Tag: rock

โ€œNothing Rhymes With Orangeโ€ at Cursus Festival, May 24th, 2026.ย 

by Ian Diddams

images by Ian Diddams

Though now based out of Bristol, at university studying Music and sharing digs together, NRWO (as they are colloquially known) began life in Devizes School not so very long ago. An early gig in the Corn Exchange in July 2023 saw me, Gail of Devizes, Jemma of FTO and a few mums and dads watch them thrash out a full set, to a large crowd of mid-teens, predominantly female โ€ฆ I was aware I was conspicuously the only adult male in the audience aside from parents and must have looked the biggest perv going so I stood next to Jemma for some credibility!

Fast forward a few years and here I was again watching NRWO but this time at Cursus Festival, at Cranbourne Chase Cider, in the early afternoon as the temperatures reached over 30 degrees Celsius in the shade. The lads still looked young, but now sported some noticeable stubble as befits their advancing years. There were far fewer teenage girls present, and a lot more middle-aged men; I felt less conspicuous as a result which was just as well because Jemma was elsewhere with the FTO in Cheltenham!! However, so much for feeling inconspicuousโ€ฆ  the bandโ€™s merch merchants – the bassist Sam Briggsโ€™ mum and dad! –  identified me on sight. My reputation clearly precedes meโ€ฆ  the power of being a Devizine journalist!

Way back then in that Corn Exchange gig the lads were raw, nascent, even naรฏve in their music. What it maybe lacked in roundedness it more than made up for with huge energy and BIG chords. Here the music has become more mature though still full of energy and noise (thatโ€™s a good thing!). Less angst, more controlled youthful arrogance and verve.

The band displayed plenty of indie/rock/punk tropes โ€“ leering, leaning, feet on fold back speakers from Elijah, broodingly aloof lead from Fin, insouciance from bassist Sam and shirtless, beanied drumming from Lui โ€“ all to add to the excellent delivery of their set.

And speaking of set, oldies but goodies
Shear Water https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nsVWELRWUZo
Pedestal https://youtu.be/YXHuk-Po698

were provided along with non-online tracks
TGE
Soulgiver
Starlift
The Flowers
Horlix
Red

Some of which are on the bandโ€™s latest limited release EP โ€“ there were at last count seven left in Sound Knowledge (Marlborough) and thereโ€™s a reorder of a hundred to come for those that missed out first time around so get your hands on a copy soon! Available then from their merch link on their website.

https://nothingrhymeswithorange.co.uk/merch/

Of course you could do far worse than catch that band as they close out the 2026 Devizes Arts Festival, at the Corn Exchange, Devizes โ€“ tickets a bargain at ยฃ12 (ยฃ10 concessions) on Saturday 13th June at 8p.m. They lads return to their roots to showcase their advances to a home crowd and while their original fan base, like themselves, are now peripatetic it provides a fantastic chance for those to return for the band, and for late comers to NRWO to pick up on this home-grown band doing good.

https://www.ticketsource.com/whats-on/devizes/corn-exchange-devizes/nothing-rhymes-with-orange/2026-06-13/20:00/t-oejrjoe


See ya there!

โ€œWe Will Rock Youโ€ at St. Augustine’s, Trowbridge, May 27thโ€“30th, 2026

by Ian Diddams

images by Trevor Porter & Claire Borovac

Juke box musicals tend to be little more than a string of hits, loosely linked together by a fairly weak storyline, and it must be said โ€œWe Will Rock Youโ€ breaks no moulds in this regard. However, Queenโ€™s wonderful music provides a joyous couple of hours wrapped around a tale of a dystopian future where real music has been replaced by a totalitarian approach to manufactured music allied to an oppressive state a.k.a. Globalsoft, where a bunch of outcasts and renegades run a guerrilla style existence hunted by the security forces on a renamed earth โ€“ now iPlanet. A sort of melange of Ray Bradburyโ€™s โ€œFahrenheit 451โ€ meets โ€œ2112โ€ by Rush in a โ€œRobin Hoodโ€™s Merry menโ€ saga with Star Warsโ€™ vibes topped with a King Arthur reference, all vaguely linked by Freddie and friends. It must also be mentioned, and applauded, that the references and jokes have been kept contemporary since its initial scripting twenty-five years ago.

It’s a challenging show to undertake โ€“ firstly the iconic status of the music, and the unique styles of Mercuryโ€™s voice wrapped up in what is really a tribute act turned into a stage show. Secondly Ben Eltonโ€™s acerbic wit as the jokes, knob gags, and satire come thick and fast. And not to omit, in this glorious heatwave we are enjoying at the moment, thirdly the cast, band and crew sweltering away during the show! But Trowbridge Musical Theatre (TMT) with their typically large cast of almost forty members deliver the show at St. Augustineโ€™s this week with style, energy and smiles galore, directed by Petra Schofield and produced by Maria Matthews.

The set (โ€œBrightโ€) is simple but effective providing multiple height levels and stage depth; sound and lighting (Harry Sandford, Chris Sealy & Harry Weissenbruch, and Ryo Rosemann) provided top effects and follow spot, and the standard excellence of the back stage management and crew (Chris Isaacson, Nicky Runyeard-Hunt, Cameron Runyeard-Hunt, Bernice Hudson, Stewart Langford) kept everything smoothly ticking along; the sign of a good back stage crew is that you never know they are there โ€“ plaudits to them. Costumes, hair and make-up are an โ€œunseenโ€ team, although their input is critical to a showโ€™s success and Karen Grant, Sandra Tucker, Lucy Adeney and Lyn Taylor deserve kudos in this area.

As a jukebox musical of course the band are an all-important and integral part of the show, so step forward Musical Director (Helen Heaton), keyboards (Helen Heaton and Sian Noctor), guitars (David May and Ben Jones), bass (Owen Heaton), drums (Alex Kemp) and percussion (Helen Altoft) who delivered the Queen โ€œsoundโ€ โ€“ how marvellous to have a guitarist named May ย in the band too! All too often a bandโ€™s volume can overpower the voices especially as in this case when the band is between the stage and audience, but levels were delightfully placed to support but not drown out the singingโ€ฆย  though during the big instrumentals, the lead guitar and drums could have been louder to just give thatย OOOMPHย we have all come to love from Brian May and Roger Taylorย ๐Ÿ˜Šโ€ฆ But then again that may (ba doom tish!) just be me who likes his musicย LOUD!!!

No musical theatre show is ever complete without a wonderful ensemble and as ever with TMT shows, these ensembles were a highlight with tight choreography and slick background singing and stage presence. Its not realistic to mention the nigh on thirty ensemble members all individually, and its possibly unfair to just single one of them out, but I do have to say Yvonne Paulley shone throughout with her happy, smiling face, clearly enjoying herself to the maximum (and that is no slight on all the others either of course!). Regarding the choreography, Dani Fuke has clearly worked tirelessly with the entire cast, and especially the ensemble, to create such seamless excellence – bravo BRAVO!

Andrew Curtis plays the role of โ€œBuddyโ€ which for story purposes acts as a sort Greek chorus, providing the context and background to various key plot information. โ€œBuddyโ€ because his character is named after Buddy Holly though Andrew skilfully provides at times a Ben Elton lookalike as well as Buddy Holly during the show to provide an homage to the scriptwriter ๐Ÿ˜Š

Ryan Chown as Brit (Britney Spears) and the ever excellent Daisy Woodruffe as Oz (Ozzie Osbourne) combine with Buddy to set the scene and bring the early plot along as a loving couple intent on fulfilling their innate desires to rebel against Globalsoft, and Chris Howlett provides one half of the oppressive Globalsoft dictatorship  as Khashoggi, the head of secret police with distinct Gestapo overtones.


The other half of the evil empire, the supreme leader of iPlanet, Killer Queen, is superbly played by Keeley Guyan in her TMT debut. Her strong vocals and stage presence shine through and she totally makes her solos her own.

That just leaves us with Carisma Dolphin as Scaramouche and Noah Heard as Galileo; both are excellent in their characterisation and delivery, Carisma especially as her portrayal of the uber sassy, girl power confidence imbued heroine of this piece.  Their on-stage chemistry as a couple grows throughout the show in line with their charactersโ€™ relationship, quite wonderfully done, and their duets were simply perfect. Now โ€“ itโ€™s a tough call for anyone to take on songs by Freddie Mercury, and not even George Michael could fill those huge boots, but both Noah and Carisma had clearly worked hard to emulate some of Mercuryโ€™s intonations and delivery. Chapeau!

I began with a comment about jukebox musicals being just great songs and a weak storyline, but it is only fair to add that amongst this daft storyline, there are some real connections to historical and contemporary issuesโ€ฆย  dictatorships, rebellions, oppression, the struggles of minorities, bread-and-circuses state control and so on; maybe unsurprising given Ben Eltonโ€™s past as an irony heavy stand-up comic and satirical author. So, while this is a light hearted show nonetheless it does deal with some genuinely terrible concepts beneath its surface and it is worth a moment of reflection.

โ€œWe Will Rock Youโ€ is performed by Trowbridge Musical Theatre at St. Augustineโ€™s Catholic College, Trowbridge from May 27th until 30th, at 7.30pm with a Saturday matinee at 2.30pm.

Tickets are available fromย https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/trowbridge-musical-theatre

Sheer Music Announce Devizes Gig Frank Turner Bootleg Cassette

Itโ€™s 2006, and the charts are awash with what will become known as landfill indie. Somewhere in backwater Townsville UK, an already road worn veteran is making their furtive steps into a solo career that, unbeknown to them, will have a major and lasting impact on the UK music sceneโ€ฆ..ย ย 

Frank Turner is already famous for searing live performances that have put his band right in the front and centre of UK alternative music. Now he has to do it all again. Armed with only a guitar, many opinions and a reading list that would make your local library wince, he struck out, willing to perform anywhere that would have him.

Documented here is the genuine sound of a guy learning his craft. Nights like these are found across the UK every night of the week. Immortalized in lyrics that would appear later in his career, his โ€œbedrooms, bars and bunker squatsโ€ work ethic took him to unknown towns, like Devizes.

Devizes had a rich history in live music when it was primarily known as a military / squaddie town. Live performances from Status Quo, Ginger Baker’s Airforce, Curved Air (twice), Yes (twice), Van der Graaf Generator, Thin Lizzy, Fleetwood Mac, King Crimson, Rory Gallagher, Mott the Hoople, all in 1971 alone. But it wasnโ€™t until 2004 that its life was breathed back into its history, when Foals, LostAlone, Frank Turner, The Struts, The Computers, and more began performing here. Putting the town firmly back on the touring circuit.

This cassette documents, warts and all, the chaotic approach to small back room bar live shows. The rawness of the songs, the rowdiness of the audience. Included in the earnest set list are two covers. One from his peer Chris TT and a Sun Kil Moon cover too. Both showcase Frankโ€™s knowledge and passion for underground music. 

Frank recounts, โ€œremembering details of one show out of more than 3000, two decades on, is a challenge. Those early days were a blur of cigarettes, trains, whisky, sleeping on floors, panic and drive. My craft has evolved slowly over the years, so flipping back to an early document of a show can be a shocking thing in some ways; so much has changed. But enough has stayed the same. Kieran helped me out with shows in the early days and  remains a friend now. Somehow, shows like this led me to where I am now, and I wouldn’t change a thing.โ€

This release will only be available on cassette, direct from Sheer Music, or at 3 carefully selected independent record shops, Banquet Records in Kingston, Sound Knowledge in Marlborough and Mars Tapes in Manchester. The eight track cassette itself is a 2 tone olive and dusty pink affair, and clocks in at just over 30 minutes.

The artwork apes the style of 70s and 80s bootleg cassette releases. A down to earth, hand made/drawn approach, with an image that was lifted from a photograph of one of the Devizes gigs! The whole release is a charming, straight forward no frills release. The music does the talking, and we know it elevated an honest, hardworking musician to stadium heights. For more information, please visit the Sheer Music website, HERE.

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Pride Where Pride is Needed

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

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The UKโ€™s Biggest Festivalโ€ฆ. at Trowbridgeโ€™s Pump?

Yes, you did read this correctly! As lovely as our premier grassroots venue, The Pump in Trowbridge is, you might be stretched to imagine it hosting the UKโ€™s biggest festival without at least someone squishing your toes! Without any appropriate safety footwear, allow me to explainโ€ฆ..ย ย 

The Music Venue Trust and The National Lottery have announced Everywhere At Once, the UKโ€™s biggest festival, a festival on your doorstep. Taking place on what would have been the Glastonbury Festival weekend of June 26th to 28th 2026, hundreds of grassroots music venues across the country will unite for Everywhere At Once, for one extraordinary weekend.

Venues from Inverness to Penzance will host hundreds of major artists, touring acts and theย most exciting emerging local talent in the spaces that have launched generationsย of musicians. This will enable audiences to experience a diverse, curatedย programme of live music in the intimate rooms that are the heartbeat of their communities.

This is not a festival in a field. Itโ€™s a festival on your doorstep, no tent required.ย Forget the trek, the traffic and the campsites. And this exciting live music experience is coming to Trowbridge, via the Pump. See? Put your Crocs back on the shoe-rack, I said all would be explained!

Everywhere At Once is more than a line-up of gigs. Itโ€™s a national moment to celebrate the grassroots music ecosystem. For three days, the artists play, the venues host, the nation listens, closer to the music, where local matters, where everyone belongs; The Pump ticks that box.

Everywhere At Once at the Pump will include a twee indie pop night with Sketchbook Records presenting on Friday 26th June. Includes a line up of Josie from Copenhagen, Clock Radio from a bit closer to home, Devizes, and Bathโ€™s Wisdom Teeth.

Saturday 27th June is the Nova Nights takeover with punk-indie-blues vibes from Fight Milk from London, Melkshamโ€™s finest The Sunnies, and The Hayden Lloyd Band from Trowbridge.

And thereโ€™s a Sunday matinee from 2pm on the 28th, when The Pump Acoustic Club presents a night of folk with Dan Sealey of Ocean Colour Scene and Fromeโ€™s KD Rivers. Check out the Pump Website for more details.

Nothing Orange; Arts Festival Brings Home Devizes Phenomenon

Four years ago I witnessed a Gen Z phenomenon in Devizes. With a certain indie punk zest and intelligent songwriting, Devizes School band Nothing Rhymes With Orange built a local following I once compared to Beatlemania. Staging their own gigs and recording original songs, they harnessed appeal from a dedicated fanbase. By the summer of the following year I suggested to DOCA they should host them at the Devizes International Street Festival, and advised residents young and old, to come support this blossoming sensation; and they listenedโ€ฆ..

It will forever remain one of my most fondest memories as editor of Devizine; looking out from the stage across a sea of people stretching the entire Market Place and queuing down the Little Brittox. I announced them, it felt like the right thing to do after banging on so much about how good they were! And they absolutely rocked it, opening a wider age demographic to their brilliance, if still local. But Nothing Rhymes with Orange didnโ€™t stop there.

They would play our pub venues, from the Southgate to the Three Crowns, and they would even fit into FullTone, but they cast a net further, as other venues and festivals of other local areas headhunted them. The vibe was spreading, from Bradford-on-Avonโ€™s Roots Festival to Marlborough’s Lamb and The Barge on HoneyStreet, the lads fast becoming Devizes musical export of the century.

The only time I ever questioned their united successful future was at the end of their sixth form tunnel, when so many school bands demobilise to pursue separate universities, careers, or family obligations. It was 2024, they did a farewell gig at the Exchange in Devizes, and I set up an interview with them. It was more Chow for Now than breakup, as frontman Elijah Easton, guitarist Fin Anderson-Farquhar, drummer Lui Venables, and bassist Sam Briggs all planned to study music at Bristol uni, and even reside together; result!

For the interview I drew up some quirky questions, as usually a band of this age didnโ€™t take themselves overly serious, but what was revealed was evidently the most dedicated band with the most earnest sense of direction Iโ€™ve ever chatted with. It is this motivation to their development which drives the phenomenon to their international success. Nothing Rhymes with Orange have matured their sound, harnessed a style, but the audience response is equal to the Gen Z parties of home, just on a massive and international scale.

Bookings this year stretch from Exeter to a Brighton tour, onto Leeds, North Shields and  Sheffield. The CURCUS Festival in Dorset, Godney Gathering, Somerset, and back to their new residence with some of Bristolโ€™s biggest festivals. You can find our lads at Taunton, Plymouth, Rotherham, Leicestershire, Warwickshire, and Londonโ€™s premier venue The Dublin Castle. The end of July sees them in Gibraltar, and each and every date makes me proudly think, yeah, theyโ€™ve cracked this!

But for their original Devizes fans, there is one important gig on their list, for if itโ€™s one thing to see Springsteen play, itโ€™s another to see Springsteen in New Jersey. Devizes Arts Festival has brought many big names to town, over their forty years, some became bigger afterwards, others already A-list. This year is likely the first time they bring an act BACK to Devizes, as Saturday June the 13th sees Nothing Rhymes with Orange playing The Corn Exchange. The lads returning is going to be big, perhaps as big as the sacks of washing for their mums!!

Image: Kiesha Films

The Devizes Arts Festival put out, what I considered a slightly wonky perception of this in a social media post. Stating their generation didnโ€™t like paying for gigs, Iโ€™d argue it was more through financial reasoning than anything cultural. Besides, Gen Z have grown now, some with jobs, or at least with better parent persuasion techniques! While worth every penny, Devizes Arts Festival events come with a price, in order to stage them and cover the many free fringe events their program offers.

To attract a target audience rare for the Festival, tickets have been kept to a minimum, weighing in at just ยฃ12.94. I sincerely hope this works, because it is not just Gen Z this event should attract here in Devizes. In my honest opinion, the red carpet should be rolled out for these lads, whoโ€™ve put Devizes back on the musical map of England, since the success of The Hoax in the nineties. For the record, I recall standing by a younger Elijah, watching Jon Amor at his Southgate residency with a respectful eye.

The lads of Nothing Rhymes with Orange deserve to be shown a Devizes welcoming home party like no other, by all of this townโ€™s live music aficionados of all ages, not only for their international success, but for motivating a new generation here to pick up guitars and drums and start their own adventures. So, if your kid begs you for some money for a ticket, get one for them, and get one for yourself too!!

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Chatting with Ruby Darbyshire

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

Shindig Festival Goes Ahead, with Bob Vylan

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

Wife Cooks Husband in Devizes!

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

New Devizes Mayor; Congratulations, Vanessa!

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

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REVIEW โ€“ Vince Bell @ The White Bear, Devizes โ€“ Sunday 26th April 2026

Local Hero Plays Home-town gig shock!

by Andy Fawthrop

After the cracking weather we had all week-end, what better way to round things off than with the best of all home-town gigs with one of our local heroes Vince Bell?ย  So, suitably attired in t-shirt, sun-hat and sunglasses, off we toddled to one of our favourite watering holes, The White Bear, for a much-needed dose of great original songs.ย  Good beer and good music are all that anybody needs.ย  Obviously other choices were available, notably up the road at The Southgate, but for us it was a very easy choice. ย Vince is, without doubt, one of our local heroes, and it had been a few months since weโ€™d last had the chance to hear him.….

Vinceโ€™s first-half set was full of his fine self-penned songs, the lyrics coming across clear and loud, accompanied by some fine guitar work. I sometimes make the mistake of slightly under-rating his great work on the strings, but not at all yesterday. He was on absolutely superb form, carefully explaining and introducing each song, but never dwelling for too long, allowing the material to speak for itself.ย  The subject matter was downbeat and extremely personal, each song striking home and eliciting warm and enthusiastic appreciation from the gathering audience.

Pub gigs can sometimes be a bit weird, with some folks inclined to compete with the singer by trying to talk over the top, and spoiling it for everyone else whoโ€™s there and actually wants to listen.ย  Not so yesterday โ€“ the conversations gradually died down and, at times, you could almost hear a pin drop.ย  Great to hear an artist as good as Vince being shown some well-deserved respect. And before we knew it 45 minutes had slipped by and it was time for a top-up pint.

Chatting to Vince at half-time revealed that there were personal reasons why Vinceโ€™s mood and demeanour seemed a little low with his particular choice of songs, which I wonโ€™t go into by discussing here.  But suffice to say that the Monty Python lyric โ€œLife’s a piece of shit, when you look at itโ€ was not an entirely inappropriate way of summarising certain feelings.  He promised us a slightly more upbeat second spasm, and so it proved to be.

Joined for most of the second set by his friend Chrissy Chapman (of Burn The Midnight Oil fame), there was some lighter material, mostly penned by her. They worked well together, both in guitar playing and in harmonising their vocals.  We were also offered a couple of covers, including (I suppose inevitably) The Stonesโ€™ โ€œPaint It Blackโ€, which brought a wry smile to many faces. But, yet again, another 45 minutes disappeared in no time. And then we were treated to the much demanded encore of one of Vinceโ€™s signature songs โ€œSpiderman Pyjamasโ€, and the gig was suitably wrapped.

Just time for another quick pint, a short chat, then a walk home in the still-glorious sunshine. I did get the chance before leaving to tell Vince that I genuinely thought that it had been one of his best-ever gigs.  There were a lot of friends in the room, and lots of love, but I do hope that such a fine performance helped to win over a few new fans to Vinceโ€™s corner. Heโ€™s a local hero โ€“ he deserves it!

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M3G, De-Anchored

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

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Live Music in Devizes, Anyone? Meg & Seren at The Fold

Friday afternoon at The Lamb, tucked away behind the Town Hall in our market town, with my aim to introduce two aspiring local singer-songwriters who haven’t played in Devizes before, and present them at The Fold, a venue once renowned and hopeful to recreate its former reputation. I was anxious about the prospect. Their magnificent soundchecks filled me with confidence, though their wonderful talents were never the questionable element to this ventureโ€ฆ..

From Chippenham, Megan Hoy, or M3G to the local music scene, is a breathtakingly unique singer-songwriter. At nineteen she has built the kind of reputation, in both live performances and recorded, which welcomes her to the South Westโ€™s best venues and festivals. Her music and autism blend to become one, and exhausts something so personal you take a little of her emotions away with you; a skill usually reserved for only rare, professional acoustic performers decades down their journey.

If M3Gโ€™s outpourings are translucent windows into the souls of contemporary youth emotions, anxieties, cogitations and reservations, and those on the spectrum, she unites with her Warminster match. Seren, the same age as Meg, bypassed my vetting process of only booking acts Iโ€™ve already seen live, based on Meg and otherโ€™s recommendations, and the videos she posts on social media. They were plentiful to confirm Seren had something special, still her performance came as a pleasant surprise compared to my readymade affections for Megโ€™s music, based upon the numerous times Iโ€™ve witnessed her magic.

If both define it as indie-folk, either fits nicely for a support set to an indie band, and allows scope for such bookings such as at The Pump, where they are welcomed by young punters awaiting a punky band. Yet I see it still as timeless folk, that rawness and unrivalled valour to open yourself up to an audience, stripped back instrumentally, just you and guitar, alone in the spotlight; that is courageous. And both Seren and Meg wowed. Just as folk was here, at The Fold, even before Kieran cut his teeth with Sheer Music within these very walls, it was again with a new generation. Everything about this gig fitted, in my opinion.

And it was a wonderful evening. As the sun fell to the moonlight through the high windows of the Fold, Seren opened with her original songs, sublimely. Though shy to talk, Seren commands an audience and holds them spellbound through her honest, ingenious songwriting and her talent to deliver them with soothing, evocative vocals.

A short break and Megโ€™s is complementary to Serenโ€™s set, matching with similar appeal but not rivalling; theyโ€™ve gigged together before and thereโ€™s a genuine mutual respect. This sweeping package of excellence was tied and united by a third set, where they joined forces, and this really was something to behold. Each complimenting each other’s original songs and perfectly balancing their vocal arrangements for some covers. 

Obviously this review is an encomium, as it was my doing! Still, I wouldnโ€™t say it so if it wasnโ€™t, Iโ€™d bury my head in the sand, pretend it never happened! If you question my honesty, read on. Iโ€™m left bewildered and somewhat frustrated, because those who witnessed this astounding gig were few, few enough for it to cause an issue and serious doubt about hosting more in Devizes.

Reintroduce The Fold they said, a gathering of support on social media welcomed it, but unfortunately, not in realityโ€ฆ yet. I heard the opening night with the fantastic Bluebeard was also poorly attended. Letโ€™s be honest with ourselves, I thank everyone who came, but poor attendance leaves me dubious as to why. Varied illogical reasons spring to mind, which could be debated until the cows come home. Maybe itโ€™s teething issues at The Fold, or the market is already flooded? There could’ve been any number of reasons, but it certainly wasn’t the quality of the music, nor was it the price when we state you โ€œpay what you can.โ€

Friday night isnโ€™t a Saturday, lots of folk work Saturday mornings, I could tell myself. Booze ainโ€™t cheap anywhere these days, but another event, ticketed with a hefty price-tag, sold out, understandably reducing footfall. Perhaps though, not through the want of trying, The Lamb has yet to regain the popularity it once held. It is a great watering hole, as it ever was, Iโ€™d be horrified should it go the same spiralling downward route of so many others.

Thatโ€™s our motivation behind putting gigs on at The Fold, relaunching this venue, for the sake of original live music and the upkeep of the pub. Easy to yodel โ€œsupport live music,โ€ or โ€œsupport your pubsโ€ on your Facebook page, it might be another to attend, but that is only where it will impact.

Here were two young aspiring artists, singing their hearts out beautifully, and producing something unlike anything else you will currently witness here in this traditional market town. Yet, a majority would rather ignore, to either stay at home kissing Netflix, or attend a tribute act to prog-rock hasbeens. This is saddening for local music. You. Missed. An. Outstanding Gig.

The Fold is not out to rival the cover-band ethos popular at The Three Crowns, despite this glory having its place equal to the blues at the Blues club and Southgate. The Fold doesnโ€™t intend to better any other event or venue happening in Devizes, only to add to the options we already have, and bring to town a variety of original grassroots music in an intimate setting. But the intimacy of the room has to have a minimum for it to be viable.

The first open mic at the Fold

This should NOT be a negative reflection on the acts or venue. I find myself paranoid, if it’s me, and youโ€™ve lost trust in my judgement to book acts? Yet I’ve been to other events which made no sense for their failings. I only got into event organisation to better understand what organisers undertake, being I was to appraise them, after our first birthday party left me completely unprepared for the tasks involved. It is still a learning curve, but everything previous has been successful for me; now I know the heartfelt emotions of an event organiser who worked tirelessly but whose event didn’t attract attention. So, if this comes off bitter, it is genuinely upsetting. 

Perhaps if I host tribute acts to Meg and Seren fifty years from now in Devizes weโ€™ll sell out! Or are we really this shallow? I prefer to hope we are willing to give upcoming local talent a chance to shine, to move between the little circuits carved by the fields dividing us.

But for now, do I continue, pick up the pieces and try, try, try again, and if so, at what cost? Phil Cooper arrives at The Fold on Friday 22nd May, with Jamie and Tamsin. Here is a gig from the gang very well known to Devizes, which, hopefully will attract some attention. l wait in hope, concerned for the future of local live music in Devizes.ย ย 

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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 spiritedโ€ฆ

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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 radioactiveโ€ฆ..

For most on the North Wessex Downs, the clump of beech trees at 900 feet high atย Liddington Hill is a landmark to get your bearings. Without a carpark and a mile from the Ridgeway, its Iron Age hillfort isn’t nearly the tourist attraction as its neighbouring sites, Barbury and Uffington. But with fables of King Arthur and as Swindon’s World War 2 decoy control bunker, it overlooks the town with a safeguarding history of its own. For Swindon music aficionados its name doubles up as a contemporary local bandโ€ฆ.

Devizine first mentioned Liddington Hill when their front girl took to wearing a cow’s head in 2021, summarising their sound as Celtic punk. Two years later their second album, Edge of Insanity, carved a more unique angle we could best describe as โ€œCeltic grunge.โ€ Horrifically it expressed narratives of serial killers and inmates in sanitoriums, and gave plenty of the edge you expect from such morbid subjects. But often the merger between Celtic folk and grunge felt segmented; each track lent mostly towards one or the other. Liddington Hill returns to the studio after three years with an EP which better combines and merges the two fractions, and masterfully deploys them as one almighty blast.

Radium has five dynamite tracks, three with different historical narratives, and two more commonly concerning relationships. With nods to past punk styles, they swap between male and female vocals. With the latter thereโ€™s elements of riot grrrl, as in particular the opening track Peterloo. Not to be confused with anything by Abba, it kicks down the door with a heavy rolling electronic guitar riff and fiddles. The cavalry of the Yeomen charged into a crowd, gathered to demand the reform of parliamentary representation at Manchesterโ€™s St Peter’s Field in 1819, and with its unnerving driving chorus the song represents the fear of the charge.

But if Peterloo sits in England at the end of the Napoleonic Wars and the economic slump which it caused, Tarrare’s Stomach, third track in, rests earlier on the timeline, in France during the conflict. Tarrare was the real Mr Creosote from Monty Pythonโ€™s Meaning of Life, a gluttonous showman whose insatiable appetite was his act. He scoffed his way through the French Revolutionary Army rations, so General Beauharnais put him to military use, as a courier who would swallow documents, pass through enemy lines, and recover them from his poo when safely at his destination! Tarrareโ€™s fate could suggest Liddington Hill are implementing at least four of the Seven Deadly Sins, if Peterloo represents wrath. This track belts out grunge style, but again with those fiddles gives it the ambience for its historical context.

The fourth song moves forward in time to America at the beginning of the twentieth century, and serves as the ultimate health and safety in the workplace regulation. Luscious Radium concerns factory workers dubbed the โ€œRadium Girls,โ€ who were encouraged to lick their brushes when painting clock faces to maintain a fine tip, consequently ingesting radioactive material from the paint, and their landmark legal battles which established workers’ rights against corporate negligence; and you thought you were treated unfairly having your day off cancelled! 

Again, Lucious Radium is rich in this blend of ladened guitar and rolling drums, with the added Celtic instruments to provide this unique take on grunge and give it a sense of west country geography. Female fronted this one teases vocally, with deriding irony and the nonconformity of Siouxsie Sioux.

The other two songs deal more commonly with relationships; I could call lust from our deadly sins list. Pretty Boy, and Ever Shot a Gun Before both deal with suicidal tendenses due to romantic troubles, and both reference guns. With swapping vocals, Pretty Boy reeks with emotional outpour and should come with a government health warning. The finale is less three minute hero thrash than Pretty Boy, and more epic building grunge layers, with a memorable simple concept.  

The long-term effects of a relationship considered concrete by the character in the song, playfully chants on the ill-thought solutions and depicts the emotions of loss. Yet thereโ€™s a โ€œlittle help from my friendsโ€ epilogue, placing you concluded by the end and safely back in your armchair. Phew, radioactive factory women, a charging Yeoman army, a gluttoness cannibalistic French soldier, and your mate going to shoot himself because he broke up with his missus was all just a nightmare, evoked by this unique and intelligent grunge trip!

Radium is solid throughout, it never delves into ambient sympathy breaks. It may not be recommended by your history lecturer, but is an adventure in guitar crashing, drum rolling fiddle flashing with a historical reality. It takes no prisoners, and is the natural progression for Liddington Hill you need to take heed of. Thereโ€™s a strong grunge scene in Swindon, but perhaps no other band has this unique spin on it. Radium is exclusive.

The EP was released on 17th April, on streaming sites and is available for digital download on Bandcamp and CDbaby. Vinyl and CD versions are available through their website. www.liddingtonhill.comย 

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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 radioactiveโ€ฆ.. For most on the North Wessex Downs,โ€ฆ

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REVIEW โ€“ King King @ The Corn Exchange, Devizes โ€“ Tuesday 21st April 2026

Acoustic Tuesday

by Andy Fawthrop

Not my favourite night for going to a gig but, hey, sometimes you just have to roll with it.ย  On a night to fit in with their current short seven-date UK tour, Tuesday it just had to be, and King King rolled into town with their stripped-back โ€œacoustic setโ€.

First up, alone on stage, was support act Felix Rabin, a young man with plenty of talent. The Frenchman gave us a cracking first twenty-five minutes, and did an excellent job at paving the way for the main act to come.ย  Here was a man with a mic, a few loops and pedals, a stomp-box and a (gasp) electric guitar.ย  Over just six or seven songs, he easily won over the audience with a wide variety of songs, ranging from full-on loud, almost screaming anguish, through to some really thoughtful and tender material.ย  With an easy, comfortable, personality he fully engaged the audience.ย  The loud applause and the long queue at his merch desk at the end were both fully deserved.ย  A worthy support to the main act for the night.

After a somewhat over-long interval, during which we were able to โ€œenjoyโ€ the Corn Exchangeโ€™s excuse-for-a-bar, it was time for the main act.  With beer, cider and (cans of) Guinness at ยฃ6/ pint, served in plastic glasses by less-than-friendly staff, this is the venueโ€™s Achilles heel.  The offering is so limited, depressing and expensive.  Such a shame, when the overall surroundings of the hall are great, the entertainment was top-notch, and the sound quality delivered from stage was clear and crisp.  Pity they canโ€™t offer music fans something better.  However, I digress.

King King are a British blues rock group, formed in in Glasgow back in 2008 by Alan Nimmo and Lindsay Coulson, both formerly of The Nimmo Brothers. The band has released five studio albums and two live albums. The current line-up features Alan Nimmo (guitar and lead vocals), Stevie Nimmo (guitar and vocals), and Jonny Dyke (keyboards).  In this acoustic-only line-up, there was no room (or need) for bass and drums.  Back in 2014 British Blues Awards, the group won five awards including the Best Band and Best Album Awards.  Normally, in their full electric line-up, theyโ€™re widely praised as one of the UKโ€™s premier blues-rock bands, and known for their high-energy live performances.

Full disclosure: Iโ€™d never seen King King before, so Iโ€™d no idea what to expect.  However, I quickly gathered that the almost-full hall of the Corn Exchange was well packed with plenty of their fans.  By the time I took my seat Iโ€™d already had several fanboy conversations with folks I knew, and seen plenty of King King t-shirts.  The merch desk was also pretty busy.  So I was coming at this with a completely open mind and open ears.  โ€œCome on,โ€ I thought, โ€œshow me what you can do!โ€ Suffice to say, dear readers, I was not to be disappointed.

So not a full-on blues/ rock band then, but an acoustic  version of that band.  Last night, which Alan introduced as โ€œan experimentโ€, was all about keeping things much more stripped back, intimate (compared to their usual format), and with a strong focus on the quality of, and the stories behind, the songs themselves. 

For the next ninety minutes, through a flowing single set, they demonstrated very clearly their superb musicianship, vocal harmonies and song-writing skills.  There was plenty of inter-song chat, building up a picture of their back catalogue, but never straying into that tedious trap of doing more talking than singing.  There was plenty of cheeky humour, music business anecdotes, and an easy patter and interplay with the audience. The songs really spoke for themselves.  Hauled up from various parts of their back catalogue the two Nimmo brothers, both seated with acoustic guitar, introduced songs of great power.  The acoustic format allowed the vocals to really shine through, but never at the expense of some great work from the guitars and keyboard.

There were some nice riffs, some great choruses, plenty of audience participation. Most of the audience didnโ€™t need much winning over in the first place, but as a newbie I was fairly quickly convinced too.  Gotta say that I really loved it, and now feel prompted to go and see the band in their more โ€œnormalโ€ full electric format.  Another time, another date โ€“ but hopefully not on a Tuesday!

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Phil Cooper & Friends to Play to at The Fold

Excitement for the rebirth of The Fold music venue at The Lamb in Devizes is building. As youโ€™ve probably seen me posting on social media, Devizine presents two astounding Wiltshire singer-songwriters, M3G and Seren to Devizes this Friday (24th April,) and Gaz Brookfield with JP Oldfield in support has only gone and sold out for the 5th June, but between them we have something else to announceโ€ฆ..

Trowbridgeโ€™s hardest working musician Phil Cooper says heโ€™s โ€œmega-excitedโ€ to bring his show to the Fold on Friday 22nd May. With him he brings a Canadian friend, multi-instrumentalist singer-songwriter, arranger and producer LG Breton. Phil explained, โ€œLG told me he was coming from Canada to the UK for a holiday, and asked if there was a chance we could share a stage once again. I jumped at the chance!โ€

And if thatโ€™s not enough for you, the other two original members of The Lost Trades, Jamie R Hawkins and Tamsin Quin will be doing solo support slots, before LG and Jamie join Phil for a Phil Cooper Trio show; I haven’t seen Tamsin for sooo long, and Devizine was the Tamsin Quin fanzine too!

The Lost Trades original line up with Tamsin Quin

Again the event is “pay what you can afford,” and here’s the link to reserve your spot. Phil is such a wonderful musician in whatever guise he delivers, be it The Lost Trades, solo, as The Slight Band or the experimental project BCC, but the best thing about this talented and kind fellow, is either him standing in for missing band members for too many groups to name, or, most importantly, his production and engineering wizardry which has blessed so many artists as well as himself, including our M3G, of whom Phil has produced her last few singles; welcome to the small world of Wiltshire live music!

So, I hope to see you at The Fold on Friday, please bring some cash to donate if possible. The success of these early gigs for the new Fold really will be critical to our ability to put on more, so I hope you can make it, because there’s plenty of other brilliant local acts I’ve discovered on my journeys yet to showcase here in Devizes, and theyโ€™re queuing up, waiting for the green light!

And don’t forget, there’s an open mic up there every first Tuesday of the month.

A huge thanks then must go out to JP Oldfield who has masterminded the project and Sally at The Lamb. We’re so excited at Devizine we’ve a whole page dedicated to it, which I’m off to next to update with this news!

Lavington Electronica Composer Moray MacDonald Releases a Wharf Theatre Production’s Soundtrack

Some four years since his last release under his own name, Lavingtonโ€™s electronica composer Moray McDonald presents a soundtrack; the music he wrote and produced for Devizesโ€™ Wharf Theatre’s production of Kit Marloweโ€™s Doctor Faustus, which was performed back in Januaryโ€ฆ..

It was one of those rare occasions I stepped in to cover the dress rehearsal as our regular theatre critic Ian, was busy, stuffing a bucketload of Rice Krispies in the play! And Iโ€™m glad I did. I was uncertain if Iโ€™d take to director Liz Seabourneโ€™s recreation of this Elizabethan gothic black comedy, but came out of there thoroughly enthralled. The composition of the playโ€™s many components made it one of the best plays Iโ€™ve seen; the script, acting and production, yet it wouldnโ€™t have been half as spookily ambient if it wasnโ€™t for Morayโ€™s soundtrack.ย 

Image:@jenimeadephotography

They may only be nine snippets of sound, but with the music on Bandcamp at name your price, listening to it took me back to the play, and reminiscing at just how brilliantly sinister it was. Acts of Black Magic starts us off, an eerie soundscape, with harpsichord strings and jingling foolโ€™s caps, Somewhat to Delight has an unnerving medieval court jester feel to it, grinning devilishly, and then weโ€™re back on soundscapes, and Mendelssohn’s Wedding March gets a spooky underscore.

We swap from a soundscape to orchestral with each brief track, The Seven Deadly Sins nods playfully to Celtic folk dance, whereas the following Devilโ€™s Attack lends more to Buranaโ€™s O Fortuna, but all are equally unsettlingly devilish or scary faerie. If anything it displays the diversity at Morayโ€™s skilled hands, being his concentration has recently been on his Cephid project, a ground-breaking album of electronica, Sparks in the Darkness, which we fondly reviewed in 2023, and enjoyed a rare and intimate live performance of at Bath’s Rondo Theatre.

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Serenโ€™s New Single; Worm

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

The date is set for Imberbus 2026 !

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

Don’t Click on Illegal Rave Rage-Bait!

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

The Makers Exchange; DOCA Call to the Creative

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

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Three Crowns, One New Stage, and a Fake Family

Easter 2026: I could speculate The Three Crowns was still the place to be in Devizes, but thought it best to check! I’m not the gathering-shit-from-Facebook type journalist, pal, I’m the milkman who needs an unwinding cider or six on a Saturday. I took matters into my own hands; things I must endure for the cause of investigative journalism!

