes, increibley with the Gris Gris, Robin Davey and Greta Valetni; just wow!

Inspire 2023 free music festival at Warminster Pleasure Grounds.

Zone Clubโ€™s Summer Celebration Concert at Wiltshire Music Centre, Bradford-on-Avon.

Regular first Sunday of the month Blues Jam at the Vic in Swindon.

Monday 3rd I got nought, yet.

Tuesday 4th:

Running until 8th July, the Bradfordiansโ€™ Amadeus at the Wiltshire Music Centre, Bradford-on-Avon.

Jazz Knights at The Royal Oak in Swindon brings you the Alex Goodyear Quartet.

That’s your lot for this week, unless you know any different? It’s free to have your event added to our EVENT CALENDAR and feature on our weekly rodeo roundup, so don’t make me come chasing after you, do let us know about them. Have a sixties style fab and groovy weekend!

Trending……

Chatting with Ruby Darbyshire

There’s the story of one newfound fan who, after her performance, asked Ruby how many copies of her CDs she had, bought the lot andโ€ฆ

Shindig Festival Goes Ahead, with Bob Vylan

After months of speculation, controversy, and local media bias, The Shindig Festival at Malmesbury’s Charton Park has been given the green lightโ€ฆ.. Despite Newsquest floggingโ€ฆ

Wife Cooks Husband in Devizes!

A wife cooked her husband on Thursday evening in Devizes. I watched the whole thing unfold, but would have politely passed off any offering ofโ€ฆ

New Devizes Mayor; Congratulations, Vanessa!

Three short years ago, we first spoke with Vanessa Tanner, campaigning in the Devizes Town Council by-election for Devizes East. In those few minutes, Iโ€ฆ

Should Wiltshire Council Fly the Pride Flag?

Wiltshire Council will discuss granting itself permission to fly the Pride Progress flag outside County Hall and other Wiltshire Council offices during Pride Month. Theโ€ฆ

A Sneak Peak at the Wharf Theatreโ€™s Upcoming Season

Delighted by winning the Best Theatre/Arts Venue category of the Wiltshireโ€ฏMuddyโ€ฏStilettos Award 2023, Devizes Wharf Theatre wanted to thank everyone who voted for them. โ€œWe are so proud of our little theatre and all our incredible volunteers,โ€ they told Devizine, โ€œthe theatre literally would not run without their time and effort. Thank you also to everyone who supports us whether that be by coming to shows, volunteering, or, indeed, nominating us for this award in the first place!โ€

Muddyโ€ฏStilettos is all about celebrating and supporting local businesses and this year saw over 800,000 people voting on various categories around the country, and we congratulate the Wharf, for it really is a wonderful little theatre on our doorstep; but we all knew that already, didnโ€™t we?!

There is only one more show left of the summer season at the Wharf, one Iโ€™m personally looking forward to. Girls Like That is a gritty reality-driven drama directed by Lou Cox, and performed by the Wharf Youth Theatre Group. It explores the pressures on young people today in the wake of advancing technology, and was named Best Play for Young Audiences at the Writersโ€™ Guild of Great Britain Awards 2015. It runs from 20th-22nd July.

Thereโ€™s an audition notice for 9th July, a currently untitled new play by the amazing Freddie Underwood.

And itโ€™s on with the new program. Saturday 19th of August sees The Jake Leg Jug Band at the Wharf. An authentic sound of 1920’s and 30’s America, from jazz, blues, gospel and ragtime, this trio put their own twist on songs of murder, betrayal, gambling, liquor and redemption.

From Monday 11th September to Saturday 16th, find Amelia Bullmore’s comedy, Di and Viv and Rose, dealing with friendships among a group of three cohabiting female students in 1983, displaying how their solidarity precariously survives physical separation, career paths and even mortality.

On Thursday 28th September thereโ€™s a Devizes Film Club screening of Lunana: A Yak in the Classroom. A 2019 Bhutanese drama film directed by Pawo Choyning Dorji. The first film from the Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan to be nominated for an Oscar, it follows a young teacher with a dream of moving to Australia but finds himself teaching a classroom of eager children, and a yak!

October 23rd to 28th sees Lyn Taylorโ€™s Happy Jack, a 1989 play by John Godber, about a couple who live in a mining village in West Yorkshire.

Steaming into November, and the 4th has an uplifting story of heroism and love by Ali Smith, Cadbury’s Angels. Set in wartime when a group of women working on the production line at the Cadbury factory in Birmingham decided to secretly send letters and cards inside the tins of chocolates that were dispatched to the soldiers fighting on the front lines. To the men fighting miles from home, and away from their loved ones, these women became known as The Cadbury Angels.

Sunday the 5th November, remember, thereโ€™s Water Rats Charity Variety Spectacular, some top stars all raising money for the Water Rats Charity.ย 

Saturday 11th November thereโ€™s two showings of The Last Post, a poignant, moving and thought-provoking stage show for children and families. The story revolves around the correspondence between Joseph, who is at war, and his son William at home.ย The split stage, multi-rolling and use of projections allows for fast-paced transitions from England to Belgium so the audience remains immersed in this simple but moving story that entertains in an appropriate and engaging manner.ย 

With November behind us, oh no it isnโ€™t, December now, and where would be without panto time? This year will be Jack and the Beanstalk, and itโ€™s running from Friday 1st to Saturday 9th.ย 

Bounding into 2024, we can expect to find Oscar Wildeโ€™s farcical comedy, The Importance of Being Earnest, from 29th January to 3rd February. Auditions for this will be on 18th September, see here.

All tickets for the above performances will be at the box office as of Saturday 1st July. Anything we publish hereafter is top secret speculation taken from leaked documents from the very top of the Wharf Theatre, and I will likely be shot for merely whispering them to you …..in some over dramatic theatrical way too!

Stagecoach Performing Arts School are visiting with a production of Frozen Jnr, followed by a Lonnie Donnigan tribute show on February 24th.

2nd March sees the Music of Simon & Garfunkel show come to Devizes and in April you can look forward to something very Agatha Christie. From 13th May until the 18th, Amanda Whittingtonโ€™s The Thrill of Love is the performance. Set in a smoggy 1953 gentlemanโ€™s club in Londonโ€™s West End, where young manager, Ruth Ellis, had it all, the money and lifestyle that she had always dreamed of. However, by 1955 she had lost it all and was the last woman to be hanged in Great Britain.

And on the 1st of June, expect Top Secretโ€™s explosive family show, The Magic of Science.ย  An opportunity to surround yourself with the mystery of magic, cleverly fused with wondrous and miraculous feats of science. It is promised the venue will be transformed into a real-life science laboratory and lots of unbelievable “how did they do that!” moments.ย 

Trending…..

M3G, De-Anchored

At the end of last year Chippenham singer-songwriter M3G released the single Rooks. I felt it set her bar at a whole new higher level.โ€ฆ

Ready for RowdeFest?

Not long now, for Rowdefest! Which, as the name suggests, is in Rowde, near Devizes, on Saturday 30th May, and is a free, community spiritedโ€ฆ

Time to Be Thinking About CrownFest 2026

Not just a pretty spiral church, there’s plenty for Bishop’s Cannings to be proud about. Evidence with the personal touch recently defeated a brazen landgrab,โ€ฆ

Song of The Week: Beskar

Quick one from me, a belated song of the week, The Prophecy by Beskar featuring Huntr/s. A debut single on RAM Records from Scottish music producer Beskar, named after the Mandalorian steel from the Star Wars universe; if this is the way I love it! Gorgeously dreamy, reach for the stars, rolling drum n bass style with flavours of classics from yore such as LTJ Bukem, Guy Called Gerald and Goldie.…..

It comes as a double A with a track called Path I Canโ€™t Follow, both of which features the vocals of Huntr/s, and therein is our local connection. This Huntress is Chrissy Chapman from Devizes, who you may have caught last weekend singing with Tom Harris at the Sustainable Fair in the Market Place, unless, like me the lazy sausage, you drifted up that bit too late!

Now Iโ€™ve heard both these euphoric tracks Iโ€™m even more gutted to have missed them; Chrissy, the vocals in drum n bass really maketh the ambience of the tune, otherwise it would be just a series of breaks and beats, and though said breaks and beats are sublimely aligned here, it is the icing on a deluxe cake!

Chrissy worked for a record label during 2021 run by the once frontman of Foreign Beggers,ย PAV4N. โ€œThis led to meeting artists and then doing a live stream charity event,โ€ she told us, โ€œsome of them watched and put me in touch with Beskar.โ€

Mandalorian armour wouldnโ€™t stop me from dancing to this! Well done, Huntress, keep shining the light, and Beskar too of course, tune!

Trending…..

Vinyl Realm Settles Into New Home

A median haul of vinyl can weigh in, but thereโ€™s no longer a trek down Northgate Street for record collectors and musicians alike. Vinylโ€ฆ

Radium on Liddington Hill

Swindon-based adrenaline pumping five-piece Liddington Hill released their first EP for three years, and Radium is highly radioactiveโ€ฆ.. For most on the North Wessexโ€ฆ

Tonka Bean’s Taste of Trinidad in Devizes

Guess who limboed into Tonka Bean, to poke their nose in a day before the official opening? Though I’m a sucker for new ventures, especially with a Caribbean twist!

Nestled nicely on St John’s Street where sadly The Vaults micropub once stood, this is the new cafe-bar labour of love of mum and daughter team Abrilli and Mya. Abrilli was sweeping up, getting everything ready for opening day tomorrow (Friday 23rd June at 8:00am and closing at 21:30 pm,) but stopped to welcome me with her backstory. A school teacher who has lived in Devizes for sixteen years with her roots in Trinidad, these new pastures hope to bring both a little piece of Trinidad to Devizes, with a general Caribbean theme to boot.

The bar is situated in the same place it was with the Vaults, the rest is transformed with a bamboo wall and colourfully painted tables and chairs, yeah, I get the vibe, there’s definitely a tropical ambience already. Though you shouldn’t make the word association of bean with coffee, tonka beans are South American black seeds akin in flavour to vanilla, this is not a coffeeshop, though they will serve coffee!

If Abrilli is rather restricted without a kitchen, she’s determined to overcome; the motto of Trindad is “together we aspire, together we achieve,” after all.

Hot and cold foods will be bought in, she was keen to note ninety percent locally sourced. The Happy Food Company will supply sandwiches and salad boxes, Jamaican patties were a sure thing, and she smiled to announce her own recipe curried goat too, served in roti. This sparked a chat about Eastern influences in Caribbean culture and cuisine; she was impressed with my slim knowledge of chutney style, a soca subgenre using Indian instruments!

But turning it back to Trindad cuisine possibilities, Abrilli explained saltfish accra, and a sailfish breakfast dish she called buljol. Alongside wine and spirits, passionfruit, papaya, and mango smoothies, she wet my appetite with “those kinds of tropical flavours that give people that fresh Caribbean feel.” Here was the point where she gave her utmost respect to the success of the Muck and Dundar rumbar in town, but with no dilemma if Tonka Bean is Caribbean themed it had to sell rum punch too, “of course I’m going to have rum punch!”ย 

Neither would a Caribbean themed bar be complete without accompanying the standard issue sweet tooth, and Abrilli introduced me to her snow cone machine in which shaved ice with syrup is a popular snack in Trinidad.

The building has a spacious basement the renovation of which to extend Tonka Bean hinges on its initial success, while Abrilli intends to reapply for a live music licence, this won’t happen anytime soon, but expect background music of tropical twist! This bold venture I wish the very best of luck, but if the success hinges on creating a happy atmosphere, you only need to look at carnival to acknowledge you can not beat the Caribbean for happiness!

Small acorns, or tonka beans even, at this early stage, but I came away feeling overwhelmed with positivity about this place, and the cafe bar in Devizes with a different angle. Of course, it all depends on the support the town shows it, and enthusiasm is already building. Abrilli had to close the gates after I left, as people tended to poke their noses in to see if it was open yet; I was the lucky one, but here to report Tonka Bean is going to be irie with all the joy of a Caribbean getaway in our hometown!

Follow Tonka Bean on Instagram

Top Tips to Survive a Muddy Glastonbury Festival

Don’t hold your breath, I’m having an Uncle Albert momentโ€ฆback  in my day, which wasn’t as long ago as you whippersnappers, with your lime vapes and Taylor Shift Spottyfly playlists, might imagine, media coverage of Glastonbury was far less. TV was left up to Katie Puckrik in pigtails on Channel 4, until a couple of off years when it pissed it downโ€ฆ..

Bad weather has become synonymous with the worldโ€™s legendary festival, and the press rub their hands together when it happens; a golden opportunity to sensationalise a negative stereotype of counterculture and youthfulness; double-whammy.

Every media outlet known to man jumped on the bandwagon to show selective imagery of a handful of intoxicated nutjobs WWF mud wrestling in a negative light, and tarnished every reveller with the same anti-bac j-cloth. 90,000 attended Glastonbury in 1997, officially, the first year it rained for a decade, if you saw x-amount of them on the telebox and assumed everyone was at it you just marginalised thousands with a miniscule percentage, and fell hook, line and sinker for their intentional misconception.

The further rightwing their sway, the more negative they were, “look at those filthy hippies rolling in their own faeces like swine,” and misguided Daily Mail bullshit akin. The truth is, once you’re in there is no going back, and try as you might to stay clean and dry, there comes a breaking point whereby even the fussiest among us realise they’re beaten. Rarely is it up to choice, as the media might portray.

But it put the festival in the media spotlight and television upped their game to show the festival in a positive light. The festival itself prevented the travellers attending and commercialised the experience into what it is today. It was do or die. Similar to our hero desperately trying to keep dry, the Evis family had no choice.

From 89 onwards I did twelve Glastonburys and the sun had his hat on every year until 97. It had rained the week leading up to the fateful day. I put my hefty work boots by my front door while I packed the rest in my car, as I didn’t want to drive in them, and forgot them!

I was left with a pair of designer pumps with all the grip of a Spiny Softshell Turtle, and by the time I arrived at the gate I was Elvis Costello; couldn’t stand up for falling down. My first job was to aim myself, best I could, towards a stall selling wellies. The stallowner was busy and in his element; delighted to rip half my Glastonbury budget off me and a multitude of other disorganised wallies, for a pair, while the guy next door flogging sunscreen considered selling his children to medical science.

My first top tip for a muddy Glastonbury then is rather obvious and perhaps a bit mumsie, but based on a bad experience.

A stout pair of walking boots is essential, and maybe plastic carrier bags as liners. If you forget the rest make sure you don’t be like me, Torvil or Dean. The boots were gone by the time I returned home; in fairness though, they were quality Doc Martins and I did live in Swindon.

The other footwear tip is no matter how drunk you get, to take your boots off before you get inside your tent. I would imagine the once quite common nakedness at Glasto is less trendy these days as millennials tend to be prudish. So spare clothes are your friends, but don’t overpack because you have to carry that shit. But most of all, never tell your friends about your other friends, the dry clothes in your backpack, I shouldn’t have to explain why. If word gets out, one dry sock is equal to seven hundred blaggers befriending you.

Clothing in general is common sense really, a fluffy bra or propellerhead hat can be fun when the weather is on your side, but at a wet one the catwalk is swapped for survival of the fittest, practical is the new fashion. Glitter is out, pac-a-macs are in! Waterproof trozzers will make you the envy of all, even if at a sunnier Glasto you’d be laughed off the site for wearing.

If you’re the driver, take a pair of scissors and leave them in the glovebox. I did this in 98, your jeans will be caked with mud, get ’em off when you reach the car, cut them into shorts, it is easier to drive home. Otherwise you’re driving home in your undercrackers, and as a service station supply top up will be a deffo, psychologically scarring small children for life is never looked upon as a clever thing by their parents.ย A grade A soccer mum Karen whinging at you in the Leigh Delamere carpark while you stand in your four day old pants and a headful of post-festival blues is never welcomed.

Plastic bags have many uses, see photographic evidence of a much younger me; because at first I was afraid, I was petrified, Kept thinking I could never survive without a plastic bag by my side, but I survived and lived to tell the tale through Gloria Gaynor parodies.

Walking the site is tiring when dry, sludging through ankle-high mud is a million times worse and you need to take breaks. If no seating is available, you can’t just plonk down on the grass, you need your bag like Arthur Dent needs his towel.

Honestly, one muddy year I crowned a guy “the genius of Glastonbury,” as he duck-taped an inflatable chair, when inflatable chairs were a thing, to his torso, so wherever he went he could sit in comfort at will. I’m not advising you to do similar, merely pointing out forward thinking, for it was not without its drawbacks discovered over time, like reflating and navigation, though for altications from sharp bramble, he had a bicycle repair kit on his person, further confirming his genius.

But a genius you don’t need to be to survive a muddy Glastonbury, just common sense. Like consuming laxatives, Mexican food or baked beans prior, and ensuring you have a big clearout in the loo before you depart. Do not eat anything which might stimulate your bowels while there. Going to the loo is an experience best avoided at Glastonbury whatever the weather, at a muddy one you take your life in your own hands. You will see things you’d rather have not, things defying medical research, and you could be emotionally scarred for life. If you must go, and if possible, take a licensed therapist with you to the loo as well as a toilet roll and weapons suitable for a zombie apocalypse, and never, I repeat, never, use port-a-loos.

Timing is of the essence when deciding to poo. The later you leave it the worse it will get, a simple motto. Hedgerows and ditches can be your friends at a sunny Glasto, but avoid them like typhoid if wet, unless you happen to welcome typhoid. They are below hell itself as the last place you would want to slip into. Horrifically, I have seen it happen, observed folk laughing too, and felt sorry for the individual, but too afraid to approach them to offer a hand. You’ll be Billy-no-mates if you slip into a ditch thirty thousand drunken hooligans have taken a shit in, no one will aid your escape.

Sign up anyone with a campervan bathroom or VIP access onto your bestie list, shower them with gifts and follow them wherever they go. But, gift buying, especially breakable objects is the stupidest idea in the history of stupid ideas, you are not at B&M. I’ve seen record stalls selling vinyl, glass blowing workshops and various other such insane shopping options. As much as you believe your gran would like a commemorative china plate of Glastonbury, remember you could be several days before you find your tent again, and/or have to pass the main stage area while Slipknot are playing. 

The rule for a muddy Glastonbury is simple, take only what you need, buy only what you forgot to bring or realise you might meet your maker if you don’t. No one wants a three tier Victoria sponge caked in mud polluted by 210,000 nutjobs all desperate for a poo.

Now I’ve said all this, it seems like the weather is going to be alright-ish anyway, so you can forget it allโ€ฆ.for this year, and have enough fun there for me and you. Remember, final top tip for any weather; avoid TV cameras if you’re pulling a sicky from work; your boss will be watching. 

Weekly Roundup of Events in Wiltshire: 20th -27th June 2023

Happy Summer Solstice, Wednesday, sunrise expected at 3:57am supposed to be a drier night than last night, possibly cloudy; have a wonderful solstice everyone; love and light.ย 

Hereโ€™s what else is happening across the county this midsummer week. Donโ€™t forget thereโ€™s more info on these, ticket links and irregular updates on our sparkly Event Calendar, so plan ahead.

Ongoing, Hail the Curious, the inaugural exhibit at The Forbidden Carnival in Chippenham; check it out by the end of the month.

Tuesday 20th:

Poetika 112 โ€“ The Sun And The Moon at The Winchester Gate, Salisbury.

Wednesday 21st:

Acoustic Jam at the Southgate, Devizes.

Classic Car Evening Gathering at Atwell-Wilson Motor Museum in Calne

Running until 24th June, The Western Players present The Dinner Party at Swindon Arts Centre

MorningStar plays The Bell, Bath.

Oh, and of course, thereโ€™s that little shindig called Glastonbury Festival; have one for me if you are heading that way, and if youโ€™ve room in your backpack I have been known to fold up quite compact if duty calls!

Thursday 22nd: 

Music For Miniatures at The Neeld, Chippenham.

Sebastian & Me & Mirrored Faces at The Vic, Swindon

Lol Goodman Band at Pound Arts, Corsham.

The Damned, yes, I said the Damned, at Komedia, Bathโ€ฆ. well, Iโ€™ll be!

Friday 23rd:

Lucky Number 7 plays The Pump in Trowbridge, with JCC and Enter Red.

The Free Association presents St. Doctorโ€™s Hospital, an improvised medical drama, directed by Graham Dickson at the Neeld, Chippenham.

Emily Storm at The Kings Arms, Melksham.

Robinson Stone at Pound Arts, Corsham.

The Unthanks at Wiltshire Music Centre, Bradford-on-Avon.

Xodus – a Tribute to Bob Marley & The Wailers at Chapel Arts, Bath.

TommyInnit at Bath Forum.

Phoxjaw at Moles, Bath.

Hamsters From Hell & The Lonely Road Band at The Vic, Swindon.

Moore’s Exotic Reserve at The Tuppenny, Swindon.

Ed Sheeran Tribute at The Ridge, Swindon.

ZambaLando at Fiesta de Cuba, Greenbridge, Swindon

Saturday 24th:

The Vintage Bazaar at The Corn Exchange, Devizes.

California Dreams at The Wharf Theatre, Devizes. Enjoy a trip through the music of California in the 60โ€™s and 70โ€™s. Recording just a stoneโ€™s throw from each other and guesting on each otherโ€™s records, a group of musical legends worked simultaneously to turn out some of the greatest songs of all time. Hits by The Mamas & The Papas, Eagles, Joni Mitchell, Neil Young, Linda Ronstatd, The Byrds, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young and many more. 

Poulshot Village Fete.

Devizes Chamber Choir presents Summer by the Sea at St Andrews Church, Devizes.

Earl Slick Band @ Long Street Blues Club, Devizes, big question mark over this one, it might well be cancelled, do check ahead.

SGO at The Southgate, Devizes.

Funked Up at The Three Crowns, Devizes.

Ben Borrill at The Moonrakers, Devizes.

Calne Carnival

Melksham Pride

The Strollers at Melksham Rock N Roll Club, now in Spencerโ€™s Sports & Social Club.

Back to the 80’s at Melksham Rugby Club.

Big Family Music Day at Wiltshire Music Centre, Bradford-on-Avon.

Bus Station Loonies at The Three Horseshoes, Bradford-on-Avon.

Atlas Rise at Moles, Bath.

Aoife Scott at Pound Arts, Corsham.

Mixed Bag at Prestbury Sports Bar, Warminster.

Stars of Time Film and Comic Con at Steam, Swindon.

Drag Me Down & Youth Illusion at The Vic, Swindon.

Mickelson: Jump off the Earth UK tour at The Hop Inn, Swindon.

Fleetwood Shack at Level III, Swindon.

Talk in Code at Brown Street, Salisbury.

Sunday 25th:

Devizes Tennis Club starts week one of their Tennis Holiday Camp at Devizes Tennis Club; book here.

Itโ€™s the Pro-Wrestling Showdown at The Corn Exchange, Devizes.

Junkyard Dogs at The Southgate, Devizes.

No Go Glasto charity gig for Diabetes UK at Stallards, Trowbridge.

Weekly bandstand concerts in John Coles Park, Chippenham.

Lazy Summer Sundays at Richard Jefferies with Canuteโ€™s Plastic Army.

Wifi Wars at Swindon Arts Centre.

Keith Brymer Jonesโ€™ Life, Clay and Everything at The Wyvern Theatre, Swindon.

Collapse The Sky & ChemiQueen at Level III, Swindon.

India Arkin live in session at the Electric Bar in Komedia, Bath.

Eddie Martin at The Bell, Bath.

Monday 26th:

Brendon at The Tap & Barrel, Swindon

Phil King Band at The Bell, Bath

Tuesday 27th:

Letโ€™s Swim Get Swimming & Tokyo Toy Company at The Vic, Swindon.

Wyvern Theatre Swap Shop at The Wyvern Theatre, Swindon.

Jazz Knights Presents Nigel Price and the Alban Claret Quartet at The Royal Oak Swindon.

Spiers & Boden at Komedia, Bath

The Hill Book Launch at the Rondo Theatre, Bath.

Thatโ€™s all I got, folks. Not as busy as last weekend, but still lots to keep us all out of trouble! Donโ€™t forget though, to check in on our event calendar for updates as they will come in from time to time!

Devizes New Chair to Area Board of Wiltshire Councilโ€ฆGuess Who?!

Last night Wiltshire Councillors voted in Councillor Iain Wallis as the Chair to the Area Board for Devizes. Meaning any grants to community groups, youth organisations, sports clubs and local charities, have to go through him.

Much as I would like to offer my congratulations to councillor Wallis, I feel it is imperative to question many aspects to this with regards to community led projects, other town councillors, youth project workers and the many various other residents who he seems to neglect the opinions of by silencing them and banning them from his Facebook group, the local legendarily biassed, Devizes Issues.

Part of his new job description reads thus: “to provide a local platform for local engagement and conversation.” Will the Devizes Issues be this platform, if he doesn’t allow any opinion differing from his own? Let’s make no mistake here, opposition councillor’s election campaigns have been slandered on this Facebook group, the independent PCC and all of his supporters were barred from posting, a Devizes-based Covid support group was banned from the group, all by this councillor’s hand.

Wiltshire Council’s website explains “area boards exist to work alongside other organisations to make things happen in the community. These groups can include town and parish councils, voluntary and community groups, youth organisations, sports clubs and local charities,” groups as such which he has attempted to silence, including a residents committee set out to solve issues regarding the Crammer.

The description of what the Area Boards do continues, “An important role of the Area Boards is to provide grants to community groups. There are three main funding streams, which include community capital grants, youth grants, and older and vulnerable adult grants.” Yet we know faithful local youth worker Steve Dewar, who works tirelessly school mentoring, liasoning with Devizes Police, Wiltshire FA, RW Football School and Wiltshire YFC and has independently setup a youth pop-up cafe providing free facilities for local youth, also received the honorary ban from Mr Wallis’s “local platform for local engagement and conversation.”

You are within your rights to complain about this decision, but being he is also on the standards committee, you will most likely be better off talking to a brick wall.

Let’s go through what the Wiltshire Council website says about the overall focus of the tasks of the Area Boards:

“Develop a strong, well established and highly functioning network of local partners, organisations, and residents. Generate an in-depth understanding of our local communities, including the demographics and the issues faced by the residents. Empower and facilitate community led action. Recognise the talents, expertise, and knowledge of our communities, trusting and supporting them to co-deliver local services. Ensure decisions are taken in consultation with and close to the residents that they affect.
Effectively share data and intelligence at a local level. Provide a local platform for local engagement and conversation.
Deliver an opportunity for residents to gain an understanding of the way the council works. Finally, help deliver the Wiltshire Council business plan at a local level with the involvement of communities.”

Now, I ask you, does any of these match with the manner in which he has conducted himself on his Facebook group? Suggesting that time, he would go ahead and continue publishing town council matters regardless of if the council voted individual councillors should refrain from posting such information or not; remember that ickle controversy?!

We will continue to question the suitability of Mr Wallis in this position, given the factors expressed in the opinion piece, and I see this as justified criticism, not, as he himself has stressed on more than one occasion, as “harassing and bullying” him, for that is both not our intention, and indeed, an outright lie. In order to undergo this task effectively, as clearly stated on the website, engaging with the community would, in my opinion, mean everyone within that community and not only the ones who agree with him personally, otherwise that is most certainly not impartial to political and social sway, as proved by the governing of his social media group.

We publish this as a concerning development which seriously risks the future of community led events, organisations and schemes within the Devizes area, as any councillor who seems only focused on pushing the agenda of one national political party will endeavour to allow only those who back them too, and agree with his opinion. This we have discovered by the manner in which he controls his social media group, which would be totally his prerogative to do so, of course, if he wasn’t in such a conflicting position of power.

It does seem such a shame, that this essentially hardworking and proactive councillor cannot seem to overcome this issue of allowing an entire community to communicate freely without the threat of being silenced for simply disagreeing on a particular issue. We too face this terrible predicament, any good work we do at Devizine, whether it be charity, promotion of events, schools and community groups, they will always remain blocked and heavily criticised in order to make way for some grand pipedream of creating an “official’ council run website which basically rests under his control but steals our ideas and input, and you, the council taxpayer will fork out for. God bless us all, for we are going to need it!!

Half a Humdinger Review Taking the Three Crowns, Devizes

For the love of Liam Gallagher, you cashless twenty and thirty somethings who cannot resist the intoxicated urge to mount benches and dance your cares away in a boozer should take note, when we, the previous generation climbed atop of things to boogie, we did so on disused warehouse roofs, haystacks, buses, railway embankments and perhaps the odd police riot van!

You think Iโ€™m kidding? Yet, for the most part you also seem to have shunned our musical progression through technology and our repetitive beats in favour of the guitar, bass and drums combo of rock n roll of yore. Britpop is like classic golden oldie hour to you, whereas Iโ€™m still processing it. And, in doing so, you take aboard any sing-a-long pop classic from commercialised seventies prog-rock to eighties soft metal, and sugar-coat it with retrospective enlightenment despite not being born when they were conceived. The result is an obstreperous drunken melee of anything goes, as long as it’s rock. Ergo, to step into The Three Crowns after an evening of Latino funk at the Corn Exchange, is a mass mayhem musical affray just trying to squeeze into a convenient gap; sigh, at least youโ€™re having fun!

This kind of reception is usually reserved for our homegrown cover troops, People Like Us, and those Roughcut Rebels, and indeed I note Pip nestled amidst the crowd, nodding at me because this Pewsey lot has basically taken their setlist! Yes, they are tried and tested rock classics guaranteed to pull in a crowd, but what is surprising is this bunch of crazies are Pewsey located, it is their inaugural gig in Devizes, as circuits seldom meld, the gloriously loud welcome Devizes showed them, Humdinger will undoubtedly return.

For said rock covers, even at the most cliche, (yes, Wonderwall) went down like a sack of spuds in a famine, in the hands of these capable Pewsey musicians/nutters! Thereโ€™s just something offbeat about the Vale, isnโ€™t there? Eccentric and well, bit weird in a nonchalant but no malice way! I was fully aware of how much attention Humdinger can attract over those backwaters, Iโ€™m glad to report the same level of recognition was rewarded to them here, as they thoroughly deserved it.

Excuse I canโ€™t give a full review, only able to catch the final hour, but it was enough to confirm, Humdinger is a force to be reckoned with on the rock cover pub circuit, as they blasted out the standard issues with confidence, proficiency and a truckload of fun, as if they had only left the Moonies Fun Pub for the Coppers in the Vale! Making themselves at home, they treated us to flaunty banter and laughs aplenty, as they wriggled through a setlist from Sweet Caroline, through every hackneyed classic known to Britpop, and landed with an encore of Bon Jovi, yeah, Living on a Prayer, how did you guess?!

For an original music buff youโ€™ll shed a tear, but again, this worked, and regularly does. As I sat among a mass of empty pint glasses as bar staff rushed off their feet like Kings Cross McDonalds workers at lunchtime, I go-figure, the formula is desired by the masses, they finish pints with the same speed the band finish a chorus, and if it is this you want, or maybe even need, to keep a pub going, a decent rock cover band is what you seek.

Iโ€™d say it again, I cannot exclude our Roughcuts or People Like Us, for they do this regularly at the Three Crowns, but Humdinger should also be firmly on your hitlist, as they certainly bought the party with them this time! Me? I can moan, at rock cover bands so plentiful on our circuit, but like bus drivers, theyโ€™re either really top quality or grumpy as fuck, and the Humdinger guys certainly are not the latter. It was a sardine sandwich squeezable shindig of millennials and others hopelessly pretending to be, it was though executed superbly without malice, just pure rocking fun, and if you didnโ€™t have a blinding night there you should seek medical advice, not mine, I thought it rocked!  

Trending….

Serenโ€™s New Single; Worm

Thereโ€™s a cold remote ambience of burrowing doubt in the opening of Westburyโ€™s singer-songwriter Serenโ€™s debut song, in which, as the title suggests, she usesโ€ฆ

The date is set for Imberbus 2026 !

We are pleased to start 2026 by announcing that this year, we are planning to run the Imberbus service on Saturday 15th August 2026 whenโ€ฆ

Malavita! Maravillosa en Devizes Arts Festival; Ardiendo Afro-Funk Latina!

Images by Gail Foster

I was looking forward to the grand finale of The Devizes Arts Festival with cherries on. Starter for ten; I’m yet to discover a subgenre of Caribbean or South American music I don’t instantly fall in love with, and it’s as rare a-find locally as diamond mines. Ergo, Malavita! marched up to my front door and banged loudly on it. And they didn’t hang around to ask me if I was coming out to play. No problemo when opportunity knocks, I had my dancing shoes on ready!

Upbeat from the off they blessed the Devizes Corn Exchange with their irresistible funky Latino blend, which soothed like reggae, swung like son cubano, bounced like bomba, and perhaps added smidgens of Brazilian samba, even Balkan into this melting pot of wonderful afro-funk.

To assume these guys flew in from Cuba or Puerto Rico would be justified, but on reflection there is definitely something western about the salsa which allows the throwing in of all these ingredients and stirring the pot to come out with a unique take effectively satisfying our western expectations. As in our pop, the vocals were soulful and delightfully expressed, and the subject matter of Malavita’s gorgeous and original repertoire seemed to be a glorified reflection on life’s guidance, thoughts and observations, yet subtle as the demanding danceable rhythms take priority. Story checks out, they’re from Devon, and their sound, their whole persona, is as beautiful as cream teas along the Jurassic Coastlineโ€ฆwith added palm trees for an apt exotic effect!

Malavita at Devizes Arts Festival 2023

Funk at the forefront, I was also reminded somewhat on the livelier bands on the Acid Jazz circuit of the mid-nineties; if the Brand New Heavies added some Latino spice you’d imagine it coming off something like this, for this eight-piece with blazing barefoot brass section, congos, and conventional drums, bass and lead guitar presented itself equally as professional and proficiently.ย 

So proficient in fact, they can encore with their only recognisable cover, Britney Spears’ Toxic, under such an insatiable house-style, such a rework would push-pin me to the dancefloor! And therein is my summary, you see, for Malavita! ruined my original plan to scoot off to the Three Crowns for a momentary glimpse at Pewsey’s rock covers band Humdinger who after nineteen years on the local circuit finally made their Devizes debut, because the sound of Malavita! is the musical equivalent of that tractor beam which pulls the Millennium Falcon into the Death Star, I was stuck on the dancefloor for the duration.

Malavita at Devizes Arts Festival 2023

For want of a less fanboy analogy, Jedi powers could not have prevented me from shaking my tailfeather, resistance was futile, Malavita are irresistibly danceable. That’s not opinion, that’s fact!

Leading me onto the trickier part, for saying how much I loved this, wracking my brain unable to think of something equally as cool as Malavita, was simple, but to suggest reasoning why the Corn Exchange wasn’t at full capacity as it has been with previous Devizes Arts Festival events this year, are manyfold. Possibly due to exhausted funds by the end, as there was so much choice this year, possibly a reflection on the natives personal taste, particularly those Arts Festival stalwarts, but for whatever the reason, they missed a thrilling evening of the single most sublime funky afro-fusion to bless Devizes, and to The Arts Festival organisers I thank you.

For those who were there, seats were empty anyway after quarter of an hour of this gorgeous, soulful sound, and we danced the evening away far too quickly!

Malavita at Devizes Arts Festival 2023

As things stood, it reached its climax at ten, so I was able to sardine myself into the Crowns for a blast of rock covers after all, though with the taste of Lilly’s mango cider retained, I couldn’t shake off how totally awesome Malavita! were, and akin to Harry Belafonte’s Jump In the Line, I don’t imagine I ever will.

Being I don’t recall what I had for breakfast from one day to the next, I might need to correct myself if I searched our archives, but going out on a limb, I’d proclaim this to have been my gig of the year to-date; scorchio! 

For more information about Malavita!

A massive well done and thank you to Devizes Arts Festival, as this year’s comes to a close but has shown diversity and quality throughout; we hold tight for next year! I would also like to thank our writers, Andy, Helen, Ben, and Ian, for their outstanding coverage of this year’s Arts Festival here in good ol’ Devizes, and to Gail Foster for allowing us to pinch her superb photos too!

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Don’t Click on Illegal Rave Rage-Bait!

The biggest risk for any media reporting negatively on illegal raves is that, in their youth, their fifty-plus target audience probably attended illegal raves themselves!โ€ฆ

The Makers Exchange; DOCA Call to the Creative

Thimbles on standby, Devizes Outdoor Celebratory Arts are calling all creative craftspeople and makers to their new project, The Makers Exchange. Itโ€™s a new craftโ€ฆ

Harmony Asia Can Do This

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The Lavington Community Choir Brings the Pied Piper to Lavington

The Lavington Community Choir will stage a production of the Pied Piper of Hamelin, a musical cantata by Tim Price, on Friday 7th July at 7.30 at the Market Lavington Community Hall….

Written and 1st performed 35 years ago at Dauntseyโ€™s School under the baton of David Price (no relation) when Tim was a 16 year old schoolboy, this wonderfully mature, jazz-inspired work remains as fresh and exciting today as it was then.

Conceived as a light-hearted adaptation of Robert Browningโ€™s poem, the work combines humour and pathos, vividly illustrating this apocryphal, sinister and timelessly topical tale. Jazz riffs and toe-tapping melodies weave their magic as the story unfolds of a town plagued with rats.


The Townspeople debate, the pompous Mayor pontificates, the Piper makes a startling entry with a solution until the Establishment โ€˜ratโ€™ on the deal that is struck. A lone lame child left behind tugs at our heart-strings with an ethereal tune, before the story concludes on a rare note of hope and peace.


The evenings music is accompanied by a jazz band, and the programme also includes Verdiโ€™s Anvil chorus, and jazz standards: Moon River, Dream a little Dream, Mack the Knife and others, featuring guest soloist Jessica Phillips and conducted by Paula Boyagis.


Tickets ยฃ10 from Devizes Books, St. Arbucks, members of the chorus and
edwardsjean39@gmail.com
Bar available.

Carrie Etter’s Poetry Workshop at Devizes Arts Festival

By Helen Edwards

American poet, Carrie Etter has been a resident in England since 2001, and a reader in Creative Writing at Bath Spa University. She published four collections, most recently, The Weather in Normal, and numerous chapbooks. On Saturday Carrie gave a poetry workshop and reading at Devizes Town Hall, as a fringe event of Devizes Arts Festival…..

โ€˜Carrieโ€™s workshop was absolutely fantastic, a distilled overview of prose poetry with many examples to show the variation in style and our own time to create (with no pressure).ย  Carrie was inspiring, impassioned and quick as a whip.

Her students at Bristol University are very lucky to have her as a teacher (as were her many past students from at Bath Spa University). The open mic at the end was inclusive, supportive and fun. Carrieโ€™s final poem saw me wiping away tears; beautiful.

I wish I could write a longer review but I am doing this one-eyed with a poorly optic nerve. Iโ€™m effervescing with words which will have to wait or be dictaphoned, when they come I now have many tips as to how to form them better.ย  Thanks Carrie, your generosity is abundant – Iโ€™ve a feeling youโ€™ll get a roomfulโ€™s worth of follow up messages. Helen.

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How it Feels for a Bluebeard!

The first time I heard the name Bluebeard and the Desperate Hours, I presumed their sound might be folk or blues inspired. Judging a bookโ€ฆ

Extended Lineup for CrownFest

It was back in October when we revealed CrownFest at The Crown in Bishopโ€™s Cannings was returning this summer, and January when we last mentionedโ€ฆ

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. I avoidโ€ฆ

REVIEW โ€“ Devizes Arts Festival โ€“ Christian Garrick & The Budapest Cafรฉ Orchestra @ Corn Exchangeย  16th June 2023

Hot Gypsy Jazz

Andy Fawthrop

Devizes Arts Festival headed into its final weekend with a fine Friday night gig at The Corn Exchange.ย  As Clair Figes of the Arts Festival said in her introduction, this was all about the music.ย  Whilst there might have been some hesitation to give any Russian music any air-time at the present time, perhaps these days would have been different if more people had spent more time listening to music, rather than fighting.ย  Let the music flow, she said.ย  And how right she was.…..

So then the sharply-dressed quartet that is the Budapest Cafรฉ Orchestra came to the stage, and proceeded to blow everyone away with a really virtuoso performance of world music.  This was gypsy and folk-flavoured music from Spain, the Balkans, Russia, wherever, and it was played with verve and panache.

Established in 2009 by British composer and violinist, Christian Garrick, and with 13 albums to their name, the Budapest Cafรฉ Orchestra is a small but impeccably formed ensemble of just four players.  They combined violin, guitar, accordion, double bass, saz and balalaika to dazzling effect, creating a sound that you might expect of a far larger ensemble.

The BCO consisted of Christian Garrick (violin, darabuka), Eddie Hession (button accordion), Kelvin Cantlon (double bass), and Adrian Zolotuhin (saz, guitar, balalaika, domra).  Each one of them is a master in their field, and each one of them has played with some of the most famous artists in the world.  Their pedigree is impeccable.  And boy did it show last night, as they collectively breezed through their highly entertaining two sets.

It was high energy, and it was delivered with style, and a great deal of wit.  The versatile switching of instruments, the comedic commentary from Christian, the twirling shades of the on-stage standard lamps โ€“ it all added up to a visual and aural delight.  And, not surprisingly, the large audience absolutely loved it.

Yet another triumph for this yearโ€™s Arts Festival.

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Only The Brave Burn The Midnight Oil

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Dulcet Tones Rock Back to Bassett!

You’re a teenage Tom Cruise, at least you wish you were, but stay with me on this! Your parents are away, you’re home alone withโ€ฆ

No Need for Medicine Men – Elles Bailey Will Lift Your Spirit

Elles Bailey at The Corn Exchange, Devizes; part of Devizes Arts Festival.

By Ben Niamor. Images by Andy Fawthropย 

Elles Bailey made a welcomed return to Devizes this week, her sixth appearance in town by my count since local luthier and at that time promoter Mirko Pangrazzi booked this emerging talent some years ago now. Elles was great then, but has grown hugely as an artist, partly through being so fiercely independent and keeping things on her own termsโ€ฆ..ย 

This visit for the Arts Festival saw an appreciative crowd, many enjoying Elles live for the first time, packed into a blissfully air conditioned Corn Exchange on blisteringly hot summer school night. 

A multiple award winning artist, Elles always surrounds herself with the finest musicians in one of the hardest working live touring bands in the genre.Among them Joe Wilkins, on guitar, a long time friend and collaborator, co-writing with Elles on tracks like Riding Out the Storm in the set here. The wealth of touring translates into a cohesive, relaxed band supporting Ellesโ€™ trademark stage presence and flare. 

