Tag: news

N’Faly Kouyaté (Afro-Celt Sound System) Tour Includes Wiltshire Music Centre

Perhaps best known as the frontman of Afro Celt Sound System, the Belgium-based artist N’Faly Kouyaté will be hitting the road for nine intimate shows with his new solo project.  Beginning at Southampton’s Turner Sims on 8th February, the tour will include Bradford-on-Avon’s Wiltshire Music Centre on the 11th February….

N’Faly Kouyaté’s UK tour will be preceded by the release of a brand new single, “Premiers Pas”, a powerful, political track that finds the artist echoing Africa’s call for total autonomy. Offering a poignant reflection on Africa’s tumultuous history, the single will shine a light on the suffering, terror, and an unquenchable thirst for freedom the continent has endured. Merging French and Malinké languages, the lyrics reflect Africa’s fervent call for complete control, with N’Faly Kouyaté requesting the world recognise Africa’s right to shape its own destiny. It will be streaming on all services on 3 February 2024. 

The release of “Premiers Pas” will be accompanied by a striking official music video co-directed by N’Faly Kouyaté, his manager Sandra Werner, and their team. The metaphorical visuals will depict Africa’s journey to freedom, celebrating cultural diversity and the inner strength of its people. Filmed in South Africa, the choice of Nelson Mandela’s homeland as the filming location underscores continental solidarity in the pursuit of autonomy. In tandem, the artist sheds light on similar phenomena in daily life, such as workplace abuse of power, domestic violence, and many others. 

Speaking about the new single N’Faly Kouyaté says: “I am raising a cry with ‘Premiers Pas’ to demand total autonomy for Africa. This song is the expression of the determination of an entire continent to finally take control of its destiny.”

More than a song, “Premiers Pas” is the resounding cry of a continent seeking to reclaim its voice and place on the global stage, sung by one of its most passionate musical advocates. 

Originally hailing from Guinea, N’Faly Kouyate is a world-renowned Griot master musician and multi-instrumentalist. Moving to Belgium in 1994, he formed the ensemble Dunyakan (The Voice of the World), before joining Afro Celt Sound System in 1996. Frequently performing at WOMAD, the latter have released many albums through Real World Records and performed with stars including Peter Gabriel, Robert Plant, and Sinéad O’Connor. Owning an innovative sound that blends electronica with music from Ireland and West African countries, Kouyate prominently provides vocals, kora and balafon for the group.

Famed for his irrepressible energy and virtuoso performances on stage, N’Faly Kouyaté’s latest solo project will promise a spellbinding mixture of polyphony and electronic music in symbiosis with traditional instruments, called Afrotronix.

On his upcoming ‘Ré-Génération Tour’, N’Faly will be joined each night by his extraordinary ensemble, promising a unique opportunity for British audiences to experience this visionary artist like never before. He comes to Wiltshire Music Centre in Bradford-on-Avon on 11th Feb, Tickets here.

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Wife Cooks Husband in Devizes!

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

New Devizes Mayor; Congratulations, Vanessa!

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

Should Wiltshire Council Fly the Pride Flag?

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

M3G, De-Anchored

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

The Importance of Being Earnest at the Wharf Theatre, Devizes

The Importance of Being Earnest is rather like a newfound interest in jazz, you must “unlearn” the four-beat pop you’re accustomed to, to fully appreciate it. You have to rewind, temporarily forget Rick Mayall and Ade Edmondson, forgo all farcical comedy from The Goon Show to Charlie Chaplin, and leave your Tardis in late Victorian England, then, you will laugh.….in a hoity-toity kinda fashion!

Opening Monday, it’s a sell-out at the Wharf Theatre in Devizes already, assuring me you know the plot and backstory; though I caught last night’s dress rehearsal, I’m not sure I need review it, only to assure ticket-holders they’re in for a good night, express, once again, why you gotta love our communal and hospitable town’s theatre, and maybe attempt to convince you I’m an intellectual!

One of the few plays I’ve read, I’m reminded how ironic and sardonic towards pomposity Oscar Wilde was, and how much trouble he got from it; surely making The Importance of Being Earnest a Victorian Men Behaving Badly, albeit written by a genius of twisting narrative the like I find unable to make a modern comparable.

I find myself wondering how, or even if it’s possible, to modernise it, as they did with Brewster’s Millions, for example. For it lambasts the snobbery of Victorian social etiquette as nonsensical, ridiculing the formalities of gentry as preposterous folly, and though it suggests insincerity and fabrications should be morally neutral, our protocols to be so feigned with social interactions has drastically improved through equality since, making this feel somewhat lost in time. Such is its ex-post facto beauty, concluding some things are best left the way they are. 