Three-piece Trowbridge punkers Marty’s Fake Family were second on the new south-facing stage, The Reason rocked it first, on Friday. Landlord Simon explained the sound now projects into the carpark causing it to be less of a neighbourly nuance, but, while the space might be more confined, it gives lift and stance to the performers, and marks a boundary so equipment isn’t at risk. Waddies are spending money on this establishment, there is no reason to wonder why when you attend.

Marty’s Fake Family know which buttons to press; they’ve played here before, and what they do fits like a glove. They kick off as they mean to go on, fiery rock with embers of their metal and punk roots, and giving it 200%. Though, they mellow early for Snow Patrol’s Chasing Cars, jesting it’s the only ballad they do. If we’re being eased in gently it remains loud and proud, though the crowd is slighter, and older; the age demographic dips at 10pm and the pub fills to bursting point. Millennials and Gen Z are economically conditioned, I guesstimate taking advantage of Spoons’ prices and moving on to where the action is when sufficiently wobbly.

And The Three Crowns know exactly how to play it. A young friend of my family perfectly summarised; “there’s nowhere else to go in Devizes.” Technically there is, yet the Crowns appease them with an efficient cashless bar, and comfort food, appetising burgers and wings. But the central attraction is a lively covers band to which they can sing along to timeless pop classics, loudly, and party surprisingly civilly compared to youths of previous generations. Some take Scissor Sisters’ advice and take their mammas out all night, but age is meaningless for Three Crowns regulars, the vibe fits all.

Marty’s Fake Family absolutely rocked the crowd with bells on. They’ve been doing similarly proficient shows locally for eight years. If you want your venue/event to be a library-esque original music appreciation society, avoid them as theyโ€™re living and loving it in the cover band moment, and Martyโ€™s Fake Family needs 1.21 gigawatts of electricity to operate their flux capacitor; great Scotts, what a night; The Three Crowns can produce the power requirement!

Like Busted and McFly, bassist Dan confirmed their namesake relates to Back to the Future, and explained they started with metal intentions but, tongue in cheek, wanted to do Abba songs. โ€œThe rest of the band thought it was a shit idea, but it stuck,โ€ he told me… before running off to the loo at breaktime.

Their repertoire spans like the Tardis, anything from any era crowd-pleasingly loud, and they do it with zest and punk passion. So, tunes like American Idiot and Teenage Dirtbag need no adaptation, Blur’s Song Two, All Sit Down by James, and The Cranberries’ Zombie guaranteed to excite, alongside eighties rock, ZZ Top, Sumner of โ€˜69, et al. But they’ve rabbits in their hats as the evening progresses; punky versions of Abba, Eurythmics meld into Noah Kahan’s Stick Season, and return to Sweet Caroline proclaiming to walk 500 miles and every other crowd-pleaser youโ€™ve no need to request; there’s even a rock n roll medley finale. They tick every cover band box, stamp their authority, and certainly seal my approval.

Seems the Three Crowns retains their everyday staple entertainment status quo in Devizes, has been top of their game for some time, and show no sign of letting up. Perhaps we need to award at least one more crown to its name for sustaining this dominion; four, five or even six Crowns maybe?!!  

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Harmony Asia Can Do This

Itโ€™s a question Iโ€™ve asked Chippenham singer-songwriter Harmony Asia on each rare occasion I catch her for a chat; if sheโ€™s planning to capture aโ€ฆ

How it Feels for a Bluebeard!

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

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How it Feels for a Bluebeard!

The first time I heard the name Bluebeard and the Desperate Hours, I presumed their sound might be folk or blues inspired. Judging a book by its cover, because while this Wiltshire collective’s debut single How it Feels might pertain such elements, I was pleasantly surprised to find it also jumping with feelgood soul….

Taken from an upcoming album of the same name, How it Feels is brass-blowing, high energy, sunny side of the street music, and I’d wager we all need a bit of that these days.

Piano-driven rock, gripping onto early Springsteen, or Elton John even, uptempo yet melodic, with an instant and irresistible hook. Yet when I listened, I was filled with imaginations of later new wave mod, when it became the staple pop of the eighties; this wouldn’t look out of place on a Style Council album. I’ll tell you how How it Feels feels; it feels alive and kicking!

Bluebeard and the Desperate Hours are quite the expert collective. Dave Turner is the bluebearded frontman pianist, Helen Robertson plays cello and adds those soulful backing vocals with Phil Cooper, who is also on bass.

All backed by guitarist Rich Godfrey and drummer Coby Franklin-Turner. The brass section knocking the energy into this song is provided by trumpeter and flugel horn player John Hare.

Shame I missed them at 7 Hills last weekend now I’ve heard this cracking single, but made up they’ll be at our newly opened The Fold this Friday, 27th March, at The Lamb in Devizes, with JP Oldfield in support. It’s free, hope to see you there?!

7 Hills to Trowbridgeโ€™s Old Town Hall

To clear up any confusion, Trowbridgeโ€™s old town hall is no longer the town hall, but The Old Town Hall. I have no idea, nor care to know if there’s a new town hall; that’s irrelevant. Whilst still owned by the council, it was refurbished and reopened as a charity funded arts centre and cultural hub last Octoberโ€ฆ..

I met a great bloke there called Tom, he used to run Bath’s venue Moles, now he’s steering events at this glorious grade II listed building, originally opened in 1889 to commemorate Queen Victoria’s Golden Jubilee. It is an utterly stunning space of Victorian splendour with acoustics from the heavens; nice to note it’s in good hands.

In equal splendour was the reason I’m here, for the 10 Hills Spring Music Festival. Congrats if you spotted the deliberate mistake, there were only ever seven hills; I’m rounding it up as if it’s a score out of ten, perhaps I should add an extra hill or five onto that for good measure!

If forced to find a nick-picking fault with this event, I could suggest a lack of chairs inside the hall, considering the higher end of the age demographic in attendance. But the concentration was on the music, an elaborate concert-festival, and the quality and quantity of this was absolutely mindblowing, if not particularly diverse.

7 Hills regularly organise music events at The Night Jar in Bath, including an annual festival. Chris Hoar of Courting Ghosts explained he, โ€œreached out to them initially to say I was planning a festival in the newly renovated Old Town Hall, just to check it didnโ€™t clash with them, and Matt said letโ€™s do it together in Trowbridge as a spring festival.โ€ And here we are finally in spring, I’ve been looking forward to this.

Americana, folk-rock was the order of the day, everything uniformed to the influences of Courting Ghosts. So if you wanted to go looking for a dance tent, this wasn’t for you. But the standard of music was sublime throughout the day and into the evening, and that’s what made 7 Hills so spectacular.

Best festival of the year I could jest, because it’s my first, still, I believe I’m going to be hard pressed to find a lineup as good as this, and the craziest element was, while I knew most of the local acts booked for the afternoon, I was in the dark about the later ones, but far from disappointed.

Jess Chivers

Perhaps the only one I saw to deviate from Americana was Jess Chivers, who delivered a great set on an acoustic stage adjacent to the main one, as this had subtle elements of punk. This second stage assured consistent entertainment whilst bands prepped on the main stage. I believe because I needed sustenance I missed Phil Cooper’s set, drafted in due to a cancellation, and a few others before my arrival, but Leander Morales polished off the acoustic stage with an energetic and poignant set.

Thieves

Sadly I missed Fly Yeti Fly, meeting Darren on the stairs as I came in. Love this duo too, they remind me of Christopher Atkins and Brooke Shields in the Blue Lagoon! My arrival, I hoped, would be timed for Concrete Prairie, as it was, lovable bluegrass collective Thieves were doing their wonderful thing on the second stage, while the prairie tuned on the main, under the stained glassed lancet; confirming I’m going to love this event.

Concrete Prairie

Make no mistake, Concrete Prairie was on fire, I expected no less. Undeniably the liveliest set at the festival, they gave us the classics from their 2022 self titled debut album, finishing on their magnum-opus, the incredible crescendo-hugging Devil Dealt The Deck, but between them blessed our ears with some new songs from their forthcoming album. While Joe set no date for its release, the songs came across livelier than the sombre mood of the debut album. Theyโ€™re perfectionists, providing me with faith there will be no sophomore slump.

The band were incomplete too, Phil Cooper taking bass, and original fiddler in the band, Georgia, filling in for her replacement. Still they rocked it, and Iโ€™d have been content if I had to go home straight after them!

Courting Ghosts

Obviously with Chris Hoar at the helm, Courting Ghosts would play, and I could imagine no other following the Prairie, even if their overall mood is more sombre; this is music for the soul. Counting Ghosts surely set the mood for the remaining acts, this smooth Americania with influences from both country folk and jazzy soul. They gifted us a new song, to be the title track of their next EP, Baby, I Bleed for you, and sparks flew.

Orla

Everything chronologically from now on would be new to me, but all of it flying miles above my expectations. A great example came from the acoustic stage immediately after the Ghosts. Orla is a young singer-songwriter from Bath, and clearly one to watch. With crystal vocals she gave us some divine originals, including a particularly poignant one called Mouthwash, and made Crowded Houseโ€™s principal her own.

Matt Owens & The Delusional Vanity Project

Former Noah and the Whale, Matt Owens & The Delusional Vanity Project followed with a dynamite set. As evening set in a professional precedence, I figured this was going to get continuously better. Multiple AMA UK Award winner Hannah White, the best yet, intertwined devout stage presence with a heartfelt singalong, she captivated, projecting her pure lyricism like dripping honey. I especially liked the tune with the reggae offbeat, but overall, I left wondering if, or how it could possibly get any better.

Hannah White

If Iโ€™m now a Hannah White fan, and all presented before us was of a quality so high it would be impossible to fault, it should be no negative reflection in comparison to suggest something here wasnโ€™t entirely my cuppa. No doubt, any Ohio artist signed by Peter Gabriel is going to be of an excellent standard, and soloist and loop pedal god, Joseph Arthur certainly is, it was just the bar was set so high by Hannah it levelled off here somewhat.

 Joseph Arthur

So, despite the highest of qualities, I wondered now if, for my personal tastes, anything could possibly top Hannah, and casted a preconceiving critical eye over Our Man in The Field as they set up. They certainly had an impressive ensemble, seven piece with an upright bassist, organist and everything. The lead guitarist had something of a Bill Wyman debonair, while the frontman presented himself as a funky truckstop dweller. Grasping tight to my newfound adoration of Hannah, this would be interesting, if nothing more.

Thatโ€™s when the vibe hits you best, when itโ€™s a surprise! Our Man in The Field has the perfect Americana balance, components of country, but with such soulful jazzy swagger, they had me off-guard and now totally hooked, the first to entrance me wholly. Our Man in The Field is sublimely captivating.

Our Man in The Field

Shit, I realise now I shouldโ€™ve put more trust in Chrisโ€™s knowledge! He has presented a lineup which, despite me thinking at numerous intervals, heโ€™s not going to top this, he somehow did! I made up my mind then, I had to witness the final act even if an asteroid hit The Shires shopping centre.

The Delines, self-labelled as โ€œretro country soulโ€ from Portland, Oregon headlined. With everything previous so hyped in the hamster wheel of my mind, it mattered not if this suited me, I could leave now, more than content. I couldnโ€™t leave. I imagined myself off the lines, driving one of those poetic American roads, planning to stop off to drink my soul away at a roadside bar, but when you walk in a band playing in a back room is so inspiring you figure life is too short as they blissfully cure your blues. 

The Delines

This was gorgeous. Utterly brilliantly steady, smooth with no need to fire up, just drifting with narratives akin to Guthrie, jazzy and soulful as Springsteenโ€™s early recordings and the Asbury Park scene, on a Gil Scott-Heron level, and topped with the honest banter of a band in their prime; there was no need for them to apologise for Trump, thereโ€™s two bridges between us, they can break the political one, but cannot ever do the same to the creative arts one. I wished my friend Chrissy could see this, this is what her band Burn the Midnight Oil should attain to, this was blended bliss, American music without borders.

Impossible for me to compare what Queen Victoria’s Golden Jubilee was like at Trowbridge Town Hall with the events now being run at it, but 7 Hills felt like it couldโ€™ve matched it, even without cherries cooked in flaming brandy, and the range of community events at the venue breathes positive new light into Trowbridge town centre. 

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Chandra Likely To Go Boom!

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

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Vox Populi: New Album From Deadlight Dance

The difference between punk and goth is that as a punk you reject society, as a goth society rejects you. Being society lives mostly online today, that’s probably why my spam filter assumes proposals from exiled middle eastern princes to deposit bitcoin into my bank, and machines to extend oneโ€™s manhood are of interest to a regional entertainment blog, but a local goth duo’s new album should be hidden in a spam folder.

Algorithms now pressure me into having to rush this out, despite noting on social media, Deadlight Dance are releasing their third album, Vox Populi tomorrow (Friday 20th March), which they launched at The White Bear in Devizes last Sunday. Have Nick and Tim got in the humph with me?!

They are Eurythmics-covering retro goths after all, who seem to be dealing with the apocalypse with new songs and a spot of gardening. I’ve always been nice about what they do and thought the feeling was mutual! Not at all; seems after a quick Facebook message, the glitch is real, and the email was discovered; and just like the issues Nick and Tim describe, โ€œthe populist rhetoric, the age of the oligarch where the rapid development of A.I. and deepfakery is upending reality, and โ€˜straight-talkingโ€™ chancers who claim to represent the majority are stoking the smouldering embers of fascism,โ€ these are the depressing first world problems which need addressing, and with them in mind, isnโ€™t it overdue to rekindle the era of the goth spirit?

Recorded as usual at Mooncalf Studio with legendary purple-bearded producer Nick Beere, it feels at times as if Deadlight Dance are canvassing for compassion as humanity gears up to vote for the collapse of civilised society. โ€œItโ€™s dark,โ€ agrees Nick Fletcher, โ€œbut there is hope there. You donโ€™t talk about these things unless you want to do something about it.โ€

โ€œLight and shade,โ€ says his partner in sound, Tim Emery. โ€œHopefully thereโ€™s something forย everyone. For some people, everything will be for them.โ€

With all edgy synths blazing, Gloss opens Vox Populi, dramatically and attacking the beauty industry, its harmful lies and unrealistic standards in an era most pop stars are encouraging them. We reviewed this as a single last October, where I vowed to shave my eyebrows off and draw them back on with a Sharpie. The exploitative nature of the cosmetics industry, the first deep and eerie original song of eight, which speak of algorithmic existences; gaslighting by the elite, the paradox of โ€˜humaneโ€™ food production, identities and the preconceptions that can shape them, the corporatisation of the militaryโ€ฆ and gardening.

โ€œThere are some important horticultural and botanical references,โ€ says Nick, reassuringly. The poisonous evergreen shrub Daphne odora, being an example, as the second tune, a poignant plodding shoegazer and followed by a surprisingly jocund ballad which gracefully reminds of the playful moments of The Cure.

Red Flags warns of danger, but takes no prisoners, Lachrymal is as dismayed as Fields of the Nephilim, Glass Walls is uptempo, furious and robust by design, an enclosed space frameless and seamless, but perhaps not maximising natural light, for thatโ€™s simply not goth!

The Theatre of Absurd thuds us back into the dark, with anticipatory anxiety and New Order beats. Followed by the first of two cover songs, Eurythmicsโ€™ Sweet Dreams. Deadlight Dance comforts you here with familiarity and reminiscence, but stamp their own authoritative pounce on this, and the second, Princeโ€™s When You Were Mine, both of which feature guest vocalist Sian and drummer Mike Dymond, the latter of whom first played with Nick and Tim when they were sixth formers.

Thereโ€™s an underlying retro sensation with all that Deadlight Dance produces, that not all electronica was lost to Stock Aitken Waterman, and neither will it be with smug grinned Simon Cowell. And something wholly satisfying that post punk artists of yore inspired Nick and Tim to form a band, and, acne replaced by wrinkles, thirty years later, amidst a global pandemic and a growing whirlwind of social and political chaos, they felt that the time was right to continue the journey. But what is more, is that younger punk bands, like those gravitating towards DIY labels like Sketchbook, are continuing the theme, and, I reckon, would take Deadlight Dance with similar respect to the aforementioned post-punk artists who inspired Nick and Tim. At least they should if or when they hear this album.

While there is always a coherent thought process behind them all, their previous releases, 2024โ€™s acoustic covers album The Wiltshire Gothic, and the literature-themed EP Chapter & Verse of the same year, held a running theme more rigidly. The dystopian or unnerving observations of the modern era subjects behind Vox Populi is subtler, and this feels like the fashion of their debut Beyond Reverence, only with the natural progression, experience and diligence of those three years. And it shows, this is a most excellent album, once again.

Vox Populi is released worldwide to stream, and own as a CD, vinyl LP and download,ย through Ray Records on Friday 20th March. Check out details on their website HERE.

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Shedricโ€™s Misadventures of Theodore Thump

Just who is Theodore Thump? A wise pet rabbit? The mysterious sixth Beach Boy? This album newly released from Shedric, Swindon soloist and groovist of Thud, reveals nothing, but makes for a diverse and interesting listenโ€ฆ.

The Misadventures of Theodore Thump was unwittingly released unto the cosmos earlier this month, and through title and cover art you might preconceive some psychedelic surreal nonsensical comedy akin to the Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band, and in a way thereโ€™s sombre and subtle nods to this direction, but thereโ€™s more than meets the eye to this masterwork of audio art.

With wailing guitar it opens unexpectedly, plodding cosmic blues fashion. This swaps to a drifting jazzy folk with smooth Nick Drake styled vocals for the second song, and back to cosmic wah-wah for the intro and chorus for the third, while it settles for a jazz piano core. Still, fusions know no bounds here. Immediately Iโ€™ve the notion that this melting pot isnโ€™t by chance, and the experimentation is purposeful, played out by a genius of many influences and with the ability to cherry-pick and compose them in such a way you are on the edge of your seat, captivated, intrigued, and thoroughly entertained.

It may all have been done before, but unlike this. Four tunes into this seven track marvel, Rosalie is a two-minute ethereal drumbeat and piano instrumental. Drifting lounge style, Scum is contradictory from subject to sound, whereas Lock & Key drives melodically classic RnB, Robert Palmer, and is likely the most commercially viable on this most excellent album. Thereโ€™s a finale, wonderfully written of feelgood sentiment.

Shedric said, โ€œThe Misadventures of Theodore Thump has taken me an insane amount of time to make. The levels of procrastination have been almost as epic as the hours spent at my kitchen table mixing and tweaking.โ€ The dedication and effort shows. It has the experimental quality of Sgt Pepper or Pet Sounds, the coolness of Bookends, its jazzy elements range from Blue Note to prototypical Mark’s Keyboard Repair. At times itโ€™s blues, at others itโ€™s folk, but it always leaves you guessing, and certainly is one to dive into, discovering more intricate details you might have previously missed before; marvellous!

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Chandra Likely To Go Boom!

Buzzwords, like โ€œturbo,โ€ or โ€œsonicโ€ are cliche, overused trends which gain popularity because they sound impressive, even if they are empty of meaning. I avoid them, but you cannot call Chandraโ€™s releases just plain indie-pop; theyโ€™re turbo-charged sonic boom spearheaded empowerments of synergy indie-pop songs which prolifically arrive with an explosive boom! And, coincidentally, Boom is the new oneโ€ฆ..

Seriously, thereโ€™s a glorious feelgood summer energy to this. You’d have to be having a really bad day to find fault with it. Love the bongo intro, and the subtle, tongue-in-cheek doowop backing, and the guitar riff bridge sits perfectly amidst the positive vibes the subject evokes in the singer.ย ย 

โ€œThis song is a bit of a departure from the norm,โ€ lovable showman Chandra says, โ€œover the past two and half years we’ve never once written a song about love. We’ve always written about topics such as inclusivity, tolerance, compassion, faith and self confidence, but the one thing that ties it all together is we want to write songs that are upbeat, hopeful and empowering. We hope that this song does exactly that.โ€

Observation double underlined, and box triple ticked.

โ€œBoom is a very spiritual song about love,โ€ Bristolโ€™s power indie-pop virtuoso continues, โ€œsoul-mates and the miracle of finding that special someone in a vast universe full of empty space. It may take a moment; it may take a lifetime, but when you find that special person who makes you whole, the explosion is as powerful as the Big Bang. And yes… sometimes it’s really scary to open yourself up to the possibility of being hurt, especially if you’ve experienced something bad previously; something is coming, everything will be alright.โ€

And thatโ€™s about as reassuring as the nature of the song too!ย  Boom launches into the universe on Friday 20th March. Thereโ€™s a BOOM Single Launch Party on Saturday 28th March, at The Queen’s Head in Box. Doors 7.30pm.

Find all stuff you need to know about Chandra HERE

Only The Brave Burn The Midnight Oil

Hurrah, at last! Only The Brave is the debut song from Burn The Midnight Oilโ€™s revised lineup; something Iโ€™ve been anticipating since watching them rehearse at Devizesโ€™ HK Studios, just before last yearโ€™s Awards. But if my expectations of a recording from this new Devizes based phenomenon was perched on the summit of the highest mountain, gaining a sneaky preview before its release on Friday (13th March) far from disappointed, in fact Iโ€™m now soaring above cloudsโ€ฆ.

I know pressing a CD is a financial risk for any upcoming band against bunging it on streaming platforms, but Iโ€™d urge them to go for it. In the relatively short time Burn The Midnight Oil have been gigging under this current format, theyโ€™ve become the kind of band youโ€™d see live and make haste for their merch stand in hope to return home grasping a piece of what you just experienced. Based on this first of a few singles coming out of Martin Spencerโ€™s Badger Set Studio in Potterne, a compilation album would be a real keepsake.

Itโ€™s hasty and gearing, a rich and refreshing design on a timeless formula; the folk-rock-blues combo conveying enduring, moreish and matured pop, with that driving beat, with that irresistible rolling guitar riff, and with the smooth-as-velvet female vocals soothing a biting narrative. Causal listening itโ€™s feelgood, but in depth itโ€™s fighting against the odds and rising above adversities.

Itโ€™s the song for the comeback scene of an epic movie. Youโ€™re on the edge of your seat, identifying with the character, either relating your own experiences, or more simply distinguishing their plight is their drive, but you cannot sympathise, because like Tina Turner, Gloria Gaynor, or Natasha Bedingfield, sheโ€™s weaponised it, risen above it regardless, and taken control of her own destiny; Alanis Morissette of Devizes.

Yet the most marvellous thing about Only the Brave is, Chrissy โ€œSteenโ€ Chapman can equally hold the vocal power of any of the aforementioned female big hitters, kick the meaning behind the song into touch, and her backing band accompanies her with such tight precision, itโ€™s something to behold. In essence, it has the perfect combination for the memorable and relevant tune you wonโ€™t mind having stuck in your head!

I cannot wait to hear the others, but for now, pre-save this beauty HERE. Find them rootin and tootin their thing live by following them on Facebook, HERE.ย Attend CapFest as seen below, for their next Devizes show.

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Dulcet Tones Rock Back to Bassett!

You’re a teenage Tom Cruise, at least you wish you were, but stay with me on this! Your parents are away, you’re home alone with dad’s liquor cabinet. For certain, you’re going to get into some risky business as the movie progresses, but your initial impulse is to dance around the house in a shirt and pants. I’ve no interest in seeing you in your pants, Tom, what makes the scene so iconic is surely the song choice. Because Bob Segar was bang on the money; experimentation in music is good, but the scene wouldn’t have the same impact if he was listening to Jean-Michel Jarre. Sometimes you do need some old time rock n rollโ€ฆ..

Now, imagine Bob never recorded that song; what song would you pick instead? Options, people, options aplenty, but here, take the 49 to Swindon and try Dulcet Tones for size. Since a single from last May, they’ve a debut EP, Back To Bassett; okay, itโ€™s got a few local references including, bizarrely, an Avebury-Chuck Berry link, but it’s old time rock n roll, at least โ€œrockโ€ if youโ€™re nitpicking, still, the kind of timeless music that soothes the soul.

A bit of delay in mentioning this, apologies to the band, frontman Andrew McLennan, lead guitarist Nick Osman, bassist Darryl Wilks and drummer Rob Cooper, but it makes for perfect air guitar practice from beginning to end! Embellished by wailing guitar riffs to make ZZ Top blush, driving drum rolls, and that archetypal hoarse vocal rebel yell, the opening tune, As I Am, doesnโ€™t wait for you to adjust your funky pants, but being the simple premise is taking them as they are or not at all, the choice is a no brainer; this absolutely rocks!

In essence itโ€™s โ€œgood olโ€™ boyโ€™s music,โ€ windows down summery driving rock, wind in your beard, and itโ€™s more fun than deeply meaningful. Hold On stomps with elements of Tom Petty, or maybe harder, think Aerosmith, Lynyrd Skynyrd, but has the on-the-road narrative to mirror what Iโ€™m trying to say, I hope! 

Three quid for four solid tunes means weโ€™re driving to the halfway house. Dream Home soothes the tempo, thereโ€™s notions of Guns & Roses at their most sentimental. Oh, this is cool; if dulcet tones implies sweet, melodious, and pleasing, this tune proves theyโ€™ve named themselves appropriately.

Title track comes last, does it need saying Back to Bassett has some local references? Not outright slating the town, nor as the concept extends to other local urban areas, like Swindonโ€™s Old Town, rather it suggests theyโ€™d prefer to chill out in a more rural and spiritual setting, an adventure citing our ancient stones and monuments. In subject itโ€™s obviously not going to work well with the Americana of the previous tunes, making this one sound more akin to British psychedelic rock, weighty and significantly Levellers.

Back to Bassett as a track was a pleasant surprise, and proves Dulcet Tones are no one trick pony. Back to Bassett as an EP is loudly and proudly moreish, using the tried and tested formula of classic rock subgenres, like the California sound of Buffalo Springfield or Crosby, Stills, & Nash, and heaps of rock and roll revival, yet with the finale, thereโ€™s adherents of neopagan rock.

Iโ€™ve seen their band name listed gigging about the circuit, Swindon Shuffle I think most, but now I need to grow some hair and make a beeline. You could, if you so wished, say I’m old-fashioned, say I’m over the hill. Iโ€™d rebuke it without too much botheration, because I keep myself eclectic through personal want and need in writing this blog, but thereโ€™s many occasions when I contemplate Bobโ€™s words and agree; today’s music ain’t got the same soul, and go for that old-time rock ‘n’ roll. When I do, now thankfully I have Dulcet Tones; you should too, you old rocker!

LinkTree HERE

Live Music in Trowbridge; Still Pumping! The Sunnies, Between The Lines and Meg at The Pump

Images from KieshaFilms

I confess my motivation to venture out this winter stagnated, like sludge in a drain. Akin to a hedgehog, I poked my twitching rhinarium out of my nest last Sunday, a mere pint down the Gate with Jon Amor. But what better way to cure my hibernation than a refreshing night at Trowbridgeโ€™s tโ€™rrific grassroots venue, The Pump?

Chatting with Kieran online prior I hoped Melkshamโ€™s upcoming band Between The Lines were on his radar, cos theyโ€™re blooming amazing, to which he replied coincidently they were playing there on Saturday with The Sunnies headlining and Meg also in support. How I missed listing this gig, being I run an event guide, remains a mystery, but it didnโ€™t mean I should miss it physically; viva Trow Vegas!ย 

Okay, itโ€™s labelled a โ€œstudent night,โ€ organised by small Trowbridge label Nova Sounds Records; Iโ€™m young at heart and Gen Z donโ€™t age discriminate. Theyโ€™re there to party, support local acts they adore, none too fussed if a codger hides in the background. Bands invigoratingly fresh and hopeful, supplying a new scene with zest, but also a timeless punk lore of affordable and friendly gigs, which makes The Pump function successfully, bucking a tragic proneness era of grassroots venue closures.ย ย 

Nick Harper comes to The Pump this Friday, Jah Wobble did a DJ set at the beginning of the month. These events are bound to sell well. What is more amazing is The Pump will sell out staging three young local acts, and their ethos trends on this. While other music venues strive to host the big names of now and yesteryear, The Pump stages the future ones, with triumphant pride. Itโ€™s the most modest and humble place where dreams come true.  

All three acts have presented their wares here before, and been subjects to Kieranโ€™s Future Sound of Trowbridge project. Now they return in the present tense. I noticed in both Meg and Between The Lines, a vitalised sense of confidence in their breathtaking performances. One could rightfully mark this โ€œpractice makes perfect.โ€ However, after congratulating them, I pondered if playing at The Pump, rather than the other places I last saw them, was also an element making them feel at ease. Describing The Pump like a sacred home, they unanimously agreed it did, and ultimately, how utterly fantastic is that in a largely rural area where most venues are pubs they cannot either play or invite their fanbase?!

Images from KieshaFilms

As for The Sunnies headlining, I whisked into the end of their set at Bradford Roots Festival some years ago, but have never had the pleasure of witnessing them at full steam. And they were too, totally on fire. If youโ€™re Devizes based itโ€™s best to dub them Melkhamโ€™s answer to Nothing Rhymes With Orange, as both formed as school bands based around a similar time, and both caused a phenomenon in their respective towns. If youโ€™re Melksham based, youโ€™ll know, The Sunnies have a loyal teen fanbase, and frontman Jarret Brown loves nothing more than to leap offstage and join them! Youโ€™ll also be aware just why they rouse a crowd into a frenzy of joy.

They came out all guns firing, all fiery indie-punk pride, flavoured agreeably with soulful basslines breathing universally acceptable pop vibes. Yet initially it was when they chilled it with ballads of youthful desires I began to consider they were at their best. This is the opposite to the usual indie-punk band, which tends to thrive on the uptempo. Though I had to consider they like to warm up, because the finale saw them turning up the heat once more, sparks flew and encore demanded.

They played their breakthrough song of three years ago, Veridity, with equal gusto as some new tunes, which, returning to my point about these bands feeling comfy here with their fanbase, they pleaded for feedback and were welcomed rapturously. 

Images from KieshaFilms

It helps everyone greatly to be comfy, ergo, if you want to see these young bands at their best, here is where to do it. Between the Lines was the perfect example; loved their set at Swindon Shuffle, if they came across understandably nervy. Slightly younger than the Sunnies they live in their shadow across Melksham, but elusive manly dominance is filtered by the most wonderful female singer and bassist, Belle. Itโ€™s breezier, subtle grunge with an acceptable alt-rock tinge, progressing nicely, and a pleasure to hear, especially their originals. Man, they do a sublime version of Tears for Fearsโ€™ Mad World though, and in this and other covers project a timeless essence of classic rock in their performances.

And what a brilliant performance it was, tricky to rise after Chippenhamโ€™s soloist M3G, with her unique heavenly acoustic style, her songs so personal you can see the claw reaching out to clutch your heartstrings. We love M3G here at Devizine, and as she played through three new songs she has worked with Phil Cooper on, I became eager to review them. Again, she weaved the crowd with audience participation, something she mayโ€™ve shied away from previously.ย 

Images from KieshaFilms

It was a pleasure to see both these supporting acts honing their style and abilities, in such an apt and welcoming place,with the bonus of finally appreciating the might of the Sunnies. If they all cut their teeth at Neeldโ€™s Take the Stage, they thrive here at The Pump. And you need to be there to witness them.

Iโ€™m not easy to please, grumpy old sausage that I am, yet twas a great night, but this was just another day at the office for them there lovelies at The Pump! I didnโ€™t meet Simon from Sketchbook Records, which I had hoped to do. I was informed he had a blinder on Friday hosting an event there, and thereโ€™s the thing; from their acoustic nights relished in the Village Pump folk roots of yore, to the Bar-Stewards Sons of Val Doonican and the metal hardcore of Broken Lungs, Avicide and Dead Society next month, thereโ€™s something for you at The Pump, see here.ย 

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REVIEW โ€“ Wakeman & Son @ The Corn Exchange, Devizes โ€“ Saturday 21st February 2026

Yes! Wakemansโ€™ Journey To The Centre of Devizes!

by Andy Fawthrop

Rumours are swirling round that D-Town is about to launch a bid to be named the UK Town of Culture, and you have to think that we have to be in with a chance. Letโ€™s face it – any competition that doesnโ€™t use the state of the local roads as one of its yardsticks has to be worth entering….

And, as if by magic, up pops an event that, once again, proves that weโ€™re punching above our weight.ย  Weโ€™ve already highlighted here in Devizine some of the amazing stuff thatโ€™s coming up over the coming months that will put us in with a shout, but last night at the Corn Exchange just went to prove what we can do here in our little town if we put our mind to it.

Despite relatively little advertising of the event, over 400 people snapped up tickets to see the return of rock legend Rick Wakeman to the stage last night, in a one-off โ€œwarm-upโ€ gig for his forthcoming US tour, this time accompanied by son Oliver.ย  I guess it was a case of โ€œIf You Knew, You Knewโ€, and the event was a complete sell-out from weeks ago.ย  The room was so packed that the sound guys had to set up shop in the hallโ€™s kitchen area and to work their magic through the hatch.ย  It was a bit tight in there, but we were all friends, so that didnโ€™t matter one little bit.

The Wakemans are no strangers to this particular stage.ย  Rick appeared here a couple of years back with his outfit KGB (another cracking night that was), and his other son Adam has twice appeared with his band Jazz Sabbath (also highly recommended).ย  Looks like Longcroft Productions have got the inside track with the Wakeman family.

Rickman senior breezed onto the stage, belying his 76 years, and proceeded to wow the room with his first piece on the grand piano. He was shortly followed by elder son Oliver, and the two keyboard wizards then proceeded to deliver a two-hour plus show of absolutely stunning musicianship.  Moving easily between the five different keyboards on stage, the two men played a wide range of pieces including both relatively recent compositions, as well a goodly smattering of block-busters from the huge back catalogue.  And Rick told us that as a โ€œwarm-upโ€ it was chance for them to experiment a little.  โ€œYouโ€™re getting more here than the Americans are going to get.  You deserve it more than they do!โ€  Cue rapturous applause.

Image: Oliver Wakeman

It wasnโ€™t just the music though. Father and son are both born raconteurs, and interspersed the items on the set list with some wonderful anecdotes.  We had stories of rescue dogs, marriages and weddings, of the Wakeman parents, of encounters with unwilling pub landlords, and even of previous encounters with our local Moonrakers. Some of which might help explain why โ€œHow Much Is That Doggy In The Window?โ€ and โ€œSweet Georgia Brownโ€ made short, yet unsurprising appearances in the set-list.  There was a lovely running gag about the exact date of Oliverโ€™s birth, and how old he was at various times in the stories.  And it was great to see the obvious warmth and respect between the two men.

And of course there was plenty of time across the two hours (interrupted only by what Rick referred to as โ€œthe Bladder Breakโ€) to explore themes from their musical pasts.  Both men have featured at various times in the different line-ups of Prog superstars Yes, from the 1970s onwards.  So there was a mash-up arrangement named โ€œThe Yes Suiteโ€, followed by several of Rickโ€™s solo ventures – โ€œThe Six Wives of Henry VIIIโ€, โ€œMyths & Legends of King Arthurโ€, and the stunning โ€œJourney To The Centre Of The Earthโ€. We also journeyed round some older stuff from The Strawbs and David Bowieโ€™s โ€œLife On Marsโ€. 

Musically it was an absolute master-class.  To say that these guys know their way around a keyboard is to massively understate just how good they were.  As a nightโ€™s entertainment it was engrossing. Of course there was plenty of whooping and cheering, and a standing ovation.  And of course there was a two-hander encore.  Can I give it more than ten out of ten?  I would if I could.

And before the Wakemans finally disappear into the night, swirling cloaks and hair about their persons, just a word about the back-room boys.  You donโ€™t get fabulous nights out like this without an enormous amount of background work and logistics.  So hats off to Paul Chandler of Longcroft Productions for even daring to bring this one off show to D-Town. And hereโ€™s also to the piano suppliers, to the piano-tuner, to the sound and light guys, to Wadworth for sponsoring, to the Corn Exchange staff and to the small army of volunteers.  A true team effort to bring together a really amazingly good night. Bravo to all concerned.

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Devizes Issues Wants You!

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

Who Broke into Joyrobberโ€™s Car?!

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

Lady Nade; Sober!

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

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Minety Music Festival Announce Headliners; The Bluetones and Dub Pistols

The mighty mighty Minety Music Festival announced The Bluetones as their Sunday headliner at their Eames Laurie Main Stage, and The Dub Pistols on the Saturday…..

It’s not unspoken, we LOVE Minety Music Festival here at Devizine and don’t care who knows! It never fails to attract with some superb renowned names, and then throws in a plethora of local acts either established or upcoming, and in doing so creates a marvellous atmosphere where local music is supported via the followings of international headliners.

Formed in London in 1996 byย Barry Ashworth, the Dub Pistols are a renowned British collective fusing dub, reggae, ska, hip-hop, and electronic music, and the party rockers will be headlining the Saturday.

“We’re super excited and have wanted to bring The Dub Pistols to Minety for around three years,” chief organiser Rich Swatton tells us, “and this time, the stars have finally aligned. If you know, you know, and if you don’t know… speak to someone who knows. You’re going to love this!”

The Bluetones first came to prominence in 1995, when their debut release โ€˜Are You Blue Or Are You Blind?โ€™ broke into the top 40. The single proved to be the launching pad for a run that saw 14 hit singles and 6 albums follow on from it. They headline Sunday.

The Bluetones, formed in Hounslow, are made up of brothers Mark & Scott Morriss, alongside Adam Devlin and Eds Chesters, enjoyed considerable UK and Ireland successes, extending out across into Europe and Japan, before taking a hiatus in 2011 that lasted for 4 years. Since then they have re-established themselves as one of the UKโ€™s most consistently entertaining live acts, regularly touring their extensive catalogue to their army of devoted fans.

2024 saw the release of the first new Bluetones material in 14 years; a renaissance that saw the four original band members take in the summer festivals, before a full UK tour in the autumn/winter of 2024.

The release of ‘London Weekend Television’ in 2025 saw them reaffirm themselves as indie-pop royalty, and 2026 sees the band celebrate the 30th anniversary of Platinum selling album โ€˜Expecting To Flyโ€™, famed for hit singles, such as โ€˜Bluetonicโ€™, โ€˜Slight Returnโ€™ and Cut Some Rugโ€™.

“We can’t wait to welcome them to Minety Music Festival, for the very first time,” Rich said, “you’re in for a real treat!”

Minety is near Malmesbury, Wiltshire, and is happening from 2nd-5th July 2026. Tickets only available from: www.minetyfestival.co.uk/buy-tickets

Thieves Plan Unplugged Gig at Brokerswood

We don’t like many thieves here at Devizine, but we do love Thieves the band! Well, those Thieves have an interesting next gig it’s worthwhile mentioningโ€ฆ..

The first time I saw these Thieves it was a paradox of coincidences. I was hiding in the back of the Wild & Wooley room of Bradford Roots Festival at The Wiltshire Music Centre, and I was suitably wowed by their Americana/UK folk harmonies. I likened them to The Lost Trades at the time, and told the person next to me, only to realise it was Phil Cooper, one third of the Lost Trades! I then proceeded to vocalise my observation that the guy on the banjo looked uncannily like soloist Adam Woodhouse, only for Phil to sigh, โ€œit is Adam Woodhouse!โ€ Should have gone to Specsavers.

Since, the collective of Adam with Rory Coleman-Smith, Jo Deacon and Matt Hughes have gone from strength to strength, regularly gigging, you might have seen them; consider yourself lucky. They gained me enormous kudos when they played so beautifully at Rowdefest last year, it was uplifting and toe-tapping goodness. Oh, and, we fondly reviewed their debut EP.

They’reย  excited to announce a headline appearance at Brokerswood’s Tin Church, near Westbury, on the 28th February, with support from the amazing Feral Beryl. Though the Thieves explained, โ€œwe were lucky enough to perform in this wonderful venue last year as a supporting act,โ€ it’s the first I’ve heard of a gig there, ‘cos no one tells me nuthin’, but I do recall sitting with the kids on the miniature train!

As an outdoor pursuit area, Brokerswood has been a popular attraction for families and campers since 1968, now in an effort to preserve the land, it’s converted into a holiday park. 

With no electricity, The Tin Church is a beautifully unique venue where the musicians are lit solely by candlelight and the original paraffin lamps and perform completely unplugged, taking advantage of the wonderful acoustics of the space. The band say, โ€œitโ€™s an experience like no other and an evening of music not to be missed!โ€

Sounds good to me; who needs electricity when youโ€™ve got beautiful music?! Priced at ยฃ18, it gets even better because it includes canapรฉs, with tickets available from The Cheese & Gain website. But, if you happen to miss this, as it’s a busy weekend what with The Festival of Winter Ales in Devizes and much more, Thieves will be playing this spring festival in March at Trowbridge Town Hall.