A great mix of songs in this set from across her albums and some heartfelt selections of covers from her inspirations. Mixing Muscle Shoals, Medicine Man, Whatโ€™s the Matter With You and more with her fantastic song writing, with covers of some of the incredible characters of her inspiration, such as Levon Helms – When I Go Away (particularly well suited to Ellesโ€™ distinctive vocal sound if you listen to the original). 

For me personally, a sensational cover of Creedence Clearwater Revivalโ€™s – Long as I Can See the Light. Ellesโ€™ explained she cannot remember a time in her life when she didnโ€™t know and love their music, fuelled just, as in my case, by an upbringing with a father whoโ€™s huge record collection was full of these kinds of incredible records. Truly made the hair on my neck stand up to hear her belt this out, sublime. 

In penning Cheats and Liars, a song about and fuelled by the rage at our so-called chancellor of the time, back in the COVID darkness of October 2020โ€ฆ when asked what struggling people in arts and music occupations should do? He quipped โ€˜they should retrain and find other jobsโ€™. Thank you for the excellent song that prompted Mr Sunak. 

Thankfully, lovers of arts and music like myself were worrying that might actually happen through necessity to some degree, at the time buying merch, etc. If we were in a better position and talking to artists etc, letting them know they were loved and supported and meant so much to us.. I had pushed much of this to the back of my mind as we got back to gigs etc. and thankfully lost very little of what I feared, the scenes coming back to life as they did in the end.

I am hard pushed to think of a better example of a journey followed, for many in the audience have been on the journey with Elles, and many others and look forward to a lifetime of continuing to do so.  A good artist can do that, remind us of bad times and lift us into good times.

You will have probably realised already I am something of a fan, a true lady of the blues and one so connected with her fans how could you not?!

Thank you Elles and band, and the wonderful arts festival for putting this superb gig on, in walking distance for us. 

We are lucky to call this place homeโ€ฆ..

Elles Bailey Website

Whatever Happened to Pancake Races in Devizes?

It seems Shrove Tuesday celebrations in Devizes have fallen as flat as aโ€ฆ.well, you get the gagโ€ฆ Traditionally organised by Age Concern Wiltshire, and oftenโ€ฆ

Devizes, We Are Sustainable!

Bingo, someone came up to me in the Market Place while I was chatting with Devizes Greens chief, Margaret Green about all random matters of climate change, to offer us both a free vegan chocolate tiffin, and that’s plenty to swing this blogger to pen a decent review in itself!

Though I didn’t need a tiffin to twist my arm, Sustainable Devizes set up an outstanding fair in the Market Place today. I believe it’s the second annual Devizes Sustainable Fair, an amalgamation of all the separate activities various groups of Sustainable Devizes and others engage in; sorry I missed last year’s. For if imagining a handful of environmental campaigners gathering in crocs and tie dye tees to draw some pretty pictures of the planet was your preconception, you’d be sorely wrong.

Many, of all walks of life, gathered to address concerns and present alternatives to make Devizes sustainable and environmentally friendly, under a festive feel, and it was a splendid occasion.

Children were encouraged by Keith Brindle and family of St James to draw pictures of ideas to create a better environment, on transport and the future of plastic usage, a clothes swap whereby you could donate or take whatever you needed, both encompassed the general idea that this was a community based interactive experience, an event free of commercialisation and profiteering. This extended to the general feel of the day; everyone focussed on the same goal in a polite and friendly way.

There was food, soup and so on, free knife-sharpening, a bicycle repair shop, and organisations were welcomed from the Meadow in my Garden community interest company, to Kennet Furniture Refurb, and it was also lovely to meet the community free for all social club Camerados Public Living Room, who aside regular meetings in the Cheese Room on Fridays, seem to set up a living room complete with sofas, coffee tables and lamps wherever they care to, and I love that the most, they even gave me a cup of orange squash the lovely lot!

But what places this firmly on the map, and diverts this from being any old climate change meeting, converting it into a festival feel is the area of benches in which to gather, and the live music too. I’m sorry to have been too late to witness an acoustic jam session, followed by resident musicians Tom Harris and Chrissy Chapman, but I did make a beeline for those boaterโ€™s royalty of euphemisms, Devil’s Doorbell. We reviewed the ingenious outpourings of this bonkers skiffle duo upon the launch of a live album recorded at Trowbridge’s Pump in February, and they delighted as much as suspected they would, with Nipper playing his tenor banjo and kazzumpet, while the colourful Jellylegs Johnson strummed her washtub bass, both with a jolly dedication to jazzy tunes of yore.

Had to inquire being Caen Hill Locks were closed and the Doorbell duo had to resort to bus journey here, how everyday folk reacted to taking a washtub and kazzumpet amoung their other gear on the bus! But that’s in a nutshell how this event played off, quirky, hospitable and welcoming, a true reflection on a community spirited goal to better ourselves when it comes to progressing with a greener, environmentally friendly manner, and for this alone you cannot fault it.

Brilliant job, Devizes, for together we are sustainable, least heading this way with gusto. 

We’ve Found You, Danni W!

Right you lot, listen up; I’m fully aware this debut album, Lost to be Found, from Swindon’s Danni W has been out, what, a fortnight nearly now? Reason why I’ve not mentioned it prior, aside from being a busy boy, is I had to listen to it a few times because it’s undoubtedly feelgood pop and best defined as a “growerโ€ฆ..”

Meaning that, as all the best pop does, it becomes more appealing the more you listen. This is why commercial radio stations are passed dollar by record companies to keep the same current tunes on a loop until you’re forced to like them, otherwise you run the risk of spontaneous human combustion!

Though, while this album justifies why Danni should be on said loop, she really doesn’t need her songs to forcibly thrust down your throat; you should like this because there’s nothing to dislike about it.

Another valid reason why I’ve avoided its appraisal until now, and perhaps also why it’s uniquely beguiling is twofold. Firstly, unusually for pop it’s incomparable. Every wannabe pop star cites a major influence and strives to sound akin, but while I’m sure Danni has hers, I’m unable to pinpoint a definite phrase like Swindon’s answer to Whitney, or Kylie or Janet, or anyone really. It is, Danni and solely one of a kind. My only hope here is one day not too far away I’ll review someone else with the line, so-and-so’s answer to Danni W!

If I had to cite a clear influence it might well vocally be Maria Carey, though this could stem from how I came to discover Danni when she sent a Christmas song, All I Dream Of, for our christmassy podcast. My notion of the โ€œgrowerโ€ idea certainly weighed in with this one. I was hooked after a few listens; there was something strictly All I Want For Christmas about it …but away with this yule talk, itโ€™s summer and I donโ€™t wish to mention the C word again!  

Second reason is the sheer joy in her voice, confident in the spotlight but with a genuine enthusiasm you simply cannot fake. Her music sounds mainstream but is impossible also to slot into an era, timeless pop which will enthuse all ages, without the need, if feels, to go with the status quo and add trending riffs or retrospective gimmicks. It proficiently rides a generalised sound, and Danni laps up every second of it.

No spoilers here today, but at times Danni handles some tough subject matter too, topics not usually covered in pop, much less with the clarity and precision here. To start with, the opener, If I Tell You Truth, has a blues edge with an easy listening rolling piano riff akin to the crooners of the fifties, but as with all tunes on offer here, thereโ€™s freshness about this sound which delights.

With a guise of Paula Abdul eighties pop, the second tune bounces on a financially hard times theme, the third similarly but with a โ€œfinding yourselfโ€ concept. Yet by the fourth tune in, one which is reflected in an enchanting piano ballad of lesser tempo, Who Am I, you know you’re in good hands, and this one is sublimely executed leaving you dripping for more from these wonderful three minute heroes.

Back to the upbeat, Ignorance is Bliss is where we find the unusual content in contemporary pop, a political-social commentary wrapped in an almighty crashing and building pop tune, this works possibly the best tune for the balance between upbeat pop and these lounge jazz blues ballads. Tricky subject matter seems to build from here, social media and digital romance and fears of being the odd one out get Danniโ€™s makeover, melancholy apologetic notes over a piano lounge jazz ballad, followed by a confidence builder and I find myself contemplating Gabrielle as a new influence to possibly cite, but maybe I should have just asked Danni rather than clutching at straws, because her sound is stylised and distinctive.

It ends kind of like our Christmas number, bouncy and jolly, an overall take on the whole album, even if the subject sometimes isnโ€™t. Though this one is on impending love, and well, that could go either way! One thing is for sure, Danni W has put a lot of work into this, it shows, and sheโ€™s seemingly lapping up every minute of it. That joy is felt across this universally-appealing album, and damn, if it doesnโ€™t rub off on you equally to the beguiling nature of the sound too!

If you were ever lost, as your album title suggests, Danni W, I, for one, am glad I found you!

LinkTree to Danni W

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Agricultural Appropriation with Monkey Bizzle

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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

REVIEW โ€“ Devizes Arts Festival โ€“ Hawes & Catlow @ St Andrews, Chris Ingham Trio @ Town Hall 15th June 2023

Andy Fawthrop

The Hot & The Cool


Devizes Arts Festival headed towards the end of its second week with a double-dip into the chocolateโ€“box of goodies. At lunchtime we had some hot folk, and in the evening we had cool jazz……

St Andrews was the venue at lunchtime as Kit Hawes (guitar, vocals) and Aaron Catlow (violin, vocals) played an absolutely wonderful set of folk tunes and songs. This was no ordinary duo though โ€“ what we heard was absolutely spell-binding stuff. It was largely fiddle-led instrumentals, supported by a wonderful picked guitar, as the two musicians really leaned into their set. Between songs, the pair were chatty and engaging, charming the audience with their laid-back style. The only thing wrong with their set was that it was too short! However, we could forgive them as the guys had to get away because, following this performance, the duo were due to visit two care homes to meet and perform for the residents, courtesy of the performing music charity, Live Music Now. Absolutely sparkling stuff.

For the evening we moved just across the road to the Assembly Room of The Town Hall for The Chris Ingham Trio and an altogether cooler, more laid-back experience. The trio featured Chris himself on piano, vocals and commentary, with Joe Pettitt on upright bass, and George Double on percussion and (soprano) vocals.

Their programme was based around the jazz compositions of the beloved comic actor Dudley Moore (1935-2002). Whilst being more famous for his comic sketch acting on TV and in films, often with his co-comic Peter Cook, Dudley was also one of the UKโ€™s most dazzling, swinging jazz pianists and a composer of wit and depth. The decision to revisit Mooreโ€™s music in The Jazz Of Dudley Moore, with sounds from the fabulous 1960s Decca trio albums, the TV show โ€œNot Only But Alsoโ€ (1965-70) and the brilliant movie soundtracks for โ€œBedazzledโ€ (1967) and โ€œ30 Is A Dangerous Age, Cynthiaโ€ (1968) was a good one, and it made for an excellent evening of jazz, that was both instructive and thoroughly entertaining.

During the evening we (well definitely me!) learned a lot about Dudley Moore and his life. Moore was a vastly under-rated and prodigious jazz talent. He was a working-class Dagenham boy, which always left him feeling somewhat second-best next to the highly intelligent and Cambridge educated co-conspirators Peter Cook, Jonathan Miller and Alan Bennett. He felt he could not always communicate as well as his peers, and music was his outlet for his feelings, his desire to love, and his need to be loved (see โ€œLove Me!โ€). There is much melancholy there, and his psychological profile was of a man who was lonely, and whose emotions were fragile. He spent much of his life in therapy of one sort or another. His inner demons drove his manic comedy, his drinking and his womanising. Yet he was possessed of immense personal charm and playfulness.

All of this Chris and the boys attempted to convey in words, and illustrate through the music. Chris could never (in his own words) play piano in exact imitation of Dudley, so the idea was to give โ€œanother run-out to the spirit of the manโ€™s musical styleโ€ โ€“ playful, and committed to swing, often with a bossa nova groove.

Chrisโ€™s commentary between songs was erudite, yet chatty and witty. His playing was spirited, yet sympathetic, as he led the trio through โ€œBedazzledโ€, โ€œCornfieldโ€, โ€œSong For Suzieโ€, โ€œWaterlooโ€, โ€œSad One For Georgeโ€ and many others. A well-deserved encore of โ€œGood-byeeeโ€ simply put the cherry on the cake of a really wonderful evening.

The Devizes Arts Festival continues for only two more days until Saturday 17th June.

Tickets can be booked at Devizes Books or online at www.devizesartsfestival.org.uk

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Chandra Finds Heaven on Earth

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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?!

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REVIEW โ€“ Devizes Arts Festival โ€“ Clive Anderson 14th June 2023 @ The Corn Exchange, Devizes

Andy Fawthrop

The Scottish Play


Devizes Arts Festival headed towards the end of its second week last night. And here was another highlight…..

Clive Anderson is pretty well known household name, being seen on TV and heard on radio as a presenter, writer and interviewer over the past 30 years. Heโ€™s an award-winner, a versatile comic writer and, an often overlooked feature, a barrister by training. Heโ€™s fronted his own TV and radio shows, and has been a celebrity guest on countless others.

Last night, in a fairly packed Corn Exchange, he brought his own show โ€œMe, Macbeth and Iโ€ to the stage. Appearing for the first half in full โ€œScottishโ€ regalia, his opening assertion was that Macbeth (sharp intake of breath from the luvvies in the audience), sorry โ€œThe Scottish Playโ€ was the greatest play ever written, and certainly Shakespeareโ€™s best drama. Using this, and his frequently referred-to Scottish ancestry, as a thin framework on which to hang the rest of the show, he set off in pursuit ofโ€ฆ.Iโ€™m not quite sure what.

We had some wonderful, although sometimes rambling, anecdotes from his career in showbiz, name-dropping with gay abandon (Cher, Sting, Robin Williams, Peter Cook, Mikhail Gorbachev to name but a few), although this was rarely gratuitous. Anderson has interviewed them all, and had some great back-stories to relate. He covered his early start in comedy (Cambridge Footlights and Comedy Store), his learning path in presenting live TV, and the vicissitudes of coping with sometimes unpredictable guests. He also shared a number of theatrical anecdotes, milked from โ€œLoose Endsโ€ with Ned Sherrin, and concluded an overlong first half with the results of his researches into the truth (or otherwise) of the bad luck stigma associated with 400 years of productions of Macbeth. This allowed him to mention Gielgud, Beerbohm, Olivier and Orson Welles, as if in passing.

The second half picked up where heโ€™d left off, although the Scottish outfit had now been abandoned for a more conventional lounge suit. The style was still the same however โ€“ occasionally incoherent, repetitious, going off on tangents and losing his thread. However we always seemed to get back to the point, which left me wondering if this method of delivery was a reflection of his natural style, or a slightly nerves-driven affectation.

Whatever โ€“ it was mostly interesting and funny, with a few topical depth-charges casually dropped into the comedy waters (Gove, Rees-Mogg, Prince Andrew etc). There was a discourse on his own Scottish heritage and of Scottish national stereotypes. The final section allowed him to revisit great interview disasters of others (Parkinson and Rod Hull/ Emu, Russell Harty and Grace Jones) and of himself – the famous Bee Gees walk-off, Richard Branson and (for me the best) Bernard Manning and National Prune Week.

It was funny, but not hilarious. It was interesting and educational, but not gripping. The audience mostly seemed to love it, but I found it difficult to warm to the man somehow. His comedy is more intellectual than human/ emotional, so that might be it. Anyway โ€“ a good night out, and another success for Devizes Arts Festival.

The Devizes Arts Festival continues for three more days until Saturday 17th June.

Tickets can be booked at Devizes Books or online at www.devizesartsfestival.org.uk

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Lady Nade; Sober!

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Ha! Let’s Laugh at Hunt Supporters!

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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 cheesy tunesโ€ฆ

An evening with Will Kirk at Devizes Arts Festival

Ben Niamor

The format of this, my first foray into this kind of event, seeโ€™s BBC radio presenter Sue Davies chatting with Will, the furniture restorer and woodworking maestro from the Repair Shop on the gogglebox. Apparently his first event of this kind too.. Sue has a dry wit and gentle manner well suited to this, as one might expect given her careerโ€ฆ..

We are treated to many interesting answers and anecdotes, if this is his first time doing such a thing it does not really show, apart from when he chats himself away from his answer and has her remind him of the question! But thatโ€™s only reflective of his genuine joy, and passion for his work. 

He seemed mildly embarrassed to admit the first thing he remembers making were some nunchucks from some of his dadโ€™s chains and a stolen broom handle, so he could swing them like his heroes, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles! 

His grandfather used to restore furniture, something he had long forgotten until after he started a met-college furniture course having failed a graphic design first yearโ€ฆ twice! 

A successful business in proper antique furniture restoration followed before the TV people came knockingโ€ฆ 

The way he talks openly and positively of his Family in the shed, the Repair shop team is lovely if not perhaps surprising. 80,000 emails so far requests, 9th series in productionโ€ฆ and an incredible following.

The tale of the people thinking they can go down..! An old lady with a broken clock, having travelled some way and crestfallen she had misunderstood, but was on the doorstep, so Steve fixed it for her in his lunch break..! Sounds like the sort of warmth and humble humanity that you get from the incredible transformations in the programme.

That was during the airing of series one. Now itโ€™s secure, segregated in the museum most of the time such is the profile now reached. They Film nine months of the year, and he has recently reduced the days given over to the show to be able to be an active dad too. It would be easy to forget what a huge hit he is a part of, he truly comes across as every bit as genuine and lovely as what you see suggests.

In the second half our penned questions were answered , ranging from the obvious to the cheeky, a fun thing to do. Favourite woods, favourite jobs, future ambitions you name it we askedโ€ฆ

I thoroughly enjoyed the evening, interesting and a chance to connect in some small way with something I personally love and appreciate. Positive, humble craftspeople making dreams come true, and Iโ€™ve met one of them and got my book signed.. brilliant. 

I was pleased to see no entourage with overpriced wares but in fact Devizes Books selling the books at the usual reasonable rrp.

I managed to speak to a couple of arts festival committee members before leaving and thank them for their work and the opportunity; another great event.

The Devizes Arts Festival continues at various venues around town until Saturday 17th June.

Tickets can be booked at Devizes Books or online at www.devizesartsfestival.org.uk

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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

One Of Us; New Single From Lady Nade

Featured Image by Giulia Spadafora Ooo, a handclap uncomplicated chorus is the hook in Lady Ladeโ€™s latest offering of soulful pop. Itโ€™s timelessly cool andโ€ฆ

REVIEW โ€“ Devizes Arts Festival โ€“ Lois Pryce 13th June 2023 @ The Bear Hotel, Devizes

Revolutionary Ride

Andy Fawthrop


Devizes Arts Festival played a blinder this afternoon by cranking up the outside temperatures to a level suitable for listening to Lois Pryce talking about riding her motorcycle around the heated countryside of Iran in 2013 and 2014. .

The talk/ slide show/ video was entitled โ€œRevolutionary Ride โ€“ One Womanโ€™s Solo Motorcycle Journey Around Iranโ€ and it did exactly what it said on the tin.

Lois Pryce, apart from picking banjo on Sunday as part of the bluegrass group The Brothers & The Sisters at The British Lion on Sunday, is a woman of many talents. Sheโ€™s also an author of three books about her solo adventures in far-flung lands (Alaska to Terra del Fuego, London to Cape Town, and now Iran). Sheโ€™s also a speaker and freelance writer and broadcaster.

Her latest book, Revolutionary Ride, is a memoir about her experiences in Iran, undertaken in two separate parts in 2013 and 2014. She covered over 3000 miles, did her own basic bike maintenance, camped out many nights, and (most importantly) funded the whole trip herself without the need for sponsors.

She freely admitted that before going, she was largely uneducated about the wider political situation then existing between Iran and the West, did not speak nor understand Farsi (including road signs), didnโ€™t have a visa, didnโ€™t understand the likely problems to be encountered by a lone female riding a motorbike (technically illegal), and that the only maps she had were pre-Revolution. Nothing daunted, she headed into all the technical, cultural, logistical and legal problems, and just kind of โ€œgot on with itโ€.

She drew many parallels and contrasts between the massive amount of hospitality and friendliness she received at a personal level from virtually everyone she met, and the official state-led political situation. She described it as a “chilling regimeโ€, almost entirely cut off from the rest of the worldโ€™s infrastructure (internet, banking/ credit systems, foreign imports), with an extreme set of Islamic-led laws, customs and social structures. For women especially, this meant โ€œa life behind the veilโ€. Nevertheless there was always a thriving โ€œunder the counterโ€ culture in everything from motorcycling to music to alcohol.

There were many anecdotes and examples of her โ€œhelmet to hijabโ€ existence on the road. And after the break (for book sales and signings), there were plenty of questions from the packed audience.

A highly entertaining session, and well-attended. Which just goes to prove that if you put on something interesting, even in the middle of the afternoon on the hottest day of the year, there are plenty of folk in D-Town with nothing better to do. Build it, they say, and they will come. Another Home Run by DAF!

The Devizes Arts Festival continues at various venues around town until Saturday 17th June.

Tickets can be booked at Devizes Books or online at www.devizesartsfestival.org.uk

Trending……

Large Unlicensed Music Event Alert!

On the first day of advent, a time of peace and joy to the world et al, Devizes Police report on a โ€œlarge unlicenced musicโ€ฆ

Winter Festival/Christmas/Whatever!

This is why I love you, my readers, see?! At the beginning of the week I put out an article highlighting DOCAโ€™s Winter Festival, andโ€ฆ

Devizes Winter Festival This Friday and More!

Whoโ€™s ready for walking in the winter wonderland?! Devizes sets to magically transform into a winter wonderland this Friday when The Winter Festival and Lanternโ€ฆ

Snow White Delight: Panto at The Wharf

Treated to a sneaky dress rehearsal of this year’s pantomime at Devizesโ€™ one and only Wharf Theatre last night, if forced to sum it upโ€ฆ

Swindon band Talk In Code in race to Glastonbury Pilton Party; show offs!

Those cheeky popsters who rocked up at my 50th with a beanie hat present from their own merch range and expected me to parade around wearing it like I was their personified billboard, yeah them, the fantabulous Talk in Code, well, right, havenโ€™t seen them since, say theyโ€™ve been busy on the festival scene, when all of a sudden without a drop of notice, tell me theyโ€™re travelling to Pilton this Saturday, 17th June, and we all know what happens there!

Turns out Swindonโ€™s toppermost indie-pop band are playing in the first heat of the Glastonbury Pilton Party competition to audition to win a coveted slot at the Glastonbury Pilton Party, held on the Worthy Farm site, home of the world-famous Glastonbury Festival; show offs!

This Glastonbury Pilton Party is held in early September, and previous headliners have included Liam Gallagher, Elbow, Fatboy Slim and Bastille. Talk In Code have been chosen from hundreds of hopefuls to audition, and I say, while itโ€™s a bit warm for a beanie, thank you so much for my hat, and, oh yeah, also for playing an absolute blinder at the Three Crowns, I feel honoured and it will be a day if I hadnโ€™t have overindulged in Thatcherโ€™s Hazes I will never forget.

But all this aside, as I cannot be bought by showering me with gifts, in my book, Talk in Code would remain the best band in Swindon even if they dunked me in a bath of hot & sour piranhas in just my mankini till I cried like a baby, so I wanted to wish them all the very best of luck, and I hope you will join me in wishing them all the very best of luck, bloody good luck to them!

Itโ€™s all going down at Pilton Club, a stones throw from the Glastonbury Festival Site on Saturday 17th June. Tickets to come and support Swindonโ€™s best indie pop band are available from HERE. 

Talk In Code are thrilled to be flying the flag for Swindon at this prestigious event, and I know theyโ€™ll knock ’em for six, and if not I want an inquiry as to why not. If you canโ€™t make this, I get that, bit short notice, you should have a listen to Talk in Code, who have amassed over 400,000 streams and been added to over 700 Spotify playlists, HERE.

Trending……

Chatting With Burn The Midnight Oil

Itโ€™s nice to hear when our features attract attention. Salisburyโ€™s Radio Odstock ย picked up on our interview with Devizes band Burn the Midnight Oil andโ€ฆ

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

The Sisters and The Brothers at the British Lion

by Ben Niamor with images by Andy Fawthrop

Continuing the tradition of great quality Devizes Arts Festival fringe events in the wonderful town centre beer garden of the British lion, Devizes this year we were treated to a cracking bluegrass band.…

Hats off to the arts festival for finding outstanding artists in any given field. It takes more than a check shirt to carry off the traditional sound of bluegrass, especially if you are from our side of the pond!

A six piece bluegrass outfit comprised of Steel guitar, double bass, banjo, fiddle, mandolin , and acoustic guitar and everyone lending vocals.. laid out here and played in delightful harmony. Bluegrass often celebrates the darker side of life, in such a way the brain can wonder how these stories can give us such fun? But fun it was, great fun.

Songs of life, loss and whiskey.. Gotta get drunkโ€ฆ sung by the wonderful gent on steel guitar, those ensembled agree the fact heโ€™s sat down and enjoying the great beer means heโ€™s best suited to sing this.. A bunch of self penned tunes were interspersed within some classic genre covers such as Jolene, some more unusual Bob Dylan, and some classic roots songs across three sets.

All in a fantastic gig, and way to enjoy several hours, even the weather played ball and held off with a sunny flourish for the last set! Thankyou to the excellent band, our wonderful host for the garden, beers and charity barbecue, and of course the arts festival.

Devizes Arts Festival continues until Saturday 17th June. Tickets HERE.

Trending….

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

Ruzz Guitar Swings With The Dirty Boogie

Bristolโ€™s regular Johnny B Goode, Ruzz Guitar Blues Revue goes full on swing with a new single, a take on The Brian Setzer Orchestraโ€™s 1998โ€ฆ

Joyrobber Didn’t Want Your Stupid Job Anyway

A second track from local anonymous songwriter Joyrobber has mysteriously appeared online, and heโ€™s bitter about not getting his dream jobโ€ฆ.. If this mysterious dudeโ€™sโ€ฆ

Devizes Chamber Choir Christmas Concert

Itโ€™s not Christmas until the choir sings, and Devizes Chamber Choir intend to do precisely this by announcing their Christmas Concert, as they have doneโ€ฆ

Devizes Beer & Cider Festival Release 2023 Music Lineup…..

If, like me, youโ€™re teetotal and never touch a drop, you can still enjoy the CAMRA Devizes Beer & Cider Festival on the 1st July, for thereโ€™s food and a great musical lineup awaiting you there. Now, back to honest reporting (hic!); the lineup of which Iโ€™m about to reveal now!

Thereโ€™s some stable regulars and some exciting new acts performing, but the first wouldnโ€™t be the same Devizes Beer Festival without them; Devizes Town Band, undoubtedly opening the proceedings.

First great, awesome, amazing surprise to me personally, one of my favourite things, Concrete Prairie will make their debut at the Beer Fest this year; get in! Concrete Prairie are an alt-folk Americaina five-piece ensemble, delivering a veritable soundtrack for the glamour and grit of modern living. Personal opinion incoming, this is enough to seal the deal for me!

But, we also have, hailing all the way from my motherland, the utterly fantastic Jamie Williams and the Roots Collective. Regulars at the Southgate, their unique brand of Americania and folk-rock has seen them settle into the current super-tight line-up after hundreds of shows the band are on fire, playing hundreds of shows and festivals, including a couple of rapturous nights at London’s legendary 100 Club, their ethos is always to have fun and make sure the crowd does too. This is not a band that stands onstage staring at their (red) shoes.

Theyโ€™ve shared line-ups with the likes of Wilko Johnson, The Blockheads, The Darkness, The Pretty Things, The Quireboys, Dr Feelgood, the Yardbirds, Eddi Reeder & the Animals to name a few.

Jamie is a prolific writer of accessible songs; songs good enough to hold their own in a solo acoustic setting, which really light up when the band add their own brand of energy & musicianship to the arrangements.

They are like the classic touring bands of the 70s: almost a travelling circus; a dysfunctional family of a band. They’re tight without being boringly slick, leaving just enough rough edges to become one of the most exciting and fun ‘originals’ live bands on the circuit today.

Back to the homegrown talent, Wiltshire four-piece rockers Plan of Action will be in attendance too. Derived from the old well known band ‘El Nino’ they have gathered pace to become one of Wiltshireโ€™s most popular covers bands, packing venues everywhere, circa 2017. Expect the classics from AC/DC to Thin Lizzy and Fleetwood Mac through to Oasis, Red Hot Chilli Pepper and Foo Fighters, something for everyone!

And, as per-last year, Knati P will be providing the sound system reggae chill. Handpicked reggae tunes from Knati P, with more years of playing records and running sounds systems than we dare mention … .you can be assured a wealth of popular reggae picks and some quality laid back material you may not have heard of!

And thatโ€™s your lot, I love it though, there’s not a single one I wouldn’t have picked myself; great minds think alike! Saturday 1st July at Devizes Wharfside 11:30 until about 10pm, tickets are ยฃ19.50 which includes your glass, programme and an initial ยฃ5 of beer tokens, which as you might be able to guess, is ample beer tokens for me, then Iโ€™m on the Tizer!

Trending……

Steatopygous go Septic

If you believe AI, TikTok and the rest of it all suppress Gen Zโ€™s outlets to convey anger and rage, resulting in a generation ofโ€ฆ

The Wurzels To Play At FullTone 2026!

If Devizesโ€™ celebrated FullTone Festival is to relocate to Whistley Roadโ€™s Park Farm for next summerโ€™s extravaganza, what better way to give it the rusticโ€ฆ

DOCAโ€™s Young Urban Digitals

In association with PF Events, Devizes Outdoor Celebratory Arts introduces a Young Urban Digitals course in video mapping and projection mapping for sixteen to twentyโ€ฆ

Jol Roseโ€™s Ragged Stories

Thereโ€™s albums Iโ€™ll go in blind and either be pleasantly surprised, or not. Then thereโ€™s ones which I know Iโ€™m going to love before theโ€ฆ

Vince Bell in the 21st Century!

Unlike Buck Rogers, who made it to the 25th century six hundred years early, Devizesโ€™ most modest acoustic virtuoso arrives at the 21st just shortโ€ฆ

Weekly Roundup of Events in Wiltshire: 13th -19th June 2023

Another summery week ticked off, and our event guide just keeps getting bigger. This week is huge, people, huge โ€ฆโ€ฆI mean the week is huge, not the people, Iโ€™m not one to body shame as, I believe, is the appropriate gen z term; pass my pronouns, thereโ€™s good fellow.ย 

Donโ€™t forget thereโ€™s more info on these, ticket links and irregular updates on our sparkly Event Calendar, so plan ahead. But this week we haveโ€ฆdrum rollโ€ฆ..

Ongoing, Hail the Curious, the inaugural exhibit at The Forbidden Carnival in Chippenham; check it out by the end of the month.

Tuesday 13th

Floral Display at Hillworth Park, Devizes, continues Wednesday too. Devizes Arts Festival still going strong, they have Lois Pryce: Revolutionary Ride โ€“ One Womanโ€™s Solo Motorcycle Journey around Iran at 3pm in the Bear Hotel, and the fantastic Elles Bailey Band, 8pm at the Corn Exchange.

Nick Beere has an inaugural Open Mic Night at The Bell, in Great Cheverall, which hopes to become a regular second Tuesday of the month thang.

McCartney โ€“ The Songbook at The Wyvern Theatre, Swindon.

Free-movement dance session 60โ€™s to 80โ€™s music at Salisbury Methodist Church.

Wednesday 14th

Poulshot Green Gathering.

Devizes Arts Festival has Clive Andersonโ€™s Me, Macbeth and I. 7:30pm at the Corn Exchange.

Acoustic Jam at the Southgate, Devizes.

Memory Cinema at Swindon Arts Centre for those with dementia and their families, showing

Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory. Menopause The Musical 2 at The Wyvern Theatre.

Charlotte Sauste-Bridoux at Wiltshire Music Centre in Bradford-on-Avon.

Lunchtime Recital with cellist Idlir Shyti at Pound Arts in Corsham, and a double bill in the evening with Fly Yeti Fly & Pound Sound.

Thursday 15th

Devizes Arts Festival has folk duo Kit Hawes & Aaron Catlow, 12pm at St Andrews Church, and the Chris Ingham Trioโ€™s The Jazz of Dudley Moore, 8pm at theTown Hall. 

Paul Henshaw plays The Tuppenny, Swindon. An Evening with Brian Bilston at Swindon Arts Centre, and Phil Wangโ€™s Wang In There Baby! at The Wyvern Theatre. Liddington Hill EP release party at the Vic, with Lucky Number Severn & Dark Prophecy, EP reviewed here.

Folk Open Mic Meets From the Book, at Brown Street, Salisbury, A Night of Folk Music and Poetry, and continues on Saturday.

AC/DC tribute, Hellโ€™s Bells at The Cheese & Grain, Frome. 

Friday 16th

Devizes Arts Festival has Gaelic folk anthems with Christian Garrick and the Budapest Cafรฉ Orchestra, 8pm at Corn Exchange.

John Langan & Maxine Ria at The Barge, Honey-Street.

Park Lane at The Civic, Trowbridge.

Radiation Sickness at The Old Road Tavern, Chippenham.

Longleat Summer Party.

John Bramwell & The Full Harmonic Convergence at Pound Arts, Corsham.

Swindon Folk Club Guest Night: Patakas at The Hop, Swindon, Pink Mac at The Vic, 

21st Century Abba at Meca, Oye Santana at Swindon Arts Centre, and In Conversation With Stacey Dooley at The Wyvern Theatre.

Second night of the Folk Open Mic Meets From the Book at Brown Street, Barbar Luck at The George & Dragon in Salisbury.

Band X atThe Three Horseshoes, Bradford-on-Avon.

Isabelle Farahโ€™s Ellpsis at the Rondo Theatre, Bath, and The Alex Voysey Blues Band presents โ€˜Faux Bonamassaโ€™ at Chapel Arts.

Legends, Bob Marley & the Wailers kick off a ska and reggae weekender at The Cheese & Grain, Frome.

Saturday 17th

Maps for Devizes Open Gardens are ready and on sale now from Devizes Books, Hillworth Park Cafรฉ, Devizes Town Hall and The Giving Tree in the Little Brittox. ยฃ7 in cash per map, continues on Sunday.

Devizes Sustainability Fair in the Market Place from 10am-4pm. 

Devizes Arts Festival has a free fringe event, Carrie Etter Poetry Workshop and reading, atย 2pm in the Cheese Hall of Town Hall. Limited numbers so book your place. And 8-piece reggae Latin funk powerhouse Malavita! 8pm at the Corn Exchange, makes the grand finale of what has been a fantastic year for the festival.

Elsewhere in Devizes, find Will Edmunds Trio at The Southgate, and Humdinger debut at The Three Crowns. 

Keevil Summer Roots Festival, a first for the village, preview here.

Stonehenge Campaign Festival, free, at the Barge on Honey-Street.

The Plough at Shalbourne has a FREE Ale and Sausage Festival, with Two Complicated, Deadlight Dance, @59, Reuben Medlin Band and more.

Chippenham Pride has a great lineup, but you will need to register your interest online.

The Rider are at the Pilot in Melksham.

Shaw Summer Family Music Fair.

X-Factor winner Steve Brookstien at The Civic in Trowbridge.

Debut Dance Company: Bodies of Water at Pound Arts, Corsham, followed by Iona Johnson: Musical Storytime and Bella Hardy in the evening. But check out the poster for Corfest at Corsham Rugby Club, what a lineup, loads of my favourites from Train to Skaville, Nothing Rhymes With Orange, Plan of Action and Splat the Rat; nice one!

Barrelhouse play The New Inn, Swindon, Hannah Rose-Platt & Adam Giles Levy at The Tuppenny, Wizards of Oz and Judas Rising at The Vic. Patti Boulayeโ€™s Iโ€™m Coming Out at Swindon Arts Centre. Swindon Music Trust holds a Party in the Park at Town Gardens, tickets are ยฃ11.50, great lineup, see here.ย 

Bath Symphony  Orchestra are Across the Pond at Wiltshire Music Centre, Bradford-on-Avon, find Stanchions at The Three Horseshoes.

Peter Gill โ€“ Piano Legends at Chapel Arts, Bath, with John William Richardโ€™s Almost Hollywood at the Rondo Theatre.

An evening with Logical Park at The Swan near Barton Stacey, Salisbury.

G4 Live at The Memorial Theatre, Frome, with the Cheese & Grainโ€™s second night of their ska and reggae weekender, featuring the Neville Staple Band. 

Sunday 18th

DOCAโ€™s Picnic in the Park at Hillworth Park in Devizes, a must!

Max & Ivan: Life Choices (Work In Progress) at Pound Arts, Corsham, with Gav Cross: Snack and Stories too.

GBH Big Bandโ€™s I Got Gershwin at Wiltshire Music Centre in Bradford-on-Avon, while the amazing Dry White Bones play The Three Horseshoes.

As Fanning at Komedia, Bath

Paul Burlingโ€™s Big Daddy Variety Show at The Wyvern Theatre, Swindon.

Monday 19th

Declan Gaynor @ The Tap & Barrell, Swindon

And I got nuthin for Tuesday, yet But if I missed anything out let me know, feed me cake and I can update this and our calendar, but if you donโ€™t tell me donโ€™t come crying! Have a great week, remember, sunscreen, people, sunscreen.

Look out for our incoming next article, as we reveal the music lineup at Devizes Beer Festival on the 1st July!

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Deadlight Dance New Single: Gloss

You go cover yourself in hormone messing phthalates, toxic formaldehyde, or even I Can’t Believe It’s Not Body Butter, if you wish, but it’s allโ€ฆ

Things to Do During Halloween Half Term

The spookiest of half terms is nearly upon us again; kids excited, parents not quite so much! But hey, as well as Halloween, here’s whatโ€ฆ

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

Six Reasons to Rock in Market Lavington

Alright yeah, itโ€™s a play on band names and thereโ€™s only really two reasons to rock on Friday 17th October at Market Lavington Community Hall;โ€ฆ

Drag Queen Story Time in Swindon Sparks Counter Protest

By T.B.D Rose

The LGBTQIA+ community bravely showed their support for Drag Queen Story Hour at the Wyvern Theatre yesterday, by staging a counter protest to the fascists who were blasting bigoted lies accusing drag performers of being groomers and of sexualising children, when in fact, pantomime dames and drag queens have been a staple of family entertainment for decades.….

Attacking drag queen events is clearly camouflage for a campaign of homophobia (according to Swindon Advertiser, one fascist could be heard saying that: “It’s against the natural order for a man to be with another manโ€) directed at all LGBTQ friendly venues and spaces, and fascist scapegoating of minority groups is always a Trojan horse to normalise violent political repression.

The discrimination LGBTQIA+ people experience in society and even from their own families is endemic and a truth those comfortable with heteronormative privilege such as myself can never fully understand, which is exactly why we all need to do what we can to allow people
to live their lives and be themselves unencumbered by prejudice or bullying of any kind.

Businesses and supermarkets putting up rainbow flags, nice as it is to see, is not enough when the government, media, and extremist groups are expressly targeting anything and everything LGBTQ.

Pride is a protest and a wonderful expression of community, let’s keep it that way until homophobia is history and love is the order of the day on a fair and free planet. This article is dedicated to my loved ones in the LGBTQIA community.

For more information on Swindon Pride click HERE.

Humble Pie Over Danny K’s Coate Road Development Comments Rant? Unlikely!

Oh Deirdre me, we can’t all be as perfect and flawless as Councillor Iain Wallis, and as the Dalek said climbing off the dustbin, we all make mistakes!

Cream crackered after my standard early shift, on Tuesday I rushed out a knee-jerk reaction to Danny Kruger’s comments against the permitted Coate Road development, because I knew other local media would also jump on the bandwagon; you have to be quick to beat the big guns.

It has since come to light, thanks to a civilised reply from councillor Judy Rose, some of the content is slightly misinformed, but while I’m willing to admit it, if you think I’m eating humble pie you can think again! There remains a more general crucial point, I figure, even if some facts about the development itself weren’t, precisely, on the ball.

I might just nibble the crust, if humble pie comes with a crust, or is it more like a shepherd’s pie? Either way it’s unlikely I’ll dive right in, least of all apologise, thatโ€™s sooo not me! Much of the content was taken from a BBC article, and what can I say? I pay my licence fee, local media source content from the Tory-bias Beeb, at least I tarnish mine with opinion rather than lift it wholesale. 

It was Dannyโ€™s u-turned angle which had me suspicious, it seemed now he was in support of the campaign against it, as before this storm in a teacup I too was dead against the location of this development and signed petitions against it. But the reasoning for Tuesdayโ€™s article was my dubiousness of anything which comes out of Dannyโ€™s silver-spooned cakehole; can you really blame me for that?!

Justified, I believe, after his several chauvinistic and homophobic comments. Comments which I called him out for, and via Councilor Iain Wallis’s wonky peepers, constituted me being “unpleasant,” I quote. Trying to twist my melon around this, ol’ Danny K can cast any archaic and deplorable views he feels fit to do so, and use his position as MP to preach his narrow-minded religious dogma, but if I question him for it, I’m the one being “unpleasant?” Okay, that sounds fair!

โ€œIโ€™m afraid youโ€™ve really got this wrong,โ€ Judy expressed, โ€œNot about Kruger, although I find his conversion to opposing the 5-year housing land supply a rather dramatic and convenient vote-solidifying change-of-heart, but about the very real concerns regarding the Coate Road development.โ€ Which is fair enough, and enlightening too. For it is far nicer to address such corrections to us directly, rather than Mr Wallis, who opted to post his hatred only on his own biassed Facebook group, Devizes Issues, of which anyone who disagrees is promptly banned, including us.  

This practice of slagging us off behind our backs is standard for this particular councillor, and far from the first time he has done so. Why he does this I can only speculate neither wish to dwell on, but being he recently posted a claim Wiltshire Council is about to produce an events guide, (obviously at taxpayerโ€™s expense) seems he is determined to attempt to wreck our good reputation, or ruin us all together. I’d imagine because he has no control over us. It is vindictive and spiteful, and given such circumstances it is evident, much less blatantly obvious, his intention wasn’t to correct us, rather deliberately discredit us.

