Tag: devizes arts festival

Devizes Arts Festival Relive the Eighties with Riviera Dogsย 

Together in Electric Dreamsโ€ฆ. at The Corn Exchange

Fashionably late for Devizes Arts Festival, I’d like to thank Andy and Ian for informative coverage of some complex events to review, whilst I took the easier route; rocked up for the last Saturday evening party like I was Prince, stole a fluorescent trilby and dad-danced around my bum-bag until they switched the final disco ball offโ€ฆ..

Iโ€™ll be honest, with my diddy-boppers cover band radar on high alert and leg warmers in the wash, I wasnโ€™t expecting to stay until the final curtain, for what seemed from the outside to be a refined generation X school disco. I could also get as pedantic as Mary Whitehouse; the band promised eighties, but the name Riviera Dogs is obviously a play on a 1992 Tarantino movie title; quibble when compared to the fantastic night they delivered.

As bang on cue as waiting for Top of the Pops each Friday, Riviera Dogs fired their flux capacitor and dropped Devizes Corn Exchange into the middle of the decade theyโ€™d pay homage to, with an exemplary cover of Go Westโ€™s We Close Our Eyes. From the off it was obvious this five-piece were some way above your average function band. Attendees wasted no bashful time finding a spot on the floor and dancing like it was 1985 again, even those few not old enough to recall it the first time around, (like me, a-hem!)

From there, everybody wanted to rule the world with Tears for Fears and I just died in Cutting Crewโ€™s arms as Riviera Dogs played their trump cards early. Mid-eighties power ballads were their calling, they were proficiently and professionally good at them. Seems they tour the nationwide retro circuit rather than play functions, for if they were to play a wedding itโ€™d overshadow the attention the happy couple would receive!

This said, many function bands use both male and female vocalists for songs, respectively according to the gender of the front person, and I wondered, if eighties pop hits were truly to be covered comprehensively some Madge, Cyndi Lauper and Kylie, to mention but a few, wouldnโ€™t have gone a miss with a female singer as proficient and entertaining as the existing male counterpart.

But as it was, it was a highly entertaining show, full of lively play, relevant and amusing nods to eighties trends which roused the crowds and caused them to reflect on their heyday; thatโ€™s nostalgia on top form. They rolled out smash hit after smash hit like you were listening to a Now album, Chesney Hawkes to Don Henly and beyond. Perhaps the more rock tunes, like Springsteenโ€™s Dancing in the Dark, which though I welcomed, wasnโ€™t as precisely executed as the electronica power pop ballads, but with those so sublimely fulfilled, and the evening in full swing, the crowds simply lapped it up, and twas so subtle no one cared to notice.

At one point though, we went from one end of the decade to the other too suddenly, for me. One minute we were dancing to Buggles’ Video Killed the Radio Star next it was Bros. The scant warning being a gag about wearing Grolsch bottle tops on shoes wasnโ€™t enough for me to prepare for the paradox! This stark contrast midway mayโ€™ve corrupted my timeline but didn’t seem to bother most of the audience either, exposing quinquagenarian Brosettes in the crowd!

As a homage to eighties music several elements were missing; feminine and queer insurgence, and rebellious tenets either side of that mid-eighties march for unadulterated pop mush; punk and Two-Tone at one end, hip hop in the middle, and acid house at the latter. The eighties was about more than the pop they played so well, it was also about advances in music technology and the vast variety of sound experiments it developed. They got as close as covering The Police brilliantly, but jโ€™mon, they never even dared to account for Wacko Jacko, dammit!

It may have reflected only pop commercialisation rather than covering the entirety of a generational divide of consciousness, but this wasnโ€™t supposed to be a history lesson nor comprehensive representation, it was about having a party to celebrate the close of another glorious Devizes Arts Festival, and for that it shone. The vibe was electric, the crowd letting their hair down (or perhaps up with hairspray) for a final night to what’s been a successful and varied programme of events for Devizes Arts Festival. Well done to all involved, you are the one and only, nobody I’d rather you be, you are the one and only, I can’t take that away from you!

Long may Riviera Dogs image the eighties in Mateyโ€™s bubble bath, for it was a Bigtrak loaded with fun, and to assume from my minor critique they didn’t stray from their trump card of electronic power ballads, would be unfair, they did. The finale was a Queen medley and in their own way, they made a fine job of such a difficult trick. For what we must judge this night on is not my personal feelings of commercialisation, rather the expressions of pure delight in the crowd, and if you saw me on the night shaking my tail feather like I was thirteen again, you’d be right to suggest I lived among the creatures of the night, like Laura Branigan, and loved every moment of it too!

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REVIEW โ€“ Devizes Arts Festivalโ€“ Mark Watson โ€“ Corn Exchange – Friday 13th June 2025

Welsh Favourite Comes to Devizes

Andy Fawthrop

The Devizes Arts Festival came up with another of its heavy hitters last night with a packed house at The Corn Exchange, all ready to welcome comedian Mark Watson to the town.

Mark Watson is an English comedian, novelist and producer.ย  Born in Bristol of a Welsh mother and English father, he has adopted a somewhat Welsh lilt in his delivery.ย  Heโ€™s won a number of comedy awards and is well known from his frequent appearances on TV, as well as being a Radio 4 regular.

Introducing himself, Mark climbed on stage to do an introductory 10-15 minutes before bringing on his support act for the night โ€“ Vicky Slater.  Projecting a slightly larger-than-life persona, Vicky delivered her material well, but Iโ€™m not sure that quite all of it landed.  Her tales of coming out as gay were delightful and amusing, rather than particularly hilarious.  She at least avoided the current lazy habit some up-and-coming comedians have of trying to pick on audience members in order to prompt some witty improv, and instead stuck to her own original material.  Respect for that. She was slightly rambling and incoherent in places, but she gradually won the audience over.

After a slightly short first half and an early interval, the main man was back to deliver his set.  Mark kicked off with comparing how difficult it was being a stand-up comedian versus, say, being a brain surgeon or, prompted by an audience member, a menopause therapist.  His key criteria for the comparisons were, aside from the training and basic aptitude, the amount of sheer stress and anxiety that such an activity could induce.

This was all by way of introduction to his first main theme โ€“ stressful situations in ordinary life.  But this was no feeble Michael Macintyre โ€œobservational comedyโ€, laughing at โ€œisnโ€™t it funny whenโ€ฆ?โ€ type comments.  This was full of little anecdotes of his own personal experience that everyone could easily relate to โ€“ flying with a small airline, getting into a car thinking it was an Uber (when it wasnโ€™t), asking for help in Tesco (from someone who wasnโ€™t even an employee), dealing with a homeless man (who began to take advantage), interacting with chat-bots online (who seemed very concerned for his continued welfare after once buying some towels a few years previously), and coping with his son whose only apparent language capability seemed to be through frequent WhatsApp messages.  The situations were carefully crafted and set up before the always droll and almost exasperated punchlines.

His second โ€œthemeโ€ (if I can call it that) was around the โ€œcorporateโ€ gigs heโ€™s sometimes had to do, particularly the waste-processing and meat-processing industries.  The latterโ€™s โ€œMeat Management Awardsโ€ provided a rich vein that he mined repeatedly for jokes about sausages and how heโ€™d become โ€œan advocate for natural casingsโ€.

Against his own better judgement, heโ€™d been persuaded to use ChatGPT to create a self-description, and it had come up with โ€œa breathless delivery by a neurotic personalityโ€, and even he had to admit that it wasnโ€™t too far from the truth.  And Iโ€™d agree.  Watson came across as genuinely curious about the world, bemused by modern technology, amazed by other people, and surprised by how much of modern life created stressful situations for him.  And out of this melting pot there came a genuinely funny man.  He was self-deprecating, very natural and โ€“ no doubt about it โ€“ absolutely hilarious.

Absolute top marks to Mr Watson and to the Devizes Arts Festival for booking him.ย  Top notch. Findย  out more at www.markwatsonthecomedian.com/ย ย 

The Devizes Arts Festival continues until the night of Sunday 15th June at various venues around the town.  Tickets can be booked at Devizes Books or online at  www.devizesartsfestival.org.uk  

REVIEW โ€“ Devizes Arts Festivalโ€“ Julian Costello Quartet โ€“ Assembly Room – Thursday 12th June 2025

Nice place.ย  Nice music. Nice.

Andy Fawthrop

The Devizes Arts Festival has almost run its course, with only a couple of days to go, but still seven events left.ย  But itโ€™s not going quietly, and last night in the Town Hallโ€™s Assembly Room was no exception……

British jazz saxophonist Julian Costello, a superbly gifted musician, composer and teacher from London, and who writes for various ensembles, was the Festivalโ€™s guest.ย  Playing tenor and soprano saxophones, he was joined by John Turville on piano, Andy Hamill on upright bass and harmonica, and Tom Hooper on drums.

The quartet has recently released their third album, โ€˜And All The Birds Were Set Freeโ€™ on the acclaimed label 33 Jazz Records, and their two sets last night featured many tracks from the album.  The albumโ€™s title is a reference to Costelloโ€™s idea that the musicians should be free to express themselves and able to fly. The pieces they played, including the title track, The Gecko, London Blue, Song For Anna and Sunflowers, were all good examples of this open, loosely-structured approach.  Each musician took his various solos easily, improvising on the scenario, but slotting into the structure laid down at the start of each piece.  The particular highlights of these for me were provided by John Turvilleโ€™s piano passages.

The original material was tempered with a leavening of jazz classics, including material from John Coltrane, La Rosita by Benny Goodman, and Carlos Jobimโ€™s If You Never Come To Me.  Costello himself, leading the quartet very much from the front, moved over from tenor to soprano sax for his composition Connections, based upon the structure of an Indian raga.  And bassist Any Hamill strayed onto a very welcome harmonica during the encore Song For Anna (written for Costelloโ€™s wife Anna Stearman).

Costelloโ€™s personal style was laid-back and chatty, bonding easily with the audience using dry humour, and the quartet were clearly very comfortable in each otherโ€™s company. Their enjoyment on stage was very evident.

After an absolute dearth of live jazz in D-Town, it was like drinking at an oasis after a long crawl through a musical desert.  But, parched as I was, I was left very slightly wanting.  The sets needed more variation in tempo, more contrast between light and shade.  Each number they played was very good, but it was slightly one-paced across the whole programme.  Donโ€™t get me wrong โ€“ this was a hugely enjoyable affair, featuring some great music in a beautiful room.  Sound and lighting were spot on (as usual).  But I was left wanting just that little bit more. More jazz please!

Findย  out more at www.juliancostello.co.uk/ย ย 

The Devizes Arts Festival continues until the night of Sunday 15th June at various venues around the town.ย  Tickets can be booked at Devizes Books or online atย  www.devizesartsfestival.org.ukย 

Lions, KITT, Moonrakers and a Whiskey River; Sunday Stroll Around Devizes

If it’s good enough for Knight Rider it’s good enough for me. I see the Hoff ditched his Knight Industries Three Thousand on the Green for a stroll around Devizes on Sunday. He probably found a crusade to champion the cause of the innocent in a world of criminals who operate above the law, whereas I ended up at the British for a scrumpy or threeโ€ฆ.

Image: Simon Folkard Photography

Unlike some guys who act like Spongebob Squarepants on his tenth bag of Haribo at Chessington World of Adventures, I can only get yay excited about a car show. But Devizes Lions do it with cherries onโ€ฆ and debatably false advertising. There were no lions on the Green, but it was Lions on the Green this Sunday past, an annual free fete/car show crossover which never fails to appeal universally; kids nag mums for Rowdey Cow ice cream while dads furiously argue for three hours with a total stranger in sandals that the Mk2 2.8 Injection Granada handles better than the Mk1 with a 3.0 V6 engine.

Image: Simon Folkard Photography

I browse unacquainted with such matters, unfazed by contemporary cock extensions, but in admiration of vintage, retro cars and those with a movie reference attached. Every local from MP Brian Matthews to Pete of Vinyl Realm, and outsiders like Marty McFly have brought their big boy toys along to display, as Fantasy Radio blast Gary Numan. It’s a sunny morning, it’s a lovely occasion, it’s raising funds, and there’s nothing to dislike about it. 

Image: Simon Folkard Photography

Cars ticked off, hot dog and an extended conversation with a detectorist who’d discovered a variety of civil war shots and cannonballs on Roundway, if the Lions on the Green is a great and unbroken walkthrough event it coincided with Crammer Watch Day further along on, at the Little Green.

With long term solutions outstanding for unsafe conditions for wildfowl on the Crammer, there appears to be a far more communal tenet between concerned residents and the council compared to the outcry a few years ago, and this day was intended rather to celebrate the Crammer than address expensive possible solutions. As it stands, the simple fix is to raise public awareness that the only escape route for swans is across the roadside and they should apply caution when driving throughโ€ฆ.please.

With live painting from the Lawrence Arts Society, stands from the RSPCA, Sustainable Devizes and hosts Friends of The Crammer, conservation was a topic, if overshadowed somewhat by historical tomfoolery, which was something new to the day and personally my highlight.

Image: Simon Folkard Photography

A random team of amateur thespians, some from the Wharf Writers Group and others along for the giggle and wearing of knitted beards, staged a short promenade satirical play โ€œreenactingโ€ the fable of the moonrakers, aptly at The Crammer. The premise didn’t sound so inspiring to me, and I thought I might have to hold my tongue. The actuality surprised me, it was absolutely brilliant!

Image: Simon Folkard Photography

Pythonesque humour delivered with skill on a local legend, deliberately naff props such as a paddling pool for the pond, and astutely scripted silliness, it was indigenous and hilariously original.

Image: Simon Folkard Photography

Authenticity deliberately skewed for amusement; they couldn’t have done this anywhere else but here, the setting of the beloved fable, which is amusing enough without the added gags. Francis Grose was a witty Victorian chubster and nothing more needs to upset the applecart about the origin of the moonrakers, as this wasn’t intending to proclaim historic fact checking rather to amuse, which a country gent in Harris Tweed with a carrot in his mouth pretending to be a donkey will inevitably achieve.

Image: Simon Folkard Photography

I don’t know where the Hoff got to, but he missed a rarer treat than reuniting with Pamela Anderson for a titillating slow-motion beach jog. Oh, and a whistle stop to Morrisons was a let down culturally compared to what was outside. Along the road I shrug at a classic bus, for its appearance would’ve been more expected trekking the Sahara than parked outside the faithfully traditional British Lion, and there was no explanation for it being there.

Nevertheless I’m one step away from the bar, pondering if there’s one thing expected in Devizes: it’s that The British Lion doesn’t change, because it doesn’t need to. With Devizes Arts Festival is full swing, they’ve arranged a Cwmbran roots trio called Whiskey River to play us some of their sublime classic rock covers, Celtically, with a deep southern Americana twist, as a free fringe event; I cannot argue with this.

Devizes live music aficionados amassed and were thankful, as if they needed an excuse for a pint and fundraising burger from the barbecue. The British Lion is a fond institution, Whiskey River was a great break from our usual circuit, The Lions put on a brilliant and well organised family event, Crammer Watch added to an already great day and those awesome actors with rakes did make us laugh as promised.

It was all too much for me, the White Bear and Southgate continued the music, but I needed a little lie down, while our roving reporter Andy outdone me, partying like Prince in 1999, so I’m also putting up his account of weekend adventures for it’s fuller, far more informative and factually accurate than mine, even if it doesn’t mention Pamela Anderson, because really, she didn’t show. Devizes though, doesn’t need Pam, the fun never stops here, Sunday proved it.

Image: Simon Folkard Photography

REVIEW โ€“ Devizes Arts Festivalโ€“ Anna Ling โ€“ St Andrewโ€™s Church – Thursday 5th June 2025

Another Little Sweetie In The Jar

Andy Fawthrop

Well the Devizes Arts Festival is in full swing now, with several events already under its belt.ย  Thereโ€™s stuff cropping up every day, so I took the chance to pop in to a much-underused venue in the town St Andrewโ€™s Church on Long Street.….

After several big-ticket shows in the programme, it was a pleasure to settle down to something a little more modest, a more bread-and-butter item if you like.ย  Mid-week lunchtime isnโ€™t going to be a time to attract a particularly large audience, even on market day, but a good few hardy souls turned up to at least create a good audience atmosphere.

Anna Ling, a performer Iโ€™d not personally come across before, is a guitarist and singer/songwriter.  Her creative work and sense of purpose are deeply rooted in her love of bringing people together through song. This passion shapes her life, guiding her from leading community choirs to performing at venues, care homes, and world-class festivals.

In a concert co-promoted with the charity, Live Music Now, Anna delivered a professional and engaging 50-minute set which featured both her own material along with a few covers.  She worked hard to engage the audience right from the kick-off, inviting us into her world.  The performance was light and humorous, heartfelt and intimate.  And she was determined that we were not just going to sit back and listen to her, but to join in as well.  She had a lovely clear, strong voice, and used it to particular effect when she came down from the stage and abandoned her guitar in favour of an unaccompanied song right from the middle of the audience.

Her lyrics were simple, her guitar chords straight-forward.  This was not a set filled with new arrangements or presenting anything particularly challenging, but an opportunity to listen to a set of songs simply delivered and largely unadorned.  She filled the gaps between the songs with little stories and anecdotes, never lifting her voice very much, and thus drawing you in.

Plain, simple, and thoroughly enjoyable.  Just another little sweetie in the jar from Devizes Arts Festival.  And thereโ€™s plenty more to see and hear yet, so do make sure that you get along to experience something soon. Itโ€™ll all be over before you know it!

Devizes Arts Festival continues until Sunday 15th June at various venues around the town.ย  Tickets can be booked at Devizes Books or online HERE

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โ€œThe Last Actโ€, Devizes Arts Festival at The Wharf Theatre, June 4th and 5th 2025

by Ian Diddams
images by Ian Diddams and from Devizes Arts Festival

The pea souper smog swirls in the dark. A small light illuminates a bare room โ€“ hatstand bare but for a bowler hat, chair, side table with various bric-a-brac. A rug. Music plays in the distance. London, 1916. And The Wharf Theatre stage, 2025โ€ฆย  the lights drop to darknessโ€ฆย  and the show begins.

Such is the picture provided at the outset of โ€œThe Last Actโ€ by David Stuart Davies, on the first of two nightsโ€™ shows brought to us by Devizes Arts Festival, performed at The Wharf Theatre, Devizes by Fringe Management. A ninety-minute single hander performance by Nigel Miles-Thomas, directed by Gareth Armstrong, providing a potted history of the lives of Sherlock Holes, โ€œConsulting Detectiveโ€, and Dr. John H. Watson โ€“ formerly of the parish of Marylebone.

Nigel plays Holmes, of course, and also Watsonโ€ฆย  but into that also covers Inspector Lestrade, Stamford, Mrs. Hudson, Inspector Hopkins andโ€ฆย  arch enemy Professor James Moriarty.ย  This potted history, or timeline of Holmes and Watsonโ€™s friendship begins at the occasion of Watsonโ€™s funeral, followed by Holmesโ€™ recollections of their partnership marked by key stories in the Sherlock Holmes case history; โ€œThe Adventure of Abbey Grangeโ€, โ€œThe Speckled Bandโ€, โ€œThe Final Problemโ€, โ€œThe Hound of the Baskervillesโ€ and โ€œHis Last Bowโ€. Nigelโ€™s delivery skips nary a beat as his voice changes and facial expressions per character float in and out seamlessly from Holmesโ€™ character as the carefully woven tale even foreshadows itself. We gain an insight into Sherlockโ€™s childhood and brotherly relationship, of his mother and father mirroring the Abbey Grange lead characters, and his fatherโ€™s death mirroring in portrayal that of Moriartyโ€™s. A description of the wind โ€“ โ€œ…ย  cried and sobbed like a child in the chimneyโ€ is used both in Holmesโ€™ praise of Watsonโ€™s descriptive writing and that of his family home.

It is a story ultimately of loneliness and love โ€“ Holmesโ€™ solitary lifestyle – but also his attachment to his brother, but especially Watson. And a story written with affection for Conan Doylesโ€™ character, delivered with care by Nigel Miles-Thomas, packaged with fondness by director Gareth Armstrong. Truly a “Last Act” with love for the subject.

The Thursday 5th June performance of โ€œThe Last Actโ€ is already sold out, but Devizes Arts Festival continues until Sunday 15th June with a wide range of differing genres and arts to enjoy, with tickets just still available. To see what is available and tickets, browse https://www.devizesartsfestival.org.uk/events/

REVIEW โ€“ Devizes Arts Festivalโ€“ Kiki Dee & Carmelo Luggeri โ€“ Corn Exchange – Friday 30th May 2025

Still Got The Music In Her

By Andy Fawthrop

Itโ€™s been a while coming a-round but at long last Devizesโ€™ very own Arts Festival finally kicked off last night for its two-week run.ย  And we started off, as is usual now, with a real belter of a concert in the Corn Exchange, this time featuring veteran performers Kiki Dee and Carmelo Luggeri…..

If you were after star quality, Kiki Dee has it in spades.ย  Recently celebrating her 60th year in the music industry, she has now released a whopping 40 singles, three EPs and 22 albums. She is one of the UKโ€™s finest and most revered vocalists, and sheโ€™s sung with and for just about anybody who is anybody in this industry.

Pauline Matthews (as was) was born in Bradford, West Riding of Yorkshire in 1947.  At the age of 10 she won a local talent contest, and at 16 she had her first paid job as Kiki Dee in show business. She worked briefly as an apprentice hairdresser (she did my motherโ€™s hair once โ€“ my feeble claim to fame!) and at Boots in Bradford during the day, while in the evenings she sang songs with a dance band in Leeds.  Initially with Fontana Records, known for her blue-eyed soul vocals, she was the first female singer from the UK to sign with Motown’s Tamla Records. Sheโ€™s best known for the hit singles “Amoureuse” (1973), “I’ve Got the Music in Me” (1974) and “Don’t Go Breaking My Heart”, her 1976 duet with old Reg Dwight (Elton John), which reached Number One on the UK Singles Chart and the US Billboard Hot 100 chart.  Her 1981 single “Star” became the theme song for the talent show Opportunity Knocks when it was revived by the BBC in 1987.  

During her career sheโ€™s sung backing vocals for Dusty Springfield, was one of the backing vocalists on Love Affair’s 1968 UK number one single Everlasting Love, sang backing vocals on various Elton John recordings, such as “All the Girls Love Alice” from Goodbye Yellow Brick Road and various tracks on Rock of the Westies, played as support act to Queen at their Hyde Park concert in front of a crowd of 150,000 people, and performed at Live Aid in 1985, reprising “Don’t Go Breaking My Heart” with John, and performing backing vocals on the other songs in his set. On top of that sheโ€™s won awards for her Musical Theatre roles in Willy Russell’s Blood Brothers, in which she took on the role originally played by Barbara Dickson for the 1988 production and recording, and received an Olivier Award nomination in 1989 in the Best Actress in a Musical category.  

But all of that is history!  Nowadays, or at least for the last twenty years or so, sheโ€™s continued to move forward with the music that she creates with Carmelo Luggeri. Kiki says Carmelo is her favourite guitarist and he co-writes and produces all their songs.  

Dee released the live album Almost Naked, a joint effort with Carmelo in 1995, followed by the studio albums Where Rivers Meet (1998) and The Walk Of Faith (2005). In September 2013, Dee and Luggeri released their third studio album, A Place Where I Can Go, on Spellbound Records. They have been touring together ever since and have played alongside such musical luminaries as Roger Taylor, Jack Bruce, Fish, Paul Young, Tom Robinson, Graham Gouldman and Madeline Bell.  

Carmelo Luggeriโ€™s abilities as a guitarist, composer and producer have taken him on a rich and interesting musical path over his career. Born in England of Italian parents, Carmelo was mainly self-taught with some classical training.  Working with comedian and television personality Billy Connolly he created the โ€œWatzinโ€™ Matildaโ€ re-work used for the hugely successful 1995 โ€œWorld Tour Of Australiaโ€ TV series. In 1998 Carmelo produced the track โ€œStealinโ€ for the film โ€œStill Crazyโ€ starring Jimmy Nail.  Carmelo has also worked with US singer Andy Williams, Paul Rodgers (Free, Bad Company), Ray Cooper (Elton John band), Gus Dudgeon, Stuart Epps, Romy Haag and singer songwriter Ralph McTell.

Carmelo and Kikiโ€™s paths first crossed when he produced a collection of bonus tracks for โ€œThe Very Best of Kiki Deeโ€ album, and, under the guidance of their manager Steve Brown they took on a new musical direction together, playing acoustic concerts, starting with an appearance at The Royal

Albert Hall for World AIDS Day in 1994. It was quite a departure for Carmelo at this point as he was essentially an electric player but this marked the beginning of their now 25 year collaboration where acoustic guitar is at the foundation of their sound.

Sorry for the long introductory pre-amble, but just wanted to reprise the careers of these two wonderful musicians.  And I guess youโ€™d have to say that represents as good a musical pedigree as youโ€™re ever going to get, so the expectations for the large crowd were, to say the least, pretty high.

And we werenโ€™t to be disappointed one bit. Kicking off with โ€œGet What You Wish Forโ€ and the first of several musical career anecdotes, we were suddenly there at โ€œDonโ€™t Go Breaking My Heartโ€!  Like most people I thought this would be the wrap-up song or the encore, but Kiki clearly wanted to get the song on the table early.  Using, not unexpectedly, a completely different acoustic arrangement, with a rather slower tempo, her rendition allowed the lyrics to really shine through, and to deliver some really pathos.

Cracking on with anecdotes about meeting David Hockney in Malibu, and working with Dusty Springfield, we had the self-penned โ€œSmall Merciesโ€. She then mined a rich vein of beautifully-arranged covers โ€“ Kate Bushโ€™s โ€œRunning Up That Hillโ€, Robert Palmerโ€™s โ€œEvery Kinda Peopleโ€, and Neil Youngโ€™s โ€œHarvest Moonโ€.

Following โ€œa nice glass of redโ€ and a costume change, the second half continued in much the same vein, with Kiki interspersing the songs with more anecdotes.  Early up we had her big hit โ€œAmoureuseโ€, partly sung in the original French, a jazzy cover of Leonard Cohenโ€™s โ€œDance Me To The End Of Loveโ€ (featuring a touching cameo when she danced with a member of the audience whilst Carmelo commanded the stage with some fabulous guitar work).  We then had a run of the pairโ€™s own compositions โ€“ โ€œAmen and Goodbyeโ€, โ€œSheโ€™s Smiling Nowโ€, โ€œYou Canโ€™t Fix The Maybeโ€ and โ€œUntil We Meet Againโ€ โ€“ before finishing with an upbeat and rousing version of โ€œIโ€™ve Got The Music In Meโ€.  Getting an encore was a mere formality by this stage, but their choice was a strange one โ€“ a very quiet number entitled โ€œIf You Ever Need Someoneโ€, and a harmonised version of The Beatlesโ€™ โ€œBlackbirdโ€.  Cue lots of cheering and a great ovation.

Kiki showed us that, at 78, sheโ€™s definitely still got it.  Her voice is, expectedly, not as strong and pure as in her youth, but itโ€™s still bloody good, hitting all the notes perfectly, and still delivering plenty of soulfulness and meaning.  Carmelo demonstrated throughout to be no mere prop or accompaniment to the big star on his left, but a real guitar craftsman in his own right.  His subtle and effective use of loops and pedals to add depth and colour to every number, coupled with several changes of guitars and tunings, proved a real revelation.  His introductions and solos were beautifully crafted, drawing much applause, and plenty of genuine praise from Kiki.