Thieves at The Tin Church, Brokerswood

Peter Gabriel to Release Live at Womad Album

Peter Gabriel – โ€˜Live At WOMAD 1982โ€™ will be released on 8th May 2026. It was a simple idea; to create a festival out of all the brilliant music and art made all over the world, stuff made outside of the mainstream โ€“ music that wasnโ€™t getting on the radio and was even harder to find in record storesโ€ฆ

The very first WOMAD Festival took place at the 240-acre Bath and West Showground, Somerset over the weekend of 16โ€“18 July, 1982. With the dream โ€˜not to sprinkle world music around a rock festival, but to prove that these great artists could be headliners in their own rightโ€™,ย the three days and five stages played host to 60 bands from over 20 countries; a line-up that included The Drummers of Burundi, Pigbag, Salsa de Hoy, Simple Minds, Musicians of the Nile, Echo and the Bunnymen, Prince Nico Mbarga, Rip, Rig and Panic, The Beat and many more.

โ€œI remember this gig well,โ€ says Peter Gabriel. โ€œWe played a mix of old and brand-new material. I would normally be very nervous about playing some of this stuff for the first time, however my mind was very preoccupied with the running of our very first WOMAD festival and the potential financial disaster that it was heading towards.

Because WOMAD was unique in its focus on music and art from around the world, and mixing it up with rock and jazz, no-one knew how many people might turn up and we had seriously overestimated our appeal. But those that had decided to check out WOMAD and its weird and wonderful lineup were open-minded, bold and curious – a great audience.

It was a landmark and edgy gig for me both personally and musically and brings back lots of memories.โ€

Across the three days โ€˜an evening concert seriesโ€™ took place in the Showering Pavilion on the festival site. On the Friday night that concert featured Tian Jin (a song and dance troupe from China), Simple Minds and, with a โ€˜special festival set of non-album materialโ€™, Peter Gabriel.

Live at WOMAD 1982 is a recording of that Friday night concert. The non-album material in question are seven of the eight songs that would make up the album Peter Gabriel 4. An album that wouldnโ€™t be released for a further two months.

On-stage, Peter is joined by David Rhodes (guitar), John Giblin (bass), Larry Fast (synthesisers). Jerry Marotta (drums), Peter Hammill (vocals) and โ€œthe wonderful Bristol-based drum and dance group,โ€ Ekomรฉ (drums, percussion).

โ€œWe wanted to show that wherever you were born, whatever colour or language, whatever religious or sexual persuasion, powerful passionate and joyful work would have a warm welcome in WOMAD.

At the beginning, most music industry professionals told us that we had no chance of making this dream work, we had all the wonderful naรฏve misguided optimism of the young, and were convinced that we would prove all the cynics wrong. However, at the end of the first festival, it was clear we had an artistic success, but not a financial oneโ€ฆ but thatโ€™s for another story.โ€

Peter Gabrielโ€™sย Live a WOMAD 1982ย takes us back to not only the birth of a festival โ€“ one that has now hosted more than 160 editions in 27 countries – but also to the premiere of an album with songs, like The Rhythm of the Heat, San Jacinto and Shock the Monkey, that have become central to the Gabriel canon. More than just a live album,ย Live at WOMAD 1982ย is a pivotal moment, available now for the very first time as a double LP 180g black vinyl, in gatefold jacket with Side D etching and high-res download code, or a single CD in mini-vinyl style gatefold packaging.

Sketchbook Records Release Chasing Dolls EP

Out of my comfort zone on this one; being aging punk-ish, emo is a subgenre post my better days. Though the ever-reliable Wikipedia suggests, as a term, it was coined in the late eighties. It either travelled leisurely by airship across the pond, or Iโ€™ve had my head up my arseโ€ฆ.

If Iโ€™m probably best left in a dark corner, crying about my lack of knowledge on the subject, that creates many reasons for me not to like Sketchbook Records latest cassette or digital download release, which is an EP by Chasing Dolls. It begs me to don my flatcap and yell red-faced at youngsters about the volume of this noise, and many other age-defining protestations, but they can all be cancelled out by the more straightforward observation, it absolutely rocks!

My adventures with hardcore punk, blowing eardrums to bands like The Dead Kennedys, Black Flag, Bad Brains and Butthole Surfers was adolescent and relatively short-lived. Yet if emo is a shortening for โ€œemotive,โ€ Iโ€™d squabble that all music should evoke emotion, otherwise itโ€™s elevator muzak.

The thrash of hardcore debatably constitutes the least emotional genre of pop, only championed perhaps, by techno. Perhaps emo adds the element back into the rock melting pot. In which case, how does it differ from goth or grunge, for theyโ€™re both filled with emotion? These Chasing Dolls songs are massively better composed, with the rising and falling of emotion, than the aforementioned hardcore bands of yore, by a country mile, yet equal to the goth and grunge subgenres Iโ€™ve acquired to appreciate through the local bands producing it, like I See Orange and The Belladonna Treatment.

But this EP is growing on me as fast as bacteria multiplies; Iโ€™d be more complimentary if I reviewed this in a week, but I wanted to get it out there. From first impressions, its raw energy, a sublime cry of woe, and it fits.  

What also fascinates me about Chasing Dolls, is that thereโ€™s no uniform, each tune holds its own, and differs in style and ambience. Cobweb and Blood Moon are the standout tunes, and with a slash make the title of the album. Cobweb comes in first with heavy guitar after a delicately placed riff, as Iโ€™d expect, and itโ€™s certainly rinsed with emotion, as described by its pigeonhole.

Blood Moon is more me, of greater ambience and mood, it drifts in layers like oil finding its way down a congregated surface. The howls of emotion, the sublimely placed breaks. Iโ€™m none too fussed by pigeonholing, if only to describe something to you, if they say itโ€™s emo, then Iโ€™m converted, feels like a natural punk progression through gothic and grunge. I may not be an expert on this, but I know what I like.

Step on My Shadow has a sprinkle of more universal indie-pop with an irresistible drum roll, and in part Iโ€™d imagine our favourite lads Nothing Rhymes With Orange might feel comfortable putting something out like this. Then thereโ€™s this live track, yet if Closest Thing to Heaven sounds like theyโ€™re going to get slushy, Hell is in brackets to ensure thereโ€™s controversy in the romantic topic, and it comes over a smidgen shoegaze. Love, it hurts most punk genres, emo takes no exceptions, in fact, going on this, exemplifies the anguish and pain of it, rolls it into a dramatic outpouring without boundaries, and for this, I now love Chasing Dolls.

Chasing Dolls are Hayden, Munch, Theo, Will and Jasmin, and long may they continue. As with many upcoming bands, thereโ€™s a notion in the ether theyโ€™ve yet to make that magnum opus, but this EP suggests theyโ€™re aching for it and will accomplish something progressively superior. For now though, Cobweb/Blood Moon throws everything you wanted to hate in your face, and turns it into something thorough, bold and challenging; top marks for that.

Thank you Sketchbook Records, you are opening an old manโ€™s eyes to emerging local artists with an alternative edge, and now Iโ€™m hooked! Oh, and you can find Chasing Dolls at Swinterfest, headlining the Saturday (31st Jan) at The Castle.

2025 on Devizine; Review of the Year; Part 1, Jan-June

If past years seem to be racing by me on roller-skates, now theyโ€™re in Formula 1 cars! 2025, in a word, was โ€œaverage,โ€ though the Devizine annual stats fell for a second year, at 6% lower than 2024; you lot still here?!

Iโ€™m not concerned about that, you filthy traitors; youโ€™ve been digesting the clickbait of that Gazelle & Herod again, havenโ€™t you?!! Ah, truth is I have been staying home, hibernating a lot like a lightweight couch potato; probably an age thing, most likely a financial thing too; weโ€™ve got hyperinflation to make Robert Mugabe envious. But we keep a stiff upper lip as the world plummets into chaos, our little corner of it remains a pretty nice place to live (if a bit Tory,) where you can block pavements with hoarding or nick a cardboard sheep from a church and get away with it. None of which we are here to highlight, we focus on the best bits, and slag off the worst with a sprinkling of satire; if you donโ€™t like it, you know where to go!

Hits took a hit because I bit my tongue on many local political or social issues this year, to concentrate more on arts and entertainment, but folk love a good shit stir rather than being told about some talented locals doing good. Plus, Iโ€™m sick to the back teeth with any dependence on Facebook shares, itโ€™s become a toxic playground for so-called adults and AI bots pretending to be human to boost propaganda. I think Iโ€™m going to be one of those smiling insanely old men, content to feed the ducks in the park, rather than ranting at anyone younger than me within range, but Iโ€™ve the right to change my mind on this! 

They also took a hit because Iโ€™ve been actively engaged in two fantastic major events, RowdeFest and The Wiltshire Music Awards. The latter in particular used up much of my time, but hey, I think they were worth it. The Awards really brought together a wealth of people involved in the Wiltshire music scene, caused me to wear a suit, and we hope to build on this with future years.

The other contributing factor to the downfall of hits to the website might have been me writing a new book, something I rarely get the time for, but was certain I wanted it published by Christmas. I made that deadline and Murder at the Scribbling Horse is officially out; you read it yet? No, didn’t think so!

But lots more happened in 2025, and those we featured are briefed below; we couldโ€™ve done more but I think we put out a lot of content; you have to give me some time to play pointless block puzzle games on my phone. Thank you to all our contributors, Ian, Andy, Lois and the few guest writers who have submitted this year. We always need more writers to make this as comprehensive as possible; it is about as flexible as it can possibly be, you can be a fruitcake, we donโ€™t mind, so do get in touch if you can help.

Please continue to support us, we thank you all for your dedication to Devizine; hereโ€™s to 2026; try best to avoid the fascist division, millionaires triggered by being disallowed to rip wild animals to death, the US or Russian bombs heading our way, the complete disregard for funding environmental projects while they spend billions fighting for the last scraps of oil, any world leader kidnapping, painting roundabouts, and the usage of anti-terror laws to arrest pensioners peacefully campaigning against genocide.

Just follow us instead, enjoying a pint in a pub and listening to live music, played by real people, focus on youth projects rather than fables of hooliganism, focus on talented individuals doing good rather than bitter clickbait and national headlines, and be here, in the warm and truth, with Devizine; we tell it like it is, and donโ€™t purvey bullshit!              

January

Just as this year starts with a review of the last, so did 2025, but not before I took a visit to the Swindon Story Shed. Forestry England invited dog walkers to Nightingale Wood, apparently to celebrate Walk Your Dog Month; surely every month is walk your dog month?! The second feature film for director Keith Wilhelm Kopp and writer Laurence Guy, First Christmas entered development. We covered how My Dadโ€™s Bigger Than Your Dad Festival raised ยฃ11,500 for Prospect Hospice, and thereโ€™s moreโ€ฆ. 

Jamsters began at Devizes Southgate, an initiative to provide a Friday night platform for loose groupings and associations created at their regular jam sessions each Wednesday. We announced The Beat were to headline Devizes Scooter Rally, that Nick Hodgson formerly of the Kaiser Chiefsโ€™ new band, Everyone Says Hi had an instore at Marlboroughโ€™s Sound Knowledge, and we unfortunately said goodbye to the now disbanded People Like Us; sorely missed.

The original line up of People Like Us

We had new singles from Nothing Rhymes With Orange, a new album from Illingworth, and fuller sessions from Kaya Street. Andy reviewed the first Devizes International Blues Festival, Ian covered Jerusalem at the Mission Theatre, and Veronicaโ€™s Room at The Wharf Theatre.

We previewed OakFest at the Royal Oak in Pewsey, La Belle Hรฉlรจne, White Horse Operaโ€™s Debut at The Wharf Theatre, Devizes Musical Theatreโ€™s Beauty & The Beast, Henge at The Cheese & Grain, and Bradford-on-Avon Green Man Festival which unfortunately this year is in jeopardy, and we welcomed Caffe Vialottie to Devizes, our most popular article of the year.

Februaryย 

It may be topical now, but weโ€™ve always been supporting the hunting ban, and in February reported how Beaufort Hunters attacked Wiltshire Hunt Sabsโ€™ drone. We sadly confirmed Devizes Street Festival was cancelled for the second year in a row, and The Emporium in Devizes was to close, but Devizes would get a new youth centre.

Previews included, Marlborough School of Languagesโ€™ Summer Fiesta, Jazz Sabbath at the Corn Exchange. We announced The Brand New Heavies were to headline Minety, tickets for DOCAโ€™s Winter Ales were running out, and that I was to organise the music for Rowdefest in May, probably my favourite memory of 2025.

We featured Melkshamโ€™s teen band Between the Lines, reviewed JP Oldfieldโ€™s debut EP Bouffon, Jamie Hawkinsโ€™ short film Teeth, and new singles from I See Orange and Sam Bishop. Swinterfest broke me out of my hibernation, and I also got out to see the fantastic Static Moves at the Three Crowns, plus Cephidโ€™s Sparks in the Darkness at The Rondo, which was mindblowing!

March

We announced that Devizes auctioneers Henry Aldridge & Son were relocating to the Old Emporium, Soupchick was to take over The Hillworth Park Cafe, that after the fire in Northgate Street Devizes Kebab Van successfully relocated to Folly  Road, that Devizes was to have a new festival, Park Farm Festival, and of course the very first Wiltshire Music Awards.

We featured the Belladonna Treatment, had a wonderful local reflection on the Trump & Zelenskiy meeting from a Ukrainian living in Wiltshire, and it was one of my all-time favourite interviews with eighties legend Owen Paul ahead of a Devizes gig.

We reviewed The Killer & The Catalyst, Devizes author Dave McKennaโ€™s novelette, Geckoโ€™s new album, and singles by Chloe Hepburn and George Wilding. 

Previewed Devizes Arts Festival, Exchange Comedy in Devizes, Swindon Palestine Solidarityโ€™s Charity Iftar, CUDSโ€™ Devizes Town Litter Pick for GB Spring Clean, and Hells Bells AC/DC tribute coming to Devizes! We listed the results of Salisbury Music Awards.

I managed to make it out to see The Devilโ€™s Doorbell and JP Oldfield at the Cellar Bar, Ruby Darbyshire at the Southgate, and Cracked Machine with Tom Harris in support, too. Ian gave us Blood Brothers at The Mission Theatre and Flatpack at The Rondo, and Pip Aldridge reviewed our Fulltone Orchestra at Tewkesbury Abbey.

I ranted on the state of the roads, and for fun ran a Take Our Wiltshire Pothole or Moon Crater Quiz Challenge!!

April

Ah, All Fools Day, a golden opportunity for us, in which last year we told the fib that funk godfather George Clinton was exiled to the Wiltshire village of Urchfont, created funk music there and it was covered up by their parish council! You might assume it was hardly viable, but some fell for it, and messaged in their outraged reports of โ€œfake news!โ€ 

We looked into DOCAโ€™s new youth initiative Yea Devizes, and while we published our usual extensive list of Easter holiday activities, we also previewed DOCAโ€™s Junk Street drumming workshop.

I visited The Hillworth Park Cafe, where Soupchick took over, hailed Devizes DJ Greg Spencer, the creator of Palooza house nights, who made the prestigious bill of Fatboy Slimโ€™s All Back to Minehead festival, and reviewed the now sadly defunct No Alarms No Devizes playing at the Three Crowns. Discovered Fran Daisy at Swindonโ€™s Plough, and Henge at the Cheese & Grain was a high contender for my gig of the year; out of this world!

We had a guest review from Melissa Loveday on Devizes Music Academyโ€™s Something About Jamie, which though Iโ€™m sorry to have missed, I did catch them playing it out at FullTone Festival in the summer. I did attend Devizes Musical Theatreโ€™s Beauty & the Beast at Dauntseyโ€™s School and the opening of Un/Common People, Folk Culture in Wessex, a fascinating exhibition at Wiltshire Museum.

Everybody’s Talking About Jamie

Reviewed Hannah Rose Plattโ€™s album Fragile Creatures, probably the best album we covered last year. The website for Wiltshire Music Awards went live and people held on to cast their votes in May. 

We exposed Reform candidate Calne Violette Simpson for her Facebook profile picture showing her hunting antelope in South Africa, and Devizes South Conservative candidate Sarah Batchelor, who committed election fraud, up and left with her tail between her legs and almost running Bishops Canningโ€™s Crown into the ground. Thankfully it seems the new owners are turning it around and recreating the village hub it once was. 

May

I was honoured and delighted to organise the music for our village fete, which has in the last few years been run by a lovely independent committee, safe from a questionable parish council. It was a wonderful sunny day and the highlight of my year. I called in some favours and presented an amazing lineup for a free fete, featuring, in order of appearance, The Jubilee Morris Dancers, Andrew Hurst who brought bassist Lucianne Worthy with him, Talk in Code, The Sarah C Ryan Band, Thieves, and Burn The Midnight Oil. Being it was the last day of the month, I didnโ€™t write about it until June.

I paid a Sunday afternoon visit to Devizes amazing record shop Vinyl Realm, when Deadlight Dance were attacked by wasps and still managed an amazing unplugged acoustic set. Ben Niamor reviewed Jake Martin at Swindonโ€™s Castle with SOP, and Ian gave us his views on Sweeney Todd at St. Augustineโ€™s Catholic College in Trowbridge, and the Diary of Anne Frank at The Wharf Theatre in Devizes, which was so good I had to go myself. Lois covered newcomers Kingston Mediaโ€™s Bands at the Bridge in Horton.

I previewed the Bradford-on-Avon Live Music Festival, despite it clashing with our Rowdefest! Also, Ruby Darbyshire who performed at Silverwood Schoolโ€™s open evening. Andy provided a preview of Chippenham Folk Festival, and Lois provided us with previews of Australian Folk singer Ernest Aines at Swindonโ€™s Deanery Theatre and David Olusoga at the Cheese & Grain.

Announced the opening of voting for Wiltshire Music Awards, that Devizes-based The Big Sound Choir was to perform with Aled Jones at St Georgeโ€™s in Bristol, and that Bird is The Word were taking over music organisation at Bradford-on-Avonโ€™s Boathouse.

We featured how Lucas Hardy was collaborating with Rosie Jay, and Fromeโ€™s James Hollingsworth, who was bringing his solo recreation of Pink Floydโ€™s Wish You Were Here album to the Devizes Southgate and elsewhere, and reviewed his album with Griffiths, Lost in the Winds of Time.   

I reviewed Clock Radioโ€™s album Turfing out the Maniacs, Ruzz Guitarโ€™s Between Two Worlds album, Playing Solitaire; Phil Cooperโ€™s first solo album for five years, Thievesโ€™ debut EP, a new single from George Wilding, and one from Auralcandy featuring vocals from Sienna Wileman. A feature of a Melksham marketing expert launching AI training courses was met with controversy, yeah, I get that!

June

If we were all busy with the Devizes Arts Festival, we were previwing summer events like a new festival for Devizes, Park Farm, clashing with an amazing day at the Three Crowns for an air ambulance fundraiser, and I finalyy got over my hangover and ego, and gave coverage of Rowdefest; highlight of my year!ย 

Andy reviewed White Horse Operaโ€™s Cosi Fan Tutte and The Lost Trades at the Piggybank, Ian did The Mikado at the Mission, The Taming of the Shrew at the Rondo, and of course we all did our bit for the Devizes Arts Festival. Andy also covered an extensive weekend when The Lions were on the Green in Devizes, we had Crammer Watch Day too, and Devizes Arts Festival did a fringe gig at the British Lion; summer lovinโ€™. The highlight of this had to be Whereโ€™s the Cat, the Wharf Theatreโ€™s writing groupโ€™s hilarious reenactment of the Moonrakers fable at the Crammer, which I felt obliged to cover too. 

Eddie and I were guests on Peggy-Sueโ€™s Donโ€™t Stop the Music show on Swindon 105.5, chatting about the awards. We met Henry the chocolate duck raising funds for cystic fibrosis at HollyChocs, previewed Supergrass headlining Frome Festival, a genderqueered Shakespearean performance at Bathโ€™s Rondo, and Swindon Palestine Solidarity events. Lois did Idles at Bristolโ€™s Block Party. 

I reviewed The Hotcakes of Wildfireโ€™s album Shoes & Acid, ranted on vocal minorities triggered by events of cultural diversity, and did a No Surprises column promising to return the feature, but promises are made to be broken! Thereโ€™s simply too much to whinge about, and for my health, I need to see the glass half-full.

Bands at The Bridge

Thatโ€™s all for now, folks. Do not fear, itโ€™s still summer in our minds, and weโ€™ll kick off in July for the second part. I know, our goldfish attention spans cannot take in a whole year in one article, what with so much brilliant stuff which happened over the year, so come back when Iโ€™ve officially emptied the Quality Street tin and completed the last half of this review of 2025; but I must say, I think the first half was better!!

Burning the Midday Oil at The Muck

Highest season of goodwill praises must go to Chrissy Chapman today, who raised over ยฃ500 (at the last count) for His Grace Childrenโ€™s Centre in Uganda, with a little help from talented friendsโ€ฆ.

Years back as soloist singer-songwriter One Trick Pony, Chrissy organised annual fundraising gigs at the Southgate around Christmas time, but now tuned up a notch with her incredible Americana band Burn the Midnight Oil behind her it was a high noon lock up and load for a Sunday afternoon hoedown at the Muck and Dunder rum bar in Devizes. The better half, Mrs Devizine, has been asking me to take her somewhere tropical, so given such an opportunity, we bused it to The Brittox.

With Burn The Midnight Oil rightfully grasping the top slot with the same intensity as me holding my pineapple vase of piรฑa colada, all kicked off at half-two with Gary Hewitt-Long performing a rare acoustic set. New to the game, and while I obviously cannot condone a satirical song aimed at a certain rogue local councillor, Gary was unnecessarily bashful, as he acoustically played out some great originals to warm the crowd!

Perhaps it was the crowd which, understandably nerved him; it sure was building, as Martin Rea sauntered through them, sporting a fashionable bum bag and dishing out raffle tickets.

A Wiltshire duo new to me, One Plus One may offer sums even I can handle in name, but their performance was delightful. A proficient and lovable pop cover duo to please any event, One Plus One is guitarist Dave, and Emily on vocals, confident to take on an Amy Winehouse cover or two and come up trumps. Chapel Roan’s Pink Pony Club also got a superb makeover, and they polished it off with the seasonal Fairytale of New York; why not?

Maybe only because our modest local folk legend Vince Bell, who followed, also planned to finalise his sublime set with the UK’s best loved Christmas song, with his wife Lisa as Kirsty MacColl. Though more musical theatre, no stranger to the limelight, Lisa nailed it, and the handsome, pretty, and the queens of New Devizes City crowd never minded the doubled up cover and sang the chorus.

Vince also offered Chrissy the accompanying chair for a spellbinding middle duet they supposed they should record, and they should. But beginning his set with his divine self-penned melancholic earworms, garnished in percussive rhythm guitar mastery akin to flamenco, and raising the spirit with the more spritely Spiderman Pajamas, Vince is a local treasure and never fails to charm.


Exactly a year after we first interviewed the original lineup, Burn The Midnight Oil came bursting on and delivered their awesome set with unified passion and precision, seemingly lapping up every minute. You’d be excused for assuming this band has been playing together for decades despite it being less than a year in the new format.

They appeased the audience with a taste of what they’ve been working on, looked fantabulous, and, most importantly, put 210% into their show. Yet it was arguably the sum of all these parts and the community festive spirit, which made it the wonderful afternoon it was.

7 Hills Spring Festival Comes to Trowbridge

Is it time to start thinking about spring? I think so! Bath music promoters 7 Hills are moving their annual spring festival from the city to Trowbridgeโ€™s Old Town Hall. If youโ€™re already buzzing for the 2026 festival season to arrive, check this March offeringโ€ฆ..

7 Hills regularly organise music events at The Night Jar in Bath, a glorious bar upstairs at the Bath Pizza Company, part of the hip Green Park Brasserie close to the railway station. Many gigs there have a โ€œpay if canโ€ policy, and present the likes of Luke De-Sciscio, Elles Bailey and Steve Cradock of Ocean Colour Scene. Their festivals are also usually held in Bath, but this coming year a spring one comes to Trowbridge.

Chris Hoar of Courting Ghosts explained he, โ€œreached out to them initially to say I was planning a festival in the newly renovated Old Town Hall, just to check it didn’t clash with them, and Matt said let’s do it together in Trowbridge as a spring festival.โ€

Concrete Prairie

Itโ€™s an all day folk-rock festival, happening on Saturday 21st March, tickets are on sale now at ยฃ39.50. Thereโ€™s a number of acts new to me on the lineup, which is good; The Delines, Our Man In The Field, Joseph Arthur, Hannah White, Leander Morales Music, Chris Greenhalgh, Bluebeard and the Desperate Hours and Biff Country. Some to tick off my must see list, like AQABA, and others which I will never tire of witnessing, particularly Concrete Prairie, Thieves, Fly Yeti Fly and Matt Owens, with Chrisโ€™s band Courting Ghosts, of course!

Courting Ghosts

Following an extensive and transformative refurbishment, the historic Old Town Hall will host this inaugural 7 Hills Spring Festival, a landmark cultural event marking a renewed era of artistic ambition for the region. Conceived as a celebration of world-class songwriting and contemporary creative excellence, the festival assembles an exceptional line-up of internationally esteemed performers and compelling new voices.

The Delines headline, widely regarded as one of the most evocative and accomplished bands of their generation. Praised for their cinematic soul, lush arrangements and profoundly humane storytelling, critics have called The Delines โ€œone of the finest Americana acts working todayโ€ and hailed their work as โ€œexquisite, elegant and utterly transportive.โ€ Their appearance at 7 Hills Spring Festival promises a rare opportunity to witness a band consistently described as โ€œamong the very best songwriters and performers on either side of the Atlantic.โ€

They are joined by Our Man in the Field, whose transatlantic Americana and increasingly acclaimed live performances have captured audiences across Europe and beyond; the distinguished American singer-songwriter Joseph Arthur, celebrated for his poetic intensity; Matt Owens & The DVP, whose dynamic blend of modern folk, rock, and richly crafted lyricism promises one of the nightโ€™s most electrifying sets; and multiple AMA UK Award Winner,  Hannah White, widely recognised as one of Britainโ€™s most profound contemporary songwriters. Rounding out the bill are Courting Ghosts, an emerging band whose growing reputation reflects a bold and distinctive artistic voice.

Fly Yeti Fly

Showcasing newly enhanced performance spaces, architectural restoration, and a revitalised artistic vision, the renewed Old Town Hall stands as a major cultural milestone. 7 Hills Spring Festival will not merely highlight the buildingโ€™s transformation, but also usher in a bold new chapter for Trowbridgeโ€™s cultural landscape.

With the absence of Bradford Roots Festival this coming year, usually in Feb at The Wiltshire Music Centre, I think I can pad it out until then; maybe go into hibernation until March!

Tickets HERE.

Trending…..

Ha! Let’s Laugh at Hunt Supporters!

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

Rooks; New Single From M3G

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

Burning the Midday Oil at The Muck

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

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For Now, Anyway; Gus White’s Debut Album

Featured Image: Barbora Mrazkova

My apologies, for Marlboroughโ€™s singer-songwriter Gus Whiteโ€™s debut album For Now, Anyway has been sitting on the backburner, and itโ€™s more than worth a quick mentionโ€ฆ..

Gus White is a respected folk musician, record producer, festival organiser, and community maker with a deep love for the rooted and the heartfelt. His production credits are the string that ties together an emerging scene that refers to itself as Third Wave Folk, involving a collective of artists which record with Gus at his Wiltshire studio. This includes microtonal and genre-fluid rising-star Maddie Ashman, folk singer Minna, and UK folk-charting artist Ann Liu Cannon. The latter is our connection, fondly reviewing Ann Liuโ€™s album Clever Rabbits back in July.ย 

Though, in the short wintery month this album has been simmering itโ€™s made number twenty-six on the Official Folk Album Charts, making Gus rightfully charting too. An initial listen from yours truly and I can understand why. I do declare it as instant as Douwe Egbertsโ€™ Pure Gold, only in rapture rather than coffee! Itโ€™s chock full of cool vibes, that breezy feelgood Sunday morning acoustic which is too darn soothing itโ€™s impossible to criticise. As for Gusโ€™s barista skills, Iโ€™ve no confirmation, but going on his music, I could take a wild guess heโ€™s a tea fellow. 

Eleven songs strong, put the kettle on yourself, and allow Gus to get on doing his sublime thing! Thereโ€™s no rise and fall, the melodies flow like the Iguazu Falls. If I pick out individual elements into Gusโ€™s melting pot, like the doo-wop-ish structure of middle-track Terrible Things, the bluesy guitar picking in the following song, Head Held High, or jazz drum percolate in Please, Forgive Me, theyโ€™re all so subtly placed. If Gus defines it Third Wave Folk, thatโ€™s what it is; a composition borrowing from Americana and English folk, but neither whole; a gorgeous cherrypick from both. It has the universal folk-rock feel of Goerge Harrison and Cat Stevens, and is equally as uplifting.

Though some themes are negative, the overall ambience is pessimistic; if youโ€™ve a bad day, so what? Watch the rain trickle down the window outside with that lukewarm brew in a slightly stained chipped mug, listen to this and contemplate, life goes on, youโ€™re rising above it.

If the penultimate song on For Now, Anyway, After So Long is rinsed in a dejected romantic memory, Gus carries it as skilled as Tom Petty, and the final song Still Learning lifts the spirit one final time like a contemporary Dr Hook, with that beguiling cheerful chorus. It departs your ears leaving you aching for more; a beautifully and skilled production from someone who comes across as a modest genius tea-drinker. Gus produced, mixed and mastered For Now, Anyway, a defining statement as a songwriter and a prime example of his meticulous production work. 

Image: Jeremey Prout

Authentic too; recorded in 2021, with a live band of friends and local musicians, Gus White approached this stunning album like any other project, stating he was โ€œtrying to capture the magic, and the essence, of the song in a single live performance, in the way real instruments and human voices blend when left to their own devices.โ€

Gus, also a member of folk band Dead Pages, is co-organiser of Late Spring Folk Festival, which celebrated its third iteration this summer at Dummer Down Brewery near Micheldever, since forming at a Wiltshire pub venue. This yearโ€™s is Saturday 23rd May. If he showcases this album there itโ€™s worth the reasonable ticket stub alone.

For Now, Anyway is out now on Man Made Tigers. Available to buy on CD & vinyl exclusively from Sound Knowledge in Marlborough and is available across streaming platforms. Donโ€™t procrastinate like me, as Iโ€™m sorry I did now Iโ€™ve heard it.

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Butane Skies Not Releasing a Christmas Song!

No, I didnโ€™t imagine for a second they would, but upcoming Take the Stage winners, alt-rock emo four-piece, Butane Skies have released their second song, but itโ€™s not a Christmas song, noโ€ฆ.

If youโ€™ve had enough debating if Die Hard is a Christmas film with the family, when obviously nothing says Christmas like Hanz Gruber falling from the Nakatomi Plaza, maybe try this stocking filler for size; Not a Christmas Song isnโ€™t a Christmas song, not a jingle bell or a Noddy Holder to hear here. I didnโ€™t ask Santa for a Christmas song anyway.

It is, though, marvellously negative about the commercialisation and the absence of snow, wrapped wonderfully in a theme of seasonal romantic disruption. Oh, but it has the subtlest hints of Yule in reference; folky and in the odd twinkling piano riff, so not entirely a thrashed punk anti-Christmas feel neither. As ironically as Alanis Morissette, and as proficient as her too.

If The Pouges & Kirstyโ€™s seasonal offering was subtle but pimped somewhere along the lines by commercial radio, Butane Skies takes the disguised holly and mistletoe to another level. You could listen to this in June without being told off; clever concept, but then, the composition of the song is equally a stroke of genius and it rolls out all rather wonderfully. Take a listen, thereโ€™s no partridges in pear trees yet.

Streaming Options HERE

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Gus White Burbage’s Smithy Art Forgery with Ann Liu Cannon and Esmรฉ White

Words by Ollie MacKenzie.

Featured Image by Barbora Mrazkova.ย 

The creative process can be a winding, long, and often confusing journey. Seeing a project come to fruition from scrappy origin to a packaged, marketable, and well-rounded piece of work can feel daunting – or even impossible. It took Gus White six years of honing his production skills, amassing an arsenal of musical machinery, and developing a community of talented musicians to bring his album โ€˜For Now, Anywayโ€™ into existence….

At its core, itโ€™s a breakup album, which could feel strange to complete and release so far after the original โ€˜breakโ€™, but speaking to Gus it appears the space has allowed him to finish the album at a much more present and content time in his life. Heโ€™s settled into a different existence โ€“ heโ€™s in a new relationship, heโ€™s a dog owner, and has played a large role in building a thriving music scene across the venues, pubs, and houses of Wiltshire.

This brings us to the Smithy Art Forgery in Burbage, a kooky yet loveable cultural venue operating out of a 375-year-old house that currently operates as a jeweller. Located on the side of a quiet village road, itโ€™s adorned with nondescript street parking, burgers served off a BBQ, and vegetable curry to order made in the ownerโ€™s kitchen.ย 

Itโ€™s these types of places that are few and far between according to Gus โ€“ a true grassroots venue for musicians, a haven from playing dusty forgotten corners of pubs where the landlord and patrons donโ€™t even really want you there anyway. It was why it was there on the 14th of September that Gus hosted his album release party.

Taking place in the back garden of the venue, attendees were seated under a marquee packed with various sofas, stools, and garden furniture that faced onto an embankment where the stage was set. Copious instruments lay there waiting, tucked underneath an array of tarpaulin and teepees to shield them and the musicians from the bipolar weather conditions of the changing season.

The atmosphere was intimate โ€“ maybe fewer than 100 in attendance โ€“ but one that felt lively and far from empty. Friends of friends of friends made happy introductions and chats to one another, waiting for the music to start. Two support acts opened the day. First, a solo and entrancing guitar performance from Grace Elizabeth Harvey, followed by a sort of double act from Ann Liu Cannon and Esmรฉ White, the two swapping between lead vocal spots all the while backed by a mandolin player โ€“ the first of many off-kilter instruments to litter the performances.ย 

Then it was Gusโ€™s turn to play. The performance brought about the live, interactive feel of the album, with a high range of instruments on display โ€” trombones, sublime guitar passages, the double bass, a kazoo solo, and even a set of pots and pans, just to name a few. The music felt sonically based in the past, a careful homage to folk and rock formats from americana, country and indie, exhibiting a range of influence from the 50s all the way to the 70s. Despite its seemingly traditional backdrop, the performance was unmistakably modern, with the lyrics carrying the music firmly into the present. Packed with new-age irony and technological references, Gusโ€™s dry, irreverent humour was centre stage throughout the performance, both in the songs and in his preambles โ€” though this didnโ€™t disguise the sincerity of the music or the performer. Balanced amongst the tongue-in-cheek lyrics were very straight to the point personal accounts of his former relationship, that through their intense and biographical nature revealed a relatability that would be shrouded behind overt poeticism. Though typically robust and amusing, Gusโ€™s songwriting shows a capability of reaching into the elegiac also. The solo encore of โ€˜Josephineโ€™ makes the case for Gusโ€™s well-roundedness as a song smith; a poetry laden tribute to his partner that drew much of its effect from its earnestness and folk-style imagery.

Gus closed the concert with a rendition of โ€˜Please Forgive Meโ€™, a rousing finish that allowed each band member their moment to show off, before the crowd sung the concert to a finish. It felt an appropriate end, where Gus, the producer, allowed others to have their moment through his handiwork, sitting back and revelling in the fun of it all. For a set of songs about breaking up, Gus seemed married to the moment, an artist revealing himself at a perfect time to a welcoming group of friends and strangers alike.

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The Lost Trades & Half of One at The Hop, Swindon

One part of Swindon was in perfect harmony last night, and I donโ€™t mean the traffic circumnavigating the Magic Roundabout. Rather The Lost Trades were at the Hop in Old Town, honouring a postponed gig from Septemberโ€ฆ..

SoP Live, who run a regular Thursday night music club at The Castle, plenty of other gigs, and coordinate the Swindon Shuffle and Swinterfest, arranged this eveningโ€™s entertainment at The Hop, the largest of pubs on the Devizes Road area of Old Town with the perfect upstairs function room to turn into a temporary folk club.

A slight music appreciation collective gathered, seated and respectfully keen to value live music of this calibre. On previous occasions when the Lost Trades played here, organiser Ed Dyer explained, โ€œwere packed out,โ€ and factors of the lesser crowd were discussed; it couldโ€™ve been because it was rescheduled. While free pub gigs thrive equally to overpriced pop star concerts, add even the smallest price to less mainstream acts, as this gig did, sadly seems can reduce its attraction. What we all need to be mindful of is the safety net; dedicated and erudite promoters like SoP guarantee tried and tested acts, ergo paying a small ticket stub is worthwhile for a better class of live music than a pub throwing any old band in for peanuts. Ah, you get what you pay for, but to disregard this notion is to lose venues and promoters. The saddest thing is, that is happeningโ€ฆ.now. Support them, or become a skint Swifty, your choice.

Whilst Jamie R Hawkins and Phil Cooper of The Lost Trades are no strangers to playing a pub gig solo, the key to the Lost Trades works best at folk festivals and clubs, and arts centres. It is fantastic to think this local export is nationwide now, and judging on their performance last night, something Iโ€™ve not caught for what seems like an age, itโ€™s thoroughly deserved. Thereโ€™s a sense of elevation in their delivery of these soothing vocal harmonies, a consistent strive of improvement, which if it isnโ€™t at its peak now, the summit would be on an angelic level.

Such a while it has been, Tamsin Quin left the trio and has been replaced by Jess Vincent, and I was yet to see that working live, despite fondly mentioning their latest single, Float Me On Your River. As well as performing some other new songs, they opened with this, and notwithstanding Tamsin has a distinguishable voice, Jess makes the quintessential substitution, an exemplar to the ethos of The Lost Trades. Her wonderful vocal range and proficient percussion complement Phil and Jamieโ€™s expressions on equal terms as Tamsinโ€™s, and so The Lost Trades are once again at the top of their game.

And a sublime performance it was, but not before a support act new to me played a divine set of fiddle, guitar and occasional loop pedal folk covers. Half of One is a Swindon duo, fiddler Geoff Roberts and guitarist Neil Mercer, and theyโ€™ve played together in folk band SGO who recently disbanded, and who Iโ€™m well aware of, and dance band Cowshed Ceilidh Collective. We were treated to some gorgeous English folk pieces, others from the likes of Sam Sweeny, Show of Handsโ€™ Steve Knightly, and a wonderfully delivered Great War song for Remembrance I missed the name of and cannot find online! It was a spellbinding support, which couldโ€™ve been the headline for any folk club.

As folk, The Lost Trades have always stated itโ€™s โ€œmodern folk,โ€ and with electric guitars and some subject matter I see this, but thereโ€™s something uniquely captivating about them which makes it timeless and conjures images of The Carter Family. I may not have been lucky enough to have seen The Everley Brothers or Simon & Garfunkel, but The Lost Trades are vocal harmony perfection to me!

Available at Devizes Books, or message Devizine for a copy!

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Sarah C Ryan Band’s Radio Silence

If you need a reason to understand why I was so excited about The Sarah C Ryan Band coming to RowdeFest back in May, you wasn’t there!! And if you wasn’t, well, I’m not going to pick on you, just leave said example below and let you decide…..

My Radio Silence, recorded for a session at Crescent Records Studio in Swindon, back in July 2024, has recently been published on YouTube for prosperity, and shows precisely why I so absolutely, totally 100% love this band! It’s so breezy and cool…. I’m going to shut my cake hole and let you enjoy the video…..

Now available from Devizes Books

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Chatting With Burn The Midnight Oil

Itโ€™s nice to hear when our features attract attention. Salisburyโ€™s Radio Odstock ย picked up on our interview with Devizes band Burn the Midnight Oil and they gained air time, but the interview was published short of year ago now, and the band have had significant changes to the lineup and their style. So, I the time is nigh to poke my bulbous nose in and interrupt their rehearsal againโ€ฆ..