Back on point, Judy explained, โ€œThe traffic from this housing estate would mostly use London Road, or rat-run via Coate to access the Swindon road. Adding potentially some 4-500 cars to that stream of traffic is a nightmare scenario by any account, which is why it was refused last time round, and nothing has changed in the interim. More affordable (and we can get into precisely what that is supposed to mean on another occasion, as in my view, it frequently is anything but!) housing is desperately needed, but there will be precious little of it on this or any other site if the developers do their usual cavalier approach and whittle down the numbers to as near zero as they can!โ€

โ€œI have been on the Neighbourhood Plan team for over 10 years, and the most frustrating thing is that we cannot get the numbers of affordable housing up because developers just will not build them, so please donโ€™t imagine that if this scheme went ahead, there would be a sudden upsurge in their numbers! The developer may well be bragging about 30% affordable housing, but weโ€™ve been here before with other developer promises, and Iโ€™ve yet to see any dramatic increase in numbers of so-called affordable housing! Traffic jams would certainly increase, but not affordable housing numbers!โ€

And herein was my point, if confused with the details of the development itself, that affordable, and by this I mean it by the actuality of the word, affordable, is needed. If I was trashed by Iain for stating 10% was the minimal requirement, I did clearly say that was a national requirement, not a county one, leading me to ponder if it was deliberate skewering of my words, or if he simply missed that point, either of which suggests I wasnโ€™t the only one who made a mistake! But whatever, it is obvious this percentage needs to be increased significantly by Wiltshire Council, otherwise theyโ€™re building homes only the few can afford, and not enough for those who cannot; Tory economics.

Ergo my suspicions this is deliberately done to uphold the conservative stranglehold on our constituency at a time they fear their national level corruption will come back to haunt them, even here, is, I believe, reasonable to assume. Fair to note, this is also the reason while Conservative MPs will fight between themselves over the boundary changes in the next General Election, as Chippenham MP Michelle Donelan knows full well her seat is safer if the Devizes parliamentary constituency is merged with hers.

But I want this change as I fear this recession will worsen tenfold if the current thieving parliament continues, and more will be on the streets. I want this change because I want diversity in the age demographic here; it is a nice place to live, this wouldnโ€™t change by allowing younger people to be able to start a home and family here too. But they are driven out by house prices, and this is unfair and morally corrupt. This was my general point, and I believe it is still valid; what is the best Wiltshire can do?

โ€œThe best Wiltshire seems to be able to do is to propose a site for social housing at the western end of town where it is not only outside the settlement framework boundary,โ€ Judy continued, โ€œbut its location also ignores the other criteria of the current Neighbourhood Plan which stipulates that the town centre, GP Surgeries, major shops and schools should all be within walking distance of any development! At well over a mile from any of these, this site fails, yet it is still likely to go ahead, with increased car usage, mainly because it is a Wilts Council proposal on Wilts Council land!โ€ Does this mean every small village and hamlet will have to be knocked down?! Of course not, if residents cannot walk a mile, they need to rely on an improved bus service; pie in the sky called infrastructure, it works in towns and cities far bigger than ours!

โ€œThere are sites that are more appropriate than Coate Road, but they are not coming forward, and it is not unreasonable to assume that this is because the developers wouldnโ€™t make as much profit on affordable builds as they would otherwise.โ€ Once again, the Tory economics, the majority mind-bogglingly voted for!

I thank Judy for filling us in, and explaining this twisted catch 22; I am clearer now, though remain unsatisfied; does this give others reason to hate me? We will always support the needs of the townsfolk and villagers, we would never go against this, and we are back to opposing the Coate Road development again, even if it means agreeing with Danny K!

But this was never, as falsely accused by Councillor Wallis, a personal attack on our homophobic and chauvinistic MP any more than deserved, only pondering why he had changed his view so fiercely on the issue.ย If, Mr Wallis, you can point out exactly where I have been in any way “unpleasant” as you so boldly put it, and do so in such a place it can be discussed civilly then please do, and I will, unlike you, apologise. But if you continue to unfairly discredit us on a social media site you have deliberately prevented us access to, you will face further criticism, but I love you Mr Wallis, like I love all mankind, and have never verbally attacked you personally, as you have to me; I forgive.

โ€œThe original refusal really was all about the traffic, and nothing to do with how any householders would vote,โ€ Judy concluded, โ€œGoodness knows, the majority of folk here who do bother to use the ballot box would vote for a donkey wearing a blue rosette without much further inducement!โ€ 

And thus we go around in circles; expect an unjustified โ€œtold you soโ€ grilling from the Devizes fรผhrer on his partisanship pile of piffle Facebook page, of which, because of our brute honesty, we cannot respond to, complete with the usual false allegations of victimisation, how we are bullying him and how, Trump-like, we are spreading โ€œfake news.โ€ At least I can admit when I got it wrong, or do we still need to slaughter every flying animal in the area because of an imaginary outbreak of bird flu on the Crammer?!  

Trending…..

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

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

Noble Jacks at Devizes Arts Festivalย 

Gasp at the audacity of a press release which spoke of “an ingenious blend of rap and hip hop,” which it really did, is to ponder any art deemed a ‘hybrid genre’ was likely at one point in time adjoined and hardly “ingeniously blended,’ rather reunited!

The most ludicrous of these could well be folk-rock, though compared to my press release’s wordplay abomination this wonky amalgam has matured over time making it seem a more palatable reunification, but it is, in essence, just as nonsensical; especially when you consider every musical genre derives from folk, particularly rock.

Folk-rock was originally coined to pigeonhole The Byrds in the sixties; a hippy band’s escape clause from the sickly bubble-gum pop churned by the industry. Over time it has assisted in driving a separation between the kind of ill-conceived “frumpy” folk upholding traditional values and instrumentation against a wilder, edgier and electronic side; enter alternative folk.

But the story doesn’t end at the division widened by the frenzied, bottle-throwing punkish folk of The Pouges, as last night The Devizes Arts Festival welcomed Brighton-based Noble Jacks to grace the Corn Exchange, and they received an upstanding and faddish reception; hold your hat, though Andy has been on the Art Festival trail, covering its performances with gusto, other than his photographic skills, we gave him the night off, and unfortunately you have my insane waffling to deal with!

But my point is, my eclectic taste doesn’t condone silly pigeonholing, I only use it to best define a sound, and for Noble Jacks folk-rock is best. Though their sound harnesses freshness, the type of awakening of an acceptable form of the frenzied folk of yore, as indie-pop has recently done to convert the wilder post punk eras of goth and emo. If Mumford and Sons are kingpin and Crowded House opened that door, Noble Jacks are relatively younger guys, welcoming something indie-pop into their style too.

I’d liken Noble Jacks more to our local sound of Concrete Prairie, yet Jacks avoids their darker subject matter. This was feelgood, and refined with proficiency; a folk-rock universal adaptor, the kind matured and would be placed equally well at a steaming drunken cider festival, rowdy pub gig, or a more conventional wedding function or family fun day. It worked on all levels; a perfect balance wherever you were to place it, they have a natural ability to raise the roof, without it sounding commercialised too, which is nice, and it was nice too!

Acoustic and electric guitars, bassist and drummer, the setup of this astounding four-piece was standard issue, it was in their usage of them and their delivery which shone. The frontman affixed a harmonica occasionally, but most audience appreciation was shown upon his switch to fiddle for some mind-blowing hillbilly instrumentals; and I had to agree. Mostly the originals, I believe, were those embracing the contemporary indie feel, the toe-tapping instrumentals roused the crowd and showed off Noble Jack’s diversity. They also had covers, particularly notable Charlie Daniels Band’sย The Devil Went Down to Georgia. That was a pure knockout.

On their third album, this nod to bluegrass, melting pot of all Americana against a backdrop of British folk and garnished in contemporary indie values is a delightful working formula taking the nation by storm. For Noble Jacks it felt they relished every moment of this gig, professionally executed backstories and subtle stage banter, there was nothing to dislike here, that would have been impossible. A most enjoyable evening’s entertainment from the Arts Festival, clearly having a top year.

Devizes Arts Festival continues, for more information and tickets click HERE

Trending…..

Swindon Branch of Your Party is Growing

Following the excitement and success of the first meeting of โ€˜Your Partyโ€™ in Swindon, a second meeting has been arranged for 18th September 7.30 -โ€ฆ

No Rest For JP Oldfield, New Single Out Today

It’s been six months since Devizes-based young blues crooner JP Oldfield released his poignant kazoo-blowing debut EP Bouffon. He’s made numerous appearances across the circuitโ€ฆ

DOCA’s Early Lantern Workshops

Is it too early for the C word?! Of course not, Grinch! With DOCA’S Winter Festival confirmed for Friday 28th November this year, there willโ€ฆ

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

REVIEW โ€“ Devizes Arts Festival โ€“ Marcus Brigstocke 9th June 2023 @ The Corn Exchange

A Top-Class Comedian At Work

Andy Fawthrop

The Devizes Arts Festival hit the half-way stage last night with an absolute sell-out performance. Honestly, you couldnโ€™t move in the Corn Exchange last night, with every possible space used to get people in. Thank goodness the aircon was working!

Youโ€™d probably have to have been living on another planet not to know who Marcus Brigstocke is. In my book, heโ€™s a major comedy talent as writer, actor, presenter and performer. Since the mid-1990s, heโ€™s been on TV and on Radio 4 more frequently than youโ€™ve heard about a Tory political scandal, which is quite a lot.

Last night he did two sets โ€“ one short introductory session, before bringing on New Zealander Jarred Christmas, and then a much longer second session to fill the second half.

Christmasโ€™ appearance was something of a surprise to me, since no support act had been billed, and I suspect also to most of the people in the room. Also no stranger to TV and radio, his set was funny and engaging. Hitting on themes such as Zoom, the Haka, drinking pints of Baileys, body changes, incontinence and what he referred to as the British Armyโ€™s use of โ€œdecompressionโ€ camps in Malta for servicemen returning to the UK from Iraq and Afghanistan. There were a string of good running gags, a few of which could never be repeated here.

But, good as he was, he wasnโ€™t the reason people had bought tickets in their hundreds. Weโ€™d all come to see Mr. Brigstocke, and his main set was well worth waiting for. Starting off at a gentle canter, he poked light fun at the Coronation, the Queenโ€™s reputation as being โ€œfunnyโ€, and the reasons why heโ€™d quite enjoyed the lockdown period of Covid (โ€œthe best two Christmases Iโ€™ve ever hadโ€, the shared single-use face-mask, the saving vaccines, and the devastating impact on cottaging on Clapham Common).

Building up the pace, he began to lay into the โ€œwellnessโ€ movement, with particular scorn reserved for Gwyneth Paltrowโ€™s Goop products (especially scented candles, and vagina-steaming โ€“ Iโ€™ll never look at a dishwasher quite the same way again). Gradually his laser-like sarcasm alighted on subjects as varied as rolling TV news (we donโ€™t really need it), the need to stop asking โ€œthick peopleโ€ what they happen to think about complex subjects (they have no bloody idea), and some of the latest political news. Having got that off his chest, he drew the set to a gentler close by talking of his more recent personal life, his second marriage, his new child and being a parent again.

My take was that (as Iโ€™d fully expected him to be), Marcus was extremely funny. The audience clearly loved it too, and cheered to the rafters. But what makes him so good? My personal analysis is that his skill lies in his light touch. He skewers his subject with a sharp stiletto rather (as some lesser comics do) bludgeoning his subjects to death. He makes his point and moves on. Whilst he riffs on a theme, he doesnโ€™t labour the joke. He swears very rarely, so that when he does itโ€™s for real emphasis, not to โ€œshockโ€. He does pick on a few people in the audience, but in the best possible way. He belittles and shames no-one (he reserves his hatred and contempt for self-serving politicians), and uses the interactions to make friends or simply to emphasise a point heโ€™s making. He avoids all the lazy techniques beloved of lesser comics. Definitely a master craftsman.

An absolutely cracking night out โ€“ well done the folks at DAF for bringing such a great performer to our little old town.

The Devizes Arts Festival continues at various venues around town until next Saturday 17th June.

Tickets can be booked at Devizes Books or online at www.devizesartsfestival.org.uk

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

Recommendations for when Swindon gets Shuffling

Swindon’s annual colossal fundraising event The Shuffle is a testament to local live music, which raises funds for Prospect Hospice. If you’re ever going toโ€ฆ

A Busy Week For Lunch Box Buddy!

It was great to bump into Lunch Box Buddy in Devizes today. Last week was hectic for him; first BBC Wiltshire stopped by his standโ€ฆ

Song of the Week: Ruzz Guitar Blues Revue

Showing off in the desert, we love Ruzz Guitar and his Blues Revue, and being we haven’t done our midweek feature song of the week this week, wowzers, here goes…..Ruzz, still in Palm Springs!

While I’m still at one thousand feet from the fact they came to my 50th birthday party at the Three Crowns, and I’ve barely made it to Lidl since, Ruzz Guitar, so good they named the guitar after him, and his Blues Revue have been touring the USA, and have drifted this absolute desert scorcher to us, 10-31.

Get in! Photobomb opportunity too good to miss. Ruzz Guitar Trio at the best birthday party EVER! And I hadn’t touched a drop, officer!

The track features the amazing Chris Smith on bass and Brian Fahey on drums, and is a sneak peak at a new album that’s currently being worked on, due early 2024; amazing, exciting and I hope the tour is going well, Ruzz, but all I keep thinking is “y’all come back now ya hear!”

Trending…..

Wither; Debut Single From Butane Skies

Whilst dispersing highly flammable hydrocarbon gases into the atmosphere is not advisory,  Butane Skies is a name increasingly exploding on local circuits. The young andโ€ฆ

Summer Roots Festivalโ€ฆ.In Keevil?!

You may know the tiny village of Keevil, the name of which will never cease to remind me of Evel Knievel, for its airfield steeped in spitfire history, but there are some things in the village deeply rooted to the ground. One is a rather exclusive folk club regularly held in the village hall.…

It first came to my attention when the Lost Trades announced it as a date on their ambitious album tour, leading me to gulp, Keevil, you mean the Keevil, for like Christopher Lambert in Highlander, there can be only one? Yes, came their reply like a Facebook whisper, as if it was all as top secret as Area 51. A low key affair, I was told, hardly exploited on the social media sites Iโ€™m addicted to sourcing all known information from. And, if Iโ€™m honest, Iโ€™ve never had need to physically pass through there; for fear of treading on a Trowbridge patch, my milk-float turns around at Bulkington, which incidentally will never cease to remind me of the Lipps Inc disco classic, you know how it goes; โ€œwant to take you to, Bul-kin-town!โ€

However, away with such disco and American stuntman silliness, we did receive an email from Rachel Howe about next week’s Keevil Summer Roots Festival, which aside elucidating the folk nights were a, โ€œsmall affair; only 76 allowed in our village hall with tables and chairs,โ€ this event will be open to a larger audience, and itโ€™s free during the day, other than a fiver to park.

So, from 3pm next Saturday, 17th June, the village welcomes their inaugural Summer Roots Festival, on the Barnfield Recreation Ground. Find afternoon activities and entertainment on the Recreation Ground, completely free to enter, with happenings catering for all ages including children’s activities, tug-of-war, crafting corners, artisan gift stalls, food van, ice cream, Festival Bar, โ€œmuch more.โ€

That โ€œmuch moreโ€ includes the Wilshire Police Band, so behave yourselves, and Forest of Dean acoustic duo Jan & Ian.

Then from half-past five, thereโ€™s an evening of live music in the village hall, and tickets are ยฃ15 from HERE.ย 

Raymondoโ€™s food truck, the Festival Bar and doors open at the village hall, ready for the music to start at 6pm. The tried and tested at their regular folk club musical haul includes Wiltshire based foot-stomping five-piece Stoneโ€™s Throw, with a Keevil-own drummer they will be playing classic rock and pop anthems. Grassroots folk singer songwriter Alan Hinds. Westburyโ€™s easy-listening family duo MGB, Frome-based ukulele renditions of classical tunes marvels The Frukes, and Bathโ€™s lounge jazz duo, Body & Soul, local acoustic eyeopener Ian Rayney, ragtime and music hall aficionado, Hilary Pavey.

Keevil may be one of the smallest villages in Wiltshire but, thanks to the tireless efforts of a group of volunteers, it seems theyโ€™ve packed a punch. Wishing they could do more with theirย  Recreation Ground. They are excited to be bringing this festival-style celebration of local creative talent to the village, and we wish them all the best with it. So, put that in your pipe, Evel, who never did attempt the Grand Canyon jump!

Trending……

FullTone Festival 2026: A New Home

It’s been a wonderful summer’s weekend, in which I endeavoured to at least poke my nose into the fabulous FullTone Festival, despite being invited toโ€ฆ

REVIEW โ€“ Devizes Arts Festival โ€“ Lucy Stevens as Gertrude Lawrence 8th June 2023 @ Town Hall

Andy Fawthrop

A Lovely Way To Spend An Evening

The Devizes Arts Festival continued last night with another one of those difficult-to-categorise items.…

โ€œGertrude Lawrence: A Lovely Way to Spend an Eveningโ€ is the latest collaboration between actor and singer, Lucy Stevens and pianist Elizabeth Marcus. Previously the pair had done similar shows around Ethel Smyth, Kathleen Ferrier and Virginia Woolf.

Gertrude Lawrence was one of Britainโ€™s brightest theatrical stars during the first half of the 20th century. She was widely known as a charismatic stage presence who excelled in sophisticated musical comedy, having built up her career through the poorer cousins of provincial rep theatre, variety and music hall turns from a very early age. Taking her โ€œbreaksโ€ as they presented themselves, building on the support of her various lovers and husbands, and thriving on her theatrical liaisons, she emerged as a true star.

This two-part monologue, with musical interludes and accompaniment, told her story from her earliest days of South London poverty. By and large it used Lawrenceโ€™s own words, but the linkages and the songs brought it all very much alive. Lucy Stevensโ€™ powerful, yet seemingly effortless, voice was the thing that gave this piece real life. Stepping back and forth between spoken word and snatches of song, the performance fizzed along with real energy. It was by turns funny, pathetic, surprising and largely good-natured. Whilst Lawrenceโ€™s character came across at times as vain, emotionally brittle and patronising, there was no doubting the womanโ€™s talent, versatility and sheer hard work (twice she had to work flat out to clear her debts in both Britain and the USA)..

Her interactions with famous actors, performers, composers, songwriters and the like (โ€œhe wrote this one especially for me, darlingโ€) were dropped into the monologue with gay abandon (Kurt Weil, Noel Coward, Rogers & Hammerstein, Ira Gershwin) and her transatlantic peregrinations mentioned almost casually. But equally, so were her tenuous relationships with her own mother and her daughter. The woman was obviously something of an enigma, but clearly dedicated full-time to her glossy career.

In sum, this was a spell-binding and consummate performance by Lucy Stevens. And, as accurately billed, โ€œA lovely way to spend an eveningโ€!

The Devizes Arts Festival continues at various venues around town until Saturday 17th June.

Tickets can be booked at Devizes Books or online at http://www.devizesartsfestival.org.uk

Little Big Sax Appeal! Watson and Brown Little Big Band, at the Wharf Theatre, Devizes

By Ian Diddams. Images by Gail Foster

Devizonians (if that ainโ€™t a word it is now) will undoubtedly be aware of โ€œThe Fulltone Orchestraโ€ and its festival. They may also be aware of the โ€œFulltone Big Bandโ€, especially if they attended last years August bank holiday festival. They may even be aware very recently of โ€œThe Four Sopranosโ€. All of these entities are separate in their own right, but share much in common, and not just personnel. Thereโ€™s a general air of fun, excitement, and passion about them all. And so its no surprise at all to find that exactly the same magical recipe is rife in another associated gathering โ€“ the โ€œWatson and Brown Little Big Bandโ€.

The brainchild of Vicki Watson and Jemma Brown, hatched we are told over a coffee, the latest sound to hit the mean streets โ€“ or at least the arts spaces โ€“ of Devizes the โ€œLittle Big Bandโ€ broke its duck this evening at the Wharf Theatre.
Comprising of nine musicians and three singers the ensemble took us through a whirlwind two hours of jazz numbers ranging from twenties swing by Gerschwin, to seventiesโ€™ Van Morrison, to noughties modern jazz and even some Cole Porter musical theatre โ€“ and so much more. With arrangements by Vicki Watson and Simon Ridge, Jemma Brown and Sean Andrews, aided by an Moeen Ali like Ashes callup for Ed Kerr who replaced the sadly cold ridden Anthony Brown this evening, sung their way through โ€œRoute 66โ€, โ€œMoondanceโ€, โ€œSay a Little Prayerโ€, โ€œEvery Time We Say Goodbyeโ€ and a male duet with โ€œWell Did You Evahโ€ until half time and a coffee. All interspersed with instrumentals such as โ€œFascinating Rhythmโ€, that 2008 number mentioned above โ€œIโ€™m digโ€, โ€œShiny Stockingsโ€, โ€œSolarโ€ and โ€œDat Dereโ€.

Vicki Watson and the Watson & Brown – Little Big Band

The second half continued in the same frenzied vein with more well known swing numbers โ€“ โ€œAinโ€™t that a kick in the headโ€, โ€œMe and my Shadowโ€ (Ed in for his second spell!) , โ€œOne for my babyโ€, โ€œThingsโ€ and โ€œStraighten up and fly rightโ€. The instrumental pieces forged on also โ€“ and we learn that maybe Miles Davies didnโ€™t pen quite as many songs as we may think he did โ€ฆ and that he played piano at times under a pseudonym. โ€œChili Peppersโ€, โ€œUndecidedโ€ and a funked-up version of โ€œBillieโ€™s Bounceโ€, gave the singers some breaks as well โ€“ but the โ€œLittle Big Bandโ€ were by no means gap fillers. This second half in particular gave the musicians longer chances for solos for our appreciation. Two trumpets (Andy Urquhart and Gethin Liddington), a trombone (Simon Ridge), three saxophones (Vicki Watson, Joe Davies, Mike Wilkins) with Vicki doubling up on flute, bass guitar and electric double bass (Ollie Watson โ€“ itโ€™s that surname again!), with Archie Combe on keyboards (I played rugby with his dad you know!) formed this tight combo for our delectation and joy.

The overall effect was foot tappingly mesmeric. There were some hiccoughs, but its an opening night of a brand-new venture โ€“ but most and more importantly that air of fun, excitement, and passion I mentioned at the start of this review shone through above and beyond everything โ€ฆ and created an evening of BIG smiles, BIG sounds – and a Little BIG Band.

The โ€œWatson and Brown Little Big Band play at the Wharf Theatre, Devizes on Friday 9th June and Saturday 10th June still, 7.30pm start.

Tickets from https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/wbbigband

Jemma Brown and Sean Andrews with Watson & Brown – Little Big Band

Trending……

Devizes Dilemma: FullTone or Scooter Rally?!

Contemplated headlining this โ€œClash of the Titans,โ€ but that evokes the idea of a dramatic power struggle with fierce consequences rather than proof Devizes canโ€ฆ

Goodbye to The Beanery but Hollychocs Lives On

Popular award-winning artisan chocolate business Hollychocs has announced that its Beanery Cafรฉ will close on Saturday 23rd August, marking exactly two years since its openingโ€ฆ

Park Farm; Mantonfest Came to Devizes!

The first Park Farm Festival happened Saturday, it was fabulouso, and in some way Mantonfest came to Devizes; conveniently for me as I had toโ€ฆ

REVIEW โ€“ Devizes Arts Festival โ€“ Aglica Trio 7th June, 2023 @ Town Hall

Classical Comes Calling

Andy Fawthrop

The Devizes Arts Festival continued to deliver its wide-ranging programme yesterday. Following tango, folk, opera, talks and drama, Wednesday and Thursday saw the arrival of its two back-to-back classical concerts in The Assembly Room in The Town Hall. It seems like you wait ages for the classical bus to come along, then two arrive together!

Wednesday night saw The Leslie Taylor Memorial Concert, delivered by the young and very talented Aglica Trio, and Thursday lunchtime featured the Dieci Corde duo.

The Aglica Trio was created in 2016 in the Guildhall School of Music & Drama when Carys Gittins (flute), Agnieszka ลปyniewicz, (viol), and Lise Vandersmissen (harp) graduated with Distinction. All of them are now multi-award winners, and have pursued careers as both soloists, and as part of various other ensembles. Bringing together Welsh, Polish and Belgian influences, this promised to be something a little different.

Their programme on Wednesday began with Claude Debussyโ€™s Sonata in three movements, where all three instruments were well to the fore, engaging in a light conversation of themes. It was light and airy for the most part, but with a somewhat fiery finale. This was followed by The Song of Amergin by Hilary Tann, which was much more strident in character, and by Two Interludes by Jaques Ibert, wherein Lise managed to make her harp sound very much like a piano at times.

After the interval there were three more pieces. First was a lively flute-led Sonatine by Maurice Ravel, a couple of short exercises written by harpist Lise, and finally (my personal favourite of the evening) the Zodiac Trio Op. 70 by the Welsh composer William Mathias. This final piece really showcased the different voices of the three instruments โ€“ Pisces, the jolly, easy-going flute, then Aries, the โ€œmiserableโ€ viol, and at last Taurus, the fiery and passionate harp. Although at times slightly discordant, this was a wonderful piece with an exhilarating finish.

Fully deserved rapturous applause was the only possible outcome.

Next day, in exactly the same venue, it was the turn of Dieci Corde in the shape of Clare Deniz (cello) and Mihael Majetic (guitar). Both of them have thriving independent musical careers, but they regularly perform together as Dieci Corde (ten strings) as it lets them explore more interesting ways of performing with their respective instruments.

The Devizes Arts Festival continues at various venues around town until Saturday 17th June.

Tickets can be booked at Devizes Books or online at www.devizesartsfestival.org.uk

Trending….

Ann Liu Cannon’s Clever Rabbits

Ann Liu Cannon is the Marlborough success story I hadn’t heard of until yesterday; thanks to local promoter and frontman of the Vooz, Lee Mathewsโ€ฆ

Live in Pewsey, at the First Oak-Fest

Amidst another packed summer weekend’s schedule laid that lovable large village Pewseyโ€™s turn to shine; always a law unto itself, things went off; if itโ€™sโ€ฆ

Preview: Shakespeare’s Henry VI at The Rondo Theatre, Bath

Henry VI by William Shakespeare, Rondo Theatre, July 5th-Sat 8th, 7.30pm. A Preview โ€“ by Ian Diddams…….

Shakespeare wrote three plays about Henry VI โ€“ imaginatively entitled part1, part 2, and part 3. But in true George Lucas style, part 2 was written first, then part 3, with the prequel โ€“ part 1, written last.

So what is better than watching one Henry VI play? Watching all three, together of course! And that is exactly what the Rondo Theatre Company, handily placed, with nominative determinism, at the Rondo Theatre, Larkhall, Bath is doing in early July this year, as its annual charity performance.

Now โ€“ Shakespeare has a bit of a reputation for lengthy plays. Hamlet takes about four hours to perform, and certainly several of his output would take over three hours easily. All three parts of Henry VI performed back-to-back would last longer than a dayโ€™s test cricket, with no likelihood of finishing early for bad light. But fear not โ€“ Director Nic Proud has taken Occamโ€™s razor (and Wilkinsonโ€™s sword, not to mention Macโ€™s knife) to it all and has whittled it down to just the length of a football match plus a half time for a cup of Bovril and a meat pie.

I can feel the Shakespeare aficionados quaking already. But all the real essence of Henry VI is there โ€“ Margaret, the scandalous queen and her naughty boy Suffolk, arrogant Warwick making at least one king anyway, Richard P fighting for his right to party โ€“ well rule at least – Edward who eventually comes fo(u)rth, and of course the arch villain of the whole piece eventually, towering over everybody, Richard (do you see what I did there?). Oh โ€“ and some bloke called Henry VI apparently, all limp wristed, cuckolded and basically a bit rubbish as a wannabe king.

Rest assured though, dear reader and Shakespearean buff. This amalgamation of Henry VI belts along at frenetic pace, with daggers, swords, and treachery at every turn. Dash out to the loo and you are likely to miss at least one murder and a heap of skulduggery. In true weeping angelsโ€™ fashion, donโ€™t blink!

We begin with Henry Vโ€™s death and the crowning of Henry VI โ€“ then a whirlwind marriage arraignment of Margaret (with Suffolk as her bit on the side of course), Richard Plantagenetโ€™s vocal claim to the crown, top soldier Warwickโ€™s clear-headed countenance, and the Wars of the Roses. The battles of Wakefield and Tewkesbury enacted on stage with swords and daggers a-flashing, with their deaths of Richard P and Prince Edward to boot. And of course the slaughter of the playโ€™s titular character by bad boy Richard, and the elevation as monarch to Edward IVโ€ฆ. and a final twist in the tale from tricky Dicky himself.

Nine actors, one director and an assistant, a tech crew and the Rondo theatre. Plus a few swords, a couple of daggers and some stunning costumes by Chrissy Fry. And for a particular Devizesโ€™ interest, two Devizes based actors (editor’s note: yes, it’s you and Lucy Upward, isn’t it? Cheeky!) appear as part of this too, you lucky people! The Rondo theatre is located just a 30 minute drive from Devizes, with lots of free evening street parking, with a pub and Indian restaurant handily located within 100m of each other โ€“ so make an evening out of it!

What more could really you ask for?

Henry VI is performed at the Rondo Theatre, Larkhall, Bath between July 5th and 8th, 7.30 pm each evening. Proceeds from the performance will be donated to the Royal Osteoporosis Society, as this is the Rondoโ€™s annual charity performance.

Tickets from
https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/rondotheatre/henry-vi/e-zqyvmv

See you there โ€“ if youโ€™re Bard enough!

Trending……

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

Wiltshire Council Replicate Table Mountain in Devizes Potholeโ€ฆ

โ€ฆ..and other niggly countywide troubles doner meat and chips from Chick-o-Land will stop me ranting aboutโ€ฆ..

Speculation arises if the entire additional ยฃ3.6m awarded to Wiltshire Council from the Department for Transportโ€™s Pothole Fund, has been used to fix just the one pothole on Gains Lane, Devizes, opposite Sainsburys, because there’s bugger all sign of it being used elsewhereโ€ฆ.

Miraculously, the single pothole amidst a multitude of other serious road defects in the county with the fifth worst local authority for fixing potholes, has been filled inโ€ฆ over abundantly, leading residents pondering if the county council are trying to attract tourism by replicating Cape Town’s most renowned landmark,Table Mountain.

Spot the difference!

The road defect on Gains Lane, Devizes
Table Mountain, Cape Town

The hilarious irony is, Wiltshire Council are doing the precise opposite when it comes to tourism, and are hellbent on wiping our county off the tourist track all together, inadvertently risking the future of all leisure facilities too.

But, oopsy daisy, you weren’t supposed to know about the grave concerns expressed to town and parish councils by the Chief Executive of Visit Wiltshire on the Governmentโ€™s new national structure for tourism, which will see the introduction of countywide accredited Local Visitor Economy Partnerships, and as result, Wiltshire Council announcing they will be withdrawing their funding from Visit Wiltshire from April 2024, because withdrawing funding leaves Wiltshire no longer able to meet eligibility criteria to have an accredited LVEP, and it will be effectively ripped off the tourism map of England. Ha, that barrel of laughs is for another place, another time, and I apologise to Wiltshire Council for any accidental leakage until such a time you can illegally trash Stonehenge’s world heritage status by tunnelling a road underneath it, my tongue just runs off with itself sometimes.

Don’t be outraged, there’s time yet to devise a plan as cunning as Baldrick’s to act as a smokescreen and make you believe it’s all for “the greater good.” Cue a certain local Facebook tintop dictator, my very own ineffective fact checker with a penchant for anything corrupt provided it’s suggested by a straight chap with a blue rosette; please try to recognise satire when it stares you in the face.

Not that I’d advise taking business advice from me, but if you own a small business in Wiltshire which relies on tourism, I would only buy stock to last until April if I were you, and consider a crash course in supermarket shelf-filing. Baby-face Danny K, get us a railway station six miles out of town, let’s escape together, we can exchange homophobic gags on the way, step on it!

Anyway, I digress, I shouldn’t worry my silly little head about the vanity of this ease of backhanding futile construction permits once we’re free of tourism, we were rapping about the tarmac on the singular entity on Gains Lane, Devizes, which is so vastly overpacked its convex is an equal malformation to the concave of the original pothole, which, face it, like many locally had the potential of a black hole to suck light, electromagnetic waves and randomly selected solar systems into it. The effect, rather than your wheel dropping into it and smashing suspension, coils, anti-roll bars, et al (which is, even funnier, impossible to prove over the “wear and tear” loophole) is now like navigating a tepuis, or table top mountain in a shopping trolley; hit it and you’re likely to bust open the headliner and bonnet of your vehicle, with your head.

If it happened to you, you may feel a tad dizzy, and confused enough to vote for these councillors again come council elections, which could well be the reasoning behind it. Perhaps it could lead to further famous table mountains being replicated in our county’s potholes, like Mount Roraima, the most famous tepui in Venezuela, or the Canyonlands of Utah; now, wouldn’t that be nice?

Of course, this is purely satirical speculation for amusement purposes only, and it is more conceivable that the council worker simply couldn’t be arsed to flatten it out, let alone use the surplus tarmac to fill the upteen other potholes nearby it, for that would be far too proactive and because it’s highly likely they’ve forgotten what a pay rise is.

Fact is, as Cabinet Member for Transport Caroline Thomas has, in the drone of a weatherman on dope, blamed the annual 400% increase in potholes on “a combination of a long dry summer followed by periods of very wet and then freezing conditions,” we should take her word for it, as it’s not like we’ve experienced seasonal weather changes since, I dunno, eternity, is it? And we should stop bothering them as there are far more pressing issues, such as forgetting to take one’s expenses form when frequenting that trendy wine bar. 

The Cape Town Tourism website says Table Top Mountain has attracted 24 million visitors since it opened in 1929. Not that I’m the kinda guy wondering how you open a mountain, let alone with the restricted technology back in 1929, but perhaps it’s something worth considering before all tourists are left wondering whatever happened to that place between Berkshire and Somerset, and they could all nip into Chick-o-Land and pick me up some doner meat and chips; might shut me up for a bit.

REVIEW โ€“ Devizes Arts Festival โ€“ Onarole Theatreโ€™s Jesus My Boy @ Merchant Suite, Devizes, 6th June 2023

Onarole On A Roll

Andy Fawthrop

The Devizes Arts Festival is now in full swing. ย On Day 5 it was time for the first theatre offering ofย this yearโ€™s programme. ย Onarole (geddit?) Theatre were in the Corny Bin in the shape of Jonathanย Darby to present a four-scene one-hander entitled โ€œJesus My Boyโ€. ย It was written by John Dowie,ย directed by Chris Jaeger, and was originally performed by Tom Conti.

Here we had a different take, a very different take, on the traditional bible stories probably familiar to all those there present.  It was very much a sideways look from the point-of-view of Jesusโ€™ father Joseph, played as a slightly inept carpenter, a good Jew, an ordinary man simply looking to keep his head down and himself out of trouble.  He recounted, with down-to-earth good humour and some laugh-out-loud assertions, the beginning of his slightly hen-pecked relationship with a very determined and single-minded Mary, progressing through a harrowing but amusing child-birth scene, right through to the crucifixion and its aftermath.

Much of the humour stemmed from Josephโ€™s insistence on debunking the many myths, orย apocryphal stories, taken for granted and repeated in the Bible. ย There was never going to be anyย room at the inn (it was the only one in town) and he simply forgot to book. ย The Torah is not, in fact,ย a long a complex document โ€“ it can be taught in one sentence whilst standing on one leg. ย Andย stoning adulterers and blasphemers is not as straightforward as you might have thought.

But away from the amusing anecdotes (Jesus is better at carpentry than his father, Mary packed way too much stuff before setting off for Bethlehem, and the almost Pythonesque squabbling between the different Judean sects), there was much that was harrowing to listen to, not least the detailed description of the prolonged, vindictive  and agonising death brought about by crucifixion.

Jonathan Darbyโ€™s performance, to my eyes and ears at least, was pitch-perfect.  His rapid movement between comedy and tragedy, humour and pathos, was a thing to behold.  The audience sat enraptured, and the hour-long performance seemed to simply whizz by.  It was moving, beautiful, religious, political and very human all at the same time.

Yet again, hats off to the Arts Festival for bringing this really excellent performance to the town.  

The Devizes Arts Festival continues at various venues around town until Saturday 17th June.  

Tickets can be booked at Devizes Books or online atย www.devizesartsfestival.org.ukย ย 

Danny Kruger Throws Toys out of His Pram Over Affordable Housing Development in Devizes

The BBC News article on overthrowing the Council and his own objections for a new housing development in Devizes received a share from our MP Danny Kruger today, and his accompanying message didn’t take too kindly to it.

Up to two hundred new homes have been approved by a government inspector, despite fierce local opposition.

“Wiltshire needs (and is building) a lot of new homes – we don’t need ugly inappropriate imposed developments like this.” He explained. Reading between the lines here it’s all rather obvious that “ugly and inappropriate” are hidden synonyms for “affordable.”

The new estate by Robert Hitchins Ltd boasts 30% affordable housing, as well retail outlets and ยฃ500,000 towards funding works to the canal towpath to improve and provide accessibility for pedestrians and cyclists. This is three times the national minimum requirement of 10% affordable housing, a generous percentage for what is really necessary here, and is rarely provided above the bare minimum, forcing young residents out to other places.

No one, I believe, wants further development in Devizes but we should face facts, there is a desperate requirement for affordable housing.

Danny waffles on, “This application was approved despite objections by me, CPRE [a countryside charity], the Town Council and all. Why? Because of the arbitrary Five-Year Housing Land Supply rule. I have raised this issue with Government and will continue to push for planning reform with more local power when it comes to decision making.”

Which connotes a positive response on the surface, yet other developments locally have been allowed, offering only the minimum amount of affordable housing. Why, he asks, why, I ask, are they so against this development, yet willingly approved the other applications? Because it would be housing younger and/or less affluent folk in the area who are far less likely to vote Conservative, there’s your bottom line right there; hook, line, and sinker.

To spin a positive from this, it shows local Conservatives are gravely concerned for their long considered “safe seat,” and fear the inevitable change might yet impact election results even here. We are in a financial crisis, only a few can even contemplate a mortgage, so why build unaffordable housing when there’s no requirement for it, but object to the real need of struggling families, Danny boy, eh, you homophobic chauvinistic evangelist nutjob who doesn’t even live here?! I got my eye on you!

Weekly Roundup of Events in Wiltshire: 7th – 13th June 2023

Trouble, troublemaker, yeah, thatโ€™s your middle name, oh-oh, sings my homeboy Olly, but really, I ask you, what kind of a parent gives their kids a middle name like troublemaker? Ah, well, sign of times; hereโ€™s the lowdown on everything weโ€™ve found to be doing around these backwaters this coming weekโ€ฆ.

Donโ€™t forget thereโ€™s more info on these, ticket links and irregular updates on our sparkly Event Calendar, so plan ahead. But this week we haveโ€ฆdrum rollโ€ฆ..

Ongoing, Hail the Curious, the inaugural exhibit at The Forbidden Carnival in Chippenham; check it out by the end of the month.

 Wednesday 7th

Devizes Arts Festival still going strong, with Welsh, Polish and Belgian influences, the Aglica Trio explore exciting works by lesser-known composers as well as delving into the standard classical repertoire. 8pm at Devizes Town Hall.

Regular acoustic jam at the Southgate in Devizes.

Dragons And Mythical Beasts at The Wyvern Theatre, Swindon.

San Reetam at Komedia, Bath.

Thursday 8th

Devizes Arts Festival has cello and guitar duo Dieci Corde at 12:30pm in the Town Hall, and Lucy Stevens is Gertrude Lawrence in A Lovely Way to Spend an Evening, 7:30pm also at the Town Hall.

Meanwhile over at The Wharf Theatre, it’s the opening night for Watson and Brownโ€™s Little Big Band, running until Saturday 10th.

Also running until the 10th, The Marlborough Players Presents Ian Hislop & Nick Newmanโ€™s A Bunch of Amateurs at Marlborough Town Hall.

The Overmorrow play The Tuppenny in Swindon, The Zoots are at Swindon Arts Centre with some Sound of The 60s, and Alan Fletcherโ€™s The Doctor Will See You Now is at The Wyvern Theatre.

Comedy Drag Bingo with Charlie Hides from Ru Paulโ€™s Drag Race at Komedia, Bath, Human Nature at the Rondo Theatre, Luke De-Sciscio is at Chapel Arts, with support from Ella Clayton.

Friday 9th

Major British comedy talent Marcus Brigstocke is at Devizes Arts Festival, 8pm at the Corn Exchange. Plan of Action plays The Southgate, Devizes, and Gaz Brookfield is at The Barge on Honey-Street.

Mobile Blackout at The Three Horseshoes, Bradford-on-Avon, Quartetto Di Cremonaโ€™s Italian Postcards at the Wiltshire Music Centre.

Living Spit presents One Man and His Cow at Pound Arts, Corsham.

Celebrate Me at the Rondo Theatre, Bath, Mississippi MacDonald at Chapel Arts, and Kalopsia, Intrusive, Sharpie & Dreamcaster all at Moles.

Grunge Tribute Shades of Seattle at The Vic in Swindon, a change from the Chaos Brothers as previously advertised, Oasish at Coleview Community Centre, and 

An Evening And A Little Bit Of Morning with Mark Steel at The Wyvern Theatre.

Saturday 10th

Marden Village Fete. Thereโ€™s an Antique Sale at Devizes Market Place from 9am-3pm, and the Devizes Arts Festival continues with a free fringe event at 2pm in the Condado Lounge, Jukebox James,  Tessa Dunlop, 3pm at the Town Hall, and folk-influenced Americana with Noble Jacks at 8pm in the Corn Exchange. Noble Jacks are a rip-roaring alt.folk band with roof-raising energy, whose warm electro-acoustic interactions fuse together a mixture of folky footstompinโ€™ rhythms and engaging lyricism.

Elsewhere in Devizes, the Eric Bell Band Band play Long Street Blues Club, Lewis Clark is at The Southgate, Ben Borrill at the Moonrakers, a One Chord Wonders and The Killertones for a Cavalier special, see poster.

Time for The Famous Hangover Sessions at the Lamb in Marlborough, with Splat the Rat, The Station, The Vooz and of course, Pants.