This leaves the happy ending scene questionable by today’s standards. In an unfeasible  modern twist it’s surely likely both Jack and Algernon would’ve been victims of their own circumstance; akin to a double-act of Basil Fawlty and Basil Fawlty. A modernisation of the play would end (spoiler alert) with the penultimate scene, where the ladies discover Earnest was a big, fat double-whammy fib to get in their knickers, and the boys would’ve been summoned to punishment for their deceptions, liable to sharp kicks to their respective groin-areas!

True, isn’t it? Modern girls wouldn’t have given these unsuitable and practically unhinged suitors the time of day! They’d receive only a two-finger salute, probably de-friended and condemned on Facebook, and they’d both be rung out to dry on Tinder, no matter how loaded they are! It is then, with a curiosity of Victorian ethics which makes this play so endearingly comical, classic and impossible to modernise; go tell Disney! 

Though, with a line in the play ironically defuncting happy endings I hadn’t picked up on till last night’s fantastic dramatisation of it, I strongly suspect that is precisely what Wilde was getting at, only leaving me ponder what he would think of our era today. There’s far more connotations to encrypt from this play than first meets the eye, but at least he wouldn’t be threatened with a bouquet of rotten vegetables from his boyfriend’s pop and in his attempt to sue the Lord, get banged up in the big house for it. More likely the Lord would get a wrap on the knuckles for a hate-crime; proving how far we’ve emancipated and why this play is so intriguing and poignant, if outmoded comically.

And it’s played out wonderfully, Rob Finlay plays steadfast Jack Worthing, Oliver Beech makes the perfect punster Algernon Moncrieff, and their conflicting characters ricochet off each other like they were performing this in Melksham’s Bounce House!

Sophie Kerr plays Gwendolen Fairfax, and Anna McGrail is Cecily Cardew, elegantly defining the constricted mannerisms of Victorian ladies, and Wilde’s attempts to satirise it. Comic gold from Debby Wilkinson as Lady Bracknell and Jess Bone as Miss Prism, particularly when the two finally clash. Rob Gill is the bumbling reverend, Tony Luscombe and Ian Diddams make the perfect butlers.

Lewis Cowen is one dedicated director who has made this play shine beyond the rafters of the Wharf. I think you’ll love it, being far more intellectual than me, and I finish with an oxymoron Oscar Wilde might be proud of me for; oh, awfully witty, what-what! Photographer Chris Watkins was there, trying to grab some images from him to illustrate this with, for now, I apologise for not taking photos, but guarantee you, it’s yet another stunning performance.

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Ready for RowdeFest?

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

Time to Be Thinking About CrownFest 2026

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

Vinyl Realm Settles Into New Home

A median haul of vinyl can weigh in, but there’s no longer a trek down Northgate Street for record collectors and musicians alike. Vinyl…

Weekly Roundup of Events in Wiltshire: 17th -23rd January 2024

V busy week ahead, too busy to type the word “very,” (though I just did type the word “very,”) despite the cold spell, nothings gonna stop us now, reminding me somewhat of Ollie & Jerry’s theme “Breakin’, there’s no stopping us.”

Not that it takes me much to be reminded of Ollie & Jerry – I think about them all the time, I wonder where they are and what they’re…..okay, let’s push on, we don’t need you to be like Turbo, no one to dance with other than a broom, (youngsters pipe down and Google it!) here’s what’s happening over the coming week in the wilds of Wiltshire……

Everything listed here is on our event calendar; go there for links and more info. It may be updated with even more things to do than listed here, so check in later in the week.

Ongoing until 17th February, two enlightening exhibits at Wiltshire Museum, Devizes, Lest We Forget: the Black Contribution to the World Wars in Wiltshire, and Eric Walrond: A Caribbean Writer living in Wiltshire. Reviewed Here.

Artist Clifton Powell with Eric Walrond portrait at Wiltshire Museum

Wednesday 17th

The Melksham & Devizes Primary have a new year meet at the Kings Arms, Melksham; we recently did an interview with them, a really important issue, check it out here.

The regular Acoustic Jam at The Southgate, Devizes.

Lunchtime Recital Series at The Wyvern Theatre, Swindon, with Babatunde Aleshe in the evening.

Opening night of The Wind in the Willows at The Rondo, Bath, running until Sunday the 21st. Meanwhile, Starlings play The Bell in Bath.

British Lion are at the Cheese & Grain, Frome.

Thursday 18th

M3g plays The Tuppenny, Swindon, Zamba Lando at The Beehive, John Otway at The Vic, a memory sing at Swindon Arts Centre, and Get It On at The Wyvern Theatre.

Friday 19th

Borrowed Atlas plays the Pump, Trowbridge, with Ravetank in support.

Cara Dillon is at Pound Arts, Corsham.

Forbidden Nights at Melksham Assembly Hall, ladies!

Stompers at The Boat House, Bradford-on-Avon.

Littlemen at Chapel Arts, Bath.

Dark Prophecy at The Vic, Swindon, UK Pink Floyd Experience at The Wyvern Theatre. 