Formerly a trio, bassist Chris Lane remains with Chrissy Chapman up front,ย  but guitarist Andy Jacobs sadly passed away this year. โ€œAndy was an amazing musician and really helped carve out our initial sonic signature,โ€ Chrissy told me. โ€œWeโ€™ve always wanted to acknowledge his creative contributions, given that music ran through him like the letters in a stick of rock. However, for reasons I canโ€™t discuss out of respect for everyone involved, the band collectively decided that it was no longer suitable for Andy to remain involved. Weโ€™ve made every attempt to show him grace since that decision but there was a negative backlash. Regardless, we were all very sad to hear he passed away shortly after, and our sympathies remain with his family and loved ones. Weโ€™re committed to remembering him in the best light.โ€

โ€œThere was definitely concern about doing the songs justice after we parted ways with Andy,โ€ Chrissy continued. โ€œEventually, though, we made a conscious effort to develop a new sound that honoured the music while allowing John the creative freedom. The core of our sound now focuses on doing the  songs justice rather than trying to replicate what Andy originally brought to the table and embracing the natural evolution of our sound that draws from all of our influences.โ€

The Original Trio of Chrissy, Chris and Andy

John Lane joined as guitarist, but was making me a cuppa while I was chatting with  Ron Riordan, the new drummer. Theyโ€™ve both been instrumental in forging a new direction for the band, literally! John said of Andyโ€™s passing, โ€œas part of getting through that phase the band has grown,โ€ and Ron added it had โ€œevolved.โ€

Turning to Chrissy I jested that when we did the original interview, she had suggested they didn’t need a drummer! โ€œWell,โ€ she explained, โ€œwe always needed a drummer, but we were able to perform at the time without a drummer because we were percussive enough. And it went down really well. A couple of venues, we did three gigs before we got Ron, a brilliant drummer!โ€

Ron stepped in immediately at a crossover period between Andy and John, a proficient drummer who told me he had played in a few ska bands in Swindon, โ€œI started playing drums when I was about nine, in orchestras and learnt to read music, that type of thing.โ€ I smiled; he looks like he can blast a Two-Tone riff. โ€œThat’s the thing though,โ€ Chrissy said, โ€œbecause straight away we had DOCAโ€™s Winter of Festive Ales booked. So it was like, everybody had to jump on really, really quickly. And we wanted to use that as an opportunity to do the originals.โ€

It was on the strength of the demo I asked them to play RowdeFest, I hadnโ€™t seen them performing before. But the committee was encouraging me to find a covers band. โ€œWe followed your advice about doing the covers,โ€ Chrissy said, though it wasnโ€™t really advise, rather a  way to get them booked! Iโ€™m so glad they did, they were dynamite and feedback was overwhelming. The kind of band youโ€™d think had been on the circuit for years. โ€œI felt that we were at the party at the end of the day!โ€ John remarked, and they certainly was.

โ€œWhat was nice about that is it the focus was about โ€˜let’s give people a showโ€™ rather than it just being about  โ€˜let’s get our songs outโ€™,โ€ Chrissy explained. โ€œYour influence was about getting a show to give to people, keeping people up on their feet, so and not allowing those breathers.โ€  I did encourage them to ensure they blasted some originals out too, though, which they did!

โ€œWe tried to dress it on different levels of the visual,โ€ John stressed, โ€œwearing the outfits, the recognition of known songs, and the come on, party time!โ€

โ€œYeah, it worked, didn’t it?โ€ I replied, a template to liven up a pub gig, and Burn the Midnight Oil are certainly getting them. The Queenโ€™s Tap in Swindon and Kings Arms in Amesbury their recent outings, but how do they feel about how far theyโ€™ve come?

โ€œGiven that the new face of us being coming up a four piece with Andy’s departure in January, to get that in the space of a year, well, less than a year,โ€ Chrissy said, โ€œas a new lineup, I think it’s quite incredible.โ€

Itโ€™s the added drums which changes it, I supposed, surely essential for a harder rock feel.

โ€œIt changes the scale of the presentation,โ€ John added. โ€œIt’s now got drive and rhythm rather than being listening for the lyric. It’s actually motivated, it hooks into people’s natural sense of rhythm, and you can’t help it. First thing people take in is rhythm, then melody, last of all, lyrics. So if you hook the first bit, you don’t get the second one, then they come back for the lyrics. So we’re attacking it from the best angle.โ€

Here was were I felt a healthy division between John and Chrissyโ€™s perspective, as she began to speak on where she drew inspiration from in the writing and a change in direction from  intrapersonal to interpersonal. She drew from personal relationships and her faith, implying her writing was key, but the difference was never confrontational and a good blend of opinion is surely necessary to compose the elements of a song professionally.  

โ€œI had a tsunami of a creative spell, and wrote twenty songs in as many days. So we’re now, everybody’s having to play catch up, trying to get them polished!โ€ Chrissy explained. She labelled her past songs as an โ€œangsty teenage phase,โ€ and felt her songwriting about โ€œgood guy/scumbagsโ€ had evolved and matured into โ€œsomething more universal. It’s not so much like a diary, it’s definitely becoming more cryptic. It’s pulling in a different kind of imagery and symbolism. And then, because I’m faith-based as well, I’ve given a lot of inspiration taking verses from the Bible that have really helped me through difficult times. I’m weaving them, not to be preachy, but just to be like, this is my story.โ€

โ€œWeโ€™d like the two songs we did at the award ceremony, to polish it up more, get a scratch track done, and then we’re going to go back to Matt Millerโ€™s Dusty Shed, who did the original three.โ€

โ€œWe can’t really use the original EP anymore. And also, it’s fair to say with John’s influences, and the way that we’re allowing space for his creative flow to come into it, it just sounds different.โ€

John pointed out his mixer was adequate when I pondered if they needed a producer. Chrissy replied while it would be โ€œfantastic,โ€  she crunched numbers and said they, โ€œreally want to get onto the festival circuit, and that means having tracks done ASAP.โ€

Captivating to listen to Chrissy delving deeper into the inspiration behind her songwriting and the maturity she felt it levelling to, in which she exclaimed with much delight, โ€œit’s definitely been refreshing having John’s influence, him sharing how he sees it as a viewer. Because you write what you know, and unfortunately, I’ve been exposed to quite a lot of things that I don’t think many people would ever want to be exposed to. And being able to find hope and joy in some of the songs and being able to write happier songs. For the first time ever, I’ve written two love songs! I’ve never written love songs before! So, there definitely seems to be more universal themes.โ€

Yet as fascinating as it is, hearing Chrissyโ€™s writing motivations, John revealing the technical side to their development, Ron adding splices of drummer-fashioned wit, and together them trying to summarise their change in direction whether it be a more rock-blues or dark-country, only to finally decide it unnecessary to pigeonhole it anyway, it makes for a laborious read, so I thought I’d inject a light-hearted, more physical observation with Chris, who otherwise, I suspect, wouldโ€™ve remained silent, save occasionally strumming his bass!

It was that I heard Jimi Hendrix had extremely long fingers, I noted so too did Chris, and wondered if he considered it an asset to playing guitar! John jested, โ€œit’s like watching a spider running up and down a hot plate!โ€ Ron pointed out his stumpy fingers, โ€œI’m a drummer; I’ve just tried to learn the bass guitar and I can’t get my hands anywhere round the neck of the guitar like Chris can!โ€

Chris exampled pianistsโ€™ tendency to have stumpy fingers. โ€œYou look at Elton Joh or Les Dawson, theyโ€™ve all short fingers, but they can play like crazy! I can get away with some stuff, but some of it’s more, arguably, bad habit than good! But I can get away with having long fingers rather than good habits!โ€

 A fellow of far fewer words than the front girl, evidently, but when he does its witty self-mocking is worth itโ€™s weight in gold and sparked a humorous angle to the interview in which, while Chrissy justified his dexterity and nimbleness, Ron favoured to joke about Chrisโ€™s dancing on stage, โ€œwhich is brilliant. I love it!โ€

John praised the firmness of Chrisโ€™ bass, โ€œyou’re methodical, you’re listening. I’m done wondering if he’s bored to death as I explain something to him, as heโ€™s sitting there taking it in. It’s not till you go and think he’s got it.โ€

They all seemed content with each other, and John effectively โ€œkeeping them in line,โ€ and this brought up the subject that they abstained from drinking while performing. โ€œOne rule I was pretty adamant about,โ€ John explained while Chrissy and Ron laughed about being โ€œhyper,โ€  โ€œis drink and music don’t mix. If you’re going to load it up, don’t expect to be any good at the music. Because we’re there to make the party for everybody else.โ€

โ€œYeah,โ€ Chrissy joshed, โ€œso I’m not allowed to have a pre-shot of tequila, which is really good because I definitely noticed a habit where I needed the Dutch courage in order to get up and I started realising, this is a bad habit that I don’t want to become dependent on. So itโ€™s two-wayed. You were definitely enforcing it. And I tried to be more mindful of it and just get up despite feeling nervous. And I get nervous every single time still.โ€

Aside the notion everyone gets butterflies, we moved between passionate subjects like the local circuits and venues and getting further afield, and we ventured back into songwriting inspirations, but I wanted them to nail it into a summary.  โ€œIn a nutshell,โ€ Chrissy said, โ€œweโ€™re focusing on rhythm and melody so that the lyrics can shine through. And we’re drawing inspiration from real life. Trying to make them more universal and a punchy sound. Rocky, bluesy, layers musically and lyrically; say that, Darren!โ€

Okay, I will! And if you want to hear this band progressing, follow their socials for gig updates. Theyโ€™ll be in Devizes on Sunday 14th December, at that tropical holiday resort in the Brittox, The Muck & Dunder, with a fundraiser for Ugandan orphanage His Grace Children Centre Bugiri, which theyโ€™ve organised themselves.

In true Christian spirit Chrissy annually organises a fundraiser around the yuletide, which she did as a soloist ironically titled One Trick Pony. Ironic because, she lent her vocals to drum n bass tracks, returned to town to learn guitar and perform acoustically, ย and now thereโ€™s Burn the Midnight Oil; a proficient four-piece who, merging experiences in varied genres, refuse to ย pigeonhole their developing style, and has an angelic vocalist with a penchant undaunted to delve deep into her psyche and faith for inspiration, and oh yeah, a bassist with long fingers!

Now available at Devizes Books!

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Joyrobber Didn’t Want Your Stupid Job Anyway

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

Devizes Chamber Choir Christmas Concert

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

Steatopygous go Septic

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

The Wurzels To Play At FullTone 2026!

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

Barrelhouse are Open for Business with New Album

Rolling out a Barrelhouse of fun, you can have blues on the run, tomorrow (7th November) when Marlborough’s finest groovy vintage blues virtuosos Barrelhouse release Open for Business, their third studio album indicative of their astounding live showโ€ฆ..

Tim and Stuart’s dramatic guitar riff from the off, Dave Growcott’s drums kick in and Open for Business doesn’t wait around for you to hang your barn jacket on the juke joint’s hall tree. Nick’s growling harmonica strides into the room next, all guns blazing, and we’re like a greyhound out of the traps when Martin grits his teeth and presents his deep encapsulating howl.

If the black cat bone mentioned as the title of the opening tune is a hoodoo lucky charm for protection and luck, it’s unnecessary, expeditiously it magically assures you’re in for a rocky ride to the dusty crossroad, with minimal pitstops and without the need of any such luck.

It doesn’t calm the zest frenzy until the third track either, an absolutely sublimely haunting cover of The Beatlesโ€™ Come Together, where Hedi’s backing vocals compliment Martin’s with such unbelievable harmony it smooths out the pace welcomingly.

Things go country for a ballad to Lydia, which I snooped through the interweb searching for an original version only to be informed by Nick Beere, more than just a mouth organ, rather the producer and engineer behind the album via his studio Mooncalf, that guitarist Tim wrote the song. Reason for my research being, itโ€™s magnificence is instant, it simply sounds like a singalong country classic akin to The Band’s The Weight, which is also superbly covered penultimately on the album, btw. Then it’s back to full steam blues workout when they repropel Muddy’s mojo, a second Muddy classic into the melting pot, and belt the living daylights into Canned Heat’s On The Road Again.

Classic Americana come edgy blues rock cover choices, the ambience of Barrelhouse I’m illustrating you might wrongly convey in generalisation as โ€œthey’re a serious bunch of hard rock dudes,โ€ but there’s a subtle frivolousness in their delivery which charms a crowd. Their labour of love is reflected joyfully outward to an audience without a pretentious mood, and fondly thrown back at them with an enthralled response, making their shows atmospherically interactive and thrilling. The experience in comparison to your atypical morose blues band is one rather of danceable merriment; a tick from me.

Mantonfest 2023 Image Gail Foster

If a song is original it’s hard to distinguish them from classic covers, Barrelhouse combines them into a seamless show, and makes an irresistible party album. A party appealing to Mantonfest’s youthful fanbase, who’ll invade the dance area when Barrelhouse mount the stage, and impress the matured Devizes blues aficionados with equal measure.

A Bo Diddley beat polishes this album as a grand finale, but if polished ramped serious blues cuts melds with an effervescent delivery is their working formula, its true beauty rests in the simplicity of its production. There’s no technical studio skullduggery here, no manufactured overdubs; what you hear is what happened in real time. Each song is recorded in a single take, making it not just authentic but the perfect representation of their energetic and entertaining live show. Something the band pride themselves in. If you’ve ever seen an amazing band live, only to be disappointed by the CD you brought because it didn’t match the splendour rawness of their performance, this is not the case here. Open for Business is taking the Barrelhouse show home with you. That’s why it’s a keeper.

But donโ€™t take my word for it, next Saturday (15th Nov) sees the album launched at St Peterโ€™s Marlborough, with support from 7pm. Itโ€™s free and copies of the album will be available on CD and vinyl. And if you canโ€™t wait for that, this coming Saturday (8th Nov) Barrelhouse will turn the Devizes Southgate into their own juke joint, a legendary occasion blossoming in modern folklore, as Devizes loves the blues and word got out via a toothless milkman.

Failing these options, theyโ€™ll be donning Santa hats and bringing out the tinsel at the Bear in Marlborough on 20th December, when you can almost taste the pigs in blankets in the ether.

Deadlight Dance New Single: Gloss

You go cover yourself in hormone messing phthalates, toxic formaldehyde, or even I Can’t Believe It’s Not Body Butter, if you wish, but it’s all the same soap but in a different bottle to me. Lab mice with slap and economical slaves in sweatshops, so unethical multinational bastards can prey on your vanity, when unless you can photoshop yourself for real you’re never going to look like the girl in the magazine; the actual girl in the magazine doesn’t even look like the girl in the bloody magazine! Ah, our dynamic gothic duo Deadlight Dance are onto them, with a brand new single out todayโ€ฆ.

Edgy and with synths heavy enough to make New Order blush, Gloss attacks the beauty industry, its harmful lies and unrealistic standards, in an era most pop stars are encouraging it; good on them…. Deadlight Dance that is, not the pop star!

Punk enough to meet the Stooges, yet the dark electronica of Joy Division mostly, it comes in laden for its three and a half minutes entirety. Nick and Tim state it’s not strictly typical of the forthcoming album that the band is releasing in 2026, yet they always apply a unique and innovative narrative, so we look forward to whatever direction it takes.

For now, though, Gloss is a storming dark sound, with Nick’s howling vocals somewhere in the distance, sighing the same thought-provoking lyrical content we’ve come to love Deadlight Dance’s for. It’s a monster in Dior.


The duo have held our attention only last week with a great gig at Devizesโ€™ Cellar Bar with JP Oldfield. But if the live show is blossoming, Gloss does likewise for recordings. Ah, top production again from that purple-bearded legend Nick Beere at Mooncalf Studio.

Out on Ray Records and streaming worldwide across all platforms from Friday 17th October 2024. Gloss is accompanied by a video on the bandโ€™s YouTube page, another collaboration with Haunting the Atom.

Deadlight Dance suggests it’s a new chapter for the self-styled Wiltshire Gothic; I welcome it, and as I’ve said before, whilst I was a mere window-shopper to gothic rock in its heyday, Deadlight Dance caused me to realise what I missed.

Right, review done, I’ve got to go shave my eyebrows off, and draw them back on with a Sharpieโ€ฆ..

JP Oldfield & Deadlight Dance Down The Cellar

I mean, Devizes own contemporary blues throwback, JP is getting bookings, and rightly so. He’s off to Trowbridgeโ€™s Lamb next Saturday for a double-bill with Joe Burke. Likewise our favourite Goth duo Deadlight Dance too, Tim showing me some fetching snaps from Friday night’s gig at Frome’s Tree House. But sometimes it’s nice to play an intimate home gig you DIY, so we’re down The Bear Hotel’s Cellar Bar, reviving a once beloved venue with alternative options to Devizesโ€™ status quoโ€ฆ..

And it was; Nick Fletcher and Tim Emery were on the cobblestones first, attired marvellously macabre with whitewash faces; All Hallows’ Eve comes early for goths, and they don’t require Haribo! Equally terror-fically tenebrous was their set, sublimely shadowy synths, then their gloomy guitar rhythm fragments darkened by Nick’s howling vocals. When they came for air you could hear a pin drop.

Deadlight Dance found my inner-goth and devoured it some years ago, still their show improves like a fine Dracula’s blood-wine ….with age and nightly kills! They worked precisely through several tunes from their three albums, concentrating particularly on Chapter & Verse, last year’s gothic literary inspired outpouring. They sprinkled the set with covers, a synth-driven Cureโ€™s Just Like Heaven, for example, quite different from the acoustic version on their breathtaking homage album, The Wiltshire Gothic.

They finished on their ghostly reverberating post-punk makeover of Heartbreak Hotel, because if you’re a goth duo planning to cover an Elvis Presley song, one about a lonely man jumping from a hotel window is apt. Then they stripped it back for an acoustic wandering through the crowd encore.

Herein lies the connection which made a double-bill of post-punk goth and rootsy blues work; JP Oldfield duties the plaintive projection of original southern blues, often termed gothic. Therein the expression of rural, economically disadvantaged African-American communities, and through his gorgeous bass vocal range, the metallicity of his resonator and pounding suitcase drum, it’s about as authentic as you’re going to get on our local circuit.

Yet if JPโ€™s writing is foreboding and disquietude, in line with its influences, some of the darkest corners of his debut Bouffon wasnโ€™t inclusive at this live show, and replaced by some outstanding, intricate and rightfully resonate guitar-work; plus thereโ€™s always the kazoo and his natural banter to brighten things up.

His latest single polished off an amazing set, No Rest, indeed. It embodies everything progressive about this rising starโ€™s skill and bittersweet panache; a fellow who can hold an audience spellbound despite being, perhaps, an acquired taste. But I challenge anyone critical to stay whilst JP thrusts out House of the Rising Sun, making it his own, as itโ€™s so befitting to his encapsulating style. Yet the broadest evaluation of JP Oldfield is simply that, through his dedication and blossoming experience he continuously improves. It is this then which encourages me to call this gig in, slight in attendees which it unfortunately was as the chills of autumn blast through, the best and most passionate Iโ€™ve seen JP play.

Mind you, I groaned about the weather shift to Nick of Deadlight Dance, who replied with positivity. Apparently, he likes Autumn, I joked, โ€œthatโ€™s because youโ€™re a goth and Iโ€™m a milkman!โ€

I do hope we can find more gigs down the Cellar Bar, and bring it back to its former glory, a sentiment I believe will be reflected by the live music hunters of Devizes.

Trending…..

DOCAโ€™s Young Urban Digitals

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

by Darren Worrow

Jol Roseโ€™s Ragged Stories

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

by Darren Worrow

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Does Pop Music Really Stand The Test of Time? Sixties Tribute Night at Devizes Corn Exchange Could Be Our Only Hope!

All Pop Master T-shirt wearers would like to think it does, but will the music of an era stand the test of time? Make a record, seal the deal, surely? True, your songs will be immortalised, but will they be remembered, or will they sadly be sadly archived, to slowly fade through generation gaps…. unless Ed Sheeran covers one?!?

Growing up in the eighties we ransacked our parent’s records. Ergo, I know my fair share about the music of the sixties, despite only being an itch in that decade. Similarly, my daughter can name a whole list of groups, singers and songs from my era, the eighties, but can she go further back? Can the younger generation even begin to imagine their grans and grandads frolicking at a love-in with eyes the size of saucers and wearing nothing but flowers in their hair, racing helmet-free on motorbikes into the night, drinking whiskey from a bottle until they dropped, then waking up in Mick Jaggerโ€™s bed with four others?!

With three teenagers loitering on my sofa I thought I’d get all Tony Blackburn on them, and distract them from TikTok to find out. Thatโ€™s the knivesโ€™ edge I live on in order to provide you with such engaging content! Being there’s a triple headline sixties tribute act bonanza forthcoming at the Devizes Corn Exchange on the 31st October, with tributes to The Beatles, The Rolling Stones and the Who, I thought I’d ask if the Gen Z of my family were remotely aware of any of them, or if they were more Gen Zzzz!

The result, though far from surprising, was a smidgen disheartening. My daughter knew of The Beatles, and named one averagely obscure song which happened to appear in a Marvel movie soundtrack. The boys didn’t have the foggiest, so I wasnโ€™t holding any chances for the others. My daughter’s fella had heard of the term โ€œrolling stone,โ€ but didn’t realise it was a band name. My son shrugged at the lot, and all asked โ€œwho?โ€ when I name-dropped The Who; unsure if that was clarification or coincidental!

Incidentally, they all knew the 2010 Maroon 5 song, โ€œMove Like Jagger,โ€ but only my daughter guesstimated Jagger mightโ€™ve been the frontman of one of the bands I was referring to!

Without getting any satisfaction, unless I resolve to forcibly thrusting pop history down their throats like it was on the GCSE curriculum, yesterday all my troubles seemed so far away, as it seems all of them will get fooled again, know not of the pinball wizardโ€™s supple wrist, Ruby Tuesday or Lucy in the sky with diamonds, and I wouldnโ€™t even attempt to explain why I’d like to be under the sea in an octopus’s garden in the shade. Whereโ€™s Jack Black and his school of rock when you need them?!

Streaming music might affect future generations from becoming aware of music before their time. Without physical copies who knows where this will end, music will be throwaway, and maybe the nineties welcomed that concept in. But everything is online, even if Sgt Pepper might have adverts for Marks & Sparks Food Hall, it has to be worth trying to educate our youth that pop music would sound a whole lot different if it wasnโ€™t for the sixties and bands like The Beatles, The Rolling Stones and The Who!

So, hereโ€™s food for thought; though you might presume this Ceres Promotions triple headed sixties tribute show might be something for the Saga holidaymakers, perhaps you should reconsider, and see it more family outing, a vital history field trip?! Musicians of the sixties fired all their guns at once and exploded into space like a true natureโ€™s child, whereas ours are content browsing Instagram with a bag of Haribo. We cannot stand idly by and allow this to happen!

Tickets are HERE fill your boots made for walking, that’s just what they need to do, and march them to the Corn Exchange on Friday 31st October rather than trick or treating, or one of these days these boots are gonna walk all over you!

Five Years in the Cotswolds: Lawton & Mackโ€™s Breathtaking Debut Album

When I put together the 4 Juliaโ€™s House compilation albums a few years ago I decided I shouldnโ€™t pick favourites out of the eighty-one songs donated, but if I had to, it wouldโ€™ve indisputably been Atlantic O by Will Lawton and Ludwig Mack. With the ambience of the gods, this track is such a soothing sentimental earworm it makes you go all tingly as it drifts like a lost ship on the sea. Now the duo have released a debut album, matching the sublimity of Atlantic O. The story behind it is of an absorbing coincidence, and its unique marketing is equally as genius as the musicโ€ฆ..ย 

At the time I was aware of the virtuosity and diversity of Malmsbury musical magician, Will Lawton, from solo performances and fronting The Alchemists. At the time he sent the tune for the project he briefly explained Ludwig was an Argentinian musician he had been working with, but their connection is far more complex and is explained in the book to the album, which is in turn, currently the only way to hear it.ย 

A story of serendipity expressed earnestly through a 36-page hardback, which continues to detail the thought processes of the album, each individual song, and the musicians which accompany them along the titled journey Five Years in the Cotswolds. Then, on the back cover thereโ€™s a QR code to scan, leading you to streaming options; I suggest you do, your ears will love you forevermore.

Enticed by the lure of English music, and his European travelling plans cut short by the pandemic, Argentinian musician Ludwig Mack arrived in the UK from Spain a day prior to lockdown. He had already connected with Will via Instagram, not realising when he settled in Hullavington he was coincidently only a few miles away from Willโ€™s home. They jammed together, the song Atlantic O, and within a year produced the EP Heroes.  

Ludwig explored the UK, and found work whether he could, whilst Will continued with family life, his band the Alchemists and his employment as a music psychotherapist. But Ludwig often dropped in to see Will, and it was inevitable this project would blossom like the opening tune, aptly Blossom, a tender springtime daydream contrasting aging with memories. Itโ€™s as majestic as the morning chorus, and includes a naturally sourced one too.

The fabric of this album continues on this theme, indeed Songbird follows suit into the most gentle flow of concentrated bliss. Itโ€™s the first single released this Friday (10/10) of the goodness of nature rather than societyโ€™s machine, unhinged and timeless piano-based folk, and celebratory of the glory wildlife in all its splendour, wrapped in the warmest serenity. By its very composure it defines the sum of all this goodness and shapes a heart in your mind; if an album was a wander through a springtime meadow, this is a stroll to remember.

It comes as no surprise Will is a music psychotherapist, if the vocation is to improve wellbeing, increase happiness and overcome issues. One listen to Five Years in the Cotswolds is the best remedy. Ten solid tunes, all the like to make the little hairs on the back of your neck stand to attention. Thereโ€™s few artists able to accomplish this, I could cite many, from Bill Withers to John Denver and you will contemplate your favourites when this caresses your senses.

The album lifts with euphoric pace at Godโ€™s Plan, and Iโ€™m left thinking of Marvin Gayeโ€™s What’s Going On as its aperture opens the album to a similar width of beauty. From the guitar chimes of November to the quirkiness of the bluegrass-esque Walk Each Other Home, and from the amorous ambience of Clouds to Freya Everestโ€™s haunting vocal range on I Noticed, this album continues flowing on the theme as a paragon, never meandering off course.

Its production is as crisp as autumn leaves, the arrangements are like sunlight. The composition is a Vivaldi, its versification is W. H. Daviesโ€™ Leisure, the musical expression of a Monet, a pilgrimage to a Constable masterpiece, or all of these wonders capturing the beauty of nature equally combined and consumed, it really is this breathtaking. Devizine

Its production is as crisp as autumn leaves, the arrangements are like sunlight. The composition is a Vivaldi, its versification is W. H. Daviesโ€™ Leisure, the musical expression of a Monet, a pilgrimage to a Constable masterpiece, or all of these wonders capturing the beauty of nature equally combined and consumed, it really is this breathtaking.ย 

Bathโ€™s producer and musician, Rob McLeod, aka Mac Lloyd, Spanish multi-instrumentalist Guillem Mitchel, London based jazz singer-songwriter and producer Freya Everest and drummer Tony Partridge who met Will at Schtumm in Box, are the other collaborators behind this enchanting project, alongside composer and arranger Benjamin Lawton, Willโ€™s son.

Streaming platforms are held off until next year on this, the book to Five Years in the Cotswolds is the albumโ€™s only current access point, and is available on their website, and at upcoming gigs, The Castle, Swindon on 16th October, and Pound Arts in Corsham on 6th November, details of which are also on their website.

Will Lawton & Ludwig Mack

Trending……

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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Six Reasons to Rock in Market Lavington

Alright yeah, itโ€™s a play on band names and thereโ€™s only really two reasons to rock on Friday 17th October at Market Lavington Community Hall; Six O’clock Circus and The Reason. See what they did there? Genius! But, theyโ€™re two of the heaviest heavyweight headline acts you should discover on our local cover circuit, so, as for the sum of the entertainment youโ€™ll receive by attending, you could deservedly multiply them by at least three, and make six! (I do maths too!)

Big time Calne mod-Britpop loving lads Six O’Clock Circus will raise the roof, and Westburyโ€™s The Reason, with a penchant for timeless rock classics only intend to double it. Fronted by Nicky Davis, formerly a member of People Like Us and co-founder of the Female of the Species fundraising supergroup, find The Reason gigging locally and strap yourself in for a party! Not usually a function band, likely because theyโ€™d upstage the reason for the actual function, (ambiguously the story behind their name?!), they recently performed at Melkshamโ€™s proudest country-rock singer-songwriter Becky Lawrenceโ€™s wedding, where the bride simply had to join in!ย 

Likewise with Six O’clock Circus, find them gigging locally everywhere. A longstanding band of friends knocking guitar frenzied indie-mod-pop-rock favourites out of any park they care to stop by, and a few others along the way! I appreciate thereโ€™s already been a lot of maths for a Sunday article, but this is simple; tickets are ยฃ12 a pop. The show starts at 7:30pm (NOT 6′ o’clock like the circus) at Market Lavington Community Hall, next Friday 17th October for a highly recommended party!

Jon Amor & Friends; Juggernaut at Long Street Blues Club

Oh yeah, invite me to a place with a bar, throw some of the best blues this side of New Orleans at me and then hope Iโ€™ll articulate some words about it next morning, why don’t you?! It’s okay readers, it’s become standard protocol for me, I’ve got thisโ€ฆwith help from Ben and Vicky!

…Here goes my bit; it was the opening of the new season at Long Street Blues Club in Devizes last night. Homegrown blues legend Jon Amor paid it a visit, bringing along his proficient drum and bass section, Tom Gilkes and Jerry Soffe, respectively, a handful of special guests wise in the ways of instrumenting sublime blues, and an intention and motivation to pull an extravaganza from the anticipation in the ether. Irresistible prospect, had to witness, savour, and shake my tail feather to, like it was going out of fashion. Olโ€™ Frankie Valli couldn’t describe it better, oh what a night.ย 

Four to the floor electric blues was the order they marched out to, each one a showstopper yet the show didn’t hang around for the audience to contemplate. Musicians aplenty popping out of the stage door, grabbing instruments and jamming on a rotation akin to an ice hockey game. Johnny Henderson seated at the Hammond organ, Tom Jones guitarist Scott McKeon strumming with Will Edmunds, Craig Crofton blowing that sax, and precision sound engineering all enhanced the usual trioโ€™s show, elevating it to a phenomenal stance.

There were times Jon smoothed it with rarely played ballads, such a superbly protracted Happiest All-Time Low, from his 2018 album Colour in the Sky, but for the most part the Juggernaut and his overload appeased the crowd with expeditious renditions of his belovedย sprightly favourites, and newer The Turnaround album tunes he recorded last year with Jerry & Tom, easiest to pick out being the swinging Rideau Street and the hard stomping riffs of the explicit Miss James. I donโ€™t know who Miss James is, but the passion Jon puts into this, and every song, leaves you wondering what her phone number is!

If this Indian summer is subtle outside it was a furnace inside. Ex-Hoax guitarist Jon, a testament to Devizesโ€™ Mel Bush effect, an immutable adoration of blues, is a stalwart on stage, delivering blues in a style only he could. The aforementioned gubbings only added to the trioโ€™s splendour, and a truly fantastic opening evening for The Long Street Blues Clubโ€™s new season.

But donโ€™t take my word for it, hereโ€™s what Ben Romain and Vicky thought about it, as we got our wires crossed and both wrote about it, but it was such a gig it deserves two reviews anyway!

Stand up and shout! Blues is what it is all about, laid back and loving Blues in D-town!

In my many years as a fan of Jonโ€™s music Iโ€™ve seen him play many venues in Devizes and nearby. We are blessed of course with a monthly residence at The Southgate Inn, where the majority of this ensemble has at some point graced the stage. This evening was a change of a little more space to get some friends together, at our very own Blues Club.

A fine opening set from Leonardo Guilliani, a rapidly rising star, hailing from Southampton. No stranger to the club, having opened for Watermelon Slim previously.

Some great original songs from his album, and new songs from an upcoming release recorded at Abbey Road Studios! I particularly liked the new song โ€˜Angelโ€™, a soulful reflective song, with a gentle tone, blues of a sort but melodic and soothing in a contemporary Blues vein. A few well-chosen covers too, with some resounding classic electric blues. Overall, a perfect opener for this gig! I look forward to seeing him again along the road.

As Jon introduces the extended band to the stage, I am reminded of countless gigs in Devizes and beyond, where I have enjoyed all these musicians. This ensemble has between them played an unbelievable range of genre defining big names, and it showsโ€ฆโ€ฆwith the confident ease they poured into this session.

There are the Jon Amor Trio set regulars like โ€˜Miss Jamesโ€™, โ€˜Juggernautโ€™ and โ€˜Birds Nest on the Groundโ€™, some less regular but great additions such as Jonโ€™s โ€˜Red Telephoneโ€™ and โ€˜Happiest All time Lowโ€™. This entire two hour plus set revelled in and resounding with the connectivity of the scene.

When Will Edmunds and Jon share โ€˜Lovinโ€™ Cupโ€™ a rousing dance friendly classic we get to enjoy the best of this sense, a classic in the sets of Jon and Will in their regular haunts, sharing as they do, many gigs the might of Gilkes and Soffe.

Weโ€™ve enjoyed Jonny Henderson guest slots here in Devizes and with another Devizes and authorโ€™s favourite Elles Bailey amongst others, weโ€™ve seen the wonderful Scott McKeon guest with Jon, and for a bonus Devizes point with Jonโ€™s former bandmate Robin and Beaux Gris Gris and The Apocalypse and most commonly known for playing with Tom Jones.

I could ramble enthusiastically all day about the good vibes of this gig but thereโ€™s a wider point to acknowledge before I run out of type spaceโ€ฆ.that of the community and connectivity both with musicians and audiences.

We have an unusually high level of gigs, especially blues leaning gigs in our town. We have some pretty heavy hitters in the UK blues past and present around here which doubtless helps, but we are also blessed with venues born of passion, people who support those opportunities as much as they can, so we are known in Devizes for putting up a good audience.

Our little world faces challenges like all venues and scenes across the UK, yet on the whole we are bucking the trend and attracting fine music from the brave upstart to the big established names and something to be rightly proud of.

Thereโ€™s weekly amazing music at the Southgate and these incredible seasons of blues at Long Street, pub gigs, even occasionally music in bars and coffee lounges!

Key to the future of all of it, is people getting involved. I could name around a third of the crowd last night, and know most of the band from past gigs, with all of the craziness of the world, when many conscious or not are affected by loss of community, unity and shared positive experienceโ€ฆ.we have all that right here at home, every week.

I am now twelve years or so into my passionate support of local live music, it offers so much more than huge mega money gigs, and it supports through shared venues other aspects of our towns offer.

So, if you missed this incredible gig look at listings here, Facebook or wherever, message venues, talk to friends, thereโ€™s always a solid welcome, and you may find your new favourite band or next best friend in the crowd!

Thanks Ben, that is exactly what itโ€™s all about! And now a “further reading” related rant to finish on!

When I published a preview of Long Street’s new season I highlighted this gig in particular, because Jon is loved by the residents of Devizes as this native hero. It was inevitable, and something I had discussed with both Ian, organiser of Long Street, and Dave at the Southgate, that someone would comment on the social media shares of it, questioning why they would pay to see Jon at Long Street when his monthly residences at the Southgate are free. Being I suspect thereโ€™s others that share this understandable view, and that money is a benefactor to deciding what to and what not to attend in these trying times, I thought Iโ€™d answer it with my opinion, for better or worse.

Starter for ten, we love the Southgate, we love the fact they host these regular sessions with the Jon Amor Trio and usually a special guest, and weโ€™ve covered them many times. In fact, The Southgate has probably had more reviews from us than anywhere else. Dave and Ian are friends, they attend each other’s gigs and liaison to avoid clashes of similar gigs. The Southgate will pay what they can for an artist from money they make at the bar, most pubs operate this way, it is up to the artist to accept this or decline to play. The Southgate, like others, will hand around a tip hat, to top up the performersโ€™ earnings. That is the way we get free gigs, but it is not how it works with event organisers who must pay for acts from the revenue of ticket sales. No matter how great this residency is at the Southgate, they are on Sunday afternoon when gravy is tipped onto your roast! Personally, due to work commitments Iโ€™m unable to let my hair down over more than a pint, like I can do on a Saturday night; thatโ€™s the time they let me out! Iโ€™m sure others find themselves in a similar situation.

Aside this, with the capacity of the club greater than the pub allowing folk room to move, the enhancement of the show via additional guests forming an eight piece band at times, the perfection of the sound engineering, and the uninterrupted presentation, are all benefits you are unlikely to get in any pub environment. Saturday night proved this, for it was a cut above what any performer would be capable of in any pub. It was a fantastic night, if you were there you would know it was and accept it was total and utter class. If you weren’t, well, you only have my and Ben’s words it was so.

And with that notion we can put the final slither of their comment to bed, that Long Street has โ€œzeroโ€ atmosphere. Yes, I understand there are a few longstanding devotees who favour to remain seated and silent, the root to my little regular jest labelling them โ€œthe Devizes blues appreciation society!โ€ But the atmosphere is what YOU make it! We danced the night away, I loved it, Ben and Vicky clearly loved it, people around us loved it. No one bothered us in doing so and no dancer bothered those who opted not to. When compromise is necessary, no less punters at Long Street adhere than might in a pub.

Thereโ€™s no hard feelings, the comment remains as we donโ€™t delete fair opinions. Iโ€™m no Nostradamus, but I suspected someone might suggest this, just a little irked to understand the reasoning for posting it. If it was to encourage others to side with them I genuinely think thatโ€™s a shame, as it risks the continuation of this wonderful club. No one is forcing anyone to go anymore than anyone is forcing anyone else to write such a comment.

Hey, I might see them at the Gate sometime, but they should note some regulars there attended this one, and others who might not frequent the Southgate, they did too; why deny their chances to see an act they claimed to love themselves, like most of us in Devizes? Because, and hereโ€™s the killer line, when Jon and his extended team blasted out the customary Juggernaut finale, feet were stomping, sweat rinsed shirts, and expressions of sheer joy blessed the faces of those in attendance. It was blissfully brilliant, the best night in Devizes Iโ€™ve had for a long time; long live Long Street Blues Club, but yeah, other options, such as The Southgate are available and come highly recommended too. What a petty fiasco!ย ย 

You’re So Cruel; New Single From George Wilding

Nothing cruel about our George Wilding; with his perfect match and another local legend of local music, Jolyon Dixon, they’re knocking out great singles like it’s child’s play…..

You’re So Cruel is out today and is a prime example. It’s an upbeat two minute blast of feelgood indie-pop, seemingly unfazed by the cruelty of the subject in the song, just you know, pointing it out, getting it off his chest! In subject it’s more akin to George’s earlier songs than the previous recent ones. Yet George seems to have captured the rule of not overthinking and keeping it to a simple hook. Yeah, rocks!

Add it to your playlist, even if you’re the cruel person in the song!!

Shearwater: New Single From Nothing Rhymes With Orange

Thereโ€™s a new single from Bristol-based Nothing Rhymes With Orange out tomorrow (Saturday 20th September) which takes the band to a whole new level, and it has got me thinking back to their Devizes rootsโ€ฆ..ย 

You know, I really cannot remember how this thing started, if they contacted me or if I found them. It was three years ago, at a time when local media seemed rampant with scare stories sensationalising teenage hooliganism. Folk jumped the bandwagon, naming and shaming wayward youth on Facebook like it was modern gallows, and making fearmongering sweeping generalisations, classing every child as a psychotic delinquent.

I figured this wasn’t the same picture I was seeing. That thereโ€™s always been a handful off the rails, but in comparison to previous generations, most Gen Z were passive, thoughtful, and creative. So I set out to prove this wonky narrative wrong, and in doing so found many aspiring teenage bands to use as examples, but none so accomplished and motivated as Nothing Rhymes with Orange.

There was always something staunchly between the members of this Devizes School band, frontman Elijah Easton, Sam Briggs, Fin Anderson-Farquhar, and drummer Lui Venables, an unequalled camaraderie which combined their honing skills harmoniously. Their calculated sagacity writing painted a blithe picture of Gen Z, equal to how punk bands like The Newtown Neurotics summarised life for generation X, and it spawned a zeitgeist.