As a duo they harmonised well, and were very clearly extremely comfortable in each otherโ€™s company on stage.  Their rapport with each other, and with the audience, added considerably to the quality and the professionalism of the show.

This was the third or fourth time Iโ€™d seen these guys, and Iโ€™d have to say that they only get better and better.  A really solid two and a half hour show, filled with great songs, hilarious anecdotes and superb guitar work โ€“ what more could you possibly want?  I absolutely loved and, it seemed, so did the packed audience.  

A cracker of a concert to kick off this yearโ€™s Devizes Arts Festival!

Learn more at www.kikiandcarmelo.com/carmelo-luggeri/ย ย 

The Devizes Arts Festival continues until Sunday 15th June at various venues around the town.ย  Tickets can be booked at Devizes Books or online atย  www.devizesartsfestival.org.ukย ย 

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Headline Tickets For Devizes Arts Festival Available Now, And What Else is to Come?!

Tickets for the headline acts at Devizes Arts Festival are up for grabs now, and the rest will follow for general release on April 28th, unless you become a โ€˜friendโ€™ of the festival, in which case it will be the 7th Aprilโ€ฆand why wouldnโ€™t you?!

We all love Devizes Arts Festival here at Devizine, which opens on Friday 30st May and runs right up to Sunday 15th June. If you promise not to go breaking my heart, Iโ€™ll tell you whatโ€™s happening thereโ€ฆyeah, I know, you couldnโ€™t if you tried!!

The festival opens with headliners, Kiki Dee & Carmelo Luggeri at the Corn Exchange on the evening of Friday 30th, and an exhibition by local landscape artist David Oโ€™Connor, who draws inspiration from Paul Nash, and ceramicist Richard Phethean. The exhibit will run throughout the festival at White Chalk Gallery in the Old Swan Yard.

Saturday 31st May sees multi-award-winning teacher, composer and organist Chris Totney returning to Devizes to give this yearโ€™s Festival Organ Recital; one of the very first times youโ€™ll get to experience the new pipe organ that has taken the best part of a year to install in St Johns Church. Followed by one of the UKโ€™s finest Latin bands, Kโ€™Chevere, at the Corn Exchange.ย 

Sunday 1st June, thereโ€™s a walk with Judy Hible of Wiltshire Geology Group, and furniture-maker Stewart Linford hosts a fascinating and informative talk on โ€œLuxury in Woodโ€ at the Peppermill (free fringe event.) But all eyes will be on the skies, when space scientist and BAFTA-nominated presenter of โ€œThe Sky at Nightโ€ Maggie Aderin-Pocock, pops in for an inspiring exploration of the universe.

Monday 2nd is time to get interactive, in a writing session with members of Devizes Writersโ€™ Group, exploring writing fiction or nonfiction, one of the first workshops at the festival this year. Tuesday sees an enthralling and earth-moving evening of gardening talk with TVโ€™s top gardener Frances Tophill. Wednesday is the turn of bestselling crime and thriller writer Felix Francis, for a fascinating talk on mysteries in the world of thoroughbred horse-racing. And Conan Doyle expert David Stuart Daviesโ€™ โ€˜Sherlock Holmes: The Last Act,โ€™ directed by award-winning director Gareth Armstrong, plays at the Wharf Theatre, with a second performance on Thursday. Also find guitarist and singer-songwriterAnna Ling at St Andrews on Thursday.

Friday 6th, join Rowdeโ€™s only botanical artist and author, Ann Swan, for a workshop in her studio, while ceramicist Keith Brymer Jones will talk about his life as a creative potter and his experiences as a judge of The Great Pottery Throwdown at The Corn Exchange.

Saturday 7th June, and youโ€™ll find the Sunday Times bestselling author of โ€œMiss Austenโ€, Gill Hornby talking with Mark Jones from Fantasy Radio, a demonstration by the Devizes Regency Dancers (free fringe event,) and an electrifying country show with all-female Country Chicks.

Another walk on Sunday, gosh, they do like their Sunday walks, this time with Wiltshire Wildlife Trustโ€™s Nick Self, conservation lead for North Wiltshire. Then itโ€™s over to The British Lion for some Welsh frontier roots music with Whiskey River, (free fringe event.)

Monday 9th June you can join print-maker Hannah Cantellow at her Printmaking Studio in Rowde, or learn some crossword secrets from Times Puzzle Master Tim Moorey, who has been solving Times crosswords for over 50 years, on Tuesday. Tuesday also sees virtuoso clarinettist Sarah Williamson and soloist and chamber musician Simon Callaghan.

Wednesday 11th sees singer-songwriter Miranda Pender presenting a darkly humorous talk which includes five original songs based around some of the more bizarre stories unearthed from her family history. And Two Queens, One Nation at the Wharf Theatre, Miriam Cooperโ€™s one-woman show exploring the unavoidable collision of dynamic sovereigns and cousins, Elizabeth I and Mary Queen of Scots.

Photographer and naturalist Stephen Davis is at the Cheese Hall on Thursday 12th, and jazz saxophonist Julian Costello brings his quartet to the Town Hall.

Friday is comedy night as Mark โ€˜Taskmasterโ€™ Watson, celebrates twenty years in standup. Multi-award-winner, YouTube cult figure, Radio 4 favourite and recently โ€˜Baby Reindeerโ€™ actor, Mark comes to Devizes after seasons at the Adelaide, Melbourne, Sydney and Edinburgh comedy festivals.

Author of English Civil War historical fiction series โ€˜Divided Kingdomโ€™, Charles Cordell is with us on Saturday 14th June. His writing has received high praise in editorial and readersโ€™ reviews alike, his latest novel, โ€˜The Keys of Hell and Deathโ€™, is set between Wiltshire and Somerset in July 1643. Followed by the Bath Male Choir in St Johns, and Torbayโ€™s five-piece 80s party band Riviera Dogs at the Corn Exchange.

For the final day of Devizes Arts Festival, Sunday 15th June, author Charles Cordell finishes his talk with a guided walk and discussion of the Siege of Devizes in July 1643. Journalist, writer, and experienced skydiver Sally Smith is at Devizes Books talking about her book โ€˜Magnificent Women and Flying Machines.โ€™ And Bath-based instrumental jazz-infused blend of Levantine mystery, Balkan passion and Latin rhythms quintetย  Radio Banska bring the Arts Festival to a dynamic close at the Cellar Bar. Both of these last two events are free fringe events.

Tickets for the headliners are on sale now, all others will be on sale from HERE on April 28th.

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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 Christmas decorations down; sure, the lava lamp and toilet roll dolly remained but somehow the rest of the house looked bare and sparse!

Another great year for the annual festival which again saw Devizes sprinkled with a variety of events and the coming, and going of talented outsiders. There’s a feedback form the committee would care for you to helpfully fill, HERE, meanwhile I will reflect on the festival as a whole, after some great reports from myself and our esteemed writers, of which you can click on the titles of to read the full review; awesome what we can do nowadays, isnโ€™t it?!

Far more organised than previous years, at least, we drew a rota we rarely referred back to! I led our team out to battle by covering the opening Friday night’s pirate shenanigans, and topped it off with Saturday’s arrival of Lady Nade, undoubtedly my favourite. Thereafter our roving reporter of insurmountable knowledge and something apparently called basic grammar, Andy Fawthrop would pip me to the post with a non-stop barrage of reviews. He was steadfast at the venues, I was wavering, and Ian, well, Ian was a Slambovian Circus of Dreams. After a gate technical blunder it was great to also have the one and only John Winterton of the Wharf Theatre contribute his professional thoughts on one wharfside gig.

Thanks to everyone for the teamwork. If Andy won on quantity, I excuse myself by reminding people Iโ€™ve work commitments while most are tucked up in bed snoring the theme tune to CHIPS. I could argue if there was one negative piece of feedback, it would be that more events at the festival could be organised over weekends, extending the festival perhaps, but rewarding the organisers a well-earned midweek break. Yet, Devizes Arts Festival is not to blame for the extremist early hours of my real labour, so I guess this is a self-inflicted matter; if only I was a popstar instead!

The only other niggly I suspect will come up through feedback is price, it is a sign of the times Iโ€™m afraid. A mountain of work and money goes into this and any other event, something I think people take a smidgen for granted. Weโ€™ve seen the demise of events and venues alike over the last few years, and it comes down to undercutting themselves at their box office. Itโ€™s such a shame, and all we can really do is convince people what is worthy of your hard-earned cash, and what is not. Despite a massively erroneous preconception Devizes Arts Festival is akin to a Saga holiday in some form or fashion, I can assure you it is most definitely not, it is a very worthy event, and needs you younglings to support it. Ticket sales this year varied between events, some sold out unexpectedly, others which the committee assumed would be winners suffered slightly; it is not an exact science, this is why your feedback is crucial.

Donโ€™t forget the festival also hosts many free fringe events across town during the period. These are always well attended, hence surmising a fair ticket price is always a benefit to any event. At all fringe events I pause for thought like a vicar on Radio 2, to acknowledge these free gigs is to only partially immerse yourself in Devizes Arts Festival, and you should consider if you enjoyed them, how much more amazing the paid events are, and treat yourself accordingly.

Friday 31st May the shebang pounded off the starting block in a lively punk-pirate fashion. Of Jolly Roger I said it was, โ€œloud and sprightly unpretentious punkish tomfoolery with a pirate theme, yet, at times there was concentrated and thought-provoking narratives in their original material too. Euphoric tunes such as the most poignant Silent Mountain temporarily broke the frenzy, whereas characters like a bloke who props up the bar, conveyed this is a three sheets to the wind partying band to be taken tongue-in-cheek, but, dressed as pirates kinda gave that game away!โ€ among other things. It was a fiery marine-themed start to the landlocked festival.

Yet I was holding out all expectations for Saturday with Lady Nade, and it did not disappoint. It was my personal favourite and what a way to begin June. I deemed it mesmerising, hailing it, โ€œa breath-taking performance, only Nina Simone between Simon & Garfunkel couldโ€™ve equalised.โ€ย ย 

The first Sunday there was a festival walk; none of our writers seemed to take the walks up; maybe I should buy them some stout boots, Thermos, and pack them a cheese & pickle sandwich?! Neither Adam Alexanderโ€™s Seed Detective that day, nor Eddy Allenโ€™s Solo Loop Show get coverage from us, for which I apologise. But Andy clocked in on Monday, reviewing Dr. Phil Hammondโ€™s โ€˜How to Fix the NHS.โ€™ which he called โ€œa cracking nightโ€™s entertainment โ€“ informative, interesting, and absolutely hilarious.โ€ Personally, and without getting too political, I had my own interpretation for a start to fixing the NHS, and that’s to stop voting in self-serving thieving clowns.

But, I digress, because once Andy gets in gear there’s no stopping him. Tuesday he covered its first classical offering The Edward Cross Quintet, a Wiltshire based multiโ€instrumentalist with a background in composition and production, โ€œoverall,โ€ Andy stated, it was โ€œtechnically enjoyable, but emotionally not very engaging.โ€ Well, I do ask our reviewers to provide an honest opinion, even if Iโ€™m a suck-up!ย 

Liz Grandโ€™s Mrs Churchill we missed on Tuesday, Mike Dilgerโ€™s One Thousand Shades of Green as well. Unfortunately we canโ€™t be everywhere, but we try.

Likely the most interesting reviews was from the Wednesday of the first week when baffling geneticist, author and broadcaster Adam Rutherford came to town. Hereโ€™s where Andy shines, as it would have been too intellectual for me to cast such a detailed review on. โ€œInformative and absolutely fascinating,โ€ Andy called it. โ€œAdam is no comedian, but he does have a light touch, and just like on the radio, he was able to bring science very much to life, to engage his audience, and to leave everyone a little richer in understanding.โ€

Hollie McNishโ€™s Lobster Tour sold out, but we didnโ€™t manage to catch this one either. Andy covered probably the widest known name, comedian Lucy Porter on Thursday. I really wanted to do this one, but hey I think Andy deserved a treat. โ€œIt was for the most part, very clean and straight-forward stuff. There was nothing that could be considered โ€œedgyโ€, there was nothing political, and there was (amazingly) no swearing,โ€ said Andy of it; boring!! โ€œAs such, it probably kept most of the audience in their comfort zone for most of the time, but it was no less hilarious for all of that.โ€

Jo Carley and the Old Dry Skulls was missed on the Friday, I did put my gumboots back on for The Cable Street Collective on the Saturday. This was awesome. โ€œFrom the off Iโ€™m reminded of the marabi sound of Hugh Masekela,โ€ I suggested, โ€œwith the upfront brass of trumpet and saxophone. Yet you couldnโ€™t pigeonhole this with a thousand words, itโ€™s wholly unique. Female fronted by an energetic yogi, she somersaults the high stage projecting a mid-tone vocal range with unrivalled passion, encouraging her audience to follow the leader,โ€ and they did. Cable Street had the Exchange up dancing.

The end of the first week saw another Festival Walk and a free fringe event in the trusty Three Crowns, Rumour, the latter I did manage! โ€œAmericana trio Rumour from the Black Country, pitched up in the yard with a breezy underlying familiarity to their sound. As the name suggests, covers were Fleetwood Mac top-heavy but delivered beautifully amidst a few other classics and some blended original material. Couldnโ€™t fault them if I tried.โ€ Annie Parker Trio was also a fringe event, but I went home for tea and bed.

Midweek marvel, Andy was back on the scene Monday 10th June, with classical pianist Ida Pellicciolo. โ€œThe whole performance was both intense and mesmerising, played and presented by a world-class pianist who was clearly absolutely dedicated to her work, and completely on top of her game.ย  Entirely justifiably there was sustained applause at the end from a very appreciative audience, provoking not one, but two, short encores, the latter of which was an โ€œimpromptuโ€ by the more modern Finnish composer Jean Sibelius (1865 โ€“ 1957).โ€

Again on Tuesday, Andy was on it. Belinda Kirkโ€™s The Life-Changing Power of Adventure this time, which although โ€œmuch against my will,โ€ Andy said โ€œI was actually on the edge of my seat listening to this stuff.ย  And I wasnโ€™t alone either โ€“ the rest of the packed audience seemed pretty enraptured too.ย  Sheโ€™s an enthusiastic, energetic and very articulate speaker.โ€ So, wellbeing tips, ask Andy, Iโ€™d only recommend a sausage sandwich.

Due to a misunderstanding, when Ian Diddams arrived on the scene to cover Discovering Antarctica : Heroic tales of Shackleton, Crean and Scott at the Wharf Theatre it wasnโ€™t to be, and so John Winterton stepped in his shoes. โ€œAn evening well spent and testament to the hard work obviously put into the research put into the script and the characterisation of Tom, by Aidan.โ€ย  Kate Webb and Jon Stockโ€™s The Darker Side of Wiltshire we missed.

โ€œMartin Simpson is, in the contemporary folk world at least, the equivalent of Royalty, or a National Treasure,โ€ Andy said, when he came to Devizes on Wednesday, and our man on the scene summed it, in a word, as a โ€œmasterclass.โ€

Andy gave us his opinion on A Lunchtime Amuse-Bouche, with Duo Tutti on Thursday, and The Sound of Blue Note too, which he hailed โ€œa bunch of guys who were clearly very comfortable with their material, with their arrangements, and with playing in each otherโ€™s company.ย  They sounded absolutely great, tight when they needed to be, but with that wonderful ability to fall back and give space to the many solos and improvisations,โ€ and requested more jazz for Devizes.

Finally they thought better of it and let Ian in! The Slambovian Circus of Dreams on Friday was something I really should have attended judging by the look of it alone. โ€œHillbilly Pink Floydโ€ Ian called it, but expanded โ€œtouches on some aspects of their music, but itโ€™s a far wider demographic than simply that. Certainly, their show at the Corn Exchange last night included elements that certainly sounded very Pink Floyd, but psychedelia, prog, Dylan, Seeger, Tull, Led Zep all played their part weaving into and out of their songs.โ€

The Slambovian Circus of Dreams @ Devizes Arts Festival 2024

No one was tempted by Huw Williamsโ€™ Organ Recital at St Johnโ€™s Church, or the The Poetry Slam at the Wharf which polished off the festivities. Saturday nightโ€™s hypnotist Matt Hale was unfortunately cancelled, to which remained a marvellous afternoon in the British Lion with skiffle band The Junco Shakers. I was content, it was one of those fringe events which simply worked.

Overall, itโ€™s been a great year for Devizes Arts Festival, with some world class acts and much enjoyment was had by all. Though as far as I know, Devizes has never had a hypnotist, and for all its uniqueness Iโ€™d have thought this gig would be a sell-out. It is unfortunate, due to low ticket sales it was pulled. It proves perhaps an error in judgement, or could imply more advertising would have helped, I really donโ€™t know; I was looking forward to it. Again, all I can say is we need to support arts in town, and Devizes Arts Festival is the king of this. We look forward to another year of which I urge to get onboard for; the thought of losing this gem on our calendar as weโ€™ve lost others would be too much to bear.ย 

Thanks to our wonderful team for their valid input, especially our part of the furniture, Andy Fawthrop, who summed it up thus, “Another excellent festival in my opinion – well organised and publicised. The range and variety of events, and the many different venues, together with the Free Fringe, made this another good year. Thanks all those involved for all the hard work youย put in to achieve this. Hats off!”

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A Junco Shakinโ€™ Finale for Devizes Arts Festival at The British Lion

A leopard doesn’t change its spots, and neither does a British Lion. Watch other Devizes pubs change landlord, decor, attractions, and styles. Watch them close, reopen under new management, and try something else, while the British is steadfast and loyally imperishable. Ask anyone in Devizes their favourite pubs, and they’ll have different answers, then add The British Lion to the list for good measureโ€ฆ.

What better setting for the last day of a most memorable Devizes Arts Festival than their extensive suntrap beer garden?ย 

Old timey rhythm and blues blessed the full house, delivered with unique flavour and proficiency from a family Southampton come Birmingham (apparently) quartet, called The Junco Shakers.

These free fringe events provided by the Arts Festival are them at their rawest, letting their hair down and attracting the Devizes bohemians, alongside regular punters and everyone in-between. For this notion and the uniformed venue, the timeless Junco Shakers were a perfect match. I’d consider it skiffle. At least they used a washboard and percussion brushes, though over time, this has become a vague description. It felt bone-shaking blues of yore. At times, an upright double-bass gave it a rockabilly edge. It was jumpy and infectious, immutable enough to not warrant pigeonholing, so I’ll shut up!

With a barbecue sizzling bangers, the sun with his hat on, and just about everyone who’s ever sunk a pint in the British in attendance, it was the epitome of the Devizes spirit. While many here desire a political change and excuse me for getting political, in divertissement, the formula of this free house is unchanging; reliability, and a cracking selection of cask ales and ciders.

For those now with a taste of poison, The Three Crowns had Pat and Ben’s Matchbox Mutiny at 3pm, the Southgate hosting Jon Amorโ€™s favourite guest LeBurn Maddox at 5pm, and the Devizes Arts Festival itself polish off with a free poetry slam at the Wharf Theatre. You can see now why I had bitten off more than I can chew when highlighting what’s happening in Devizes, as for a market town its size, this is just a typical sunny summer Sunday here, and we’re spoiled for choice. Me? I went home for tea and bed; those pintas won’t deliver themselves!

As for the British Lion, it rarely puts music events on, but when it does, the population rise to the occasion, remembering with fondness nights of yore in this award-winning pub, who gave them โ€˜Black Rat Monday,โ€™ the Saturday quiz, and the eminent stalwart landlord Mike Dearing. 

We thank the team at Devizes Arts Festival. It’s been another fantastic year, and we look forward to many more.

Boomers Rule – “The Slambovian Circus of Dreams” at the Devizes Arts Festival, June 14th, 2024.

by Ian Diddams
photos by Gail Foster

Way back in the mists of time (August 2022 โ€“ yโ€™know that REALLY, REALLY hot summer?) I saw the Slambovians play at Cropredy festival. A crowd of 20,000 embraced their version of โ€œHillBilly Pink Floydโ€ as Wikipedia calls it, so moving forward from 2022, the chance to see them play here in good olโ€™ D-Town was too much to pass up so armed with Phillipa Morganโ€™s pen Devizine took the tough job of watching them play in front of maybe 2% of that number.

To be fair โ€œHillBilly Pink Floydโ€ ย touches on some aspects of their music, but itโ€™s a far wider demographic than simply that. Certainly, their show at the Corn Exchange last night included elements that certainly sounded very Pink Floyd, but psychedelia, prog, Dylan, Seeger, Tull, Led Zep all played their part weaving into and out of their songs

The Slambovians started a nine gig, eleven day whistle stop tour of the UK last night, having arrived from the Hudson Valley area, NY state, a.k.a. home. They started a tad gingerly, finding their feet but it was soon very apparent that this tight knit, well attuned beat combo was in their groove by their second number, the eponymous โ€œThe Grand Slamboviansโ€.ย  And the night โ€“ consisting of two one hour sets โ€“ continued in the same vein. Driving rhythms pushed by drummer Matthew Abourezk, with Sharkey McEwan on a mixture of lead guitar and โ€ฆ errrโ€ฆ lead mandolin (brilliantly played Page/Hendrix style) interspersed with calm, beautiful ballads showcasing Tink Lloydโ€™s versatility especially across accordion, cello and flute (Ian Anderson notes especially in โ€œStep out of timeโ€) took us on a journey through Slambovia. Joziah Longo immersed us in this utopian landโ€™s philosophies and stories from mischievous fairies, to bees, to days before MTV where radio was king. All underpinned by the sublime bass lines of Bob Torsello.


Joziah alluded to โ€œBoomersโ€ throughout the show and Bob Torsello aside that certainly describes the age demographic of the band โ€“ and probably much of the audience – some Gen X types slipped through the net somehow, I suppose. Certainly, the underlying feel of their sets was that Boomer era of music โ€“ 60s and 70s, a distinct hippy vibe, with tracks and ethos tied in with nature and simpler times (Beez, Radio,). Joziahโ€™s anecdotes and story telling drew us all in with his homely, gentle delivery. All in all a wonderful night of music delivered by a band on the top of their game, delivered by the ever excellent “Devizes Arts Festival“



โ€œThe Slambovian Circus of Dreamsโ€ have several dates on tour in the UK right now and I urge you to catch them again, or for a first time this year if you missed last night โ€“ see https://slambovia.com/tour-dates

Alternatively grab some merch if you missed out last night also – https://slambovia.bandcamp.com

And hereโ€™s a Spotify playlist to enjoy cobbled together by the wonders of Devizine of some of the tracks from last night

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4ZHHvscjkk77IUk6Vxi3CJ?si=ad36c622355546c6

โ€“ but please see them live or buy merch of course.ย  Even if you are Gen Xโ€ฆ


REVIEW โ€“ Devizes Arts Festival โ€“ The Sound Of Blue Note @ Assembly Room 13th June 2024

Cool, Man

Andy Fawthrop

Devizes Arts Festivalโ€™s programme continued on Thursday night, and it was time for a little jazz.ย  As I often say (apparently) thereโ€™s nothing like sax in the evening….

Terry Quinneyโ€™s Sound Of Blue Note features some of the most prominent jazz musicians in the Southwest whose main aim is to accurately recreate the music and aesthetic that defined the Blue Note Records sound of the 1950s and 1960s.ย  Their repertoire features music from Blue Note legends like Hank Mobley, Freddie Hubbard, Art Blakey, Horace Silver and more, all directly transcribed from the original recordings and performed with all the swinging intensity that is synonymous with the legendary record label.

The band last night consisted of Andy Urquhart (trumpet), Terry Quinney (saxophones), Ben Taylor (double bass), Andy Chapman (drums) and Phil Doyle (piano).  And they turned up, fully suited and booted, very much looking the part of what (I imagine) a 50s/ 60s jazz club band ought to look like. 

Iโ€™d been hoping that weโ€™d have more of a club atmosphere and aesthetic, with a tables-and-chairs layout, but we had to settle for a more traditional cinema seating arrangement.  No matter โ€“ the band and the audience settled right in.  Describing themselves at one point as a โ€œBlue Note covers band, or tribute bandโ€, the mood and the swing were soon established.  I prefer the word โ€œhomageโ€ myself, but I might then be justifiably accused of being a tad pretentious.  No matter.  Back to the jazz.

This was a bunch of guys who were clearly very comfortable with their material, with their arrangements, and with playing in each otherโ€™s company.  They sounded absolutely great, tight when they needed to be, but with that wonderful ability to fall back and give space to the many solos and improvisations.

I was not personally familiar with much of the material, but fortunately I was accompanied by someone who knew what they were listening to and was able to explain some of the finer points to me.  Added to Terry Quinneyโ€™s between-numbers commentary, I picked up more of the background.  But it really didnโ€™t matter โ€“ the quintet delivered what, to my ears at least, was a great night of jazz.  Through two 50-minute sets, the band held the audience enthralled and entertained.  The applause was warm and frequent, and an encore was fully deserved.

I just wish, as Iโ€™ve said before, that we had more frequent opportunities to catch some jazz in D-Town on a more regular basis, rather than having to wait for a year for the Arts Festival to book artists of this calibre.  Thereโ€™s an opportunity there somewhere!

You can find out more about The Sound Of Blue Note at terryquinney.wixsite.com/sobn

The Devizes Arts Festival is moving towards its end now, but there are still several events on Friday night and over the weekend, with tickets available, until Sunday 16th June at various venues around the town.ย 

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

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REVIEW โ€“ Devizes Arts Festival โ€“ Duo Tutti @ Assembly Room 13th June 2024

A Lunchtime Amuse-Bouche

by Andy Fawthrop

Devizes Arts Festivalโ€™s programme continued on Thursday afternoon with a lunchtime classical concert in the beautiful surroundings of the Assembly Hall in the Town Hall.  Coming on a market day, it was no surprise that town was busy, and plenty of people used the opportunity to make their way to this splendid venue.

Duo Tutti is made up of Ruth Molins (flutes) and Alex Wilson (piano).  They are inspired by old and new music, creating sound worlds you might not expect to hear from a flute/ piano duo. Ruth plays a standard flute, alto flute, bass flute and the piccolo, accompanied by Alexโ€™s piano.

Their programme was an interesting and eclectic mix of items, much of it from composers Iโ€™d not heard of before, but no the less enjoyable for that.

We started with the Sonata in F from Anna Amalia of Prussia (1723 -87).  This lady I was surprised to discover was the sister of Frederick The Great.  This piece in three movements, although simple in sound and structure, was bright, bouncy and just the thing to get started with.  There followed three very contrasting pieces from contemporary composers: John Rutterโ€™s Suite Antique (in six short movements), Ruthโ€™s own piece (Fuse for Bass Flute & Piano) and Elena Kats-Cherninโ€™s Elizaโ€™s Aria for Piccolo.  Each piece was delivered with freshness and confidence by the duo.

Keeping with the contemporary theme, we moved on to Arthur Butterworthโ€™s Ukko, featuring the alto flute, and a piece that was slightly deeper and fuller, offering a darker, slower and slightly more discordant feeling throughout.  Then on to two โ€œminiaturesโ€ from Constance Warren, the first being slow and thoughtful, and the second very short piece being much livelier.