North Wiltshire Symphony Orchestra Presents a Summer Concert at the Neeld Hall in Chippenham. John Morrissey memorial gig at the Consti Club in aid of Dorothy House.

The Stones, tribute at the Civic in Trowbridge, oh, and this….

Nadine Khouri at Pound Arts, Corsham.

Itโ€™s the Bradford-on-Avon Food & Drink Festival, Vonj at the Three Horseshoes. 

Boorish Trumpson at the Rondo Theatre, Bath, Untamed Burlesque at Chapel Arts.

King Awesome at The Vic, Swindon, Kentwood Choir t Swindon Arts Centre, and 

Elizabeth & Philip โ€“ A Story of Young Love, Marriage, and Monarchy at The Wyvern Theatre. 

Nearly Dan โ€“ The Spirit & Sound of Steely Dan at the Cheese & Grain in Frome.

Sunday 11th

Lions on the Green, Devizes Lions Clubโ€™s annual car show and fun day at Devizes Green. Devizes Arts Festival, Festival Walk โ€“ Wansdyke Wanderings. Briefing at 10.20am. Thereโ€™s a free fringe event, 2pm at the British Lion, hard stompinโ€™, bluegrassy, old-timey playing of The Sisters & The Brothers.

Friggit at The Tuppenny in Swindon.

The Jon Amor Trio play The Three Horseshoes, Bradford-on-Avon.

Adam Giles Levy is at the Electric Bar in Komedia, Bath, Josh Berryโ€™s Sexual Politics at Rondo Theatre, Flamenco Express at Chapel Arts.

Monday 12th

Devizes Arts Festival have An Evening with furniture restorer, Will Kirk, primarily known for his work on BBCโ€™s phenomenally successful restoration programme The Repair Shop.

7:30pm at the Corn Exchange.

Rock The Tots: Whatever The Weather at Pound Arts, Corsham.

Wiltshire Schools Dance Festival at The Wyvern Theatre, Swindon.

Tuesday 13th

Devizes Arts Festivalโ€™s Lois Pryce: Revolutionary Ride โ€“ One Womanโ€™s Solo Motorcycle Journey around Iran at the Bear Hotel, the Elles Bailey Band play the Corn Exchange at 8pm.

McCartney โ€“ The Songbook at The Wyvern Theatre, Swindon.

Thatโ€™s all I got for you, trouble, troublemaker. I know youโ€™re no good, but youโ€™re stuck in my brain, or Brian, or whatever. So, just for you a reminder this list is not exhaustive, and more events will undoubtedly be added to our event calendar as and when we discover them. So keep an eye on it, just the one though, be safe and have a good week.

Trending….

CSF Professional Wrestling returns to Devizes

CSF Professional Wrestling returns to Devizes, on Sunday 25th June for a very special edition of CSF SHOWDOWN!

Following multiple sellouts of the venue, The Corn Exchange will again host this spectacular event as twelve top stars arrive to do battle in five Pro Bouts of High Flying, BodySlamming, Action Packed Family Entertainment.

The Undisputed All Nations Champion: ‘Unique’ Jake McCluskey will put his Title and belt on the line as he faces the challenge of Odyssey, whilst the man mountain known as Bullit goes up against the Maori Warrior NIWA!

Other names appearing include: Axel Carter, Bane ‘n’ Bronson, Joshua James, JJย  Gilligan Gordon. Doors open at 4pm // First Bell 4:30pm // Event Finish 7pm As always, the wrestlers will be on hand to sign autographs and take photos with their fans. Event suitable for all ages, no ages restrictions.

Tickets are priced at ยฃ12 each, for all ages. Tickets available directly from CSF Wrestling by visiting: www.csfwrestling.co.uk or by visiting Devizes Books in the town centre. For the full line up and all CSF news, please visit Facebook: www.facebook.com/csfprofessionslwrestling

Local Artist Clifton Powell Commissioned by King Charles for Windrush Portrait

Last time we mentioned local Jamaican-born artist Clifton Powell, he was commissioned for the English Heritage exhibition, โ€œThe African Diaspora in England.โ€ This time he has been commissioned by King Charles and a Windrush Portraits Committee, marking the 75th anniversary of the arrival of the HMT Empire Windrush to Britain, to participate in a series of Windrush portraits of pioneering members of the Windrush Generation, which are completed and already at Buckingham Palace.….

A sub-committee of the Windrush Commemoration Committee, comprising of Baroness Floella Benjamin, the Right Reverend Rose Hudson-Wilkin, Mr Rudolph Walker, and Ms Paulette Simpson, have selected ten artists and sitters. The completed portraits will become part of the Royal Collection and stand as a lasting memorial to all the men, women and children who came to Britain from the Caribbean and gave so much of themselves to rebuild a nation devastated by war.

His Majesty said, โ€œit is, I believe, crucially important that we should truly see and hear these pioneers who stepped off the Empire Windrush at Tilbury in June 1948 – only a few months before I was born – and those who followed over the decades, to recognise and celebrate the immeasurable difference that they, their children and their grandchildren have made to this country,โ€ and BBC Arts Today announced a documentary to commemorate National Windrush Day, Windrush: Portraits Of A Generation, to be aired on 22nd June.

Combining fluid draughtsmanship with realism and a dynamic use of colour, Clifton studied at The Jamaica School of Art in Kingston Jamaica before moving to the UK in the eighties. In London, he worked for leading framers Tempole Art, among many exhibits he exhibited at Bathโ€™s Fairfield House, home of Emperor Haile Selassie, while he was exiled to England. Clifton is also a mentor and part of a team of artists at Arts Together, who deliver creative workshops for older people across 6 community groups in Wiltshire.

REVIEW โ€“ Devizes Arts Festival โ€“ Texas Tick Fever @ Three Crowns, Devizes, 4th June 2023

Andy Fawthrop

Free Fringe Frolics

Another day, another venue, and the Devizes Arts Festival is now getting into its stride. ย Thisย afternoon was the first of the five FREE events in this yearโ€™s programme, and what a cracker itย turned out to be.…

Texas Tick Fever hail from that there Stroud, up in the Wild North Country, and rolled into town full of energy on a beautiful sunny afternoon in the courtyard of The Three Crowns.  The Vize was about to be treated to some bluegrass, yโ€™all.  Although theyโ€™re a firm fixture on the roots music circuit, theyโ€™re a band Iโ€™d not personally run into before.  Took โ€˜em about two numbers and I was quickly hooked.

The boysโ€™ marketing BS had talked about their music being โ€œmoonshine-fuelledโ€, but this being Theย Vize, it was more Wadworth 6X and ice-cream-fuelled. ย Not that that mattered in the slightest, asย they were on absolutely top form.

Their blend of Americana/ roots/ hillbilly/ Appalachian/ backwoods/ hayseed and good old bluegrass quickly had the crowd applauding.  With plenty of wise-cracking and self-deprecating humour on the side, this was just perfect stuff for a lazy afternoon at the pub.  Featuring banjo and guitar, occasional harmonica, kick-drum and harmonising vocals, the guys made some great music.  There was new and original stuff, and plenty of covers, including Sittinโ€™ On Top Oโ€™ The World, It Takes A Worried Man, Down In Mississippi and (believe it or not, older readers look away now) that old theme to The Beverly Hillbillies.  Amazing.  And who could forget their fully-deserved encore of Duelling Banjos?  Terrific stuff.

Theyโ€™ve also won my โ€œBest Introduction To A Songโ€ Award for one of their intros.  Following a decent re-telling of the urban myth, where legend has it that Robert Johnson met the devil at a crossroads and gave him his soul in exchange for mastery of the guitar, Stretch leaned into the mic and grinned, saying โ€œwell, anyways, this next song has absolutely nothinโ€™ to do with thatโ€.  Comic timing at its best.

Absolutely terrific entertainment, and an early highlight of the Festival for me.

And thereโ€™s more FREE Fringe next Saturday 10th June in Condado Lounge with Jukebox James, next Sunday 11th June in the British Lion with Sisters & Brothers, and the following Saturday 17th June with Carrie Etter Poetry.

The Devizes Arts Festival continues at various venues around town until Saturday 17th June.  

Tickets can be booked at Devizes Books or online atย www.devizesartsfestival.org.ukย ย 

Ajay Srivastav at Devizes Arts Festivalย 

“Do you know of anyone else doing something similar to what you’re doing?” I asked him as he crouched by the Cellar Bar’s vinyl banner, packing his resonator back into the guitar case.

He looked over his shoulder in contemplation and shook his head, “no.”

To think the only thing unusual this day and age about this is that I hinted there was live music Sunday evening at Devizes’ Cellar Bar, I’d say you’ve a point. The new owners of The Bear Hotel have yet to utilise the Cellar Bar to its former glory. Their prerogative, we can only encourage, being speculative articles published about the slight possibility the bar might reopen as a music venue tends to gain monumental attention, that the venue is clearly cherished by the natives, therefore it would surely be in their best interests.

It wouldn’t help my case much either if I told you the musician is a bluesman, as many a bluesman has graced our town. We could coin it, “The Mel Bush effect,” the influence of bringing big names to the Corn Exchange in the seventies gained Devizes a blues reputation and inspiring homegrown talent from The Hoax’s Robin Davey, Jon Amor, Doherty brothers, Innes Sibun, et al.

But there is something distinctively unique about this bluesman, Ajay Srivastav. With Indian heritage and Hindu faith he incorporates into his sound, writing and ethos, while still not definable as all-out bhangra akin to sitar virtuoso Ravi Shanker,  a dash of its spices are generously added to his melting pot; the main ingredient being delta blues. The result is something wonderful and uncomparable; the Devizes Arts Festival fringe event I’ve been holding out for.

The performance, in a word, was sublime. With a rich voice, Ajay sure knows how to handle that guitar, and was joined by proficient tabla player, Vinod Kerai, injecting the Eastern influence into these devine self-penned songs. Geniusly awash with thought-provoking prose and backed with verbal explanations, the delivery reflected the skill of Paul Simon, archetypal blues subject matter, of life lessons, contemplating intrapersonal and relationships, yet subtly incorporating Hindu ideology, even mythology, and still reflecting more generally so all could relate. For example, Ajay not only had teaching of Itihasa and Vedas, but even contrasted the fable of Robert Johnson selling his soul to the devil at the crossroads with the order from chaos of Maa Saraswati, Hindu goddess of education, creativity, and music. This said, a majority of thought applied here was of his own observations and musings, which was earnest when it needed to be, and amusing equally.

Far from this feeling rather preachy, it was presented in such a charismatic and western manner. It was casual yet informative, gracing the songs with context. The songs were constructed with love and attention to detail, so none stood out rather a gentle flow throughout which with squinted eyes took me on its desired journey. So some tunes summed his angle, Karmic Blues, others like Between the Cracks were personal reflections of fitting into society’s pigeonholes, and by the finale the pace picked up, replacing the contemplative for slightly more lighthearted content, like a romanticised devotion to Vasudhara called Six Arm Goddess.

If second generation Asians in dance music culture, like Asian Dub Foundation, Apache Indian and my personal favourite, Black Star Liner, have borrowed extensively from their roots, musically,  dance music is, in general, not the genre for placing your thoughts, and in this Ajay Srivastav is the whole deal, exceptionally unique and put simply, a delight to listen to. 

The Devizes Arts Festival continues. Our team are out there assessing its progress, but as lover of world music equally in key with our homegrown fashions, this topped both and now I fear I might struggle to find something to better it; time will tellโ€ฆ.

41 Fords Park Up at The Southgateย 

With the happenings at the Arts Festival taken care of, and twenty/thirty something’s pilgrimage to The Three Crowns for the delights of our most famed cover band, People Like Us, I’m in Devizes for the wildcard; Trowbridge trio of nutty rockabilly/skabilly 41 Fords are playing The Southgate; arm twisted for a cider or three.….

Currently camped at some festival or another as they accidentally double-booked, they hot-footed it from the site delighted to be here. Told me of their love for the Gate, not the only thing we have in common. Though they regularly play our hospitable and stalwart, offbeat live music pub, it was never intentional that I missed them, but going on the strength of their debut album, Not Dead Yet, which we fondly reviewed back in April, 41 Fords were understandably on my must-see list.

Job ticked off and far from disappointed, they shook the rafters with high-energy rockabilly adaptations of a wide selection of pop hits. A guitar, drums and double-bass trio, it’s a simple template to stamp their own style on everything and anything from Adam Ant’s Goody Two Shoes to Green Day, and The Primitives’ Crash to Hall & Oates, but dammit if it doesn’t work like a charm. Rousing the slight audience with lively upbeat versions, the fun simply doesn’t stop, other than for a twanged guitar string; they couldn’t even cover Ben E King’s Stax classic Stand By Me without a frenzied rise of tempo!

To be niggly, I looked forward to some originals from said album, but they felt it best to do covers, a trusted judgement paid off, and besides, Deborah had chalked them up as such on the board. If flat-caps worn with anything other than country-gent attire usually connotes the cheekiness of a cockney sparrow, and there were a lot of them floating about tonight, similarly does a double-bass without it being an orchestra. Given said instrument is adorned with second gen ska’s checkerboard black & white tiles and a slogan reading “get lucky” in friendly font, you get the general gist this is punk-fused rockabilly, yet without the grave characteristics associated with psychobilly. It is, simply, as much fun as you could possibly squeeze into a gig, the result was precisely that.

Unusual their trump card, as the drummer tended to vocal the cheesy eighties pop covers, aforementioned Adam Ant, but Tracey Ulman’s Breakaway being particularly amusing, whereas the guitarist vocalising on the earlier or more apt classics, from the Jam to Tears of a Clown bending on The Special’s version, and probably the golden nugget tonight, Dion’s Runaround Sue. The double-bass player simply displayed the cheeky grin of Jason Statham as Bacon in Lock Stock, but anyone spinning a double-bass wins, they don’t got to say anything!

By the time the second half of this frenzied show of confident and proficient uniqueness played out, it really didn’t matter what they covered, they could’ve done Save All Your Kisses for Me for all it mattered, though I don’t believe they did. Everything was fantastic, 41 Fords are undiluted footstompin’ goodness and bring the party with them as standard issue. What a lively fun-filled night at The Southgate, as ever!

Don’t forget, it’s the monthly Jon Amor at the Southgate today at 5pm, and you can find 41 Fords at Devizes Scooter Rally.

REVIEW โ€“ Devizes Arts Festival โ€“ Sir Willard White @ Corn Exchange, Devizes, 3rd June 2023

Bass Baritone Brilliance

Andy Fawthrop

It was time last night for The Devizes Arts Festival to roll out its first big-hitter of the 2023 programme, and what a smash it proved to be.  Although not quite sold out, the Corn Exchange was pretty full, and those who turned out were rewarded with a sparkling performance.…

Sir Willard White is one of the worldโ€™s best-loved and most versatile opera stars of the last 40 years.  He is a performer whose illustrious career has taken him to the most prestigious opera houses and concert halls throughout the world.  It was opera royalty come to pay us a state visit.

The evening opened with the Kymaera Duo, the twin guitars of Shane Hill and Simon James, who have been performing together for over twenty years.  Their beautiful and understated rendition of the classic โ€œSummertimeโ€ set a very high bar for the rest of the evening.  Soon they were joined by the tastefully yellow waist-coated Sir Willard.

Over the next couple of hours we were entertained with songs and reminiscences from his life onย stage and screen. ย The songs were selected because they had been particularly important to him, orย held some special meaning. ย Pausing to explain and to introduce each piece, he took us on a musicalย journey from his youth in Jamaica, through his early career, the first truly complete recording ofย Gershwinโ€™s Porgy and Bess in 1976 to the songs that made the bass-baritone singer Paul Robesonย famous in the 1920s and โ€˜30s. ย He explained that, amazingly, he had never wanted to be a singer inย the professional sense, he just wanted to do something that would define him as โ€œa real manโ€. ย But,ย having tried out the idea of working in an office with a briefcase and a rolled umbrella, Mr. White (asย he termed himself) discovered that would not be his life.

With occasional instrumental pieces from the guitar duo to spell the singer, the Great American Songbook was rolled out for us, together with a few other unexpected classics.  We had Gershwin, Nat King Cole, Aaron Copeland, and even Bob Marleyโ€™s Redemption Song.  โ€œIt Donโ€™t Mean A Thing If It Ainโ€™t Got That Swingโ€, โ€œSome Enchanted Eveningโ€, โ€œMy Wayโ€, โ€œOle Man Riverโ€ were delivered in what appeared an effortless style, all the while accompanied by some fabulous guitar work.

A totally splendid performance and a deserved encore.  But even then it wasnโ€™t over.  In an equally engaging coda to the evening, Sir Willard took questions from the floor.  In this section he revealed (even more that the main performance) what a really charming, urbane and thoughtful man he was.  His style was avuncular, gentle and understated, and his philosophy of life, of self-care (of voice and body) and of mutual self-respect was thought-provoking.  All in all, a great evening, and a worthy gem in the Arts Festival crown.

The Devizes Arts Festival continues, with events every day, until Saturday 17th June.  The full programme of events, times and prices is available online.

Tickets can be booked at Devizes Books or online at www.devizesartsfestival.org.uk  

REVIEW โ€“ Devizes Arts Festival โ€“ Sue Stockdale @ St. Johnโ€™s Assembly Room, Devizes 3rd June 2023

An Adventurous Mindset

Andy Fawthrop

On to Day 2 of the Arts Festival, and something a little different. Thatโ€™s the good thing about a two-week festival like this โ€“ thereโ€™s something in there for everyone. And this afternoonโ€™s offering featured a very adventurous soul, who was keen to relate what sheโ€™d learnt in the course of her travels.

Saturday afternoon in a church assembly room is not one of my usual haunts, but listening to Sue Stockdale was a very good reason to be here. Scot Sue comes with an enviable pedigree โ€“ not only is she a polar adventurer and motivational speaker, sheโ€™s also spent much of her life not only exploring the worldโ€™s most remote and hostile environments (including Greenland, Antarctica, and Chile), sheโ€™s also thought long and hard about what motivates her, and what the wider lessons are.

Her initial inspiration is excitement and adventure, but I guess anyone could say that. What makes Sue interesting is the way sheโ€™s translated that inspiration into solid and specific action, developing new skills along the way, together with both physical and mental resilience. The challenges have not always been obvious or straightforward โ€“ for example, how do you raise the money to fund your adventures? How do you deal with the ecological impact of what you do? How do you develop the necessary team-work skills to make an expedition work?

In 1996, Sue became the first British woman to reach the magnetic North Pole and, aside from sharing some of her photos and experiences, she was keen to relate how the team kept sane, conserved energy, developed working routines, and overcame the navigational challenges of such an undertaking.

It was at times an Old Skool slide presentation but, mixed in with video clips, and a light-hearted and engaging delivery style, she kept her audience enthralled right through until it was time for the Q&A at the end. Fascinating stuff โ€“ entertaining, interesting and, yes, motivating. For people like me, who struggle to get their act together to even get out of The Vize these days, it was a true lesson in how to really get oneโ€™s arse in gear.

Copies of Sueโ€™s latest book EXPLORE: A Life of Adventure are available for purchase at Devizes Books.

The Devizes Arts Festival continues, with events every day, until Saturday 17th June. The full programme of events, times and prices is available online.

Tickets can be booked at Devizes Books or online at www.devizesartsfestival.org.uk

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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

REVIEW โ€“ Devizes Arts Festival โ€“ Tango Calor @ Town Hall, Devizes 2nd June 2023

Perhaps..Perhapsโ€ฆPerhapsโ€ฆ

Andy Fawthrop

Images by Gail Foster

The Devizes Arts Festival kicked off its 2023 programme with a real bang last night, and perhaps this will be the best one yet if the opening gig was anything to go by.…..

Tango Calor is, not surprisingly, a tango band trio. It was originally formed by the concertina, sorry โ€“ bandoneon, player Mirek Salmon in Bristol in 2016. Joining him was jazz pianist Daan Temmink, and the Cuban vocalist Indira Roman. And together the three of them produced a sparkling evening of music for a full room and an appreciative crowd.

Tango Calor at Devizes Arts FestivalImage: Gail Foster

The Assembly Room in the Town Hall is a beautiful venue (and I may have banged on about this before) provided itโ€™s used for the right performers. Tango Calor certainly fitted that bill. With the room laid out cabaret-style with tables and chairs, leaving a dance-floor at the front, and good sound and nicely-subdued lighting, the atmosphere was just right.

Tango Calor at Devizes Arts FestivalImage: Gail Foster

We were treated over two sets, to a wide range of South American and Caribbean rhythms, some instrumental, and some accompanied by Indiraโ€™s infectious Spanish vocals. The songs were romantic, sensuous, melting like warm chocolate. Iโ€™d be the first to admit that tango is not at the top of my list of favourite musical styles, but even I was won over. I stayed right to the end, and the evening seemed to be over all too quickly. We even had a few brave couples getting up to dance, which was wonderful to watch. Iโ€™m no expert, but they certainly seemed to be making all the right moves in the right order. The warm applause after each number was often as much for the dancers as it was for the musicians.

Tango Calor at Devizes Arts Festival. Image: Gail Foster

The band received a justified all-clapping, all-singing encore, and then it was all over. Back into the Devizes evening with a warm glow of appreciation for a top-notch performance. Roll on the rest of the Festival!

The Devizes Arts Festival continues, with events every day, until Saturday 17th June. The full programme of events, times and prices is available online.

Tickets can be booked at Devizes Books or online at www.devizesartsfestival.org.uk

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Thieves Debut EP

Adam Woodhouse, Rory Coleman-Smith, Jo Deacon and Matt Hughes, akaโ€ฆ

Film Review: Translations

by Helen Edwards

For those that are too busy to read this film review and to help our tech-conditioned โ€˜keep-it-quickโ€™ minds please see the one liner below: 

โ€œA raw portrayal of the depths that a mental illness can reach with a glimpse of the impact on others and the eventual hope that can lead to recoveryโ€

Or, if youโ€™ve a few more seconds, read the Tweet-length review here:

โ€œA reflective, unsettling film depicting mental ill health, grief and two people coming together to heal. Kate Morgan-Jonesโ€™ performance brings depth and skill with a brilliantly realistic scene showing a crisis episode. Walls are broken down and agoraphobia is given a platform for understandingโ€

I suspect Iโ€™ve lost a few of you. For those still reading, thank you. Here is the full lowdown of โ€˜Translationsโ€™, the black and white, romantic, mental health exposรฉ drama set in Wales:  

Most of my reviews are pretty long and I apologise each time I link one to a social media account. But I wonโ€™t change the length. Well, not for now at least.  To write only a short piece would be a disservice to the people who have put their soul into the work. They deserve a full debrief for the hours and cash that theyโ€™ve ploughed in, usually with no guarantee of success.  It takes a risk-taker and an entrepreneur, with often an activistโ€™s determination to see a creative project through to the finish. This is especially true of a feature film where the stakes are higher than most other forms. Add to that a focus on topics that are vital but are difficult to portray, and you have a true passion-project worthy of review words.  โ€˜Translationsโ€™ by director, Keith Kopp and writer, Laurence Guy is one such project. 

From the opening scene where Stef, the main character, performed her poignant poem โ€˜Wallsโ€™, my gut was stilled into a contemplative but not wholly comfortable quiet.  It was going to be one of those – a film that would take the viewer on a ride through dark, complex emotions. An internal rollercoaster where I knew I would be swirled through loop-the-loops of mental anguish.  I wasnโ€™t sure I was ready for this.  Whispering, โ€˜please let it have a happy endingโ€™ to myself, I sipped my tea and carried on.

Stef is in her twenties. She writes, talks to herself (who doesnโ€™t?), and hasnโ€™t left her house in a long time (years).  Her beloved brother, Liam died whilst travelling with his best friend Evan (Alan Emrys). The story of how this happened is pieced together throughout the film. Stefโ€™s mental health, which wasnโ€™t great before, suffered hugely after his death with agoraphobia now ruling her reality. A few segments into the movie, and after a long absence, Evan arrives at Stefโ€™s Welsh cottage.  His presence transformed her walled-in existence. Laughter and chemistry ensued with the pair reminiscing shared childhood and teen memories. But close behind came an open window into the mental torment that gripped both characters.  Morgan-Jonesโ€™ portrayal of an acute mental health crisis in Evanโ€™s company was sublime and harrowing.  The contradictory nature of desperately wanting help yet vehemently pushing it away and the deep shame that followed gave a true insight into an illnesses of the mind.

Evan, whilst trying to help Stef also gave many clues to his own health problems. These stemmed from his guilt at Liamโ€™s death and his wanting to be invisible; to โ€œsoak into the walls so no one can see meโ€ฆ like a ghostโ€. Grief washed over them both and at times the feeling of angst ping-pongs between them with a competitive hue. A game of โ€˜whoโ€™s the most miserable?โ€™ Stef and Evan share grief, mental health challenges and both feel trapped; one indoors and the other behind a camera. I was often left wondering, can the troubled really help the troubled?

I instantly questioned why the movie was in black and white. The answer revealed itself in an early scene which showed a framed picture hanging on Stefโ€™s wall of a barren, lonely tree (seen a number of times during the film). Devoid of colour with all life stripped away, the tree evoked a feeling of isolated fear. I think many of us felt a version of this during the most stringent lockdown weeks of 2020, our own surface-level insight into agoraphobia. Black and white also gives a greater intensity and emotional impact on screen; the viewer needs to look closer for meaning and work harder for understanding. I wasnโ€™t sure at first. I donโ€™t love having to work whilst being entertained and I really did want to see the colour of the delicious sounding curry, but I became convinced that it was 100% the best choice of medium for โ€˜Translationsโ€™. I would have loved to see colour creep in towards the end during Stefโ€™s transformation but perhaps this would have been too obvious, Iโ€™m no film director.

Other aspects of the movie that caught my attention included the filmโ€™s score. It created a strong ambience throughout and, along with the dialogue, dramatised the emotion and helped to share powerful messages. A slow, heavy beat often preceded a philosophical musing from one of the characters whilst the crescendoing thud-thud-thud staccato made me feel Stefโ€™s anxieties as if they were my own. A stand out visual moment from the film that made me smile was seeing Evan rolling and smoking a cigarette. It made me reflect that despite the number of people who smoke โ€˜rolliesโ€™ we hardly ever see the ritualised making of them on screen. Parts of the film that will stay with me are readings of the โ€˜Wallsโ€™ and the โ€˜Line in the Sandโ€™ poems. โ€˜Wallsโ€™ was performed twice in the movie and in a clever, circular finish, โ€˜Line in the Sandโ€™ bought the film to its close. I would love these poem clips to go viral to illustrate what agoraphobia can feel like and to help people feel less alone and more hopeful.

Please go and see this film. You wonโ€™t come away feeling lighter but you will have a glimpse into a mental health challenge that, in its most severe form, affects well over a million people in the UK. Kate Morgan-Jonesโ€™ performance is believable, haunting and impactful. She understands the torment, the struggle and the complexity that accompanies mental health conditions and she shows this in every scene. The film has lingered in my mind and has got me thinking about all those conditions we know about but build walls around. Watch this movie to start breaking down these walls, to transform our ignorance into understanding and to help our neighbours, friends and families feel less alone and โ€œlocked inside (themselves)โ€. Please support this film and perhaps then we will begin to see more pictures that educate and give true insight into mental illness. Thank you โ€˜Translationsโ€™ for opening my eyes a little wider.

Written on 24/05/23 by Helen L Edwards
@helenledwards4

Awards:
Riverside Film Festival 2023 (Audience Choice Award for Best Feature Film, Best Actress, Best Screenplay)

โ€˜Translationsโ€™ tour:
Screenings start on the 2nd June in Wales. It reaches The Little Theatre in Bath on the 25th June and the Melksham Film Club on the 30th June

For Tickets:
https://www.kwkopp.com/

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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, Rosieโ€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 The Bridgeโ€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 solo albumโ€ฆ

Has Swindon’s Liddington Hill Created Celtic Grunge?!

Explosive new EP from Liddington Hill released tomorrow, Edge of Insanity, begging the question, have they created a whole new subgenre?

As an impressionable Essex teenager coming from a hip hop background, thrust unwillingly into an eerie Wiltshire village like Sam Emerson in the Lost Boys, I endeavoured to align myself with the musical tastes of the natives. Yet, while I pre-gained a penchant for soft metal, the pop charts latest exploitation, I never envisioned lying semi-subconsciously under a fallen Christmas tree with a gang of crusty kids, while the needle stuck on the last notes of the Pouges’ Transmetropolitan, and everyone too drunk on Cinzano to change the record.

Fair to assume The Pouges belted me hard in the bum-fluffed chops, it would be unthinkably embarrassing to show affection for folk music, surely? But this, this was fast and furious, like the punk of a bygone childhood, and turned my preconceptions on its head. Now it’s commonplace, the Celtic punk of Flogging Molly and The Dropkick Murphys are instant likes, but I’ve become immune to their ferociousness; the violent police response to break up parties, and mass of abandoned fires burning across a post-apocalyptic looking Glasto main stage after The Levellers spoke out about not letting the travellers in that year made sure of it.

Yet a want for angry music never extended to grunge by the time it arrived, though I now see it’s worth and power, I was a raver, and felt reggae was the only meaningful source left I’d consider; dance music was blithe and fantastical. So, as I’ve only ever been a window shopper of grunge, I confess dubiousness when Matthew of Liddington Hill emailed me, “it’s a bit grungier.” Not forgoing, it’s been two years since we featured them last, reviewing their debut EP Cow, and if I liked it, which I did, there was always a niggly its songs of traditional Irish shanty and tales of Swindon pub crawls lacked that archetypal anger commonly associated with Celtic punk; they’ve sure made up for that now.

New EP then, out tomorrow (2nd June) called Edge of Insanity, rips a new hole in the fabric of what’s acceptable and very possibly creates a subgenre, for Google searching โ€œCeltic Grungeโ€ doesn’t amass much more than separate Celtic punk and grunge offerings. The Swindon five-piece ask on their blog, “is Celtic grunge a thing yet?” It is now, well done you, because it works, take it from someone for whom grunge is not usually their cuppa.

With some band changes and maternity leave, Edge of Insanity goes much further up Liddington Hill. Peering down on themes of serial killers and the Aberfan disaster, it takes no prisoners itself, carelessly teetering on the edge, as it suggests on the tin. The Celtic riffs against grunge chords is a match made in heaven and a wonder no one thought of it before, bands like Ferocious Dog only meeting part of the way. It’s this blend staring us in the face which makes it for me, bending my grunge preconceptions of โ€˜yeah Nirvana was great, but I’m delving no deeper than the baby on the cover;โ€™ Iโ€™m a Celtic folk hussy, add a slice of it and I’m yours!

Another winner is, beneath the dark and angry dispositions on offer, thereโ€™s historical gospel in the narrative. The opening tune In Rosie’s Room concerns a real mid-19th Century prostitute in gold rush America who tried to steal from a gold mine with her lover. With a hypnotic riff it rings how this EP is going to play out; indignantly dynamic and in your face.

Hold onto your hat though, as itโ€™s about to get real screamy. Keep Hold of your Heart really is a furious thrashed punk expression from the perspective of an inmate in a Sanitorium. Illustrates my point though, usually my toes would curl at this intensity, but given this Celtic roots riff running through it, I can get aboard; it makes The Pouges sound like Brotherhood of Man!

The edge chills off, slightly, Capped in Black is the Aberfan themed song, possibly the ace of spades here, the balance of grunge and Celtic punk is refined and the anger within comes to a dramatic close leaving you aghast at the notion this disaster was allowed to have happened; the effect is achieved.

American serial killer Aileen Wuornos under Liddington Hillโ€™s radar next, the track Maid Of Mayhem is perhaps my personal favourite, retrospectively punk with their new bassist Alannah on first person vocals and making a wonderful job of it, itโ€™s akin to Siouxsie Sioux reworking Springsteenโ€™s Nebraska, on fire!

The 1940s Lipstick Killer, William Heirens is next on the bandโ€™s unglorified hall of serial killer fame with the finale, Lipstick. The band explained, โ€œLiam, for some reason became inspired after reading about a few serial killers and the reasons behind such terrible actions. So he wrote a few songs and we put some together with a couple of other heart-wrenching songs we’d written.โ€ The grunge element seems to wane in favour of upfront punk rock, as we progress past Keep Hold of your Heart, and Iโ€™m grateful for this. Lipstick polishes this explosive caliginous EP off, suitably akin to The Stooges or even early Ramones, while retaining this Celtic folk riff credited to The Pouges, and for this, plus itโ€™s astounding step up in expression and production, is a yes from me.

Free entry to the Vic in Swindon on Thursday 15th June for the EPโ€™s launch party with support from Lucky Number Seven and Dark Prophecy. Find out more info about tomorrowโ€™s release on Liddington Hillโ€™s website, HERE and Facebook HERE.

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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

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 whichโ€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 secondโ€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 overโ€ฆ

Devizes Arts Festival Week One Preview: Indian Blues to Micro-Art

Set to be a busy month in town as The Devizes Arts Festival rolls out their extensive and promising programme, the best way I think to tackle this is week-by-week, highlighting some of those events which really shows off the diversity and quality on offerโ€ฆ..

No sooner than the month kicks off, so does the festival, in tango style, this Friday 2nd June.  

The Town Hall hosts one of the most exciting tango bands performing in the UK, Tango Calor.

Doubled-up on Saturday, as polar adventurer and motivational speaker Sue Stockdale presents A Life of Adventure, 1pm at St John’s Church, and versatile opera star Sir Willard White brings his Kymaera Duo to the Corn Exchange in the evening.

Sunday morning they walk the civil war battlefield of Roundway Down, but the fun, I think, really begins at 2pm in the Three Crowns when that most wonderful Americana combo, banjo and guitar, is played out by Texas Tick Fever, who promises some foot-stompinโ€™ good olโ€™ hillbilly adaptations of known tunes. This is just one of two free fringe events on Sunday, the second at 7pm down in the Cellar Bar of The Bear Hotel; my personal pick of the week. 

We recently gave Ajay Srivastav one of our song of week features, as his music is a truly unique blend of the kind of acoustic we love from our own live music circuit, but as a British born artist of Indian heritage, his songs, with themes of protest and change, have this subtle Indian tinge, and itโ€™s sublime. Donโ€™t go expecting all-out Bhangra or the sitar plucking of Ravi Shankar, Ajay is decidedly blues and can be offbeat at times, working with legends such as Gregory Isaacs, Jah Wobble and Zakir Hussain. Ajay says of his style, โ€œI just wanted to say my thingโ€ฆ I was tired of listening to other people talking โ€“ I want to be heard, and this is what I have to say. And I hope people understand where Iโ€™m coming from.โ€

Yet if from tango to opera and onto the unique blends of Ajay Srivastav displays Devizes Arts Festivalโ€™s diversity, Monday 5th at 8pm in the Town Hall is something completely different. The worldโ€™s most talented living micro-artist, Graham Short will be taking us on the journey of his โ€œLife as a Micro-Artist.โ€ Now this one really interests me, because as an art college dropout, if I ever was to become an artist Iโ€™d be the sort hanging naked from a swinging cradle splattering random paint onto a canvas! One assignment from my personal hell was a bearded lecturer who demanded I take a black and white photo and recreate it on a grid of one millimetre squares, painting each square with a grayscale of ten; a millimetre, I ask you, the dexterity of gods, not humans!

Well, cut a long story short, I considered the guy to be nuts, as he criticised the tiniest bit of bleed as โ€œuseless!โ€ See, I can admire those colossal Renaissance paintings in the National Gallery for their sheer scale, and dive into their gorgeous clumps of oil so skillfully placed, but intricate detail simply baffles me, how the nimbleness of a micro-artist can create those miniatures with such calculation is beyond my fathoming. It is one reason when out of work I dare not apply at Cross Manufacturing, as I figured the fiddly attention to the tiniest of detail would be too much for my sausage-fingers! I mean Graham Short is the kind of fellow who engraves Churchill’s ‘We shall fight on the beaches’ speech on the tip of a World War II bullet, for crying out loud, thatโ€™s something to be in awe of.

Aged fifteen Graham Short left school in Birmingham without any qualifications, undergoing a six-year apprenticeship in copper plates and steel dies engraving for printing, but he didnโ€™t take to the printing trade, so, years self-employed as an engraver gained him clients including Gieves & Hawkes of Savile Row, outfitters to the Royal Family; Buckingham Palace, Windsor Castle, Balmoral Sandringham,and 10 Downing Street followed. He engraved business cards for everyone from Richard Attenborough to Za Za Gabor. In recent additions to his blog he discusses aside the easiest metals to work on, gold, platinum and brass, his troubles engraving tablets for the Institute of Cancer Research, saying, โ€œthey are too soft and flake easily;โ€ I couldnโ€™t even begin to consider the complexities of such, still baffled by the expectancy of the bearded art college lecturer who expected me to paint millimetre squares, the blooming slave driver! 

Devizes Arts Festival has a diverse program of events, I rest my case. So, Tuesday, expect a humorous and moving one-man one-act play originally performed by Tom Conti at the Merchant Suite by Onarole Theatre, called Jesus, My Boy!

On Wednesday find classical Welsh, Polish and Belgian influences with the Aglica Trio at  the Assembly Room, and cello and guitar duo Clare Deniz and Mihael Majeticโ€™s Dieci Corde at the Town Hall on Thursday 8th, with actor and singer, Lucy Stevens and pianist Elizabeth Marcus at the Assembly Room in the evening with Gertrude Lawrence: A Lovely Way to Spend an Evening.

Weekday finale polishes off with British comedy writer, actor, presenter and performer Marcus Brigstocke at the Corn Exchange, eyes down at 8pm for this Radio 4 comedian, whose talent was noted early in 1996 when he won the BBC New Comedian Award at the Edinburgh Festival, and thatโ€™s enough to digest for one day; we will be back highlighting next week as soon as conceivably possible!

Tickets for all these and further Devizes Arts Festival events can be found HERE

Trending…..

Weekly Roundup of Events in Wiltshire: 31st May –ย  6th June 2023

Moving swiftly into June, with bank hols and street festival done and dusted in Devizes town, this weekend is all about arts and organs; let’s see what’s going down in our hood over the next week shall we?

Bearing in mind, this list is never comprehensive and events will come to our attention  throughout the week, which is why you need to check in with our updating event calendar HERE, to get ahead of the game and also for more info and links.

Ongoing: Hail the Curious at The Forbidden Carnival in Chippenham. Do check this out, previewed here.

Wednesday 31st:

The regular acoustic jam at The Southgate, Devizes; bring your instrument.

Seas of Mirth at The Bell Inn, Bath and The Rabbitts at Chapel Arts, and Jack & Jordan’s Sketch Show is at the Rondo Theatre.

Zoo Co: Bossy at Pound Arts in Corsham.

Thursday 1st:

Another fabulous booking at The Tuppenny in Swindon where The Blue Highways go back-to-back with one our favourites, Concrete Prairie. Alternatively, Swindon’s mind-blowing guitar virtuoso, Webb is at the Vic, with Them Bloody Kids and Land Captains, which you can also catch at the Pump in Trowbridge on Friday. TJ Klune is in conversation with Bertโ€™s Books at Swindon Arts Centre.

David Gibbs-Family-Jukebox at Pound Arts, Corsham.

SuRieโ€™s Cover Me tour comes to Chapel Arts, Milo Edwards is at the Rondo Theatre, Bath.

Friday 2nd:

The popular open mic night at the Exchange in Devizes, plus it is time for Devizes Arts Festival to open its doors; our editor’s pick of the week. Running until 17th June, today starts off with An Evening of Tango Calor, 8pm at the Assembly Room of the Town Hall. Tickets are ยฃ12, Tango Calor is one of the most exciting tango bands performing in the UK. The trio was started by bandoneon player Mirek Salmon in Bristol in 2016 with jazz pianist and film composer Daan Temmink and Cuban vocal sensation Indira Roman.

Tom Davies & the Bluebirds pull into the Barge on HoneyStreet. As I said Webb is with Them Bloody Kids at the Pump, Trowbridge. Find Illingworth at Brown Street, Salisbury.

Jack Macโ€™s Funk Pac at the Wiltshire Music Centre, Bradford-on-Avon; love the name! Will Dugganโ€™s Iceberg comes to the Rondo Theatre, Bath, while Chapel Arts has Cool Britannia – a ride through the swinging sixties.

Find Cooper’s Creek at The Queens Tap, Swindon, and Enjoy the Silence UK at the Vic.

Saturday 3rd:

Itโ€™s the annual Southern Organ Festival on the Green, Devizes on Saturday and Sunday, and Canon House have a summer fete.

Devizes Arts Festival presents polar adventurer and motivational speaker Sue Stockdale โ€“ A Life of Adventure, 1pm at St John’s Church, and An Evening with Sir Willard White with the Kymaera Duo at the Corn Exchange at 8pm; one of the best-loved and most versatile opera stars of the last 40 years, Sir Willard Whiteโ€™s illustrious career has taken him to the most prestigious opera houses and concert halls throughout the world.

People Like Us are at The Three Crowns, and the 41 Fords at The Southgate; spoiled or choice again Devizes!

The Boot Hill All Stars play The Barge, Honey-Street, Static Moves are The Bear, Marlborough, with Barrelhouse at The Lamb, and the Elcot Festival at Marlborough Town FC.

Great Free Live Music Festival at Lamb Yard in Bradford-on-Avon, with Concrete Prairie and others, see the poster below. LP Swing Orchestraโ€™s 100 Years of Big Band at Wiltshire Music Centre, and Mikey Ace & The Wild Cards in the evening.

Patrick Duff at Rondo Theatre, Bath, The Fleetwood Mac Songbook at Chapel Arts, and Roots Reggae Culture night at the Weston Hub.

Wilkes Academy Under 16s at The Wyvern Theatre, Swindon, We Are What We Overcome at Swindon Arts Centre. Old Friends play the Woodlands Edge, Shepherd’s Pie at The Queens Tap, and Midlife Krisis have Diversify 23 at The Vic; rave on.

Picnic the Park at Alderbury in Salisbury, with Train to Skaville headlining.

Sunday 4th:

Devizes Arts Festival have a Festival Walk across Roundway Down, and two free fringe events, Texas Tick Fever, 2pm at Three Crowns, and one Iโ€™m looking forward to, Ajay Srivastav, 7pm at the Cellar Bar, of the Bear Hotel.

Having said this, itโ€™s also time for the Jon Amor Trio โ€˜s monthly residency at The Southgate, and heโ€™s doubling up the guestlist this time around.