Image: Gail Foster

Moments after reviewing their debut single, Chow for Now, they launched an equivalently impressive EP called Midsummer. I figured it was overdue to check them out live, as they organised their own gig at West Lavington Village Hall. Divided between parents and youth I witnessed the birth of a local phenomenon. I dubbed it โ€œBeatlemania in Devizes.โ€ Teenage fans chanted the chorus of Manipulation back at them, as Elijah jumped from the stage relishing in the moment.

I encouraged teenage budding writers and photographers to record this blossoming movement for us, as alongside bands like Melkshamโ€™s The Sunnies, they were inspiring a new generation of musicians too. And for the adults, I wanted them to quit whinging about youth, by showcasing NRWO in an environment free from age division, where they could see for themselves this emergent youth fandom and the local band which created it. I urged our carnival committee that their annual โ€œInternationalโ€ Street Festival in Devizes should showcase such a local act, and pride overcame me as I introduced them to the masses gathered in the Market Place, because alongside their excellent self-promotion, Devizine expressed with honesty that townsfolk should support this spectacular homemade band, and they did.

The lads released several new songs, all of which were tiny progressive steps to a maturity in their sound. At a gig at The Three Crowns in May 2024 Devizes-own BBC DJ and presenter, James Threlfall gave me constructive criticism regarding their production levels, suggesting it wasnโ€™t quite to the level necessary and in comparison to upcoming bands across the southwest. I also worried at this time, moving along that adolescent rocky road generally was the make or break of a young band, usually the latter.

Delighted that they planned to study together in Bristol Uni, I finished off our local angled reporting of them with a parting interview, safe in the knowledge both the uni and bustling life in Bristol would open new doors for them and hopeful it would perfect their skills to the level James so honestly pointed out. A huge festival touring summer at Dot 2 Dot, Golden Touch, 110 Above and Camper Calling, returning to Studio 91 for the session which produced their new ear-invasive single, Shearwater, out at 6pm on 20th September across all streaming platforms, surely proves they have.

Image: Gail Foster

Shearwater signifies a hotly-anticipated next chapter, one of huge guitar sounds, jacked up drums and Elijahโ€™s desperate vocals, evoking stories of fiery lust and explosive aftermaths. This is the single which will do for an international audience what Nothing Rhymes With Orange did locally three years ago. The spritely frenzy is replaced by the concentrated rhythmic flow and evocative ambience of the kind of timeless indie-pop anthem a multitude of audiences will shine their phone torches too. The layers are divine, the composition professionally crafted.

Iโ€™ve never needed to exaggerate my appraisal nor flatter NRWO for encouragement. I saw this potential, as did their local fanbase. And tomorrow you can hear the fruits of their labour in full bloom, a categorical advancement of Devizes export to the world, and it makes me feel proud to have backed them to this point, what the future holds is answered in this track, and it looks orange!

But donโ€™t just take my word for it; chatting to James Threlfall just yesterday, I pointed out this single felt like the entry level we were talking about last May, and he agreed, telling me they’ve landed a featured artist spot on BBC Introducing South and West, which is live at 8pm tonight (Thursday 8pm.) The single will be debuting live at their upcoming headline show, 26th September, at The Old England, Bristol. Thereโ€™s also an exciting word on the grapevine: an album is the pipeline. Oh, and donโ€™t forget they’re playing our Wiltshire Music Awards on 23rd October here in Devizes, and will be at Devizes Arts Festival next summer like Bruce Springsteen returning to New Jersey!

For me, Iโ€™ll always have those early moments, like blagging a Sharpie from the sound engineer at street festival, so teenage girls could have their T-shirts signed (not by me, you understand?!!)

No Rest For JP Oldfield, New Single Out Today

It’s been six months since Devizes-based young blues crooner JP Oldfield released his poignant kazoo-blowing debut EP Bouffon. He’s made numerous appearances across the circuit since and created an impressive following. Today sees him on the next leg of his musical journey, a brand new single aptly titled No Restโ€ฆ..

If the kazoo created a unique identity for Josh, quirking up otherwise darker themes than the novelty songs you’d except the instrument to be found in, this idiosyncratic move may have caused some criticism from traditionalists who simply didn’t get it. Not me, inherent in the belief rules are made to be broken, I’m of the reckoning JP Oldfield is a contemporary rarity, a misunderstood genius finding his feet. A dedicated axemen with an axe to grind, and a singer-songwriter unafraid to explore and expose every detail of the melancholic mind maze in the encapsulating way blues legends did before him.

With this in tow, I’d argue the jukejoint authentic sound created with his haunting grizzly vocal tones, that steel guitar and beaten up suitcase pedal-drum is Marmite. Love it or hate it, JP forged an imitable style, ranging from Cash to Tom Waits and Nick Cave in comparison. I’d draw any critic’s attention to a track like Last Orders, a heart-wrenchingly honest tune which takes on the drunkard’s misery of a relationship break-up in true mellowed delta blues fashion, without kazoo. But hey, now we’ve got No Rest, a level up certainly in production and indicative of all the greatness he’s already achieved; it rocks.

There’s the sombre spiritual blues theme we’ve come to expect, but it’s a foot-stomping pace with a killer rolling riff, kazoo-less yet a perfect balance of everything else JP throws at his music. It’s deliberately raw, perfectly hard-hitting and undoubtedly JP on the best form we’ve ever seen.

In our interview a month short of a year ago, Josh gave me the impression he was something of a perfectionist. A lot of work has gone into this full bodied five minute marvel, and it shows, in its crisp sound, this composition of elements making said perfect balance, and also a enlightening video accompanying it, by Jamie R Hawkinsโ€™ Side Owl Productions. This cones out around 6pm tonight, I’ll add the link to it here, so return after your potato waffles.

The video has a different narrative from the song, rather โ€˜the story of the song;โ€™ a fascinating showcase of JP’s session at Mooncalf Studios, where Nick Beere engineers the kind of tune which we might suggest JP’s feet have been found. We look forward to hearing the other songs from this session in good time, but for now this is plenty to indicate this Devizes bluesman is heading in the right direction. But Nick brought out the best in musicians while I was still doodling boobs on my school rough book!

He’s JP Oldfield, I’m just old, but I know what I like. I could dance barefoot in a barn grasping a bottle of bourbon to this, and when it gets to that irresistible bridge I’ll procrastinate my repent, letting my sins roam free for a day; though I havenโ€™t drawn a boob on a school book for quite some considerable time! 

Joyrobber: an anonymous songwriter releasing debut track

When I first heard about Joyrobber, a one man, faceless and nameless musical project itโ€™s fair to say my interested was piqued, and itโ€™s fair to say that the press release Iโ€™ve seen is only creating more questions…

The project got underway in the summer of this year when the artist (whoever they might be) rediscovered some long-lost demos of a few previous unreleased tracks, and although Joyrobber doesnโ€™t have a name for himself, he does have some big names behind the single, with vocals being engineered by the Wiltshire legend Jolyon Dixon and the song itself having been produced by Sugarpill Productions.

The song is called Jeremy Kyle, itโ€™s a comedic, catchy take on the career of (you guessed it) Jeremy Kyle. At this point it probably is sounding like some sort of naff joke song thatโ€™s not really worth a listen, but surprisingly itโ€™s sort of the opposite.

โ€˜Jeremy Kyleโ€™ has a light indie rock sort of feel โ€“ which I think we can all agree weโ€™ve seen work very well locally, with bands like Nothing Rhymes with Orange and Burn the Midnight Oil taking the world by storm. Itโ€™s full of melodic guitar riffs, smooth vocals and punchy drum fills, and you can hear the value of both Sugarpill Productions and Jolyon Dixon throughout the track.

Iโ€™ve heard on the grapevine that luckily thereโ€™s more to come in the not-so-distant future as a few other lost demos have been found alongside this one. It really is worth a listen, I have to say when I first heard about the project I thought it would probably just be a sort of joke single, that Iโ€™d listen to once or twice to write this piece and then just forget, but it feels like it has a bigger potential and I would genuinely recommend it.

You can give it a listen here

Frome based band, Bellwether, to release new single

Formerly known as Judas Goat and the Bellwether, the now renamed band have announced the release of their latest single, โ€œDrill Baby Drillโ€ (coming out on the 27th November). I was given the pleasure of listening to it and you really couldnโ€™t ask for anything betterโ€ฆ

The band themselves have gained a loyal fanbase with their psychedelic blues-rock style, drawing inspiration from The Doors, Cream and Jefferson Airplane amongst others. After having most of this year packed with gigs all over Frome and the surrounding areas this new single is taking things up a notch for the band.

โ€œDrill Baby Drillโ€ starts with a heavy acoustic guitar riff, before leading into the smooth vocals of Sara Vian, the lead singer. By the chorus youโ€™ve got pitch perfect harmonies layered with a mellow electric guitar line creating pure harmony. This continues throughout the song after being met with a steady drumbeat flowing with the song. All in all, itโ€™s a delight.

And itโ€™s nice to see that a clear message still shines through, over the song as a whole. It was originally inspired by the so-called โ€˜diablos musicaโ€™ (devilโ€™s tritone). In simple terms a tritone in music is an interval, two notes that are a certain distance apart being played simultaneously and back in the day this was seen as unsettling and spooky โ€“ due to its dissonant sound. This was pretty much forgotten about until Black Sabbath came along and released โ€˜Black Sabbathโ€™.

Sara Vian herself described it as โ€œlong branded as forbidden and dissonant, yet I discovered an article which claimed that medieval high clergymen imagined it to be the sound of the Holy Trinity; a paradox which became the perfect foundation to explore whatโ€™s going on in America right now!โ€

โ€œDrill Baby Drillโ€ really is worth a listen โ€“ it only takes one to have you hooked and playing it on repeat (I know I have). ย Luckily for you readers, its being soft launched today (5th September) on Bandcamp

There’s also an official launch soiree on the 19th September at the Meet at Eight bar in Yeovil, where local heroes Long Sun will also be appearing (here)

And don’t forget to check out the Bellwethers themselves on whatever social medias you use: @bellwetherbanduk

Yesterdayโ€™s Tomorrow; Debut Album From Ursa Way and its Launch at the Tuppenny

If the eonian motivation of youths picking up guitars and forming bands has hit Gen Z enough that they’re two to a penny, I’m in the right place to discover one new to us, The Tuppennyโ€ฆ.ย 

An adept drummer pinched from Bristol, with the remaining homegrown members formed aย  youthful and hopeful Swindon indie-rock four-piece called Ursa Way, and they’ve ploughed two years into their debut album Yesterdayโ€™s Tomorrow, launched on the night in question. Now was the time to show it off, and they did in an exceptionally accomplished and entertaining way.

If an early start to a Friday evening one weekend before the celebrated Swindon Shuffle was risky, especially being Thursdays are usually the favoured live music nights for The Tuppenny, seems the band are risk-takers, as diving straight in with a twelve track album is ambitious.

Generous to a loyal fanbase when the archetypal EP usually appears first, for the same fiver pricetag, but equally generous are the young punks and an assortment of others who’ve gathered to see them, as they applauded their efforts as if a new wave of hysteria was imminent, which it could well be. Though, this is Old Town, the epicentre of Swindon’s nightlife, where they’ve ingeniously adopted road closure blockades to create Swindon-fashioned alfresco dining areas!

Ursa Way played out their album, but unlike the shameless enterprise of a legend, I predict it was the bulk of their repertoire, and that’s acceptable for an upcoming band. More importantly they did it with bells on; the composition tight, the delivery confident. They seemed most comfortable with a melodic pace rather than thrashing it out, but at perkier tunes they still held it harmoniously.

In a roundabout way they confessed many of their songs were sporadic and spontaneous muses rather than poignantly planned thought processes, which was both amusing and honest, perhaps ironic too I figured after listening to the album. But not as amusing as complimenting Swindon, only to then ironically knock it in a song called Shit Town of Swindon!

While not the poetry of Keats, many of their co-written songs rise above the mocking of their hometown, which if only a standout track for its satirical title, others convey more concentrated narratives. Thereโ€™s a sense of irony throughout though, if Yesterdayโ€™s Tomorrow is surely today, the title track is the penultimate one, and depicts a hungover hope of new horizons of a romantic interlude, in a Britpop style.

The album kicks off with Southbound, an evenly-paced contemporary punk-pop attitude sourced from millennial indie bands like Busted and McFly. Though this album flows brilliantly, itโ€™s onto something decidedly more traditional punk two tracks in, then the aforementioned Shit Town of Swindon continues the style, Britpop influences gradually building. This one has to be anthemic in good time, particularly for their Swindonite fanbase.

Chasing the Sun four tunes in really picks up the pace, again with a comment on their hometown, but with optimism riding the narrative; thereโ€™s a clever and simple hook equal to the previous one here, proving these boys know how to construct a pop song with energy and enthusiasm.

A ballad, Just a Game follows, balancing the pace, and again proving something, that Ursa Way are no one trick pony. Noahโ€™s Nosey Neighbour takes an almost prog-rock style to Britpop, creativity abound here too, this rocks with surprising substance, and weโ€™re only halfway through this twelve-tracks-strong brilliant debut album.

With adroit contrasts in riffs, mainstream rock influences, perfectly placed hooks and intelligent lyrics, thereโ€™s promise in this album that Ursa Way are destined to create something much more memorable, but right now the potential signs are all encompassed in Yesterdayโ€™s Tomorrow. It ends with Another, a monstrously clever drifting Britpop tune seemingly about jealousy, dripping with edge and emotion.

They played this album out at The Tuppenny on Friday, reflecting the feeling weโ€™ll be hearing more of this young band in the future, and the gig felt like a groundbreaking moment for them, in respect of that notion.ย 

LinkTree to Ursa Way

I love the Tuppenny, a hospitable tavern with universal appeal. Thursdays are the live music nights usually, but as I said, itโ€™s Swindon Shuffle next weekend, see my recommendations here, Iโ€™m certain some were at the Tuppenny!

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Six Reasons to Rock in Market Lavington

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

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I See Orangeโ€ฆ.And Doll Guts!

There was a time not so long ago when I See Orange was the most exciting new band in Swindon. Their latest offering released at the end of August, a single entitled Doll Guts, truly positions them way above that pedestal and I predict and hope, onto the international marketโ€ฆ.

Though thereโ€™s a nod to the bandโ€™s roots in the accompanying picturesque video, in the way of stage show clips from Swindonโ€™s premier venue The Victoria, itโ€™s consolidated with professional storyboard shots of their playfully cute mien, contrasting their macabre component, commonly associated with grunge. Itโ€™s an original design identity theyโ€™ve manufactured to great success, but never has it been so symbolically recognisable as in this song, and video. The title alone reflects the winsome-dark contrast and their penchant for dolls, and horror, yet thatโ€™s only one element which causes me to hail it their greatest song to date, and the next level up.

Doll Guts is perhaps more melodiously memorable than anything I See Orange has put out in the past, the moreish affiliation of pop, without watering down those gorgeous roaring guitar riffs and thumping drums; greater than the chord simplicity of The Cardigansโ€™ Losing My Favourite Game, but equally punchy. Imagine Hole writing the theme of Twin Peaks; this is evocatively fantasised themed, with a singalong chorus, rising and falling like the paragon of classic grunge, yet their own divine spin.

I loved the drive of Mental Rot, the spookiness of Witch, but Doll Guts is the delineation, incorporating all the elements and symbolism of I See Orangeโ€™s design and launching them back out there in true colours. You have to love this, everyone in the human race, surely?! You donโ€™t have to be the number one Nirvana fanboy. In fact, while mawkish soft metal turned me away from rock in the late eighties, causing me to miss out on grunge, it has been through local bands like I See Orange, Life in Mono, The Belladonna Treatment and Liddington Hill, which has opened my eyes to its power and worth, so, thanks for that!

I See Orange match with a chemistry every band must envy. Formed in 2022 when frontgirl Giselle, originally a folk-pop singer-songwriter moved here from Mexico, and an impromptu rehearsal session with Cameron and Charlie established potential magic. Inspired by nineties and millennial alt-rock, they add their own unique post-grunge flavour. I have believed it works for sometime now, an accolade burgeoning with pace, seeing them gig in London and beyond, and this song confirms the praise theyโ€™re gaining is fully deserved.ย 

JPU Records Link

Find Digital Streams and Downloads HERE

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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

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

Swindon Branch of Your Party is Growing

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

No Rest For JP Oldfield, New Single Out Today

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

DOCA’s Early Lantern Workshops

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

Recommendations for when Swindon gets Shuffling

Swindon’s annual colossal fundraising event The Shuffle is a testament to local live music, which raises funds for Prospect Hospice. If you’re ever going to spend a weekend in Swindon, believe me, the 11th-14th September is the oneโ€ฆ..

An entirely free stroller festival centred in Old Town; saunter the eight venues at your leisure and discover a wealth of talent, mostly ฤบocally sourced. Pop some cash in the buckets and help raise some funds as Old Town comes alive with the sound of music!

As usual I’m going to be the judge and jury for this piece, and recommend those who I personally know who will deliver great sets to amaze you. But in no way is it an exhaustive list, for there will be many others and sometimes you have to put your little toe into the waters and find acts unbeknown to you, for the surprise element; an event of exploration! Whatever you do discover you can rest assured, every act is cherrypicked by the Shuffle Team, of Ed Dyer, a promoter who knows his stuff, Jamie Hill of Swindon Link, Kelly Adams, Paul โ€˜Pajโ€™ Jellings, Avril Jellings, Linda Gulliford, and Paul Gemmill, all equally as aware of what makes Wiltshire rock.

Thereโ€™s a printed program, online too; I’m working off that. Given the fantasy scenario of having the whole weekend to attend and choose between the huge lineup, hereโ€™s how I would tackle the mammoth task of maximising my experience…….

Without further ado, then, Thursday 11th of September belongs to The Tuppenny on Devizes Road, and the Hop, literally a hop across the road. A clash already, 7:15 at the Hop, Bathโ€™s spacey indie outfit Aqaba kick off proceedings, while Swindon soul singer Chloe Hepburn is at the Tuppenny at half past; tricky disco to begin, but Chloe has been on my must-see list for a while!

8pm at the Hop, Sebastain and Me is a deffo, but youโ€™ve only a quarter of an hour to drink up and catch the amazing Joli Soul at the Tuppenny. Again, I would be wearing out the traffic lights or flipping a coin. Iโ€™m unaware of all the headliners from there at both fantastic venues, yet the Tuppeny seems more funky soul and jazz while the Hop is indie, so it would be whether I packed my jazz hat or not!

Friday 12th September again is at The Hop, The Vic aptly on Victoria Road, and the Castle on Prospect Hill. Easy picking to begin with, itโ€™s our favourite Marlboroughโ€™s goth duo Deadlight Dance, on at 7:15 at the Castle.

In fact, Iโ€™d feel inclined to stay at the Castle unless Iโ€™m feeling like Dora the Explorer (which is surprisingly common for me!) as after a new one on me, Loophole, the amazing mod/new wave/britop cover band, whoโ€™ve just begun recording originals, Static Moves is on at 8:45, followed by Black Hats, new to me but promising something skanking, and SN Dubstation, who as the name suggest is Swindonโ€™s premier contemporary reggae export. The Hop is mostly folk on Friday, the Vic is indie-punk-rock and the Castle is alternative and reggae. If I was to fancy venturing off to The Vic, it would be at 10pm for Viduals, an emerging indie rock band who play it hard!

Saturday 13th then, when reality checks in, for this is the only day Iโ€™m likely to be able to make it up to Swindon for realz! You can get a bus from Devizes, you know, they run late now!

All guns blazing, The Tuppenny and the Pulpit rule the daytime, from 2pm until dinnertime, and The Hop, The Castle and the Beehive on Prospect Hill take the evening shift.

The great Jim Blair starts at the Pulpit, a new venue to me, but hey, Chippenham singer-songwriter Harmony Asia plays at 3:15 and thatโ€™s simply unmissable in my honest opinion. Oh but oh, Iโ€™ve heard so much good stuff about Swindonโ€™s pop star Kate X, who is on at The Tuppenny at 3:30, and seriously recommend her too!

Shedric and David Corringan at the Pulpit are two Iโ€™d love to see, and Swindonโ€™s answer to Dylan, the incredible Jol Rose is a must-see at 5:30, but dammit, at the Tuppenny has Emma Doupe at 5pm, followed by the freshest indie-pop fellow I simply must touch base with, Weather at 5:45pm. Ed Dyer, what are you putting me through here, or has Swindon got free cloning booths on every street corner now? Weโ€™re a little behind the times in Devizes!!

Saturday evening, and right, and Iโ€™ve made my mind up about how to attack this, though itโ€™s always subject to change. Bit of cheese, sir? At the Castle from 7:15 with Calneโ€™s comedy rock band The Real Cheesemakers is tempting, Gromit, but thereโ€™s a young Melksham band called Between the Lines on at 7pm at The Hop. I cannot lie, these winners of Take the Stage I wanted to play the Music Awards, for while they weren’t nominated, they should have been and I wanted folk to know why. Iโ€™m heading that way and will report on my findings, hopefully bring them to Devizes by hook or by crook!

The Hop continues with lots worth exploring, Iโ€™ve heard particularly good electronica things about The Crystal Wolf Project, there at 9:15, and Iโ€™ve seen headliners Trunk who will ram the place with devoted fans. But look, The Beehive might be my final Saturday resting place. Dulcet Tones at 8pm, then Bristolโ€™s Hannah-Rose Platt; look, just read my album review HERE and youโ€™ll understand this is without doubt a must. And, double-whammy, she is preceded by one of my all time favourite Swindon bands ever, the dark twisted country of Concrete Prairie. Always a must, especially at the Beehive at 9:30pm; save me a quarter of an inch to squeeze into, somewhere near the Tardis.

After that Iโ€™m anyoneโ€™s cheap date! Maybe Iโ€™d check out the Castle, as itโ€™s downhill and looking like hard rock underfoot with Lucky Number Seven coming the most personally recommended, at 9:30pm and followed by Modern Evils.

Then thereโ€™s Sunday 14th September, doesnโ€™t Swindon Shuffle know when to stop?! Wowzers it gets better; The Pulpit, Tuppenny and Beehive are up for your attention. Daytime, 1pm at the Tuppeny for Plummie Racket, stay there for Sienna Wileman and youโ€™ll be glad you did. But pop across to the Pulpit for 2:15 where Devizes is represented by our most excellent blues crooner and kazoo blasting JP Oldfield. I love this guy; Devizes man-hug!

Itโ€™s a Chippenham takeover from then at The Pulpit, Mexican Dave Iโ€™d recommend at 3pm, but M3G is a must and one of my personal favourite singer-songwriters on the local scene right now. Just prior to M3G though, be very tempted to nip back to the Tuppenny at 3:15 when Richard Wileman and Amy Fry do their thing, and thatโ€™s worth its weight in gold. 

Across to the Beehive for the finale to what looks like another unforgettable Shuffle, 6pm, Canuteโ€™s Plastic Army is unmissable, and so too is Joe Kelly & the Royal Pharmacy at 7:30pm.

No forgoing the fringe events, a Shuffle quiz night at the Beehive on Wednesday 10th, the Shuffle Community Ceilidh with The Cowshed Ceilidh Collective Saturday night at Eastcott Community Centre from 7pm, and open vinyl DJ sessions at The Prospect Hospice Book & Music Shop on Victoria Road, each day midday till 4pm.

Then, youโ€™ve only got to wait until the end of January for the Shuffleโ€™s winter version Swinterfest! Swindon Shuffle is a whoโ€™s who of local music, a convention and an institution, a fundraiser like no other, and you wonโ€™t even have to navigate the Magic Roundabout, pinky promise!

Info about Swindon Shuffle and full line-up HERE

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Talk in Code Down The Gate!

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

Keep reading

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Black Rat Monday at The British Lion; Not Just For Lions and Rats!

There was a geographical population imbalance this bank holiday Monday in Devizes which risked the entire town conically sloping into the back of Morrisons; no one seemed the slightest concerned! It’s Black Rat Monday at The British Lion, the stuff of Dorothy House fundraising burgers, potent beverages and contemporary folkloreโ€ฆ.

Recorded here for prosperity, as itโ€™s dubious that other accounts of the event would be recited with much precision when passed through the generations, that once upon a time in ye olde Devizes, natives satirically dubbed their annual street festival โ€˜Black Rat Monday.โ€™

The name derived from a scrumpy brand popular at a bar run by CAMRA award-winning and stalwart Devizes freehouse, The British Lion. Contractual matters one year caused a breakup between the carnival committee and the pub. Being โ€˜Black Rat Mondayโ€™ was a folk eponym, ergo in the public domain, and the committee likely never appreciated it anyway, The British Lion adopted the name for an occasion of their own making, and the rest is history.

It’s a fable of self-reliance, apolitical empowerment, and mass consumption of scrumpy, though other drink options are available! Leading to a meek event of anti-consumerism, save the Black Rat Monday t-shirt and drink, community-driven subversion, and a crowded beer garden full of merriment, whilst it would seem the elaborate original festival has fallen by the wayside due to arts funding cuts.

This particular year saw the event blossom to bursting point, attracting townsfolk en masse, under the simple premise, it’s now as much of a โ€œDevizes thingโ€ as raking barrels of contraband brandy out of the Crammer or annually lobbing confetti at each other in a peculiar frenzy.

Reasoning why roots to the pub itself, because while other taverns change according to trends, else end up as antique shops or housing estates, the simplest of systematics of The British Lion stand firm, equable and imperishable. And Devizions love โ€˜gurtโ€™ tradition. If it’s not brokenโ€ฆ..

But what helps, and always does, is acquiring the most suitable entertainment; usually locally sourced, not this time, but equally as welcomed. Long-standing and living legend landlord Mike Dearing revealed his heuristic thinking was to provide an act weโ€™ve likely not seen before on our circuit.

For the universal audience the conventional is best, therefore, primarily a function party band, Bristol’s The 789s made a perfect choice. They were lively, proficient, exceptionally accomplished and seemingly pleased to be there. With a vast repertoire spanning every corner of classic singalong pop, they joyfully delivered them all, for sweaty hours, and until Sweet Caroline finalised the cumulation, by which time the crowds were chanting it back to them and dancing on whatever small patch of sun-bleached grass they could suitably fit into.

A punk cover band planned to follow, which duty-bound as Dad’s taxi, I had to miss unfortunately. But The 789โ€™s had roused the audience to a conclusion that there was little doubt anyone could now falter this year’s Black Rat Monday; I’d go out on a limb to suggest it was the best one to date.

There was Parklife, there was Red, Red, Wine, The Proclaimersโ€™ marching song, I’m Gonna Be, and every crowd-pleaser sublimely covered by both male and female vocalists, but only one of them sporting butterfly sunglasses. I don’t want to get all decimal on you after such a strenuous scrumpy surfeit, but The 789’s truly turned it up to ten, at least. For which they were rewarded a gallant cheer of Devizes-fashioned appreciation as they sauntered through the crowds back to the pub, akin to newlywed couple they had undoubtedly performed for many times before!

This respectful display of gratitude, and the whole shebang in general genuinely makes me honoured to document what happens in our lovely, lovely town. For you can bicker on Facebook pages all you want, you can thrash out the rights or wrongdoings of graffiting flags on mini-roundabouts, or pin the blame on someone for a road closure, but Steve Dewar’s brilliant popup youth cafe had kids enjoying a climbing wall on the Green, the sun was shining, and humble folk in the British Lion were laughing and singing, for we all live under that same sun, and that captures the true Devizes spirit, right here in The British, surely?!

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Tidy: Talk in Code at The Vic with Riviera Arcade and Flora Flora

It was only ever supposed to be a single launch gig but it could’ve been for a gold-crested gatefold triple LP, because Talk in Code were larging it last night at their hometown premier venue, Swindon’s Victoria. The crowd was ecstatic and the atmosphere was highly flammableโ€ฆ..strike a light!

If witnessing a great band on their own turf adds a communal elevation to the thrill of seeing them at all, Talk in Code certainly pulled out all the stops, even if the je-ne-sais quoi of these masters of indie-pop perform with sublime quality anywhere they happen to appear.

If this crossing the friend barrier themed quintessential grower, More Than Friends sits perfectly into their eighties vibe discography, we were leaked forthcoming singles might venture somewhere slightly different, but right here, now, at The Vic, Talk in Code was rewarded equal rapturous praise in throwing it out there as they were marching triumphantly through their beloved anthems.

Tunes which, like the best memorable pop, have universal and timeless appeal. At a Talk in Code gig you could mute the sound and still comprehend that the individual takes what they want from their style by observing the diversity of the demographic present. Here, this tight group of musicians evoke memories of everything gorgeous about eighties pop from Ah-Ha to Simple Minds, for me. One generation younger, especially when they backtracked to Oxygen, might wallow in nineties indie, and likewise youth will recognise their own contemporary influences.

If homeliness provides confidence to experiment, we were treated to something I’ve never seen Talk in Code do before; as the band Twix breaked, dynamic Adidas- sponsored frontman Chris Stevens proved he was no one trick pony, and blessed the Vic with an immaculate acoustic number, an original he called We Remain.

If appreciation was a pair of knickers, Talk in Code would have a visible panty line, as devotee โ€œTalkersโ€ in blue sunglasses and merch amassed between Vic regulars, equally relishing their vibrant, danceable and electric hoedown! And all took home a CD embossed goodie bag akin to a toddler’s birthday party, save a slice of squashed sponge cake!

Yet if there’s an honourable family-fashioned ambience surrounding this band, where Talkers would follow them to the four corners of the globe, else create Lego fan-videos or shower them with deserved fondness, the mood for a quality evening was pre-set by two awesome support acts TiC cherrypicked.

Gloucestershire soloist, songwriter and model Flora Flora opened the gig with acoustic splendour. New to me, I’m now keenly following her socials. Not because she took control of my phone from my intoxicated sausage fingers to ensure I did, though she did, but because I’ve since come to realise there’s subsequent levels to her talent than the perfection of her rocking performance last night!

An inspiring Gen Z Swifty wordsmith, crafting evocative songs praised and played by our hero James Threlfall on BBC Introducing. A new one drops on streaming platforms on 29th August but is available now on Bandcamp, Need to Say; it’s far more ethereal than Flora Flora’s edgier performance, and you’ll be foolish not to bookmark it as a favourite; fill your ankle-length boots.

Penultimate act, Bristol-Swindon longstanding five-piece rockers Riviera Arcade, I must confess, I preconceived to be a fair, hard rock band; they certainly came out like one. It only took near to the completion of the first song for me to come to complex reasoning why they’re punching well above that weight. Multi-layered precision with captivating guitar riffs set me contemplating subtle nods to eighties mod or punk, sometimes skanking, but still, it heralded heavier rock. They’ve a 2022 album Gone By Ten on stream, so you can hear what I’m waffling about.

An interesting and certainly unique style which, while I was thinking The Police or Costello, they finalised their set of beguiling originals with an apt and superbly delivered cover of The Stonesโ€™ Paint it Black, a perfect summary to their ethos. I returned home as a newfound fan, a bit wobbly on my feet and Notra-Dame bells ringing in my ears fan, but deffo a fan!

Talk in Code was officially on the best form I’ve ever had the pleasure to witness, but it was the combination of acts, venue and atmosphere which famed this fantastic night too; The Vic is renowned for doing so, historically. Owner Darren Simons assured me, though the venue is up for grabs, it’s only going to someone prepared to continue in his shoes, so this flagship to Wiltshire live music should thankfully continue to reign; dodge magic roundabouts and onwards to The Shuffle!

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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 and aspiring Frome โ€œa little bit emo, a little bit notโ€ four-piece released a debut single Wither last month (while I was on my jollies.) So, even though this mention of it might be belated, itโ€™s worthy of your attention, as I predict Butane Skies is a name youโ€™ll be hearing a lot more ofโ€ฆ..

If the name suggests an all-out fireball of frenzied rock you should note itโ€™s taken from a line in the My Chemical Romance song Skylines & Turnstiles, and akin to their emo influence thereโ€™s delicate rising and falling sections of emotive outpouring in Wither. With a dystopian themed desperation, perhaps metaphoric, this is intense yet melodic, as exquisitely composed as Evanescence, and as genius as Frank Turner.

Thereโ€™s an intricate piano, blessing it with a sense of optimism above the emo melancholy of the subtly placed fuzzbox riff and the powerful vox harmonies of a double-Alanis Morissette. Iโ€™m thinking Iโ€™ve not heard local emo quite as good as this since Life in Mono, but not to typecast within the emo pigeonhole, thereโ€™s something more universally indie about them too, Muse-fashion.

Such high accolades deserved, Wither firmly places them on the first runner of the local recording artist ladder, and while an impressive kick start, itโ€™s moreish and patent theyโ€™ve more tricks up their sleeves. Butane Skies established themselves in 2022 after school duo Amaya and Ash collaborated at just 14 years old, and bassist Mia and drummer Alex joined. Theyโ€™ve notched numerous gigs and festivals since Future Sound of Trowbridge at the Pump, and winning Riverbankโ€™s Take The Stage in 2024 with the prize to perform at Minety Music Festival.ย 

Other appearances at Festival on the Farm, Figglefest, Bradford Roots, Corrfest, Chippenham Pride and Sounds at the Ground, and at venues such as The Boathouse, The Neeld, Fromeโ€™s Tree House and a number of local stages at Glastonbury sees them Bristol-bound for The Louisiana and Komedia Bathโ€™s Electric Bar soon. They are nominated for our Wiltshire Music Awards, and now top of never-ending must-see list!

Hereโ€™s a band with a track you must listen to, but the ambience feels something wonderful is blossoming; Butane Skies are yet to hit their magnum-opus, be there when they do.  

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Female of the Species Return for the Last Time

โ€œMore deadlier than the maleโ€ is my usual corny pun for this, but if supergroup Female of the Species returns to Melksham this September, it looks like the last time Iโ€™ll be able to use itโ€ฆ.

September 2017, when Devizine had merely eight articles published, I previewed a charity fundraising event in Melksham, The Female of the Species, and Iโ€™ve loved it and supported it since. A supergroup composed of the frontwomen of various local bands, they were already in their second year, but after ten years they announced this one will be their lastโ€ฆ.

Julie Moreton from Trowbridgeโ€™s ska and reggae covers band Train to Skaville, formed the supergroup Female of the Species with Nicky Davis from Warminster-based The Reason, Glastonburyโ€™s Julia Greenland from Soulville Express, Fromeโ€™s Claire Perry from Big Mammaโ€™s Banned, and solo artist Charmaigne Andrews, for an annual fundraiser at the Melksham Assembly Rooms; it became a much-loved institution and has raised over an estimated ยฃ25-30K for various local charities chosen annually.

Itโ€™s an incredible amount, but Julie revealed she wasnโ€™t sure of the grand total over the combined years. โ€œWe’ve never really kept a total of what we’ve raised,โ€ she modestly told me, โ€œwe sang a few songs, and someone’s life got a little better is how we think about it.โ€

Their tenth and final time performing the fundraiser as The Female of the Species will be at The Melksham Assembly Hall on Saturday 13th September 2025, and will be raising for Voices, a Bath-based charity supporting survivors and overcomers of domestic abuse and violence to recover and thrive. Tickets usually sell out quickly, you can grab yours HERE.

And youโ€™ll be glad you did, the accumulation of five talented singers from different bands, coming together for a sizzling melting pot of all popโ€™s subgenres, from rock, soul and reggae, blended with some filthy banter is something to behold, a whole lot of fun and dancing. Thereโ€™s always a quality support act too, the likes of Plan of Action, Becky Lawrence and Dylan Smith have all warmed up the audience in previous years, but the girls have called inย Laura Jayne, their first ever support act, who has carved out her own career as a vocalist.

With only months to raise hundreds of thousands of pounds or face potential closure due to the building it leased being beyond economical repair, in 2024 Female of the Species raised funds for Trowbridge preschool Rainbow Early Years. 2013 was for Alzheimerโ€™s Support, and previous years theyโ€™ve supported Mind, Young Melksham, Wiltshire Air Ambulance, and one very close to our hearts here at Devizine, Carmelaโ€™s Stand Up to Muscular Dystrophy.

They received a Civic Award in 2019, a letter from the Queen Consort, and thanks from the Chartered Institute of Fundraising. For a couple of years, with a misinformed council, they made the move to Seend Community Hall, but in 2024 they headlined Melkshamโ€™s Christmas light switch on and are now back at the Assembly Hall. Although, where and why did it all begin?

โ€œI started The Female of the Species because I didn’t like the way women were perceived on the local music scene,โ€ Julie Moreton told us. โ€œOut with Train to Skaville, at a couple of local festivals I noticed I was the only female on the stage, so I went into the green room and asked โ€˜anyone got any girls in the band?โ€™ The reply was, โ€˜we don’t have girls in our band because theyโ€™re unreliable, always gotta find a babysitter!โ€™ At another  festival I asked the same question, this time the reply was, ‘we get a few girlie’s in when we want some backing lyrics done!โ€™ It bugged me for about a year, then I decided to do something about it, spoke to my co-founder Julia Greenland, we booked the Civic Hall, without really knowing what we were doing!โ€

They only ever planned the gig as a one-off in 2014, but went on for ten years. Julie concluded, โ€œthe rest is history,โ€ until hilarious force of nature Claire โ€œBig Mammaโ€ Perry had to butt in with her welcomed thoughts too!

โ€œI joined this crazy bunch after their first year of performing,โ€ Claire  informed me, โ€œwith, I have to admit, some apprehension!!โ€ and continued to explain her reasoning; being โ€œbadly burntโ€ by another woman in a band; I didnโ€™t dare delve deeper! 

โ€œBut after Jules and Julia convinced me,โ€ she continued, โ€œI thought Iโ€™d be mad not to, โ€˜cos it’ll be fun!  I have to say….I’ve never looked back, well, maybe once or twice, to tell the drummer he’s too frigginโ€™ loud, or asleep, or pissed!โ€

โ€œIt’s been hard work every year, to get the time needed to rehearse, as all the band have their own commitments be it musically, or with their own families and lives, but what a privilege itโ€™s been every year to raise not only awareness of our chosen charities, but of course the money  that has helped them all, in whatever way they chose to put it to use.โ€ 

โ€œI think, if I may speak on behalf of all of us, what being in the Female of the Species has done for us, is to firmly secure the respect, admiration, and amazing friendships we have made amongst us all. Every year, we come out, smiling, (teeth & tits!!) to our trusty, and loyal audiences, professional to a fault, to put on, what we hope- will be a great show…but often hiding, or certainly masking, our own sometimes sad or heartbreaking dilemmas!โ€

Claire described how every year one of the members had issues in their personal lives, โ€œwhether that be, broken hearts, broken limbs!โ€ and here I recollected the year Nicky Davis hobbled out with a broken leg, and stunned the audience standing for her solo, but Claire reflected back three years past, when she lost her mum the night before the show.

โ€œTen years at the top of our game, we hope we can raise the rafters on this, our big celebration of music, friendship, and helping decent people, working to help others in chronically under funded charities, and get the place bouncing!! For me, itโ€™s been a blast, boosted my confidence and morale, and it’s made me proud of what a bunch of musos from the West can do, when we put our collective skills in the pot. Over the last ten years we have been The Female of the Species band, we have raised somewhere in the region of 30K for some very deserving people. It’s been a slog, it’s been a grin, but most of all…it’s been a pleasure!โ€

The pleasure has been ours, as we turn the final page, The Female of the Species will become an historical landmark on Wiltshireโ€™s music scene, and I still didnโ€™t get any of their phone numbers. For one last time youโ€™re invited to help them raise the roof of the Melksham Assembly Hall on Saturday 13th September 2025, but you need a ticket from HERE.

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Static Moves Crawling Back With Debut Single

In a way itโ€™s more intriguing when a cover band sends an original song than one already producing originals. For if original bands can sometimes be critical of the desire of pub venues to value cover bands over them, yeah, your average cover band is heeding the call for their bread and butter, but are often equally passionate about music, and turn to recording some of their own wares. And when they do itโ€™s natural to pay homage to the particular style they play in, as guaranteed, thatโ€™s their calling and influenceโ€ฆ..