Finally, slightly back in time to Jules Mouquet (1867 โ€“ 1946) for La Flute De Pan, a work in three short movements.  The first piece was sparkling, with many flourishes.  And, following the slower, quieter middle passage, the final section moved from a gentle fade-out, to another frothy champagne ending.

Throughout the concert the flutes were always to the fore, carrying the main themes, with the piano playing more of a supportive, sympathetic accompanying role.  But the combination worked splendidly, and provided a diverse and entertaining lunchtime concert.  Bravo!

You can find out more about Duo Tutti at www.duotutti.com/   

The Devizes Arts Festival is moving towards its end now, but there are still several events with tickets available, until Sunday 16th June at various venues around the town.  Tickets can be booked at Devizes Books or online at www.devizesartsfestival.org.uk

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Discovering Antarctica: Heroic tales of Shackleton, Crean and Scott; at the Wharf Theatre for Devizes Arts Festival

John Winterton

For the first time in a great number of years the Wharf Theatre was host to a show in this yearโ€™s Devizes Arts Festival. Unlike a number of other shows in this yearโ€™s programme, this one was sold out, and quite early on, so did the good people of Devizes have prior knowledge of this show?

Aidan Dooleyโ€™s one-man show about discovering Antarctica from the perspective of Tom Crean are stories of adventures with both Scott and Shackleton, which if my basic recollection of history is anywhere near accurate, would be both a unique and fascinating tale.

On entering the theatre the sounds of the arctic winds were the only noise, and although initially sounding like sea, maybe both, along with the stage littered with all manner of items and clothing you may have needed for an expedition lit with a nighttime rich blue highlighted with a small warm glow, it set the scene for the upcoming tales. 

Aidan came onto the stage and with a rich Irish accent introduced us to Tom, and the apparel that any good arctic explorer would have with him at the turn of the last century. With a witty, chatty delivery you very quickly felt like Tom was talking as if either to an assembly of wide-eyed children or to a group of acquaintances in a local bar, sometimes more like one, then moving to the other.

You did, however, feel he was talking to you, telling you his story, letting you into his world of cold and wind. A world where crying with your head down is given away by the steam from your tears, a world where working with too many layers on would make you sweat only for it to freeze should you then stop working and cool down any. For those that went with him we were treated to stories about being left out of the five who would attempt to reach the South Pole because of a cough, a cough that was to prove fortuitous as those who did not go on were sent back along the supply route to the base camp, even if they did go slightly in the wrong way back resulting in a very well described ride on a sled down a hill, quite a steep hill at that. 

Aidan totally embodies Tom, so much so that you forget that they are not his stories that he is telling you. Stories that carried you through the hour and a half as if it was only a matter of minutes. I genuinely was lost in the story telling and would not have been surprised if on leaving the theatre we were feet deep in snow and surrounded by penguins.

An evening well spent and testament to the hard work obviously put into the research put into the script and the characterisation of Tom, by Aidan. 

A great find by the Devizes Arts Festival and well worthy of the full house.ย 

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CrownFest is Back!

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

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REVIEW โ€“ Devizes Arts Festival โ€“ Martin Simpson @ Corn Exchange 12th June 2024

Masterclass

by Andy Fawthrop

Devizes Arts Festivalโ€™s programme continued last night, and it was the turn of another big name to grace the stage of the Corn Exchange.

Martin Simpson is, in the contemporary folk world at least, the equivalent of Royalty, or a National Treasure.ย  Heโ€™s been performing and recording for over forty years, and Iโ€™ve personally had the pleasure of seeing him live in concert and at music festivals several times over the years, so I was very much looking forward to this one.

Martin is the consummate singer/ songwriter. His performances are always filled with remarkable intimate solo guitar playing in the finger-picking style, and each gig is a masterclass.  One of the hardest-working people on the folk/ roots circuit, he travels the length and breadth of the UK and beyond, giving audiences passion, sorrow, love, beauty, tragedy and majesty through his playing. Equally at home playing English traditional folk, American folk and blues, or his own compositions, he is consistently named as one of the very finest fingerstyle guitar players in the world.

Nor is he an artist who sits still for very long, averaging a brand new studio album almost every two years.  His latest offering โ€œSkydancersโ€ is his 12th full length solo record since 1992.  Recorded in his home town of Sheffield, the album collects new, self-penned originals alongside 18th century broadside ballads and reverent re-workings from the songbooks of (amongst) others, Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell, Woody Guthrie, Nancy Kerr, June Tabor and Craig Johnson.

Last night โ€œSkydancersโ€ featured heavily, as might have been expected, with several tracks to the fore, narrated laconically with the story behind each one.  The early numbers were laid-back, contemplative and without introduction, but then Martin took the audience into his confidence, and talked us through his thinking. There were a couple of political jibes at the state of the current Government, but largely he stuck to the song-writing and the music-making.  And with hardly any noticeable shift, we switched from the traditional across to the modern, to Bob Dylanโ€™s โ€œBuckets of Rainโ€.

His singing was strong, with the familiar nasal twang, but it was the guitar-playing that really caught the imagination.  Even his tuning-up trills, and introductions were little classics.  His fondness for tuning and re-tuning (by ear) is legendary in the folk world, but last night it was more disguised as he regaled us with stories relating to the genesis and/ or the content of each song.  There were birds such as the hen-harrier (the โ€œskydancerโ€), kites, swallows, and buzzards.  There were trees and hills.  There was the Wessex Ridgeway and Slapton Sands. There were real and legendary historical characters.  There were name-drops.  It was all fascinating stuff.  And then, after what had only seemed to be twenty minutes, more than twice that time had actually passed, and we were into the interval, where The Mighty Simpson Marketing Machine swung into action.  (This just meant Martin himself selling CDs in the foyer and chatting to fans, but it sounds good).

The second half brought more of the same, but with perhaps more of an Appalachian, Americana feel to several numbers.  We had covers from Jackson C. Frank and Leon Rosselson, Anne Briggs.  We had re-worked traditional songs, including an Easter carol, and we had more self-penned material.  Again, the audience was rapt, and there was never any doubt that there would be huge applause and an encore.

Another absolutely sparkling night of world-class entertainment.  Another hit for the Arts Festival.

You can find out more about Martin at www.martinsimpson.com ย 

The Devizes Arts Festival continues until Sunday 16th June at various venues around the town.ย 

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

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Oh Danny Boy!

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

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A Quick Shuffle to Swindon

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

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REVIEW โ€“ Devizes Arts Festival โ€“ Belinda Kirk @ Cheese Hall 11th June 2024

Right Out Of The Comfort Zone

by Andy Fawthrop

Following a lively few days of entertaining and varied events over this last weekend, weโ€™re now into Devizes Arts Festivalโ€™s second week.ย 

I decided to trundle along to the Cheese Hall earlier this afternoon to find out what Belinda Kirk might have to say for herself.ย  Stuff about being adventurous, Iโ€™d heard.ย  I settled down into my seat and awaited a comfortable afternoon chat.ย  But an hour later things had changed somewhat.

Belinda Kirk is a world-record holding explorer, researcher and a leading campaigner promoting the benefits of โ€œadventureโ€ on wellbeing. Sheโ€™s written the best-selling, award-nominated, book โ€œAdventure Mind: Transform Your Wellbeing By Choosing Challengeโ€.  Sheโ€™s led dozens of international expeditions, numerous youth development challenges, and pioneered inclusive adventures for people with disabilities. She established the Explorers Connect organisation and website in order to spread the word about the life-changing impact of adventure. Sheโ€™s encouraged over 30,000 ordinary people to engage in transformational outdoor challenges. And most recently sheโ€™s faced her greatest challenge: to continue to live adventurously since becoming a parent.

Belinda spoke for about 45 minutes before hosting a Q&A session.  In her talk she emphasised that she was not just talking about โ€œbeing in Natureโ€ (the benefits of which are now well documented), but about engaging with the world in a much more vigorous way by taking up personal and/ or team challenges.  She was talking jungles, deserts, remote places, open seas, and I was just beginning to feel slightly uncomfortable.

Outlining how participating in the Duke of Edinburghโ€™s Award Scheme as a sixteen year-old had been a complete sliding doors moment for her, she described how she got the bug to get โ€œout thereโ€.  Over the next few years she joined, and later led, several expeditions, worked for five or six years with that Big Softie Bear Grylls, worked as a diver for a year, and took part in a row-round-Britain challenge.  I was fully awake by now and starting to feel how exceptionally lazy Iโ€™ve been all my life.

She discovered how impactful it was to undertake both large and small adventures.  She saw with her own eyes time and time again how people of all ages found these challenges to be, literally, life-changing. And it was then that she began to research the psychology of what was actually going on here.  She described in great detail a major expedition sheโ€™d led to cross Nicaragua coast-to-coast with a group of severely disabled youngsters, including (incredibly to me) climbing to the summit of an active volcano.  And there were many other examples and stories too.  Much against my will, I was actually on the edge of my seat listening to this stuff.  And I wasnโ€™t alone either โ€“ the rest of the packed audience seemed pretty enraptured too.  Sheโ€™s an enthusiastic, energetic and very articulate speaker.

Belinda spoke of moving from your โ€œcomfort zoneโ€ to your โ€œstretch zoneโ€ and heading towards your โ€œpanic zoneโ€.  It sounded like jargon, but it wasnโ€™t โ€“ I was definitely on the same page by now.  Pushing yourself has many benefits in enriching your life โ€“ giving yourself new skills and confidence, finding out what youโ€™re really capable of, and (crucially) having some fun.   Iโ€™m having some of that!

She finished with a lively Q&A session, before signing copies of her book โ€œAdventure Mind: Transform Your Wellbeing By Choosing Challengeโ€.  But I couldnโ€™t wait around for that โ€“ I needed to get outside into my โ€œstretch zoneโ€ to swim the K&A Canal, sort out the problems in The Crammer, and single-handedly remove all the traffic-lights across D-Town.  Then I might sit down with a well-deserved cup of tea and a biscuit.

A solidly entertaining afternoon, and another absolute gem from DAF.

You can find out more about Belindaโ€™s adventuring at www.explorersconnect.com/

The Devizes Arts Festival continues until Sunday 16th June at various venues around the town.ย  Tickets can be booked at Devizes Books or online at www.devizesartsfestival.org.uk

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REVIEW โ€“ Devizes Arts Festival โ€“ Ida Pelliccioli @ Assembly Roomย  10th June 2024ย 

World Class Piano

by Andy Fawthrop


And, following a lively few days of varied events over this last weekend, weโ€™re now into Devizes Arts Festivalโ€™s second week.ย  And at last it was time for some serious classical music, and we were certainly treated to something special when Ida Pelliccioli played the Leslie Taylor Memorial Concert in the Assembly Room last night.ย  Once again the setting of the beautiful Assembly Hall perfectly matched the style and the quality of the entertainment.ย  Indeed this very room was constructed in the very early years of the 19th century, immediately after the deaths of three of the nightโ€™s composers.

Ida Pelliccioli is a world-renowned concert pianist who has performed throughout Europe, Canada and South Africa. She was born in Italy and studied in Nice and Paris and, since 2021, she has taught at the Paris Conservatoire.

Her selected programme last night, which was accompanied by extensive notes and a short introduction, was inspired by the forgotten music of โ€˜the Spanish Scarlattiโ€™, composer Manuel Blasco de Nebra.ย 

We began with three short sonatas by the Italian composer Domenico Scarlatti (1685 โ€“ 1757).ย  The first and third of which were at a sparkling, lively tempo, whilst the second was slower and calmer.ย  However all three were played by Ida with plenty of gusto and attack.ย  All of them were very short, and this part of the programme was completed in only ten minutes.

The next section featured two fantasias by the Austrian Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756 โ€“ 1791).ย  These two pieces seemed (to me at least) to possess a little more depth and substance.ย  And again we had the contrast between the dramatic and exciting first piece, set against the more romantic and portentous second piece.

There then followed two pieces by a Spanish composer Iโ€™d not previously heard of โ€“ Manuel Blasco de Nebra (1750 โ€“ 1784), whom Ida described as โ€œthe Spanish Scarlattiโ€ and very much a composer that time seems to have forgotten.ย  These two sonatas were each in two movements: an adagio, followed by a more lively allegro.ย  I found them interesting and entertaining, but not as good as what had gone before.

And finally we came to another Austrian composer Franz Schubert (1797 โ€“ 1828).ย  Ida played his Drei Klavierstucke (three piano pieces) and, again, we had the structure of one piece that was thoughtful, melancholy, plangent and poignant sandwiched in between two pieces that were far more lively and exuberant.


The whole performance was both intense and mesmerising, played and presented by a world-class pianist who was clearly absolutely dedicated to her work, and completely on top of her game.ย  Entirely justifiably there was sustained applause at the end from a very appreciative audience, provoking not one, but two, short encores, the latter of which was an โ€œimpromptuโ€ by the more modern Finnish composer Jean Sibelius (1865 โ€“ 1957).

Another fabulous night at the Arts Festival, and thanks (yet again) to DAF for bringing such top-notch entertainment to our little town.ย  I only wish we had a lot more opportunities in D-Town to hear such wonderful classical music, played by a world-class musician.

The Devizes Arts Festival continues until Sunday 16th June at various venues around the town.ย 

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

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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

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

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Cable Street Collective at Devizes Arts Festival

Seven-piece sui generis ensemble The Cable Street Collective were everything I expected them to be last night at The Corn Exchange; another impressive booking for the middle weekend of Devizes Arts Festivalโ€ฆ..

Hailing from the Shadwell area of East London as the name suggests, if Cable Street is remembered for violent clashes between fascist Blackshirts and the multicultural populous, now reduced to lobbing milkshakes, multiculturalism also plays a major part of the band’s influences despite them being largely Caucasian.

From the off I’m reminded of the marabi sound of Hugh Masekela, with the upfront brass of trumpet and saxophone. Yet you couldn’t pigeonhole this with a thousand words, it’s wholly unique. Female fronted by an energetic yogi, she somersaults the high stage projecting a mid-tone vocal range with unrivalled passion, encouraging her audience to follow the leader.

In delivery and posture I likened her to Bristol’s Mr Tea and the Minions, a band the guitarist said they knew when I harassed him afterwards, and you may recall from a Street Festival of yore. Although Mr Tea borrows extensively fromย Balkan ska to create carny-folk, the Cable Street Collective favour African rhythms to dress their overall pop festival soulful sound; such is the interesting melting pot of the contemporary UK festival circuit.

With subtle nods to North African fusion, from Congolese rhumba to soukous, to the more prominent dance music of South Africa ascended from township jive, you cannot go wrong if you desire to get your audience on their feet. And that’s just what happened in the Exchange, they broke a, likely, tougher audience than those at a festival like Boomtown, younger and aching to dance to an alarm clock! An hour before the finale the majority caved into the irresistible urge to dance perpetrated on a Kevin Bacon cuttinโ€™ Footloose level.

This appeased the band no end, as the atmosphere switched, the collective raised the bar, breaking occasionally to lower the tempo for poignancy, it maintained its influences of West African artists likeย Zeke Manyika and Thomas Mapfumo. By doing as they did, it mellowed into something decidedly transatlantic steppers reggae; up my street and knocking loudly on my door. It was a notification there was a concentrated if light narrative in their original dance rhythms.

They never waived from their ethos of delivering an all original set, by slipping in a cheesy cover or ten. Surprisingly then, they made no attempt to wave merch in our faces. For their resilience in what’s a band’s bread and butter these days, I’ll drop their BandCamp link below, because if you were there or should you otherwise take heed of my words, The Cable Street Collective are uniquely sublime and beguiling, and this was a fantastic night full of energy and passion.

Think, if The Brand New Heavies were inspired by a safari, then asked to compose a theme tune for a Shambala Festival promotional film, you get an impression of how quirky and distinctively original they are. This said, their grand finale felt like their magnum opus, an engaging tune called the Wolf, and it was riddled with the familiar brass riff of Paul Simon’s Call Me Al. The guitarist I managed to catch for a quick word expressed a group devotion to their parentsโ€™ copies of Graceland, hence the influence, which in turn made me feel old; parents? I brought that album!

For the record I digress, fact is unlike much of the album, the Call Me Al brass riff is entirely synthesised. In comparison to the Cable Street Collective, where nothing is synthetic save perhaps a spacey moment or two backing track to create ambience, this Collective are cool as cucumbers, bongo bonkers poptastic, and engagingly original. I loved it!

Today Devizes Arts Festival has two free events. Rumour will be at the Three Crowns, from 2pm – 4pm. And the Annie Parker Trio at St John’s Church, from 7pm – 8:30pm. It continues through the week, check out the programme HERE, and treat yourself, it’s been a fantastic year so far.

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REVIEW โ€“ Devizes Arts Festival โ€“ Lucy Porter + Support @ Corn Exchangeย  6th June 2024

Funny You Should Say That

Andy Fawthrop

And finally it was time to see the girl weโ€™ve all been seeing on the poster for the past few months!ย 

Last night Devizes Arts Festival presented its comedy big-hitter, the radio and TV star Lucy Porter.ย  And D-Town responded with another packed audience.

Lucy Porter is a stand-up comedian, and a regular face and voice on TV and radio panel shows. She loves a good quiz show, appearing on a Pointless Celebrity Special with Ed Byrne and being victorious on Celebrity Mastermind. Sheโ€™s also appeared in QI, Live at the Apollo, Room 101 and heard on BBC Radio 4โ€™s News Quiz.

She handled the start of the first half last night by telling us (perhaps unwisely) that sheโ€™d never been to D-Town before, and therefore felt justified in playing back to us some of the research sheโ€™d managed to dig up.  This was fairly gentle, if predictable, shtick โ€“ poking fun at our โ€œposhโ€ neighbours in Marlborough, relating the Moonrakers story, and throwing in various remarks about the K&A canal, the Caen Hill Flight and something she referred to as the โ€œcanoe marathonโ€.  It was amusing, but not really hitting the target.  Once she put her notes down and started to extemporise a little more, the audience thawed considerably, and the evening began to improve.  Her key task here was to warm the audience up for her chosen support act, and to flag the themes sheโ€™d be covering in the second half.

So it was time to welcome Sharon Wanjohi to the stage.  Sheโ€™s an up and coming stand-up comedian with a varied act ranging from shock to absurd comedy, and has already appeared at a number of festivals and on TV.  Sheโ€™s clearly still learning her craft, but last night she managed to win over an audience that was slightly nervous of someone they werenโ€™t expecting.

Her self-deprecating style, covering themes of personal awakening, both spiritual and sexual, gradually began to hit home.  Asking if there were any black people in the audience, indeed whether being black was even legal in D-Town, began to bring the laughs.  And her interaction with a certain audience member about being lesbian was truly hilarious.  Her set was slightly rambling and disconnected, funny but not hilarious.  But there was no doubting the great reception she received in response to her warm, and sometimes personal, story-telling, and her relaxed easy-going style.  Iโ€™d definitely file her under the โ€œone to watchโ€ category.

And then, finally, after a very long interval, we finally had the star of the show.  Wearing a changed top (โ€œsparkly on top, comfy belowโ€ as she put it), we were treated to a master-class in gentle, apparently rambling associative comedy.  Picking up on the obvious demographic of the audience, she homed in on one audience member who was clearly younger than the rest, and making great show of โ€œexplainingโ€ some of the gags and references (just in case no-one got the point).  She also picked up with Sharon Wanjohiโ€™s interlocutor from the first half, a tactic that worked extremely well.

She hit some obvious targets for a Radio 4 audience โ€“ the menopause, the male mid-life crisis, the desire to retire, increasing health issues.  But she played these well, riffing on her hypochondriac relationship with her GP Margaret (the cancerous spot thast turned out to be Nutella), about doing R2 singalongs with the guys painting her house, and on her thoughts about the โ€œdevelopmentโ€ of Paul Hollywood.  There was a wonderful pastiche of The Sound Of Music and, right at the end, a great punchline about paint involving the chorus of โ€œRelaxโ€.  There were plenty of anecdotes relating to her own general laziness, her long-standing drinking pals, and her tendency to be impulsive.  Her story of just โ€œwinging itโ€ on a mistaken appearance with Melvyn Bragg was superb.

It was, for the most part, very clean and straight-forward stuff.  There was nothing that could be considered โ€œedgyโ€, there was nothing political, and there was (amazingly) no swearing.  As such, it probably kept most of the audience in their comfort zone for most of the time, but it was no less hilarious for all of that.

Overall, it was a good nightโ€™s entertainment, although I expect thereโ€™ll be a LOT of people waking up on Friday morning realising that they now knew what a Gold Star Lesbian is.  Go figure!

Thereโ€™s more information on Lucy at www.lucyporter.co.uk/

Another great night at the Arts Festival, and thanks (yet again) to DAF for bringing such top-notch entertainment to our little town. 

The Devizes Arts Festival continues until Sunday 16th June at various venues around the town.ย 

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

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REVIEW โ€“ Devizes Arts Festival โ€“ Adam Rutherford @ Corn Exchangeย  5th June 2024

Andy Fawthrop

Itโ€™s All In The Genes

Today Devizes Arts Festival presentation took on a more serious and talkative tone with another marquee signing taking to the stage.ย  And it was another good audience with plenty of trade at the bar and at the merch desk.

Adam Rutherford is a geneticist, author and broadcaster who frequently appears on science programmes on both radio and TV. He presents Radio 4โ€™s flagship programme Start the Week and was the host of Inside Science for eight years. His popular series The Curious Cases of Rutherford and Fry has been on air for a decade. Heโ€™s written extensively on race, genetics, evolution and trust in science. As an honorary senior research associate at University College London, he teaches courses on genetics and communication. ย A self-confessed โ€œscience nerdโ€ heโ€™s a Professor of Evolutionary Genetics.

Itโ€™s a long time since I last attended a formal lecture, with a full Powerpoint deck to get through, but thatโ€™s what we got.  Taking station behind a pulpit-like lectern, Adam quickly went into professor mode and quickly taught us all a LOT about genetics, DNA, descent and the various trees of life.  It sounds slightly dry and boring, but it was very far from that, as he casually dropped in one amazing fact after another, along with amusing anecdotes, and debunked many myths about the whole business of human evolution and descent.

We were fed some lovely gobbets along the way, such as: itโ€™s believed that 97% of all species that have ever existed on Earth are now extinct, that 2% of the DNA of all modern humans is Neanderthal and that Danny Dyer is not alone in being able to claim direct descent from Edward III, since the mathematical probability of anyone/ everyone being descended from that same monarch is 100%.

We learned that thereโ€™s a lot that we donโ€™t know.  Ignorance begets (misplaced) confidence, and confidence begets a lot of (incorrect) speculation and theorising. โ€œPopular scienceโ€ has a lot to answer for, including the use of inappropriate comparisons, metaphors and illustrations.  Thereโ€™s no such thing as genetic โ€œprogressโ€ (in the sense of improvement), only continuing change.  Using a series of โ€œtreesโ€ (tree of life, tree of human life, the family tree of Charles II of Spain, the tree of Charlemagne and the Who Do You Think You Are? tree), Adam progressively illustrated how many of our ideas and assumptions are often some way from the truth or scientific evidence.

There was plenty of amusement too.  The more complex theories and illustrations were summarised as โ€œclusterfucksโ€.  The act of sexual congress became โ€œa gene flow eventโ€.  And multi-generational in-breeding was โ€œsub-optimalโ€. 

The takeaways from all this were that this whole genetics and human descent issue is a lot more complex than we think it is, that racism and eugenics are concepts that defy any logic or evidence you apply to them, and that mathematics can teach us a lot about whatโ€™s really happening. We learned about the โ€œisopointโ€, where the entire population at a certain point/ date is the ancestor of the entire population of today.

It was half time and, boy, did everybody need a drink to think about all that lot.  It must have been inspiring, as the book-signing desk was overwhelmed with willing customers, and the second half (which consisted of a prolonged Q&A session) was fully engaged by fascinated punters.

Adam fielded a range of questions, despite some mic problems, including those on DNA Testing kits (largely a waste of time and money, and a rip-off monetisation of the worldโ€™s most valuable datafile), Artificial Intelligence (useful for data mining), and our African origins (weโ€™re all African and 100% similar at the DNA level).

Like I said earlier, it sounds dry.  But it really wasnโ€™t.  Despite the serious subject matter, it was informative and absolutely fascinating.  Adam is no comedian, but he does have a light touch, and just like on the radio, he was able to bring science very much to life, to engage his audience, and to leave everyone a little richer in understanding.  His passionate dismissal of racism and eugenics owes little to morality or emotion (although I was sure that was there too), but to simple cold-hearted scientific data, evidence and analysis.  That gets my vote every single time.

His new series will be on BBC Radio 4 Bad Blood:ย Theย Story of Eugenics and his new book, out now Control: The Dark History and Troubling Present of Eugenics. More information on Adam is available at www.adamrutherford.com/

Another great night at the Arts Festival, and thanks (once again) to DAF for having the vision to bring these types of entertainment to our little town. 

The Devizes Arts Festival continues until Sunday 16th June at various venues around the town.ย  Tickets can be booked at Devizes Books or online at www.devizesartsfestival.org.uk

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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 soulstress Americana virtuoso, Lady Nade arrived, and in a word, was mesmerisingโ€ฆ

I’ve put her ladyship on the highest pedestal since reviewing her lockdown album Willing, longing to see her perform. With a firm handshake she thanked me for the review at the interval, and I was truly honoured. Yet the grand venue was rather scarce on audience; you should take heed that I don’t do flattery for flattery’s sake, I’m aware it was a busy weekend for events, but you missed the single most mind-blowingly sublime gig in town I’ve witnessed in Devizes for a long time.

A few minutes late due to the unreliable bus service, at least one thing was reliable, the divine sound blessing the Corn Exchange, as Lady Nade stood in the middle of an archetypal country vocal and guitar harmony trio. I felt an immediate emotion rush through me, imagining I was witness to Nina Simone performing in her heyday, of the southern state persuasion of gospel artists like Ray Charles to record country, fuse Appalachian folk into jazz, and open the melting pot of pop.

Like a tour guide to her psyche, Lady Nade narrated her life story and innermost thoughts when inspiration struck. Her reasons for writing her pending songs gave clarity to the narrative, yet is often conveyed with wry banter. She referenced her influences too, Nina Simone and Ella Fitzgerald, jokingly snapping at one chap getting up for a drink, just as Nina commanded. Through all the subject’s solemnity, from the state of today’s music industry to dealing with grief, splices of stand-up comedy were thrown in. Whatever the angle, whatever the art, though, they conveyed it astutely and professionally.

Even with all these perfectly delivered elements combined, none are more impressive than Lady Nade’s sublime vocal range, the expression and conviction of her own words, and the accompanying harmonies. The rarity of contralto, to border mezzo-soprano, and countertenor; hey, I’m no expert on such technicalities but the depth rewards them my โ€˜in a wordโ€™ evaluation of mesmerising.

Dealing with the passing of her caring grandparents, to thoughts of mental well-being were the most touching. The audience took away a little part of Lady Nade and related them to their own stories, and that is the mark of genius. This communal experience came to a summit at the finale, when she unplugged her acoustic guitar and sauntered through the audience singing. As her songs flowed through me, I closed my eyes and saw my father, smiling back at me, forever grateful to anyone with the power to evoke such reverie through song.

Lesser emotional moments were equally as entertaining. Critical of the mechanics and monopolising of streaming music, the trio covered Gillian Welch’s Everything is Free, and the opening song to the second half was decidedly upbeat soul, akin to The Jackson’s I Want You Back. Yet the concentration overall was dulcet, euphonious and soulful vocal harmony, original yet reminiscent of the gospel-country fusion of yore, naturally spliced with Bristolian banter!