It is Calne Pride and Castlefields Park, and a Cherished Vehicle and Family Fun Day, from 11am in the fields at Meadow Farm Nurseries, Langley Burrell, Chippenham.

Kavus Torabi at The Vic, Swindon, with The Blackheart Orchestra at Swindon Arts Centre.

Monday 5th:

Devizes Arts Festival presents Graham Short: My life as a Micro-Artist, 8pm at the Assembly Room. Graham Short is the world’s most talented living micro-artist. His pieces take between three and nine months to make, and the work is so tiny, itโ€™s indiscernible to the naked eye.

The Longplayer Monthly Album Listening Club at The Vic, Swindon.

Airbourne at the Cheese & Grain, Frome.

Tuesday 6th:

Devizes Arts Festival presents Onarole Theatre: Jesus, My Boy! 8pm at the Merchant Suite, Corn Exchange. This is the story of Jesus seen through the eyes of Joseph, an ordinary and down-to-earth man, dismayed about how his image is later portrayed in Christian art work! Both humorous and moving, it is a beautifully-written one-man one-act play originally performed by Tom Conti.

We have weeks of Devizes Arts Festival, so please take a look at our calendar where itโ€™s all listed, and/or their website, and get ahead of the game, some great stuff on offer there. 

What with Pride Month and just well, well, being June, we are going to be busy but will try to keep up with all thatโ€™s going on. If you can help pen a preview of review of something, please do, thanks and have a great week!

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Situationships With Chloe Hepburn

A second single from Swindon Diva Chloe Hepburn, Situationships was released this week. With a deep rolling bassline, finger-click rhythm and silky soulful vocals, thisโ€ฆ

Devizes to Host New County-Wide Music Awards

I’m delighted to announce Devizine will be actively assisting to organise a new county-wide music awards administration, in conjunction with Wiltshire Music Events UK. Theโ€ฆ

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

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

Hells Bells! AC/DC tribute in Devizes

With our roads being the state theyโ€™re in, is it any wonder on the 5th April Hells Bells, rated as the UKโ€™s top AC/DC tribute,โ€ฆ

Devizes Street Festival Day 2

Devizes Street Festival 2023 came to a glorious close in the Market Place yesterday with the unique and dynamic brass, keys and guitar combo, Misha & His Merry Men, a collective of varying musicians on a theme of peace and love, which made for the perfect summary of the event as a whole; our waffle about the first day is HERE. 

With new DOCA coordinators Annabel and Ashley at the helm and the barrier set high by their predecessor Loz Samuals, there was no telling how this would go. Maybe thereโ€™s a few lessons learned by the new team, as this is no easy feat to pull off, but backed by the knowledgeable and ever-friendly volunteers I think they made an excellent team and carved a vision of how DOCA events will carry on the traditions set by previous coordinators, from Loz to Ian Hopkins, and of naturally, add their own stamp too.

It was an honour, even if last millisecond planned, to be on the stage to introduce the bands and see the mass of people flooding the Market Place with happy smiles and cheers; Iโ€™ve never done anything like this before and though like a rabbit in the spotlights, it gave me an insight into what it feels like for a band to be in front of a colossal crowd; nerve-wracking! So be it for me to say, the opening act on the main stage was also one Devizine had a hand in picking, with a want to introduce a local act amidst the national and international performers across this amazing street festival.

Now, you should note Iโ€™ve no intention of continuously getting all Royston Vasey on DOCA, for I fully support and love the fact that rather than hosting just local acts which can be seen on our pub and venue circuit, that they source these outside performers moreso. But I also feel room should be made to bring the crowds one thing specifically Devizes. So, I am hoping this will become an annual thing, when we can suggest a local act which we think has had a particularly good year, and present them on that main stage; not everyone there is able to attend our live music scene across the many pubs and venues.

The proof was in pudding; see the featured photographic evidence. With a fanbase predominantly teenage and unable to attend pubs so easily, the age demographic was so varied, the crowd had amassed to near full capacity. The fanbase stood at the front, the more curious further back, but just to wander through the crowds and see the same look of awe and admiration for a young local band on the pinnacle of greatness, was mind-blowingly epic. Nothing Rhymes With Orange smashed it out of the park, that being the Market Place, and to every surrounding village with an absolutely sublime performance to lodge a firm place in the history of Devizes Street Festival.

Nothing Rhymes With Orange at Devizes Street Festival. Image: Gail Foster

Gaps between bands on stage are so because you need to also focus your eyes on the various street theatre and circus acts happening all around, though slighter, it felt, this year, the quality of them was equal to previous years, and something about small acorns for the new coordinators to ponder through feedback. There will always be those few with a preference to hang around the bar and stage area, so perhaps some lower volume music could be added to entertain them while families explore the side-stalls and circus acts, or at least quarter-of-an-hour prior to the next band coming on, so the area in front of the stage can refill.

Nothing Rhymes With Orange at Devizes Street Festival. Image: Gail Foster

It is certainly how it seemed as crowds waned after NRWOโ€™s spectacular set, regaining the momentum and their attention back to the stage was slighter, which was a tiddly shame, because I donโ€™t know about you but Plymouthโ€™s Cabarats were right up my street and knocking loudly at my door!

My favourite outside band bought in for our entertainment, by a long shot, The Cabarats were solid with the perfect balance of folk and reggae, so downtempo offbeat when building, and layers of uplifting folk once roused, it pushed my every button. If reviews are simply opinion-based, itโ€™s my opinion they supplied the exact ingredients we want and need at the Street Festival, and did with gusto, zest and a unity of tightness musically which simply delighted.

And in a review, of kind, it is impossible to summarise every individual happening at such a special occasion, so I rest my case, I think it was slighter in content this year but only so to break the new DOCA team in gradually, but again, the whole shebang hinges on us bonding and helping out wherever we can, and the massive thanks has to go out to all individual organisations and volunteers which go into making this, annually, the best weekend in Devizes. Look, thereโ€™s a giant woman with a stage of devils and circus acrobats under her skirt where on any normal day you are just waiting for a bus with some hoody eating a Greggs sausage roll; what an utterly fantastic weekend, we love you DOCA!

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Cracked Machine at The Southgate

If many space-rock acts have more band member changes than most other musicians change their socks, Hawkwind are the exemplar of the tendency. There mightโ€ฆ

Geckoโ€™s Big Picture

In 1998 a pair of pigs escaped while being unloaded off a lorry at an abattoir in Malmesbury and were on the run for aโ€ฆ

Park Farm; New Music Festival in Devizes

A new music festival is coming to Devizes this July. Organisers of the long-running Marlborough based festival MantonFest are shifting west across the downs andโ€ฆ

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

HAVING A BABY AND THE S**T THEY DONโ€™T TELL YOU

26th and 27th May 2023
Wharf Theatre, Devizes
Performed and written by Lou Cox

Review by Helen Edwards

I will start this review with a trigger warning. The proceeds from this, Lou Coxโ€™s hilarious and devastating show, are being donated to The Grand Appeal, the official Bristol Childrenโ€™s Hospital charity. Whilst the audience laughed loudly at the very funny and clever one liners we also cried our sincerest tears for Lou, for her and partner Jasonโ€™s baby girl, Hattie, and for the mistakes that were made during her delivery….

When I sat down a kind person to my right, noting that I was on my own started chatting to me. She explained that Lou is her daughterโ€™s teacher at Stagecoach Performing Arts and that she is brilliant. My seat neighbour then told me the ending of the play. She did this to protect me. I spent moments during the show, in between laughs, wondering if knowing was a good thing. My conclusion has been that thank goodness I did; I had made a huge assumption from the title of the play that it would be a chuckle-a-minute nodding in recognition kind of thing. But it was so much more.

With knowledge of what was to come, my laughter was a notch quieter but it still erupted unchecked. It just had a different dimension; one of pure admiration that the woman in front of me had found the strength and courage to write, devise and perform this show within a year of her babyโ€™s death.

The stage was simple, a sofa to the left, chair in the middle and a screen behind. It opened with Lou sat in the chair, black leggings on and a pair of pants around her ankles. She proceeded to talk us through top-tips of sanitary protection placement, ensuring that the multi-padded creation would be enough to catch her first period post birth. Her wit was evident from the start; recognition-fuelled laughter came from every woman who had ever had a baby with chuckles from all else. The pace and punchiness of the jokes picked up with Lou, pants discarded now, sharing her experience of the advice that she received whilst pregnant. Judging by the raucous roars in the auditorium there were many identifying with her journey from pregnancy to birth.

Lou described the uncomfortable telling of people that โ€˜Iโ€™m pregnantโ€™ as akin to shouting, โ€˜Iโ€™VE HAD SEXโ€™, the first of many embarrassing personal disclosures that can accompany being an expectant mother. She then ripped through well-intentioned but unsolicited nuggets of advice that she had been given with a sharp, shrewd humour. We were taken on a tour of Lou and Jasonโ€™s comical antics at antenatal hypnotherapy classes, given a blow-by-blow account of morning sickness, told of her migration from โ€˜sexyโ€™ to โ€˜bigโ€™ pants and the work involved in getting her private area ready for public (midwife) viewing. It was packed with funny anecdotes.

A few lines that stood out in the first half:

โ€˜My biological clock is ticking. Itโ€™s not ticking itโ€™s Big Ben bongingโ€™

โ€˜Perhaps some of us have wizards sleeves down there and the baby will fly out?โ€™

Whilst teaching a class of year 9โ€™s: โ€˜I would simply turn my back on the studentโ€™s mid-sentence to yak my guts up and turn around after like nothing had happened to complete my sentenceโ€™

And then came the reality of what happened next. The posts that Lou shared on Facebook after giving birth were shown on the screen. We saw hope turn to despair as Hattieโ€™s life support was turned off. Hattie breathed unaided for 36 hours and Lou allowed us to be with her and Jason as they took their baby girl for a walk in the sunshine through a park off St Michaelโ€™s Hill in Bristol. This was where Hattie took her last breaths, five days after her birth, on the 19th May 2022.

The courage that Lou displayed whilst reliving this personal trauma was like nothing Iโ€™d seen on stage before. It was raw, generous and insightful. The entire audience was in tears with many, like me, crying to the point of back racking sobs. If the play was transferred to other theatres I think it could very easily become a catalyst for change. To see the people behind the labouring women in delivery suites and to view the emotional impact of avoidable newborn deaths is an eye opening and heart crushing experience.

Lou explained that the hospital where Hattie was born (not Bristol Childrenโ€™s Hospital) sent a letter that included the line: โ€œThe trust would like to send their sincere apologies for the mistakes that were madeโ€. She went on to tell us that an investigation report clarified that Hattie would still be alive if it wasnโ€™t for these mistakes. Lou believes that accountability has been lacking and her anger towards this is evident throughout the latter part of the play. She talked of her post-birth and trauma care; which included receiving a call from a health visitor four days after Hattieโ€™s death to ask how they were getting on with the baby and being told that she didnโ€™t qualify for NHS-funded counselling because she was not suicidal.

Lou told me afterwards that the objective of the show was to raise money to support Bristol Childrenโ€™s hospital. So far sheโ€™s raised over ยฃ21,000 for The Grand Appeal. She was recently asked by the hospital if they could buy 29 new nebulisers, out of the donations. Her face lit up as she told me this with the knowledge that other newborns will benefit from the money raised in Hattieโ€™s memory.

Lou – the final words in your performance were โ€˜Hattie McConnell you are beyond specialโ€™. Iโ€™d like to add to that. Iโ€™m sure I speak for all those in the audiences over the weekend when I say: Lou Cox, you are very talented and very special. Thank you for the laughter with your brilliant comic timing and delivery, and thank you for courageously sharing your story.

Please follow this link if you can help support The Grand Appeal in memory of Hattie McConnell.

Editor’s Note: Lou Cox directs Girls Like That at The Wharf Theatre in July, preview HERE.

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Static Moves at The Three Crowns Devizes

Bussing into Devizes Saturday evening, a gaggle (I believe is the appropriate collective noun) of twenty-something girls from Bath already on-board, disembark at The Marketโ€ฆ

The Emporium in Devizes to Close

If Devizes boasts an abundance of independent gift shops of unique and exquisite or often novelty items in the face of a national pandemic ofโ€ฆ

Mental Rot; New I See Orange Single

Hold on tight, the new single from I See Orange, Mental Rot embodies everything I love about this Swindon grunge trio, and takes no prisonersโ€ฆ..โ€ฆ

Alex Roberts and Fly Yeti Fly @ The Barge Honeystreet

Ben Niamorย 

First time for me in the barn venue, itโ€™s a great space. Alex is no stranger to this place, and it feels like a really relaxed gig among friends. Alex played a good bit of material from his most recent release for us, Meridians and superpowers, the title track among the very best. And a mix of older songs and the odd cover.ย 

I love One More Miracle, inspired by terrorist legislation changes a little way back and how Jesus,  should he of come back at that time, could have been mistaken for a terrorist.. as usual some deeper thinking with wry humour infused to keep it positive and the lyrics flowing. 

โ€œHe said he couldnโ€™t walk on water, I said he should learn to surf like me..!?โ€ Understated and reflective as we have come to expect. 

Hacking back to the wild – about the peregrine falcon, words reflecting on the beauty and majesty of wild birds of prey. 

Love too strong, a sincere note of adulation to his wife. Sharing such a heartfelt song whilst his muse is in the room is a wonderfully inclusive thing to offer the rest of us, and always feels special somehow. 

I have highlighted but a few of the wonderful songs in this set, enough for any curious mind to look into this incredible musician, an artist I share with many looking for music thatโ€™s meaningful and well considered.ย 

Gorgeous harmonious three piece tonight, Fly Yeti Fly, with a cello alongside. Relatively new to me, but well known in the folk scene, and playing some great venues. A light hearted and delicate touch with the audience, some great songs with a running thread of nostalgia and positivity.ย 

They sang songs about his dad, his old man a hippy soul, who they quipped if he had visited Honeystreet would most likely never of left, and Blue yonder – a fun ode to the thoughts of our dogsโ€ฆ rousing and I think accurate musing in the mindset of dogs and their wanderlust and passion for adventure and new friends. Something reflected in the lives of many folk fans I think. 

Songs of mischievous mermaids luring Cornish choir boys to the icy depths in an incredibly harmonious manner โ€ฆ

Firewood – about the harder aspects of life on the cut. The cold and the worries of being iced in.

Thankfully most of us will not experience tough times on the water, that result in burning our furniture for warmth. 

But it makes for a bloody good folk song. 

I could ramble on about this lovely band, but this is just a snapshot of a good evenings live music, a fix of the kind of music that helps balance all our daily concerns and strife with some free thinking and perspective often with an historical context. Surely thatโ€™s a definition of the folk tradition? And one pleasingly well upheld by these artists and this well established venue. Thank you all.

Devizes Street Festival; Day One

If I can, which I think is best after one too many visits to the Stealth bar, sum today in Devizes up in a word, the word would be “balanced.” Perfectly balancedโ€ฆ.

DOCA smashed day one of the 2023 street festival, the sun shone and a brilliant day was had on the Green. We see our town turned into a festival of colour, circus, street theatre, music and dance annually and it never fails to impress and inspire, we’re accustomed to how great this event is. Today in particular, though, managed to pitch that perfect balance in supplying enough for everyone of all ages.

Myself, I bussed it in to find brass nutters Tuba Libres in their civvies busking in the Brittox, making for a grand teaser. The remaining wander to the Green buzzed with anticipation as Devizes was already bustling.

Enter the Green to see folk preparing to be Pac-Man while kids dressed as chaser ghosts and other dads were hit with sponge hammers purely for popping their heads from holes, and other curious video game related shenanigans, but in reality. If there is one thing to distract gamer kids from screens, this was it, and it worked, and it highlighted my point about the perfect balance as others gathered between the willows of a sustainable architectural stroke of genius to hear fantastic upbeat folk duo, Bonnie and Pete encapsulate the audience as Manchester-based Good Habits; they simply charmed and were so apt for chilling in the sanctuary.

With a witty finale folk-disco medley of Those Were the Days and I Will Survive, which worked a billion and one times better than it might sound, Good Habits habitually joined the crowds, while Sustainable Devizes took the mic for a environmental chat, and I sauntered around the site.

Behind us trapeze equipment was proudy erected, but rather than wait for the performance at the end of the day, was being used as a trapeze workshop where revellers queued to give it their best shot. Ten out of ten for interaction, obviously I’d have given it a go, but a food van operated with a virtual queue, and if the mobile device was to vibarate while I was up there my cheeseburger would’ve gone to waste; priorities, see?!

Tuck options aplenty, I confess to a rather splendid cake from the Devizes for Ukraine stall, who had a lovely selection of pastries and cakes you’re unlikely to have seen before.

Jealous because I forgot my sunhat, Welsh-queer mesh dancers plodded to ambient a soundscape, eerily building to a high energy folk dance, here presenting the wild card and receiving mixed verbal reviews from the crowd; certainly had impact.

I say wildcard, I mean, look, there’s a tricycle ridden around by a giant octopus, while its tabletop presents two aquabatic fish-dancers; this isn’t the usual day out in Devizes. But amidst the bizarre Lucid Acid’s Cat Sith was perhaps the most mesmerising, taking the pantomime horse to a whole new level. If it was a botheration to distract my eyes from the genius method of making this acrobatic puppetry appear genuinely feline, it was only to note the toddler next to me completely captivated by it, and my vision circled the crowd to note every person young and old watching in awe.

Miraculous changed into eighties keep fit attire The Tuba Libres blasted their brass at the Willow Sanctuary, and cockney sounding upbeat folk collective The Great Malarkey were as the name suggests, great with a two-tone twist, only to be followed by a spectacular display on the trapeze and now we await day two, which, by the time you read this it will be underway, in the Market Place this time; get your crocs!

Deadlight Dance: Innocent Beginnings

Marlborough’s darkwave-goth duo, Deadlight Dance push their boundaries to new limits with their second single, Innocent Beginnings this week, and itโ€™s a corker of goth perilous poignancyโ€ฆ..

Echoes of Human League synth prowess rain from this sombre tune, with foreboding warning vocals of Joy Division, yet the theme is environmental, something though historically consistent in pop, generally, surprisingly overlooked by the alternative subgenre of post-punk gothic of the eighties. Youโ€™d have thought with the stereotypical gloomy disposition of the genre, climate change was a missed opportunity for electronica, and/or post-punk goth subject matter; though maybe you know different, Iโ€™m no expert.

While it has been done, eighties misconceptions of the subject often obscure the severity of the topic, and place them subtly irreverent by todayโ€™s standards. Best I can conjure from memory is The Pixiesโ€™ track Monkey Gone to Heaven, of which the context of pollution and the depleting ozone layer is missed amidst the screeching vocals of Black Francis, A Forest by the Cure, which always felt more Little Red Riding Hood than eco-warrior, Talking Headsโ€™ (Nothing but) The Flowers which is all too satirical art-pop, experimentally awash with soukous, for some bizarre reason, and even to endure ten minutes of Giorio Moroderโ€™s less-inspiring disco synth moment in Cerroneโ€™s Supernature only to discover elements of environmental concerns conclude with humankind obliterated by some kind of โ€œcreature from below!โ€ 

It makes this single of an interesting composition, sounding so retrospective; precision with environmental subject matter came much later than this track imitates, therefore musical trends had changed by the time itโ€™s more astutely covered. Ethereal nineties and noughties alternative rock certainly made full use of the topic, from Mors Syphilitica to All About Eve, but Innocent Beginnings, as is Deadlightโ€™s design, it seems, is to recreate the sound of alternative eighties, leaving you pondering if Joy Division were at their peak now, climate change would have been the theme of Atmosphere, and might have come out sounding akin to this. Not forgoing, environmental groups would clasp hold of it, rather than just the creators of Stranger Things!ย ย 

Though, having said all of the gloomy irreversible theme of Innocent Beginnings which basically suggests itโ€™s all too late to do something about it now, the video is contradictorily recorded in the setting of the pretty village of Aldbourne; hardly the dystopian landscape of a post-apocalyptic earth wrecked by our own hand! And in turn, makes me come over all Greta Thunberg and contemplate at least if we try, we can say we tried; put that in your pipe and smoke it, Nick Fletcher and Tim Emery of Deadlight Dance! Damn good track though, guys, and produced by Nick Beere at Mooncalf Studios, we look forward to hearing more from these guys.

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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 by a lovely committee, because theyโ€ฆ

Events This Weekend; January Into February!

If weโ€™re nearly out of the prolonged gloom of January, note itโ€™s still winter but weโ€™ve climatised and are ready to party. February this yearโ€ฆ

Nothing Rhymes With Orange have Butterflies

If Lidl Shoes, April’s blast from our aspiring homegrown four-piece indie-punkers, Nothing Rhymes With Orange certainty raised the rafters with energetic enthusiasm, I held subtle solicitude, despite the amusing name, it did only a smidgen to progress the band any further than their mind-blowing debut EP Midsummer. By contrast today’s new single, Butterflies, is a Neil Armstrong sized leap in the maturing direction they need to be heading to attain a mass appeal.

With an infatuation theme, the band express a continuation of narrative relating to Lidl Shoes, yet while maintaining their archetypal jab of youthfulness, Butterflies ventures into a pensive mood, it’s dreamier, swapping guitar distortion and resounding choruses for a softer emotional sound. Don’t run off with Coldplay connotations, it remains punchy enough to warrant influences they cite, like Arctic Monkeys, The Killers and The Wombats, and it lies equally as beguiling as their most celebrated tune to-date, Manipulation.

If the chorus of Manipulation is hailed back at them by fans, Butterflies is clearly in the making to evoke the same effect. It’s instantly loveable, their best work so far, proving as I said since day dot, Nothing Rhymes With Orange are going places.

Nothing Rhymes With Orange Image: Gail Foster

With this interesting development, I wonder how their predominantly teenage fanbase have responded to this, as they will mature in-line with the band, and should, in theory, relate. Idolised acts of teenage years always rely on this familiarity with the path their fanbase are personally on, and their songs become stories of their own life. Butterflies identifies definitively, calls out to them, it’s an anthem, I tell you!

Frontman guitarist Elijah Easton, drummer Lui Venables, guitarist Fin Anderson-Farquhar and bassist Sam Briggs have cracked it again, furthering a natural development in their sound, and in conglomeration have penned another standout masterpiece; you’d be a fool to yourself for failing to make it down to the mainstage of Devizes Street Festival on Sunday by 2:30pm, where we should join in celebration at the remarkable achievement this young Devizes-based band has made, amidst the selection of international acts on show.

Nothing Rhymes With Orange. Image: Gail Foster

Here’s a linktree to all you need to know about Nothing Rhymes With Orange 

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Your Place, or Mine? Devizes Town Council Squabbles Over Meeting Venue!

I’ve a mildly interesting word origin urban myth to bore you with before we begin on an opinion piece about the latest petty squabbling at Devizes Town Council, which, beggar belief, causes no consequence or botheration to proceedings of the town’s affairs, but stands to illustrate how pathetic and time wasting it’s all become; a council supposed to diplomatically decide necessary changes to better improve facilities in a town yet cannot even concur which hall to hold meetings in without toys being thrown from prams; so, back of the class, pay attention!

Word of the day is “text,” as in a body of words most commonly used in “text message.” Obviously, there’s a derivation from the term textiles, but how it came to be was pre-industrial revolution when weavers worked outside as the cloth was too large to manage in small houses. Being outside, they got to hear the word on the street, a bygone equivalent of taxi drivers and hairdressers! As public opinion mattered to early politicians they would gage and take notes from the weavers as they cast their opinion on current affairs, to take to parliament. The annotations, words from textiles, ergo, came to pass text would mean any body of words.

But it illustrates a point, as to read the recent lone ramblings of one rouge councillor’s renownedly biassed Facebook group, that Devizes Town Council aims to bar the public from attending meetings by switching back to a meeting room though historically used and deemed by a majority of councillors more suitable from another used only recently to insure social distancing during the pandemic, that really, upstanding politicians and councillors alike both want and need to gage public opinion, therefore, logically would encourage public interaction.

The Marketplace this weekend might be for street festival, but next Saturday, 27th May, is a bit of a letdown by comparison as the Devizes Town Council have their roadshow, unless they intend to break into a cover of Wonderwall, which is, fortunately, unlikely! But it is a regular occurence, the purpose of which is for the public to meet the councillors and pour out their concerns to them. In turn, it goes to prove the majority of councillors welcome public opinion. Which begs the question, why go to all that trouble, if this rant is genuine and to be believed, that the council doesn’t care for public interest?! It simply doesn’t make sense.

Two other town councillors have independently taken to other local Facebook groups to elucidate the reasons for the room switch, but being like many members of the public who dared to offer a differing opinion to the admin and town councillor of the page that the rant was posted on, the Devizes Issues, their pledge lies separate from the original post and they are unable to comment upon it. This leaves the admin, again, with the final say on the matter there, that other councillors are according to him, switching rooms in order to bar the public from attending meetings.

Longstanding councillor and former mayor Judy Rose was the one who proposed the move from the Town Hall Assembly Room back to the Council Chamber. “The reasons for wishing to return there have been suggested by a Conservative Cllr, Iain Wallis, is in order to keep the public out,” she explained, “I can state clearly that this proposal has nothing to do with keeping the public out, nor the spurious idea of โ€˜returning homeโ€™.”

She continued to outline the reasons for the move,”the acoustics of the Assembly Room are poor for the spoken word, even with mics. At our last Council meeting, an invited speaker used the mic, but still remained inaudible to many of us, and frequently, the same thing happens with councillor’s contributions. The arrangement of tables facing each other does not, at times, make for co-operative, civilised debate or behaviour.”

The public have always been able to attend meetings in the Council Chamber since the Town Hall was built. Prior to Covid, the meetings were moved to the Assembly Room when a larger contingent of the public was expected, a move which was relatively easy to anticipate from the contents of the agenda.

Judy expressed, “the public never have, nor will they ever be excluded from meetings, save under GDPR for certain exempt items concerning staff matters and commercial information about the properties owned by the Town Council. To suggest otherwise is completely mistaken, and to imply such a hidden agenda is not constructive and indeed very unhelpful in aiding the knowledge and understanding of how the Town Council operates.”

Guardian leader Jonathan Hunter also expressed his concerns, “this move is not about excluding any members of the public; itโ€™s about promoting a more positive and cohesive environment. Councillors do not want to exclude members of the public and to suggest that this is the case is completely false.”

“Whilst the super-sized venues of the Corn Exchange and Assembly Room were appropriate for Covid protocols, the Assembly Room has become a venue that promotes distance between councillors and the public. Regular difficulties with communication and, at times, an adversarial and confrontational atmosphere all make the Assembly room a poor choice environment and a venue that isnโ€™t fit for purpose. Councillors should be working together, and the environment should be positive, focused, and non confrontational.”

“Members of the public that were also present last night were asked for their views. Their conclusions were that the Assembly Room was confrontational.
In an attempt to sway opinion, it was unfortunate that one or two councillors stated that the public would be sat behind the backs of councillors within the council chamber in future meetings, even though the room layout hasnโ€™t been set up for future meetings. Councillors do not want to have their backs towards members of the public.”

Devizes Guardians, along with the Labour councillor, the Independent councillor and the newly elected Mayor all voted in favour. Three Conservative councillors abstained. The proposal was approved with a majority vote. But with these facts obscured from the more popular Facebook group the readers are faced with a one-sided evaluation of the issue and will likely believe what’s said because no one has come forward to challenge it; ministry of truth type stuff.

The very fact this has happened, and is of no rare occasion, implies more generally, that these accusations made against opposing councillors are in fact, nothing more than the power tripping ramblings of a particular councillor who’s only intentions are to belittle their fellow councillors and create the illusion he is the superhero of hour here to bound in wearing his spandex and restore public access to council meetings; is it a bird? Is it a plane?!

Yet, being a majority of residents, and councillors have been banned from the group, and/or are silenced by comments deleted, alternatively implies otherwise.

Now, I stand accused myself of “bullying and harrassing” this councillor, by none other than him, on an occasion where he posted a request for people to advertise upcoming events consequently causing a number of people to mention that Devizine was a good place to find such information. I didn’t encourage them to do this, and have no access to the group yet sonehow this constituted “bullying.”

Every comment which stated this simple fact was deleted, and many were banned from the group. Suggesting there appears to be a personal vendetta against us, when really, as we cover discrepancies and problematic issues arising from local politics, it so unduly seems to be near every time such a happening occurs within Devizes Town Council it seems the same councillor is at the heart of the squabble. This doesn’t mean we have deliberately targeted anyone in particular, and we certainly haven’t bullied or harassed anyone.

I could go out on a whim and suppose, on this occasion the councillor in question is right, and all the other town councillors intend to bar the public from meetings, but unfortunately for him, there’s simply no logical explanation as to why they would want to do this, and furthermore, if it is the truth, has he never read The Boy Who Cried Wolf?!

Ask yourself this question, who would you believe, the individual town councillor who has lied, maliciously exaggerated and skewered facts, censored anyone opposing him then plays the victim, or a majority of councillors simply motivated by the notion of doing what’s best for our town?

Just remember all this come local council elections, boi, I did say pay attention; it’s petty, I know, but makes one wonder how they fair on bigger issues when they throw their toys out of pram over what room to hold a meeting in to solve said bigger issues! Mind you, if I was mayor the council would be Playboy bunnies and meetings would held in a hotub, so no one’s perfect!

Song of the Week: Canute’s Plastic Army

Swindon’s acoustic Celtic folk duo Canute’s Plastic Army played the Southgate in Devizes last Saturday; though firmly on my never-ending must-see-list, even just the name alone is enticing, until cloning technology is readily affordable and can be found in Lidl next to the Portable Car Air Compressors and 30-in-1 Screwdriver Sets, I cannot be everywhere at the same time!

To rub salt into said wound, they’ve a new single out this week, Anglo Saxon Song, with the passionate vocals of Anish Harrison harking beautiful Celtic song and intricately subtleย guitar work of Neil Mercer, here’s a taste of something different for you; timeless, enchanting, and hanging around Avebury at solstice type stuff, and it drips with authenticity and charm.

Their first EP, Building Walls, was released in summer 2017 on Secret Chord Records. Find some interesting previous singles on Bandcamp, for a quid a piece, and then you, like, me will be aiming not to miss them next time around!

Find them on Thursday 1st June with the Bellflowers at the Beehive, Swindon.

Trending….

Discovering Swindon Story Shed

With Dad’s taxi on call in Swindon and a few hours to kill whilst her majesty is at the flicks, it was fortunate localโ€ฆ

The Rise of Winter Festivals

Once upon a time it seemed to me, that folk would grin and bear the winter weather for the sake of a Christmas lightsโ€ฆ

Weekly Roundup of Events in Wiltshire: 24th-30th May 2023

OMG, OMG, another bank holiday weekend coming up, whoโ€™s excited, who’s coming out to play?! Hereโ€™s what weโ€™ve found this week, find the info and links, and for planning ahead, here, on our event calendar. No prizes for guessing Editorโ€™s Pick of the Week this week!

Obviously more stuff will be added to our event calendar as and when it comes to our attention, this is not comprehensive, so do check in later in the week, and let us know what we missed, we charge one cupcake to add an event, but it must be a chocolate one! 

Donโ€™t forget to check out Hail the Curious, the debut exhibit at The Forbidden Carnival in Chippenham, running until 30th June. 

Wednesday 24th:

Regular acoustic jam at The Southgate in Devizes.

Skimpy & The Triniti Band at The Bell Inn, Bath, where Little Shop of Horrors runs until Saturday at The Rondo Theatre.

Emmanuel Sonubiโ€™s Emancipated at Swindon Arts Centre, and Gretchen Peters at The Wyvern Theatre, Swindon.

The Mead Community Primary School presents Forever Treasure Island at Wiltshire Music Centre, Bradford on Avon.

Pierre Novellie and Huge Davies, Comedy Previews at Pound Arts in Corsham.

Thursday 25th:

Shindig Festival opens its doors, have a great weekend to all at Shindig, you lucky lot; have a boogie for me!

Open Mic at Stallards in Trowbridge.

Lady Maisery at Pound Arts, Corsham.

The Soap Girls play The Vic in Swindon, I say, ding-dong! Reverend Ferriday is at The Tuppenny, Jen Bristerโ€™s The Optimist at Swindon Arts Centre, and itโ€™s all soul at The Wyvern Theatre with the Luther show.

Octopus Dream Theatre presents I Love You, Mum, I Promise I Wonโ€™t Die at  The Merlin Theatre, Frome.

Friday 26th:

Lou Coxโ€™s n o holds barred one-woman show, Having a Baby and the S**t They Donโ€™t Tell You, at The Wharf Theatre, Devizes for Friday and Saturday; highly recommended from us, but not for the faint hearted!

Meanwhile, 12 Bars Later make a welcomed return to The Three Crowns, Devizes, with the incredible Mark Coltonโ€™s solo show at The Pelican.

John Wattersonโ€™s celebrated tribute to Jake Thackray, An Evening Without Jake Thackray comes to The Bouverie Hall in Pewsey. Billy & Louie at The Castle & Ball, Marlborough. 

Running until the 29th, itโ€™s the opening of Chippenham Folk Festival, while the fantastic Triple JD Band plays The Old Road Tavern.

Find Castro at The Wheatsheaf, Calne.

The most amazing young soul singer Iโ€™ve heard for an era or four, Franki Soul is at Trowbridge Town Hall. While Fly Yeti Fly have a double-bill at The Pump with Alex Roberts and Graeme Ross.

The Karport Collective are the Seven Stars, Winsley, Bradford-on-Avon; fantastic these guys are. Dervish, legends of the Irish folk scene at Wiltshire Music Centre.

Break Cover are at Brown Street in Salisbury.

Tapped at the Theatre Royal, Bath, and The Lynne and McCartney Story Theatre Show at Chapel Arts.

We Were Promised Honey at Pound Arts, Corsham.

Here Come The Crows at The Vic in Swindon, while Rosie Jonesโ€™ Triple Threat is at Swindon Arts Centre, and The Roy Orbison Experience comes to The Wyvern Theatre.

Ultimate Coldplay at The Cheese & Grain, Frome, and The Urban Voodoo Machine at The Tree House.

Saturday 27th:

You know it has to be Editorโ€™s Pick of the Week, The Devizes International Street Festival is free, itโ€™s the best weekend in Devizes, and it starts on the Green on Saturday and continues on the Sunday in the Market Place; see you there!

Street Festival after parties, then, find Jonah Hitchens Band at the Southgate, Devizes, Ben Borrill plays at The Moonrakers, andย Gerry Jablonski Band plays at the Long Street Blues Club. The Snuff Box has an International Craft Beer Festival, and The Exchange hosts guest DJ, Castro.

Direct from the Pump, Fly Yeti Fly, Alex Roberts and Graeme Ross fly over to The Barge on HoneyStreet, while the Chaos Brothers are at The Lamb in Marlborough. 

Be Like Will & Band Of Pilgrims are at The Pump in Trowbridge.

End of Story at The Talbot, Calne, while Band-X play The Wheatsheaf.

A fundraiser for Swindonโ€™s Ukrainian community at Swindon Hub, Rave Against The Regime at The Vic, The Black Hole Sons at the New Inn, Walk Right Back at The Wyvern Theatre, and Tom Davisโ€™ Work in Progress at Swindon Arts Centre.

Ma Bessie and her Pigfoot Band at Chapel Arts, Bath, with You Are The Sun at Theatre Royal, running until 29th May, and A Shining Intimacy at The Egg.

Triple JD are at the Sun in Frome, the Cheese & Grain have Lindisfarne while The Burning Hell are at The Tree House.

Sunday 28th:

Devizes International Street Festival continues, in the Market Place this time, too much to mention here, but do look out for our homegrown upcoming talent Nothing Rhymes With Orange on the main stage at 2:30pm. 

The Barge, Honey-Street are Celebrating 50 years of Dark Side of the Moon with Atom Heart Floyd.

Jon Amor Trio at The New Inn, Bath, Jolie Blon at The Bell Inn.

Last Call at The Vic, Swindon.

Fromeโ€™s Spring Vegan Fair at the Cheese & Grain.

Monday 29th:

Bank holiday goodness then, arty kids will be pottery painting at Hilworth Park, find Kate and The Unpredictables at The Three Crowns, Devizes.

Swindonโ€™s famous duck race, see poster below.

Mono at the Cheese & Grain, Tryani Collective at The Bell in Bath.

Tuesday 30th I got nought, unless you know better; always tell us if weโ€™ve missed something! Mind you, I think thatโ€™s enough for one week, have a day off, stay home and make beans on toast; you can add a little chilli powder to fully clear your system if you so choose! Have a great weekend, stop me and give me grief if you spot me at the Street Festival, I donโ€™t biteโ€ฆ..not on the nipple at any rate!

Trending…..

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

Christmas Greetings From Devizine!

Here’s our Christmas video Greeting, ho-ho-ho! Filmed on location at DOCA Winter Festival, Devizes, 2024 by Jess Worrow. Merry Christmas everyone!

Female of the Species Announce 2023 Date!

For eight years on the trot, minus the lockdown year no one needs reminding of, local all-female supergroup, The Female of the Species have performed a one-off gig raising funds for various local charities; 2023 is no different as they announce this year’s will be on 21st October at Seend Community Hallโ€ฆ.

It’s an amalgamation made in heaven. Five frontwomen of various local bands join in celebration, which is the sum of all their individual talent and a whole lot more. Nicky Davis from People Like Us and The Reason, Julia Greenland from Soulville Express & Delta Swing, Claire Perry from Big Mamma’s Banned & The Misfitz, Charmaigne Andrews from Siren, and Julie Moreton from Train to Skaville and Jules & The Odd Men make the line up, and if you’ve seen these any of these girls in action solo or with their own bands, you’ll know they’re all 100% dynamite; imagine this times five, forget the maths, the result is greater than 500%, an atomic detonation of wonderful!

I’ll see your examples of legends upstaging each other when on the same stage at the same time, as it’s fair to wonder how on earth something so right like Mike Jagger and David Bowie recording Dancing in the Street could’ve gone so utterly wrong, but raise you my assurance this is not the same ballpark here. The girls of Female of the Species work together in unison, back each other’s solos with such gusto, skill and friendship, it’s a sight to behold.

From Teen Talk to Young Melksham, and even once for Carmelaโ€™s Fight Against Muscular Dystrophy, Female of the Species must have raised tens of thousands of pounds by now, and received a civic award three years ago. Last year was a Halloween theme, this time the girls cover “the MTV years.” And will raise funds for Alzheimers Support.

I mean, yeah, it’s an assortment of sing-a-long covers, but with the adjoining of so much talent, it’s the unmissable cover show bursting with energy and fun you must see for yourself; the likes you only know if you know. Because of this ever growing need to know basis, it will sell out super fast, so….

Tickets are HERE.

The  Female of the Species throw absolutely everything they have at this annual event. With great support acts and on stage banter, it’s something to behold. Here at Devizine we congratulate and thank the girls and all involved in this annual event which has become as special on our local event calendar as Christmas day!

Trending…..

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 newโ€ฆ

Exploring Frome at Night; Does Every Town Need a Cheese and Grain?

Finally crawled out of my Hobbit-hole this weekend after a shilly-shallying period of making do with BGT on the telebox, and what better way to kick my sorry-ass back into gear than to finally pop my Cheese and Grain cherry?

Hold your gasp, I know, mate, inspecting the South West’s flagship venue was still surprisingly on my Devizine roadshow to-do-list, and a little tour of Frome’s back streets on a Saturday night with a former resident to direct me off the tourist track was also on the cards. For I’ve mindfully put Frome, particularly the Cheese, on a pedestal, and was eager to see if it lived up to expectations.

Firstly, the invite was for a sellout night with eighties premier Scottish rockers, Big Country, of whom I could only cite one hit from memory, conveniently self-titled, but if far from their biggest fan, the support came from another eighties band, who had minor chart success with a post-punk synth type style, Spear of Destiny, and I’d never heard of them. Neither, I confess, were my cuppa, but the opportunity to cross the border and see Frome in all its heavenly glory was my motivation.

Frome conveys a happening liberal, alternative arty and counterculture reputation, its hipster value far outweighing any Wiltshire market town, something which has developed fairly recently, and can be likened to Somerset’s own Brighton, pebbly beach converts to cobbled streets, and the Cheese effectively their Pavilion. But should we bow in envy at its proud accomplishments? Perhaps.

Our initial pitstop was a necessity burrito calling, placing me with pleasant first impressions. As a train pulled into Frome Station and people offloaded, we took to a renovated hanger nearby, called the Station, where various street food outlets surrounded an alternative art gallery. It was no issue Burrito Boi was the only one open, as per guide’s recommendation, it was what we were here for.

Burritto Boi, you boss!

Even with a view of the gigantic B&M sign, your gaze is ever-easily diverted from commercialisation in Frome, it’s colourfully aesthetic. We met a chatty musician type, of the acoustic punk covers band Raggedy Men, a Frome band, it was told, which rarely gigs further than they can effectively crawl home from, amidst folk gathered alfresco on benches, under a casual reggae beat! Burrito Boi’s bar and eatery wasn’t exactly cheap, but damn, that was one tasty burrito, as worthy of your attention as any beef and rice wrap can possibly be.

And there it is with a general nutshell of Frome, like Italy, to suggest it’s cool and hip is no fib, but whatever you do is hefty on the wallet; shrug, sign of the times.

The ticket stub for The Cheese and Grain tonight stood at a sizable thirty-five notes, a pint has reached the inevitable fiver as standard, but dammit, it bears its wires as to where your dollar goes, and you have to hand it to the place, it’s the kind of wonderful to leave you contemplating if every town needs a Cheese and Grain.

While immersed in an adequate free overnight car park, one vocal regular with khaki shorts and floppy pink and silver mohican informed me she had never seen it so full, only to be further confirmed Big Country attained a devoted fanbase in meeting a couple who’d travelled from London, and delighted to shock us that there’s “nothing quite like this in the capital.”

Such is the reputation of this big cheese, the kind of venue to host the Foo Fighters, or a spontaneous pitstop for Sir Paul McCartney to drop in for a gig on his way to Glasto, and frequently too, The Pretenders graced this grand hall last Friday. It is a comparable rural answer to a city venue, such as Bristol’s O2. Though you may find a ticket stub at a smidgen less at the latter, supposing because it has a larger capacity, the further fuel and parking fees will far tipple over the price for the Cheese.