Certainly true of Marlborough-based Static Moves, who released a debut single today, full of the retrospective energy theyโ€™re celebrated for at live shows. They turned a cold February night at the Three Crowns in Devizes into a volcano, as they regularly warm crowds at a plethora of local venues with a repertoire of welcomed new wave to Britpop covers.

The concern is that the raw energy doesnโ€™t transfer to the recording, but you have no worries here; it’s the dog’s bollocks. Crawl Back, as theyโ€™ve called it, belts out an accomplished potential anthem of precisely what theyโ€™re loved for on the circuit. A matured and modern indie-rock spliced โ€œTurning Japaneseโ€ by the Vapors, with a carefree attitude of the Merton Parkas. Itโ€™s got the new wave mod-punk crossover of the early eighties splashed across it like two-tone trousers and Fred Perry T-shirts never went out of fashion. And it didnโ€™t, because you can hear its influence crying out for attention in contemporary indie-rock bands, ergo, the appeal of Crawl Back reaches beyond nostalgic middle-aged to youths today.

With a theme of the tail between your legs sympathy vote, forgiveness is key when you still fancy the wrongdoer, forget the three minute hero, this weighs in at four and a half, and it waits for no man to catch up with it. In a way the length of this whopper is more indicative of modern punk bands, but you cannot help but imagine youโ€™re at a musky gig in 1981, it costs two quid to get in, youโ€™ve only got one and half a packet of fruit Polos to trade with the glue-sniffers hanging outside drinking tins of Tennents!

Static Moves promises more of their, indeed, moreish raw energy captured, and if thereโ€™s more in the pipeline, an EP would be welcomed, an album worth would be knockout, because they could, and should, slip this into their covers set and no one would be any the wiser it wasnโ€™t an album track from Modern English or a nineties influenced crew like The Coral or Supergrass; itโ€™s on that level of excellence too, and that’s why they’re all over our local circuit like Dr Martens were in 1981.

Pitstop at Air Ambulance Fundraising Mini-festival at The Three Crowns Devizesย 

Rude to walk into an event sporting another event wristband but the welcome was friendly as ever at the Three Crowns in Devizes. It’s mid-afternoon, Park Farm Festival‘s shuttle bus took me into town, cheekily I used it to poke my nose into the Air Ambulance fundraiser here, their first real multi-act day, I believe, save perhaps my 50th birthday, which if you remember any details of, you could always fill me in!

It was a necessity, if only to see Ruby Darbyshire, as it’s been a while, not a long while, but long enough for me. First time playing the venue and she went down a storm, unsurprisingly. Such a rich, natural talent, vocals made from silk, expressive and  forever a joy to listen to; be they either covers, a Portishead one being a particularly breathtaking one, or her intelligently constructed originals, of which she dropped a couple of new ones I’m eager to review here in good time.

There were hugs all round upon my entrance; Ben Borrill and Pat Ward finished a set as Matchbox Mutiny, a shame to miss, because those gorgeously talented guys pull a crowd and hold them. At the moment I did arrive I was delighted to catch Rachel Sinnetta & Jolyon Dixon doing their thing with Andy Fellows accompanying on guitar, as itโ€™s always impressive and highly entertaining. It was a stellar lineup with cupcakes, lollipops, childrenโ€™s face-painting, and tried and tested acts at the Three Crowns, save Ruby, who Iโ€™m assured would be welcomed back.

Rumour was Devizes Male Choir was intending to do a flash mob bit between Ruby and the grand finale, the ever lively Funked-Up. Unsure if this happened, as unfortunately, I was duty bound to return to Park Festival, but you can rest assured Funked-Up got the crowds dancing the night away. I wish I could’ve stayed.

The spirit of The Three Crowns remains toppermost in town; the go-to pub in Devizes for a good night, an unpretentious, friendly atmosphere with the widest age demographic which never clashes. Itโ€™s trouble-free fun, itโ€™s live music program set to enthral, and not forgetting gourmet burgers; itโ€™s an all-round winner on any night, but more of this all-day stuff, please kind sir!  

Ann Liu Cannon’s Clever Rabbits

Ann Liu Cannon is the Marlborough success story I hadn’t heard of until yesterday; thanks to local promoter and frontman of the Vooz, Lee Mathews for the tip off! Her debut album  Clever Rabbits was released today, and itโ€™s a mustโ€ฆโ€ฆ.

Brit Award winning Paul McCartney and Tom Jones producer Ethan Jones spotted Ann Liu performing at Camden’s Spiritual Bar, leading her to a publishing deal with BMG. Ann, who now lives in London, represented Whispering Bob Harris at The Great Escape and Black Deer Festivals, featured on Beans on Toast’s stage at Bearded Theory and on his UK tour. She opened for Lewis Ofman in Mexico, played prestigious venues like The Clapham Grand and The Hotel Cafe Hollywood in LA, but delighted to tell me she schooled in Marlborough and grew up in a nearby village; and I thought St Johnโ€™s girls just sat around the Priory Gardens smoking menthols!

Okay, calm yourself. That was just an eighties joke, and you know this! But remain calm for Clever Rabbits because itโ€™s a breathtaking ride, a tapestry of Anglo-Celtic folklore, sacred texts, sonic binaries of modern digital synthesis and Ann Liuโ€™s classic singer-songwriter roots. โ€œI am the rabbit that knows how to kill the hill, and I have only just begun,โ€ she expressed.ย 

Experimentally playful, with two piano-based ballads opening Clever Rabbits, there’s an ambience of musical theatre about them, then with an irresistibly simple drum and bass the title track runs akin to a Mardi Gras iko-iko chant. Lost Ways has the shuffle of South America rhythms, and weโ€™re halfway through these ten uplifting masterpieces with a bittersweet psychedelic swirl called Tangle.

No You Donโ€™t is acoustic blues with a hint of lounge jazz, as gorgeous as the ultimate Norah Jones song. Another tune in, and rather Iโ€™m now pitching this alongside Joni Mitchell; itโ€™s that strong, naturally raw, and yeah, folk, fundamentally.

The album continues in a similar fashion, uplifting jazzy folk under sublime soundscapes and broken wonderfully with snippets of humorous band banter, which usually are outtakes. It lifts in tempo with False Hope, and chills for the penultimate Movement of Standing Stones, which builds in layers of atmospheric spiritual ambience, and finally a minute and half of bizarre with Gobbleknoll, breaks the concept this isnโ€™t really a book by Richard Adams and Ann Liu is not a rabbit after all!

Exploring limits of prescribed identity in a timeless, brave and sensitive challenge of the zeitgeist, the album is inspired by a Chinese idiom โ€œclever rabbits need three burrows,โ€ and the imagery of three rabbits found in Devon’s churches and China’s caves. Clearly, with profound narrative, you would need to dive deeper into this warren to explore. After one listen, though, you will feel it criminal not to. Everything in this melting pot of influences is subtle, the overall feel is a mellowed thoughtful prose sitting somewhere between the exploratory of Kate Bush and punch of Alanis Morissette, both jamming under the aura of Steeleye Span.ย 

This isnโ€™t an album for streaming. This is a take my money album. The attention to detail is divine. The unedited recordingsโ€™ background goings-on authentically puts you in the room. In promoting it, Ann Lui revealed the backstory. โ€œWhen I was ten,โ€ she explained, โ€œmy father gave me records by Ethan. When I turned 21, I got a call from Ethan after Raf sent my music to him. We began capturing these songs, and my father began dying. Today I turn 26, my father is dead, and the record is born.โ€

โ€œIn the first 25 years I found powerlessness in slow, bad, unwanted death. In limbos and dependency. I found power in wilful endings. In choice. Love ran underneath in a welcome riptide, contextualising the hurt and loss. I nursed wounds, read my stories, read other peopleโ€™s stories, broke away, reflected, mourned, rejoiced, set free. The first quarter century has been about endings, leavings, dying, and dying well. This album is a good death. The bin men are smiling. I am smiling, too.โ€

A launch for Clever Rabbits is at Londonโ€™s Lexington tonight. Ann Lui returns to her roots, as she regularly does, with an Instore at Sound Knowledge, Marlborough on Thursday 17th July at St. Peter’s. Entry is FREE but please do let them know to expect you if you’d like to attend, or pre-order a copy of ‘Clever Rabbits’ from them to guarantee your place.

LinkTree Website

Wendy James Tour Coming to Fromeโ€™s Cheese & Grain

Photo credit: David Leigh Dodd

Pioneers of the indie-rock sound which would lead us into the nineties, Transvision Vamp lead singer Wendy James has announced a UK tour in October in support of her recently released tenth solo album The Shape of History, which includes Fromeโ€™s Cheese & Grainโ€ฆ..

Wendy will be accompanied on tour by a full band, featuring Transvision Vamp’s bass player Dave Parsons, Jim Sclavunos from Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds on drums and Alex Ward (Thurston Moore Group) on guitar. They will be playing songs from across all of her albums, from TVV Pop, to New Wave Punk to Lo-Fi Racine No.1, through to the big productions of Queen High Straight and The Shape Of History, picking off favourite songs from each.ย 

For full tour dates see here, but closest to us is Tuesday 14th October at the Cheese and Grain, and The Fleece, Bristol on Tuesday 28th October.

Wendy James

While The Shape of History doesnโ€™t begin with a sound akin to Transvision Vamp, thereโ€™s underlying echoes of it as the album builds. Layers of electronica envelope the familiar vocals, so while itโ€™s not what you were expecting, the effect is as The Independent described, โ€œlike a patchwork of memories โ€“ victories, heartaches, the feeling of racing down a California highway, no destination in mind.โ€ And Classic Rock expressed that 

โ€œThe Wendy James of 2024 is an older, wiser and far more intriguing prospect. The Shape of History, never dull, and certainly never predictable.โ€ 

 โ€œMy songwriting has always been a wide mix of sounds, which naturally reflect the different music and references I have and love,โ€ Wendy explained, โ€œThe Shape Of History was recorded on Scrubs Lane, West London with Alex Ward, Harry Bohay and James Sclavunos. I then went off to NYC and Brooklyn to record the pianos and organs with Dave โ€˜The Mooseโ€™ Sherman. Overdubbing continued with Al Lawson at the engineering helm in his Shepherdโ€™s Bush studio and then I went back to Berkeley, CA to mix with Jesse Nichols before mastering with Fred Kevorkian in Brooklyn NY. I have spent so much time with this music, I know it note-for-note and love it and am so happy for you to make it your own now”.

 โ€œThe Shape Of History has a lot about love in it, a lot about appreciation of oneself, oneโ€™s life and importantly, of others. It is lifeโ€™s arc of starting out, blooming into something and in some ways maturing. I donโ€™t think my music has got older, I know Iโ€™ve not gone mellow! My attitude can be more ferocious and fearless than ever, but there is an acquired wisdom, which naturally comes after having been alive for a few decades! โ€˜The Shape Of Historyโ€™ is a love letter and a Thank you note to life so far. The culmination of my tenth album is the result of co-musicians and engineers who Iโ€™ve worked with previously and with whom I share a language. We know each other, we choose to work together. We enjoy each otherโ€™s talents and personalities. There is a happiness, a belonging, when we meet up, and an open and determined desire to achieve what we know we have to.โ€

โ€œFrom meeting Nick Christian Sayer and forming Transvision Vamp, the two of us walking into EMI Records, and demanding to see the head of Artists and Repertoire, Dave Ambrose. Getting signed and making our hits of the late 80โ€™s and 90โ€™s. From collaborating with Elvis Costello and mixing that album at Sunset Sound in Hollywood where The Stones mixed โ€˜Exile On Main Stโ€™, then moving to NYC to start writing and recording as a solo artist, all the gigs Iโ€™ve played and the friends Iโ€™ve made around the world, the astounding, incredible, wonderful people whose lives Iโ€™ve crossed paths withโ€ฆ I am so grateful for it all.โ€

Buy Shape of History HERE

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Devizes Dilemma: FullTone or Scooter Rally?!

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

News & Chat About Wiltshire Music Awards on Donโ€™t Stop the Music Radio Show

Despite being a tad under the weather last week, I was delighted to join Eddie Prestidge of Wiltshire Music Events on Swindon 105.5 radio to discuss the next stages of our Wiltshire Music Awardsโ€ฆ..

For those not in the know, though I suspect many are, presenter Peggy-Sue Ford produces a weekly show on the long-established station called Donโ€™t Stop the Music, dedicated to showcasing signed and unsigned acts, particularly locally-sourced. What better place to explain our plans for the awards? I cannot think of any, because thereโ€™s few radio shows locally as thoroughly dedicated as Peggyโ€™s, who brings acts into the studio to perform live and has become such a popular catalyst for upcoming local musicians.

This week Peggy-Sue was talking to Rich Swatton of a gem on our event calendar, Minety Music Festival, so it was the second week absent of live music; I did offer to sing for our turn on the show, which was swifty and understandably avoided and the topic diverted! Other than this, I think it went rather well and Ed and I made a bit of a duo, in the vein of Laurel & Hardy!!

Peggy-Sue uploads the shows on Spotify, so you can catch up with the shows if you miss them; hereโ€™s ours, should you wish to listen. Despite no live music, thereโ€™s local tunes from many already on our radar, Talk in Code, Deadlight Dance and JP Oldfield, and others new to us, Swindon crossover rapper Brandon Clarke, who goes under the pseudonym Weather, and Kate X, an upcoming RnB singer; both worth looking up.

With the voting process now closed, Ed and I explained what happens next. The votes will be counted and the top three of each category will be put before a panel of judges, all with professional experience and loyalty to promoting the local music scene. The reason for this, so we can find a balance across the entire county and represent countywide fairly, ensuring the results are not centralised in one area. Whereby some results appear to be close to call, judges will decide the winner, but in all cases, especially those results where one has walked the category, this accomplishment must be considered by the judges as priority.

The judges were announced as being, subject to their own availability: Claire Grist of the Facebook page Bird is the Word, Ed Dyer of Swindon Shuffle, Roger of Sound Knowledge in Marlborough, Ronnie Laurie of Marland Music, Salisbury music producer Joylon Dixon, Nick Beere of Mooncalf Studios, and Peggy-Sue Ford herself. We have advised, now the judges are announced, bribing them with sweeties, kisses, or anything of the kind will be frowned upon!

This is the first Wiltshire Music Awards, and weโ€™re learning and planning as we go, but we are dedicated to presenting the results in October with a grand ceremony at Devizes Corn Exchange. In order to do this effectively we require sponsorship for each category, for which is affordable and details of which can be found HERE. Tickets for the ceremony can also be found there, starting at just ten pounds, and thereโ€™s some FAQs.

We strive towards that date crossing the Ts and dotting the Is, and look forward to presenting the awards with lots of live music acts on the night, perhaps a celebrity presenter alongside me in a tux, the latter of which is worth the ticket price alone!

Iโ€™d like to thank Peggy-Sue and Swindon 105.5 on behalf of myself and Eddie, for allowing us to visit the studio last week, to chat about the awards, and test the swing chairs for squeakiness, which I report was minimal. What a great show! 

REVIEW โ€“ The Lost Trades @ The Piggy Bank, Calne โ€“ Tuesday 18th June 2025

Five Have An Out-of-town Experience

You canโ€™t always get that live music experience you crave by simply staying within the walls of D-Town.ย  Sometimes, and especially when thereโ€™s aย  band playing that you simply have to see, you just need to get the gang together and pile into a motor to visit the wilder Wiltshire provinces.ย  And so it was last night that we ventured over the hill to Calne.ย  We found the border post un-guarded, and so we slipped into the town and found our way to The Piggy Bank micro-pub to see The Lost Trades……

The Piggy Bank has been a surprisingly good little venue over the past year or two, featuring some great nights with, among others, The Rob Lear Band, The Black Feathers, Jess Vincent, and Jinder, as well as pop-up dining nights, quiz nights and (a big favourite of mine) Crazy Bird comedy club nights.

Just in case you donโ€™t know them, The Lost Trades are a trio who play folk/ Americana with a cool Laurel Canyon vibe. With a sound that is reminiscent of the California folk scene of the late 60s/early 70s, (weโ€™re thinking here of Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young), their three part harmonies have been previously described as “flawless”, “spine tingling” and “magical”.

Formed in late 2019, the global Covid hoo-hah cut short their first tour after just a single sold out gig.ย  The band shrugged their shoulders, and retreated to their respective song-writing rooms to work on what was to become their debut album, “The Bird, The Book & The Barrel”, released in June 2021. The follow up album, “Petrichor” was released in March 2023. Both are highly recommended โ€“ trust me!

Then, just last year, one of their founding members, Tamsin Quinn, decided to leave the trio to pursue other interests.  Bit of a shock.  Was this the end for The Lost Trades, we all wondered?  Not a bit of it!  Tamsin has now been replaced (if replaced is really the right word) by the very talented Jess Vincent, who had recently returned to the UK after a few years away in Bulgaria.  

The result of all that is that The Lost Trades now consist of:

ยท Phil Cooper (vocals, acoustic guitar, electric bass), a performer not unknown in the local area for many years, both as a solo performer, as well in various bands, and a guy who knows his way around a recording studio and the producerโ€™s job;

ยท Jamie R Hawkins (vocals, acoustic guitar, electric bass, ukulele), also massively well-known locally, especially in venues around D-Town, for his wonderful solo performances and some great songs. Indeed a bunch of us had slipped over to The Pulpit (ex The Little Hop) in Old Town, Swindon only last week to witness a really excellent solo performance at that new musical venue;

ยท Jess Vincent (vocals, guitar, percussion, shruti box).  Jess first came to notice singing with Penny Red, before branching out into a solo career that produced several albums (Time Frame, Seesaw Dreams, Shine, and last yearโ€™s Lions Den)  

Between us five weโ€™d seen The Lost Trades in their old formation many times before, but this was to be the first time with new band-member Jess.  How would this all work out?  Would the sound and the dynamic have changed?  And if so, for better or worse?  Well, in sum, we need not have worried.  Despite a massive learning curve for Jess to pick up the bandโ€™s performing repertoire in just a few short months, to say nothing of having to re-blend all of their trade-mark close harmonies, the end result was spectacularly good.  It was neither better, nor worse, just slightly different and more developed and mature.  Right from the first number we knew that the magic had remained intact.

All the old stuff was still there โ€“ the constant and easy interchanging of instruments (including guitar, ukulele, bass and percussion), the close three-part harmonies, the well-worked song material, and the light-hearted intimacy, with the group engaging in comfortable repartee with each other and the audience like a group of old friends. And there were a lot of old friends in the audience to help them along.  And, of course, the many familiar songs.

But there was some great new stuff too โ€“ new songs, a different female vocal line, new instruments, and (obviously) a new personal dynamic between the three performers.  All of them had played The Piggy Bank before, and all to packed houses, so there were no nerves about any of that.  And last night, in front of yet another packed house, they managed to produce a truly spell-binding performance once again.

My only (very slight) reservations about the evening were that I needed slightly less chat (some of the introductions were as long as the songs!) and I would have liked slightly more of Jess (the two boys tended to dominate proceedings at times).  But, hey, these are very simple things to be fixed and developed, and didnโ€™t in any way detract from all the superb quality of the music they delivered in their three sets (or โ€œspasmsโ€ as Phil nicely put it).

There were no lashings of ginger beer, but the music flowed, the craft beer certainly flowed, and a jolly good time was had by all.  Then, under cover of darkness, we fled through the night back to the safety of D-Town, our out-of-town mission successfully accomplished.

Hopefully thereโ€™ll be more music dates to come at The Piggy Bank in the autumn.  But, meanwhile, if you want to see The Lost Trades live in concert (and I strongly recommend that you do!), theyโ€™ll be appearing locally as below:

Future dates for The Lost Trades:

Wednesday 23rd July 2025 @ The White Bear, Devizes

Friday 25th July 2025 @ Trowbridge Festivalย ย 

Friday 26th September 2025 @ The Pump, Trowbridge

Saturday 27th September @ The Hop, Old Town, Swindonย ย 

For more information go to thelosttrades.com/ย 

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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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 of clamour, when I first moved from a village to be neighbours with a cheesy nightclub in Swindon, we drained the noise outside with the 1990 KLF album โ€œChill Out.โ€ Prior to being bound for Mu Mu Land with Tammy Wynette, they created an ambient soundscape which rarely provided a beat. I am reminded of this, and other vague but fond memories while listening to The Hotcakes of Wildfireโ€™s four track EP, Shoes and Acidโ€ฆ.

Released last week, Shoes and Acid is the brainchild of Mick Stanger, guitarist for Bradford-on-Avon scrumpy & western outfit The Boot Hill All Stars and presenter of Sounds of the Wilderness on West Wilts Radio, a show where Mick uncovers a variety of experimental locally-sourced tracks. Alongside him are engineers Alex Pilkington and Leo Hossent, Boot Hill and Monkey Bizzle drummer Cerys Brocklehurst, with synths, guitars and vocals by Rat Himself, additional vocals by Holly Taylor and a fiddle from Ruth Behan. A different line-up from the 2022 debut single War of Words, whereby Mick thrashes out a tongue-in-cheek Scrabble war over grinding metal guitars, and a very different sound too; virtually horizontal dancing in places!

If Iโ€™m reminded of Chill Out, and stealthily manoeuvring through a jungle of guy-ropes and tent pegs across Glastonbury Festival like a missionary expedition, while The Orb rang out subtle harmonies like the call of the natives in the ether, itโ€™s because Iโ€™m of that era. Factually, thereโ€™s been meditative and relaxing moods in all genres from classical and jazz to new age whale song or electronic kosmische. The beauty in Shoes and Acid seems to be that these Hotcakes nod to them all, or if not all, at least since the prog-rock of Zeppelin and Floyd, and exhausts them nonchalantly unique and punkish.

Itโ€™s a lo-fi soundscape opening with birdsong, but Stubentiger kicks in agreeably backwards like the intro to Electric Ladyland, and rolls out a pungent bass guitar riff akin to Fromeโ€™s Ozric Tentaclesโ€™ finest hour; itโ€™s at this early moment I figure Iโ€™m in for an enjoyable if hypnotic ride; pass my meds. Four extended tracks is all it takes to knock up about forty minutes of expressive outpourings, largely instrumental and influenced by many soothing musical styles. Iโ€™m not sure if shoes are a requirement, but acid wouldnโ€™t go a miss, itโ€™s a trip.

Second tune Knocking at the Tree has whimsical female vocals conflicting with devilish male vocals, a drifting prog-folk-rock track wisping and earthy; a Westcountry Clannad with a sprinkle of Hawkwind. But if the prog-rock element continues into the eleven minute beauty, Fever Dream, it becomes very Ozric Tentacles, and like my favourite tune of theirs The Domes of G’Bal, it takes on dub reggae. Being that Iโ€™m fascinated by the studio adventures of King Tubby yet irked somewhat with dubstep, Iโ€™m most at home here, a contemporary Orbโ€™s Towers of Dub which could convert Lee Anderson into a crusty traveller! 

Fever Dream is the summit, an outstanding and epic moment in the album. A final track awaits us, now embedded in a horizontal dream like state imagining fractals forming in the sky. Tardigrades is another eleven-minute sonic exploration, beginning ambient house, Eat Static is expected but it doesnโ€™t venture into trance-techno, rather it builds in layers like Leftfield but takes a space-rock angle with Hollyโ€™s vocals in the driving seat after five minutes of swirling spacey soundscape.

A gorgeous finale to a great third eye opening listen, which doesnโ€™t appear to care if you’re coming at it from a Hawkwind or Orb direction. Iโ€™m just pleased to know thereโ€™s still folk out there producing soothing yet psychedelic ambient music on an astral plane, and this rolls a joint up for you and tucks you into a blissful slumber! 

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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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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IDLES’ at Block Party

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

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Clock Radio Turf Out The Maniacs

The first full album by Wiltshireโ€™s finest purveyors of psychedelic indie shenanigans, Clock Radio, was knocked out to an unsuspecting world last week. Itโ€™s called Turfinโ€™ Out The Maniacs, which perhaps should be fact-checked as it sounds to me like theyโ€™re letting them all in, as they arrive on yellow submarines and check into Frank Zappaโ€™s 200 five-rhombus rated motelsโ€ฆ..

Self-described as โ€œeasily triggered, dishonest, cryptic yet flirty deluded jangle rockers,โ€ Clock Radio have produced a string of catchy slacker pop wonders here, as they continuously reach inside the box, like theyโ€™re four elfish Rowan Atkinsons all cast as Paul Atreides. But one thing is for certain, Chris Genner, Oliver Daltrey, Gary Martin and Fraser Wilson will entertain you.

Turfinโ€™ Out The Maniacs sound like the results of the Coral offering The Divine Comedy a hashpipe in a moulded teenage boyโ€™s bedroom; thatโ€™s a compliment by the way.

The opening tune Blood on Chrome certainly reeks of that breezy retrospection of Merseyside garage bands or sixties surf-rock, with an added preliminary Quo guitar riffs. Stoned at the Dojo, which follows emphasises the mock lounge style of The Divine Comedy. Itโ€™s vaudeville throughout, all Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Bandโ€™s twirling circus, and an accordion welcomes in the next song, yet the tempo is upbeat indie rock. Handsome Weeping Man might leave you questioning if itโ€™s necessary to connote the narrative, but it will leave you amused.

Clock Radio knows precisely what buttons to press to evoke a mood, and press them with free will. To say itโ€™s a tad bonkers, itโ€™s only a tad, and Mountains Beyond the Sun kindles a gentle side, drifting surf-rock, sunny side of the street vibe.

Thereโ€™s ten three minute heroes on this impressive debut album, recorded, mixed and mastered by Dominic Bailey-Clay at Nine Volt Leap Studios, with Fender Rhodes piano, percussion by Dominic and a triangle by Shoshi B. If weโ€™re content with getting halfway through and assuming theyโ€™ve calmed slightly, No Death takes us back onto the weird and wonderfully expressed if questionable muses of the opening.

Turfinโ€™ Out The Maniacs is a comfy yet nippy prank, like being stung in the bottom but launching away from it to splash into a chocolate lake. Not so unlike Noรซl Coward playing a Bond villain, with Bowie as Bond; something you couldnโ€™t imagine happening, but being Marie-Georges Mรฉliรจs directed it and itโ€™s on FilmFour at 3am, you might as well grab a bag of cheesy puffs and thirty grams of Amber Leaf, stay up watch it in your pants. โ€œCactus is cooler, Iโ€™m no Ferris Bueller, I do as Iโ€™m told,โ€ is just one line Iโ€™m cherry picking to illustrate my point, youโ€™ll be amused and rocked in plentiful equal measure.

It has an acoustic ending called Complex 5 which will leave you incarcerated in the meandering yet meticulous peculiarly pulp portrayals of Clock Radio, as if you melted into a bubble sofa. It is available now on the streaming platforms, or buy the digital album from Bandcamp.

Shoot Me, A New Single From George Wilding!

I loved it, but if the jury was out in March over Isn’t She Lovely, the last single from George Wilding under the production of Jolyon Dixon for its experimental vaudeville ambience of Queenโ€™s later material and sprinkles of doo-wop at the intro, the third single comes out punchingโ€ฆ..

Shoot Me is released today across all platforms, and if we’re used to George’s wispy moments of psychedelic Velvet Underground, this rather takes on Lou Reed’s more edgy rock n roll. In line with the blossoming tendency of many local bands, from Nothing Rhymes With Orange to Talk in Code, this adopts the timeless indie-rock angle of The Killers and Arctic Monkeys. It’s lively, fire in the belly driving music, I can imagine a crowd hailing it back at him within a relatively short time.


A slight move sidewards for George and a wise decision; millennials to gen z, and even Britpop nineties kids are going to lap this up. It’s a timeless belter. My immediate thought laid with the La’s when the song opened, the notion quickly shifted to something more contemporary, of Franz Ferdinand, and the others I’ve already mentioned.

Yet George is a force in his own right and needs no comparison. Shoot Me contains those recognisable vocal delicacies we’ve come to love him for, that understanding he could shift into any pigeonhole and come up trumps.

Thieves Debut EP

Adam Woodhouse, Rory Coleman-Smith, Jo Deacon and Matt Hughes, aka Thieves, the wonderful local folk vocal harmony quartet of uplifting bluegrass into country-blues has a four track debut EP; who knew?!

I only found out through talking with Adam about a merch table at our forthcoming RowdeFest, where you can, incidentally, find Thieves playing, but at any gig youโ€™re lucky enough to catch them at, I suggest you pick up a copy of this little showcase disc; theyโ€™re our very own resident Carter Familyโ€ฆ.

Opening with Calneโ€™s Jo Deacon on lead vocals, who also sings solo and with soul function band the Midnight Hour, Coming Back For Me is beguiling and uptempo, refreshing bluegrass fashion. Yet Working Man, which follows, slides the divine ambience into mellowed country-rock. With Adam on lead vocals, Iโ€™m thinking Neil Young, the Byrds, and all those irresistible Americana classics, which imagines youโ€™re heading west through Oklahoma on a Harley with Dennis Hopper and Peter Fonda.

Probably the highlight of this EP is the penultimate, Now You’re Around. Five minutes of total bliss, with Jo back on vocals and some seriously intricate melodies, combining the talents of Roryโ€™s resonator, Adamโ€™s mandolin, and Mattโ€™s upright bass, you can sense Joโ€™s soul experience, as it rings out as authentically Americana as Janis Joplin playing Woodstock with Crosby, Stills & Nash. And still I hear something decidedly UK folk here too, of Fairport Convention, perhaps. Iโ€™m no connoisseur, just know what my ears like; itโ€™s all a melting pot,ย and Thieves stir it with delicate precision.

And in that, Iโ€™m unsure about the name Thieves. Certainly the genuine sound of America is pinched if not more agreeably heavily influenced by, but it might suggest thereโ€™s something edgy going on, when this is dinkum, universally appealing sunny side of the street melodies; the kind of folk the eldest in the crowd will tap their toes to while children will merrily twirl barefoot on the grass.

It was a series of coincidences when I first saw them at Bradford Roots Festival a few years ago. From a distance I thought โ€˜that guy looks just like Adam Woodhouse,โ€™ (and maybe a smidgen like MacGyver too!) but upon hearing them perform I thought of The Lost Trades, turned to tell the person standing next to me, who just happened to be Phil Cooper of the Lost Trades, who nodded his trilby in approval; a fine accolade indeed. โ€œIt is Adam,โ€ Phil replied! Oh, yeah, so it is; I didnโ€™t need to go to Specsavers, because their wonderful sound pulled me closer.

We finish the EP with a ballad called Lately, which Adam and Jo duet, and itโ€™s so beautiful and moreish, leaving you suspended on whatโ€™s to come from Thieves, but rest assured, hereโ€™s a wonderful quartet which can hold a crowd spellbound.

Find where Thieves are playing on our local circuits by following socials Facebook Insta for gigs, and hopefully catch them at Rowdefest on Saturday 31st May? Itโ€™s free, bring me a haslett and cucumber sandwich, Iโ€™ve arranged the acts, I wonโ€™t let you down.

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PREVIEW โ€“ Chippenham Folk Festival โ€“ Friday 23rd May through to Monday 26th May 2025ย 

One of Wiltshireโ€™s Best

by Andy Fawthrop

Looking for something to do next weekend? One of Wiltshireโ€™s biggest festivals is happening just up the road in Chippenham all over the late May Bank Holiday weekend.ย  Itโ€™s also one of the largest folk festivals in the UK, and one of the longest running โ€“ this year theyโ€™re clocking up their 52nd festival……

The festival happens over four days at venues all over the town, and provides several streams of entertainment to suit most tastes.ย  With over 650 performers already confirmed covering music concerts, workshops, dance/ ceilidhs, Morris dancing, storytelling and spoken word, and a wide range of childrenโ€™s and other entertainment, thereโ€™ll be something going on in every town-centre street and pub, to say nothing of the thirteen dedicated stages and dance venues.ย ย 

And the good news is that, aside from all the ticketed camping and music/ dance events, thereโ€™s plenty of FREE stuff too.ย  Down at Island Park thereโ€™ll be community stages, a session beer tent (run by Moongazing Hare this was highly popular last year, and Iโ€™d thoroughly recommend it!), lots of pop-up food vendors (crepes, churros, Sri Lankan, vegan, Mexican, Japanese, ice cream etc), and craft stalls โ€“ allย  located alongside the beautiful River Avon. Itโ€™s got a great vibe and is a good family-friendly place to relax, soak up the atmosphere, and enjoy a session and entertainment with children, family and friends.ย 

But with so much going on โ€“ you should see the bulging programme with its literally hundreds of events – we thought weโ€™d take the chance before all the fun starts to preview and pick out some of the best stuff, and to highlight some of our favourite picks. 

Overall, thereโ€™s a brilliant line up of music concerts featuring over 75 different acts, including: 

  • The East Pointers – hailing from Prince Edward Island in Canada. Their dancefloor-shaking, electro-trad glorious combination of folk/ pop sounds has already seen them acknowledged as musical trailblazers internationally. Their debut album Secret Victory won the 2017 JUNO Award for Traditional Roots Recording of the Year. Their 2023 EP House Of Dreams was nominated for a JUNO Award, and won Contemporary Roots Recording of the Year, Group Recording of the Year and Pop Recording of the Year at the 2023 East Coast Music Awards. Their headline show is on the Sunday night;ย 
  • Phil Beer & Paul Downes โ€“ two of the stalwarts of British folk music, and truly great musicians both.ย  Their shows are not only musically entertaining but always delivered with great bantering humour.ย  Their headlining set is on the Saturday night;ย 
  • Miranda Sykes โ€“ another of the folk worldโ€™s all-time great performers, Miranda has played bass with countless bands and line-ups, and has worked for over 20 years with folk royalty Show Of Hands. In 2024 she toured with Hannah Martin, paired a new Baring-Gould Centenary project with Jim Causley, and has toured a wide range of summer festivals. Catch her on the Monday night;ย 
  • Seth Lakeman โ€“ will be playing material from his new album The Granite Way.ย  Catapulted into the spotlight after his album Kitty Jay received a nomination for the Mercury Music Prize in 2005, since then heโ€™s produced multiple albums, toured worldwide and participated in several high-profile collaborations, most recently with Robert Plantโ€™s band The Sensational Shape-shifters.ย  His fiddle playing is simply stunning, and a joy to behold in live performance.ย  Heโ€™ll be doing his thing on the Monday afternoon.

And then thereโ€™s a nearly forty different bands, including a great calling team for the dances and ceilidhs, with bands including Banter with Fee Lock, Sawney White Bird, Doug Eunson & Sarah Matthews, Portmanteau, Hinny & Joe Wass with callers Andrew Swaine, Bernie Culkin, Geoff Cubitt, John Stewart, Susanna Diamon, and more to meet every style.  

Add to this nearly seventy different Morris sides from all over the UK, and over twenty-five childrenโ€™s entertainers (including the simply hilarious and highly-talented Keith Donnelly), featuring music, dance, puppets, dressing up, play, workshops, meet-the-entertainer sessions, and youโ€™ve got plenty to choose from, with different things for all members of the family. 

Apart from the main venues and stages, thereโ€™ll be stuff going on in just about every pub, in the main streets, and anywhere else the performers can find a space. Thereโ€™ll be some open mic sessions too. 

Having been to many Chippenham Folk Festivals over the years (and indeed performed at a few!), I can highly recommend a trip out to one of Wiltshireโ€™s best events โ€“ itโ€™s colourful, itโ€™s noisy, itโ€™s busy, but most of all, itโ€™s entertaining! 

Thereโ€™s still a limited number of day and event tickets, as well as full weekend season tickets (with or without camping) available. Or thereโ€™s also still time to volunteer to help with stewarding and venues (which qualifies you for a FREE ticket). All the information is on the festivalโ€™s website, together with ticketing information at www.chippfolk.co.uk/Tickets

Jake Martin: Heโ€™s a king, and it was in the Castle, with SOP Swindon

By Ben Niamor

Itโ€™s been way too long since I saw the irrepressible Jake Martin, and he did not disappoint, classic songs as ever, open, maybe even anarchic delivery.. he found himself in front of mostly familiar ears….

On tour with some friends on a multi head bill, having fun whilst often singing and talking of lifeโ€™s serious side, all of them; relationships, drinking games and mental health, all up for dissection and deliberation through song.ย 

Mexican Dave opened, a wisecracking confident man with a definite penchant for singing fast, and getting us to sing whilst other key figures in this scene, Gaz Brookfield and Ben B-Sydes become improvised captains for each side of the room in a chorus battle.. as you do! My friend and I sat either side of a table at the front wearing our respective captains tee shirts by coincidence amused us and Dave..!ย 

Blake Cateris, was the middle man in the line up, a little more settled and profound.. an Aussie in our midst. Perhaps more reflective, though, are some great songs, and having a look at his poetry book this morning, he is a great writer. About to set off for a 22 date tour in Germany before returning to Sydney, wish him well and hope to see him againโ€ฆย 

The headline, the main man, Jake Martin. Heโ€™s famously self deprecating and among the most appropriately described musicians in the folk punk remit. Your mother may not appreciate every turn of phrase, but his crowds always will!

I consider him an anthemic hero, all on the bill actively involving us, but none with such fervour, perhaps through widespread familiarity of his rousing songs. I am one to try for instance, of loving, failing and trying in equal measure.

Songs about relationships, poor decisions, mental health, and all with an openness that rarely is found in larger yet less enveloping venues and in many artists. Foot stomping common ground, for many present will have had these problems, for my part my antidote to the modern condition is music, so thatโ€™s how perhaps I should wrap up my ramblings, Jake and all the wonderful musicians that grace our venues are the antidote. All you need to do is go find some that work for you. 

I am pretty sure Ed (Dyer) will forgive me for likening last night as it nostalgically did for me, to the venue which opened this world for me, the fold in Devizes. It literally changed my life. Sadly gone yet seeing old friends and musicians alike roll eyes, and wax lyrical of shared nights such as this many years past, aware how important it is to seize the moment. 

There are great venues around and tirelessly passionate people, many among my friends, itโ€™s as simple as doing a little research, and getting out to support them.

Thankfully I wonโ€™t wait too long as aside from town gigs this weekend , I shall be back to Old Town for the incredible Wilswood Buoys at next week’s Thursday night club at the Castle.

You; Lucas Hardy Teams With Rosie Jay

One of Salisburyโ€™s most celebrated acoustic folk-rock singer-songwriters Lucas Hardy teams up with the Wiltshire cityโ€™s upcoming talent who’s name is on everyoneโ€™s lips, Rosie Jay, for a charming Sunday morning ballad called Youโ€ฆ..

Ah, newfound love, I remember it well! That ray of peerless positivity, like a sunbeam which cannot be clouded; nothing can spoil your mood now youโ€™ve found that certain someone. Many artists have tried to capture it, many overthink it, but You is simply saccharine, and captures the concept beautifully.

This is staring out of a window of a moving car on a sunny Sunday morning music, contemplating when your longing will be over and youโ€™ll be in the arms of your soulmate again. Thereโ€™s nothing negative here, no hidden concern like many such songs, itโ€™s blissful and an the ideal harmonious coupling weโ€™d love to hear from. Check it out!ย 

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

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Progress Made for the Wiltshire Music Awards

A week into the voting process for the Wiltshire Music Awards and things have been moving forward fast. Weโ€™ve had the best part of 500 voting forms already submitted and weโ€™re busy spreading the news about these new awardsโ€ฆ

The voting process for the Wiltshire Music Awards went live on the 1st May, and if it was overshadowed by some other voting thing going on that day too, this far more important election is gradually gathering pace. And unlike the other elections, no one is jumping on anyoneโ€™s back, making up stories to derail other candidates!

Cast Your Votes HERE

Eddie Prestidge of Wiltshire Music Events UK and I have been busy promoting the concept, and weโ€™re delighted and extremely grateful to everyone who has helped us with this. From visiting Castledown FM to meet Kev Lawrence and waffle on his drive-time show, and future such gigs like Peggy-Sueโ€™s Donโ€™t Stop the Music Show on Swindon 105.5, to features in Swindon Link and Salisbury Radioโ€™s blog, and everyone who has shared our news on social media, word is getting around thanks to you all. 

Of course individual musicians, bands and studios have taken to their social media platforms begging for their fans to vote for them, and, donโ€™t worry, this is encouraged! Itโ€™s also our most treasured venues such as The Wiltshire Music Centre in Bradford-on-Avon who are sharing our news. I believe this is all vital, to ensure weโ€™re making it comprehensive and spanning across the entire county. If you can help us with this, please do get in touch.