There is an unusual angle to Lady Nade’s creativity, she associates her songs with food, focussing a recipe relating to each song. If that sounds a tad bonkers, perhaps, but in this performance, like all her reasoning, the back story provides the logic!

It was a breath-taking performance, only Nina Simone between Simon & Garfunkel could’ve equalised. Signing in this year’s Devizes Arts Festival beautifully, in which there’s a fortnight of greatness yet to come. There’s two fringe events today, Sunday, seed detective Adam Alexander at the Peppermill, and loop guru Eddie Allen at the Bear for 7pm.

I know and accept the struggle is real, all promoters are at risk when putting food on the table is priority, but if you can, don’t overlook our brilliant Arts Festival this year, check out the programme and treat yourself, else we seriously face losing this opportunity in future, alongside others.

As it was, last night I had time to drop into the Southgate, to hear for the first time Salisbury’s The Duskers, an extremely proficient five-piece twisted folk roots ensemble, and they were euphoric in their fashion of elongated mellow-driven compositions. I could, and would have otherwise been there from the start.

Meanwhile: The Duskers at the Southgate

The pub circuit in Devizes is second-to-none for a local town this size, live music thrives here freely, yet while I know this is all awesome, organisers of annual events like the Arts Festival will bring superiority in sound, professionalism and variety of acts to our town our trusty pubs couldn’t. Last night with Lady Nade proves this, but unfortunately such greatness costs to stage, ergo we back ticketed events with equal gusto as those free pub gigs. I believe there’s room for all, but only if we support the ones funding themselves through tickets too.

Devizes Arts Festival looks to be a cracker this year. I’m still in awe of Lady Nade this morning, but there’s lots more to come!

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Land Ahoy! Jolly Roger Opens Devizes Arts Festival with Fire in the Hole!

Land ahoy me hearties! Devizes Corn Exchange was boarded last night by Cornish punk pirates Jolly Roger, for a frivolous and swashbuckling opening to Devizes Arts Festival; the face that launched a thousand ships was witness to itโ€ฆ.

That’s me, if it wasn’t obvious, landlubbers, the face! For although it’s Devizine assemble, to bring you coverage of the forthcoming fortnight of music, comedy, talks and walks, for this splice of the mainbrace you lucky lot have got the toothless editor to shiver yer timbers. And blow me down, those buccaneers battened down the hatches and gave us a cheerful chantey carousel, at least, I liked it!

Under the ethos of what being a pirate in the 21st century means, Jolly Roger is precisely as claimed on the tin, and in that,ย  the balance between the punk element and shanties of yore will always be a debatable matter. I’d imagine a few elders in the audience favoured them leaning on folk, and a ragged old sailor spinning yarns under gentler rhythms. Yet while themes included pirate subjects and phrases, including Davy Jonesโ€™ locker, et al, and they practise audience participation diligently, Jolly Roger are contemporary, and punkish shenanigans offsets the balance. That’s the method I’d savour, and in this it was never clichรฉ.

It was loud and sprightly unpretentious punkish tomfoolery with a pirate theme, yet, at times there was concentrated and thought-provoking narratives in their original material too. Euphoric tunes such as the most poignant Silent Mountain temporarily broke the frenzy, whereas characters like a bloke who props up the bar, conveyed this is a three sheets to the wind partying band to be taken tongue-in-cheek, but, dressed as pirates kinda gave that game away!

It’s not experimenting, rather pounding classic ground akin to Ferocious Dog, joyfully and professionally. For if Adam Ant broke the bitter reality hook of punk by incorporating fun subjects like pirates, native Americans or anything else he read about in Look-In, and folk blended a regional sound we affectionately dub scrumpy and western, here’s a dandy, and fun-filled fusion worthy of your attention. Think the Pouges-lite with a pasty and tricorne, for while there were a few expletives, it was hospitable enough to cater for open minded children of the festival.

Yet, it was a show perhaps best suited for a rowdy corner pub in a Cornish back lane, where the scent of salt air melds with that of wet dog hair carpet; such is our Arts Festival’s penchant for presenting us diversity, noteworthy when scanning the forthcoming programme. There’s something for everyone, it just needs everyone to take heed of this notion and throw away any preconceptions you may have about this wonderful occasion in Devizes. For instance, tonight Lady Nade arrives, an international act hailing from Bristol, who if you haven’t heard before, take it from me, her songwriting skills and soulful expression sublimely blesses Americana in something wholly unique and unmissable. So, tickets are on the door, don’t miss it!

As for Jolly Roger, well it was a superb performance and a grand opening for Devizes Arts Festival. Onlookers gazed at this fiery swashbuckling gang as their infectious jigs ordered them to break rank and jiggle. The band tour extensively across the UK festival circuit, do look out for them, with a telescope in the crow’s nest if necessary! These pirates of Penzance were a fire in the hole, excellently entertaining, me hearties!

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Devizes Arts Festival Reveal Full Line-Up for 2024

After a larger quantity of social media teasers than previous years, Devizes Arts Festival has today revealed their full line-up for 2024. Better take a peaky sneaky gander at it, keep in their good books, because it looks rather special! Based on previous experience they usually range from pretty awesome to super-duper lights are gonna find me awesomeโ€ฆso here goesโ€ฆโ€ฆ

The festival runs from Friday 31st May to Sunday 16th June, and never fails to bring us a diverse programme of separate events within the arts, music and theatre, but also takes in talks and walks. Some come with a worthy price tag, but thereโ€™s lots of free fringe events also. All it takes is for you to support it.

I donโ€™t know about you, but the first one I got excited about when I heard, was Bristolโ€™s soulful indie-folk singer-songstress Lady Nade, who plays the Corn Exchange on Saturday 1st June. I put this Lady on my must-see list after fondly reviewing her album Willing back in 2021. Iโ€™ve not yet had the opportunity to see her live. Yet it is not for that reason Iโ€™m grateful to the Arts Festival for booking Lady Nade, rather in contemplation of the elevated sentimentality channelled through her Americana-fuelled songs.

I summed up the album at the time, with โ€œwritten during the pandemic, thereโ€™s a secluded ambience echoing through these eleven sublime three-minute plus stories of friendship, love and loneliness lost and found, reflecting the fact it was recorded in multiple studios and engineered by all the musicians in isolation. Yet to hear it will hold you spellbound in a single place, till its conclusion.โ€

If that doesnโ€™t tempt you I donโ€™t know what will! But Lady Nade is not before a high-energy Penzance sea-punk grand opening to the festival, with Golden Gnome award winning Jolly Roger, at the Corn Exchange on Friday 31st May; blistering barnacles, Captain Haddock, that sure sounds like some swashbuckling shenanigans.

History of Market Lavington, anyone? Sunday 2nd has a festival walk, followed by the first two free fringe events, consummate story-teller Adam Alexanderโ€™s Seed Detective at The Peppermill from 2pm, and a solo loop pedal show with Eddy Allen, 7pm at the Cellar Bar.

Likely the best known name on the roster, comedian Lucy Porter comes to Devizes on Thursday 6th June, and Iโ€™m sure youโ€™re all aware of her distinctive, bouncy, feel-good comedy from TV and radio panel shows, and being victorious on Celebrity Mastermind.

Lucy Porter

Prior to this headliner, NHS doctor, journalist, broadcaster, speaker, campaigner and comedian Dr Phil Hammond on Monday 3rd June presents โ€˜How to Fix the NHSโ€™ and โ€˜The Ins and Outs of Pleasureโ€ฆโ€™ Iโ€™ve my own suggestions on the subject, donโ€™t get me started, but maybe add Prime Minister to Philโ€™s already impressive rรฉsumรฉ!

Wiltshire based multiโ€instrumentalist, the Edward Cross Quintet at the Assembly Rooms on Tuesday 4th June. Liz Grandโ€™s superb, funny, moving, sensitive and informative portrayal of Clementine Churchill, also on Tuesday at the Merchant Suite.

Wednesday 5th June sees English naturalist, ecologist, author and broadcaster Mike Dilger, known as the wildlife reporter on The One Show, doing a talk on One Thousand Shades of Green, his quest to find 1000 different British plants in a calendar year and assess how our flora is faring in modern Britain. Geneticist, author and broadcaster, Adam Rutherford, who frequently appears on science programmes on both radio and TV, also gives an engaging, provocative and informative talk the Arts Festival promises to be unmissable.

Hollie McNish. Image: Kat Gollock

Poet and author Hollie McNish presents her Lobster Tour on Thursday 6th June at the Town Hall; Iโ€™m just chatting about her with the legend who is Kieran J Moore, seems Hollie played Bath Komedia recently, he recommends, and you canโ€™t get a better local recommendation than that. 

The weekend sees a blues, skiffle, calypso and rockabilly mesh, apparently with a sweeping vaudeville twist, which sounds like a beguiling and exhaustive blend I must say!ย Jo Carley and the Old Dry Skulls are at the Corn Exchange Friday 7th June.

Jo Carley and the Old Dry Skulls

Londonโ€™s Cable Street Collective headline Saturday, an intriguing one, their sound mixes African-influenced guitars and beats with soulful female vocals, socially conscious lyrics and western melodies, creating an idiosyncratic alt-pop sound thatโ€™s all their own.

Sunday 9th June sees a Festival Walk into the West Woods; Sarsens, Soldiers and Sawpits. Two free fringe events, an Americana band from West Midlands called Rumour, from 2pm at the Three Crowns, and a fresh and lively approach to jazz at St Johnโ€™s Church from 7pm with the Annie Parker Trio.

The final week of the festival sees world-renowned concert pianist, Ida Pellicciolo on Monday 10th June at the Town Hall. Belinda Kirk, world-record holding explorer, researcher and a leading campaigner promoting the benefits of adventure on wellbeing, talks at the Town Hall on Tuesday, along with intrepid Antarctic explorer Tom Creanโ€™s story brought to life in a dramatic and humorous solo performance by Aidan Dooley from Play On Words Theatre Company, at the Wharf Theatre.

Two best-selling Wiltshire-based authors, Kate Webb and Jon Stock, discuss their craft at The Peppermill Hotel on Wednesday 12th June, and thereโ€™s a remarkable intimate solo guitar performance from Martin Simpson at the Corn Exchange.

Duo Tutti, a classically-trained flutist and pianist duo who combine well-known classical tunes with interesting sounds to create a unique concert that is accessible to all, at the Town Hall on Thursday. Terry Quinneyโ€™s Sound Of Blue Note accurately recreates jazz and the aesthetics which defines Blue Note Records, also on Thursday 13th June at the Town Hall.

Friday 14th June thereโ€™s an organ recital at St Johnโ€™s with award-winning organist and conductor Huw Williams, and we have the intriguingly titled Slambovian Circus of Dreams at the Corn Exchange, an electrifying live performance of moody but upbeat alt-roots rock.

The final Saturday of the Arts Festival, 15th June, we have something altogether different, hypnotist Matt Hale presents an 80s Spectacular, where Matt promises to have you partying like itโ€™s 1985, humm, whether you like it or not. Iโ€™m not sure about hypnotists, I might stand at the back!

Matt Hale. Image: DG-Imagery-3

Soulful and electrifying rhythm and blues band The Junco Shakers at the The British Lion on

Sunday 16th June at 2pm, and Clive Oseman and Nick Lovell, creators of Oooh Beehive, the number one spoken word and poetry open-mic night in Swindon, have a Wham! Bam! Poetry Slam 6pm at The Wharf Theatre; two free fringe events polishing off another spectacular Devizes Arts Festival. 

Box Office is now open, details and tickets HERE, hope to see you there!ย 

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Meet Henry, the Hollychocs’ Chocolate Duck Helping Cystic Fibrosis

Poulshot’s Award-winning chocolate studio Hollychocs is proud to launch a heartfelt charity campaign in support of the Cystic Fibrosis Trust UK, with a charming chocolate duck leading the way….. The star of the campaign is Henry Duck โ€“ a handmade chocolate duck crafted from Hollychocsโ€™ signature 45% cocoa milk chocolate and decorated in yellow andโ€ฆ

Various venues in/around D-Town โ€“ Saturday & Sunday 7/8th June 2025

Just How Big Is That Fringe? Or Two Go Myth-Busting Andy Fawthrop Weโ€™ve always held that D-Town is a great place to live, and one of the many reasons is that it punches well above its weight in terms of the arts and cultural events.ย  Just speaking to musicians and artists who visit the townโ€ฆ

Lions, KITT, Moonrakers and a Whiskey River; Sunday Stroll Around Devizes

If it’s good enough for Knight Rider it’s good enough for me. I see the Hoff ditched his Knight Industries Three Thousand on the Green for a stroll around Devizes on Sunday. He probably found a crusade to champion the cause of the innocent in a world of criminals who operate above the law, whereasโ€ฆ

Hotcakes, Wildfire, Shoesโ€ฆ. and Acid!

In the dead of night sounds in a rural environment are resonating singularities, a car in the distance or the farmer calling his herd. In an urban environment itโ€™s a cacophony, a mesh of motorways, trains and factories. Living in either you become accustomed, but to change can take adjusting. To accommodate the increase ofโ€ฆ

One Week Left to Cast Your Votes for Wiltshire Music Awards

Thatโ€™s right, lovers of local live music countywide, you have less than a week now to cast your votes for your favourite acts in our prestigious, one-of-a-kind Wiltshire Music Awards! The closing date for voting is Tuesday the 10th June, so get your thinking caps on and VOTE HERE NOW. Whoโ€™s tickled your fancy theโ€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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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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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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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

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

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 to theโ€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 which areโ€ฆ

Soupchick in the Park

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

Family Easter Holiday Events

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

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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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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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

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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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

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

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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

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.

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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

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

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

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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

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 local authorโ€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 lights switchingโ€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

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

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In Retrospect With Gary Martian

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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 

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.

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

Trending…

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!

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

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

Trending….

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

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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 decisionโ€ฆ

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 newโ€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 eventsโ€ฆ

A Sneak Peek at Devizes Arts Festival 2023

Iโ€™m having a nose at Devizes Arts Festival website, as theyโ€™ve just published this yearโ€™s line-up, which you can find HERE. Thereโ€™s a lot of stuff I donโ€™t know of this year, but thatโ€™s no bad thing, because Iโ€™m something of an uncultured swine!

This wonderful annual arts festival on our doorstep has cultured me; turned me from bonehead bozo to bohemian squire in just a few short years! Iโ€™ve discovered so much I never thought Iโ€™d like but I did, whereas before all this I was happy with a karaoke and a bag of chips!

Bearing in mind there might be a few things left to add, particularly the free fringe events, letโ€™s see whatโ€™s in store we know about, shall we? Not to get you over-excited, it isnโ€™t until 2nd June through to the 17th, and the box office opens on 28th April, unless you’re a “friend” booking for friends starts on 11th April, see here to become a member now and get ahead of the game. But you know us, letโ€™s dip a toe in the ocean now. Iโ€™ll put pretty little stars next to ones I personally think are unmissable; favouritism, I know!

It opens with some tango, at the Assembly Room of the Town Hall on Friday 2nd June, with polar adventurer and motivational speaker Sue Stockdale at St Johns Church on the Saturday, and an evening with opera star Sir Willard White with the Kymaera Duo at Corn Exchange.

The Three Crowns plays host to the first fringe event weโ€™ve got, at 2pm on the Sunday 4th, with banjo and guitar roots combo Texas Tick Fever, and one we gave a song of the week too a few months back, the amazing Ajay Srivastav is the second free fringe gig at the Cellar Bar from 7pm, this is a must for me! First star, two stars **!

Ajay Srivastav

Walks are a big part of Devizes Arts Festival, personally Iโ€™m fine walking from the Three Crowns to the Bear on a Sunday. But the Festival Walk takes you over civil war battlefield Roundway Down, which actually sounds kinda doable!

First full week sees micro-artist Graham Short at the Town Hall on Monday 5th June, and Onarole Theatreโ€™s Jesus, My Boy at the Corn Exchange on Tuesday 6th.

Welsh, Polish, and Belgian influences fuse with the Aglica Trio at the Town Hall on Wednesday 7th, and see, thatโ€™s exactly what I meant earlier when I said about discovering new things; this year is an eye-opener, gets a star! *

And letโ€™s not stop there, because the Town Hall plays host to cello and guitar duo Dieci Cordeon on the Thursday, and you donโ€™t see this everyday in D-town! Also on Thursday, actor and singer, Lucy Stevens, and pianist Elizabeth Marcus meet for A Lovely Way to Spend an Evening.

Comedy by the weekend, with someone I do know (!) BBC New Comedian Award winner at the Edinburgh Festival, Marcus Brigstocke, is at the Corn Exchange on Friday 9th June, oh yes, star! *

Tessa Dunlopโ€™s Elizabeth & Philip โ€“ A Story of Young Love, Marriage, and Monarchy kicks off Saturday 10th, at the Town Hall. Rip-roaring alt-folk with Noble Jacks at the Corn Exchange, while fringe event is at 2pm in the Condado Lounge, Jukebox James.

Itโ€™s a hard stompinโ€™, bluegrassy, old-timey start to Sunday with a free fringe event at the British Lion with The Sisters and the Brothers, (star *,) a walk along the Wansdyke, and back to the Corn Exchange for the furniture restorer from The Repair Shop, Will Kirk.

One not to miss, local blues legend, Elles Bailey Band, on Tuesday 13th June, 8pm at the Corn Exchange, this is cool, weโ€™ve not seen Elles for an age, and it will be good to welcome her back to Devizes; star, deffo! *

Elles Bailey

Also on Tuesday, author Lois Pryceโ€™s Revolutionary Ride โ€“ One Womanโ€™s Solo Motorcycle Journey around Iran at The Bear, and Wednesday sees Clive Anderson, yes Clive Anderson, chatting about Macbeth; could be one of those where are they now moments, oh, theyโ€™re in Devizes, incredible!

I mistakenly read the next one, and thought fictional female equivalent to Dan Dare, Kitty Hawke was coming, rather St Andrews Church on Thursday 15th play host to folk duo Kit Hawes and Aaron Catlow, while Chris Ingham Trio plays the Jazz of Dudley Moore at the Town Hall.

The festival draws a close with the unconventional and snappily attired boutique orchestra, Christian Garrick and the Budapest Cafรฉ Orchestra at the Corn Exchange on Friday 16th June, traditional Balkan and Russian, Iโ€™m going to star this too! *

Saturday 17th June sees a poetry workshop with Carrie Etter at the Town Hall, and the grand finale is Devonโ€™s reggae Latin funk powerhouse Malavita, which if you know be by now, they said Latin, they said reggae, Iโ€™m saving my last star for this โ€“ here it is *, and Iโ€™m there already.

The more I delve into this programme the more exciting it sounds, as ever, a refreshing break from the normal circuit, where variety knows no bounds. Well done Devizes Arts Festival, it all sounds irresistibly worthwhile looking forward to. In the meantime I’ve got to add all these to our event calendar; does it ever end?!!

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

Darren Worrow's avatar by Darren Worrow

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

Darren Worrow's avatar by Darren Worrow

REVIEW: Devizes Arts Festivalโ€™s Comedy Night @ Corn Exchange, Devizes โ€“ Friday 4th November 2022

An Early Night of Fireworks

Andy Fawthrop

Just when youโ€™re least expecting it, a crackling night of comedy suddenly looms out of the Autumn mist.ย  Here we were on a Friday night for a 400-seat sell-out of the Corn Exchange for Devizes Arts Festivalโ€™s Comedy Night.…..

And a smashing little box of crackers it was.  First up on stage, and binding the whole evening together, was compere West Country native and Bristol comic James Redmond.  Heโ€™s previously been seen on BBC TVโ€™s West Country Sitcom, and The Outlaws.  Jamesโ€™ style was laconic, laid-back and relaxed, poking gentle fun at a few of the locals up at the front.  Whilst some comperes can slightly overstay their welcome, serving only to delay the entry of the โ€realโ€ comedians, there was no danger of that here.  A few sparklers and then he was gone.

First up was Aideen McQueen, a late substitute, but no less good for that.  She proved her worth from the get-go with some hilarious material, and lived up to her reputation as one of the brightest sparks in the new generation of Irish comics.  She was cheeky, yet self-deprecating, and very funny with it, also choosing to delve into the front rows for some of her off-the-cuff impromptu material.  A real whizz-bang.

After the first interval, and some more of James Redmond, we were introduced to Stella Graham, a naturally funny stand-up comedian, writer and actor.  We learned that she was a half Sri Lankan gal from Coventry.  Plenty of riffing on lazy race stereotypes and another great set.  A Catherine Wheel of delights.

And finally, following a second chance to grab a drink at the crowded bars, was headliner of the night, the acclaimed comedian and professional hoaxer, Simon Brodkin.  Heโ€™s best known for handing Theresa May a P45 at the Conservative Party Conference and for showering Sepp Blatter with dollar bills at a FIFA press conference.   His longer set made no reference at all to these previous victories, and instead he delivered a full-powered main-stream stand-up set.  More delving into the audience, more riffing on D-Townโ€™s somewhat back-water, country-bumpkin West Country reputation.  But it was very well handled, very funny, and without malice.  A spectacular rocket display.

All four comedians were spot-on with their material, read the audience well, and made lots of new friends in the room.  And it was refreshing to hear so much wonderful material delivered without descending into mere crudity and profanity.  Of course there was some swearing, and some near-the-knuckle topics, but it was well blended in and genuinely hilarious.  An excellent show.

The audience obviously loved it, and the evening served to clearly demonstrate (yet again) that thereโ€™s a real appetite for some comedy gigs in D-Town.  Interestingly, the best gigs (from a perspective of ticket sales) during the main Devizes Arts Festival recently were the comedy gigs (remember Scummy Mummies and Alfie Moore?)  Perhaps itโ€™s time to get the old regular Comedy Club going again?

In sum – plenty of bangers, some sparklers and a real bonfire of the vanities.  And all this was delivered for a mere tenner โ€“ an absolute bargain in my book!  Great night out.

Trending…..

Devizes Arts Festival Annouce November Comedy Night with Simon Brodkin

Devizes Arts Festival pokes its head out of its nest this autumn, with a one night only comedy gig on Friday 4th November at the Corn Exchange, headlining Simon Brodkin, the genius who handed Theresa May a P45 at the Conservative Party Conference.

Hilarious at the time, but after three years of Boris Johnson, which felt like thirty, and some new spanner in number ten, I forget her name now, maybe better the devil you know. The stunt put Simon Bodkin on the mainstream comedy map, and heck, I think we all deserve a good laugh right now.

London doctor-turned-comic, and professional hoaxer, Simon Brodkin also showered Sepp Blatter with dollar bills at a FIFA press conference, and is famed for creating quirky characters, such as the annoying chav, Lee Nelson.

Supporting Simon is Stella Graham, a naturally funny stand-up comedian, writer & actor. Shameless, charmingly aggressive and unladylike, sheโ€™s the funniest half Sri Lankan gal from Coventry.

Stuart Goldsmith is an absolute top level comedian who has performed all over the world. Heโ€™s the regular studio warm-up comic for the Graham Norton Show (BBC), which is apparently even more fun than it sounds!

Compere for the evening is Bristolโ€™s finest, James Redmond, who you might have seen on BBC TVโ€™s West Country Sitcom, The Outlaws. James is a dry, slick and subtle stand up who delivers unexpected twists with a distinct West Country tinge to his routine.

“Well good” tickets are just a tenner, live from their website from 3rd October.

REVIEW โ€“ Devizes Arts Festival 2022

A Great Festival โ€“ Now What About The Future?

Andy Fawthrop

Well, the 2022 Devizes Arts Festival has now drawn to its successful close.ย  Thanks to a very determined and hard-working committee, this jewel in the D-Town crown was finally shining again.ย  Along with DOCA-led events like the International Street Festival, Carnival, Colour Rush, Lantern Parade etc, The Food & Drink Festival, the two Beer Festivals, and The Fulltone Music Festival, we are truly spoiled for the cultural life in our town.ย  We certainly punch way above our weight.….

This year the DAF ran from 9th to 25th June, a fortnight full of great entertainment โ€“ I counted 23 events at ten venues across town, showcasing a wide variety of the arts โ€“ jazz, classical, rock and country music, comedy, talks, walks.ย  Most, if not quite all, were well supported and I know that the organisers were pleased overall with ticket sales.ย  Bearing in mind that this Festival was effectively originally planned in 2019 and meant for delivery in 2020, it finally emerged blinking into the light of a post-Covid world in 2022.ย  A great job was done in rolling forward as many planned acts as possible, but there were inevitable casualties โ€“ some artists previously booked had understandably moved on and taken other bookings in the meantime.ย So, for the DAF Committee, it must have seemed a little bit like Groundhog Day in getting this thing finally done.

So what was so good about it?ย  Obviously tastes and opinions are going to differ, but attendances and ticket sales have to be a good indicator.ย  We saw some nationally-known stars โ€“ Lesley Garrett, Simon Calder, Adam Frost, Tankus The Henge, and Darius Brubeck making their way down to this part of rural Wiltshire.ย  For me, the personal highlights were The Scummy Mummies and Alfie Moore on the comedy side, and Tankus and Darius Brubeck on the musical front.ย  The spread and variety of events was impressive, the venues were well set up and organised, and the advertising was spot-on.

The things that might need a little further thought about were that some events/ venues werenโ€™t sold out, that there were not more โ€œaffordableโ€ events in the mix, and that there were only two Free Fringe events (although both were excellent and very well attended).  Perhaps these factors, and the lack of very much aimed specifically at a much younger audience, did lead to a preponderance of an (ahem) โ€œolder demographicโ€ at quite a few events.  Clearly there were a couple of exceptions (Tankus and The Scummies spring to mind), but certainly something I couldnโ€™t help but notice.

But, to be honest, a lot of this is minor quibbling.  The Festival overall was clearly an artistic success, and the DAF committee and volunteers deserve a hell of a lot of praise for getting off their arses and delivering a very high quality event in our town.  Hats off to the lot of them!

So what of the future?  What should we expect?  Already, as the dust settles on this yearโ€™s event and all the analysis starts, change is afoot.  The DAF organising committee itself is changing and evolving, as the Chair (Margaret Bryant) and Vice-chair (Vivienne Cuckow) step down from their roles.  Discussion and planning for 2023 and beyond will start shortly, with Vince McNamara and Jean Edwards stepping up to jointly fill the role of Chair.

The broad thinking at the moment is that, now that the โ€œoldโ€ Festival has been (finally) delivered, 2023 can start with an almost completely blank sheet of paper.  The decks have been cleared, and the DAF committee are back in the saddle, raring to go.  Is that too many metaphors? โ€“ probably, but you get the drift.

There are (hopefully) new venues to think of โ€“ the Palace cinema, St. Maryโ€™s, the Vaults and other pubs.  There is the possible prospect of conversations and more co-operation with other music venues in the town, and other Festival organisers โ€“ hopefully to mutual benefit.  There might well be more Free Fringe, especially on days/ times that donโ€™t conflict with or overlap the more marquee main events.  Perhaps some choirs or singing events?  Perhaps more to appeal to a younger audience?  (But probably not childrenโ€™s events – these have been tried several times in the past, but have not succeeded).   Because, whilst itโ€™s important to have an open mind, it would clearly be foolish to completely ignore the hard lessons that have been learned in the past.  Experience has to be blended with innovative thinking.  It has to be a sensible and commercial balance between the completely experimental โ€“ bringing in the exotic, the different, unexpected – and the tried-and-trusted popular bankers.