Saturday 20th

Day course: Wood Engraving with Robin Mackenzie at Wiltshire Museum, Devizes.

An album launch gig for Cracked Machine at the Southgate, Devizes, with Clock Radio in support. Siren at The Three Crowns. Real Music are at the Bear, with a Soul, Motown Disco.

Open Mic at The Barge Honeystreet.

Chippenham Record Fair, at The Citadel on Bath Road; free entry.

Editor’s Pick of the Week is Bradford Roots Festival at the Wiltshire Music Centre, Bradford-on-Avon; I’ve been saving myself since new year for this! Incredible line-up, all day Saturday and Sunday, preview here, hope to see you there?

Cara Dillon is at Pound Arts, Corsham.

Ian Diddams and Wendy Dopheide take Happy Jack to the Athenaeum, Warminster for a two night run, Saturday and Sunday; here’s a review from when this show was at the Wharf in Devizes.

The Korgis – Time Machine at Chapel Arts, Bath.

Apache Cats at The New Inn, Swindon, The Rolling Clones at The Vic. Abba Forever at The Wyvern Theatre, and an RPA Golden Ticket Show at Swindon Arts Centre.

Sunday 21st

Manos Puestas at The Southgate, Devizes.

Bradford Roots Festival continues.

Sing-A-Long-A Matilda The Musical (PG) at The Wyvern Theatre, Swindon.

Gordie Tentrees & Jaxon Haldane at The Bell, Bath.

Monday 22nd

Giovanni Pernice at The Wyvern Theatre, Swindon.

The Swing Vote at The Bell, Bath.

Tuesday 23rd

Vasilis Xenopoulos & Tom Berge Trio for the regular Jazz Knights The Royal Oak, Swindon.

Giovanni Pernice at The Wyvern Theatre.

And that’s your lot, let me know what we missed, we can list events for free, but a chocolate muffin works better to persuade me! Lots to look forward to this month, I’ll lob a few posters below, but keep your best eye on the……Event Calendar!! Also note, we have a new page for weekly events including clubs and activities, here: it’s new so we need to list some more, tell us what you know!

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Radium on Liddington Hill

Swindon-based adrenaline pumping five-piece Liddington Hill released their first EP for three years, and Radium is highly radioactive….. For most on the North Wessex Downs,…

Devizes Corn Exchange; Vaccine Clinic Accepting Walk-Ins

The Devizes Corn Exchange is holding vaccine clinics on Wednesday 4th of August, Friday 6th ( Pfizer only) and Saturday 7th August ( Astra and Pfizer) between 8.30 and 5pm each day.

They are accepting walk-ins, you do not need to book. If this is to be your second vaccine, you must be at 8 weeks between your first vaccine, as per government recommendations.

The Corn Exchange The Market Place Devizes SN10 1HS

Devizine would like to extend its eternal gratitude to all the staff and volunteers working so hard at the Corn Exchange, and I hope that speaks for the town. I’m thinking we should organise a club-together, get them each all a small gift of thanks from Devizes folk. What do you think?

Candidate for Wiltshire Police & Crime Commissioner barred from Volunteering to Administer Lateral Flow Covid Tests

Is it campaign point-scoring, as the authorities seem to presume, or concern for health which encouraged Wiltshire PCC candidate, Mike Rees to volunteer to administer lateral flow tests? Whatever, the bottom line is discouraging anyone from attempting to help out during this crisis is bureaucratic nonsense.

And besides, just a brief chat with Mike recently, throughly convinced me his motives are genuine. He’s an open minded, authentic and down-to-earth guy, with experience in the field and a passion for the role.

Mike explains: “It’s with great surprise and disappointment that I have to let you know that I have been stopped, and apparently barred, from becoming a volunteer in the police effort to combat Covid19.

As a retired police officer I put my name forward for volunteer duties last year when the pandemic struck.

Mike Rees

This month I answered another call to volunteer to administer lateral flow tests to police officers and staff. I had a training session earlier this week and completed the online NHS assessment and passed to certificate my competency for the task.

Today I was expecting to attend a ‘dry run’ session however I’ve now been told I cannot attend as they have to investigate the ‘rules’ as allowing me to volunteer may suggest bias on their part because I’m a candidate for the role of Wiltshire Police Crime Commissioner.

I’m disappointed and dismayed to be denied the opportunity to volunteer to support the police, a force I worked in for 30 years.

I’ve asked for the ‘rules’ to be clarified as I see no possible concerns.

For your information, I do not agree with this decision to bar me from volunteering. 

I’m standing as an independent candidate, not aligned to any political party and volunteering was a personal decision.”

Mike is fast becoming the outside chance of becoming our PCC, and we’re backing him fully here on Devizine after his Malmesbury boxing club recently helped out the homeless, appealing for  donations of sleeping bags , food and clothes from locals and delivering them to the OpenDoors support agency in Devizes.

Plus, this is, by far, not the first charitable thing Mike has engaged in.