So, if you like your live music bold and with celebrity or legendary status, The Cheese and Grain is the choicest thirty-five minute drive away, as it’s the only venue here so majestically respected to host such big names. As at an eight hundred capacity, the mechanics of any larger venue are unavoidably bound by regulations, to make you feel like herded cattle, at the Cheese you’re relatively of the organic free-range variety. The hall is a huge open space with a grand purpose-built stage and marvellous acoustics, as the sound reverberates like a bass bin, the effect is awesome. But the surroundings are equally appeasing, the outside area is bustling, with an aroma of freshly-cooked pizza; it is, just, nice.

The slim age demographic inside reflected the double bill of acts popularised in the eighties, and thus an older crowd appeared spaciously divided, so late comers were standing watching beyond the fire doors for want not to be ageing sardines, and thus I felt little atmosphere developing. Both bands accomplished yet hardly groundbreaking now, and with little knowledge of their works for me it lacked the retrospective appeal it clearly did for the fans; I was a tender thirteen in 1983, and favoured Grandmaster Flash!

Though I will say, if a post-punk support felt unmatched for the aficionados of this harder rock band, even if of the same era, Spear of Destiny where equally as great, expressively vocal and perhaps closer to the general rock sound of Big Country than I’d bargained they would be.

Big Country though, were only partially the real McCoy. With former Skids original frontman Stuart Adamson passed away in 2001, Simon Hough made for a great alternative, as they worked through their magnum opus album, The Crossing, on its forty anniversary. As for the fans, well, they lapped it up.

Of course, on another evening, with a different line-up I’m gathering The Cheese & Grain converts to suit the punters, ergo given when Ruzz Guitar plays there, or when Dreadzone pays a visit, the crowd will relate appropriately to the tenet of the act. See, to me, June 16th-17th’s Frome ska and reggae weekender has my name all over it, and you should browse their website or our event calendar to find something to fill your boots too, because I know you will!

With the pull of acts to play the Cheese, such as Big Country far greater than our humble blog, it’s futile to provide you with a detailed analysis of them, as also as suggested, I appreciate they played well to the fans but it wasn’t my cuppa. I ask myself, would I have preferred to be in one of our cosier, grassroots venues, backing an upcoming act, like at The Pump, or down the trusty Southgate back in Devizes? Actually, being not one to chase the big names, yeah, I believe I would have.

With that box ticked then, it was decided to do a bunk; I was keen to see what else was on offer in Frome on an typical night. Yet, it was surprisingly quiet elsewhere, as if the Cheese has the gravitational pull of Jupiter and anything else surrounding it was merely a moon.

I didn’t think at this point to check the sister venue, the Tree House, who had a Muse tribute, rather we sauntered the town, mostly upwards cobbly streets. While told to avoid The Blue Boar, and some class and glass fronted wine bar, Eight Stony Street, which looked city-like and not within the character of the town, we wandered through the partial club-bar 32 Bath Street, which catered for a younger, perhaps less affluent, and with drum n bass playing out, young at heart, I loved it there!

Of course, the busiest was a taste of home, Wadworth’s grand George Hotel, and we passed by The Sun, which appeared welcoming, and had some locally sourced live music on, to the cobbled legendary Lamb & Fountain, which I was told was the best pub in town. Yet it was an acquired taste, uniquely appropriate, akin to said Southgate, or Swindon’s Beehive, it has its independent feel which wouldn’t change on request, a local of locals, it was sawdust-on-the-floor welcoming. Nought Wetherspoons about any of them!

I left feeling sometimes, perhaps, less is more. Clearly Frome attracts more lively characters, bohemians and oddities than any neighbouring towns, but overloaded with options of things to do, I fear, aside the outside pull of The Cheese, if it has the population to sustain them all, as the biggest niggler was, unlike cities like Brighton, the streets felt comparatively void of activity.

Maybe we could attribute this to being a weekend before a bank holiday, or a general sign of these hard times which all towns are experiencing. I don’t know, just felt, though it was an adventurous evening exploring a town I know little about, and only had time to scratch the surface of, while Frome has this city-sized event programme feel to it, it only weighs in approximately eight thousand larger in population to Devizes, and less than half the size of Chippenham.

I’m kinda thinking, if I lived there, with all this on my doorstep, would I simply take it for granted and rarely engage as much as I assume I would? And would my wallet allow me to?

Ah, it’s debatable for sure, but take Devizes on a Saturday night, where options are comparably limited, at least plenty will gather at what beauties we do have, I’d wager great nights were had, as ever, at the Three Crowns and The Southgate. So even without a regular Cheese and Grain on our doorstep, we make do with what we do have, and use them more regularly. And on those special occasions like next week’s Street Festival, Devizes will put on the amazingly colourful parade we know it to be, and all will join and rejoice there, freely.

Or I could just be on a grumpy Sunday rant cos you can’t get a burrito that tasty for love nor money in Devizes; you decide, but yeah, Frome, don’t go changing just to please me!

Trending…..

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!, theโ€ฆ

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, isโ€ฆ

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,โ€ฆ

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 forโ€ฆ

Weekly Roundup of Events in Wiltshire: 17th-23rd May 2023

Hey you, had one of those weeks so far, and need to blow off some steam?! I know I have, but you donโ€™t need me to get started on my problems, you need to hear about all the events happening this coming week in Wiltshire; hereโ€™s what weโ€™ve found, but thereโ€™s always more to come, so info on these, links and further updates can be found on our Event Calendar.

Itโ€™s about this time when you really need to be looking over next month too and planning ahead. So much going on in June, from Pride to Devizes Arts Festival and, and, and, well, just have a sneaky peak HERE.

Ongoing: do check out Si Griffithโ€™s new gallery The Forbidden Carnival in Chippenham. Thereโ€™s an exhibit currently running until the end of June, and it is amazing; see the poster below, and review HERE.  

Wednesday 17th: the regular acoustic jam at The Southgate, Devizes. Also, a piano lunchtime recital from Helen Farrar at Pound Arts in Corsham.

The Tight Lipped Combo at The Bell Inn, Bath, and Tiff Stevensonโ€™s Sexy Brain at the Rondo Theatre.

Opening at Swindon Arts Centre and running until 20th May the TinkCo Theatre Group presents Calendar Girls. And Kate Rusby is at the Cheese & Grain in Frome.

Thursday 18th: And The Drystones play The Pump in Trowbridge, with a Comedy Network night at the Civic.

Happy Place at the Rondo Theatre in Bath.

Ghosts of This Town play The Vic in Swindon, Somerset Velvet & James Turner at The Tuppenny, and Luluโ€™s For the Record is at The Wyvern Theatre.

Jon Royon is a Corsham based potter who took up pottery 5 years ago after taking classes at The Pound, and you can meet him at the Pound in Corsham, and itโ€™s free. In the evening thereโ€™s a National Theatre live screening of David Harewood (Homeland) and Zachary Quinto (Star Trek) playing feuding political rivals in James Grahamโ€™s (Sherwood) multiple award-winning new drama, Best of Enemies, set in 1968 America, as two men fight to become the next president. This is also showing at the Merlin Theatre in Frome.

Friday 19th: The Reason, are at The Three Crowns in Devizes, and that is never a bad thing! Sarumโ€™s Lot are at The Barge on Honey-Street.

Thereโ€™s funky jazz and soul from the Shilts at the Civic in Trowbridge.

The Mark Harrison Band at The Rondo Theatre, Bath.

2 Sick Monkeys headline The Vic in Swindon, with Borrowed Time, The Liabilities and Room 10, while The Music of Meatloaf can be found at The Wyvern Theatre with Hits Out of Hell.

George Eggโ€™s Set Menu at Pound Arts, Corsham. The South play the Cheese & Grain in Frome, with A Band Called Malice at The Tree House.

Saturday 20th: Find a 75-minute chaotic journey through the minds of two dudes; Jack & Jordan at The Wharf Theatre, Devizes, Lazy Dog Comedy comes to Devizes Con Club, and some edgy folk from Cauteโ€™s Plastic Army at the Southgate.

The Travis Waltons at Heartwork at The Pump, Trowbridge, the wonderful Strange Folk play Stallards, and Martyโ€™s Fake Family at the Wiltshire Yeoman.

The Hi Fiโ€™s at Melksham Rock โ€˜nโ€™ Roll Club, Triple JD Band at The Constitutional Club in Chippenham.

Homer at The Bakerโ€™s Arms, Swindon, The Roughcut Rebels at the Swiss Chalet, Faux Fighters at The Vic, Tim Vineโ€™s Breeep! at The Wyvern Theatre.

The Archive of Dread at Rondo Theatre, Bath, with Blurt at The Bell Inn, and Ricky Cool and the In Crowd at Chapel Arts.

Mara Simpson at Pound Arts, Corsham.

But Iโ€™m seriously thinking of crossing the border for our Editorโ€™s Pick of the Week, Big Country playing the Cheese & Grain, with Spear of Destiny in support, amazeballs! Meanwhile Muse tribute Muze plays the Tree House.

Sunday 21st: you can find the Madhatterโ€™s Wedding Fayre at Devizes Corn Exchange from 11am-3pm. From 5pm in Devizes, find the Eddie Martin Trio at the Southgate.

Jaywalkers at The Bell Inn, Bath.

All for the kids at Swindon Arts Centre with Grooving with Pirates, and Pop Princesses at The Wyvern Theatre.

Illyria presents Robin Hood in an open air performance at the Merlin Theatre, Frome.

Monday 22nd:

Pasha Finn & The Ellipsis at The Bell Inn, Bath, and Monday also kicks off SparkFest at the Mission Theatre, running until 27th May, thereโ€™s lots going on there.

Tuesday 23rd:

War of The Worlds at Swindon Arts Centre, Liโ€™l Jim at The Bell Inn in Bath, and an Exhibition on screen at Pound Arts in Corsham, called Tokyo Stories. 

And thatโ€™s all folks. Big weekend next time, bank holiday again, and Devizes Street Festival with so much other great stuff going on itโ€™s going to take me until next week to type it all out here! Have a good one, big love, Darren.

Trending……

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-leadershipโ€ฆ

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 inโ€ฆ

How to Tell if Your Parents Were Ravers!

Suh Gen Z? U might think U is well dank two-footing pensionerโ€™s doors for TikTok followers, n U might think U snatched the kiki, vibing n vaping through a Taylor Swift concert, polishing off a whole bag of Haribo, U total ledge. But I have wig for U about your so-called โ€œboomerโ€ parents; your slang is wonky at best, mate, they ainโ€™t boomers at all, theyโ€™re more likely the wicked, jilted generation X, and it might just be fact that in a time of yore, before you were a twinkle in your daddyโ€™s dilated pupils, they secretly partied harder, faster and longer in an hour than you will ever hope to achieve throughout your entire life…..

Big yikes, tho, donโ€™t get salty, Iโ€™m not out to diss U, so donโ€™t ghost me, Iโ€™m here to give you the tea on how to find out if your parents were what we deemed in the nineties as โ€œravers.โ€

Now, U might assume you know what this entails, but I can assure you, soz, but you have absolutely no clue at all. To rave in the nineties wasnโ€™t clubbing in soft play centres covered in neon glow sticks and daring to drink six Primes, like it might be today. Raving back then was mostly illegal, multitudes gathering in fields and disused warehouses across the UK, all of which wouldnโ€™t pass modern health and safety regulations; but this is only the tip of the iceberg, the rest will knock you the fuck out like you is Chris Rock at the Grammys, and these facts are Will Smith.

Yep, they might be dictating and demanding now, stamping their control over you, preaching right from wrong, and bigging up their own behaviour by comparison, but I ask, how well do you really know them, what secrets might they be hiding about their own misspent youth? Were your parents party to this outrageous trend? Did they gyrate like broken robots with eyes the size of saucers, masticating the shit out of a Wrigleyโ€™s Juicy Fruit?

Here are some tell-tale signs to help you discover if, in some long-forgotten past, your parents made some fucking noise, and if they secretly, knew the score (you may need to Google these archaic expressions):

1: Ask Your Grandparents

Grandparents might hold several clues but may not think it wise to let you in on them. Try asking them about what time your parents would get home after going out on a Friday evening. If they answer โ€œusually around 1 or 2am,โ€ you are off the hook. If they answer โ€œsometime on Tuesday evening, and then they slept until Thursday,โ€ then it’s a reason for suspicion.

If fortunate enough your grandparents still live in the same house as they did when your parent in question was young, go to their former bedroom and carefully peel back the wallpaper. Should you discover hundreds of blue smears, that will be blu-tac remains, and it’s very possible they adorned their walls with a thing called “flyers.” These were basically adverts for forthcoming raves. It was the carbon footprint fire insurance write-off done thing at the time, though collecting flyers doesn’t constitute they actually attended raves, it could’ve been a bluff to look cool and gain a shag, but it’s a good starting clue. Take some wallpaper paste to avoid detection.

2: Check for Jawbone Structure and Oral Hygiene 

If you think it likely your grandparents would’ve taught good oral hygiene, yet your dad’s teeth looks like someone threw a grenade into Wookey Hole, chances are he was gurning his face off in a field somewhere, long before you were an itch in his โ€œbaggies,โ€ and this is the aftermath. 

Remember, donโ€™t ask why, but the jawbone structure of Johnny Bravo and the teeth of Gollum is your gateway to enlightenment on the issue; I think it best you follow further instructions as your Dad sounds like the kind of right cheesy quaver who were dubbed โ€œthe white gloveโ€ brigade. Again, it was a thing at the time.

3: Blowdry your Hair and other Audio Clues

More simply, blowdry your hair. If they start dancing to the sound of the hairdryer it’s time to prepare for the worst; it sounds like they were officially on a โ€œpukka one,โ€ at more than one point in their life.

Attend a football match or other sporting event, should the refereeโ€™s whistle evoke blissful memories and your parents respond thus: โ€œwhistle posse!โ€ you should be concerned.

4: Shout Outs

Shout out โ€œI’ll take your brain to another dimension,โ€ from the top of the stairs, and repeat three times. If they reply, โ€œwhat the devil are you on about now, foolish child?โ€ then youโ€™re back in the safe zone. If, however, in a glorious screech of reminiscence they respond, โ€œpay close attention!โ€ Then it’s a pretty safe bet Iโ€™m afraid.

Alternatively, you could try the rave mantra, โ€œtop one, nice one,โ€ and they should respond with โ€œget sorted!โ€ If that doesn’t trigger them nothing is likely to, and you can be safe in the knowledge they probably listened to boy bands in the nineties, the sad acts.

5: Search for Photographic Evidence and Pop Music Knowledge 

Time for some research. You should note your parents are not of your generation who feel the need to photographically document every second of their lives on social media. In fact, pulling out a camera at a rave would be seriously frowned upon, so a decade gap of photographs in the famโ€™s archive of your parents might hold a clue. If all you find are the odd snap of a family occasion, where your parent can be seen snoozing on a sun-lounger in the background with a grin like the Cheshire Cat, or a photograph of them standing next to their XR3i or 3.0 Capri turbo, you should be wary.

Give your parents a pop quiz starting off with chart hits of the eighties, then the nineties. If they come up all chicken dinner with the eighties questions but fail like Joey Essex on Mastermind on the nineties ones, it’s because ravers forgot all about pop hits and chart positions when they first reached for the skies and got mullered at a rave party, fact. 

6: Suspicious Purchases 

If your mum neglects to buy you the bitesize GCSE maths book you’ve been asking for, but instead gets you a pair of Technics and a mixer, something is definitely amiss, and there’s a likelihood they want you to be the life and soul to a hopeful resurrection of the trend. Say โ€œno, I’m not Carl Cox, I only want to pass my exams.โ€

7: The Obvious Final Exam

Only attempt this if your parents have scored high in all the above tests, and never, I repeat never question why; there are some skeletons in closets you really donโ€™t want to uncover. For this final exam you will need a packet of M&Ms, favourably of the plain old chocolate variety. Take the sweets out of their packet, place them in a money bag and offer one to your old folks. The correct response from the average parent should be something along the lines of, โ€œoh, no thank you, itโ€™s very kind, but you eat them my love.โ€

However, should your mum or dad respond with a sniff, and a โ€œna, sorted mate!โ€ itโ€™s pretty much concrete that your parents have had equal if not more โ€rave accessoriesโ€ than Bez of the Happy Mondays, (Google him and prepare yo bad self.)

The bottom line is to never worry too much about it, okay so your parents were hardcore, but you do not need counselling, itโ€™s not biggie, really; just ensure they are comfortable and never throw out any of these things pictured below. They are called cassette tapes, and they might be the only fragments left of a long-forgotten youth culture very sentimental to them. You should note, the times were vastly different from today, we had an economic recession and were dictated to with an iron fist, by the last desperate attempts of a failing conservative government, but at least we didnโ€™t have Ed Sheeran. You cannot judge your parents by the order of things today, this is not Minority bloody Report.

Waiting for Godot @ The Mission Theatre

By Ian Diddams

Images by Playing Up Theatre Company

Samuel Beckettโ€™s existential work is performed in the round this week in Bathโ€™s Mission Theatre, by the Playing Up Theatre Company…..


โ€œGive them enough rope and theyโ€™ll hang themselvesโ€ โ€ฆ. Beckettโ€™s rope is superbly used by the company to great aplomb as it happens. Gogo (Matt Nation) and Didi (Darian Nelson), have no rope to do so whilst wanting to, while Lucky (Sam Fynn) and Pozzo (Jack Strawbridge) do have rope but no suicidal tendencies. Godot naturally never appears although his messenger (Scarlett Nation) delivers his tardy apologies.

These five perform on a traditionally sparse set, with cunning use of lighting for the tree, accompanied by two large rocks and two entrances to frame the action. Heavy winter clothing sets the season. Sophie Brookesโ€™ direction does the rest, ably supported by Richard Chiversโ€™ tech.

โ€œGodotโ€ is fundamentally a five-person, two-hour โ€œmonologueโ€. Itโ€™s word heavy, with little flow โ€“ โ€œNothing happens, nobody comes, nobody goesโ€. It has challenging scenes of slavery and abuse. Large parts of it are difficult to fathom. But the company provides a phenomenally slick production that avoids turgidity. This is community theatre at its very finest โ€“ professional qualities abounding. All characterisation is stunning, the gibbering loon of Lucky especially โ€“ disturbingly – so.

โ€œGodotโ€ ran until Saturday 13th May. The only question you needed to ask is โ€œShall we go?โ€. But now like our eponymous heroesโ€ฆ donโ€™t moveโ€ฆ

Future productions at the Mission Theatre, Bath, Here.

Trending….

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

The Four Sopranos. Devizes Town Hall, Friday 12th May 2023

By Ian Diddams. Images By Gail of Devizes

Friday night saw the launch of an entirely new musical experience from good old Devizes Townโ€ฆ โ€œThe Four Sopranosโ€….

Attendees at the full house in the Town Hall may well have been familiar with those in the quartet alreadyโ€ฆ Jemma Brown, Terรฉsa Isaacson, Lucia Pupilli and Tabitha Cox. Yet whilst they certainly have historical and ongoing connections with โ€œThe Invitation Theatre Companyโ€ and โ€œThe Fulltone Orchestraโ€, nonetheless โ€œThe Four Sopranosโ€ are a separate entity in their own right; four friends coming together to perform something presented a little differently for audiences to enjoy. As Lucia says, โ€œWe have worked on the harmonies collaboratively, we didnโ€™t want to just take them off the shelf and let people hear what they might have heard before, itโ€™s been a fantastic way of working, but is also hard work โ€“ but it means our sound is absolutely oursโ€. And I can confirm it absolutely is.

Doing what their name says on the tin, โ€œThe Four Sopranosโ€ were exactly thatโ€ฆ four talented and musically excellent sopranos, delivering a widespread program of harmonic song, from opera, stage, film and popular music, sung in harmony โ€“ as per the above!

So what of the show? The foursome started with a couple of crowd favourites โ€“ two numbers from โ€œLes Misโ€; โ€œI dreamed a Dreamโ€ and โ€œStarsโ€. It is true there were some nerves showing โ€“ but understandably. A new venture, a new idea, a new approachโ€ฆ but with these two songs under their belt a noticeable lifting of confidence, a collective โ€œwhatโ€™s going on โ€“ letโ€™s get over itโ€ so to speak was evident. And the rest of the show delivered with verve, panache and oozed with the talent before us.

The Musical Theatre genre continued with โ€œSomewhere over the rainbowโ€ and โ€œYouโ€™ll never Walk aloneโ€. Followed by a change into a more classical and operatic tone with solos and duets, Terรฉsa with Gounodโ€™s arrangement of Ave Maria, Lucia โ€“ a fluent Italian speaker in her own right โ€“ with O Mio Babbino Caro by Puccini. And โ€œSullโ€™ariaโ€ by Mozart performed by Lucia and Tabitha plus Delibeโ€™s โ€œFlower duetโ€. Our quartet finished off a whirlwind first half with numbers from โ€œPhantom of the Operaโ€ and โ€œMy Fair Ladyโ€.

Photo by Gail of Devizes

The second half followed in similar veinโ€ฆ I wonโ€™t bore you any further with lists of songs performed and if you want to find out what they were youโ€™d best get to one of their gigs! I will add that Tabitha and Jemma also performed solos โ€“ with โ€œNever Enoughโ€ from โ€œThe Greatest Showmanโ€ and โ€œShe Used to be Mineโ€ from โ€œWaitressโ€ respectively. Other than those two, needless to say it was just more high class, perfectly delivered songs from film and musical theatre including the breath-taking four voice rendition of Adeleโ€™s โ€œSkyfallโ€.

It would be remiss of me to not say that the eveningโ€™s performance was accompanied by the hugely talented pianist (and all-round musical virtuoso!) Dominic Irving, whose ivory tinkling was sublime in itself. And making a rare appearance for him of facing the audience rather than with his back to them, Anthony Brown charmed as the eveningโ€™s ringmaster.

So there we had it โ€“ a whistle-stop tour of music from multiple genres, in a beautiful building, created uniquely by four maestros of their art. What more do you want? Well, for a startโ€ฆ chances to see more of them thatโ€™s what!

You can catch all four next Friday night as it is, in Cheltenham Town Hall, including reprising โ€œSkyfallโ€ and โ€œSomewhere over the rainbowโ€ – amongst many other wonderful pieces of music including the phenomenal choral piece โ€œSymphonic Adiemusโ€ by Karl Jenkins; see the link at the bottom for ticketsโ€ฆ and keep an eye on the Facebook page for โ€œThe Four Sopranosโ€ for more dates and news in the future of course.

From tiny acorns do mighty oaks growโ€ฆ or words to that effect. And on Friday evening we saw one such acorn plantedโ€ฆ.

Photo by Gail of Devizes


Links: Tickets for Cheltenham Town Hall โ€“ Friday 19th May 2023
โ€œThe Four Sopranosโ€ Facebook
Dominic Irving

Trending….

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

Carmela’s Wonder Wheels Challenge

Cyclists of all abilities are invited to ride with our inspirational fundraiser, Carmela Chillery-Watson on their very own Wonder Wheels Cycling Challenge 100km around Wiltshire.…

Carmela, who has LMNA congenital muscular dystrophy, a very rare, progressive muscle-wasting condition which affects just one in a million children around the world, relentlessly continues to raise awareness and vital funds for the cause. She is, in short, the most inspiring person I’ve ever had the pleasure to meet, and has fast become an instantly loveable public figure through her sheer determination and drive to highlight the condition of muscular dystrophy.

The condition is likely, in time, to affect Carmelaโ€™s heart and lungs and is also very likely to be life-limiting. Some children with this condition do not survive their childhood or teenage years, while some, with the help of specialist intervention, live into adulthood. However, there is no cure; Carmelaโ€™s family is intent on raising funds to help further research into treatments and a cure, to help children affected, including Carmela, to enjoy a longer life.

Itโ€™s completely free to get involved in the Wonder Wheels Cycling Challenge, but Carmela asks you to try to raise at least ยฃ150 in sponsorship, this could help improve the efficiency of clinical trials, meaning they can reach more people and get results quicker.

If you’re thinking, whoa, Nellie, 100K is too much, there are other ways to Join Carmelaโ€™s Wonder Wheels Cycling Challenge. You can join in on the 2nd July by doing a 10k at Daunstey School, starting at 9am where they have a track suitable for bikes and wheelchairs.

You could also do your own 100Km, or 10km a day if the full distance is too much, at a more suitable date and route, any time in July and set up your own JustGiving page linked to Carmela’s Charity Research Fund.

To register for any of the options click here to sign up, this will take you through to a registration page so that you can support Carmela and research into LMNA congenital muscular dystrophy.

If you can, please join the Wonder Wheels Cycling Challenge, and make a real difference for children affected by LMNA congenital muscular dystrophy. If it all sounds far too energetic for you, I know, I hear you, there are other ways to support the cause.

Recently Carmela has set up a Muscular Dystrophy Buddy Bear campaign, where you can sponsor a teddy bear for a child with muscular dystrophy. Speaking from experience, Carmela explains how she was scared and crying at all the hospital appointments and tests, and first discovering she had muscular dystrophy, so Buddy Bear aims to provide comfort for younger children in a similar situation.

Registration is still open to sign up for Wiltshire Wonder Wheels, and closes on 1st June 2023. Entries for 100km across Wiltshire are closed but 100km and 10km around Dauntsey’s athletic track are still open: 250 laps for 100km or 25 laps for 10km. There is no age limit or restrictions on abilities, even wheelchairs and adapted bikes.

SIGN UP HERE

Sponsor a Buddy Bear HERE

For more information, join Carmelaโ€™s Facebook page HERE

Weekly Roundup of Events in Wiltshire: 10th-16th May 2023

Okay, the kingโ€™s bank holiday is over, put your bunting away itโ€™s turning into soggy mush now! Onwards to whatโ€™s happening across Wiltshire this coming weekโ€ฆ..

As usual, find info and links on our event calendar HERE. But do check in on the calendar throughout the week as updates will be added when they come in, and are not included here. Itโ€™s the conflict between getting this out there as early as possible for tickets to ticketed events, and balancing this with the smaller venues who will sporadically put up a social media post on Thursday night! So, itโ€™s not comprehensive, just a guide, check a check on the calendar. 

Ongoing, lucky you if you have a ticket for the Railway Children at the Wharf Theatre, which is nearly sold out, and running until Saturday. We reviewed it here.

Also find a review HERE for Hail the Curious alternative art exhibit at the newly opened Forbidden Carnival in Chippenham, go see this!

Wednesday 10th, and thereโ€™s the usual Acoustic Jam at The Southgate, Devizes.

Anu Vaidyanthanโ€™s BC:AD – (before children, after diapers) at the Rondo Theatre, Bath. Hang Massive at the Cheese & Grain, Frome.

Broken Robot Production Presents Britainโ€™s Got Talent finalist, Magical Bones at Swindon Arts Centre, and Tony Blackburn brings his Sound of the Sixties to The Wyvern Theatre.

Thursday 11th Spare Snare with Ravetank at The Pump in Trowbridge.

Mark Simmonsโ€™ Quip off the Mark at Rondo Theatre, Bath.

Modern Evils & Cosmic Ninja at The Vic in Swindon, Good Habits at the Tuppeny, with Johannes Radebeโ€™s Freedom Unleased at The Wyvern Theatre.

Friday 12th sees The Four Sopranos at Devizes Town Hall, and The Unpredictables at the Condado Lounge. SynthCity plays the Bear in Marlborough.

Bath Festival starts Friday, running until 21st May, lots to see and do there. Rock the Tots are at the Rondo Theatre with some One Hit Wonders. 

ZZ Topped at The Vic in Swindon, Suzie Ruffell at Swindon Arts Centre.

Gary Davis BBC Sounds of the Eighties at the Cheese & Grain, Frome.

Saturday 13th is the annual Stert Country House car boot sale near Devizes, for Cancer Research. Rock Hoppaz at The Three Crowns, Devizes that evening, The Duskers at The Southgate, Ben Borrill is at the Moonrakers, and Slade tribute Sladest at the Cavalier for a Devizes Scooter Club night.ย 

Static Moves play The Barge on Honey-Street, Trash Panda at The Lamb, Marlborough, @59 play the Bear.

Scott Doonicanโ€™s Bar-Stewards Sons of Val Doonican is at The Pump, Trowbridge; long since sold out Iโ€™m afraid; youโ€™ve got to keep scrolling through our event calendar, and be quick!

Dilton Marsh Scarecrow Trail continues Sunday too!

The Green Man Festival in Bradford-on-Avon, free, see poster below.

Simon Munneryโ€™s Trials & Tribulations is at Rondo Theatre, Bath

Alasdair Beckett-King at Swindon Arts Centre.

XSLF at the Tree House in Frome, Eric Bibb at The Cheese & Grain.

Sunday 14th sees Avebury Artisans Market, and a Wellbeing Nature Day at West Lavington, and Jack Grace Band is at the Southgate, Devizes from 5pm.

Monday 15th I have nought, nada, let me know if something crops up!

Tuesday 16th is Poetika 111, The Great Outdoors at The Winchester Gate in Salisbury, 

Anton De Beke & Friends at The Wyvern Theatre, Swindon, and the Pretenders, yes, I said The Pretenders, at the Cheese & Grain; wowzers, every town needs a cheese and some grain, donโ€™t they?!

Looking forward for needy speedy timely ticket takers, Thursday sees folk dance fusion at the Pump with The Drystones, and Lulu come to Swindon, Jack & Jordanโ€™s Sketch Show at the Wharf in Devizes on Saturday 20th, and Lazy Dog comedy comes to the Devizes Cons Club, Big Country at The Cheese & Grain. So much more going on, all you gotta do is keep scrolling, and have a great week.  

Oh, and of course, there’s this…โ€ฆ whoa Nellie!

Trending……

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 Marchโ€ฆ

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

The 9:15 from Oakworth calling at Devizes Wharf Theatre; The Railway Children Reviewed

Images: Chris Watkins Media

Director Freddie Underwood and the cast of The Railway Children absolutely smashed it last night at Devizes’ Wharf Theatre, and that’s coming from someone who doubted it would be their cuppaโ€ฆ..

Said doubt derived from the social expectations and restrictions of my own childhood; aware of the Railway Children film, it just wouldn’t have done to have watched something I’d deem “girly,” and outdated (the film from 1970;) imagine the teasing from my elder brother, and I’d dread to think what would’ve transpired if my school friends found out! Though, at a younger age I relished in children’s period drama, of Enid Blyton, The Velveteen Rabbit, and archaic representations in The Beano comic where teachers still wore mortarboards. But by the grand age of ten plus, there were expectations of me to rather indulge in “boy’s stuff;” The A-Team, Monkey Magic, and a series with a talking car!

Coincidentally, much of the context of the Railway Children deals with social expectations and reputation, yet in a far stricter Edwardian era in which the book was written and set. A fairly affluent London family is uprooted to Yorkshire when the father is unexpectedly taken away by his employers at the Foreign Office. While the mother deals alone with the grief, the social etiquette of keeping the reasons secret from the children only shrouds the affair in mystery. Dealing with newfound poverty and cultural differences between London and the North, the mother and particularly the three children take a few hard-knocked lessons in the mannerisms of the working class.

Yet it is in the misadventures the children engage in, willfully upstanding by all modern reasoning, which the emotional roller coaster evokes the most prevalence and where lessons are sorely learned, yet in turn, sees their father acquitted from the accusations of spying. Not only dealing with the social ethics of the rich/poor and north/south divides, the two eldest children also contend with the issues of coming of age without a father figure.

But its beauty lies not from the genius plot, rather its point of view taken from a children’s innocence perspective. In this, the three children are the only ones allowed to break the fourth wall, as their excitable narration is so cleverly blended with the happenings. It all makes for a highly emotional ambience and thought-provoking mood. With minimal props or effects, the flow feels as imaginative as in the mind of a child. Of course, this couldnโ€™t be carried off with such precision without the need of some top class acting, and herein is the icing on the cake.

The side characters are played enchantingly, Mari Webster as the emotional mother, the kind hearted well-to-do nature of Wharf boss John Winterton as the old gentleman, and the bubbling pomposity of Jon Lewthwaite as the doctor are all played superbly, but it’s within the comical hard-knock mannerisms of station master Perks and the amusing bumbling of the Russian exile Mr Szezcpansky which this play really shines, played with certain skill by Debby Wilkinson and Ellie Mayes respectively.

The play hinges rather on the three protagonists, the children, and, for me, this made it the breathtaking experience it was, plentiful to revert any preconceived doubts on their head and go for broke that this is the best performance I’ve seen at our wonderful Wharf Theatre so far.

Both the eldest child, Bobbie, and middle boy Peter, played immaculately by fifteen year old Katy Pattinson and twelve year old Poppi Lamb-Hughes, just oozes delight and believability by their dedication to the parts and the divine proficiency in which they carry this off. It is with such utter conviction I had to duck back into my car straight afterwards, because as such talented actors it would be impossible to imagine these two as anything but the Edwardian children they were portraying. Ergo, the chance to meet and witness them chatting as usual twenty-first century kids I feared would’ve broken their perfected illusion!

If Bobbie and Peter deal with the conflict of expectations versus growing up and their confusions between what’s right and wrong while everything they expect praise for seems to be returned with reprimand, and equally, anything they seem to do right is hastily turned on its head by the misunderstanding of working class etiquette, the absolute icing on this performance’s cake is without doubt the comical element of the far more carefree youngest child, Phyllis. Influenced by both older brother and sister, she plays the two against each other, and charms all with gusto, wit, and risk taking, just as the typical youngest sibling tends to do!

The mechanics of the part of Phyllis is where this play could have taken a nose-dive, for this surely needs a certain something, a sheer sparkle. And that star is fourteen year old Jessica Self. Simply put, Jessica’s acting ability is sublime, of West-End/Broadway level already. She cam charm when charm is needed, evoke emotion and amuse at the drop of a cue.

Since returning last night I’ve been pondering two possibilities, the first being this part was made for her, but I’m tendering towards the latter possibility, that Jess has the natural skill to become whatever character she is given. I gave thought to the best movie actors, of Dustin Hoffman, of Tom Hanks; how you cannot imagine the persona of the real Tom Hanks through the character he’s playing in each and every film he becomes. I similarly cannot imagine Jessica as being anything like the cheeky girl of Phyllis, rather an imminent actress of boundless talent.

This combination of genius plot, perfect direction and the wonderful acting of particularly Katy, Poppi and Jessica, makes this a delightful, thought-provoking marvel. But you need to hurry as this is near sold out, as expected and deserved.

Another landmark performance at our wonderfully welcoming and devoted little theatre, the pride of arts in Devizes. And if it’s the family oriented ethos you love about it, note it is director Freddie Underwood’s eighth production here, the first time she’s directing her husband Chris, who plays the Father, and of whom she fell in love with during a performance together at the Wharf, and their nine year old daughter Gigi, who is named after said play, and appears in the Railway Children as the child of the station master, Perks; I mean, unless you’ve a grandad you could find a walk-on for to make it a hattrick, you cannot get much more family-felt than that!

Virtual bouquets thrown, then, to all involved with this fantastic show from someone who, if they had Steven Crowder’s “Change My Mind” Campus Sign meme template in the eighties may’ve added “The Railway Children is soppy girly mush!” As you did change my mind, with bells on!

In strict contrast to the synopsis and setting of the Railway Children, the upcoming Girls Like That is the next production I’m advising is unmissable, my preview here. Find all forthcoming events at the Wharf Theatre on our event guide and at their website.

Kyla Brox; Throw Away your Blues

By Ben Niamorย 

Long Street Blues Clubs’ offering for the coronation weekend.. Kyla Broxโ€ฆ..

The bunting is still up for those keen to celebrate, personally I was looking forward to this gig as the crowning moment in my Saturday, and I was not disappointed!

Opening up proceedings the ever-excellent and irrepressible Tom Harris. Tom has โ€˜Written hundreds of songs and released none,โ€™ he quips before launching into a great set with lots of original songs.

Three Word Slogans, my personal favourite, a genius political anthem.ย  Should be released digitally come local election time, such is this song’s genius.ย 

An observational rhyme on the hollow meaningless billboard contradictions of the (I agree with him!) broken political systemโ€ฆ 

Classic blues material frankly but delivered in Tom’s moderately manic and good humoured manner. With a disclaimer that it wasnโ€™t necessarily aimed at conservatives..! (Editor’s note, you are in the Conservative Club, after all!) A local gem you are only likely to enjoy by getting out to pubs and venues like this. 

Kyla Brox,ย  the main event, I wanted to see this lady for a good while; friends had advised me this was an essential gig for me.

Iโ€™ve had the album Pain and Glory for some time, and my anticipation of what that record would indicate with regard to a live experience was not wrong.

Kyla attests her incredible voice and total embodiment of soulful blues to singing in her father’s band from twelve years of age;

no surprise, you donโ€™t just learn to embody soulful blues to this standard, it seems to me like that would require those musically enriched genes and history.

Proudly sharing a little of her family and musical history in passing on stage, you realise very quickly this phenomenal voice has been nurtured over a lifetime, not forced and it shows in the stunning, natural way she sings from the heart. 

I feel like I am a little late to the party here, my first time seeing this band live, a good few old friends in tonight by the looks.

Hats off too, to her sensational band, painting the scene for the stars’ vocals.

Superb musicians all.

An outstanding gig, I was enthralled from start to finish, โ€˜ Queen of the UK blues sceneโ€™ as Iโ€™ve read elsewhere, not an overused moniker for a coronation day gig, a reflection of the musicianship on display.

Absolutely bowled over and will be making sure to see her again. 

Thank you to Long Street Blues Club for continuing to bring the best bands from across the blues scene to Devizes.

Hail The Chippenham Circus of Curious Artists

Alongside fellow artist Rae Melody from Chippenham, and dressed as a clown, Warminster artist Sarah Christie greets the curious and art lovers at the door of the newly opened Forbidden Carnival, long-time aspiration of homegrown Wiltshire alternative artist Si Griffiths. Inspiration strikes and she excitedly elucidates a blossoming idea on the topic of circus….. I went in, they had cake…...

I also found great conversation with Bristol-based artist Jimmer Willmott, who was proudly loitering around his own canvas, capturing an exceptionally dilapidated caravan, graffitied and amusingly adorned with a โ€œfor saleโ€ sign. The opening night of the show, Hail The Curious has my mind pondering, being we were taught art history in movements, what exactly is the movement of now, and if there is one, is this it, alive, well and driven to Chippenham by the enduring and prolific force which is Si Griffiths and his associates?

Wikipedia labels it โ€œcontemporary art,โ€ and denotes itโ€™s not to be confused with โ€œmodern art.โ€ It describes it as a movement, in โ€œa globally influenced, culturally diverse, and technologically advancing world,โ€ with a โ€œdynamic combination of materials, methods, concepts, and subjects that continue the challenging of boundaries already well underway in the 20th century.โ€ In layman’s terms itโ€™s a blank canvas void of rules, something the Dadaists conceptualised over a century ago so hardly ground-breaking. Yet also, as a concept shrouded in pastiche and often satire, it is indulging outside influences akin to what we see in all media, from music sampling to reworking of classic films.  

Though it is, akin to modern art, postmodernism, or pop art, a rather ineffective name, which will one day suffer from not being contemporary at all, as โ€œpopโ€ art is hardly as โ€œpopularโ€ today as it was when conceived in the mid fifties. Agreeably though, itโ€™s a basis of what I see here, as I browse diverse methods and subjects the only thing combining them is curiosity and alternative thought, the mood varies intensely from the fantastical forbidding worries of Montague Tott and the poignancy of Mike Longโ€™s โ€œOne Million Poppies,โ€ to the brain-curdling comix art of Guts and comical outlandishness of David Russel Talbot, carried off in Victorian book illustration style. It is an anthology of craziness, a feast for your eyes, sir.

So, what is great about the here and now, and firmly accounted for in Forbidden Carnival is the overwhelming notion that art defends itself from the onslaught of technology by being of a level of creativity and method artificial intelligence cannot contend with. Because AI needs the outside command prompt, whereas Sarahโ€™s lightbulb moment, or Jimmer enthusiastically expressing his thoughts when he painstakingly painted each line of said caravan, are organically composed command prompts induced by abstract observation, a challenge pop art never had to contend with. With the exact prompts, AI could recreate anything Warholโ€™s Factory knocked out, on a Samsung phone in seconds and still plaster you with adverts while doing it. 

Thereโ€™s two ways to overcome this battle between the infinite monkey theorem and so-called artificial intelligence; revert back to a period of realism and paint a pragmatic portrait or landscape, which duly seems to be a backpedalling trend around these backwaters and something commented on amidst this gallery of divine curiosity, or face the challenge head on, as is exactly what we see here.

Here, all the artists are independently devising a new wave of incorporating cultural influences, the bizarre and surreal, graffiti, circus and carny lifestyle, comic book art and anything else they deem appropriate to throw into the melting pot, in a manner so far unseen.

In this I partially take back my rather inept observation in my preview of this show, pigeonholing Sarah Christieโ€™s work โ€œfeminine Litchensteinesque,โ€ as I see now thereโ€™s far more layers to her work than preconceived, as while Litchenstienโ€™s blagged comic panels could be reconstructed by AI, Sarahโ€™s work though similarly inspired by comic-book art couldnโ€™t, as they offer originality and sly humour; one lady viewer giggled at the term โ€œmansplainingโ€ on one of her works, and in earshot, with my penchant for ironic overstatement I suggested my daughter had to explain the meaning of the slang!

Now, see, you cannot induce conversation like this with a throwaway AI image, anymore than you can gaze outward and zoom your eye in to pick out hidden details of anything on display here; hold on, there’s a mysterious pair of eyes in the window of Jimmer’s caravan, I could’ve seen this picture on social media a thousand times at not picked it out! I give particular reference to the mind-blowing cubist graffiti work of Miller, his Clokhous piece had me induced for an indefinite time, just gazing into it, picking it out the chosen angles and discovering their subject from the delineating separate image glued onto it, thinking why Pablo Picasso never thought of doing that!

If you want to browse antique shops for a pretty local landscape, you go do that, this is not for you. But should you wish to divulge into a realm of bizarre, of unexplored territory which dips your little toe into familiar waters, than chucks you straight into the deep end with a swirling splash of artistic outpouring, colour and the wary amusement of a meld of ghost train and hall of mirrors, then this circus big top of art is for you, and you only need to get yourself to Chippenhamโ€™s market place to do so. Open Saturdays and Sundays, 10-3pm, and also by appointment.