Equally, whilst itโ€™s always good to support artists from our local cultural scene, there needs to be a heavy sprinkling of national/ international stars that audiences in D-Town would never normally get to see at affordable prices.  Frankly, itโ€™s the latter that sells most of the tickets, and the acts that look good on the posters and the advertising!

So itโ€™s going to be a real tightrope walk for the new committee to get this just right.  I donโ€™t envy them, but I do sincerely wish them the very best of luck!

Does this make you feel that youโ€™d like to contribute your ideas and/ or your energy?  If so, Iโ€™m pretty sure DAF would like to hear from you โ€“ thereโ€™s plenty of work to be done to develop and shape a successful festival.  And/ or you can become a Friend of the Festival, volunteer, and โ€“ most importantly of all – buy those tickets! For more information see the Devizes Arts Festival website at www.devizesartsfestival.org.uk/

Editorโ€™s note: well, that kept our roving reporter Andy out of trouble for a fortnight! A massive thanks to you, Mr F, youโ€™ve done an astounding job covering the Devizes Arts Festival. As opposed to me who danced my socks off at the fantastic Baila La Cumbia night. Hereโ€™s to 2023!

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Autumn-Winter Comedy in Devizes

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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

REVIEW โ€“ Devizes Arts Festival โ€“ Alfie Mooreโ€™s Fair Cop Unleashed @ Corn Exchange 24th June 2022

Criminal Humour

Andy Fawthrop

The Devizes Arts Festival left it late in their programme to unleash one of its comedy big guns Friday night, but it was well worth the wait. And a huge audience packed out the Corn Exchange to witness some great comedy in action…..

Alfie Moore is a comparatively recent talent to come on to the comedy circuit, but heโ€™s already cornered the market in combining real-life police experience with a natural comedic ability. Recently retired as a police sergeant, with over twenty yearsโ€™ front-line service with our finest, he has a wealth of real-life insights and comedy moments to share.

Looking every bit the slightly overweight, world-weary copper whoโ€™s heard every excuse in the book, Alfie has developed a wry, observational comedic style, which lends itself to witty, and sometimes gritty, anecdotes based on everyday modern policing. He also proved himself to be an adept socio-political commentator and weaved this all together with his take on the comedy gold of real life, the stuff that you just canโ€™t make up.

He led us through his back-story, including his dyslexia, lack of formal education and his low self-esteem. Born and raised on a council estate in Sheffield, he was an apprentice in the steelworks before managing to join the Police, possibly through a mix-up in the paperwork. He was later inspired to take up stand-up comedy in 2007 after his first taste of live comedy at a local comedy club. He quickly became well and truly hooked, and was soon performing regularly up and down the country. (Since then he has written and performed his own one-man show at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival six times now. His BBC Radio 4 comedy series โ€˜Itโ€™s A Fair Copโ€™ debuted in July 2014 and, following exceptional feedback from listeners and media reviews, further series have since been commissioned.) Last night he was touring his latest show โ€˜Fair Cop Unleashedโ€™.

The first half consisted mostly of a general stand-up routine, getting himself into the murky world of gender politics, treading a very fine line between the acceptable and the very non-PC, beautifully rescued at the end by a great gag about having to know someoneโ€™s gender in order to know how much to pay them. There was some great stuff about police nick-names, the CPS (โ€œCouldnโ€™t Prosecute Satanโ€), and the ongoing struggle with paperwork in his Grimsby posting.

But it was the second half before he finally laid out his โ€œreal lifeโ€ incident with a mysterious and inebriated clown walking in to his police station, asking for help to find four lions lost from the circus. What followed was the tale of his hilarious attempts to make sense of it all, to work with others (armed police that he referred to as โ€œthe Milk Tray menโ€) to re-capture the four dangerous wild beasts roaming the town (he was advised โ€œtry not to look like preyโ€), whilst overcoming his genuine fear that he might actually die.

His style throughout was engaging, confidential and dead-pan. The whole thing was genuinely funny, laugh-out-loud hilarious, with the gags and asides coming thick and fast. Long and loud applause was his just reward.

The Devizes Arts Festival finished Saturday 25th June with Absolute โ€“ Last Night Celtic Party at The Corn Exchange. Devizine congratulates The Devizes Arts Festival and thanks them for putting on such an excellent programme of events, looking forward to another great summer in 2023.

Editor’s Note: I’d also like to thank Andy for his extensive coverage of the Arts Festival over the last fortnight, covering almost every event can be exhausting, but it goes a long way to show how jam-packed the Arts Festival is and the dedication from the team to provide Devizes with some quality and diverse performances.

REVIEW โ€“ Devizes Arts Festival โ€“ The Second Best Bed @ The Merchant Suite 23rd June 2022

The Plays What She Wrote

Andy Fawthrop

The Devizes Arts Festivalโ€™s presentation last night was a right little gem.…

Alright, it definitely helped if you were slightly interested in William Shakespeare and his back-story, but it certainly wasnโ€™t compulsory in order to have found this production quite fascinating. The central conceit of this compelling monologue, superbly played by Liz Grand, was that her recently-deceased husband William, that โ€œupstart crowโ€, hadnโ€™t in fact written any of his famous plays and poems at all โ€“ and that she, Anne Hathaway, was the real literary genius behind the scenes. Addressing a bust of the bard in her bed-chamber, occasionally sitting upon and referring to the eponymous second-best bed, Anne recounted in hilarious detail how the two of them had, jointly, carried off this major deception over the many years of their marriage.

The piece managed to convey both much factual (or at least conjectured) biographical detail โ€“ their marriage, the deaths of their children, the vagaries of the court and the theatrical players of their times โ€“ as well as the comic flights of fancy that constructed the central myth of bardโ€™s true authorship. Her description of her trips to London, disguised as a man, to see her own plays performed on the stage, and debated in the taverns, whilst passing unrecognised by her oblivious and complacent husband were hilarious. And to later catch him in flagrante with not just one, but two, whores, just proved to her that her that the man was none too bright.

Anne, now widowed, spoke of her regret that her contribution, indeed her literary genius, had not been recognised. It was not now enough, following Williamโ€™s death, to simply claim authorship since no-one would ever believe her. It would have needed Will to admit the deception, to corroborate the deceit, whilst he was still alive. And the chance of that had now gone forever. She railed at her ex-hubby โ€“ a man who couldnโ€™t even spell his own name the same way twice โ€“ for having taken all the credit.

There was some clever stuff here if you listened carefully, with many famous lines from both the plays and the sonnets freely scattered in among the scripted lines, and some hilarious explanations of why certain things had been written the way they had. Indeed one of the highlights towards the end was the now-dead Bard arguing with his own genius wife about why sheโ€™d written the various roles of the playsโ€™ heroes and heroines the way she had. Richard III, Macbeth, Hamlet, Lear, Othello, and all the flawed tragic men were swiftly eviscerated, and the roles of the women โ€“ Lady Macbeth, Juliet, Desdemona, Cordelia, the โ€œDark Ladyโ€ and the rest โ€“ were all grounded in the lives and feelings of real, oppressed women.

Both the script, and Liz Grandโ€™s performance, were a tour de force, eagerly lapped up by an appreciative audience. An entertaining and instructive evening all round.

The Devizes Arts Festival continues only for two more days until Saturday 25th June at various venues across town. Tickets can be booked at Devizes Books or online at www.devizesartsfestival.org.uk

REVIEW โ€“ Devizes Arts Festivalโ€“ Darius Brubeck Quartet @ The Corn Exchange 22nd June 2022

โ€œNiceโ€

Andy Fawthrop

The Devizes Arts Festival rolls on, and I was just thinking that it was high time that we had some proper jazz in the programme. To satisfy this so-far unfilled gap, DAF had managed to secure the services of top-notch international outfit The Darius Brubeck Quartet. Darius, of course, is the son of the famous Dave Brubeck.

Looking and sounding somewhat bemused to find themselves in the heart of rural Wiltshire, and a long way from the fleshpots of that there London, the band turned up smartly booted and suited, glad to be out on the road again playing the music that they love.

Darius himself is an American jazz pianist, composer, author and retired professor residing in the UK. Paying tribute to his fatherโ€™s music in the jazz masterโ€™s centenary year, Darius had teamed up with saxophonist Dave Oโ€™Higgins, bassist Matt Ridley and drummer Wesley Gibbens. Not surprisingly, this was their Devizes debut, after playing critically acclaimed international tours and sold-out shows at major jazz houses in London.

The concert included Dariusโ€™s own compositions, some pieces influenced by and written by his South African students, as well as some well-loved Dave Brubeck hits, culminating in probably the most recognisable piece of the evening: the sublime โ€œTake Fiveโ€.

Darius himself, quietly spoken, dapper and urbane, introduced each piece. The quartetโ€™s mutual understanding and interaction was much in evidence, each musician contributing in laid-back fashion, and giving respectful musical breathing space to the others. Each piece was a delight, clear and unfussy, providing a concert that was certainly โ€œcoolโ€ and, in the words of Louis Balfour of The Fast Show โ€œniceโ€. As might have been expected, Dariusโ€™ piano and Daveโ€™s saxophone were very much to the fore in most of the pieces, although there was time for both bass and drum solos.

Overall a very enjoyable evening listening to jazz of the highest calibre.

The Devizes Arts Festival continues for the next few days until 25th June at various venues across town. Tickets can be booked at Devizes Books or online at http://www.devizesartsfestival.org.uk

REVIEW โ€“ Devizes Arts Festivalโ€“ Simon Calder @ The Corn Exchange 21st June 2022

Travel Tales

Andy Fawthrop

Well, weโ€™re on to week two of the Devizes Arts Festival, but thereโ€™s been no let-up, as the entertainment continues to come thick and fast. Following Florian Felcittaโ€™s wonderful Free Fringe performance in the Three Crowns on Sunday afternoon, and yesterdayโ€™s highly entertaining talk from gardening expert Adam Frost, last night it was the turn of The Independentโ€™s travel writer and commentator Simon Calder.

I suppose there was a deep irony at play in Simon coming to D-Town, a place that last saw a rail service back in the 1960s, and which โ€œenjoysโ€ the bus services of a third-world country. Added to which, of course, was the added insult of it being the first day of the national rail strike. Simonโ€™s day had started very early (as early as that of our esteemed milky editor) in his attempt to catch the first (still running) train of the day from London to Gatwick. And even then, his only purpose in being at Gatwick at sparrowโ€™s cough was to be aboard the first Gatwick Express back to London, just so that he could report on the experience for various TV and radio stations. His quest turned out to be forlorn โ€“ the first train failed to run (staff shortages), and the second one only managed ten miles before it broke down. It was the start of a day which, he remarked in an understated stage whisper, had โ€œgone completely Tango Uniformโ€. If you donโ€™t know, Google it.

Following that, heโ€™d made his way via Swindon, and the rigours of the cross-country 49 bus, to finally haul up in The Vize โ€“ and there were plenty of graphic pictures to prove it, including a shot of him in Tea Inc. doing yet another media despatch. Having played this early sympathy card, and got the near-capacity audience fully on-side, Simon was off on his more standard presentation on the life of a travel journalist, using photos of funny signs from around the world, personal travel experiences, and his reflections on such issues as the Covid travel restrictions, and the sub-optimal outcomes (for travellers at least) of Brexit.

His style was confident and brisk, with quips, asides and much dry humour in evidence. He was deft in praising the charms of D-Town, whilst playing to the gallery by snarking at Melksham, Swindon and Trowbridge. Heโ€™d done his homework all right. The main presentation having concluded, Simon spent a good half hour fielding audience-generated questions (ably delivered by DAF Chair Margaret Bryant) and providing helpful and hilarious advice on topics as wide as Avios points, best and worst places to visit, when to board an aircraft, the quality of airline catering, the value of rail travel, tourism in post-conflict Ukraine, and the feasibility (or otherwise) of electric planes.

An altogether professional and entertaining evening, and another coup for DAF in getting a media personality down to our neck of the woods.

The Devizes Arts Festival continues for the next few days until 25th June at various venues across town. Tickets can be booked at Devizes Books or online at www.devizesartsfestival.org.uk

REVIEW โ€“ Devizes Arts Festival FREE FRINGE โ€“Florian Felcitta @ Three Crowns 19th June 2022

Superb Talent In The Afternoon

Andy Fawthrop

Another day, and yet another Arts Festival presentation at a different D-Town venue. This afternoon it was the turn of The Three Crowns to host a Free Fringe presentation in their wonderful courtyard. And what a delicious Sunday afternoon treat it was.….

Florian Felcitta is a young man who, in my mind at least, is going places. An extremely accomplished guitarist, who plays modern folk/ gypsy/ jazz, gave an absolute masterclass in how to engage and entertain a Sunday afternoon audience. Modest, self-deprecating, and thoroughly charming to boot, he worked his way through two superb sets of material. With no vocals, but merely relying on his sheer artistry of the guitar strings to produce accomplished instrumental versions of some great pop and rock tunes, the performance was absolutely captivating. Challenging his audience from the outset to effectively โ€œname that tuneโ€, he largely lost his ยฃ1000 per tune bets as his listeners homed in on the key melodies. We had hits from Fleetwood Mac, Stevie Wonder, Ed Sheeran, Django Reinhardt, Michael Jackson, Guns & Roses, Tom Petty and many others. But absolutely like youโ€™ve never heard them before.

His guitar skills were superb. Aided by a modest use of loops and pedals, which he never allowed to dominate, he managed to produce a beautiful and very laid-back performance. The audience, despite being in the middle of a very busy pub serving lunches, were never distracted and paid full attention to every song and every introduction. It was stripped back, it was accomplished, and it was very, very good indeed. Hopefully weโ€™ll see and hear much more of this wonderful artist in the future. Iโ€™m old and cynical, and not easily impressed these days, but this performance was absolutely spot-on. Highly recommended.

And, yet again, well done to DAF for putting this event on. The fact that it was FREE was just the icing on the cake!

The Devizes Arts Festival continues every day until 25th June at various venues across town. Tickets can be booked at Devizes Books or online at www.devizesartsfestival.org.uk

REVIEW โ€“ Devizes Arts Festival โ€“The Homing @ Conservative Club 17th June 2022

A Game of Two Halves

Andy Fawthrop

Another day, another Arts Festival presentation. Following classical, rock, comedy, it was time for something completely different โ€“ this time it was alt-country/ folk/ Americana from London-based The Homing, and yet another different D-Town venue. We were up at the Con Club in Long Street, normally home to the very successful Long Street Blues Club. The place was pretty full and, due to the lack of any air-conditioning, a very hot place to be.

The Homing are: Dani Somerside (vocals, percussion), June Brawner (vocals, keyboards, guitar, mandolin), with Abraham Kane (acoustic and electric guitars), Rob Navrati (drums, vocals) and
Arnold Carrete (bass).

This concert, for me at least, was a game of two halves. In the first half the band struggled to reach its stride and to generate much enthusiasm, either on stage or in the audience. The songs were pleasant enough and competently performed, but the vibe was steady and plodding, rather than exciting. Slow and medium tempo numbers ran into one another, and it was a relief to get to half time.

After the break things were different. I donโ€™t know if there was a hairdryer moment in the dressing room, or whether this is just how their shows usually run. But suddenly there was a flash of that missing spark. They lifted the tempo a few notches and, hey presto, the dance-floor quickly filled up. There were still the odd mis-steps in the set-list as the band, inexplicably, twice cleared a busy dance-floor by doing a long rambling intro, followed by another slow one. However, they kept rescuing it, and we just about reached the finishing-line with a guarded thumbs up.

Not the best gig Iโ€™ve been to, to be honest, but you canโ€™t like everything. A better-ordered set-list, a couple more upbeat numbers, and slightly less chat might have lifted this performance to โ€œgoodโ€. It was an enjoyable night out (just), but I was left feeling that it could have been rather better than it actually was. Oh, and I wouldnโ€™t have called this Americana or alt-country either โ€“ more like soft/ folk-rock. Not massively important in the grand scheme of things, but we do worry about our labels donโ€™t we?

The Devizes Arts Festival continues every day until 25th June at various venues across town. Tickets can be booked at Devizes Books or online at www.devizesartsfestival.org.uk

REVIEW โ€“ Devizes Arts Festival โ€“The Scummy Mummies @ Corn Exchange 16th June 2022

Scum In The Corn Exchange

Andy Fawthrop

Well weโ€™ve had plenty of music, chats and walks so far in the Devizes Arts Festival, so it was about time that a comedy monster raised its ugly head in our lovely town.ย  And, as they say, if youโ€™re going to do comedy, best get out there and do it big.ย  And it doesnโ€™t come much bigger, better and more well-known than the Scummy Mummies…..

For those who donโ€™t know – Ellie Gibson and Helen Thorn originally joined forces to become The Scummy Mummies back in 2013.  Since then they have gone on to produce an award-winning podcast, a popular book, and their own range of merchandise.  They have an ever-growing social media presence, with more than 160,000 followers on Instagram.  There are now over 200 episodes of The Scummy Mummies Podcast, and they have been downloaded more than 5 million times in 150 countries.  The show has featured in โ€œBest Podcastโ€ lists in The Guardian, the Sunday Times, and The Telegraph.  

So taking the next logical step to create The Scummy Mummies as a live comedy show, packed with sketches, songs, and top quality boob jokes, came almost as an inevitability.  In 2019 they made their Edinburgh Festival debut, selling out the entire 25-night run and earning a five-star review.

And last night, the show rolled into D-Town and, not to be outdone by some mere provincial town in Scotland, was a sell-out.  400 or so folks packed into the Corn Exchange.  Iโ€™m guessing that there were a lot of dads across town looking after their children, cowering in the darkness, and wondering about how exactly to load the dish-washer, since about 95% of the audience were of the female persuasion.  This was like the biggest prosecco-fuelled hen-party on earth.  The air was thick with the aroma from competing waves of oestrogen and HRT patches, and it was almost over-whelming to we few cowering, intimidated males who had dared to put in an appearance.  Make no mistake – this was a BIG girlsโ€™ night out, the WAGs moving en masse, and woe betide anyone who got in their way.

And of course, it was everything the crowd had been expecting โ€“ potty-mouthed sketches, observations and songs on all the obvious themes and targets โ€“ the failings of men, sex, childbirth, domesticity, parenthood, body issues, you name it.  Every target was greeted with loud hoots and cheers of recognition and sisterhood solidarity.  Subtle and sophisticated it was not โ€“ but it was absolutely, side-splittingly, laugh-out-loud, bloody hilarious.  Ellie and Helen were absolutely superb at picking their targets and (male) victims from the audience, riffing and improvising on familiar themes of failed expectations, canโ€™t-be-arsed attitudes, and rapidly-waning interests in other things in life than wine and sex.  I almost felt sorry for poor Phil and Dave sitting up at the front.  But not very sorry, to be honest.  It was excruciating at times, yet never nasty or vicious, just deeply funny.

Musical mash-ups featuring ABBA, Cher, Love Island, RuPaul, and the Nineties were great set pieces, together with sketches about baby-books, hair waxing, the horny-versus-hungry dilemma, and the โ€œbeautyโ€ industry.  But the best bits in my view were the observational stand-up sessions, and the games (โ€œI have neverโ€ฆโ€ and the โ€œconfessionโ€ cards), which were generated by the D-Town audience itself, and led to the best impromptu comedy from both women.  And finally the โ€œscum-ometerโ€ revealed the โ€œscummiest mummy in Devizesโ€, and then we were done.  Huge, huge cheers and applause was the justified response.

I think (I hope) itโ€™s probably safe for the chaps to come out now, but be afraid โ€“ very afraid!

What an absolutely fabulous night out โ€“ great entertainment, and two hours of belly-laughs.  Well done DAF for throwing this absolute gem into the mix.

The Devizes Arts Festival continues every day until 25th June at various venues across town.  Tickets can be booked at Devizes Books or online at www.devizesartsfestival.org.uk 

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Devizes International Blues Festival in January

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

The Juggernaut Delivers Back at The Southgate

If there’s been welcomed stand-ins for the monthly Jon Amor Trio residency at the Southgate in Devizes recently, Ruzz Evans and Eddie Martin, Jon โ€œthe juggernautโ€ returned from a break to deliver ten or more bulky pallets of sublime unadulterated blues to our own Sunday juke-jointโ€ฆthat’s how you do it, Devizes style! Do we needโ€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 Ray Records on 13th September 2024โ€ฆโ€ฆ Nick Fletcher and Tim Emery, aka, Deadlight Dance, stripped back a collection of their favourite new wave-goth classics and recorded them at the 12th centuryโ€ฆ

Personal Recommendations For Swindon Shuffle

Supporters of local live music know, least they should do by now, that Swindon is the place to head this following weekend, 12th-15th September, because it’s that time of year when Swindon gets shufflingโ€ฆ. Yep, The Swindon Shuffle is the town’s longest running ever-growing music festival, taking place over multiple venues and it’s free saveโ€ฆ

Tickets for Calne Music & Arts Festival on Sale Now

Running from the 4th to 13th October, The Calne Music & Arts Festival celebrates its 50th anniversary, and tickets for the varied events are on sale nowโ€ฆ. Arts Festival President Carole Browne said, โ€œin the year that we celebrate our 50th anniversary, our Patron, Dame Judith Weir, who was composer in residence at the 1975โ€ฆ

โ€œTalking Headsโ€ at the Wharf Theatre September 2ndโ€“7th 2024

by Ian DiddamsImages by Chris Watkins Media Alan Bennet wrote his series of monologues in 1988 and 1998, with two more in 2019, centring on, though not confined to, stories of โ€œNorthernโ€ women, based allegedly on characters he had known in his life, particularly his formative years. The Wharf Theatre has kicked off its autumnโ€ฆ

Pantomime Audition at The Wharf Theatre, Devizes

Auditions for this year’s pantomime at The Wharf Theatre in Devizes are on Sunday 8th September at 2.30pm, at the theatre; could you make a great Hansel, Gretel, or maybe, dare I say it, a wicked witch?! Yes, this year’s panto is all gingerbread houses in dark forests, and Officer Button and Mrs Brooke Bondโ€ฆ

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

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

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

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

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

Barry Ashworth, one half of the mighty big beat pioneers The Dub Pistols is heading to Devizes in November for a DJ set at our fantastic Caribbean holiday at home rum bar, The Muck & Dunderโ€ฆ. Dance music in the UK came of age in the mid-nineties. Subgenres blossomed from the rave scene, but leftโ€ฆ

REVIEW โ€“ Devizes Arts Festival โ€“ Quentin Crisp โ€“ Naked Hope @ Corn Exchange 15th June 2022

Lessons In Life!

Andy Fawthrop

The Devizes Arts Festival continues to offer us a wide range of arts performances.ย  After several, and varied, musical offerings over the past few days, last night was the time to dial things down a little, and to present something completely different and much more personally engaging.….

The Merchants Suite (aka the Corny Bin aka Exchange Night Club on weekend club nights) had been transformed by way of seating and lighting into an intimate theatre-like venue for this most personal of dramatic presentations, given by Mark Farrelly.  His self-scripted show โ€œQuentin Crisp โ€“ Naked Hopeโ€ โ€“ was an absolute tour de force.  The words, largely lifted from Crispโ€™s 1968 autobiography โ€œThe Naked Civil Servantโ€, and previously in the mouth of the wonderful John Hurt in the 1975 TV adaptation, were wonderfully brought to life again.

The performance fell into three connected pieces.  We began with the younger Crisp, London-based, speaking in his high affected drawl, explaining his early life as โ€œa camp, affected, homo-sexualโ€ making his way through school, art school and the early London gay scene.  Several incidents were played out using different voices to illustrate how contempt and negativity conspired to shape his views.  The scene with the draft sergeant when he turned up, hair freshly hennaโ€™d, to try and enlist in the Army at the outbreak of war, was top-notch.

The second monologue was, following a swift on-stage clothes-change and transformation, featured the New-York-based 80-year-old, now gravel-voiced media personality.  His deliberate playing to a โ€œclubโ€ audience was both clever and knowing, tired and yet hopeful.  His schtick now alternating between an almost stand-up comedian, and a world-weary philosopher of life.  The section ended with some showbiz-style audience participation (from the helpful Phil), using prepared questions on cards to elicit prepared answers which reflected Crispโ€™s views on life.

And then it was over and the audience applauded.  But was it really over?  In an impromptu third section, usually reserved for those who would like to beard him the bar afterwards (but the bar being closed), Mark dropped out of character and became himself.  In what was to prove to be the most affecting section, he revealed the true story of his own naked hope that had emerged ten years ago after โ€œa year from hellโ€ which had seen the break-up of a long-term relationship, and the suicide of a close friend.  His misery and despair at that time had been finally counteracted, at least in part, by the picture and the writings of Crisp.  In saving his own soul (as he saw it), he vowed to help others recover from the lowest pitch.  His own philosophy โ€“ that hope is always better than despair โ€“ reflects that of Crisp.

It was a truly moving and worthwhile personal coda to what had largely been a light and witty in-character monologue.  In my view, Farrelly should always include this section, and never leave it just for the ears of the bar-flies.

In sum, this was a great show, full of witty bon mots, aphorisms and quotable quotes (many worthy of that other famous early gay icon Oscar Wilde).  It was a set of โ€œrulesโ€ for living โ€“ live your own life, be yourself, let the world come to you, donโ€™t conform to societyโ€™s norms, and never look backwards or forwards โ€“ only โ€œinsideโ€ yourself.

A cracking eveningโ€™s entertainment.

The Devizes Arts Festival continues every day until 25th June at various venues across town.ย  Tickets can be booked at Devizes Books or online at www.devizesartsfestival.org.ukย 

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Get ‘Lifted’ by Chandra

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

Local Book Review: Dadโ€™s New Dress

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REVIEW โ€“ Devizes Arts Festival โ€“Borealis Saxophone Quartet @ St Andrewโ€™s Church 16th June 2022

Sax in Church

Andy Fawthrop

OK itโ€™s a clickbait headline, but now youโ€™re here, thereโ€™s more good news to report.…

If you look upon The Devizes Arts Festival as a box of chocolates, this particular concert was a sweet little surprise โ€“ an additional lunchtime treat if you will, a chocolate to be enjoyed with a nice cup of (free) tea or coffee (thanks to the grand volunteers at St Andrewโ€™s).

St Andrewโ€™s church is a light, pleasant airy space, and an ideal venue for this sort of lunchtime concert, and it was good to see the Festival making good use of additional venues around the town.

The Borealis Saxophone Quartet is an award-winning chamber ensemble, led by Alastair Penman (soprano saxophone), with the other three members on alto, tenor and baritone saxophones.ย  They played a varied hourโ€™s programme featuring contemporary & recently commissioned pieces, together with more well-known items by Bach, Gershwin, Rossini and Bernstein/ Sondheim.ย  Hence we had extracts from West Side Story, and the William Tell Overture (the โ€œLone Rangerโ€ theme for our more childish readers; Editor’s Note: That’s a-me!)

As one might have expected from such experienced and professional musicians, this was an immaculately performed concert, full of brightness and verve.  All the pieces were well received by an appreciative audience, and the final applause was justifiably fulsome.

All of DAFโ€™s offerings so far have been exceptionally good, and this one just kept their good run going.  Short and sweet, but an excellent concert. 