Nominations will close on 10th June 2025, so we need your picks by then! Itโ€™s not easy, I know; Eddie messaged me a few hours into the voting process to say he hadnโ€™t seen my submission yet, and I had to tell him I was still making my mind up!

Thereโ€™s so many talented musicians around here, it is difficult to decide whoโ€™s name to put in those boxes. But, in this I feel is a point worth making about the Wiltshire Music Awards; we are doing this to promote, encourage and celebrate everyone creating music locally, from DJ and cover band to original artists and sound engineers. This isnโ€™t intended to make our circuits competitive in any way, as we all enjoy the communal and friendly ethos of our local circuits, and vow to maintain this. The hard work they all do to entertain us is recognised and appreciated; while some of our many friends on the music scenes in Wiltshire might not pick up an award, it doesnโ€™t mean weโ€™ve forgotten them!

Eddie says, โ€œthese awards recognise the individuals and groups whose efforts make a real difference. If you know someone who deserves recognition, or want to showcase your group, now is your chance to give them the spotlight they deserve.โ€

Weโ€™ve just opened a Facebook group for the Awards you can join HERE. People have joined and are making connections there already, which is great and exactly what we want to achieve with this venture; itโ€™s not the Oscars!

Thereโ€™s loads of questions which have been fired at us over the week about how the awards work, despite many of them being answered on the FAQs page of the website! Some others have come up, and we thank you for raising some valid points. One good one I had by Rich of Minety Music Festival, who asked if we could have a category for festivals. We pondered how we could do this as the categories have already been set, thereโ€™s 17 of them already, and feeding it into the venues category might not be fair on the smaller grassroots venues. So, we decided to add festivals as a category for next year, and make a list of festivals in Wiltshire for the judgesโ€™ perusal. I mention this to say, hey, weโ€™re open to ideas and things we might have overlooked.

The most frequent question Iโ€™ve been asked is โ€œcan I vote for myself?!โ€ To which the simple answer is a big fat YES! Why not? Show off your ego, youโ€™ve earned it, go for it! The less frequent but similar question Iโ€™ve had is, surprisingly, โ€œcan I vote for you?!โ€ The answer is, yeah (blush,) if you must!

Weโ€™ve been browsing trophies and medals from a catalogue by Avon Trophies like weโ€™re kids drooling over the lingerie section! And over the next couple of weeks we will be sending invites for people to be judges. Choosing experienced people with dedication to promoting music in the county and trying to set one in each area, we have a list of possibles, but if youโ€™re interested in this let me know this coming week. It is also vital that this event receives sponsorship in order for it to work as well as whatโ€™s in our minds. Please contact us if you would like to sponsor an individual award or the whole shebang!

The award ceremony will take place in Devizes at the Corn Exchange, on Saturday 25th October 2025, tickets are here. We hope it will continue annually, this all depends upon your input and support, which has so far been so encouraging I might even be moved wear a dickie-bow at the event, and that’s worth the ticket price alone! Please vote and share our news, thank you!

Bands At The Bridge

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

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

From the moment of entering, you could feel a strong sense of excitement, and although the crowd wasnโ€™t big, they definitely had the enthusiasm side nailed as each of the performers was met with cheers and dancing.  

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

Although all songs they played โ€“ other than one โ€“ were originals, they played them which such skill that without knowing their setlist beforehand you wouldnโ€™t have known that they werenโ€™t just covers of songs that you just didnโ€™t know, which can take a lot of skill to do right. All their songs were great, but Iโ€™d like to give a mention specifically to Scapegoat and Werewolf, which were my two favourites of the evening. It was clear their focus was on well played and polished originals, which they were fantastic at and which the audience clearly appreciated. 

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

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

By far the most appreciated band of the evening were The 789s, a Bristol based events band. Itโ€™s fair to say they were some of the most skilled players of the evening, with their four-person line up seeing drums, bass, guitar and vocals. Once again, their setlist focused on well-known and easily danceable songs, seeing performances of Come On Eileen, Donโ€™t Look Back In Anger and many more that had everyone excited.

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

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

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

He had a longer set than others, and being an Elton John tribute act ran through all the favourite songs of Mr John โ€“ even bringing some random audience members on stage to โ€˜helpโ€™ with the vocals on Donโ€™t Go Breaking My Heart. It was a good way to round off an event like this, everyone knew the songs, everyone sang along and everyone danced. 

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

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

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

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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 album called Playing Solitaireโ€ฆ..

Released yesterday (2nd May) Playing Solitaire is Philโ€™s first solo album in five years. The last being These Revelation Games in 2020, which was a varied bunch where Phil experimented extensively. Perhaps lockdown inspired artists to scrutinise and pilot new ideas, though through his part in the Americana harmony trio The Lost Trades, fronting the harder rocking The Slight Band, and BCC project, where Phil dives into synth-pop, heโ€™s never been one to shy away from testing new waters. But the principle beauty of Philโ€™s work lies in the simplicity of his idiosyncratic and solitary acoustic outpourings, a clear and clean line of self-reflection, drenched in honesty and poignancy, and thatโ€™s precisely what youโ€™re getting with Playing Solitaire.

Apologise for the delay in announcing this; I had to take one more listen this morning, before deciding if I should call this his best work to date, as heโ€™s a prolific artist with an outstanding discography already. But I think I can safely say, because of the wonderful way this flows, coalescing in mood and style, I think I can safely suggest that it is.

If an all-out anarchistic thrash of rock n roll is what you require, this isnโ€™t for you. For everyone else Playing Solitaire is beautifully crafted and passive, gorgeously taut and accomplished. Thereโ€™s no whimsical introduction. โ€œLook out world, Iโ€™m here to stay,โ€ Phil confidently announces without warning; good! Because Phil knows precisely how to construct a song, and itโ€™s this dedication to composition where he shines best. The opening song, Still Holding My Breath is quintessential Phil Cooper. Itโ€™s the acme of his observational writing, a homage to the notion hard work pays off, a characteristic we know Phil well for.

Moving to the next tune, romantic dejection is his soft play centre topic, and oh, how you wrote that note, disregarding how it might be interpreted by the receiver; perhaps weโ€™ve all been there. If itโ€™s a personal reflection, you identify, and the magic lies at the feet of this contemplation, the very magic of Philโ€™s words, song and ability to combine them, hard at work. And this is an observation we could make to summarise the whole album.

That Easy Road, is remarkable heart on a sleeve content again, it drifts with a stormy sea metaphor to convince himself heโ€™s loved. Another peace of mind ballad follows, then Bijou comments on struggling grassroots music venues, and even if Iโ€™m not a musician, itโ€™s exceptionally touching and poignant. The passion Phil delivers this with and the construction of the riff, itโ€™s my personal favourite on the album, maybe replacing Road Songs, my past fav Phil Cooper tune. 

Halfway mark of this ten strong album, and weโ€™re in another foreboding place with Beauty in the Cracks, a frustration at progression, perhaps. Uptempo, and weโ€™re on a lighter note next, followed by a live favourite, They Will Call Us Angels. Eric Bogle fashioned or Guthrie, even, if we suggest an Americana route, but weโ€™ve definitely arrived folk inspired by his work with The Lost Trades. Phil glows through a moving account of a frontline medic, and itโ€™s something kinda wonderful.

Maybe Phil lessened on the deeper narrative in the middle of this album and left three moreish golden nuggets to finish on. Directionless is as it says on the tin, it drifts, and rises halfway through. And we finalise akin to where we began, a little self-help guide type lyrics, but hey, Phil is always on-point. It is an almost one-man choral twinkle, defining Phil as a perfectionist.  

If you worked with Phil in an office, he might be the friendly confidant you relay youโ€™ve prepped nothing for this meeting, and heโ€™ll assure you heโ€™s done equally poorly, and then, at the meeting heโ€™d turn up with a full presentation! Not a show-off by any means, just a dedicated precisian, motivated to the hilt, but seemingly oblivious of the haphazardness of the more spontaneous type, and thatโ€™s a rare trait in a musician, making for something individual, solitary, like the one who plays solitaire when they could engage in a two-player game, usually with our Jamie!

Image:ย Andrew Bert Greaves Photography

This album gets top marks as it reflects his personality sublimely, even by title, and you take a little bit of Phil Cooper away with you. In other news, The Lost Trades are back in the picture since the departure of Tamsin Quin. Jess Vincent takes her place as the third Lost Trader, their touring dates are announced, and we look forward to seeing them with the new addition. For now, Playing Solitaire is out, and you can find it HERE.

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No Alarms No Devizes, Aptly in Devizes!

If I’ve been galavanting recently, gorging on other local townโ€™s live music scenes, what better way to return to Devizes than a visit to the liveliest watering hole, The Three Crowns, to see a band with our town’s name all over it, No Alarms And No Devizes? How apt!

Iโ€™ll confess, while I know most of the members of this five-piece as individual musicians in their own rights or as members of various other groups, I was yet to see them in this setup, despite them forming the best part of a year ago. Naughty of me, I accept, but Iโ€™m overly glad to finally tick them off my must-see list, and on the strength of last nightโ€™s performance, it wonโ€™t be the last.

Aware of their talents as individuals my only pre-gig apprehension being it can sometimes be a case whereby groups formed of members whoโ€™ve met at open mics sadly donโ€™t equate to the sum of their counterparts. This minor angst I quashed before arriving; I could hear them from the carpark as they rang out Steve Harley & the Cockney Rebelโ€™s Make Me Smile with gusto. โ€œCome up and see me,โ€ the song suggests, yeah, Iโ€™m nearly there, and already glad I did. Again, how apt!

But itโ€™s not just in the word-playing a Radiohead songโ€™s band name to give it a local spin, nor the coincidental meaning of the song they were covering when I arrived which makes me happy to report that they know exactly what buttons to press, rather on the tightness of the band and their comradeship too. Frontman Tom Harris, known for also fronting extreme-metal band Kinasis and a stalwart locally as a blues solo artist, is a force to be reckoned with. His lively vocal range knows no bounds, and thereโ€™s joyful connotations within his energy and often amusing facial expressions which rub off on the audience.     

If, as it suggests, โ€˜extreme-metalโ€™ is too extreme for me, itโ€™s in his lighter fashions which makes me smile, and during lockdown the few funky tunes he created really brought Tomโ€™s natural talent to entertain to my attention. With No Alarms No Devizesโ€™ varied range of cover choices in their arsenal, Tom is free to explore his funky side or whatever fancies his tickle, and I loved this about the No Alarms And No Devizes show the most.

Tom is backed by proficient guitarist Pat Ward, once modest about his abilities, today moving through the audience whilst strumming, like a pro! Bassist Jonny Jam, whoโ€™ll you see blessing his skills in many local bands. A new drummer, Nick Wood, who sure found his feet and sticks last night. And with the additional Matt Pryor on keys, the lineup gives them the scope to nail a vast range of pop songs into their repertoire, and they do them all with impressive confidence and showmanship.

Keyed in to precisely what the varied crowd at the Three Crowns want, they ventured through anything and everything from Nina Simone and the Beatles to the obligatory Radiohead, the Proclaimersโ€™ crowd-pleaser, and eighties pop such as my personally most welcomed Men at Workโ€™s Down Under, with a gradual fade from melodic to a frenzy. They slipped in a few great originals too, but whatever direction they took themselves into they did so with flow, precision and enthusiasm, making for a universally highly entertaining night I cannot fault. Even their break was no longer than a wee-stop!

I do ponder if the bandโ€™s name implies itโ€™s just a bunch of guys from Devizes when they arrive at other townโ€™s venues. They played Swindonโ€™s Rolleston recently, they played HoneyFest at the Barge and Salisburyโ€™s Coach & Horses, among others, but Matt assured me theyโ€™re welcomed wherever they play, leaving me only to assure venues outside Devizes, they may be announcing theyโ€™re guys from Devizes within their very name, and banter between towns might be a thing, but once No Alarms And No Devizes are in full swing, youโ€™d be glad you booked them!

Another wonderful night at the Three Crowns, then. It never fails to please. With the Brewery Shop opening next door, seeing visitors stopping into the pub, the live music and gourmet burgers, The Three Crowns is surely a testament to what a pub can achieve if they put their heads into what punters want, particularly in these uncertain times. It was as busy as ever in there, hospitable and lively, with a varied age demographic out to party and nothing baleful.

We clashed events with the wonderful Facebook page dedicated to promoting local live music, Bird is the Word, which had to happen at some point! Go give them a like if you do Facebook, theyโ€™re doing good things over there, with higher quality photos and video streams than my tiddly tries of getting into focus while dancing and balancing a cider!

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You; Lucas Hardy Teams With Rosie Jay

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

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Bands At The Bridge

Organised by Kingston Media – to raise money for Dorothy House and Wiltshire Air Ambulance – the 3rd of May saw Bands At The Bridgeโ€ฆ

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Bits of Elation; Chatting with The Belladonna Treatment

One of Swindon’s premier grunge pop-punkers, The Belladonna Treatment released their debut single, Bits of Elation, with London-based SODEH Records earlier this month. I spoke about the single, the band and local circuits with the bassist in the band, Ian James, as he was the most punctual at a recent gig at the Vic!

Bits of Elation is fifteen seconds under a three-minute-hero which doesnโ€™t come up for air, compensates for those missing seconds with a dynamic and retrospective Ramones-fashioned riff and the feelgood vibe of pop-punk this side of the millennium.

It is far from the Belladonna Treatmentโ€™s first outing to a recording studio, there was a single last year The Torture Garden, and a three-track EP called Pleasure from 2023, which cherry-picks the best elements of many punk subgenres and moulds them into an imitable and infectious house style. Though Ian expressed working with SODEH has opened doors for the band popular in Swindon, evidently blossoming elsewhere. โ€œItโ€™s being played on radio stations in Belgium, Brazil, USA and Canada,โ€ he told me with delight.

The Belladonna Treatment I witnessed live once, in awe at how they rammed the Castle with adoring fans at Swindon Shuffle. Tonight they play a double-header with I See Orange, who alongside Liddington Hill and a number of others usually on this burgeoning Swindon grunge scene, have turned my head toward the subgenre which passed me by at its inception, save Smells Like Teen Spirit. The Belladonna Treatment are ahead of this game, their appeal is universal and seemingly not confined to aficionados of the grunge subgenre. That was clearly evident at the Castle gig, but other than playing Minety last year, I rarely see their name pop up on local circuits other than Old Townโ€™s lively route of The Vic, Castle and Beehive.

Understanding thereโ€™s a number of local grassroots venues where The Belladonna Treatment would fit like a glove, I was surprised to note they hadnโ€™t yet ventured to Trowbridgeโ€™s Pump, Bradford-on-Avonโ€™s Three Horseshoes or even Chippenhamโ€™s Old Road Tavern. I pondered on bands which seem to get stuck in certain fanbase circuits, despite being fully deserved to be showcased across the county and beyond. โ€œIt all depends on what everyone wants to do,โ€ Ian began, โ€œthings like this pop up and itโ€™s nice to do them, but we do want to expand and do other gigs.โ€

โ€œIt is very easy to get stuck into that circuit, of doing the Castle, and those,โ€ he expanded, โ€œbut itโ€™s nice to get out too. I mean, we played a gig in London at the end of January; a cracking venue, which James put together. There were other bands there, all different, but it was a brilliant show, packed out. We were two or three under the bill, so there were loads of other bandโ€™s fans watching us and we can get more followers this way.โ€

Guitarist James has recently moved to London, hence the opportunities for gigs there, but originally the band were all from Stratton, and knew of each other prior to forming The Belladonna Treatment just over two years ago. โ€œLee and James accidentally got together about five years ago, wrote some songs and went around as an acoustic duo, but weโ€™ve all known each other our whole lives. Then they decided they wanted to get a band together. I hadnโ€™t seen either of them for about twenty years, but I was getting back into playing. Stu, our drummer has been around in lots of other bands, played Glastonbury and stuff like that, and again, weโ€™ve known him, and for the last two and a half years we’ve been playing as a full band.โ€

The Belladonna Treatment have been honing their sound since, and Ian felt Bits of Elation is a milestone. Pigeonholing their style he cited Nirvana and The Manic Street Preachers as influences they grew up on, and also mentioned Bowie, โ€œbut if you listen to the songs theyโ€™re melodic, itโ€™s not just head down thrash punk, itโ€™s more melody-orientated, grunge too. That’s why we like playing with I See Orange, thereโ€™s a whole nineties feel about us, similar to them.โ€

We rapped over the idea of levelling off the thrashed out element for a more melodic preference might once have been considered as โ€œselling out,โ€ in punkโ€™s heyday, rather now itโ€™s more of a natural progression and causing the sound to become viable to a wider audience. โ€œIt can do,โ€ Ian agreed, โ€œitโ€™s also a case of, you want to sell more records and if you want to be popular, you have to do this.โ€ Such progression is kingpin to crowds turning up at the Vic tonight and ramming the Castle at The Shuffle, knowing thereโ€™s a motivated band which rocks!

So I threw in the labour of love concept, and we talked cheerfully about while theyโ€™re sharpening their style to suit wider appeal, theyโ€™re also determined to strive for individuality, create their own methodology and not clone existing successful bands. Ian spoke of three new songs ready for release, the snowballing of radio plays and their determination to accomplish wider appeal, โ€œthatโ€™s what weโ€™re going for.โ€ 

It was great to meet Ian, and the rest of the band briefly, when they turned up! Dadโ€™s taxi was on duty and I could only remain until the end of the Wildcats game, unfortunately missing the gig. A valid reason for highlighting bands seemingly confined locally to our larger towns and encouraging venues to book them around here, because you only need to stream some of their infectious tunes to see what I mean, and why The Belladonna Treatment should be popping up at grassroots venues across the UK, at the very least; fingers and toes crossed.  

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No Alarms No Devizes, Aptly in Devizes!

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

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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, are taking the highway to hell, via Devizes Corn Exchange?! But they are! Better to be thunderstruck than burst a tyreโ€ฆ..

Hells Bells are Europe’s longest established AC/DC Tribute Band who have performed all over the UK as well as Portugal, Austria, Russia, Belgium, Czech Republic and the Middle East since 1996.

And theyโ€™re bringing Dead Zebras, who claim not to be your typical rock revivalists. They’ve mastered the art of blending eighties nostalgia with a fresh, modern sound, and creating a cocktail that sounds like a wild ride in a DeLorean with a Van Halen soundtrack, apparently!

Tickets are a snip at ยฃ15, which you can grab online here, and Let There Be Rock!!

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 might be some scientific theory for this, equally there may not. What is more probable is that it is an occupational hazard for members to get as lost in space as Dr. Zachary Smith. Cracked Machine, here tonight to provide the entertainment at the Devizesโ€™ Southgate, are also prone to getting through some keyboardists and drummers, though if the lead guitarist-frontman and bassist remain steadfast, this propensity is not the only element to them comparable with Hawkwind, and thatโ€™s a good thing in my opinionโ€ฆ..

If youโ€™ve any hazy recollection of a maintaining a horizontal posture in a bedroom for the duration of a scratched long player with a gatefold sleeve, staring at patterns either in the mould on the wall or blu-tacked Mandelbrot set posters covering them up, in a smoky haze proportionate to your memories and stenching of wood burner and red Leb, whether only with a bong for a friend or a few stragglers with no more conversation than the bong, save a few comments like โ€œoh wow, man, can you see it?!โ€ then Cracked Machine is the band to seek such fond memories, and bring them to the forefront of your fragile cerebral cortex, through a preponderance of sublime bassy rock bliss.

For if space-rock is a natural progression from Led Zeppelin, Flyod or Hendrixโ€™s overextended bridges of swirling sonic electric guitar skullduggery and wobbly sound effects, Cracked Machine nailed it some years ago and show no sign of altering their methodology. In fact, the tendency is to get harder. Though Hawkwind allowed vocals, Fromeโ€™s Ozric Tentacles may be a better comparison for space-rock aficionados.

In this, itโ€™s been some years since Iโ€™ve caught up with them live, despite reviewing albums one, two and three. It was left up to Ben Niamor and Andy Fawthrop to review their last two appearances at the Southgate, respectively in November 2022, and October 2018. For me, I will always have the 2019 Devizes Street Festival, when Pete of Vinyl Realm paid and hosted our local stage idea on the corner of St Johnโ€™s and townsfolk slow-roasted on deckchairs while Cracked Machineโ€™s definitive sound caressed their very souls. But while Cracked Machineโ€™s lineup has changed since then, their devotion to the sound and ability to knock it out to the shimmering rafters, isnโ€™t. 

In that, I knew what I was letting myself in for. It was another one of those birthday things for me, which always seems to charge me with ever-increasing speed. There wasnโ€™t actually much else happening in town Saturday night, much I wouldโ€™ve missed this for a wanton jig to Motown or some-other such-like, elsewhere. Suppose I had the option to go down the Bin afterwards, but as it was advised by Vince Bell who I met on the bus, such a recommendation had to be taken with a pinch of salt, and was best at 52 to get a taxi direct to my duvet! For a while there though, it was a party, as it is in The Southgate, with itโ€™s no frills hospitable atmosphere, affordable range of drinks, and general โ€œproper pubโ€ tenet. The affectionately dubbed โ€œGateโ€ doesnโ€™t change like band members of a space-rock band, and itโ€™s a cracking party there more often than not.

Tom Harris kicked off the proceedings with his guitar, belting vocals and the expressions of a hyperalgesic at the dentist. Impossible to fault, Tom delivers the banter as well as his songs, divides covers equally from originals, so if heโ€™s not charming an emotive blues ballad of his own pen, itโ€™s perhaps a scatological one or heโ€™s made amusing entertainment from a slyly chosen cover. Rob Thomasโ€™ Santana summer smoothie reflects the unusually clement climate for March, and Tenacious Dโ€™s hilarious Tribute was surely perfect for Tom, and he handled them with might, until drummer Gary Martin arrived from a support slot at the Pump with Clock Radio, and the main act was completed and ready to rock.

They didnโ€™t come up for air throughout these lengthy compositions of prog rock formulated instrumentals, and as a result of not taking advantage of the customary break, their set ran off too early. Landlord Dave encouraged them to pull something else out of the bag, saving the necessity of the crowdโ€™s cliche call for an encore, which you know wouldโ€™ve happened anyway. To which they considered how to continue, yet what elapsed was another drifting spacey masterpiece of fifteen minutes or more. We loved it.

If the template of Cracked Machineโ€™s sound is arguably narrow, and narrative is vague due to only being expressions of instruments, their nature is stylised, and works wonders, creating a spellbinding ambience. Cracked Machine are always welcomed by the Southgate regulars, for even if the pub strives to diversify, itโ€™s electric blues and prog rock which they favour, and this, with those wobbly keyboard noises and subtly placed samples, is simply a psychedelic progression from it which is decades old, yet Cracked Machine proves itโ€™s worth in the modern world.

Space rock, or acid rock, a direct descendant of Pink Floyd and Zepโ€™s tolkienesque The Battle of Evermore, also acts as the bridge from rock to electronica and ambient house, a bridge the guarding troll usually confounds most rock subgenres with a riddle and renders them unable to cross, thatโ€™s why I love it, and thatโ€™s while I will only have good things to say about Cracked Machine.

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Isnโ€™t She Lonely, New George Wilding Single

The second single from Georgeโ€™s sessions with Jolyon Dixon is out today, Isnโ€™t She Lonely. With the vaudeville ambience of Queenโ€™s later material and sprinkles of doo-wop at the intro, this whisps around crooners with subtler psychedelic undertones than usual. One could ask if this is tongue-in-cheek or a mature direction for George, to delve into post rock n roll influences, yet, of course, it retains, through its incredibly inventive uniqueness, the definitive George Wildingโ€ฆ..

For his fans itโ€™ll remind them somewhat of Terrible Little Secret from his decade past Being Ragdollian EP; how George is skillfully capable of frolicing vocally with the schlager of artists like Tony Christie, and remain cool throughout by splicing this music hall vibe ironically with a degree of melancholy in the narrative. It is, in short, impressive.

โ€œThe lyrics were born out of the idea of changing one letter of โ€˜Isnโ€™t She Lovelyโ€™ so it takes on this whole desperate air,โ€ George explained. โ€œIt goes from so celebratory to a real longing when you change it to โ€˜Lonely;โ€™ the instant flip side of love. When I wrote it I had it as a 60โ€™s thing in my head; think Bobby Veeโ€™s โ€˜Take Good Care of My Baby.โ€™โ€

George Wilding

My immediate reaction was Stevie Wonder was referring to his newborn daughter in the title, rather a romantic interlude, but this take only bears resemblance to it by title, and just like how George can make a cover his own, Isnโ€™t She Lonely is not in any way a parody of Wonderโ€™s 1978 hit. Though the commercially viable element rings home, and sticks. 

Just as Madonna did with True Blue, yesteryear pop hooks will be recalled and reused so not to be archived in an impenetrable chest, and in that they become timeless, precisely summing up this song. If the last single back in October, Signs of Life, bore elements of gothic and most definitely indie, this is George being more playful, different, yet still being George!

Isn’t She Lonely is across streaming platforms today….

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Ruby, Sunday at the Gate

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

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Between the Lines; Melkshamโ€™s Upcoming Teen Band

We remain in awe of the deserved success of indie-pop band The Sunnies, which has continued to flourish since winning Take the Stage at the Neeld two years ago. But is their hometown ready for the next big teen sensation? If so, Iโ€™m predicting it will be Between the Lines, because it should be Between the Linesโ€ฆ..

Last weekend The Sunnies headlined a town councilโ€™s 4Youth โ€œNext Gen Gigโ€ at The Melksham Assembly Hall. Being just a smidgen over the age limit I missed this, but a video of the support act, Between The Lines, shared on social media caught my eye, or at least, my ear!

Formed five months after The Sunnies took the Neeldโ€™s stage, in October 2023, Between The Lines are smooth indie-rock female-fronted four-piece, consisting of bassist Belle upfront, lead guitarist George, and Ethan and Louis, who both switch between drums and guitars, the latter being the rhythm guitarist.

They put out a demo single, Fading Time earlier this year, with an irresistible classic rock riff, some nonchalant and confident vocals, and an enchanting hook. Itโ€™s raw, for sure, but a grower. Its ingredients blend wonderfully, painting a melancholic picture of adolescent romance; the tune is moreish, and blossoming to bursting point with potential.

โ€œFading Time was the only song we recorded in that session,โ€ George explained, as I thought I should catch up with them, sooner rather than later, โ€œbut there are exciting new ones due to be released very soon.โ€ I look forward to hearing them; progression feels imminent with this promising new band; you should keep an eye out for them.

With the band members currently studying music courses at either college or sixth form, I always like asking teenage groups what their music teachers thought of their band, poorly assuming it’ll break the ice! Even if referencing their education is highly unlikely to do that, I tend to stereotype teachers in retrospection of my own, wondering if they retain the doddery notion rock music is the โ€œwork of the devil,โ€ and attempt to throw classical violin at them, or theyโ€™ve modernised, least enough to be hip to be square on a Huey Lewis level!

Louis answered this one, elucidating Georgeโ€™s and his music teacher had, โ€œsupported our band on multiple occasions, with gig opportunities and equipment in the past, and has always been enthusiastic about it. Fortunately, no classical violins!โ€ Ah, got you. Our music teachers used to be funky too, though only in the archaic definition of being unpleasantly smelly!

Ethan expanded on this, and moved onto their first few gigs. โ€œMy drum teacher was always telling me to form a band and after talking with Isobel,โ€ He said, โ€œshe was adamant to get something going. Through music GCSE, we started Between The Lines, playing songs with each other for assignments and eventually starting regular rehearsals. Weโ€™re still new to the gigging scene, and have performed at the Kings Arms in Melksham and The Queenโ€™s Head in Box.โ€ The latter being a fortunate venue to play so early, Ethan also went on to reveal theyโ€™re on the bills for Box Revels in May and CorFest at Corshamโ€™s rugby club on June 21st.

George explained how theyโ€™d heard of The Sunnies before they had formed, upon me cheekily asking them if they thought they were the next big thing to come out of Melksham; youโ€™ve got to big yourself up in the Sham, theyโ€™ve got a golden arches, and Henry Moule inventor of the dry earth toilet, as claims to fame!

โ€œWell, hopefully!โ€ he laughed, but remained modest. โ€œIt really was great to play with people that youโ€™ve looked up to, in a way, and of course they bring such an energetic and fun performance which is something to be fond of. As for us, it’s exciting to see lots of new people enjoy what we do and it brings a lot of motivation for us to keep moving forward and expand as much as we can, it’s only up from here.โ€

Based solely on this single, I strongly hope and suspect it will be, so we moved on to the demo, Fading Time. I suggested the opening riff reminded me of the intro to Sweet Home Alabama combined with a dollop of Natalie Imbruglia’s Torn, even if itโ€™s showing my age, itโ€™s an accolade. I wondered if this smooth feel-good indie-pop rock was the kind of quality they were going for.

โ€œThe song itself came from a simple melody idea that I had for ages never necessarily taking any inspiration from others,โ€ George expressed, โ€œand we bounced back and forth from each otherโ€™s ideas until we recorded it in the short space of time we had.โ€

Ethan expanded on the backstory of Fading Time, in answering that cliche question I fired at them about their working process. โ€œSo far,โ€ he clarified, โ€œour originals have stemmed from one idea. For example, โ€˜Fading Timeโ€™ came from a melody idea from George and our unreleased single developed from a project I created for a college assignment. We then developed the song together to add a little bit of each otherโ€™s personality in our parts. We are fairly new to songwriting as weโ€™re mainly a cover band but we all develop our own little ideas and send them to each other!โ€

Their current repertoire includes covers of The Foo Fighters, Radiohead, and Chris Isaak, among others. โ€œWe try to choose covers that are both crowd-pleasers and that reflect the same vibes as our originals,โ€ Belle expressed.

Between The Linesโ€™ website cites Radiohead and Matt Maltese as influences, Belle expanded on this, โ€œas the main lyricist of the band,โ€ she suggested she took inspiration from โ€œvery poetic artists, like Boygenius, Fiona Apple and Bon Iver. Ethan focuses on instrumentation, inspired by Big Thief and Better Oblivion Community Centre. George is all about the hooks and guitar riffs, heโ€™s influenced by Wallows. Louis works on a strong rhythm, taking from Foo Fighters and Seal.โ€ 

Phew, at least the last two my dilapidating database has heard of! Youโ€™ve got to love Seal, I saw him live once, but he didnโ€™t do Kiss From a Rose nor Crazy, just balanced a beach ball on his nose and clapped his flippers. That was the last time I went to a gig at the Sea Life Centre.

As a finale, I pondered whatโ€™s in the band name, perhaps they met in a history class about WWII, you know, between enemy lines … .perhaps, ah, forget it, Iโ€™ll get my coat! When actually, Belle revealed rather than history, they did meet in GCSE music, โ€œdoing a project for the Christmas concert!โ€ Not too far off the mark then, just the wrong lesson, which goes in line with my own schooling. I was often found in the wrong lesson, and if I was in the right one, I tended to be somewhere else mentally; kind of explains a lot.

โ€œChoosing a name for the band was quite difficult,โ€ Belle said, signalling her vast music knowledge supersedes her age, โ€œeveryone suggested different names every day. Ethan suggested the name In Between The Spaces, which reminded me of two things – Between The Bars by Elliot Smith and especially the album Between The Lines by Janis Ian. After numerous ideas for names we decided on Between the Lines!โ€

Deliberating on a band name is important, it might fatefully fade into obscurity as the competition of a tough market to break takes its toll, or it could be that name in lights for decades to come. I wish Between The Lines all the very best with their ambitious beginnings, and very much hope the result is the latter.

I advise you to support new local talent and follow their socials, TikTok, and website here, as while Iโ€™m no clairvoyant, I know what I like, and predict we will be hearing a lot more good stuff from Between The Lines in the near futureโ€ฆ..

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

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

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

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

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 Market Place. One cries out her desperation for the loo, but there’s no detours to another bar en-route for relief, they’re steadfast to their destination, The Three Crowns; a wise choiceโ€ฆ.

I’m heading that way too, trying to pick up pace and overtake them, so as not to convey I’m some creepy codger following them from the bus! Some lads intervened with a wolf-whistle down the Brittox, I gathered at them and not me. I’ll quip with them to break the ice, in hope they see it’s coincidental that our destinations are the same. It worked, they seemed unconcerned, and giggly.

With a fresh lick of paint it really didn’t need in comparison with others, and a scrumptious selection of designer burgers, The Three Crowns is the go-to pub for gen z coming of age, millennials, and a number of elder diehard party heads who still think they’ve โ€œgot it,โ€ because they have, bless โ€˜em!

But the greatest thing about these cross-generational gatherings at The Three Crowns is the carefree atmosphere without division. Everybody is here to enjoy themselves. They crave a live band to throw high-energy covers at them, era-spanning songs they know, love and can sing along with, and they’ll party trouble-free together. Younger attendees will high five the elders, and dad dancers mingle without mockery, I hoped!!

I’m at the back gate chatting to landlord Simon while tonight’s band is sound checking. It’s this Marlborough-Swindon based band’s debut at The Three Crowns, but I assure him what I suspected, that Static Moves will fit like a glove. Not wanting to blow my own trumpet, but I was bloody right anโ€™ all!

Static Moves are a side-burns, flat caps and pork pie wearing, two-Clives five-piece covers band with keyboards, in self-promoting black t-shirts. Even if these other elements don’t convey Static Moves are bringing a touch of new wave eighties mod retrospection to the table, any band boasting two Clives is a win-win!

Being honest, there have been occasions when I’ve dropped into the Crowns to see a great cover band, yet my desire for originals redirects my zimmer frame over to the trusty Gate, and I’m faced with two half-reviews; not this time. Static Moves are irresistible, and enthral any audience.

The systematics of Static Movesโ€™ repertoire appears to be anything which can be delivered loud and proud like it’s Coventry in 1980 or Madchester in 1990. If a particular song choice isn’t, they make it so it is. Taking no prisoners they were greyhounds out of the starting traps, rarely coming up for air, save a short break.

The frontman isn’t Luciano Pavarotti, needs not to be, but is commandeering, can hold a note, and a dynamic showman, with a habit of launching his tambourine either airborne or into the crowd.

The band compliment the lively mannerisms, though fairly recently formed, all members hold a wealth of experience, which shows. It looks like a tight ship, a new drummer slipping into the kind of camaraderie which reflects onto the audience; they’re having fun, you will too.

Static Moves compact a party into their pocket, and, for want of a less Potterhead analogy, like a Choranaptyxis it expands to fit the available space when they catapult it out upon an anticipated crowd. They told me they were working on some originals, we’ll hold the front page.

There were components to their set, it kicked off seventies, absolutely scorched Primal Scream’s Rocks, then launched tongue-in-cheek into early eighties pop hits like Nena’s 99 Red Balloons, Kim Wilde’s Kids in America and even found time to make one-hit-wonder Tiffany’s smash their own! As you might imagine, this was my personal summit, โ€˜cos I bought those singles, but I also observed all generations present acknowledging and lapping up those bubblegum classics.

It moved as swiftly as their tempo onto tracks I’d consider were their own favourites, the more less commercial punk anthems like The Buzzcocks, by which time they had the audience eating out of their hands and could’ve pulled any cheesy bygone slush puppy out of their bag and still rinsed it! As it was they took to The Beastie Boysโ€™ Fight for your Right, which was only amusing until they followed it with a grand attempt at Smells Like Teen Spirit.

Despite the diversity, the template of loud and proud prevented pigeonholing, a party band with a big sack of crowd-pleasers and an unrivalled enthusiasm to deliver them. The finale alongside Billy Idol, were millennial showboats, Britpop anthems, you know the one from The Killers, and yeah, they did Wonderwall, but while I deem that clichรฉ, they did it well, and it always gives the youngsters an opportunity to show everyone they have torches on their phones!

Ahem, that’s irrelevant against the positivity of a diverse crowd throwing away their cares for a moment and enjoying themselves. That’s what’s infectious; you’re duty bound to follow suit with a band like Static Moves. I couldnโ€™t physically leave until the deal was fully sealed.

The Three Crowns revel in this infection, and is the reason it bucks the trend of a decline in pub culture. Here is a Devizes lesson in how to do it, they deserve the praise but don’t really need it. Stalwart for a number of years now, most know the Three Crowns is a testament to a memorable night, including, it seems, girls bussing in from Bath. 

What else is happening?

Results of Salisbury Music Awards

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

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Bouffon! JP Oldfieldโ€™s Debut EP in Review

Once the demonic entity Spring-Heeled Jack entered folklore it became subject to many books and plays, diluting the once real threat of this Victorian bogeyman into a mockery of mass hysteria and hoaxes. If our local upcoming blues soloist JP Oldfield is resurrecting the legend as an opening to his forthcoming debut EP, Bouffon, the trackโ€™s haunting ambience is broken by the usage of his kazoo, implementing the very vaudeville element of satire the albumโ€™s title reflectsโ€ฆ.

Bouffon, being a French theatrical term for a performance of mockery, much like a jester becomes subtly apt once youโ€™ve listened, but thereโ€™s deeper prose at work. โ€œI threw a lot of names around in my head for this project but nothing seemed to fit,โ€ Josh told me, โ€œI wanted a name that summed up everything that these songs, my style, stood for. As such Bouffon, I think, is an unexpected title for my debut EP but I’ve never really seemed toย  like following the mould with any of this musical stuff and despite at first I rejected the idea, it sat in the back of my mind and wouldn’t go away.โ€

In a town where blues is taken extremely seriously my initial reaction to this EP was โ€œthere he goes again, blowing that kazoo when traditionally there should be a harmonica!โ€ But it soon dawned on me, this, and his beaten up suitcase pedal-drum looking like a juke joint throwout, is all part of the unique and idiosyncratic approach JP Oldfield has forged, and its originality works wonders.ย ย 

If thereโ€™s one notable eccentric kazoo-blowing duo on the local circuit itโ€™s Devilโ€™s Doorbell, who Josh supported at Chippenhamโ€™s Old Road Tavern. But whereas those crazy boaters with ukulele and washtub bass rely solely on the jaunty and jocular, thereโ€™s a much deeper tenet to JP Oldfield, richly layered, psychologically.

โ€œTo me a Bouffon clown holds a mirror up to the audience,โ€ Josh explained, โ€œat times it can be hard to look at, deeply sad, and presents you with things you’d rather not face, but in the end it doesn’t pull its punches, and allows for anything to be possible, a blank space where youโ€™re truly free to explore. I really resonate with the idea of this. I’ve always enjoyed the strange, quirky and unlovable. Elements of this have bled far enough into my music to feel a need to name my debut after it.โ€

The second tune asks this directly, if the singer has the blues, as if the melancholic disposition of blues is an affliction the doctor can diagnose. But three tunes in and weโ€™re blessed with such melancholy, Last Orders is a gorgeous ballad to vainly justifying alcoholism. Magpie which follows delves much deeper in its narrative.

โ€œA lot of people associate me with lively suitcase drum playing, jazz chord kazoo mania,โ€ Josh expressed, โ€œand I get it, but that’s not the only side to my music and I would be doing myself a disservice if that was all that I recorded. All my songs are dark but sometimes it needs to bubble up fully to the surface and see the light of day.โ€

He examples the two as those which โ€˜really fill out the point of the recordings.โ€™ โ€œLast Orders is a deep dive into my previous alcohol abuse and really aims to look behind the curtain on the inner workings of a lonely alcoholic. Magpie is a story told from the point of view of a child whose parents have just lost a baby and the confusion that comes from that as the parent’s attempt to hide and dress up the truth. It was actually written in half an hour, the afternoon before hitting the studio, when I put it down on tape it was only the fifth time I ever played it. I had the lyric sheet in front of me and sat real close to the microphone. We did it in one take, the studio went silent and we all seemed to be in agreement that despite it not being perfect, it was exactly the take we needed for that song.โ€

I suggest, in its rawness, Magpie is the most emotionally driven track on the album, the song an audience will take away with them. Though achieving the balance is key here. When we first met for an interview, the topic rested mainly on his powerful basso vocal range, likening him to Cash or Leonard Cohen, and while Josh should pursue this angle in his recording, his live show wouldnโ€™t be the same without the more kazoo blowing mockery of his macabre topics. For the finale Josh pulls in all resources. By title and topic, Satanโ€™s Bar one could imagine weโ€™re off in a similar style as Last Orders and Magpie, but no, mate, itโ€™s jump blues and off he goes with that kazoo again! I suppose, solving the dilemma on how to go out, Satanโ€™s Bar has both sides to JP Oldfield covered nicely.ย 

If I tend to relate baritones to Jim Morrison, and his ability to induce his crowd hypnotically, (taking into account their probable intoxication!), one can suggest JP Oldfield has a similar commanding voice, and thatโ€™s a high compliment, but deserved on the strength of this EP alone.