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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€œtheโ€ฆ

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 Rayโ€ฆ

John Watterson Keeps The Music of Jake Thackray Alive, in Pewsey

Chansonnier Yorkshireman Jake Thackray is paid tribute in Pewseyโ€™s Bouverie Hall on May 26th by fellow Yorkshireman John Watterson, aka โ€œFake Thackrayโ€ฆโ€ฆโ€

An adopted YorkshiremanJohn Watterson, grew up on the Isle of Man, which is where he first met Jake Thackray in 1975. Recalling the performance at his local folk club, which John explains, โ€œhad the audience in stitches,โ€ chatted with a very modest and self-deprecating Jake at the interval, describing him as โ€œa big man and a huge talent, clearly embarrassed by the standing ovation, Jake preferred to have a pint at the bar with the punters and didnโ€™t really see what the fuss was about.โ€

Influenced by the likes of Jaques Brel and Georges Brassens, Thackray wrote and performed unique folk songs recognisably rooted in the English countryside, at times painfully funny, yet often sad, tragic, rude, irreverent, and incisive, and all these things at the same time. His performances in folk clubs led to appearances on The Frost Report, Braden’s Week and That’s Life. In nearly thirty years of performing he made over 1,000 radio and TV appearances ranging from a topical song in magazine programmes to broadcasts of live concerts on both radio and television. His EMI catalogue produced seven albums between 1967 and 1991.

On learning of Jakeโ€™s passing in 2002, John decided that the songs were too good not to be kept alive, so he set about learning more of them. Performing them at a memorial evening in Monmouth, and John is currently researching and writing a biography on Jake with the help of members of the Thackray family. This is where tribute act really takes on a favoured notion of true homage, his appreciation and love of Jake Thackray’s music reflects in this show he has toured with Fairport Convention nation-wide tour, and has performed twenty shows at the Edinburgh Fringe. He has also been delighted to support Ralph McTell, Richard Digance, Vin Garbutt and many more of his music heroes.

Tickets are ยฃ12.50, and include a light supper in the interval. Available from Around the World, Woottons and the newsagent in Pewsey (cash only please) Or call 07876 230 540.

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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€™sโ€ฆ

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

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 toโ€ฆ

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

Helenโ€™s Poem on BBC Upload

A quick one from me today, offering our congratulations to our new writer, Helen Edwards from Devizes, who read out her poem โ€œMotherhood,โ€ on BBC Wiltshire this week on James Thomasโ€™s Upload show. โ€œIt was fun,โ€ she told us, โ€œexcept my phone started ringing!โ€

Listen here from the BBC website, or Soundcloud link, here. I love writing, but poems, hum, something about bacon, not to mention Iโ€™m an absolute bag of nerves on radio! The article on the Bournemouth Writing Festival Helen mentioned is here too, and this one worked both ways, also inspiring Helen to write. Well done you, and we look forward to hearing some more soon!ย ย 

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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 moreโ€ฆ

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 checkโ€ฆ

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 largerโ€ฆ

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’mโ€ฆ

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 Iโ€ฆ

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 & Christmasโ€ฆ

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.  Itโ€ฆ

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 inโ€ฆ

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 putโ€ฆ

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 theโ€ฆ

Song of the Week: Snazzback

Wednesday, song of the week time, and itโ€™s some smooth jazz from Bristolโ€™s finest purveyors of looping rhythms and upside down chickens, Snazzback. Stokes Croft Sleep Clinic is from the forthcoming album Ruins Everything, and it gorgeously trickles over halfway, building layers until the evocative vocals of Tlk meld to complete the effect. So incredibly cool Iโ€™m horizontal!

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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 trackโ€ฆ

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 Waterโ€ฆ

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 withโ€ฆ

Boots & Braces Ready For Devizes Scooter Rally 2023?

Long overdue is our annual poking our nose into Devizes Scooter Club, see what peaky blinders theyโ€™re pulling off, including of course, the Devizes Scooter Rally 2023; because no matter what the people say, this sound leads the wayโ€ฆ..

While Iโ€™d half-heartedly shrug at critics giving it scooter rallies can be a niche market, retrospective lager-fuelled skinheads admiring each otherโ€™s hairdryers in an overgrown field while some northern soul DJ spins his 7โ€ rare grooves, this is where Devizes Scooter Rally differs from the status quo. Of course, appeasing the diehards who will trek vast land to amass at such events is crucial, but on its third year, Devizes Scooter Rally never feels insular, rather itโ€™s the genuine article, affordable fun and welcomes curious townsfolk and those who may only have a passing interest in the scene. That’s its beauty, and long shall it be so.

You only have to check the interest when the club ride the carnival parade looking dapper in suits and braces, to note this is more than a retrospective cult; the merger of youth cultures of yore, the mod, the soul boys and skinheads and all inbetween is something impossible for those caught up in to let go off, simply because itโ€™s irresistibly beguiling, and fun. To relish in soul and reggae of yesteryear is valid, as all mainstream pop since relies so heavily on its influence. 

So, weโ€™re talking the weekend of 28th-30th of July, when the club invites all to gather at Lower Park Farm, just off the dual carriageway on Whistley Road, where scooters will be on show, and will ride out no doubt, but thatโ€™s not all. Activities for the children will be added, with food stalls and of course, the bar! And all raising funds for such a wonderful organisation, The Devizes & District Opportunity Centre, our most fantastic pre-school for children with disabilities and learning difficulties.

Expect legendary Northern Soul DJ Terry Hendrick of the Soul Pressure sound system to be spinning tunes between bands, and the bands are, a reunited, I believe, Killertones, the perfect ska outfit of Cath and Gouldy from Sound Affects and the Day Breakers, who are stalwarts on the local scooter scene. Those trusty Roughcut Rebels, who never fail to bring the party with them, as is their era-spanning repertoire of anything from swinging sixties to Britpop.

The other locally-based act is perhaps the wildcard; Trowbridgeโ€™s 41 Fords play with all the vigour of ska, but are decidedly more rockabilly with a dash of scrumpy & western folk. We fondly reviewed their debut album Not Dead Yet, last month. Hereโ€™s a shining example of what I mean about the congenial and welcoming mesh of subgenres youโ€™ll find at Devizes Scooter Rally, see, rude boy? There were no mockers in eras past, theyโ€™d have been fighting each other! Thus the scenes merge and itโ€™s a one love happy aura for everyone to enjoy as, which is ironically the entire ethos of reggae and soul in the first damn place!

And reggae Iโ€™m certain youโ€™ll find there, of the boss variety of yore, predominantly, and of course itโ€™s predecessor ska, which though saw a second generation influx through Two-Tone in the eighties, thrives today on the scene. Now, if you know me, youโ€™ll know Iโ€™m something of an aficionado of this, and seen many a great ska band; Orange Street, named after the location of Duke Reidโ€™s legendary Kingston studio, Studio One, are one of the tightest ska bands Iโ€™ve witnessed, blowing my socks off at the inaugural Devizes Scooter Rally in 2019; having them return is the icing on this cake.

Going in blind for the last two in the line-up, first, Sharp Class, with a corporate identity akin to The Jam causing me to ill-conceive it would be an old bunch of mods knocking out Jam and Merton Parkas covers. Rather this young, fresh-faced London-based trio have a sharp image, hence the name, and original songs grounded in realism and spattered with an English essence. Merging punk and soul into power-pop and Britpop, they claim. Theyโ€™ve recently released a debut album โ€œTales of the Teenage Mind,โ€ and are set to tour Boston this month, but you can say you saw them in Devizes!

And the Butterfly Collective, Southampton based ska, soul and mod covers and originals five-piece, heavily influenced by The Who and the Mod/Rock fraternity including Oasis, Ocean Colour Scene, Kinks, Small Faces and The Hiwatts. They have become a renowned band within the Scooter and music scenes across the U.K. Being The Devizes Scooter Club tend to evaluate their lineup based on past experience touring other rallies, Iโ€™m assured weโ€™re in good hands, and this weekend will deliver a damn fine spectrum of entertainment to get you snapping your braces and skanking up the Whistley Road!

Now, if youโ€™re thinking where the catch might be, itโ€™s only your two-tone trouser suit, with a weekend wristband at just thirty notes and cheaper day options, youโ€™ve got to hand it to Devizes Scooter Club for maximum dedication to making this jumping jiving rally affordable and irresistible.

Prior to skanking up Whistley Road, the clubโ€™s base at The Cavalier in Devizes sees Slade tribute Sladest on May 13th, and following the rally, Bristolโ€™s big boss sound of Ya Freshness and the erm, aptly titled Big Boss Band will make their Devizes debut on Saturday September 9th. Self-styled rude boy Ya Freshness has worked with two-toneโ€™s best, from the likes of Neville Staple, and made groundbreaking original work with Bristolโ€™s retrospective reggae greats through his label Strictly Rockers. If you recall my radio show on Boot Boy Radio, those shout-outs were by this absolute legend.

Then, on 28th October itโ€™s the mandatory skalloween night at the Cavy, with ska band Skamageddon, and the club see of 2023 with a NYE party. Though as I said, thereโ€™s a welcoming atmosphere for those with a passing interest, local scooter enthusiasts should contact the club for ride-outs, social get-togethers and beanos to other rallies and clubs are organised. So get up on your feet, put your braces together and boots on your feet, and give me some of that old moonstomping!   

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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 inโ€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 onesie andโ€ฆ

Devizes Town Council Welcomes New Councillor

Since the recent byelection for Devizes East, Guardian Vanessa Tanner was welcomed to The Town Council this month; Guardians of the Galaxy ensemble, or, maybe just Guardians of the Devizes, but you get the general gist! 

โ€œNot everyone would stand in an election,โ€ Vanessa said, which is a good start because I wouldnโ€™t want to; I could sit in one, maybe slouch a bit and snooze until it was time to hit the pub, but thatโ€™s about it!

Apologies, ignore my silly edits to bulk this out; Vanessa continued, โ€œby putting yourself forward as a representative for your community, you may open yourself up for criticism along with praise. We are hard-wired to remember the bad over the good so for your own self-preservation, you need to develop a tough skin and constantly remind yourself why it is important.โ€

โ€œSo why was it important for me to stand as a candidate in the recent by-election? I wanted to really engage in Devizes and be part of the community. Iโ€™m not a local born and bred, but Devizes has become my home and I love living here. Shortly after moving in, I met a group of people who are passionate about ensuring this little part of England remains beautiful and thriving. Those people are The Devizes Guardians. Each one of them with a story to tell about why they wanted to become Town Councillors.โ€

โ€œMy story is simple. I want to represent the people in my local area, to bring issues to the table and hopefully find solutions. Also, Iโ€™m already involved in a number of community groups, (Sustainable Devizes, CUDS, Devizes in Bloom, Dorothy House) so I wanted to represent them on the Town Council, to ensure their voices are heard. All that remains now is to do what I promised to do. Be a decent, honest and effective Councillor. Roll on the next couple of years.โ€

Roll on indeed, in our pre-election interview, well, I called it an interview, was more of a nice chinwag, I genuinely came away positively knowing Vanessa would make the perfect town councillor. Leader of the Guardians Jonathan Hunter commented, โ€œwe are grateful for the magnificent support shown by constituents in East Ward, along with the superb encouragement from those across the wider community who supported Vanessa Tannerโ€™s positive election campaign.โ€

โ€œIt was a hard fought campaign between the Conservatives, Labour and Devizes Guardians but despite lacking the resources of a national party, Vanessa won the election with an impressive 44% of the vote. The postal vote was incredibly strong, as was the strength of support for Vanessa on the doorstep.โ€ 

It was a testament to what can be achieved; though for the Guardians to have lost this seat, it still would not have tipped the balance to a Conservative majority. Local councils do not need persuasion from national political parties. They should be about what is best for the town. The Guardians are a conglomerate of independents. Jonathan touched on this point too, noting, โ€œresidents expressed their dissatisfaction with national and county politics and were keen to back an energetic and community-focused candidate from a party that champions local issues and campaigns for a better deal for Devizes and the local community.โ€

โ€œDevizes Guardians recognise the selfless public service from former Devizes Guardian and Town Councillor, the late Jane Burton, whose sad passing triggered this by-election.

Standing in an election isnโ€™t an easy decision and I would like to thank the other candidates for their efforts and support.โ€

We wish Vanessa all the best with her new role! 

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The Pleasure was all Minety!

Broke my Minety Music Festival cherry, and it was gurt lush! When it comes to live music and festivals, I initially set a high bar.โ€ฆ

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

Michelle Gonelan Makes History

Last political rant from me for a while, given all that happened today, pinky promise! Hitler shot himself, then, as requested, he was doused inโ€ฆ

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

My Oasis of Calmโ€ฆ Vince Bell at the Southgate Devizes

By Ben Niamor

Vince is often shy of praise, yet his gentle, respectful delivery of his own wonderfully written songs and carefully chosen covers deserve a celebratory mention….

There are many a-decent artist in the public conscious who would envy the beautifully crafted lyrics of songs like Lisaโ€™s Kitchen, or Spider-Man Pyjamas , and our town anthem, of course Vinceโ€™s Devizes song.

Whether it be a reflection on lifeโ€™s changes and fragility or the wry comical observations on youthful misadventure, those of a mind to settle and really listen are rewarded with a most engaging and enveloping warmth.

As ever, I want to extend my warmest thanks to not only Vince but, of course, Deb & Dave whoโ€™s own passion for music gives us these wonderful gigs and harmonious relaxing Sunday sessions.

This is my town, and this is one of the biggest reasons I ainโ€™t never leaving!

Weekly Roundup of Events in Wiltshire: 2nd- 8th May 2023

Whoa, decided today, Thursday, Iโ€™d have to start planning this one immediately, because thereโ€™s soooo much going on, and all, or mostly all, because of that King bloke, who I just thought had a pop hit in 1984 with โ€œLove & Pride,โ€ but apparently itโ€™s a smidgen more complex than that, the guy is royalty or something. So, grab your celebratory mug, wrap it around your bunting, and letโ€™s have it out nowโ€ฆ..

Firstly, I must interject and explain; our article highlighting coronation-related events  received criticism from anti-royalist keyboard warriors who either didnโ€™t digest if bothered at all to read the article, just jumped to conclusions, they did. If you think for one second Iโ€™d support a defective archaic institution which uses tax-payerโ€™s money to bail-out nonce family members then you donโ€™t know me at all. I do, however, despite being as anti-royalist as the next anti-royalist, support the Coronation for all the local entertainers and small businesses which will benefit from getting bookings, only a couple of short years after having no revenue at all. So, wind your neck in, and I hope thatโ€™s cleared that up!

Thereโ€™s plenty of stuff to do this coming week, if you want flag-waving or not, so letโ€™s drop the subject and get on with listing them. Donโ€™t forget, all links and info can be found on our event guide, and updates through the week will be added, so keep abreast, and up-to-date; this article is not conclusive.

Ongoing from Monday 1st to 7th May, is the Swindon Festival of Literature; lots happening there worth checking out.

Opening night for Zog at The Wyvern Theatre, Swindon, on Tuesday 2nd, and running until Thursday 4th, family entertainment based on the book by Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler.

Wednesday 3rd, is the regular Acoustic Jam at The Southgate, Devizes.

Seeds of Memories is a wistful and uplifting show packed to the brim with puppetry and poetry. It offers a gentle exploration of losing a loved one and dealing with grief through the magic of the memories they leave behind, and itโ€™s at the Rondo Theatre, Bath.

Thursday 4th: Sees Derailer & Dangermind at The Vic, Swindon, the Hothouse Flowers at The Cheese & Grain, Frome, and some raw, open and honest but most importantlyโ€ฆfunny comedy at the Rondo Theatre, Bath with Richard Hardistyโ€™s Silly Boy.

Friday 5th: and King Charles Coronation kicks off, with a school art exhibition at St Peters Marlborough, events at Hilperton Village Hall, and the Junkyard Dogs are in Bromham.

The Blackheart Orchestra are at the Pump in Trowbridge, Sack Sabbath tribute at The Vic, Swindon. A homecoming for Will Lawton & The Alchemists at Malmesbury Town Hall. Six O’clock Circus at The Three Crowns, Devizes.

Rock For Heroes at The Wyvern Theatre, Swindon, and an extra show for John Kearnsโ€™ The Varnishing Days at Rondo Theatre, Bath.

Saturday 6th: Wiltshire Farmersโ€™ Market in Devizes.

King Charles Coronation continues, youโ€™ll find live music from 4pm at The Crown, Bishops Cannings with White Horses, Tom Davis & The Bluebirds, and Plan of Action, other events include Urchfont, Picnic in the Park at King Georgeโ€™s Playing Fields in Melksham, Coronation Live Screening at John Coles Park, Chippenham, at Foxham Reading Room, Seend Village Community Centre, The Parade Cinema in Marlborough, The Cooperโ€™s Arms Pewsey have a great music programme, in Westbury Be Like Will are at The Players, and Westbury Cons Club has a party too. Picnic in the Park at The Rec in Calne from 10am-9pm, looks amazing, Coronation Celebrations at Devizes Market Place from 10:30-4pm.

Away from all that, find the Leon Daye Band at The Southgate, Devizes, and Kyla Brox Band at Long Street Blues Club; it’s all too royal with cheese for me, so yeah, Kyla Brox, Long Street you got my Editor’s Pick of the Week, hands down!

Acoustic punk band, Abdoujaparov of ex-Carter USM guitarist Les Carter headline the Pump, Trowbridge, with support from former Browfort frontwoman, Claire Kearley, and โ€œSong for Trowbridgeโ€ hero Gavin Osborn.

Rammlied at The Vic, Swindon, Sonic Alert at the Queens Tap, Homer at The Sun in Coate, Rosie Holtโ€™s Womanโ€™s Hour at The Wyvern Theatre.

Jah Wobbleโ€™s Invaders of the Heart take the Cheese & Grain, Frome, nice.

Sunday 7th: King Charles Coronation celebrations at Ogbourne St George Primary school, Ludgershall, All Cannings with Alfredโ€™s Tower, Rowde with People Like Us, Parade House Trowbridge, and Spring in the Park at Westbury. Devizes Town Band have a coronation concert at the Corn Exchange, called Animal Magic.

Unmissable monthly jaunt for Jon Amor & Guests at The Southgate, Devizes. Phil Samuelโ€™s The George Michael Experience is at the Bridge Inn, Horton, Devizes.

Open Mic night at the Barge on Honey Street.

The King’s Reggae at The Castle & Ball, Marlborough, with Razah-I Fi; ding!

Courting Ghosts & Becky Lawrence are at The Stallards Inn, Trowbridge.

Sour Apple at The Kings Arms, Amesbury.

Blues Jam at The Vic, Swindon.

Magpie Market at The Cheese & Grain, Frome.

Monday 8th: King Charles Coronation at The Crown in Bishops Cannings with Illingworth, also a Produce Show at The Village Hall.

By the time you read this Iโ€™m predicting it a sell-out, but worth checking, opening night for The Railway Children The Wharf Theatre, Devizes, running until 13th May.

Tuesday 9th: Seven Drunken Nights at The Wyvern Theatre, Swindon.

And thatโ€™s your lot, enough for you to do?! Hereโ€™s to the king, let us hope his reign is long and healthy, even if only so I donโ€™t have to type all that for one weekend again for a while!!

Trending…..

Devizes Arts Festival Rules, OK?!

Alas, it’s been a long week since the Devizes Arts Festival called time. It feels a little like when my Dad would take the Christmasโ€ฆ

Chippenhamโ€™s Forbidden Carnival Gallery

Next week Chippenhamโ€™s finest alternative artist Si Griffiths sees his hard work paid off as he opens his gallery at 64a Market Place. The Forbidden Carnival studio and gallery will be something the like Chippenham has never seen, except of course when Si has previously exhibited with friends at the Yelde Hall with an annual show of alternative art. Certain that The Forbidden Carnival will be in a similar vein on a permanent basis, I caught up with Si for a quick chat prior to the opening evening on the 5th Mayโ€ฆ..

With a penchant for the unusual; clowns and carny lifestyle, surrealist pop art, demons and underground comix of yore, Siโ€™s work is exemplary for the bizarre and unique. Recently he took part in Swindonโ€™s inaugural street art festival, Swindon Paint Fest, and the influence of urban graffiti seems to also be an upcoming theme in his work. 

From the Alternative Art Shows of Si, Sally, Clifton and Mike at the Yelde Hall, Chippenham

 But the grand opening will see a global collection of similarly inspired artistsโ€™ work as well. โ€œYeah,โ€ Si laughed as I asked him how it was going, โ€œdealing with a bunch of artists is like herding cats to be honest! But we should be ready to go for it!โ€

Grand opening is on Friday 5th May from 6:30-9pm, and presents โ€œHail the Curious,โ€ an inaugural exhibition featuring a rumbustious ensemble of local, national and international artists, and I know Si well enough by now to know he wonโ€™t skip on rumbustiousness or more importantly, providing a trailblazing sneak at the peculiar of offbeat counterculture art, be it eldritch or quirky.

But after the show, I was curious about the galleryโ€™s opening times, โ€œhereafter the show,โ€ he explained, โ€œit will be open Saturdays and Sundays, 10-3pm, and also by appointment.โ€ But he was flexible on times being his studio is based there too, โ€œweโ€™re still talking about opening times,โ€ Si mentioned the possibility of having staff. So, for the foreseeable future those are the times to visit, or book a visit from the website, and it will be well worth it; I wondered if Chippenham was ready!

Si expressed his delight at said ensemble, works from artists worldwide from northern England to the States, he mentioned shows he regularly exhibits in the US as networking, and an annual holiday combined, but Chippenham?! Does Chippenham know whatโ€™s going to hit it?!

I supposed, to do such a gallery in an area considered quirky and arty, say place this gallery in the Lanes of Brighton, it might meld and be lost amidst similar surroundings, whereas what we have here for Chippenham is something wholly unique. โ€œYeah,โ€ Si agreed, โ€œfor sure, if you go anywhere where it’s established, you just become one of the crowd, whereas youโ€™re switched out here, and Iโ€™m only doing this for me, because itโ€™s a fifteen year dream realised.โ€

Though Si shrugged and I felt he didnโ€™t want the gallery to rule his life, finding the time to continue painting is paramount to him, rather than being a fulltime gallery owner. In this he provides the clue, Si is a creative foremost, opening this gallery seconds to his labour of love, which connotes, this motivated by the passion of an artist, not the profiteering of a dealer.

I wondered this; if his studio is there and visitors pop in while at work painting, one would have to pause their inspirational moment to welcome them, and often with the creative mind in full flight itโ€™s difficult to pull away from it and then return at a later moment. But thatโ€™s the game, finding the balance between creativity, and promoting your work and others youโ€™ve networked. He reasoned with this and spoke of getting some help with the day-to-day running of the gallery, โ€œIโ€™m just opening it, itโ€™s causing a stir already, and weโ€™re going to see what happens.โ€

As is commonplace with the creative mind, to get butterflies upon venturing into something like this, though any fears Si might have suggested now about the certainty of The Forbidden Carnival is down to nerves, and this is will be a fantastic and unique place to visit, shoving a twig in the bicycle spokes of formalist arts in Wiltshire.

With dark artists such as Montague Tott and Holly Aragon, combined with the feminine Litchensteinesque of Sarah Christie and Siโ€™s own penchant for those mysterious clowns in odd circumstances, this will be the offbeat, circus-fashioned feast your eyes will love for, forevermore!

Check out the website HERE, for more info.

Trending…..

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 in Codeโ€ฆ

Carsick Pump It!

By Ben Niamor (with Devizine edits)

This evening Iโ€™ve been reminded of a different feeling, something missing in recent years; noisy, energetic, bordering madnessโ€ฆ..

Youthful bands with something to say, a truly incredible gig. Sheer Music Presents Carsick at Trowbridge’s Pump, with Devizes own Nothing rhymes with Orange, and first out Meg, from Trowbridge.

Meg has a great voice and some great original songs. NRWO are a great, bouncy, mosh-friendly, superb band with huge potential for a wider audience.

And Salisbury’s Carsick – holy shit, good band! They reminded me of seeing new wave punk, or laterally The Computers. Clearly the whole assembled crowd of all ages felt the same, a resonance, an energy, a way to make people feel alive.

Instant fan, incredibleโ€ฆ

Itโ€™s been too long since Iโ€™ve seen anyone stand on a balcony, or the drum kit, since I saw crowd surfing or saw so many people having fun in this way.

Pump promoter Kieran J Moore continues to impress and influence me, with bands but also the incredible support he offers a scene that evolves. Nights like this makes me proud to know him. 

I have been told by record store owners, reviewers, many people I needed to see these bands and somehow Iโ€™ve landed on my feet and seen both together. Thank you all of you, amazing gig and wonโ€™t be the last time I see any of you.

Kieran said of the gig, “it’s single handedly more impressive, valuable and important when a band can come to a rural backwater town and blow up a scene, show and venue. Last night, once again, we showed that you don’t need to leave Trowbridge to have the time of your life.”

“Three young, fresh new artists played The Village Pump, and hundred people witnessed something you cannot fake, or throw money at to create. We saw something real, genuine, pure and incredible. It was that simple.”

The Devizine editor, gutted for being unable to make this one(!) wishes to extend this by congratulating all at this fantastic grassroots venue on our doorstep. The Pump continues going from strength-to-strength, last week the subject of a BBC Points West filming, highlighting hostess and trainee sound engineer Megan, as part of her work via The Prince’s Trust. The filming will be broadcast this Thursday 4th May. On our maiden voyage to the Pump, Megan made the perfect host, and her enthusiasm for this opportunity spoke volumes.

We continue to ensure all forthcoming gigs at the Pump are listed on our event calendar, and a direct link to their website is HERE.

Devizes Gearing Up For Street Festival

Less than a month away now until the best day out in Devizes, our International Street Festival; whoโ€™s overexcited, who wants to know whatโ€™s happening there, and who just wants to get bladdered?! Previous DOCA artistic director Loz Samuals set the bar pretty high, the new DOCA team have a lot to live up to, and I know theyโ€™ve been hard at work to get this show on the road, or better, on the Green and in the Market Place!

Dates, before I waffle, is Saturday 27th May, which will take place on the Green, and Sunday 28th at the Market Place, if youโ€™re new or travelling through, this is our mardi gras, Devizes style crop-over and itโ€™s all free! Details of the many acts coming to our town can be found on the DOCA website HERE, Iโ€™ve had a browse and I must say itโ€™s just as ever before, mighty impressive and inviting.

Some highlights of this mega meld of international street theatre, music, circus, arts, dance, puppetry, comedy, workshops, environmental talks, food, drink and crafts market, and of course bars, this year is the thirty foot Willow Sanctuary on the Green, designed by artist Sarah Jane and built by the people of Devizes, so you can guarantee it will be as strong as a horse! This temporary event space will be used throughout the whole festival, for acoustic music, a series of environmental talks and a space to relax and reflect; in my eraโ€™s slang call a spade a spade, itโ€™s a chill-out space!

But the beauty here is itโ€™s a 100% recyclable chill out zone, and after the event the willow will be, and DOCA invites anyone to take some home for their own gardens and allotments. Really though? I envision this and it tickles me pink to think of those who usually have difficulty navigating themselves home; view carrying a hoard of willow over your shoulder as a challenge! The kind of Itโ€™s a Knockout finale which might yet be the icing on the cake!

Or perhaps leave the circus acts to the professionals, DOCA certainly have them in abundance this year, as ever, but it doesnโ€™t end there, you could be flying the trapeze yourself with Above and Beyond, who as well as performing both days will be providing free lessons; here, hold my jesters hat and Black Rat!

Another unique most brilliant concept is The Actual Reality Arcade in which video-games will be interpreted into life sized interactive activities, so you could be shooting space invaders, dodging barrels like Mario, building Tetris walls, and running from ghosts like Pac-Man; are DOCA trying to tell us they intend to encourage gamers to divert their eyes from their consoles and interact with reality? This I have to see!!

With a socially charged exciting reggae-ish voyage laced with messages of peace, love & unity, we see live music from Mischa & His Merry Men, and global underground Balkan reggae and ska from The Cabarats. An award-winning UK folk duo, called Good Habits who seemed none too fussed to be stranded in New Zealand during the pandemic, where they  forged their style, and are bringing it back for us. Thereโ€™s also the protocol brassy goodness with Tuba Libres. But one thing not on their program which concerns me, and one which I urge you to help me with here, is Devizineโ€™s suggestion for a local upcoming band to be featured on the main stage.

Iโ€™m so glad DOCA have taken heed of this, this year. Amidst this wonderful array of international performances, which I truly welcome, for while I wouldnโ€™t want this event to turn insular and simply run with our standard circuit, I do believe some space should be made available on the roster to also highlight some of the talent we have at home. Is it just me, just an age thing?! I genuinely welcome your feedback on this, as I push it to DOCA every year as I believe it is important, and I intend to continue to do so. Hopefully our suggestion for the one local upcoming band who I think deserves to be up on the main stage will become an annual occurrence.

Nothing Rhymes With Orange Image by Gail Foster

So, your help is needed, as we presented Nothing Rhymes With Orange to DOCA and they stand to play at 1pm on the Sunday in the Market Place, despite unfortunately not being listed on the DOCA website. I really donโ€™t know the reason for this, but whatever it is, I need you, good people of Devizes, the followers of Devizine, and the fanbase of Nothing Rhymes With Orange to gather en masse at the Market Place at 1pm, and really show DOCA the worth of introducing this fantastic bunch of local youngsters, and the idea we support local live music. This will not only prove to be a fantastic set by the band, but hallmark a new era whereby upcoming local bands have the opportunity to play on the main stage at our Street Festival.

Okay, said my piece, must jog on, but yeah, DOCA, it looks fantastic yet again, a mahoosive well done from me. From a man and a woman hanging from rusty steel springs to a giant Octopus atop of a tricycle, and from a theatre full of theatrical surprises appearing from under the petticoats of an enormous women’s skirts to the weaving and flowing patterns of traditional Welsh folk-dancing, combined with the pulsating energy of queer nightlife, is erm, not something you see everyday in Devizes Market Place, usually just the 49 bus pulling in and the odd market stall selling ham!ย 

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Girls Like That: Wharf Youth Theatre Group in Bold Reality-Driven Drama

As part of our ongoing series exploring youths in our area doing good, to backwash this current trend by local media to sensationalise only the wayward minority for clickbait, I wanted to draw your attention to the final performance on the summer season programme at the fabulous Wharf Theatre in Devizes, โ€œGirls Like That.โ€

Under the direction of Lou Cox, who is finishing her masters degree in Theatre from Guildford School of Acting, graduated Bath Spa University with a BA(Hons) in performing arts and has a ACTL teaching diploma from Trinity College London, this is a performance by the Youth Wharf Theatreโ€™s senior acting company of teenagers aged between ten and fourteen.

What I think is really great about this is they donโ€™t mention the Youth Theatre element on their website, and it stands as Wharf Theatre production as much as any other. Nothing is condescending here because this is not the sort of play you might be expecting. Speaking to Lou, she joked, โ€œthey couldโ€™ve done James & The Giant Peach, or something like that, but we wanted something they could relate to!โ€

Girls Like That is written by Canadian-British playwright Evan Placey and was named Best Play for Young Audiences at the Writersโ€™ Guild of Great Britain Awards 2015. A phenomenal, contemporary play, depicting the social pressures, digital impact, and gender double standards; Iโ€™ve read this and it is intelligently gritty, reality-driven stuff. Exploring the pressures on young people today in the wake of advancing technology, the synopsis being protagonist, Scarlett, finds her naked photograph going viral and becomes the centre of attention for all the wrong reasons. But while rumours run wild and everyone forms an opinion, Scarlett just stays silent.ย 

You can also help the youth group by voting for this performance at this TicketSource Community Event. Please vote HERE.

The Youth programme at the Wharf has been running for just under two years now, this play will really show its worth, giving young people in our area something to inspire them, something they can relate to, as this is not so uncommon today, as well as a stark warning to take care when online. It is running from July 20th to 22nd, tickets are just ยฃ10-14, available now. โ€œThe girls in the group have been working really hard towards this,โ€ Lou explained.

A freelance drama teacher at various schools in the area and a LAMDA examiner, Lou Cox has recently started exciting projects with Banardos adoption agency, using drama as a training tool for adoptive parents and a refugee charity in Swindon. She is notable for singing professionally at Glastonbury festival and stand-up comedy, and should you want a taste of the latter, you can find her one-woman not for the faint-hearted self-penned and performed show, โ€œHaving a Baby and the S**t They Donโ€™t Tell You,โ€ at The Wharf on May 26th and 27th.

This comedic and brutally honest show takes the audience on an emotional and, at times, highly entertaining rollercoaster. From morning sickness to hypno-birthing classes to labour, you wonโ€™t find this stuff in the pregnancy books! No holds barred; get ready for a whirlwind of witty anecdotes and graphic storytelling with an ending no mother could ever imagineโ€ฆ. (editorโ€™s note: of course, none of this is as bad as man-flu!)

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Lady Nade at Devizes Arts Festival

If the opening Friday evening of Devizes Arts Festival was amazing for lively pirate-punk craziness, Saturday night was too for precisely opposite reasons. Bristol’s soulstressโ€ฆ

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

Courting Ghosts Debut Album: Falling My Friend

Images used with kind permission of Pacific Curd Photography West Wilts and Somerset folk-rock collective Courting Ghosts are about to release their debut album, Fallingโ€ฆ

Bournemouth Writing Festival 2023

A festival goerโ€™s perspective

Helen Edwardsย 

A first. A first for Bournemouth and a first for me.ย  The event, brain (and heart) child of Ildiko SpinFisher and Dominic Wong ran from last Friday 21st April to Sunday 23rd April (aptly Shakespeareโ€™s birthday)….

Amongst the team of organisers was Anna Farthing who used her prior experience, of promoting Creative Arts across NHS trustsโ€™ in the South West of England, to help collaborate and coordinate writers, illustrators, editors, agents, academics, volunteers (and many more) to put on the festival.  Anna expertly compรจred and facilitated the talks, workshops and panels running at the Palace Court Theatre (PCT) – the main site – with her professional and warm delivery whilst wearing what became her trademark bright blue Greatest-Showman-esque blazer.  She, to me, became synonymous with the festival.

I arrived at the event with no expectation other than the knowledge that I was going to have a wonderful time away from the responsibilities and roles of home.ย  Thank you Bournemouth Writing Festival for putting on your inaugural event the day after my birthday. By choosing this date you gave me permission to allow myself to shed my mum-ing, wife-ing and life-ing skin to inhabit a new identity for three days. I.e. to ditch the homestead and have a mini break. On. My. Own. And by choosing this date I am now left with a creative fizz deep inside that feels sustainable. With a belief that one day I too may be able to call myself โ€˜a writerโ€™.ย 

Navigating the golden triangle of the main venues (the PCT, the Avenue and ThisWorkspace) with my head in Google Maps, I was transported back to university days.  I was ready and eager to learn.  The fees to attend were extremely low (much less than other, comparable events) yet the line up was first class. I had FOMO before I even booked with clashes between talks, which meant I couldnโ€™t get enough of the sessions on offer. Therefore I found myself on a tight schedule to get around the 16 events that I did attend (and eat)โ€ฆ(and sleep).  Constantly weighing up the opportunity cost of going to one talk over another was my overriding festival dilemma. A bit like that scrambling feeling at Glastonbury whilst power wading from stage-to-tent-to-stage in a heightened state of excitement and creeping exhaustion. 

I can only talk in detail of what I went to at the festival and for that reason I wonโ€™t.  It wouldnโ€™t be fair to all those speakers I missed.  There were c.70 events in total.  However I will shout out a few.  Sue Cheung author of โ€˜Chinglishโ€™, thank you for your energised, riveting and humorous talk and for giving me your dog-eared copy of โ€˜Chinglishโ€™ afterwards because I couldnโ€™t be a**ed to walk across town to pick up a copy.  That was above and beyond.  Maxine Gee, your enthusiasm and positivity about A.I. and using it as a tool to create bigger and better was inspiring. Jeannie Duncanson and Diane Hull, what an inclusive and interactive workshop on childrenโ€™s book writing – your sparkly eyes revealed the joy your chosen profession brings you (and made me want a bit of the same please ;). Tim Clague and Danny Stack, the screenwriting collaborators, spoke my language – I loved how straight talking and commercially minded both were. I only went to this talk because I thought โ€˜why not?โ€™ and I left thinking โ€˜yeah, I want some of that too!โ€™.

How generous all the speakers and panelistโ€™s were to share so many of their tips with us all. A true abundance mentality pervaded. Non-existent was my previous (albeit limited) experience of the pomposity and condescension that can come from some established writers/academics.  You have refreshed my view of the industry (and made me want to disrupt some areas too).  Iโ€™m honestly not sure if an MA or an Undergrad degree would have given us as much in three months, or even a year, as we had in three days.  Except the actual writing bit of course! Pah, thatโ€™ll come right?!

The festival has given me a dip-dive insight into many things writing. From novels to memoirs, screenwriting to kids books media, marketing, publishing and poetry and a fantastic exploration into artificial intelligence, plus all the stuff I missed.  It was all there. I am still trying to slow my mind down and meditate my heart post the event.  A creative fizz is a lovely feeling but if itโ€™s going to stay it will have to be of the gentler Berocca varietal rather than a Lush bath bomb explosion.

It would be remiss of me not to mention the additional festival highlights:
Obsidian, local creative pub/events venue, for making a pop-up refreshments cafรฉ in the PCT with always a smile and a chat at the breaks.

The volunteers at the event who were brilliant. And who all had a passion for writing with often impressive experience.

The other festival-goers, my peers, who were varied, interesting, international (from Peru-to-Iran-to Oz), collaborative and friendly.ย  Iโ€™m sure a lot of fledgling and future connections have been made.ย 

Sitting by the blue-skied beach on the Sunday evening as the festival drew to a close I reflected.  But before that I considered (for perhaps a beat too long) whether I should do a โ€˜Shirley Valentineโ€™ to prolong the amazing escapism Iโ€™d been afforded over the weekend. I feel as though Iโ€™ve had a holiday. An exciting, exhausting, mind altering and fully immersive trip – like skiing on acid.  And now Iโ€™m on the comedown. Now I actually need to write!

I will be back in 2024 and predict the audiences to swell off the back of this yearโ€™s success.  Thank you Bournemouth Writing Festival and the amazing team of volunteers. 

I left to journey back to Wiltshire in my ancient car with an entirely new skin in place. One that whispered: โ€˜I am a writer, I am a writer, I am a writerโ€™ as I bumped over Salisbury plain.

Trending…..

Poppy Rose, Ready Nowโ€ฆ.

Not being able to hold a note myself, I tip my hat to any musician in a band. Yet thereโ€™s something so much more valiant,โ€ฆ

Swindon Shuffle is set to get the town aโ€™rockinโ€™ this September

Organisers of the popular Swindon music event have announced that Swindon Shuffle will return this September…..

The Swindon Shuffle has been a fixture in the diaries of local music lovers since
2007, celebrating all that is good about the Swindon original music scene.
The 2023 event (the 16th edition technically as 2020โ€™s festival was online) runs from Wednesday 13 September with an opening music quiz event at The Beehive.

Festivities continue until Sunday 17 September, with over 60 acts featured across five main venues in Old Town (The Beehive, The Castle, The Hop, The Tuppenny and The Victoria) alongside fringe events at venues like Baristocats and The Eternal Optimist and more. The event will be raising funds for Prospect Hospice.

The cream of the local crop will be on display with every musical genre imaginable. This year’s line up will once again include the Friday evening specially curated by The Swindon Folk Club, which takes place at The Hop.

Headline acts include the reggae goodness of Subject A at The Hop on the Thursday evening with Canuteโ€™s Plastic Army topping the bill just down the road at The Tuppenny.

On the Friday evening, the headliners include All Ears Avow at The Vic and Splat
The Rat at The Castle.

Saturday will see headline sets from Richard Wileman and Amy Fry (The Tuppenny), Modern Evils (The Vic), Concrete Prairie (The Beehive), and Stay Lunar (The Castle).

The final day on the Sunday will see headliners Fly Yeti Fly (Tuppenny) and Matt Owens and The Delusional Vanity Project (The Beehive).

Organiser Ed Dyer said: โ€œWe are really excited to have such an incredible line-up of local talent playing this years event. We have loads more to announce and plans for this yearโ€™s festival to be the biggest and best yet. It is a privilege each year to be able to put this event on and to raise much needed funds for Prospect Hospice.โ€

All sessions are free of charge with full details available HERE.

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The Vintage Bazaar is back in Devizes!


On Saturday 24th June from 9.00am to 2pm, its regular home The Corn Exchange in Devizes, Wiltshire will once again be filled to the brim with beautiful vintage and antique finds……

This wonderful fair has been established for more than ten years and showcases a veritable cornucopia of delights from some of the very best vintage sellers from across the South-West and beyond. The fair has a well-deserved reputation amongst interior/fashion designers, vintage enthusiasts, makers and anyone who just loves beautiful things. It is one of the top vintage fairs in the UK, having featured several times in the national press and with customers travelling from as far as the US to visit!

At the event expect to find wonderful French brocante, beautiful period clothing, textile treasures from France, shoes and accessories from the 1920s to the 1970s, wonderfully faded antique fabric and textiles, lace, linen, jewellery, homewares and collectables. Many dealers save their best stock for the fair, and it shows, the displays are stunning.

As well as all the fantastic vintage dealers there will also be some carefully selected designer/makers there showcasing their wares.
This is a really friendly fair with a relaxed atmosphere and knowledgeable sellers who are always ready to help. Entrance ยฃ2.

For more information visit the website: www.thevintagebazaar.co.uk
Find us on Instagram @thevintagebazaarevents and on Facebook

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Weekly Roundup of Events in Wiltshire: 25th April – 1st May 2023

Hey, howโ€™s you? Ah, been better, been worse, thanks for asking. Hereโ€™s what weโ€™ve found to be doing over this coming weekโ€ฆโ€ฆ.

All links, info and updates can be found on our event calendar. Other incoming events will be added there when we discover them, so do check in later in the week. For now thoughโ€ฆ.ย 

Tuesday 25th April:

Deadlight Dance on the Radio! Yes, Marlboroughโ€™s goth-rock duo Deadlight Dance will be live and chatting to Peggy on Donโ€™t Stop the Music Show tonight, on Swindon 105.

Staying in Swindon, The Cavern Beatles pay The Wyvern Theatre.