The Devizes Arts Festival continues every day until 25th June at various venues across town.  Tickets can be booked at Devizes Books or online at www.devizesartsfestival.org.uk 

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Marlborough, I’ve Seen Your Pants

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Ruzz Up The Gate!

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REVIEW โ€“ Devizes Arts Festival โ€“ Tankus The Henge @ Corn Exchange 14th June 2022

Absolutely Stonking!

Andy Fawthrop


The Devizes Arts Festival stepped up several gears last night with an absolutely explosive performance from the musical phenomenon that is Tankus The Henge.…..

The powerhouse 7-piece hit the stage running, immediately injecting energy, noise, fun and bombast into a dull Devizes Tuesday night. This is a band that is almost impossible to categorise, but why on earth should that matter?

โ€œEclecticโ€ is probably the best I can come up with, combining influences from all over the musical spectrum, and all over the world. Thereโ€™s soul, funk, blues, jazz, psychedelic all there in the mix, one minute evoking the stinking swamps of New Orleans, the next minute a Berlin bordello, and then on to vaudeville and cabaret. You can hear Tom Waits, Dexys, Madness, Audience and the late and long-missed Alex Harvey.

Up front Jaz Delorean was the ultimate showman, not only leading the band on vocals and piano, but egging on his band-mates to greater and greater efforts. His boogie-woogie piano, often shifting into almost ragtime, combined with physical and actual pyrotechnics โ€“ the tilting piano, the clouds of smoke, the climbing acrobatics โ€“ provided an arresting front-piece to a very, very good band. These guys were happy to give out the appearance of a ramshackle, fun-loving, loose band, but make no mistake, they were an extremely tight and well-rehearsed unit. The rhythm section drove the juggernaut, and the three-man brass section did all the wheelies. The moves were dramatic and choreographed, theatrical and expressive, and a grand visual foil to the musical shenanigans.

But, like any really good band, they were no mere one trick pony. Never afraid to dial it down for a while, drop the tempo and the volume, they took the audience with them every step of the way. Love songs were mixed with crowd-pleasing call-and-response anthems, before the full wall-of-sound came belting back at you again.

Tankus themselves describe what they do as โ€œGonzo rock & rollโ€, and I guess that summed it up – – bonkers, anarchic, fusion, bizarre, batshit-crazy stuff. And it was absolutely wonderful, drawing enormous applause from the dancing crowd.

And so good to see people of all ages and generations there amongst the crowd. I suppose with such a catalogue of styles it would be hard not to at least please some of the people some of the time. With a full 90-minute rollercoaster, high-energy set, Tankus have certainly lifted the bar in D-Town for sheer enjoyment and entertainment.

Iโ€™ve no idea how much these guys got paid (and Iโ€™m not asking) but whatever it was, Tankus absolutely earned their money. They must be one of the most hard-working bands on the circuit. This wasnโ€™t so much a performance, as complete on-stage energy blow-out. It was a musical statement made in the boldest of colours and loud sounds. It was never subtle, but OMG it was soooo good! Bonkers but brilliant!

The Devizes Arts Festival continues every day until 25th June at various venues across town. Tickets can be booked at Devizes Books or online at www.devizesartsfestival.org.uk

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Cotswold Water Park to be Renamed

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REVIEW โ€“ Devizes Arts Festival โ€“ Leonore Piano Trio @ Town Hall 13th June 2022

A Real Classic

Andy Fawthrop


Itโ€™s taken a lot of resolve and a lot of hard work and planning to get Devizes Arts Festival back on the road after two enforced years away due to that C-thing, so it was great to get back to business as usual. And the good folks of D-Town have responded well by turning out for the first few events.….

Lesley Garrett at the Corn Exchange (โ€œA Diva and a Pianoโ€) was a cracking start with the hall full and Lesley herself on sparkling and witty form. Iโ€™m not a personal fan of her singing style, but it was well worth the time just listening to her down-to-earth humour, and her genuinely funny stories. Superb entertainment.

Since then weโ€™ve had Baila La Cumba, South American music (reviewed earlier here on Devizine by Darren) and the first free Fringe event with Rockinโ€™ Billy at The British Lion on Sunday

Which brings us to Monday and our first piece of classical music programming. The Leonore Piano Trio, first formed in 2012, consists of Benjamin Nabarro (violin), Tim Horton (piano), and Gemma Rosefield (cello). Each of them is an acclaimed soloist, having played with many famous orchestras and musical projects around the world. And last night it was a pleasure to welcome them to the beautiful setting of the Town Hall.

An almost-full room were treated to three pieces. The first, and perhaps most familiar was Haydnโ€™s XV:25 in G major (Gypsy Rondo) โ€“ a lively and upbeat three-movement work. Second up was the far less familiar four-movement work by Bargiel โ€“ Trio in F, a work which the group have been recently recording. And, following the interval, Mendelssohnโ€™s Trio in D minor. For me it was this last piece which struck the deepest chord, with a passionate and romantic first movement, and a wonderful short, sparkling scherzo as its third movement.

To my untrained ear, it was all pitch-perfect. The trio played with spark and intelligence, bringing real feeling to the pieces and, to quote a somewhat unreliable source, played all the right notes in the right order. It was a wonderful, uplifting and entertaining evening. And, as we are fairly starved of classical music in Devizes, a very welcome opportunity to hear three world-class musicians perform in our little town. A thoroughly enjoyable night out.

And thereโ€™s plenty more yet to come with the best part of two weeksโ€™ worth of events still to happen, yet again nailing the increasingly redundant myth that โ€œnothing ever happens in Devizesโ€. Itโ€™s good to see this major cultural Arts Festival firmly back in the calendar.

And this is just the Devizes Arts Festival! โ€“ donโ€™t forget that thereโ€™s plenty of other stuff happening during that same two weeks โ€“ Wadworthโ€™s Music (Wadfest), Saddleback Music Festival and Jim Blair solo at The Southgate โ€“ and thatโ€™s just on Saturday. See elsewhere on Devizine for a complete guide as to whatโ€™s on where and when. Get yourselves out there and see some live music!!

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A Perfect Picnic in the Park

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Devizes Arts Festival Coming Back

After the wonderful winter stop-gap between the void of lockdown and this coming summer, Devizes Arts Festival is back with a full programme of events running from Friday 10th to Saturday 25th June.

Please check their website for full details, but allow me to least give you a quick rundown.….

A Diva and a Piano with Britainโ€™s most popular soprano Lesley Garrett starts us off at the Corn Exchange on Friday 10th June. Sunday Times and New York Times bestselling writer of crime fiction Sophie Hannah is at the Town Hall Saturday 11th June with Agatha, Poirot & Me.

Saturday night is my kind of night, cumbia night at Corn Exchange, as phenomenal 10-piece Cumbia band, Baila La Cumbia takes you right back to the dance halls of Colombia, and Sunday theyโ€™ve a walk, and a free fringe event at the British Lion; Rip It up with Rockinโ€™ Billy, one big sounding three-piece Rockโ€™nโ€™roll Rockabilly band from Somerset, from 1pm.

Leonore Piano Trio starts the week off on Monday 13th June. The Leonore Piano Trio brings together three internationally acclaimed artists whose piano trio performances as part of Ensemble 360 were met with such enthusiastic response that they decided to form a piano trio in its own right

London based, five wheeled, funk fuelled, open top, custom paint job, rock โ€˜nโ€™ roll jalopy, Tankus the Henge at the Corn Exchange on Tuesday 14th June, and Wednesday sees Quentin Crisp: Naked Hope with Mark Farrelly in the Merchant Suite, a solo show which has toured the UK ever since it was first previewed in Edinburgh in 2014. Starting in the late 1960s Quentin surveys a lifetime of degradation and rejection in his filthy Chelsea flat. Repeatedly beaten for being flamboyantly gay as early as the 1930s, but also ostracised for daring to live life on his own terms.

Borealis Saxophone Quartet on Thursday 16th June at St Andrews Church, and what was promised prior to lockdown for 2020, The Scummy Mummies Show is at the Corn Exchange.

The Homing, an up-and-coming London band riding the wave of the alt-Country revival, wave it into the Conservative Club on Friday June 17th, and you can Meet Nicci French, the pseudonym of husband and wife writing team Nicci Gerard and Sean French, British fictionโ€™s most famous double-acts at the Town Hall on Saturday 18th June.

Our good Liverpudlian friend, Asa Murphy presents The Song-Writing Years at the Corn Exchange on Saturday too. Asa now sets out on a tour which focusses on his own unique song-writing talents, backed by a fantastic live band. While Sunday has a free fringe event at Three Crowns, astonishingly accomplished jazz guitarist Florian Felcitta.

Onto the final week of the festivities, and thereโ€™s An Audience with Adam Frost Monday 20th June at Corn Exchange, Britainโ€™s leading travel commentator Simon Calder on the Tuesday.

Paying tribute to his fatherโ€™s music in the jazz masterโ€™s centenary year, pianist and composer Darius Brubeck teams up with saxophonist Dave Oโ€™Higgins, bassist Matt Ridley and drummer Wesley Gibbens for their Devizes debut after critically acclaimed international tours and sold-out shows at major jazz houses in London, on Wednesday 22nd June at the Corn Exchange.

The Second-Best Bed with Liz Grand is in the Merchant Suite on Thursday 23rd June, a frank, humourous and revealing monologue where the audience gets to know Shakespeare like never before, through the eyes of his wife.

BBC Radio 4โ€™s cop-turned-comedian Alfie Moore brings his latest stand-up tour show to the Corn Exchange, Friday 24th June. And the grand finale is an Organ Recital with Claudia Grinnell, Saturday 25th June at St Johnโ€™s Church and a Celtic Party Night, Absolute, at the Corn Exchange. Absolute are an Irish party band bringing their own unique mix of traditional and modern Irish favourites, with a few classics thrown in for good measure.

Tickets go on sale online on April 29th and from the ticket office in Devizes Books on May 3rd.

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Devizes Arts Festivalโ€™s Soulful Finale

Featured image by Gail Foster

Youโ€™d be forgiven for assuming Iโ€™m reviewing a greyhound race with this introduction, for akin to snapping open the starting traps, it was a fraction of second after Motown Gold played the inaugural bar of The Temptationsโ€™ My Girl at the Devizes Corn Exchange Friday evening, that the first punter broke the dancefloor barrier, and a surfeit of dancers followed his lead.

Usually a summer occasion, Devizes Arts Festival succeeded lockdownโ€™s gap year with this arts festival โ€œlite,โ€ consisting of three main events and a sprinkling of free fringe ones across the town; weโ€™ve never had a November this good. The interim mini-festival came to a soulful finale with six-piece function band Motown Gold, who professionally and passionately delivered some classic soul covers.

Image: Gail Foster

Since day dot Devizes Arts Festival have inundated us with quality original acts, from music, dance, comedy, talks and so much more. To stage a covers function band might well be faced with some reproach, from those who didnโ€™t attend and see the speed the mature audience jumped the dancefloor; call Norris McWhirter, I think weโ€™ve a world record on our hands!

Ha, itโ€™s as if many havenโ€™t had the opportunity to shake their tailfeathers for a year or more, which they havenโ€™t, ergo Devizes Arts Festival in all actual fact, perfectly picked their grand finale, because despite the creativity of originally crafted music, sometimes we all need to throw caution to the wind and dance our cares away to classics we know and cherish.

Image: Andy Fawthrop

The standard model of bassist and lead guitar, drums, keys and one saxophonist, with a female and male singer accepted, because they delivered the songs with wow-factor, onus largely on the magnificent vocal range of both, but in turn the glitzy professionalism and tightness of the bandโ€™s bonding. To book Motown Gold for your wedding would end in one heck of a memorable occasion, being a cut sky-high above the average.

Image: Andy Fawthrop

That said, for authenticity of the Motown sound, it was absent of various elements. Backing singers wouldโ€™ve done wonders, an upfront brass section too, for the saxophonist sounded a smidgen lost without the celebrated trumpeters of Motownโ€™s in-house band, The Funk Brothers. And if it failed to fulfil my โ€œbrass-is-classโ€ precept, the one missing component most important is the tambourine of Jack Ashford. Forget modern metronome methods, the tambourine man was the time-keeper in this era of yore, so if you crave authenticity, the tambourine is crucial within a classic soul tribute.

Image: Gail Foster

Entering trainspotting mode, Iโ€™d also noted not every song was Motown, rather the band selected a wide-ranging repertoire from Stax to eighties RnB, such as Rufus & Chaka Khan, Sister Sledge, et all. But each one a danceable favourite, and executed with faultless precision, it really didn’t matter one, or even half an iota. So much so, my carping is trivial, Iโ€™ll put my handbag away.

Image: Andy Fawthrop

The essence is the pleasing performance, the joyful spirit of the crowd, the lights and eras-spanning retrospection, and it undoubtedly set the Corn Exchange alight with an unforgettable ambience, resulting in a brilliant finale to Devizes Arts Festivalโ€™s interim mini-festival, and leaves our jawbone firmly on the floor in anticipation for what they have in store for summer 2022. Though I hinted, they were giving away no secrets yet!

Devizes Arts Festival Team. Image by Gail Foster

If thereโ€™s one thing, we all need right now, itโ€™s a good olโ€™ carefree, soul shakedown party. The proof was in the pudding, a grand night was had, the perfect end to what has been a gratefully welcomed Arts Festival for the town. One which Devizine needs to wrap up with a concluding article encompassing all the events into one feature, but right now, Iโ€™m still imagining myself doing watusi like my little Lucy, with the memory of a great night out-out!

Image: Gail Foster

REVIEW โ€“ Sally Barker @ Town Hall, Devizes โ€“ Saturday 13th November 2021

Joni & Sandy at Devizes Arts Festival

Andy Fawthrop

The Devizes Arts Festival continues!ย  Following Thursday nightโ€™s bash at The Corn Exchange with Ronnie Scottโ€™s Jazz Club, it was time for my second event in DAFโ€™s mini-programme.ย  This meant a change of both venue and of genre โ€“ this time it was folk music at The Town Hall.….

Sally Barker has been around the folk scene for decades, working solo, in duets and various collaborations/ groups (The Poozies, the reformed Fotheringay, The Sandy Denny Project).  She has toured extensively, and played as support act to most of the UKโ€™s folk aristocracy at one time or another (Steeleye Span, Gordon Giltrap, Roy Harper, Richard Thompson, Taj Mahal, Richard Digance, Fairport Convention, Bob Dylan, Robert Plant).  More recently, in โ€˜The Voice UK’, she was Tom Jones’ finalist on the BBC TV programme in 2014, reducing Sir Tom, and viewers alike, to tears with her flawless performances.

Her focus for much of this time was on singing her own material, but in more recent years (for a variety of reasons), she has tended to focus on playing and interpreting the songs of both Joni Mitchell and Sandy Denny.

And thus it was we got the show entitled โ€œJoni, Sandy and meโ€, wherein Sally gave us many of the songs of those two fabulous (but very different) famous female artistes.ย  Sally herself summed up the distinction between the styles of the two songwriters early on her show.ย  Denny, she said, tended to use โ€œclosed lyricsโ€ and โ€œsubterfugeโ€ (where you had to look carefully beneath the obvious words to find out what she was really saying), whereas Mitchell was much more like a painter (where the use of bold colours and images made the meaning much clearer).

Aside from the between-song commentary on the style and historical background of the two singers, Sally illustrated what she was saying by singing the songs themselves.  I was impressed by the way she switched easily between Joni and Sandy, her voice conveying just the right level of emotion, vulnerability and fragility in each song.  Some numbers were delivered (to my ears at least) as straight and faithful copies of the songs as I remembered them, whereas others were subjected to much more in the way of re-interpretation.  Either way, it worked for me โ€“ Dandy and Joni are two of my favourite artists, and there was absolutely nothing here to spoil it for me.

For this show (compared to the recent WHO offering in the same room) the lighting was much better, highlighting the artist on stage and dimming the background for the audience.  The sound, good when it was working, suffered a number of glitches which were annoying.  The room was at best two-thirds full, and I canโ€™t help thinking that it might have been sold out if there been a little bit more in the way of advertising by DAF.  But thatโ€™s a minor quibble โ€“ overall an enjoyable and well-received performance. 

Devizes Arts Festival continues for the next week, with a large range of events, including several fringe (free!) events at various venues around the town.ย  See www.devizesartsfestival.org.uk/ for further details and booking information.ย  Of particular note will be a rousing finale dance night with Motown Gold this coming Friday 19th November.ย  Some tickets still available.

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REVIEW โ€“ Ronnie Scottโ€™s Jazz Club On Tour @ Corn Exchange, Devizes โ€“ Thursday 11th November 2021

Jazz Is Back In Town!

Andy Fawthrop

Yay!ย  The Devizes Arts Festival is back in business, albeit in truncated format for this year, and kicked off public proceedings with a real bang last night in The Corn Exchange.

Despite being massively well served for all forms of live music in D-Town generally, jazz has been somewhat under-represented of late.ย  I certainly remember going to regular jazz gigs a few years ago, just next door in the Bearโ€™s Cellar Bar, but thereโ€™s been nothing much since.

But that was all put to rights last night as The Ronnie Scottโ€™s Jazz Club On Tour rolled into town.ย  This proved to be exactly what it said on the tin – direct from the world-famous jazz club founded by the eponymous Ronnie Scott in the late 1950s Londonโ€™s Soho, this was a live touring version of what generally happens โ€œliveโ€ in the club itself.ย  We were treated to what can only be described as a multi-media presentation, combining a world class live jazz quintet alongside rare archive photos and video footage.ย  We were taken on a guided verbal and musical tour of the history of this great cultural institution. ย Set amongst the dive bars and jazz juke joints of Soho, we heard of the desperate hand-to-mouth finances of the early years, the frequent police raids, and the various scrapes with gangsters (including the Krays, who were rumoured to have taken Ronnie and Pete โ€œfor a little driveโ€!)

Our โ€œMCโ€ for the evening, playing the role of compere, raconteur and sax soloist Ronnie Scott was the near-lookalike (and birthday boy) Alex Garnett.ย  He perfectly conveyed the seedy, dubious and wise-cracking humour of the man, combined with a clear love of the music, and appreciation of the skills of his fellow musicians.ย  On upright bass we had the dapper Sam Burgess, on piano the grinning James Pearson, and on drums the highly-accomplished Shaney Forbes.ย  Completing the line-up was vocalist Natalie Williams, who brought some real sparkle and show-biz pizzazz to proceedings.ย  Whether tackling numbers from the Great American Songbook, other jazz standards, or simply scat-singing, Natalie absolutely lit up the room with her enthusiastic personality and powerful vocals.

The band looked very comfortable on stage with one another, compact and tight when required, but giving one another just the right amount of space for the various solos.ย  I was particularly impressed with Shaney Forbesโ€™ drum solo in the first half.ย  The material chosen was eclectic, featuring forays into the back catalogue of Sarah Vaughn (โ€œSassyโ€), Chet Baker, Ella Fitzgerald, Chick Corea, Duke Ellington, Nina Simone, and many others.

If the aim was to convey โ€œthe feelโ€ of what it was like in the early days of an evening in Ronnie Scottโ€™s Club, then the quintet certainly succeeded.  A near-packed house was treated to a great eveningโ€™s entertainment, and lapped it all up.  A rousing call for an encore was the least they deserved.  A really great night out.  Letโ€™s hope someone in town now picks up the jazz baton again!

Devizes Arts Festival continues for the next week, with a large range of events, including several fringe (free!) events at various venues around the town.ย  See www.devizesartsfestival.org.uk/ for further details and booking information.ย  Of particular note are An Evening With Sally Barker (featuring the songs of Joni Mitchell and Sandy Denny) at The Town Hall tomorrow (Saturday) 13th November, and a rousing finale dance night with Motown Gold next Friday 19th November.ย  Some tickets for both are still available.

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Spoiled Rotten in Devizes this November with Devizes Arts Festival, The Wharf Theatre, Long Street, TITCO, DOCA and more!

Spoiled Rotten in Devizes this November you are. In what is usually a quiet month leading up to yule, the easing of lockdown has detonated the month, opening it up as anyoneโ€™s game. Itโ€™s just so good to see a chockful event calendar for the whole county, and so many event organisers making a Rocky Balboa style comeback.

Dave and Deborah at the Southgate

Aside our dependable Southgate, whoโ€™ve led the way for events in Devizes, and continue to provide top notch live music every weekend, free I might add, itโ€™s exciting to see the Cavalier, The Muck & Dundar, and even the Condado Lounge in the running.

There are some big guns coming out too, as we welcome back the Wharf Theatre, who hosted The Paul Simon Story last weekend, and the return of the Invitation Theatre Company from Tuesday (9th) to Saturday (13th) this coming week. The Long Street Blues Club are back in force with three gigs this month, the Gerry Jablonski Band Saturday 13th, Force on the 20th, which is such a whopper itโ€™s coming out of The Corn Exchange rather than usual Cons Club, and the Antonio Forcione Quartet on the 27th.

If itโ€™s sounding good so far, weโ€™ve not even touched on Devizes Eisteddfod from Thursday 18th to Saturday 20th, The Lawrence Art Societyโ€™s exhibition at the Town Hall from 25th to the 27th, and of course DOCA bring the Winter Festival and lantern parade on the 26th.

With all that Iโ€™ve mentioned it would be understandable to have overlooked the icing on the cake; Devizes Arts Festival surprisingly pops up to host some awesome events this month, when itโ€™s usually confined to more summery months. Despite weโ€™ve outlined the individual gigs lined up at the Arts Festival, back when it was announced in August, such has lockdown caused much jiggery-pokery with the dates of such things, and not forgoing Iโ€™d suspect the Arts Festival got itchy fingers and simply couldnโ€™t wait until summertime to present us with some amazing performances, these things need reminders, so here I am!

Though the opening gig, Thursdayโ€™s Ronnie Scottโ€™s All Stars Jazz Club Tour has sold out, tickets for the others are on the table awaiting your attention, plus, of course thereโ€™s free fringe events across town too. Letโ€™s have another look at whatโ€™s on offer here, to wet your appetite shall we?

Under the banner, โ€œthe show must go on,โ€ the Arts Festival are delighted to welcome Sally Barker to Devizes, on the 13th. In this new show โ€˜Sandy, Joni & Meโ€™ she will bring some of the songs of both Joni Mitchell and Sandy Denny to the stage, exploring the singer/songwriter legacy that was forged in the early โ€™70s.

Veteran folk-blues singer/songwriter Sally Barker became Tom Jonesโ€™ finalist on The Voice UK 2014 after reducing her mentor, and many watching the TV, to tears with her performances. Sally has toured with Sir Tom, Bob Dylan and Robert Plant amongst others. Radio 2 DJ Chris Evans said, โ€œSally changes the atmosphere in a room when she sings.โ€

And Friday 19th is Motown Gold time at the Corn Exchange. Dust off your dancing shoes for a fabulous evening from a fantastic band. Motown Gold celebrate the finest songs from the timeless Motown and Classic Soul era, which kind of speaks for itself.

As for free Fringe events, The Muck & Dundar have loop pedal guru Arif Najak bringing laid-back reggae sounds on Friday 12th. Sunday 14th is at New Society, where youโ€™ll find Bristolโ€™s dynamic jazz vocalist Lucy Moon, performing energetic swing and classic swing-era tunes to liven up your Sunday lunchtime. Booking is essential for this one, contact New Society to reserve your table.

Thereโ€™s a couple more fringe events before the Arts Festivalโ€™s grand Motown finale; South Walesโ€™s Big Sky are at The Crown on Wednesday 17th, with roots rock infused with touches of blues, country and psychedelia, they are known for being one of the few bands containing brothers who have not yet had an on-stage altercation! And Thursday 18th sees Mark Harrison at the Three Crowns. An original and interesting songwriter, a stunning guitarist, and a master storyteller.

It is, in all my years of running Devizine, the biggest November Iโ€™ve ever seen! But the Devizes Arts Festival doesnโ€™t stop there, this is just filling a gap. I asked artistic director Margaret Bryant if there will be something in the pipeline for a summer arts festival too, and she replied โ€œyes, weโ€™re already planning 2022!โ€

But let’s not get ahead of ourselves here, just look forward to November; get your Devizes Arts Festival tickets here, for all other gigs and events, see our event calendar for links and info; see you out and about, folks!

Trending…..

Ronnie Scottโ€™s in Devizes? Devizes Arts Festival Returns for November

Have you missed our wonderful annual Arts Festival, Devizions; too hungry for it to return to wait for next summer? I know I have. Never fear, Devizes Arts Festival offers an interim while we wait for 2022, under the motto, โ€œThe Show Must Go On.โ€ Three fantastic musical events at the Corn Exchange and Town Hall over the month of November; and theyโ€™re tasty, very, very tasty.

For starters, a taster of Londonโ€™s legendary Ronnie Scottโ€™s Jazz Club is coming to Devizes on the 11th. Celebrating 60-years since the founding of one of the worldโ€™s most iconic music venues, the Ronnie Scottโ€™s All Stars take to the road to celebrate the โ€˜Ronnie Scottโ€™s Storyโ€™.

Direct from Londonโ€™s world-famous jazz club and combining world class live jazz alongside rare archive photos and video footage, The Ronnie Scottโ€™s All Stars, take you on a guided, musical tour of this music institution. Set amongst the dive bars and jazz juke joints of Londonโ€™s Soho, we hear about the desperate hand-to-mouth finances of the early years and the frequent police raids.

Hear how Ronnieโ€™s became neutral ground within rival gang territory and their scrapes with gangsters including the Krays who were rumoured to have taken Ronnie and Pete โ€œfor a little driveโ€! Life at Ronnieโ€™s is evocatively re-imagined through tales of the clubโ€™s past visitors, from pop stars, film stars and politicians to comedians and royalty, but above all, the musicians.

But thatโ€™s not all, The Arts Festival are delighted to welcome Sally Barker to Devizes, on the 13th November. In this new show โ€˜Sandy, Joni & Meโ€™ she will bring some of the songs of both Joni Mitchell and Sandy Denny to the stage, exploring the singer/songwriter legacy that was forged in the early โ€™70s.

Veteran folk-blues singer/songwriter Sally Barker became Tom Jonesโ€™ finalist on The Voice UK 2014 after reducing her mentor, and many watching the TV, to tears with her performances. Sally has toured with Sir Tom, Bob Dylan and Robert Plant amongst others. Radio 2 DJ Chris Evans said, โ€œSally changes the atmosphere in a room when she sings.โ€

And Friday 19th November is Motown Gold time at the Corn Exchange. Dust off your dancing shoes for a fabulous evening from a fantastic band. Motown Gold celebrate the finest songs from the timeless Motown and Classic Soul era, which kind of speaks for itself.

Online tickets are not yet up on the Arts Festival Website, but will be available from Devizes Books. Events are ยฃ21 for Ronnie Scottโ€™s, ยฃ16 for Sally Barker and ยฃ18 for the Motown evening. To keep in touch with them, get onto their mailing list.

And you could look the part on the evenings, as The Show Must Go On facemask, and similar tote bags, T-shirts, badges, note books and more are available from www.theatresupportfund.co.uk which supports the NHSCovid19 Appeal, the Theatre Support Fund, the Fleabag Support Fund and Acting for Others. There’s currently 20% of all merchandise.

Devizine would like to welcome back The Devizes Arts Festival, and wish the team the very best for these great events.

Emma Langford Sowing Acorns

If Iโ€™m majorly disappointed by all the planned events and gigs this year done gone cancelled, probably the biggest of all was when I badgered Devizes Arts Festival into booking Limerickโ€™s folk singer-songwriter Emma Langford. It didnโ€™t take much convincing, just a song or two, and if you hear her new album Sowing Acorns, released yesterday, I guarantee your arm will be twisted too.

Sowing Acorns is everything Iโ€™d expect and much more. A spellbinding composition of intelligent lyrics reflecting on past, a place or observation, Emmaโ€™s mellifluous vocals and enchanting folk melodies. A magnum opus for this award-winning emerging artist who Iโ€™ve followed the progress of for many years.

Itโ€™s an album which will transport you to an Irish coastal path, a gentle zephyr as you peer out to the ocean. Port Na bPรบcaรญ perhaps the prime example, with its chilling cello merging into the drifting poetic title track. Itโ€™s a whisk of untamed Andrea Corr blending Clannad to Mari Boine, yet somehow completely inimitable. Yet thereโ€™s astute honesty within these pieces of musical jigsaw, tales of family woe or enriching scrutiny of a lifecycle. Thereโ€™s enough going on here to pull to pieces and discover alternative angles with each listen, but allowing it to drift over you is recommended, like waves upon said ocean.

But while Sowing Acorns opens acapella and drifts into traditional acoustic folk, it doesnโ€™t rest, rather merges styles, and by the time you get to Ready Oh some nine tracks in, thereโ€™s a blithe soul pop feel, teetering do-wop, similarly the Latino marketable feel of Goodbye Hawaii. Towards the end it returns to the thoughtful prose of Emmaโ€™s sublime acoustic and feelgood Irish charm, and it ends with an ambient trance remix of the title track by Avro Party. But each and every segment, every journey this album takes you on, darker or uplifting, is expressively awe-inspiring, as if Emma pushed everything she has into this release; the definitive Emma Langford.

It is, in a word, utterly gorgeous, a definite contender for album of my year, and one Iโ€™ll be submerged in its mesmerising portrayals for a long time yet.

Click to download from Bandcamp

Award-Winning Limerick Folk Artist, Emma Langford, to Appear at Devizes Arts Festival

I reckon Iโ€™ve been honourable to The Devizes Arts Festival, as in their excitement theyโ€™ve often accidently divulged a booking theyโ€™d rather have kept secret, and Iโ€™ve not yet let the cat out of the bag until they want it unzipped! Said excitement, though, is symbolic of their passion to bring us a wonderfully diverse roster.

For this one Iโ€™ve been equally as thrilled, and glad to be the one to broadcast the news; yes, with their permission! Aptly perhaps, as Iโ€™m proud it was my suggestion and Iโ€™m so glad they took heed.

So, it gives me great pleasure to announce folk singer-songwriter Emma Langford is to appear at this summerโ€™s Arts Festival. From Limerick in South-West Ireland, Emma has gone from strength to strength. But to start at the beginning of our association; itโ€™s been well over a decade since I got chatting to her father, Des, and in sharing a love of comic art, weโ€™ve been online friends since. Call me archaic, but while you can meet lots of people online which the book of face terms โ€œfriends,โ€ you have to wonder if they really constitute โ€œfriends,โ€ I mean, if youโ€™ve never met them in person. Des is the exception to that rule.

emmal1

It was around 2016 when he sent me a video of his daughter singing, yet if I went around telling people โ€œlisten to my mateโ€™s daughter sing,โ€ it sounds cringeworthily like I was pushing it only for this reason. I bid you listen to her songs; clearly, itโ€™s not just me saying how utterly fantastic she is. Emma has received unwavering acclaim internationally, after a whirlwind 100-date promotional tour across Austria, Denmark, Germany, Switzerland, the UK and Ireland, to launch her 2017 debut album, Quiet Giant. The Irish Times described Quiet Giant as โ€˜music that weaves a spell as you listen to itโ€ฆ An enduring piece of workโ€™. Irelandโ€™s state broadcaster RTร‰ Radio 1 presented Emma with the Best Emerging Artist award at their inaugural Folk Awards in October 2018. She also made her debut appearance in the USA this August, on the Snug Stage at Milwaukee Irish Fest.

Emma possesses a distinct natural tone and resonance that is truly breath-taking. Quiet Giant features stunning full-band arrangements for ten self-penned songs, and following the albumโ€™s Irish release, she was invited to launch it internationally with Germanyโ€™s Irish Folk Festival tour. In Devizineโ€™s infancy reviewed Quiet Giant, suggesting itโ€™s โ€œa suave survey of dignity and passionate despondency with uplifting string arrangements and traditional Irish folk values.โ€ I worthlessly tried to find a tenacious link to Devizes to justify reviewing it on our local website. I just wanted to get the message across, as I compared her to Andrea Corr, or a young Kirsty McColl.

But, being as itโ€™s said Emmaโ€™s โ€œspell-bindingโ€ sound is made to be heard live, be it solo or with a full complement of musicians, I took steps to try to bring her to town for a gig, but it fell through. The promoters were in awe though, told me she really needs to head for London for maximum exposure; โ€œsheโ€™s too darn good for Devizes,โ€ I was told! Pleased to say, weโ€™ve no need to worry, thanks to the Arts Festival, and I look forward to this with bells on.

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Emma is a prolific artist, recently collaborating locally on projects with musicians, theatre-makers and aerial-dance performers. This summerโ€™s show should align with her highly-anticipated new album.

The Arts Festival had their final committee meeting of the year at the beginning of the month. โ€œThe 2020 programme is nearly there,โ€ they say, โ€œalthough there are some threads to be tied up. We can assure you that it will be as good as (or maybe even better than) 2019.โ€ Other acts already leaked are Londonโ€™s Tankus the Henge, who describe their sound as โ€œfive-wheeled, funk fuelled, open top, custom paint job, rock โ€˜nโ€™ roll jalopy that comes careering around the corner on a tranquil summerโ€™s day, ruining the silence and disturbing the bats.โ€ Performing comedy for less-than-perfect parents, The Scummy Mummies are also confirmed, along with San Francisco born jazz pianist and composer The Darius Brubeck Quartet.

Roll on summer, roll on!

ยฉ 2017-2019 Devizine (Darren Worrow)
Please seek permission from the Devizine site and any individual author, artist or photographer before using any content on this website. Unauthorised usage of any images or text is forbidden.

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An Interview with Ed Byrne

With my ribs near fully recovered from giggling injuries caused by the one Ed Byrne, it’s nice to note if you missed him at the rescheduled Devizes Arts Festival evening, he’s playing Trowbridge’s Civic Centre on the 26th September, March 13th at the Wyvern, Swindon and Bath’s Forum on March 19th.

Here’s an interview with the man himself, to tempt your taste budsโ€ฆ.ย 

Jason Barlow

A household name teetering on the brink of national treasure status, award-winning comedian Ed Byrne enjoys worldwide acclaim for his stand-up. With 25 years under his belt, Ed has parlayed his on-stage success into a variety of notable television appearances. A regular on Mock The Week and The Graham Norton Show, Ed has recently co-presented Dara & Edโ€™s Big Adventure and its follow-up Dara & Edโ€™s Road To Mandalay, and managed not to disgrace himself on Top Gear or whilst tackling one of The Worldโ€™s Most Dangerous Roads. As a semi-professional hill-walker himself and fully paid-up humanist, he also brought a refreshing warmth and honesty to BBC2โ€™s recent hit The Pilgrimage.

But the Irishman is still best-known and best appreciated for his stand-up performances. A quarter of a century at the comedic coal-face has equipped Ed with a highly evolved story-telling ability and a silky mastery of his craft. Yet his wit, charm and self-deprecatory observational humour is often underpinned by a consistently hilarious vitriol and sense of injustice at a world that seems to be spinning ever more rapidly out of control.

Having recently hit a new peak with shows such as the sublime Spoiler Alert and reflective Outside, Looking In, which explored the minefield that is modern parenting and a generational sense of entitlement, Edโ€™s new show If Iโ€™m Honest digs ever deeper into a fatherโ€™s sense of responsibility, what it means to be a man in 2019, and whether he possesses any qualities whatsoever worth passing on to his two sons. Occasionally accused of whimsy, If Iโ€™m Honest is a show with a seriously steely core.

Gender politics, for example, is something Ed readily engages with โ€“ deploying his customary comedic zeal. โ€˜Iโ€™ll admit that there are things where men get a raw deal,โ€™ he says. โ€˜We have higher suicide rates, and we tend not to do well in divorces, but representation in action movies is not something we have an issue with. It was Mad Max: Fury Road that kicked it all off, even though nobody complained about Ripley in Alien or Sarah Connor in Terminator 2. Of course, social media means this stuff gets broadcast far and wide in an instant, which emboldens people.

โ€˜The problem with menโ€™s rights activists is that itโ€™s not about speaking up for menโ€™s rights, itโ€™s about hating women. If youโ€™re a menโ€™s rights activist, youโ€™re not going to care about the fact that thereโ€™s an all-female Ghostbusters remake. Thatโ€™s nothing to do with menโ€™s rights or female entitlement. Thatโ€™s everything to do with being, well, a whiny baby.โ€™

Photo by Idil Sukan

As ever, Ed manages to provoke without being overly polemical, a balancing act that only someone of his huge experience can really pull off.

โ€˜I did stuff about Trump and the Pizzagate right wing conspiracy,โ€™ he says, โ€˜and a couple of the reviewers said, โ€œOh, I would have liked to have watched a whole show of thisโ€. And I think, โ€˜well you might have, but the average person who comes to see me would not like to see thatโ€™. I like to make a point or get something off my chest, or perhaps Iโ€™m talking about something thatโ€™s been on my mind, but the majority of stuff is just to get laughs.

โ€˜People who come to see me are not political activists necessarily, theyโ€™re regular folk. If you can make a point to them, in between talking about your struggles with aging, or discussing your hernia operation or whatever it is, you can toss in something that does give people pause as regards to how men should share the household chores.โ€™

He continues, โ€˜Itโ€™s not that I feel a responsibility, I think it just feels more satisfying when youโ€™re doing it, and it feels more satisfying when people hear it. When a joke makes a good point, I think people enjoy it. Itโ€™s the difference between having a steak and eating a chocolate bar.โ€™

Ed, who broke through in the mid-1990s when the New Lad became a genuine cultural phenomenon, doesnโ€™t want to submit to any unnecessary revisionism, but admits that if the times have changed, he has changed with them. He reflects a little ruefully on one of his most famous jokes. โ€˜Thereโ€™s an attitude towards Alanis Morrisette in the opening of that routine that Iโ€™m no longer comfortable with, where I call her a moaning cow and a whiny bintโ€ฆ slagging off the lyrics of the song is fine, but thereโ€™s a tone in the preamble that I wouldnโ€™t write today.โ€™

The new show also takes his natural tendency towards self-deprecation to unexpected extremes. โ€˜I do genuinely annoy myself,โ€™ Ed concedes. โ€˜But the thing of your children being a reflection of you, gives you an opportunity to build something out of the best of yourself only for you to then see flashes of the worst of yourself in them. Itโ€™s a wake-up call about your own behaviour.โ€™

When I challenge him over the degree of self-loathing he displays, he disagrees. โ€˜Self-aggrandising humour is a lot harder to pull off than self-deprecating humour,โ€™ he insists. โ€˜A lot of people get really annoyed when Ricky Gervais is self-congratulatory. I always find it very funny when he accepts awards and does so in the most big-headed way possible. I think itโ€™s a trickier type of humour to pull off, talking yourself up in that way.

โ€˜So no, I donโ€™t think Iโ€™m being massively hard on myself. The fact is when youโ€™re the bloke who is standing on the stage with the microphone, commanding an audienceโ€™s attention, youโ€™re in a very elevated position anyway.โ€™

Photo by Idil Sukan

That said, If Iโ€™m Honest brilliantly elucidates the frustration that arrives in middle age โ€“ and lives up to its title. โ€˜Iโ€™m bored looking for things, Iโ€™m bored of trying to find stuff, because I can never find it, and it is entirely my fault,โ€™ Ed says. โ€˜Nobodyโ€™s hiding my stuff from me. Although my wife did actually move my passport on one occasionโ€™.

He insists that, while the show might have mordant and occasionally morbid aspects, itโ€™s also not without its quietly triumphant moments. โ€˜I thought I was being quite upbeat talking about the small victories,โ€™ he says. โ€˜You know, finding positivity in being able to spot when a cramp was about to happen in your leg and dealing with it before it does. I was very happy with myself about that.โ€™

Age, it seems, has not withered him. Especially now that heโ€™s figured out how to head off ailments before they become a problem. โ€˜You see comics who are my age and older but are still retaining a level of โ€œcoolโ€ and drawing a young crowd. I canโ€™t deny that Iโ€™m quite envious of that. But thereโ€™s also something very satisfying about your audience growing old with you.โ€™

Ed Byrne is touring nationwide, appearing at Trowbridge’s Civic Centre on the 26th September, March 13th at the Wyvern, Swindon and Bath’s Forum on March 19th. For more information, please visit http://edbyrne.com/

ยฉ 2017-2019 Devizine -Syndicated with permission from Jason Barlow.
Please seek permission from the Devizine site and any individual author, artist or photographer before using any content on this website. Unauthorised usage of any images or text is forbidden.

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Honest in Devizes: Ed Byrne Arrived in Devizes!

As an inexorable drunken dancer, have to steer clear of musical events on a school night at my age. I figured this wouldnโ€™t be so bad; sit in the Corn Exchange, listen to Ed Byrne telling a joke or three. I didnโ€™t weigh in the chance my ribs would be hurting in the morning and Iโ€™d still be grinning like a madman at the intricate weaving of observation comedy, yet they were, and I was, during my dark morning shift. This was, simply 250% side-splitting.

I had psychologically amassed hype in my mind, feeling like Iโ€™d been sitting in our grand hall since June waiting for this guy to show. Undoubtedly the only disappointment at this summerโ€™s Devizes Arts Festival, Margaret announcing Edโ€™s car had broken down and he wasnโ€™t going to make it, turned into a bogof for the punters. If we chuckled at the proficient two support acts in June, and we sniggered at Canadian comedian Paul Myrehaug on this occasion, thereโ€™s a clear distinction between the support comedian and a name like Ed Byrne. I have to hand it to Devizes Arts Festival for bringing such big names to our little town.

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Ed compered the show, popping on first to run a few annotations surrounding the unfortunate circumstances for his truancy in June, which although Iโ€™d anticipated, did it in such a hilarious manner it served as the perfect taster for what was to come. He introduced Paul Myrehaug with negative banter. A winner of the 2007 Yuk Yukโ€™s Great Canadian Laugh In, and second place in the Seattle International Comedy Competition in 2006, Paul is now a regular on the UK circuit and supports Ed on this โ€œIf Iโ€™m Honestโ€ tour. He delivered amusing anecdotes with natural flair, verging somewhat on crude, but executed courteously. Taunting one member of the audience, and effortlessly treating testing gags on us as part of his act, distinctively he owned the stage with magnetism.

Aptly titled, Ed Byrneโ€™s If Iโ€™m Honest never ventured into politics or current affairs, matter-of-factually threatening to bore with Brexit at one point remained but a one-liner. This was an elaborate interlacing of observational comedy and rumination, topics relating to family life and its subsequent cultures. With frank veracity that his children aggravate him a in manner others are unqualified of equalling, he concluded the inaugural with the unpretentious reason for this; their traits remind him of himself.

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Seriously shaky images from Devzine, except no substituteย 

From here he jests his self-esteem, expresses contempt for his own character, progressing into pondering precisely what qualities he has which he would like to pass on to them. At its pinnacle the routine examines his own liabilities, laying into copious cultural references from his past. This worked wonders for me, being only a year younger, I identified with his thoughts on the eighties Superman movie and like him, I wished for a Big Trac, which, thankfully looking back on it, never appeared under a Christmas Tree.

With spellbindingly funny narrative, it moves swiftly, to contemporary culture engulfing his kidโ€™s life, his abhorrence for online irritations and the interminable enticement to sabotage his career by daring himself to yell inappropriate language on Facebook or The One Show. If the great Billy Connolly mastered returning to previous points the audience mayโ€™ve forgotten about in the constant stream of bullet points, Ed Byrne nurtures this skill proficiently, and projects an non-stop laugh-out-loud show.

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What? I was laughing too much to steady a camera

Far from being the end to this yearโ€™s Devizes Arts Festival though, as their gallant effort to bring us big named stars continues into November, with a highly-anticipated one-off show from legendary R&B singer and keyboardist, Georgie Fame, I will not hold my breath for next yearโ€™s line-up until Iโ€™m done dancing to Yeah, Yeah; so Iโ€™d advise you grab tickets for that asap!

fame

ยฉ 2017-2019 Devizine (Darren Worrow)
Please seek permission from the Devizine site and any individual author, artist or photographer before using any content on this website. Unauthorised usage of any images or text is forbidden.

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Mod R&B Legend, Georgie Fame Coming to Devizes!

Update:

Tickets for Friday 8th November are Here!

 

Iโ€™ll probably get told off by my mum for adding this photo, but I love it. My parents and friends at a dance in Shoreditch Town Hall, 1964. Dad captioned the bands were Screaming Lord Such and The Rockinโ€™ Berries. How cool those mods looked!

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Zip forward to 2004 and tired of taking my mum to see mod legend, Georgie Fame, my dad dropped us off in Camberley. It was an awesome night, he played a homage to Ray Charles who had passed that week, and told some great stories. One about Mitch Mitchell, the drummer in his band, the Blue Fames. After checking out an American guy in a club nearby their gig in 1966, Mitch ran back to tell the band how awesome he was, and was soon signed to The Jimi Hendrix Experience.

Georgieโ€™s son played guitar at the event, did an amazing solo of Hendrixโ€™s Red House. And of course, Mr Fame, aged sixty-one at the time and still looked cooler than the mods in this photo, played his plethora of hits, โ€œYeah Yeah,โ€ โ€œDo the Dog,โ€ and โ€œThe Ballad of Bonnie & Clyde.โ€ Though I donโ€™t recall my personal favourite, โ€œSomebody Stole my Thunder,โ€ a mod classic which still gets people up today; I know, played at the Scooter Clubโ€™s family fun day.

Georgie_Fame_in_Sweden_1968

With my mum, incessantly inquiring if I thought heโ€™d remember a club in the East End he used to play at, regularly in my earlobe becoming somewhat irritating, after the gig and standing waiting for my Dad to pick us up, I noted Georgie gathered with just a handful of people by a car. โ€œI donโ€™t know!โ€ I huffed, pointing the figure of this senior chap out to her, โ€œwhy donโ€™t you go ask him?!โ€

My mum quivered like a star-struck teenager, โ€œoh no, I couldnโ€™t possibly do that!โ€

โ€œAhk! Heโ€™s standing right there!!โ€ But alas, anxiety got the better of her. It pushed into my mind, that we were all young and impressable once, we all idolised heroes. Yet, though I may shudder to recall some of my own lax, eighties idolisations, I have to admit, Georgie Fame wouldโ€™ve been one cool one to follow, if I lived in that era.

But time is an illusion my friend, for just when you thought weโ€™d seen the end of The Devizes Arts Festival for the year, they today whack us with the announcement Georgie Fame is coming to Devizes on Friday 8th November, playing a one off at the Corn Exchange. I knew this, Margaret whispered her secret some weeks ago, been aching to announce it since!

gegiefame

I will let you know when tickets are out, but this fantastic news. This Lancashire lad is a legend on the rhythm and blues scene, played alongside rock n roll heroes like Gene Vincent and Eddie Cochran, and an idol to mod/soul aficionados as one of the first British Caucasians to be influenced by ska. Whether you lived through the sixties or not, this is an absolute teaser to forthcoming Arts Festival events, and I thought I was done praising them for the year!

 

ยฉ 2017-2019 Devizine (Darren Worrow)
Please seek permission from the Devizine site and any individual author, artist or photographer before using any content on this website. Unauthorised usage of any images or text is forbidden.

 

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REVIEW โ€“Devizes Arts Festival Fringe โ€“ Josephine Corcoran โ€“ 16th June @ The Vaults, Devizes

Penultimate Parade of Poetry

 

ย Written by Andy Fawthrop

Images by Gail Foster (except the one of Gail Foster)

 

Another gig on the final day of Devizes Arts Festival, and something a bit different for the penultimate performance of the Free Fringe โ€“ a nice portion of poetry.

Down into the dungeons of The Vaults for this one โ€“ a perfect venue for a spoken-word event (The Vaults doesnโ€™t have a music licence). After availing myself of an appropriate libation from the wide range of craft keg and cask beers/ lagers/ ciders in the upstairs bar (where the staff were still recovering from the shock of actually getting to see and serve our esteemed leader Darren the day before [They were delighted Andy, didn’t even take my cash- Ed],) I descended into the cellar to meet the very charming Josephine Corcoran. Josephine is not only a poet, but also a playwright (having had two plays performed on BBC Radio). She also runs a regular poetry group in nearby Trowbridge.

A goodly-sized audience (including a few poetry virgins) had assembled and enjoyed two sets of poetry. In each set Josephine read both from her latest publication (โ€œWhat Are You After?โ€) as well as some newer unpublished poems, followed by half a dozen or so local contributors in an โ€œopen micโ€ slot. Josephineโ€™s contributions were thoughtful, personal and close to home, as we learned from her careful introductions to each piece. The efforts from the floor varied in style and tone (including Gail Fosterโ€™s fine villanelle regarding the passage of time and of people), comic reflections on luxury toilets and on sex, together with more personal and reflective pieces on topics such as loss of loved ones, memory, separation and even anger. Standard stuff for a Sunday afternoon down the Vaults really. But, seriously, a hugely enjoyable and well-attended event. Hopefully we can do something similar next year too.

Josephineโ€™s latest book is called โ€œWhat Are You After?โ€ (published 2018 by Nine Arches Press) and you can find out more about her, and her poetry, at www.josephinecorcoran.org

The Vaultsโ€™ Poetry Group meets monthly at 7pm on various dates TBA. Next meeting is on Wednesday 26th June. Each month a theme is set as a prompt to inspire new work. You can come with your own work, bring poetry by someone you admire, or just come for a listen. This month, a topic suggested by the latest guest at our table is โ€œAddictionโ€. Who knows where that one will go? Itโ€™s sure to be deep, with a smattering of the light-hearted and supportive conversation that is the hallmark of this poetry group. Work, screens, exercise, love – the scope for addiction is as diverse as the waves on the sea, but is there a thread that links them all? Bring along your work and letโ€™s explore together.

And well done (yet again) to Devizes Arts Festival for putting this on as a Free Fringe event.

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REVIEW โ€“Devizes Arts Festival Fringe โ€“ The Hot Club โ€“ 16th June @ Three Crowns, Devizes

Hot Club, Cool Atmosphere!

Andy Fawthrop

 

The final day of Devizes Arts Festival, and a day that featured some of the Free Fringe Events.

Seems like a long time ago (was it only last Summer?) that I was in the rather pleasant courtyard of The Three Crowns listening to some good music on a lazy Sunday afternoon. But here I was again, and it all came flooding back in an instant.

Founded and led by guitarist Alex Bishop, The Hot Club consists of various combinations of musicians in various formats, ranging from a simple two-guitar set-up, all the way up to a full six-piece. They meet up at The Pound Arts Centre in Corsham, where Alex is usually based. Alex also has a local folk trio called Effra.

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Our roving reporter Andy caught on camera! Image by Gail Foster

Anyhow, the music for todayโ€™s occasion was provided by a trio of instrumentalists (two guitars and double bass), three very relaxed guys knocking out some classic 1930s gypsy jazz tunes in the style of Django Reinhardt. This style of music was born in the pavement cafes of Paris, so I suppose a courtyard of a pub in Devizes is a pretty close match, right? Anyhow, the atmosphere was swinging and relaxed (chilled? yes- even in the welcome sunshine!). The packed crowd loved it, and even the (well-behaved) dogs were barking in appreciation. The wind occasionally tried to lift the small marquee, but no-one was going to let the elements spoil what was a thoroughly enjoyable afternoon.

If you want to know more about The Hot Club head over to www.hotclubjazz.co.uk . They seem to be very popular for weddings, parties and private functions!

Iโ€™m sure thereโ€™ll be more Sunday afternoon gigs in this great venue over the Summer, so watch out for announcements from The Three Crowns on Facebook.

And well done (yet again) to Devizes Arts Festival for putting this on as a Free Fringe event.

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Grupo Lokito Brings a Cuban-Congolese Fusion to Devizes Arts Festival

Images by Gail Foster

 

Canโ€™t come out to play today, despite the finale of Devizes Arts Festival is all totally free. Three fringe events across town; The Hot Club (opps, nearly typed hot-tub then) at the Three Crowns at 1pm, Josephine Corcoran reading her poems and an open-mike session at the Vaults at 5pm and last, but not least, theyโ€™ve Circu5 closing the festival at the Cellar Bar, Bear Hotel at 8pm.

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For me, whatโ€™s been the best Devizes Arts Festival line-up ever, came to an explosive and marvellous conclusion last night when the Corn Exchange filled with the absolutely unique and gorgeous sound of Grupo Lokito. A packed Saturday night of the widest demographic youโ€™d expect in Devizes, proves word is out; theyโ€™ve made a fool of anyone who attains this pompous, straitlaced pigeonhole theyโ€™ve so wrongly picked up. It has been a surfeit of talented and quality entertainment, amazingly diverse, and something our town should be very proud of.

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My thanks and praises go to all the organisers, whoโ€™ve worked their socks off but retained a smile and positive attitude throughout. So as the band members of Grupo Lokito mingled in the foyer, there was an atmosphere of delight for if this sundry group blend into a cityโ€™s world music setting, they were certainly a breath of fresh air in Devizes.

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The further away our ears travel from our perceived impressions of music, taken from what weโ€™re exposed to at home, the harder it is, I think, to pinpoint and define the variety of styles. Thatโ€™s what makes world music so fascinating. But, without recognisable covers or pastiches, and such a free-flowing sound, it does make a review somewhat tricky to write. Not helped by our brilliantly informative interview with Grupoโ€™s keyboardist and manager Sara McGuiness, who outlined the nature of the bandโ€™s style.

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It intrigued me, Sara labelling the sound of the Buena Vista Social Club nostalgic and polarized, despite its positive effect in spreading Cuban music, to just how this night was going to go down. Indeed, Salsa dance classes had congregated, with their magnificently sassy style and gracefully romantic moves, yet I questioned if the music fitted. Salsa dancing tends to make use of traditional Rhumba, this was definably not. It was contemporary dance, do-what-ever-you-like dance, so while the salsa dancers didnโ€™t look out of place, some arbitrarily bobbed along (myself included) and others tried to mimic the frontmenโ€™s choregraphed hip movements, like guests on the Generation Game, none of it mattered. The concentration was on pure enjoyment of this glorious and peripheral style of music and it was thus.

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Evenly paced throughout, I observed this Cuban-Congolese fusion ecstatically. Noticing African sounds, like township jive in a particular tune, only for the next to be decidedly Cuban, and what followed them, a curiously exciting blend of the two to the point it neither mattered nor favoured one over the other; itโ€™s just marvellous music without labels.

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I tingled when popping back to the foyer to ensure Devizes Market Place still existed and I wasnโ€™t at Womad, informing photographer Gail it felt like I was on was holiday, a holiday I couldnโ€™t actually afford!