And thereโ€™s the regular jazz night at il Fiume in Bradford-on-Avon, with the Graham Dent Trio.

Wednesday 26th:

Acoustic Jam at The Southgate, Devizes.

Sirius Chau at Wiltshire Music Centre in Bradford-on-Avon.

Running until 29th April, opening night for Julius Caesar at Rondo Theatre, Bath.

Also Running until 29th, Phoenix Players presents The Business Of Murder at Swindon Arts Centre.

Thursday 27th:

 Open Mic night at Stallards, in Trowbridge. 

Alex Lipinski and The Crown Electric & Matt Owens and The Delusional Vanity Project at Chapel Arts, Bath.

Mr Love & Justice play The Tuppenny, Swindon, while thereโ€™s a Chuckles Comedy Club at Meca, and The Diana Ross Story at The Wyvern Theatre, Swindon

Friday 28th:

Marillion tribute Marquee Square Heroes play the entire Script For A Jesters Tear for its 40th anniversary at Marlborough Town FC. Laurence plays Motown and soul classics at The Castle & Ball.

Itโ€™s The Final of Take the Stage 2023 at The Neeld, Chippenham, and Mr Love & Justice play The Old Road Tavern.

A Moroccan Banquet at Trowbridge Town Hall.

Billie Bottleโ€™s Temple of Shibboleth – Solarference at Wiltshire Music Centre, Bradford-on-Avon, while Brake Lights play The Boathouse.

Tribute to Bonnie Raitt at Chapel Arts, Bath,The First Raitt Band. 

Oasish & Stereotonics at The Vic in Swindon, The Illegal Eagles at The Wyvern Theatre.

The Big Excuse: Featuring Solcura, Bit Bigger, and Big Dog at 23 Bath Street, Frome, and the Toasters play The Cheese & Grain.

Saturday 29th:

Is Seend Beer Festival, also the start of Urchfont Scarecrow Festival, which is running until Monday.

Mr Love & Justice is at The Southgate, Devizes, Ben Borrill at the Moonrakers.

The Duskers at The Barge on Honey-Street.

Barrelhouse plays The Bear in Marlborough.

The Woodbridge, Pewsey has a hog roast with live music from The Busy Fools.

From Jovi & Dragoneye at The Wheatsheaf in Calne.

The Upbeat Beatles play The Civic in Trowbridge, sold out already at The Pump for Carsick with support from Nothing Rhymes With Orange and Meg.

A Midsummer Night’s Dream Masquerade – The Mayor’s Charity Ball at the Neeld, Chippenham.

Operation 77 at the Westbury Cons Club, Local Heroes Inc at Prestbury Sports Club, Warminster.

The Lost Trades return to Wiltshire after a national tour, and play the Hop Inn, Swindon. Meanwhile itโ€™s emo night at The Vic with Black Parade. Paul Young – Behind The Lens at The Wyvern Theatre.

Lucis Choir at Wiltshire Music Centre, Bradford-on-Avon, Pop-Up Bowie at Chapel Arts in Bath.

The Cheese & Grain in Frome has Peter Hook & The Light, and Greg Lake tribute Lucky Man at the Tree House.

Sunday 30th:

Dr Zeboโ€™s Wheezy Club will be at The Southgate, Devizes from 5pm.

May Day Musical Mayhem at The Talbot Inn, Calne, raising funds for Campaign Against Living Miserably, they have Six O’Clock Circus, Peaky Blinders, One Chord Wonders, Red Light, Absolute Beginners, The Killertones Underground and The Daybreakers.

Family Concert at Wiltshire Music Centre, Bradford-on-Avon,Noisy Nature with the Magnard Ensemble.

Devil’s Doorbell are live in session at The Electric Bar, Bath

Raver Tots comes to Meca, Swindon, while The Wyvern Theatre has the Ministry of Science.

Monday 1st:

Running until 7th May, Swindon Festival of Literature opens.

Monthly album listening club, The long Player at The Vic, Swindon.

And thatโ€™s it, do check out Zog with the kids at The Wyvern Theatre, Swindon, opening Tuesday 2nd, and running until 4th May. Then we have the Kingโ€™s Coronation next weekend, lots going on to do with that, and lots happening if you wish to avoid that! Do keep a check up on the calendar. 

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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

Gen-Z Party; Nothing Rhymes with Orange and Guests In Lavington

Images by Gail Foster

I could’ve guaranteed myself a great night with peers and those purveyors of space rock, Cracked Machine down the trusty Gate, or danced socks off with twenty/thirty-somethings at the Three Crowns to the unique take on covers of the ever-entertaining People Like Us. But, oddly if not in the know, I opted for a Saturday night at West Lavington village hall, nodding my approval as frontman Elijah Easton mingled with a gen z frenzied crowd singing back to him their beguiling magnum opus, to-date, Manipulation, for an encore the fans will forever cherishโ€ฆ..

For if it’s Devizine’s intention to highlight all that’s great about our music scene, it’s surely a priority to point out what’s upcoming, and Nothing Rhymes With Orange are the freshest squeezed fruit on that tree right now. I’ve been singing their praises since reviewing their EP Midsummer, unseasonably released last November, and now I can tick catching them live off my must-do-list I’m only going to enforce my words on how astoundingly awesome these youngsters are.

With blow-up orange segments bouncing between them on stage and their enthused blossoming fanbase, I figure I’m witness to a burgeoning local phenomenon akin to the roots of any mainstream band, left pondering the pensioners once screaming teenagers at Liverpool’s Cavern Club, when Beatlemania was imminent. If you consider that’s a tall order for comparison, I’d shrug, but while NRWO can clearly rouse the crowd, it feels like the building hysteria is a newfound blessing for them and they’re unsure how to react. This is a wonderful inaugural experience for a blossoming band, exposing them to reactions to the hard work they’ve clearly put in, and digesting those streams are from real kids, appreciating their sound.

Nothing Rhymes With Orange

For the fanbase so young in our rural zone, it’s not so simple just to rock up to venues, particularly pubs, and if the village hall is kinda “village hall like,” it’s because it is, but it’s an adequate space with a hospitable outlook. The band and their families have self-organised this sell-out gig with the intention of making this a homecoming atmosphere for a local band venturing to Bristol, Bath and Trowbridge’s Pump, and who will undoubtedly take that road a lot further in the near future. 

For the time being, they are here and they are now. If seeing Springsteen in the eighties was an amazing experience, seeing Springsteen play New Jersey was another ballpark, ergo in this case, Lavington is those Badlands.

The sound is frenzied indie-pop, but not all-out ferociously punk, they find the perfect middle-ground; easy on the palate for any age demographic. Precisely why they’re subject to my highest acclaim, homing in on what the kids want, is, historically, the recipe for success. They did this with bells on, belting out their known EP tracks, a couple of defined Arctic Monkeys covers, their latest release Lidl Shoes, and treated the crowd to a sneak at the forthcoming two singles.

But not before a triple bill of support they’re introducing to home fans. First up Dauntsys own Paradigm, who, though I only caught the final couple I’d suggest are a promisingly tight young band to watch out for.

Paradigm

Secondly Frankcastre from Portsmouth with a frontman originating locally, even penning a song named after Great Cheverall, which has to be a first! Perhaps as oddly as their name, to generation X a band attired in Fred Perrys and skinheads might connote mod influences, but the confident frontman was looking decidedly teddy-boy!

Frankcastre

Trivial is the significance of the uniforms of youth cultures of yore to this era, their originals came fiery and skater-punk; they refined the contemporary noise with brewing confidence and it was welcomed by the NRWO fanbase, particularly the girls. Two covers either side of their set though revealed a penchant for sixties blues-rock, covering firstly The Doors’ Break on Through, and The Animals’ version of House of the Rising Sun, with gritty vocals and devine accuracy. Something for the parents to acknowledge, perhaps, though the frontman delighted to elucidate his fondness for the era to me and I had nothing but to accept his knowledge on the subject. Their sudden usage of a keyboard, for example, to replicate The Animals classic was different, tilting it to one side while playing was beyond Jerry Lee Lewis; put him in your Google search bar!

Arguably the more accomplished of the two, Bath’s StoneFace produced lengthier original compositions, evoking mood with pitch and tempo alterations. With an air of neo-emo Stooges, interestingly with saxophone, damn they looked the part of Iggy Pop to envy!

Though sounding as good as they looked, this volatile style didn’t seem to wash down quite as well with the teenagers as Frankcastre, who, like punk, seem to favour the frenzied three-minute hero, though I personally fished with their hook. Introducing a new track Blue for You, and a particularly adroit one called Cave, the downtempo was plodding indie of perhaps a previous generation, but they did it exceptionally.

StoneFace

To conclude, those in local media sensationalising a minority of hooliganism for click-bait would’ve had their tails between their legs if they’d bother to attend this last night, for all I saw was the new generation, clean-cut by comparison of formers, thoroughly enjoying themselves and causing no issues in the slightest. Just in awe of four of their own, who’ve worked tirelessly to perfect a cooperative brand and inspire others. The forthcoming single Rishi speaks volumes for a current tongue-in-cheek satire they’re intelligent self-penned anthems extend to, though for the most part politics are avoided in favour of topics relative to gen z, like romantic interludes breaking down, and for this Nothing Rhymes With Orange prove their diversity.

It was an astounding achievement, bringing some class acts to Lavington’s youth, and onwards for NRWO I’m pleased to say in collaboration with DOCA, Devizine is proud to now annually suggest a best upcoming local act to feature on the main stage at the Devizes Street Festival, and you can bet your bottom dollar they are the chosen ones to get that ball rolling on Sunday 28th May.

You can also catch them next Saturday, 29th, at the Pump in Trowbridge, Bathโ€™s Party in the City at St Jamesโ€™ Vaults on 12th May, at Corsham Rugby Clubโ€™s CorrFest on Sunday 17th June, The Barge on Honey-Street on Saturday 1st July, Marlborough Festival July 8th, and Urchfontโ€™s Boundary Bash on the 15th Julyโ€ฆ. The future is bright, and doesnโ€™t rhyme with orange!

Trending……

Wiltshire Save The King! Local Coronation Celebrations in May

Apparently, some bloke is doing the Queen’s old job; well, that’s wokeism gone crazy if ever I’ve seen it!

But whatever your opinions are about royalty, every town and village is gearing up for The Coronation celebrations and that’s all good for our local entertainers and food purveyors, as the drive to put on a great show feels like it’s getting somewhat competitive…pass the cucumber sandwiches, there’s a good chap.

So, with social media looking rather cluttered as each town and parish council frantically post their events, let’s try our best to collate them, and see who’s performing where and when.

Some places get the ball rolling on Friday 5th May.

Hilperton: at their village hall, from 6pm, have free inflatables for children, the bar will be open and a barbecue from We Meat Again, or bring your own picnic.

Marlborough’s weekend starts with a school art exhibition at St Peter’s, which runs all weekend.

Hats off to Bromham, who have the awesome Junkyard Dogs playing their event in a marquee on the Jubilee Field, and promise some special guests, raffle and ask you to bring your own drinks. This one is a fiver, the Dogs are at 8pm.

Saturday 6th May.

Urchfont: 10am screening at the village hall. Free to attend but ticketed to determine numbers for catering. At 2pm there will be a family fun afternoon in the paddock behind the village hall with entertainment, a family dog show followed by an “Urchfont’s got talent a talent show,” and at 7pm Bandoke will be providing entertainment in a collection of hits from the 70’s, 80’s and 90’s.

Seend: the Community Centre goes for a bar, hog roast and bouncy castle combo, highlights are magician and balloon modeller Dave Hickory, and from 7pm, music from Ian Rayney and the awesome rock covers band, Siren. All free.

Pewsey: Looking good at the Cooper’s Field, screening followed by traditional fairground stalls, tugs of war and kid’s football. Pablo & Teos and The Good Food Van at this, with a great musical lineup from Static Moves, Hooch, and Humdinger.

Marlborough: Screening at the Parade Cinema, a prom at St Mary’s and street party in Manton.

Melksham: Picnic in Park at St George’s Playing Fields from 10:30am, sees a confetti battle at their extravaganza, which will feel a bit of plagiarism for Devizes folk! But lots more going on, fairground rides, and live music promised, we’ve not yet been tipped off as to who is playing.

Chippenham: Screening at John Coles Park, picnic and The Derek Nash Band will play live from the bandstand afterwards, with a showing of Disneyโ€™s Lion King (2019 live-action version) for everyone to enjoy.

Trowbridge: Yet to hear that the town council are doing anything other than supplying shops with bunty and floral displays to create a “Highgrove on the High Street!” Though Paxcroft Mead are having a street party and barbecue, and those Junkyard Dogs are at it again, at Ben & Tom’s Coronation party at the Wiltshire Yeoman on Chilmark Road at midday.

Calne: town council have really pulled it out the bag, with a picnic at Recreation Ground with a great lineup of music, with Six O’clock Circus, Rave Against the Regime, Operation 77, and the Chaos Brothers. Prior they’ve lots of street food, and entertainment, with stilt walkers, illusionists, balloon modeller and a bubbleologist, including the Lynham Military Wives Choir and a dance performance by 45 Star Dance.

Devizes: town council have there’s in the Market Place from 10am to 4pm, but are quite vague about what we can expect, promises a screening on a large screen, live music, food and drink and children’s activities, but it’s as of yet any details is a mystery, which may be not bad thing; surprises are nice! And besides, if it all goes Pete Tong rather than Charles Windsor, Leon Daye Band play The Southgate later and Kyla Brox Band are at Long Street Blues Club.

Sunday 7th May.

Marlborough: Big Lunch on the High Street with a street party.

Rowde: has a fete from 12:30 at the small playing field, with Chris Ashburn and the fantastic People Like Us – great booking Rowde Parish Council! Plus morris dancing, children’s fancy dress, a circus workshop, barbecue and more.

All Cannings: have also got a great sounding event at the village green, with a children’s circus and cooking competition, and the highlight there is a great newly formed band we’ve been excited about hearing more from, Alfred’s Tower.

Monday 8th May.

Bishop’s Cannings wait until Monday for a celebration at the Crown, dog show, duck race tugs of war, and lots more!

There are more events going up on our event calendar all the time, so keep checking in, today was supposed to be a sneaky taster at those towns and villages really pulling a rabbit from their hats for the king! 

Did we miss out your village or town’s do? Do let us know.

It does seem at present, akin to jubilee celebrations, everyone is fighting for the best event as if Charlie himself will be cruising around to judge them! And in this, many local villages have bettered the market towns. When what really should be occurring is town and parish councils working together, so free transport can be provided for those in smaller villages and housing estates a distance from town centres can unite in a bigger and better celebration in the larger villages and towns, because surely this should a coming together of people, rather than them segregated into small communities. But hey, that’s just my opinion!

Age of the Liar; The Burner Band

Okay, so it’s been a little over two years since I fondly reviewed the debut album, Signs & Wonders, from Leeds’ alt-country come Americana outfit, The Burner Band, when I labelled it “foot-tapping bluegrass fun” with, unusually, added elements of punk. This new seven track album Age of the Liar takes a massive step forward in poignancy…..

This said, I cannot now recall how we became acquainted, but lucky for us we did. Because while, Age of the Liar kicks off pretty much where Signs & Wonders left us, and waits for no man with insatiable foot-tapping bluegrass, there’s an underlying notion intelligent prose is at work here, as the lyrics, concerning the unquestionable loyalty to militancy rides this track like a trooper.

If the opener came as no surprise to me, the second track, Living in Fear certainly did, as while continuing the Americana roots forefront, it rides an offbeat like reggae, lowering the tempo, and taking an ecological topic, a “state of the world today,” it’s akin to the subject matter of punk and reggae too.

The mechanics of Living in Fear is also a hint towards the title track seven tunes in, which positively beams back reggae’s influence over punk; if the Clash did Americana, this is what it would probably sound like. Greatly overlooked in today’s mainstream, the social and political commentary of the era, once a prominent feature in both punk and reggae is put on the line here, satirically mocking the ludicrously of misinformation and propaganda of right-wing leaders, be it Trump or Bojo, it could go either way.

Throughout the album the desperation of contemporary issues is a running theme, even if it best works with these two offbeat songs. Dark and Lonesome Street takes us back to what the Burners do best, still as the title suggests there’s darker undertones. Even if the immediately lovable Hot Dog King has a rockabilly swing, the carefree mood isn’t all it seems, relaying a true story of New York hot dog vendor Dan Rossi, who fought against unjust licencing laws.

I love this concept, that the Burner Band aren’t afraid to explore and break confines of subgenre and pigeonholing, and it blends pleasantly on the ear. There’s elements of early Springsteen on the Asbury Park scene, often breezing into soul and blues, but never straying from the country backbeat.

This is truly is a modern take on roots and Americana, at times the definitive article, twangy geetars, or referencing American culture, but teetering the edge, there’s so many nods to a British roots scene, the punk, rockabilly and reggae movements of the early eighties, even down to the three-minute hero ideal, no tune tries to rule the album, all staying at the statutory running time. If the debut album touched on these influences too, it was subtle at best, this time the balance is perfected.

Social commentary continues to cover prejudices, immigration, stereotyping disabilities, yet no matter how complex the subject, tracks like Big Hole don’t baffle you in riddles, the messages are simple and direct, creating a beguiling and enjoyable ride with poignancy. I’ve yet to dive deeper into this, but suspect as I do more backstory and hidden gems will jump out at me, but I’m overdue mentioning it, as it came out the end of March, so presenting it to now is a honour; great foot-stomping stuff with the perfect balance of contemporary thoughtful prose and subject matter; yee-ha, it’s a keeper!

Website – Facebook – Bandcamp

Song of the Week: ร…lesund

Back-tracking a week for this, as it was two great tunes came along simultaneously; like buses, in another county, don’t get me started on the bus service around these backwaters!

Ah, and relax, save that for another time; ร…lesund‘s emotive and immersive soundscapes will do the trick. New single from, as I suggested, lat week, Never Enough, and it’s dreamy and drifting, with those driving vocals and rolling drumbeats, the ambient-indie of the post-triphop Bristol scene, harking back to Portishead, peppered with Evanescene’s drench of neo-gothic yet carrying contemporary freshness.

ร…lesund first came to my attention when Kieran Moore was at Trowbridge Town Hall, a few years ago, playing with similar fashioned band Agata. This single proves I wasn’t imagining how wonderful this collective are.

Link-Tree to the track HERE

Website – Facebook – Bandcamp – YouTube

Trending….

The Tap at The Peppermill to Host Open Mic

Two local musicians have joined forces as Nightingale Sounds to host their first Open Mic Night at the new Tap at the Peppermill in Devizesโ€ฆ.โ€ฆ

The Wiltshire Gothic; Deadlight Dance

With howling, coarse baritones Nick Fletcher, the main vocalist of Marlboroughโ€™s gothic duo, Deadlight Dance chants, โ€œhere comes the rain, and I love the rain,โ€ฆ

The Railway Children Calls at Devizes’ Wharf Theatre

Pride of the arts in Devizes, The Wharf Theatre say, “if you love the story of The Railway Children, first serialised in The London Magazine in 1905 and published as a book in 1906, before being made into the classic 1970 film; then we can assure you that the stage play will not disappoint.“

Being honest, it’s a story I’m unfamiliar with, believing, if memory serves me well, there was also a popular TV series of it in the early eighties, but at the time I was cosumed rather by Monkey Magic and The A-Team! I think today, though, I can look upon this with matured eyes and be equally as intrigued by its genius synopsis as those the Wharf deem “lovers” of the story.

Therefore, I’m pleased to highlight that they’re proud to present this renowned story of a prosperous Edwardian family from London, forced into near-penury in the rural north of England, after their Father is falsely imprisoned. Come and meet โ€˜Bobbie, Peter and Phyllis as they adapt to their new life in the cottage by the railway and join them as they meet someone who might just be able to help them get their happy ending.

Under Freddie Underwoodโ€™s direction, this stage adaptation perfectly captures the anxieties and exhilarations of childhood with great tenderness and insight. Adults and children will be enthralled by the heart-warming story and the clever use of imaginative theatricality. This is definitely one โ€˜not to be missedโ€™โ€ฆ

Running from May 8th to May 13th 2023 @ 7.30pm. As you might predict, tickets are selling well on this already, so I encourage your urgency to snap up a seat.

Tickets can be purchased by ringing 03336 663 366; from the website and at the Devizes Community Hub and Library on Sheep Street. For group bookings, please contact hire@wharftheatre.co.uk

Weekly Roundup of Events in Wiltshire 17th -24th April 2023

Things are all a bit upsidey-down as Devizine catches up with the 21st century. Something about old dogs and new tricks, I’ve streamlined with a new computer, which roughly translates to I don’t what the heck I’m doing! So, bear with me as I pretend everything is running as smooth as a baby’s bottom and bring you all the stuff weโ€™ve found to do over the coming week here in wonderful Wiltshire…..

Still the same ballpark though, donโ€™t take this as final, updates will come through and all that and links to the stuff listed here can be found on our event calendar, HERE.

Monday 17th April then:

You can sit back in the comfort of your own home and enjoy a live stream from those professors of video technology Visual Radio Arts, as they bring you a set from the fantastic Strange Folk

Tuesday 18th:

Nadiya and Kai โ€“ Once Upon a Time at The Wyvern Theatre, Swindon, and opening at Swindon Arts Centre is the Swindon G & S Societyโ€™s Lolanthe, running until the 22nd.

Wednesday 19th:

Devizes Books Presentsโ€ฆ โ€˜Veniceโ€™ The play of light at a canalโ€™s curve, the slap of water against the hull of a gondola, the all pervading smell of the sea. This is Venice. Liz Light will shed light on its glories, its children, its history and its future. At Wiltshire Museum, Long Street, Devizes. Tickets ยฃ6.00 available from Devizes books, or book by phoning 01380 725944, or pay cash on the door.

Staying in Devizes, donโ€™t forget itโ€™s the regular Wednesday evening acoustic jam at The Southgate, bring an instrument.

And Tony Blackburn is still at it! Sounds of the 60s Live at The Wyvern Theatre, Swindon.

Thursday 20th:

Amazing Thursday night in Swindon when The Sarah C Ryan Band play The Vic, with Atari Pilot in support, and Fly Yeti Fly are at The Tuppenny. Also, Russell Kaneโ€™s The Essex Variant comes to The Wyvern Theatre.

Friday 21st:

KenAvon Quiz Night at the Rennie Room, on Devizes Wharf, see poster for details. White Horse Opera at Devizes Town Hall.

The Roughcut Rebels play The Pack Horse, Chippenham

Wrong Jovi at The Vic, Swindon.

Gluehorse at The Three Horseshoes, Bradford-on-Avon, while youโ€™ll find Shadows of Santana at The Boathouse.

LGBTQ+ Poetry night at Rondo Theatre, Bath.

Dreadzoneโ€™s 30th Anniversary tour at the Cheese & Grain.

Saturday 22nd:

Wonderful, People Like Us at The Three Crowns, Devizes, Cracked Machine play The Southgate.

Spoiled for choice enough if it wasnโ€™t for Nothing Rhymes with Orange at the West Lavington Hall, with Stoneface, Paradigm and Frankastre; the guys have put this event on themselves to appease their young fanbase, and I think thatโ€™s a real special effort. Iโ€™m tipping these best upcoming act of year, ergo it has to be Editorโ€™s Pick of the Week; this was your opportunity to check them out, I told you about it ages ago, but tickets are all gone, now; soz.

The White Horse Opera moves across to St Peterโ€™s at Great Cheverell.

A bold 21st century reimagining of Homerโ€™s Odyssey by Wiltshire writer Florence Espeut-Nickless, developed with and performed by the local community, at Trowbridge Town Hall, with The Four Winds.

Tom Jenkins with Luke De-Sisco and Hannah Rose-Platt at The Pump in Trowbridge.

Hillbillies  up for a barn dance, The Barge at HoneyStreet style!

Fireballs UK play Melksham Rock N Roll Club.

รMAR atย  Wiltshire Music Centre, Bradford-on-Avon, Strange Folk for real this time, at The Three Horseshoes.

Tankus The Henge at Chapel Arts, Bath

My Secret Sister at Rondo Theatre, Bath.

Maximum Output at Prestbury Sports Club, Warminster.

Ion Maiden at The Vic, Swindon.

Rising Aspirations Academy Of Performing Arts presents Chitty Chitty Bang Bang at The Wyvern Theatre, Swindon.

Vintage Bazaar at The Cheese & Grain, Frome, with The Inspiral Carpets in the evening, and Just Radiohead tribute at The Lime House.

Sunday 23rd:

Melksham Record Fair at Melksham Assembly Hall.

Two Man Ting at The Southgate, Devizes.

Snake Snake Snake at The Three Horseshoes, Bradford-on-Avon.

Have a great weekend!

Trending…..

The Drum n Bass Huntr/s of Old Devizes Town

In true Royston Vasey style, unfortunately due to time and resources we donโ€™t review international music as we did during lockdown, choosing to focus moreโ€ฆ

Across the Water with Paul Lappin

Remotely possible he misses all the roundabouts, Paul Lappin came from Swindon, now resides in the South of France, yeah, across the water, which is also the title of his latest EP; coincidence? Remotely possibleโ€ฆ.

Itโ€™s been since last July when we mentioned Paul with previous EP, Flowers in the Snow, this new title track is dreamy family reminisces sailing across a tranquil sea. Plucked from his Britpop inspiration, Paul never fails to create a beautiful ambience of meaningful prose, and this hits the spot.

Sophia, the middle track picks up the beat, twirls with the guitar riff closer associated with Britpop, Lee Moulding and Jon Bucket adding drums to this Stone Roses fashioned track, at their smoothest.

Polishes off with Chasing Rainbows, and we return to the dreamy style of the title track, making a wonderful finale. Check it out today, itโ€™s Sunday music for the soul.

Trending….

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

Ashes of Memory; New Single From M3G

The fifth single coming out from Chippenham singer-songwriter M3g on Friday, Ashes of Memory, and if Iโ€™ve said in the past what separates Meg fromโ€ฆ

Never Changing the Rules With Atari Pilot

Swindonโ€™s sonic indie popsters Atari Pilot are a prolific bunch, and have a new single out called The Rules Never Changeโ€ฆ. And, they donโ€™t. Thereโ€™sโ€ฆ

REVIEW โ€“ Billy Walton Band @ LSBC, Con Club, Devizes โ€“ Saturday 15th April 2023

A Trip To New Jersey

Andy Fawthrop


Tonight weโ€˜re in the land of Springsteen, Van Zandt and Southside Johnny. Weโ€™re on the New Jersey shore, swinging with the band. Itโ€™s late, itโ€™s hot, the room is absolutely rammed and The Billy Walton Band are in town. Well, only just, after a late-afternoon scare when their van broke down on the way to the gig. But, hey, thatโ€™s rock nโ€™ roll, thatโ€™s life on the road. Unfazed, the band played on, and what a show they gave us….

But first things first. Support act for the evening, all the way up from that there London were new (to me) Interstellar Duo. Consisting of sisters Charlotte and Heather Sterland on every combination of piano, viola, violin and vocals, the pair presented something very different indeed. Finalists for UK Country Duo 2022, the two girls gave us some absolutely beautiful, haunting and delicate harmonies. Both vocals and instrumentation were precise and stripped back, reducing the massive crowd to a hushed and respectful silence during the performance, and loud applause as they finished. A hot, noisy blues club may not be the best platform for their brand of vocal harmony, but they absolutely nailed it anyway. Nearest thing I could compare them to was early Kate & Anna McGarrigle, but that might slightly undersell the beauty and ethereal quality of a great performance. Hats off!

Billy Walton is described on his website as โ€œan accomplished guitar master from the vibrant New Jersey Shore music scene. He earned his stripes in the rock & roll trenches, playing lead guitar for many years with Jersey icon, Southside Johnny. He has also shared the stage with music legends; Little Steven, Gary US Bonds and Steven Tyler, to name a fewโ€. Well – wow! Thatโ€™s a huge reputation to live up to, but there was nothing for us to worry about. The man turned up with a five-piece band behind him and simply let rip with his winning brand of bluesy rock nโ€™ roll.

On stage with him were bassist William Paris, Tom Petraccaro on sax, Eric Safka on Hammond B3, Shane Luckenbough on drums, and vocalist extraordinaire Destinee Monroe. As a unit they were tight, musically adept and extremely powerful, helping Billy to drive forward through a great show.

With his musical background it would have been all too easy to fall back on the old Southside Johnny classics, but instead were treated to a lot more recent material. Yes there were a couple of covers (I Canโ€™t Stand The Rain and I Feel Good), but these blended seamlessly into a near two-hour set of sheer entertainment and showmanship. There was plenty of chat, lots of humour, and great audience interaction. There were deliberate false intros โ€“ Stairway To Heaven, Smoke On The Water, Kashmir and even (unbelievably) Puff The Magic Dragon โ€“ just to pull the laughs and the applause. We even had a couple of rounds of Happy Birthday! But whilst these guys sure knew how to fool around, they sure as hell knew how to be serious and to deliver a truly great set.

Destinee shrieking high-octane vocals, answered note for note by a wailing keyboard was one of the highlights for me, but this was no one-trick pony. Whilst there were always the wham-bam-thank-you-mam numbers, the band also displayed a lot of depth and texture, mixing up the slower tempos with faster, driving boogie-woogie rhythms.

Lots of applause, dancing, a standing ovation, and an almost psychedelic encore. What more could you possibly want? Yet another great gig at Long Street Blues Club, and what live music is all about.

Future Long Street Blues Club gigs: (but more to be announced/ confirmed next month โ€“ watch social media!)

Saturday 6th May 2023 Kyla Brox Band
Saturday 27th May 2023 Gerry Jablonski Band
Saturday 10th June 2023 Eric Bell Band
Friday 13th October 2023 Mike Zito & Albert Castiglia band
Saturday 28th October 2023 Susan Santos

Trending….

Peace, Love, Americana and Jol Rose

I trouble procrastinating upon being gifted a previously released CD from an artist for review, unfortunately they land on the backburner, prioritising upcoming news items.โ€ฆ

King Alfred’s Tower Charity Abseil

This summer SOS Africa will host a 160ft charity abseil fundraising event from King Alfredโ€™s Tower at Stourhead in celebration of the organisation’s 20th birthday! Taking place on the 9th, 10th 16th & 17th September 2023, the abseil event will be the charityโ€™s highest to date and the first time that this iconic historical venue will be open to public abseiling courtesy of the National Trust.

King Alfred's Tower Charity Abseil Fundraising Event for National Trust & SOS Africa

Throughout this highly anticipated 4-day charity abseil, brave fundraisers from across the Southwest and beyond will climb the towerโ€™s 205 steps and descend from the top of this iconic monument dressed as their favourite historical figures. Before touching down at the base of the tower they will be able to savour breath-taking views across the surrounding counties.

Built by Stourhead Estate Owner Henry Hoare II in 1772, the folly was constructed at the site of Egbertโ€™s Stone, the folkloric landmark where Alfred the Great rallied his Saxon troops in 878AD to hold off a Saxon invasion. Constructed with over a million red bricks, the tower has become the pride of the 2650-acre Stourhead Estate.

Children Sponsored by the SOS Africa Children's Charity

Since it was first founded by Shepton Mallet student Dr Matt Crowcombe in 2003, each year the SOS Africa Childrenโ€™s Charity and experienced instructor Aardvark Endeavours have hosted fundraising challenges from iconic venues from across the southwest of England including Glastonbury Festival Pyramid Stage, Shepton Mallet Prison and Wells Cathedral, raising hundreds of thousands of pounds to educate disadvantaged children across South Africa.

โ€œSOS Africaโ€™s Alfredโ€™s Tower event will be the charityโ€™s most challenging abseil to date from one of the most well-known monuments in the southwest. Growing up in Shepton Mallet and Bruton, there were few moments when I could not see the tower standing proudly on the horizon. We are extremely grateful to the National Trust for embracing this exciting event and we cannot wait to start raising funds for 2 very important causes.โ€ Dr Matt Crowcombe (CEO/Founder, SOS Africa)

Alfred's Tower Charity Abseil: SOS Africa and National Trust Volunteers

Stourhead General Manager Philip Niemand has supported the event from its inception and cannot wait to welcome the brave abseilers to Alfredโ€™s Tower this September:

โ€œAlfredโ€™s Tower was built 250 years ago, reputedly marking the spot where King Alfred raised his standard and rallied his troops before setting off to defeat the Vikings at the battle of Eddington. This moment in time started our societal journey of freedom and democracy. We now have an exciting opportunity to raise valuable awareness of and funds for communities that are not as fortunate. The SOS Africa Abseil from the Tower is itself a unique call to action, an opportunity to join the charityโ€™s most challenging event to date from one of the most iconic monuments in the Southwest, raising funds for two very important causes.โ€ Philip Niemand (General Manager, Stourhead)

Charity Abseil Fundraising Event from King's Alfred's Tower, Stourhead

To participate, each abseiler is required to pay a ยฃ20 deposit to cover Aardvark Endeavours Instructors fees and raise ยฃ100 per person. To enter as an individual or team, please contact Event Organiser Matt Crowcombe by email (matt@sosafrica.com) with the following details:

Matt will then confirm your abseil date/time, set up your online fundraising page and add it to our Event Fundraising Page where you will be able to track the progress of your fellow abseilers and event fundraising total. No previous abseil experience is required, fancy-dress is optional and all abseilers must be age 9 or over (under the age of 18 must be accompanied by a parent/guardian). Although plenty of time will be allowed for abseilers to climb the 205 steps to the top of the tower, a reasonable level of fitness will be required.

This is likely to be a popular event and places will be limited so we recommend signing up and sending your deposit as soon as possible to avoid missing out. Thank you for your support and we look forward to welcoming you to the top of King Alfredโ€™s Tower in Septemberโ€ฆ

For more information, check HERE

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Date Set for Devizes Pride

Hear ye, oh, hear ye, with much yet to plan for the event, we’re pleased to announce the date of Saturday June 29th has beenโ€ฆ

Song of the Week: Nothing Rhymes With Orange

I know, I keep missing this supposed weekly feature, no matter how I might promise. I did have one for last week but the dog ate my homework, and, I dunno, procrastination takes control over me like Iโ€™m possessed by lethargy and need of an exorcist like Mr Motivator; whatever did happen to him?!

But it will have to wait for another week, as the Devizes imminent indie-poppers I tip to be the best upcoming local act of the year, Nothing Rhymes With Orange have surprised us with another upbeat cracker aligned with their intramural style of the debut EP Midsummer. Amusingly called Lidl Shoes, which besides the point, can be surprisingly durable as well as affordable(!), this single reaches its bridge like mountain boots, but without the rough grip of what you might expect from the stage-diving gen Z, this is flexible for ageless appreciation, just damn good, constantly improving intelligent punk-pop.

Do check it out, and remember next Saturday (22nd April) theyโ€™re a DIY gig at West Lavington Hall, tickets here.

Thirty Years in the Dreadzone

Dreadzone, the Phoenix rising from the ashes of Big Audio Dynamiteโ€™s success, when drummer Greg Roberts and keyboardist Dan Donovan teamed with Julian Copeโ€™s sound engineer Tim Bran, were the prolific electronic dance triumph of post-raveโ€ฆ.

Owing their accomplishment to the fine blend of reggae into the contemporary melting pot of dance culture, harking back to Two-Tone yet too encompassed the burgeoning breakbeat house scene which in turn would fuel drum and bass. But Dreadzone never went there, the final piece of the jigsaw was bringing in vocalist Earl 16, and they stuck to their guns producing memorable anthems of techno-reggae dub bliss, particularly unforgettable being Little Britain sampling Carl Orffโ€™s Auf Dem Anger.

But if you, like me, were bouncing around a muddy field like Zebedee on a day out from the magic garden to a 1937 classical symphony you might not appreciate me reminding you, Dreadzone celebrate their thirtieth anniversary this year; but it might cushion the blow by letting you know you can join the party at Fromeโ€™s Cheese & Grain on Friday 21st April.

Still in the forefront of the festival scene, in 2022, Dreadzone refocussed their show after MC Spee was forced to step back from touring and they explored different aspects of their history and catalogue ahead of their 30th anniversary this year. With a reconfigured line-up for 2023, the bandโ€™s live shows will feature core members Greg Dread and original bassmaster Leo Williams, plus legendary reggae vocalist Earl 16, as well as Bazil on technology and Blake Robert (Gregโ€™s son) on guitar.

They have been releasing albums and progressively bettering, refining, and perfecting their own unique and inimitable take on dub since their inception in 1993. Dreadzone opened the Pyramid Stage at Glastonbury in 1994, though if memories of that are hazy at best, I fondly recall a night at Shepardโ€™s Bush Empire in 1995 when I was still dancing to an imaginary dubplate in the cloakroom queue!

With plans for their 30th Anniversary firmly underway, standby for a new studio album later in the year too.

Tickets are on sale now and priced at ยฃ25.00+BF, available here.

Weekly Roundup of Events in Wiltshire: 12th – 18th April 2023

Speeding through April come sunshine, rain or a little bit unpredictable changing between the two, such is the season.…..

Said it before, Iโ€™ll say it again, more stuff will be added, this is published on Mondays so youโ€™ve time to grab any tickets for ticketed events, but live music in pubs and things like this will no doubt come to our attention through the week, so please keep in the loop with our event calendar as itโ€™d be impossible if not very cluttered to post individual events onto our social media pages.

The one link you need is here, our event calendar, for planning ahead, more info and ticket links.

Tuesday 11th wildlife presenter Gordon Buchananโ€™s 30 Years in The Wild at The Wyvern Theatre, Swindon.

Opening night Wednesday 12th and running until 13th April, An Evening Shared with Jasper Carrott & Alistair McGowan at The Wyvern Theatre, Swindon.

Also Wednesday, The Rondo Theatre, Bath has something for the easter holidays, Top Secret: The Magic of Science childrenโ€™s show matinee, and BBCโ€™s Live at the Apollo North London comedian Emmanuel Sonubi in the evening with his tour Emancipated.

Never forget though, itโ€™s the regular acoustic jam at the Southgate in Devizes every Wednesday.

Thursday 13th incredible bluesman Eddie Martin plays a special set at the church in Bromham, for a fundraiser for social centre rebuild which burnt down a couple of years ago.

One to watch out for, The Blackheart Orchestra plays Chapel Arts in Bath, while Tatty Macleod, better known as, โ€˜That French TikTok Lady,โ€™ tours Fudge (WIP) at the Rondo Theatre.

And choir Ten in Bar start a three nightery at Swindon Arts Centre, running until Saturday 15th.

Friday 14th sees Hadrianโ€™s Union at The Southgate, Devizes. Trash Panda at the Coopers, Pewsey. Phil Cooper & Jamie R Hawkins Get Schwifty at The Bear in Marlborough.

Quiz Night from the Wilts & Berks Canal Trust at The Neeld in Chippenham.

Brakelight play The Poplars in Wingfield near Trowbridge.

Fire, Rain & American Pie at Chapel Arts, Bath, with Sophies Dukerโ€™s Hag tour at the Rondo Theatre

Hairy MacLary Adventures with Weyo, sees conductor Tim Redmond and his brother Tom Redmond, who together present the Royal Albert Hallโ€™s My Great Orchestral Adventure series, join the West of England Youth Orchestra for a fun-filled interactive family concert at the Wiltshire Music Centre, Bradford-on-Avon.

Find Bully Bones at The Three Horseshoes, also in Bradford-on-Avon.

Sour Apple play The Crown in Westbury.

Green Day tribute, Green Haze at The Vic in Swindon, while Tanwood Youth Theatre presents Musical Mayhem at The Wyvern Theatre.

But focus your eyes on this treat, Editorโ€™s Pick of The Week, itโ€™s Jazz Knightsโ€™ third Swindon Jazz & Soul Festival at the Christ Church in Old Town. Friday night is soul night headlined by OMAR and QCBA with elements of Jazz, also featuring sessions from Eric Mylod-Okafo, Jack Baldus, Marvin Muonekรฉ Duo. The fun continues Saturday.

Saturday 15th The Wharf Theatre, Devizes will be Walking Back to Happiness, with Kevin Deanโ€™s Hot Band, who will breathe new life in the wonderful sounds of The Shadows and The Tornadoes.

Staying in Devizes, Billy Walton Band play Long Street Blues Club, Triple JD Band at The Southgate, Funked Up at The Three Crowns, and Ben Borrill at the Moonrakers.

Ska-punk at The Lamb in Marlborough with Operation 77.

The Will Blake Band with Junkyard Dogs in support at The Landsdowne Hall in Derry Hill.

Wiltshire Police Bandโ€™s Spring Concert at Seend Community Hall, Helena Softley @ The Barge, Honey-Street.

Eco-Future Fest at The Neeld in Chippenham.

Kova Me Bad play The Vic in Swindon, One Chord Wonders at The Queenโ€™s Tap, Francis Rossi has Tunes & Chat at The Wyvern Theatre.

And Editorโ€™s Pick of The Week, Swindon Jazz & Soul Festival continues at The Christ Church with a whole day and night of live jazz from across the genres, and African themed live music featuring artists from Zimbabwe, Ghana, Ethiopia, Nigeria and Caribbean artists from Dominica and Trinidad.

The Clare Teal Four at Wiltshire Music Centre, Bradford-on-Avon, The Butt Monkeys at The Three Horseshoes.

Two Beatles play Prestbury Sports Bar, Warminster.

Folk Rock Experience Tour- The Songs of Sandy Denny at Chapel Arts, Bath, while Garrett Millerickโ€™s Just Trying to Help show comes to the Rondo Theatre.

Sunday 16th sees Devizes Lionsโ€™ Sponsored Walk, and some amazing music around the countyโ€ฆ.

A gothic acoustic matinee with the fantastic Deadlight Dance at The Blue Boar in Aldbourne.

Another unmissable, John Otway & Wild Willy Barrett at The Pump, Trowbridge.

The Worried Men play The Three Horseshoes, Bradford-on-Avon, and thatโ€™s awesome too!

Axel Blakeโ€™s In Style at The Wyvern Theatre, Swindon, while Long For The Coast & Drew Bryant play The Tuppenny.

And Monday 17th, I got nought!

Tuesday 18th sees Nadiya and Kaiโ€™s Once Upon a Time at The Wyvern Theatre, Swindon, and the opening night of the Swindon G & S Societyโ€™s Lolanthe, which runs until 22n April at Swindon Arts Centre.

But you know, Iโ€™m sure thereโ€™s more to come so keep your eye on the event calendar!