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And that, in a nutshell, is the indication of a quality and exotic night. A big group hug for the Devizes Arts Festival, what a super conclusionโ€ฆ. Can we book Ziggy Marley next year, otherwise how are you going to top that?!

 

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Just Comedy Friends; Ed to Follow

Broken Down on the M25 Wednesday, the Devizes Arts Festival comedy event, Ed Byrne and Friends unfortunately altered to just friends.

 
Then the mobile rangโ€ฆ. A call from Beano artist Kev F. On any other occasion this wouldโ€™ve been a most welcomed call, but I was rubbing my forehead on a plush street in Bath when I was supposed to be setting up a table at the Bristol Comic Expo. My debut stand at a convention, the next evolutionary stage of comic glory, rather than the usual sauntering the site, lugging a bag chockful of my smutty outpourings, chatting and hoping to flog a comic or two.

The curse was an egg-shaped black rubber ring, which I held in greasy fingers while frowning in abundance. Like an elephantโ€™s trunk suspended on an earring, this was, Iโ€™d just discovered, what supported the exhaust pipe of my VW Polo, which now dragged along the road beneath the car. Bit of a design fault, I was eventually informed, fortunately from a โ€˜mechanicโ€™ passer-by, once the ring bent out of shape, the exhaust dropped.

He eavesdropped my apologies, as I explained the situation to Kev. We talked of my destination, and because of the interest he exhibited, I gifted him a comic, hoping heโ€™d fix the car. I then ventured underneath it, an attempt to assign the ring back onto its bar, and hopefully attach the exhaust pipe; breakdown services for losers! Needless to say, the effort futile. I appeared from under the car to the sound of the mechanic giggling; the guy engrossed in my homemade publication! โ€œNo,โ€ he explained the aforementioned design fault. Humm, I see that now. โ€œThanks for the comic,โ€ he acknowledged, and whistled off on his way.

A wedge of abandoned broken bin held it, not quite long enough to make it to Bristol, but after a few pitstops I arrived, fashionably late. Tense, irritated and in no mood to greet people with plastic smiles and laughs, I spent the day hoofing and sulking. My point to this anecdote, other than Iโ€™ve not much of a review to write about Ed Byrne and Friends? When vehicles breakdown on an imperative assignment, nothing is more frustrating. Therefore, to the hundreds sitting uncomplainingly in the Devizes Corn Exchange Wednesday, perhaps itโ€™s best Ed Byrne didnโ€™t make it.

Rescheduled for September, if he had of made it, would he have been on top form, would comical genius spurt from his mouth? Yeah, heโ€™s professional, suppose. Still, Iโ€™d favour the feverishly brilliant observational comedy routine, the like weโ€™ve come to expect from Ed would be best served cold. An odds-on at the bookies heโ€™ll open with the tale of his primary attempt to make it to our backwater. Not everyone could conjure an amusing story of being stuck on the M25, I bet Ed could. Thatโ€™s why these people rule the comedy circuit. See above, Iโ€™m capable of writing a comic tale of woe, but Iโ€™d never acquire the valour to perform it before an audience; it takes guts and a chunk of lunacy.

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Chris Stokes Image: Gail Foster

The support acts then, did a grand job. Opening act Chris Stokes vastly different in style to David Hadingham, who followed. Akin to a lovechild of Mickey Flanigan and Bill Hicks, Iโ€™d argue David had the posture, the visual comedy, and through crazy expressions could, just, carry off a corny gag. But his style akin to a working-manโ€™s club, was coarse, banal but often hackneyed. References to masturbation and psychedelia pigeonholed him as outrageous, though the quality of the jokes have to match that panache.

For me, David started off brilliantly but declined somewhat, while Chris, more stiff and static to begin with, especially considering he had to break the ice after the devastating blow Ed may not appear, by joking about said devasting blow, grew in wittiness. Through local observations of his bus journey from Chippenham, to a set routine about his Black Country homeland, he improved with each laugh that passed, and importantly, hadย  incomparable originality. Thick and tough those laughs hailed through the Corn Exchange.

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David Hadingham. Image: Gail Foster

No doubt both these guys were remarkably funny, easing the blow dramatically, yet Iโ€™d argue Chris was the better of the two, as he played to the mostly, conventional audience. Well done to both for covering the absence of Ed, an unfortunate turn of events. Least, I think, we’d be set for a better performance from him in September than one after a car breakdown.

 

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REVIEW โ€“ Devizes Arts Festival โ€“ Moscow Drug Club โ€“ 7th June @ Exchange Night Club, Devizes

Drugs Down In The Bin!

By Andy Fawthrop

 

Well, sort of. Bear with me. In fact this was yet another Devizes Arts Festival offering that turned out to be an absolute cracker of a gig.

Descending into The Corny Bin, or The Exchange Night Club to be precise, I wondered why this particular venue had been chosen for this particular gig. But as soon as I got in there, it was flippinโ€™ obvious. The place had been set out with plenty of tables and chairs, the lights had been set to low and sleazy, and the crowd packed into every last place had created exactly the right ambience. We were in a real nightclub โ€“ old school! As Katya, lead singer of the band, remarked immediately she came on stage: โ€˜wow! This place is for us! This is where we should live!โ€™ Indeed.

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Moscow Drug Club describe themselves as โ€œtranscendent troubadours of gypsy cabaret and swingโ€ and thatโ€™s exactly what we got. Material ranged from their own self-penned compositions, a couple from Eartha Kitt, via way of Louis Armstrong, Jacques Brelโ€™s โ€œThe Port Of Amsterdamโ€, Charles Aznavour and Tom Waits. And, was that a nod towards Django Reinhard? Leonard Cohen?
Each number took us a different musical place, a different atmosphere โ€“ Berlin cabaret, Hot Club de France, old Tangiers, eastern Europe. But it was always dark, earthy, sweaty, smoky. We were in the 30s, now the 40s, now the 50s. We were listening to blues, to jazz, to gypsy swing rhythms.
It was a heady and intoxicating mixture, delivered with some style. Canadian Katya Gorrie led from the front with some cool, dark, sleazy vocals, ably assisted by her splendid 5-piece band. Stand-out performer for me was Jonny Bruce on trumpet, who belted out some astonishing solos, as well as filling in the rhythm with some spicy interjections. And I cannot remember the last time I actually heard a double bass solo (delivered with aplomb by Andy Crowdy) and where an entire room of drinkers was reduced to awe-inspired silence.

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The whole concert was fantastic, delivered with style, humour, great musicianship and plenty of warmly-felt audience engagement. For me this was a superb all-round performance โ€“ I gave it 5 out of 5, and my companion (who is notoriously difficult to please) declared it to be the best gig Iโ€™d ever taken her to! The crowd absolutely lapped it up, and the fully-deserved encore featured the song that began it all for the band:
โ€œMoscow Drug Club โ€“ itโ€™s a secret rendezvous!

Moscow Drug Club โ€“ where the Reds play the Blues!โ€

If youโ€™d like to see and hear more of Moscow Drug Club, head over to their website at http://moscowdrugclub.com/ which includes a list of their future gigs for the rest of the year.

So – well done (yet again) to DAF for booking this wonderfully bonkers band, and bringing them to our town!

Donโ€™t forget thereโ€™s plenty more music and other stuff before the Festival finishes on 16th June. If you havenโ€™t done so yet, get yourself a ticket and get along to see something!

 

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Reggae, Reggae, Reggae, inโ€ฆ. Devizes Arts Festival?! Barbdwire Bring a Taste of Coventry to Town

All Photos used with kind permission of Gail Foster

 

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From a talk by CBE award-winning English foreign correspondent and BBC News world affairs editor, John Simpson, to the Sub-Organist at Durham Cathedral, Francesca Massey, the Devizes Arts Festival has kicked off this week, better than Tottenham. Their showcase, more varied than ever before, truly caters for all; you just need to either research, or hear me bashing on to find something suitable for you.

Personally, my time came Saturday, when the Corn Exchange was blessed with sweet, sweet reggae music! You know I love thee, local music scene, but my ongoing quest to encourage more reggae in these backwaters came to an apex last night.

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Perhaps a hard sell in Devizes, yet a genre Iโ€™ll push until the wheels fall off. Yep, said wheels wonโ€™t last to shove Devizes into the streets of downtown Kingston Jamaica, but our great hall was lively and the modest audience appreciative of what Coventry based Barbdwire delivered.

Without doubt Barbdwire could produce a โ€œbeginners guide to reggae,โ€ without watering down or succumbing to commercialisation. For all sub-genres were presented to us last night, with tremendous panache and sublime competence.

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I often wonder how irritated Ziggy Marley gets when interviews adopt the clichรฉ angle of his father, recollecting him once stating, โ€œreggae is not a one-man-music, itโ€™s a people music.โ€ An apt quote for Barbdwire, the band a varied bunch. While originator and drummer, Trevor Evans, the former Specials roadie-once drummer, characteristically oozes a reggae archetypal, bassist Chellyโ€™s persona rings out dub and the proficient trombonist has Two-Tone band written all over him, trumpeter John Pudge, clearly the youngest, doesnโ€™t appear represent any reggae stereotype.

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I snatched a quick tรชte-ร -tรชte with John, attired in a T-shirt embossed with โ€œRoots, Rock, Reggae,โ€ I was keen on querying his t-shirt gainsays against his instrument choice, brass sections being generally considered ska-related. We discussed how Barbdwire play to the audience; their ability to pull any of reggaeโ€™s subgenres out of their hat makes the band flexible, supporting The Specials, as their next gig, or Holli Cook, as they did last week.

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But centre of attention last night in Devizes, this band were an epiphany for some residents and a universal accreditation for those reggae lovers. In our preview I said, โ€œ(Two-Tone) may have challenged punk with chicness akin to mod, but today, these subcultures are inconsequential, we can bundle it all into one retrospective burlesque, select whatever element of any we care to, and fuse them without pretence or offense; one reason why a group like Barbโ€™d Wire is fresh and electrifying.โ€

 

Well, while reproducing their album Time Has Comeโ€™s originals did just that, their choice of covers was equally extensive. From ska favourites like Baba Brookโ€™s version of Herbie Hancockโ€™s Watermelon Man and the Wailerโ€™s debut hit Simmer Down, they also exposed the audience to roots, with Max Romeoโ€™s Chase the Devil, Horace Andyโ€™s Skylarking, renowned for his later work with Massive Attack, and even dub, akin to its master King Tubby.

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There were versions of reggae classics, like Uptown Top Ranking, and all harmonised by the beautifully melodic and confident vocals of Cherelle Harding, a singer who could roll on a lovers tune with the finesse of Phillis Dillon to convert without haste to toast a stepperโ€™s riddim, at one point verging on dancehall with a wonderfully luminous interpretation of Sister Nancyโ€™s Bam-Bam.

Make no mistake, this diversity was not delivered reggae-lite, rather an expertise and rounded acknowledgement to the many faces of Jamaicaโ€™s music export, and delivered to us adhering to all the positivity and joyfulness the genre celebrates. As an apt example, they gathered outside to meet and greet, where they were applauded with respect vowed to add our town to their tour map; something Iโ€™ll hold against them, as this was an outstanding performance!

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Long live the Devizes Arts Festival then, hopeful theyโ€™ll consider the evening a success and plan in, as they are already planning 2020, something else reggae-related. Following on, this week sees Strange Face at The Bear today (Sunday) where the Adventures with a Lost Nick Drake Recording takes place.

Monday and Christian Garrick & John Etheridge presents Strings on Fire at The Exchange. Tuesday is The Shakespeare Smackdown, and Wednesday String Sisters are at St Andrews Church.

An Audience with Bob Flowerdew at the Town Hall, also Wednesday, and Thursday, Atila Sings the Nat King Cole Story at the Town Hall. Oh, and next Saturday has a whole host of FREE fringe events across town. Check the website for booking details, but hurry, Fridayโ€™s Moscow Drug Club event is sold out. If cancelations occur find posts on the Arts Festival Facebook page, and Iโ€™ll promise to share them as soon as I spot them; have a great festival!

You Canโ€™t See the Join; Eric & Little Ern at Devizes Arts Festival

Youngsters may ponder how we survived times of yore with just the three TV channels. Certainly, childrenโ€™s shows stopped at six, new-fangled video recorders were expensive commodities and presented their users with a horrendous relay, poor sound quality and the tedious labour of rewinding. Yet we had something which barely exists today, an eminence of shows designed to entertain a family; can you think of similar today?

Variety performances outclassed anything you might deem akin today. Simonโ€™s Cowellโ€™s amateur talent contest TV shows remained firmly in the holiday camps, professionals reigned weekend viewers which style and panache. Contemplating it, The Simpsons is perhaps the only show the entire family enjoys, as while Iโ€™ll watch Britainโ€™s Got Talent, one eye squints.

Ant and Dec are no replacement for The Two Ronnies, arguably the only duo to come close to the sovereigns of weekend family entertainment, Morecombe and Wise. If you never thought you ever see anything like their magic again, think again.

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Ian Ashpitel & Jonty Stephens are Eric & Little Ern, a remarkably accurate tribute that has to be seen to be believed. Spotted the posters of their Devizes Arts Festivalโ€™s event on 14th June I thought โ€œyeah, right.โ€ But no still image can summarise the precision of โ€œAn Evening of Eric & Ern,โ€ you have to check these videos out.

Away from my theories, do Ian and Jonty think Morecambe & Wise are still popular today?

โ€œWe have been asked, many times, over the years what is the lasting appeal of Morecambe and Wise?โ€ says Ian Ashpitel who plays Ernie โ€œI think that itโ€™s a combination of many things; they grew up with each other and had an instinctive timing that is hard to replicate. They were friends first and foremost, closer than brothers. They grew up learning their craft together. Making mistakes together, finding what works and doesnโ€™t work as they played clubs and theatres for over 20 years before being seen on TV for the first time. They were likeable and people could relate to them, to their sense of humour and their comedy. Working class gentlemen as someone once told us. Eric was one of the finest comics Britain has ever seen and, with the perfect comedy foil at his side, it was a truly magical combination. Having played Ernie, itโ€™s made me realise just how good he was. His timing was immaculate and they had a trust in each other that flowed effortlessly through their performance.โ€

โ€œExactlyโ€ says Jonty, โ€œThey were so relaxed together on stage, so funny, that everyone felt safe in their company. They were brilliant because they appealed to everybody, all walks of life, men-women, young-old, everybody found them funny and itโ€™s very hard to do.โ€

Their catchphrases now engraved in our language, the songs and gags will never fade with time. So, in their show, itโ€™s Ian and Jontyโ€™s aim to replicate Morecambe & Wiseโ€™s live theatre shows, with the famous songs and sketches from their TV moments, as well as a few surprises and a guest singer.

 
Ian and Jonty first met at drama school in Birmingham in 1983 where they became firm friends. Even back then people would ask โ€˜are you a double act?โ€™ to which the boys would answer, in unison, โ€˜No.โ€™ Jonty is a brilliant mimic; Eric was one of many impressions he would perform from an early age. Heโ€™s a self-confessed Morecambe & Wise anorak and it was his knowledge and love which proved to be the bedrock of their story.

 

Now jobbing actors and members of The Stage Golfing Society, in 2002 Ian and Jonty would put on a review/show. They performed a five-minute sketch and were instantly told โ€˜you must do something with thisโ€™. It has to be said by now nature had taken its course with Jontyโ€™s hair and Ian had fully developed the short fat hairy legs!

 

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During the run of the initial show, which had moved from Richmond to the Edinburgh Festival, Ericโ€™s son Gary Morecambe saw the show and loved it. Support and approval from the family were massively important to Ian and Jonty and continues to be so. The show then went on a hugely successful tour, which culminated in its first West End run in the Christmas of 2013 at the Vaudeville Theatre.

 

The show was nominated for an Olivier Award in 2014. Another tour and a Christmas run at the St James Theatre London followed. Devizes has a grand chance to witness it from the comfort of their own town, one of many highlights of our Arts Festival. Tickets are ยฃ21 here.

 

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Barbโ€™d Wire and Corn Exchanging; Reggae Finds a Home at Devizes Arts Festival

Never content with what contemporary music thrust down our throats, even as a youngster, the easiest and sneakiest place to hunt for origins was Dadโ€™s record collection. It would be years before he discovered the shortfall of vinyl and confronted me. Sixties Merseybeat and blues-pop standard, I recall the intriguing moment I unearthed a shabby cover of a girlโ€™s naked torso, โ€œTighten Up Vol 2โ€ was inscribed on her abdomen in lipstick. So, when he did, I inquired why he bought this, Trojan Record. More concerned where his Pink Floyd gatefold had vanished to, he half-heartedly explained, โ€œit was something different,โ€ as if he didnโ€™t wish to divulge too much, โ€œand cheap.โ€

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The estate of Bob Marley is still argued over, he never understood how to handle the royalties of rock star. Other than a BMW he had no extravagance, the house on Hope Road a gift from Blackwell, in which he lobbed a single mattress in the corner of a bedroom. What you see of the Jamaican music industry in the movie, โ€œThe Harder they Come,โ€ is staunchly realistic; peanuts a too expensive commodity to compare to payments made to singers and musicians.

Poor wages triggered a prolific industry, hundreds of hopefuls jammed Orange Street awaiting to be ripped off. Trojan Records was founded the year after Bluebeat dissolved, 1968. The reasoning both English labels sourced Jamaican music was originally to supply the Windrush generation with the sounds of home, it is doubtful either realised the legacy they would leave. The underpaid nobodies singing on these records meant Bluebeat and Trojan could lower the price tag when compared to what upstarts like Bowie or Clapton would require, and price was everything for white British kids attempting to amass vinyl for house parties; as my father summed up.

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Though the attraction mayโ€™ve been the price, the enticement of these records came when the needle hit the groove; these rhythms were insatiably beguiling and exotic. I felt that ambiance too, and fell head over heels. But my palette had been preconditioned without comprehending it. Slightly too young to have immersed in the youth cultures of the late seventies, the sound bequest our pop charts.

Whether it was Blondie or the Police, or Madness, The Beat, or Piranhas, the charts of pre electronica eighties was inspired by the two youth cultures of punk and skinhead, and until the day I discovered a Bluebeat 7โ€ of Prince Busterโ€™s Madness, exposing Suggs and his Nutty Boyโ€™s embodiment, I had no idea. Jerry Dammersโ€™ Two Tone Records only had six years, an insecure contract with a get-out clause after one single, saw the acts achieve acclaim and jump ship.

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But if we celebrated Trojanโ€™s fiftieth last year, we must do the same for Two-Toneโ€™s fortieth, as it engraved its hometown, Coventry, as firmly on the ska map as Kingston. Within its short run Two Tone defined an era and reintroduced the roots of the dub reggae scene that punk spurred to white British youth; ska. The nonchalant rudimentary street-styled design of Two-Toneโ€™s corporate identity is today considered standard ska practise; Dave Storeyโ€™s chequered monochrome background with Walt Jabsco, a character based upon a Peter Tosh image.

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It may have challenged punk with chicness akin to mod, but today, these subcultures are inconsequential, we can bundle it all into one retrospective burlesque, select whatever element of any of them and fuse them without pretence or offense; one reason why a group like Barbโ€™d Wire is fresh and electrifying.

Though hailing from Two Toneโ€™s home, Coventry, drummer and vocalist, Trevor Evans, a.k.a. ET Rockers, having begun his sparkling career as roadie turned DJ for The Specials, and with a brass section arrangement by Jon Pudge, ska is only an element of Barbโ€™d Wireโ€™s sound. Guitarist Ryan Every, Fingers Aitken on bass, and Mark Bigz Smith commanding the keys, blend influences as far and wide as punk to orchestral and blues into a melting pot of reggae. Fronted by the spiralling, gospel-inspired vocals of Cherelle Harding, their unique sound drives a heavy dub bassline, while not divulging on its preconditioned instrumental ethos. What weโ€™re left with is a genuinely contemporary reggae lattice landing the group as firm favourites on the dynamic Coventry scene and festival circuit such as Skamouth.

 

While tracks like Duppy Town and Et Rockers Up Town, on their 2017 debut album, Time Has Come, rely on dub, a stepperโ€™s riddim thrives throughout, but incorporates aforementioned influences. The only recognisable cover, for example, is the classic Latino-inspired Rockfort Rock of which the Skatalites perfected a ska-rhumba amalgamation. Produced by Roger Lomas, who also handles Bad Manners and The Selecter, again, Barbโ€™d Wire pride themselves with Two-Tone influences, yet unlike the standard ska cover band youโ€™re likely to get on our local scene, who all have their place in maintaining a clandestine but welcomed scene here, Barbโ€™d Wire will be a fresh and welcomed gig, when they arrive at Devizes Corn Exchange on Saturday 1st June as a feature of Devizes Arts Festival.

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For me, and any reggae/ska/soul aficionado, this is simply unmissable, but for the Arts Festival it may be a risky move, breaking their typical booking in search for newer audiences. While organ recitals, poetry slams and theatre noir have their place, we owe it to ourselves to support this event in hope it will spur future events at the festival of an alternative and contemporary genre. That is why youโ€™ll see our Devizine logo proudly on the posters for this particular appearance, as though we plan to bring you more in-depth previews and reviews of this yearโ€™s stunning line-up, Iโ€™m most excited about this one!

 

Saturday 1st June: Tickets available now, ยฃ18

 

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Feeling the Force of The Devizes Arts Festival

If thereโ€™s a stigma among the typical denizen surrounding the Devizes Arts Festival that itโ€™s all rather pompous and geared toward the elder generation, all walks and organ recitals, and that sounds like you, then I bid you look closer at this yearโ€™s newly announced line-up.

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Devizes Arts Festival has pulled a colossal rabbit out their hats for this Juneโ€™s festivities; really, I donโ€™t know where to begin. Yes, some of it conforms to the customary Arts Festival bookings, such as an audience with international journalist and veteran reporter John Simpson (Corn Exchange. Friday 31st May) and an organ recital by the Sub-Organist at Durham Cathedral, Francesca Massey (1st June St Johns.) Thereโ€™s even a two-hour festival walk; Historic Devizes (2nd June. Devizes Town Centre,) guided by experts from the Wiltshire County Archaeology team, and a Civil War Battlefield walk at Roundway Down on 9th June.

 
Now, donโ€™t get me wrong, while thereโ€™s no bad about any such events, and chatting with organiser Phillipa Morgan, who is keen to point out, โ€œwe had fifteen sold-out events last year,โ€ thereโ€™s many-a darn good reason to cast off this erroneous label.

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I assure, many acts are set to blow some interest in the direction of those whoโ€™d not considered the Arts Festival before. Ska, for instance, (you know me, fancy picking on this one first!) with Skamouth favourites, Coventryโ€™s (the home of Two-Tone) Barbโ€™d Wire (1st June Corn Exchange) who boast legendary and original rude boy himself, Trevor Evans, combined with local songwriter/singer Lloyd Mcgrath. This is certain to raise a few eyebrows; perfect for the 40th anniversary of Two-Tone.

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You can zip your soul boots too, for seventies pioneers in funk, The Real Thing are confirmed, (8th June. Corn Exchange.) Known for legendary hits โ€œYou to Me Are Everythingโ€ and โ€œCanโ€™t Get by Without You,โ€ Devizes is sure to feel the force!

 
Wiltshireโ€™s own Nick Harper is at The Exchange, 13th June, contemporary Congolese and Cuban music 15th June at the Corn Exchange with Grupo Lokito, and experimental prog-rock with CIRCU5 (16th June. Cellar Bar.)

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The brilliant radio, television and stage comedian Ed Byrne (12th June. Corn Exchange) was the other to immediately catch my eye. Joined by special guests, David Haddingham and Sindhu Vee, this one promises to โ€œhave you rolling in the aisles.โ€ With sold-out runs at the Edinburgh Fringe, and the West End, it reminded me of a conversation I had with some organisers last year, about how they travel to Edinburgh to source acts for the Arts Festival. This dedication has paid off, it seems, and weโ€™re set for an explosively good year.

 
I asked Phillipa if this stigma was something the committee addressed, as it certainly is a line-up of variety. โ€œClassical music is still there but weโ€™ve tried to broaden the appeal. I think we’ve just moved in that direction as a result of an awareness that the requirement is changing and we’re trying to be more inclusive.โ€

 
So, what else is up for grabs this year? Childrenโ€™s author Clive Mantle will be entertaining youngsters with illustrated readings from his time-travelling, Himalayan adventure and talking about his writing and his own travels in Nepal (1st June. Devizes Town Hall 2:30pm.) Although familiar as an actor to audiences of Holby, Vicar of Dibley and Game of Thrones, Clive Mantle is also now a successful childrenโ€™s author: his first book โ€œThe Treasure at the Top of the Worldโ€ was short-listed for the Peopleโ€™s Book Award and a second book in the series is due out in June. This is suitable for eight-year-olds and above.

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Also, for young-uns, Blue Peter Award winning author and performer, Gareth P Jones presents Aliens in Devizes! (8th June. Town Hall) Pet Defenders, a secret organisation of dogs, cats, rabbits and rodents dedicated to keeping the Earth safe from alien invasion. Suitable ages from six to nine, but sounds like fun to me!

 
The best jazz violinist in the country, Christian Garrick and John Etheridge, one of the most stunningly versatile guitarists, presents Strings on Fire (3rd June. The Exchange.) Meanwhile, two siblings that make up the exceptional violin and viola duo, String Sisters, Angharad and Lowri Thomas String Sisters are at St. Andrews Church on the 5th June. Multiple award-winning musicians, whoโ€™ve played with Alfie Boe, Michael Ball, Paloma Faith, Marc Almond, Boy George and Robbie Williams.

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2nd June at The Bear Hotel Ballroom, thereโ€™s a quirky, funny and poignant award-winning solo show about Nick Drake; a celebration of music, photography, life, coincidences and the legacy of one of the most influential singers/song-writers of the last fifty years.

 
Competitive improv as youโ€™ve never seen it, The Shakespeare Smackdown (4th June. The Exchange,) is from the creators of Olivier Award-winning โ€œShowstopper! The Improvised Musical.โ€ Britainโ€™s favourite celebrity organic gardener and Gardenersโ€™ Question Time star panellist, Bob Flowerdew has An Audience with on the 5th June at Devizes Town Hall.

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From Atila singing the Nat King Cole Story (6th June. Town Hall) to the dark comic and eclectic music of Moscow Drug Club (7th June Corn Exchange) and from An Audience with grand dame of English literature, Fay Weldon (8th June. Bear Hotel) to Elspeth Beard, the first British woman to motorcycle around the world (8th June. Bear Hotel) no one can deny the quality and variety is extraordinary this year. Talks on Sci-Fi influences on evolutionary linguistics, a homage of renditions of Eric and Ernie, author Clare Mulleyโ€™s on her third book, โ€œThe Women Who Flew for Hitlerโ€, open mic poetry session with Josephine Corcoran, in fact thereโ€™s too much here to list in one article, my wordcount exploding and I fear youโ€™ll be bedazzled by it all.

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So why donโ€™t we regroup tomorrow, when weโ€™ll highlight, in particular, the free fringe events? Phillipa, in charge of the fringe events, notes surprisingly, that although โ€œthe fringe events are subsided, for some reason they donโ€™t seem to attract that many people, compared with ticketed recent events such as Rick Wakeman at ยฃ45, which sold out.โ€ I think this is down to the aforementioned stigma, and here at Devizine Iโ€™m dedicated to prove it wrong. So, same time tomorrow then?

 

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