Oliver Stone projected this well in his 1991 biopic, though those who knew Morrison criticised his persona as deeper layered than that which was represented. They claimed while Morrison was the unbalanced and sometimes vexatious character portrayed, that Stone missed his more playful and humorous side. Josh undoubtedly has the capacity and skill to mesmerise a crowd, like Riders on the Storm, yet if those middle tracks on the EP proves this, the beginning and end ones suggest his favourite Doors track might be the more gamesome Alabama Song, showing Morrison to the way to the next whiskey bar.

Bouffon is released on 25th February 2025, it certainly wonโ€™t disappoint his live fans. With this original balance of melancholic delta blues with a sense of vaudeville satire, thereโ€™s deep personal reflection versus folklore and contemporary narrative, all encompassing and blended superbly.ย 

When I first heard Josh perform, I figured this needed the kind of guided hand only the legend Nick Beere at Mooncalf Studios could master. Coincidentally I bumped into him the weekend after Josh sent the album, and Nick not only confirmed he had recorded it, but agreed the kazoo and all JP Olfieldโ€™s gubbings were all part of the uniqueness of the act. 

โ€œNick’s not only very knowledgeable but also a great guy,โ€ Josh finished on. โ€œWe’d met a couple of times before, at open mics, and he already had a fairly good idea of what I sounded like. I left the production side completely in his hands, he’s the master, I just make the sound. It was the first time Nick had ever recorded a kazoo and a suitcase so I was happy to be the first!โ€

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The Emporium in Devizes to Close

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

Mental Rot; New I See Orange Single

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

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

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PREVIEW โ€“ Jazz Sabbath @ Corn Exchange, Devizes โ€“ Saturday 1st March 2025

Donโ€™t Miss This One!

Andy Fawthrop

Just over two years ago I was privileged to be in the audience when Jazz Sabbath played their only previous show in D-Town.ย  And what a night that was. The musical skill on show simply blew me away.ย  No surprise then that weโ€™re mightily looking forward to their next gig here on 1st March….

Jazz Sabbath are a jazz trio headed by Adam Wakeman, son of Rick Wakeman on keyboards, Dylan Howe, son of Alan Howe on drums, and Jack Tustin (son of his parents Iโ€™m sure), on upright bass. Theyโ€™ve just started on their 2025 UK tour, and many of the venues are either already sold out, or very close to doing so.ย  And one of those dates is in our town, long in the calendar, thanks to the forward thinking of long-time fan Paul Chandlerโ€™s Longcroft Productions.

Adamโ€™s credentials are absolutely second to none.  Apart from having a famous father, Adam has played with the elite of the music world.  Recent credits include Tony Hadleyโ€™s world tour, Deep Purple, Uriah Heep, Rick Wakeman, and at Ozzy Osbourneโ€™s induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Heโ€™s also booked to play with Ozzy and the mighty Sabbath themselves at the recently-announced farewell gig in Birmingham this Summer.  Thatโ€™s a pretty impressive CV in my book.

Their offering is to present jazz interpretations of Black Sabbath classics.  It sounds utterly mad, but it isnโ€™t.  Adamโ€™s jazz arrangements are an almost unrecognisable world away, and the bandโ€™s shows also feature plenty of Adamโ€™s own contemporary compositions.  To my ear itโ€™s very little Sabbath, and very much Jazz, but the only way to test that supposition is to get yourselves a ticket and head on down to The Corn Exchange!

The band will be playing material from their latest and third album โ€œThe 1968 Tapesโ€ which, as usual, is promoted in the bandโ€™s straight-faced spoof mock-documentary style.  Itโ€™s worth the ticket price alone just to see and hear the whole comedic wrap-around, never mind the excellent music.  So take it from me โ€“ youโ€™ll be in for a superb night of entertainment.

Get out and get those tickets โ€“ this is going to be a real one-off!

Tickets available online through the bandโ€™s website at https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/booking/select/yebepzmqgpvw or at Devizes Books (the Last Minute dot Com of D-Town).

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An Insight into Devizes New Youth Centre Project

I caught up with an excited Jonathan Hunter, leader of Devizes Town Councilโ€™s independent party The Guardians, and local loyal youth worker Steve Dewar to rap about an imminent youth centre coming to Sidmouth Street in Devizesโ€ฆ. I was aware Jonathan swore to create a youth project in town some years ago and was engagingโ€ฆ

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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 year looks positively booming with music events. This weekend alone looks hotter for events than it will probably be climate wise! Leading us up to the start of the month, Swindonโ€ฆ

Darren Worrow's avatar by Darren Worrow

Bradford-on-Avon Green Man Festival Returns In May

Experience the Bradford on Avon Green Man Festival, a vibrant, family-friendly community gathering featuring traditional dance, music, song, and folklore throughout the town centre on Saturday 10th May 2025 (9.30am to 6pm). And the best part is, it’s free! Witness over 50 dance groups, including 500 dancers and 120 musicians, featuring Morris dancing and diverseโ€ฆ

Darren Worrow's avatar by Darren Worrow

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..

If there are few bands on the local circuit to have turned my head and caused me to wallow in self-pity that I sorely missed out on the grunge zenith, I See Orange is the kingpin to this personal change of tide; proof youโ€™re never too old!

With sublime professionalism abound, theyโ€™re creating riotous rock anthems; my untrained ear evaluates what I deem to be the conventions of grunge, and this tune in particular, while sits into the subgenre only subtly, relishes more in orthodox, good old punk rock, with perhaps a slice of metal, to be savoured, and not overly-pigeonholed.

In the words of Chuck Berry, who, face it, knew what he was talking about when it comes to rock n roll, โ€˜you can’t lose it, any old way you choose it.โ€™ Iโ€™m getting more Joan Jett than Nirvana with this one, a timeless sound you cannot ignore, to that of what the Smalltown Tigers are more recently putting down.

Upon hearing the title was to be Mental Rot I wrongly assumed this new one would drift in the layers of melancholy and emotionally rise and fall, in that grunge formula many their past tracks follow, but this rocks out from beginning to end and sustains an explosive feel good energy aging punkers like me simply cannot whinge about! If, as the lyrics suggest, itโ€™s โ€œgnawing up and getting to the claw,โ€ hey, I like it like that!

They’re one of six finalists to play The Finsbury in London tonight for a place in The Musos Awards Soccer-Six finals at the Electric Ballroom in March; we wish them the very best of luck. Play like this new single, and I reckon you’ve got it in the pocket I See Orange.

Electric Dream Comes True; Cephidโ€™s Sparks in the Darkness at The Rondo

A sublime evening of electronic elegance was had at Bathโ€™s humble Rondo Theatre last night, where Cephidโ€™s album, Sparks in The Darkness, was played out exclusively to a packed house. It was, in a word, breathtakingโ€ฆ.

The type of genius who built a laser-harp at seventeen years old, Cephid‘s composer, producer and multi-instrumentalist Moray McDonald is bound by modesty, and appeared, prior to the show, understandingly nervous about the prospect of performing. He hadnโ€™t contemplated ever reproducing this masterwork on stage, for the project began as a collection of demos he created โ€œfor fun.โ€ โ€œWith all my focus being on creating an album that would live up to the grand ideas in my head,โ€ he explained, โ€œI didnโ€™t stop to think about whether this music could be performed in a live environment.โ€

Seems he shies from being centre of attention, his comfort zone on stage favouring the many occasions he hides as a keyboardist in prog rock bands. Moray, currently residing in Lavington, cut his teeth touring with progressive rock and metal artists such as That Joe Payne, Godsticks, Kim Seviour and Ghost Community, more recently he remixed for OMD.

Moray was adamant this was a totally exclusive show which wouldnโ€™t be taken on the road, although it has the magnitude of doing so. The show was produced and promoted by his partner Charlotte, whoโ€™s theatrical flamboyance encourages Moray to overcome his reservedness. Therefore a communal air bloomed in the audience, that this was a one-off treat, and we were the lucky few; because we were.

Being I was there to review, it probably didn’t help his anxiety any telling him I’d seen Kraftwerk at a Tribal Gathering of yore, where from every tent of every subgenre ravers descended to observe the roots of it all. โ€œKraftwerk was the beginning of everything,โ€ he agreed.

While itโ€™s an accurate summary of the origins of electronic pop music, Sparks in The Darkness delves beyond this for inspiration. Itโ€™s orchestral on a Jean-Michel Jarre level; even if the show wasnโ€™t to the same scale it was in spirit. It nodded to the trial phase of electronic music, prog-rockโ€™s psychedelic swirls found in Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin et al, and continues to the ambient house pioneers like The KLF and Orb. It rests on the heyday of electronica, the quirky experiments of new wave post-punk like New Order, and early US electro outfits, like Newcleus. Yet it incorporates contemporary technological advances, the variety of modern subgenres stemming from it, and it evoked in me a fascination with the history of electronic sound.

To contemplate futurist Luigi Russoloโ€™s 1913 The Art of Noises theories, that music would change due to the ear becoming accustomed to mechanical, industrial and urban noises, and the dadaists flouting this, is to consider the eighties clunkiness of the engine sampling of the aptly named Art of Noise, or Yello, or the piercing hubbub of acid houseโ€™s 303s, for the sake of artistic expressionism rather than melodious music. Sparks in The Darkness doesnโ€™t go there, it doesnโ€™t tumultuously provoke, rather itโ€™s polyphonically beautiful, sampleless, and tonally complimentary on the ear. In this, the decades of electronic music progression has become an epoch, therefore a โ€œfolkโ€ music, effectively turning music full circle; Cephid is on that cusp, and proved it last night.

But not before That Joe Payne, who later returned to the stage to provide vocals for Cephid, supported with an astounding original set. With just keyboard and voice he acoustically gifted us with a one-man rock opera, the like Iโ€™d never seen before. Combining camp comedy with tragedy, reminiscent of Elton Johnโ€™s heyday and expressed divinely with the vast vocal range of Freddie Mercury, this was delicious vaudeville. Though I cite these clear influences, they broke the mould when they made That Joe Payne, and that is the only shame about this highly entertaining character.

If That Joe Payne was something which bucked my norm in the nicest of methods, the whole evening was equally different for me, who these days is used to traditional rock, folk, or blues bands, and even with a history of dance music under my belt, this wasnโ€™t a rave anymore than it was a gig in the tradition of, even if the effect was similar. This was a showcase of modernism, an electronica fantasy in fruition. If at any point I likened it to something visually, it was Howard Jones meets Orbital, and thatโ€™s a high compliment.

The Rondo ignited with laser lights after the interval, colouring the subtle smoke machine output, and doused with a building ambient drone. Moray appeared onstage with electric percussionist Graham Brown, both dressed in white bodysuits with scarlet tie-belts. Layers developed and the album was played out sublimely, stretched to fit the show. The skill of the pair, to unite in sound and highlight exactly how these tunes were accomplished was insightful, and amazing. The only analogue instrument being a snare, the rest was digital technology caressed to evolve the most refined musical topography, an audio landscape masterpiece.

The grand finale was the usage of the triangular centrepiece, the laser harp Moray created at seventeen but had never used publicaly. Even if many in the crowd were connected in some way to Moray or the team, akin to a family party, everyone was held spellbound when the laser harp strings lit up, and Moray took position behind it.

If the perfect composition of this groundbreaking sound, with the laser show and theatrical performance wasnโ€™t enough to convince anyone in the crowd to the monumental importance to the artist, and the rare and wonderful occasion this was, it was Morayโ€™s expression of sheer joy, at the audienceโ€™s standing ovation. It was confirmation that this project, so immensely well received, is surely the testament, plus an ego boost, to the diffidence of a creative genius!

You might have missed this show, but you can (and should) buy the album HERE.

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Just a Little New Single From Sam Bishopย 

โ€œThis song speaks to anyone who’s ever felt like they weren’t quite enough for someone, yet still held out hope for just a hint of validation,โ€ Sam Bishop explained to me about his latest release, Just a Little which is out today, 7th Februaryโ€ฆ.

The immediate hook to this song is in the simplicity of the riff, it glides with a summer breeze echoing in feelgood ambience. Refreshingly vehement and not overworked, Just a Little caused me to think of Natasha Bedingfieldโ€™s Unwritten, and further back to how Madonna secured her queen of pop title with the Latino hook in La Isla Bonita, or am I going too far back for you now?! Noah Kahan brought back fervency, this goes along similar lines, though Sam likened it to Coldplay and Bastille, stating, โ€œI hope people can connect to it.โ€ย 

Itโ€™s certainly miles beyond his beginnings in Devizes School boy band 98 Reasons and the duo Larkin with fellow member Finley Trusler, in commercial viability. It shows a maturity, but if weโ€™ve followed this natural progression I could argue his previous songs were growers, whereas this was an instant like, and swift appeal is whatโ€™s needed in the fast-paced industry.

Sam scribed this beauty whilst travelling the States over summer and produced it once home. โ€œThis song is for everyone whoโ€™s ever felt like they were giving their all but still wondering if itโ€™s enough,โ€ he expressed, โ€œI wanted to create something that felt vulnerable, yet comforting, that also feels personal.โ€ Yeah, Sam, I think youโ€™ve captured that!

Just a Little is out across streaming platforms from 7th February. Check it out HERE; it’s already top ten on UK iTunes – deservedly.

SwinterFest Broke Me Out of Hibernation!

Like a hedgehog poking his nose out of the bracken, just a few hours on the Sunday at Swinterfest was enough to cure me of my hibernation, which seems to lengthen with each year and causes me to worry the attraction of warm, cosy nights in might seclude me forevermore, and Iโ€™ll never see a chap strum a guitar again!

I was only at the Beehive for ten minutes before wishing Iโ€™d got here sooner, three days sooner! Swindon Shuffle organisers decided to create a winter version for last weekend, and speaking with both Ed Dyer and Jamie Hill of Swindon Link and Ink, they were wary if it would be as successful as their annual summer extravaganza. Exhausted by Sunday but still positively beaming with enthusiasm, Iโ€™m glad to report Ed signed the event off as a huge triumph.

Crowds turned out to the respective pub venues on each day; Thursday at the Hop, Friday at the Vic, Saturday at The Castle, and Sunday at the Beehive. A colossal selection of the South Westโ€™s finest musical talent united to raise some wonga for the Prospect Hospice, as they do with The Swindon Shuffle and My Dadโ€™s Bigger Than Your Dad festival. 

The team assembled for the final showdown at the Beehive, which is a crazy-good watering hole aptly on Prospect Hill; I could resist no more. From Courting Ghosts and Canuteโ€™s Plastic Army to Will Lawton, George Wilding to I See Orange I sadly missed many of my favourites, even our wonderful M3G and Devizes-own Nothing Rhymes With Orange; what can I say in my defence? Would central heating, cosy sofa or homemade stew cut the crust?!

Despite it being a whistle-stop, I was so glad to be reunited with Swindonโ€™s premier Americana collective Concrete Prairie. At one point I was close to becoming their groupie, unfortunately our paths havenโ€™t crossed for a while. Seconds into their set why Iโ€™ve claimed theyโ€™re better than sliced bread came flooding back. They were, for want of a technical evaluation, absolutely and steadfastly, one-hundred and fifty percent on fire.

I donโ€™t know if it was the fact the Beehive is one of their favourite venues to play, if time had eroded my expectations of them, or theyโ€™ve polished their already proficient skills, or maybe because they opted for their more high-energy originals, or possibly now those songs have become classics fans chant them back at them, but wow, just wow!

I was introduced to Clarie, their new fiddler, previously informed she fitted like a glove into this astounding band, and they weren’t fibbing. It is in their unification where sparks fly, if individually theyโ€™d reach a level of greatness naturally, together theyโ€™re solid and tight. Concrete Prairie is the whole deal for dark and foreboding themed country-blues-rock which takes you on a mood-changing journey; they could play disco and still rouse the hairs on the back of your neck, dammit! (they donโ€™t though, for the record!)

Prior to their invigorating explosion I was delighted to find a new love. From Newport, Joe Kelly & The Royal Pharmacy were truly a blessing. Described as a chameleonic presence, in so much as he plays solo, or his masterful originals are fleshed out with the three-part vocal harmonies, guitar and keyboard combo of his backing band the Royal Pharmacy. Joe explained the versatility of his band contained missing elements today, of drums and bass, which when added could evoke the harder rock ambience of a five-piece, on occasions, but the harmonious delivery of folk-rock masterpieces was plentiful for me to decide this outfit is something I could perpetually return to.

Perfectly pitched between smooth and rustic, Joeโ€™s authentic raspy call of expressionism is breathtakingly emotive, his canvas is projected outwards but his brush operates inwards. It conveys that timeless fidelity and sense of personal reflection and identification of Guthrie or Dylan, with the gusto of Geldof or Petty. It is, in a word, gorgeous; music for the soul.

Through his self made independent record label, Dirty Carrot Records, thereโ€™s a selection of their recordings to check out, I recommend you do, and theyโ€™re showcasing their local circuit with five other artists on the books. Joe Kelly & The Royal Pharmacy timelessly embrace every classic element of folk-rock, the emotional poignancy, sincere homespun fashion, the evoking sound, and project them outwards nothing short of sublimely, encapsulating an audience you really need to be in!

And that was only two of the thirty three acts booked to perform at the inaugural Swinterfest last weekend; imagine the length of my waffling if Iโ€™d see anymore! Jamie at Swindon Link wore the Swinterfest T-shirt out and gave a more comprehensive evaluation, here. Me? Iโ€™m more of a Catchphrase contestant than a music journalist, I just say what I see, and those bottles wonโ€™t deliver themselves, so, I had to retire from the bustling Beehive, disappearing into the night; milk and honey not mixing well this time. Shame, because I missed Erin Bardwell and the Subject A gang, and SN Dubstation, despite knowing theyโ€™re both up my street and knocking loudly on my door.

The most important part to all this was questioning the big chief organiser of the Shuffle and now Swinterfest, Ed Dyer, if heโ€™d make this an annual thing, and there was absolutely no sign of doubt in his tone that he would. Interestingly he suggested incorporating other arts into the mix, suggesting comedy, poetry and drama. The idea was to separate it from the music dominated Shuffle, so it lives in its own domain and isnโ€™t viewed more simply as a winter version of the Shuffle. But as Jamie expressed, what they know best is music, so they went with that to begin with, and they certainly do!

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New Album from Illingworth; Man Made of Glass

Four years of hard work in the making, and it sure shows, Man Made of Glass, the third album from John and Jolyon, aka Illingworth, is released across streaming platforms this week. If youโ€™ve seen this Salisbury duo performing on the circuit, the unyielding passion they inject into the obligatory classic rock covers set isnโ€™t half of what they put into their own compositionsโ€ฆ..

Pardon me if you came here for a respite from the onslaught of inflammatory international headlines and to read a nice music review, Man Made of Glass contains much prose on the tyranny of contemporary politics. As the idiom is defined, this narcissistic disorder of egotistical figureheads is fragile and therefore likely to shatter manifests abstractly, particularly in the title track and single Gaslight, but hey, I think itโ€™s safe to say we know the people it is directed towards.

Itโ€™s a floating opening, building in layers, this title track, richly written even if poignantly critical of power corrupting. As ever with Illingworth thereโ€™s this breezy air of feelgood rock too, of Foreigner or The Cars, which enriches the sound naturally. Soulless might be the subject, but soulful is the expression; itโ€™s a contrast.

Superior single Gaslight does similar theme-wise, but as powerful as an indie rock anthem, and rolling on a tougher riff than the title track, throughout, it takes the manipulation of its titleโ€™s term to the worldly encouragement of avoidance; this โ€œdonโ€™t be convinced by propagandaโ€ concept.

Bittersweet is the general ambience Illingworth delivers with here, and thatโ€™s no new thing in rock, but they do so with such passion and expertise it polishes the delivery and leaves you feeling alive and stimulated, with nothing bad you could possibly say about their songs. They are rich with honesty over vanity, reflecting on the theme. Gaslight may be the kingpin to the album, the running motif becoming less prominent in the other tracks. Every tune is a beauty though, embracing all stimulating elements of being uplifting, inspiring and catchy, just subtly with differing moods and tempos.

We Donโ€™t Have to Try is a country-rock ballad on an eternal love subject, whereas, Heart To Rule Your Head, is an inspiring โ€œyou can get it if you really wantโ€ upbeat track. 

Another Passion is upbeat too, of if, buts and maybes, whereas New Year is arousingly paced, reflecting on the unification and love perpetrated by the annual occasion. Love conquering over evil becomes the inclusive factor as the album drifts archetypically. This conquering notion to avoid the brainwashing of those seeking power lessens somewhat in favour of identifying affections, yet never fully expires. The finale is not to let it worry you, as the matter will shatter like glass.

While great, if previous Illingworth albums can feel fragmented, like randomly placed collections of their memorable songs you rarely hear enough of when theyโ€™re gigging, Man Made of Glass is more rounded, it has an overall concept. Like a classic rock album, the tracksโ€™ narratives combine and flow wonderfully. Itโ€™s not a โ€œconcept album,โ€ per say, but in the same classic fashion, and thatโ€™s a welcomed rare find these days of media overload and the average attention span of a goldfish!

Man Made of Glass is more suited to a vinyl, CD or cassette format, of a time when album composition contained an all-inclusive message, and you sat in the dark listening to it. Just like those albums of yore it feels like something to cherish, a testament to a bleeding heart of sentiment you identify with and get emotionally involved with, rather than simply hearing it while you wash the dishes. But hey, streaming is the mainstay these days, and thatโ€™s where youโ€™ll find this treasure buried.

Apple Music Link

Amazon Link

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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

In Retrospect With Gary Martian

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

Ex-Kaiser Chief Nick Hodgsonโ€™s Everyone Says Hi Coming to Marlborough

Featured Image Credit: Stewart Baxter

Riot predictor Nick Hodgson formerly of the Kaiser Chiefs has a new band, the charmingly named Everyone Says Hi, and theyโ€™re playing an instore at Marlboroughโ€™s Sound Knowledge, on Sunday 2nd Februaryโ€ฆ.

Everyone Says Hi will play a number of live dates across the UK to celebrate the release of their upcoming self-titled debut album, set for release on 31st January 2025 via Chrysalis Records. The latest single from the record, Lucky Stars, is out now.ย 

The band will embark on a run of UK in-store dates, in cities like London, Lancaster, Hull, Bristol, Nottingham, Leeds and Liverpool. The fact Marlborough appears on this and many other major industry playerโ€™s giglists is a testament to the reputation and hard work of Sound Knowledge.

Prior to this, they will perform two newly announced headline shows in support of Independent Venue Week. Frontman Nick Hodgson said of the importance of indie venues, โ€œweโ€™ve just finished a tour of small independent venues in the UK and it really brought into focus for me how precious they are. There are people all over the country working so hard to bring live music to their area and when people turn up and love the gig it really feels like the beginning of something.โ€

โ€œItโ€™s a cliche to say that without the small venues there would be no arena bands and festival headliners but itโ€™s definitely my experience with Kaiser Chiefs and Iโ€™m sure for the other guys in the band that independent venues arenโ€™t just a cute little step along the path, they are the path.โ€ 

Nick has long been a songwriter in high demand. Since leaving his teenage band back in 2012, he has co-written for the likes of Dua Lipa, You Me At Six, Duran Duran, George Ezra, and Holly Humberstone, and collaborated on tracks alongside Mark Ronson, Kygo, and Shirley Bassey. Having racked up over 5 million cumulative album sales globally, Nick now focuses on a new challenge. You wouldnโ€™t bet against him.

Itโ€™s a floaty album of universal indie; instant like from me! Everyone Says Hi sees Nick adopt the role of lead singer-guitarist, and brings together musicians Pete Denton on bass, Glenn Moule on drums, keyboard player Ben Gordon (ex-members of The Kooks, The Howling Bells, and Liverpoolโ€™s The Dead 60s respectively), alongside Leeds based guitarist Tom Dawson. The bandโ€™s name is lifted from a David Bowie song of the same title. What you hear across its ten tracks is high-calibre, beautifully sculpted songcraft performed by high-calibre, experienced players. Not so much showing โ€˜promiseโ€™ here, but instantly delivering bonafide โ€˜big songsโ€™ that belie the bandโ€™s status as relative newcomers. The record was produced by Nick at Londonโ€™s Snap Studios and at his home studio. Pre-order the albumย here.

Everyone Says Hi is the fruit of a multi-platinum musician deciding to draw a line and start afresh. Back to the same bedroom floor where the first tentative notes were played, holding the same guitar that was played way back when, back to forming a band with trusted friends, and back to booking the sticky basement stages where teeth were first cut. But whilst you can metaphorically wipe the slate clean on most things, you cannot unlearn what you already know. If emotionally driven, arena-ready songs come almost second-nature, youโ€™d be foolish to ignore the gift youโ€™ve been given.

Sound Knowledge said, โ€œwe’re delighted to say that Everyone Says Hi will be joining us for one of our first in-stores of 2025. They’ll be playing a stripped back set in the shop itself from 3pm on Sunday 2nd February. Stick a note in with your pre-order to guarantee your place.โ€ Which you can do HERE.

Tickets for all shows are on sale here.

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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!

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Jamsters; A New Initiative For Musicians at The Southgate

Bob Marley sang โ€œjamminโ€™ โ€˜til the jam is through,โ€ Jimmy Cricketโ€™s catchphrase was โ€œcomeโ€™ere, thereโ€™s more,โ€ but it looks like The Southgate in Devizes is combining the two. Jamsters is landlord Daveโ€™s new initiative to provide a Friday night platform for loose groupings and associations created at their regular jam sessions each Wednesdayโ€ฆ.

The inaugural occurrence of this happened in November, with JP Oldfield, Gordon Thompson and Sammi Evans, this Friday, 10th Jan, sees the turns of Ben Borril, Chrissy โ€œSteenโ€ Chapman of Burn the Midnight Oil, Adam Spanswick and George (not the pub dog!) and they kick off at 8pm. We understand this is to become a monthly occasion,and are happy to hear of it!

Wednesdays jam sessions have been in operation for some years now at the Gate, and have become something of a regular convention for local musicians to gather and network. Perhaps more so even than open mic nights, these jam sessions not only provide entertainment, practice, and the chance of making friends and connections, but are also an opportunity for our local musicians to experiment and see who works well together. During its time weโ€™ve seen collaborations and bands formatted from it, such as Pat Ward and Ben Borrillโ€™s Matchbox Mutiny and Tom Harrisโ€™ No Alarms And No Devizes.

Now, with a monthly instalment of this Friday night extension of the jam sessions, we hope to see more groupings form and flourish from it. Through all the current hardships of the hospitality industry, The Southgate continue to buck the trend through their dedication to making the pub a friendly, affordable, and welcoming place and, supporting, not the recognisable big names rather upcoming local musicians; the like whoโ€™ll mingle with the punters and be glad you came. Thatโ€™s itโ€™s community feel and thatโ€™s itโ€™s grand appealโ€ฆ I hope to see you down there soon, mineโ€™s a pint of Rosieโ€™s Pig, cheers!! 

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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 switching on type of event, then batten down the hatches and hibernate like hedgehogs until spring. Nowadays you need not wait till summer for music festivals; winterfests are a thingโ€ฆ..

For those who cannot wait for the blossoming, and need a big fix of music and arts right now, here’s some local winter festivals to unravel their scarves and remove their bobble hats:

Bradford Roots Festival

Firstly, a well established winter occasion, Bradford Roots Festival at the wonderful Wiltshire Music Centre in Bradford-on-Avon. This is happening as a Saturday only event this year, on the 18th January. Our Andy reported on this one some years ago, and I snatched coverage of it off him, realising the โ€œRootsโ€ in its title refers more to hosting local acts of a variety of genres, not just a folk festival as it might be wrongly conceived as. It has become something of an unmissable winter local music convention, especially feeling like this being housed under the one roof of this purpose-built venue.

Wiltshire Music Centre are leaking names for the lineup individually on their Facebook page, the incredible Becky Lawrence being the first reveal. You can rest assured, though, based on past experience, this will be a whoโ€™s-who of local acts, over five stages. WIth an open mic stage, late-night transatlantic folk sessions, a family-friendly daytime with Wassail and childrenโ€™s arts and crafts, food & drink, a mini makerโ€™s market, and more, this is a delightfully warming occasion. You can choose from an All Day ticket (11am โ€“ 10.00pm) or an Evening Session ticket (7pm โ€“ 10.00pm) ยฃ25 / ยฃ13.50 All Day, ยฃ12 / ยฃ7 Evening. U12 free with an adult.ย 

Devizes International Blues Festival

Same date, different town, if Devizes has a penchant for the blues, luckily supports the Long Street Blues Club which hosts international blues artists, and the current Mayor Ian Hopkins is the organiser of the club, you can trust when it comes to the compulsory organisation ofย Mayorโ€™s Appeal events itโ€™s going to be a blast.ย ย ย ย 

Saturday 18th January sees the first Devizes Blues Festival inside the Corn Exchange. It promises โ€œto create an intimate blues club in the Ceres Hall around tables and seating is just limited to 250 guests.โ€ One of the greatest contemporary blues guitarists hailing from the south side of Chicago, Toronto Cannon, Nora Jean Wallace, a Chicago blues singer with deep Delta roots, John Primer, one of the kings of Chicago blues and original guitarist in Muddy Watersโ€™ band, singer Oscar Wilson and harmonica genius Giles Robson, you can guarantee have been cherry-picked by the expertise of Long Street. Tickets on sale now. ยฃ50.00 in advance.

DOCA Festival of Winter Ales

If the Blues Festival is new to Devizes, of course the town has had a winter festival for a number of years, and surprise, surprise, itโ€™s all about booze! The DOCA fundraising WInter of Festive Ales is on Saturday 15th February, early bird tickets are up for grabs and itโ€™s vital to the future of DOCA to support this, if you can. There will be a massive selection of beers and ciders to try with some quality music and cabaret to entertain you, we just donโ€™t know what they are yet!

Figgle Winter Festival

While I confess, thereโ€™s still a lot of updating to our event calendar to be done to bring 2025 to full fruition, and no doubt details of more winter festivals will come to light. Events like Figgle Winter Fest on the 1st Feb at Figheldean Village Hall, with a great and varied lineup of All Floyd, Strange Folk, Break Cover, The P45s, Lump, The Zucchinis, and one of our favourite upcoming stars, Rosie Jay. 

Swinterfest

But itโ€™s over to Swindon where we really need to concentrate, for the Swindon Shuffle is saving one big Christmas cracker for the end of January! The Shuffle offers us a scaled down in quantity but not quality version of their annual fundraiser for Prospect Hospice, on the weekend starting Thursday 30th January. Swinterfest is now a thing, and it looks set to warm live music in Swindon. The Shuffle really is a blessing late summer, when you can wander Old Town and beyond and discover so much live music itโ€™s impossible to take it all inโ€ฆ and itโ€™s free too, save for collection buckets for the hospice. It is therefore a safe bet Swinterfest will be off the scale awesome too!

Swinterfest is scaled down to one pub per day, saves wandering the nippy night air. Thursday at the Tuppenny with Courting Ghosts, Canutes Plastic Army, Will Lawton and George Wilding starts it off in style; we love all this with cherries on. Friday, the 31st Jan and itโ€™s all down The Vic for a punkier gig with All Ears Avow, Modern Evils, Not Warriors, Adder and our personal pick of this bunch, I See Orange.

Saturday night at Swinterfest is down the Castle, with our picks Meg and Nothing Rhymes WIth Orange, and also new ones on us, Stay Lunar, Wild Isles, Oojah, The Vivas and more are promised too. Sunday is the Beehiveโ€™s turn to play host, with our recommendations being Subject A, SN Dubstation, Concrete Prairie, and Fly Yeti Fly, and newcomers to us, Joe Kelly, Carnival Saloon and Sebastian and Me. Swinterfest may be a new venture, but, well, look at the fantastic lineup, the choicest one of all; it beats a brown snowball in the chops, in my humble opinion!ย 

As I said, Iโ€™m sure more winter festivals will come to our attention as time moves on, so keep an eye on our event calendar, but for now I think thatโ€™s plenty to warm your cockles, and massively reduce those post Christmas winter blues.

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In Retrospect With Gary Martian

So yeah, not only has Cracked Machine and Clock Radio drummer Gary Martin added a letter A to his name to make it sound more extraterrestrial, heโ€™s also fired a sonic blast back to planet Earth in the form of a whopper of a solo rock album! In Retrospect does what it says on the tin, taking inspiration from his most treasured rock bands of yore, and does it loud and proudlyโ€ฆ..

Starter for ten, now Gary Martian, proves heโ€™s a supernova of a multi-instrumentalist, taking the helm of every aspect from guitar to drum and the recording, mastering and distribution of this heavily-laced monster. If Cracked Machine are known for returning us to those heady days of space-rock, the intro to the opening track Lifeboats feels this is going the same direction, but in seconds weโ€™re awash with slamming guitar and drum combos letting rip of a riff more akin to grunge. Whoa, it didnโ€™t even wait for me to attach keychains to my flared cargo trozzers.

Yet while thereโ€™s rising and falling influences from nineties grunge like Nirvana and Therapy? I also taste nods not only to pioneers of the Seattle sound like Alice in Chains, but a broader spectrum of alt-rock too, and even rooted at the few tender moments, with electric blues and the soundscapes of Floyd, such as the closing of a few tracks, one called Bang in particular. Thing is, this value for your dollar, twelve dynamite tracks perpetually exploding at an average full four minutes each, and an epilogue song, Red Handed running into the twenty-minute margin, sublimely. Time enough then to input a carrossel of nods to every influence which has inspired Gary over time.

And there are Syd Barrett moments of whimsical psychedelia, something about Your Coffee Table, thereโ€™s metal grinding like Pearl Jam, breezy moments of The Smashing Pumpkins, such as Summer in the Autumn, and brief commercially viable moments like Jane’s Addiction. โ€œItโ€™s a big-olโ€™ rock album,โ€ Gary told me, โ€œinspired by the bands I love.โ€

Iโ€™m not in my comfort zone connoting such heavy rock and nailing its influences, I confess. I just say what I like, and like recent outfits coming out of Swindon, I See Orange and Liddington Hill, this is the kind of thing which causes me to regret my ignorance to harder rock subgenres, particularly during the ravey nineties. I guess it was all that slushy โ€œsoft metalโ€ previously, for it was an impermanent trend which put me off track; still time for me to catch up, isnโ€™t there?!

This album erodes the Muppetโ€™s Animal stereotype of drummers just being drummers and bit bonkers, as Gary excels in mastering not only all the instruments required to stage an entire rock band, but also in the composition of them. In Retrospect was released across all streaming platforms and is downloadable from Bandcamp, at the beginning of the month, apologies for the delay, but this will rock your cosy Christmas foozies off!

Spotify, Apple Music, iTunes, Deezer, etc…. https://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/garymartian/in-retrospect

Youtube Music: https://music.youtube.com/playlist…

Amazon Music: https://amazon.co.uk/music/player/albums/B0DPHGW1MT…

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What’s Happening During November in Devizes?

Remember, remember, weโ€™re moving into November; leaves, loads of โ€˜em! Being as we are no longer doing weekly roundups, hereโ€™s some highlights of events inโ€ฆ

Burn the Midnight Oil; New Devizes-Based Band Youโ€™ll Be Hearing a Lot Aboutโ€ฆ.

Far from burning the midnight oil, itโ€™s a weekday afternoon and Iโ€™m with a cuppa, at a rehearsal for a blossoming Devizes-based trio, Burn the Midnight Oil. If youโ€™ve ever thought nothing great comes from open mics, this might be the thing to change your mindโ€ฆ.

Itโ€™s early days, forming in September, theyโ€™ve created a corporate identity, recorded a three-track demo theyโ€™re planning to launch, are busy writing more songs, and sound as if theyโ€™ve been on the local circuit forever. I wanted to catch up with Burn the Midnight Oil to find out how theyโ€™ve come so far so quickly, dig a little deeper into their backgrounds and generally poke my nose into their business.

First clue, theyโ€™ve varying areas and degrees of experience in music, but have found common ground through their medical issues. Front girl Chrissy, aka Steen, spoke of her PMDD, GAD and ADHD, and coming to faith during Covid at Devizesโ€™ St James. โ€œThere was a day I was like, really, really sobbing my heart out, and praying,โ€ she expressed, claiming she heard the โ€œbiggest, boomiest voice ever say โ€˜sing,โ€™ and two weeks later I was having videocall with a huge hip hop artist who was part of Foreign Beggars, which were massive during the 90s and early noughties.โ€ Landing a deal working for a record label Chrissy liaised with drum and bass producers, who asked her to โ€œjump in on the tracks,โ€ and she supplied vocals on tunes from artists like Beskar.

โ€œIt feels a bit serendipitous,โ€ she said, โ€œbecause I had no experience working as a social media manager, I had no business connecting with somebody who’s quite prestigious and I had no right to just jump on some tracks and with my first EP release going straight onto one of the biggest drum & bass labels in the UK.โ€ To which she compared the unforeseen development to meeting the band members, Andy โ€˜Big Birdโ€™ Jacobs and bassist Chris Lane.

Chrissy explained Chris has Marfan syndrome, โ€œI’ve known Chris for a while, but he’s very introverted,โ€ she elucidated, progressing onto finding a mutual neurodivergent connection and being a support system for each other. Chrissy formed a duo with a bassist called One Trick Pony, performed at a few open mics and organised charity fundraisers at the Southgate over the past two Christmases. When the bassist was unavailable due to other band commitments Chris stepped in, and they spawned the idea to reform the duo under a new name. Though not present at the beginning of our chat, Chris did turn up toward the end, either shy or forgetful as to just how many bands he’s currently engaged in!

Present and vocal throughout, lead guitarist Andy, told of a car accident which affected his nerves, and most of the dexterity in his fingers. Prior to this, Andy spoke of being a โ€œvery successful professional guitarist in London,โ€ a session and theatrical guitar player, citing Shirley Bassey as an artist he had worked with.

โ€œI could still play a bit,โ€ he explained, โ€œbut my career was over, which was a bit of a downer.โ€ Playing his part in an amateur blues band, Andy went into social care management, โ€œbut Covid triggered an illness in me called Barry Syndrome,โ€ he told me, โ€œWhich completely paralysed me from my neck down overnight. I was in hospital for six months. My wife was told I probably wouldnโ€™t last the night. On the two occasions I didn’t see her for six months because there was no access, I was told I’d never walk again.โ€

Andy put his recovery down to the bicycle in the gym, and though he didnโ€™t imagine he would play guitar again, he expressed, โ€œit was all a bit tragic and horrible, but slowly I got a little bit back and I started picking the guitar up again. After about six months, I came out of hospital. I just started playing again, just acoustic, and I that’s when I went up to The Crown [open mic at The Crown, Bishops Cannings] and I played a couple of pieces there.โ€ Within those pieces, he asked Chrissy to sing them.

They trialled a drummer, โ€œbut he wasn’t the right fit and he knew he wasn’t,โ€ Chrissy said. โ€œSo he very graciously said I’m going to walk away from this because I’m not the right drummer for you, which is a really nice thing to say. But I think we’re percussive enough with how we play.โ€ Considering their medical tribulations they joked about getting the legendary one-armed drummer from Def Leppard. โ€œYou know, like one arm, one leg, not as long as they’re opposite sides of one another, one each side, that would be silly!โ€

Now, if music is therapeutic, I wanted to gage if that was their reasoning for the band, but burning the midnight oil isnโ€™t best medically advised over a strong cup of coco and an early night! Chrissy explained the band name derived from her staying awake all night drafting the songwriting, rather than the notion they were rock, rolling, and burning the candle at both ends.

Chrissy passionately talked of being a survivor of domestic abuse. โ€œIf you’re a woman with ADHD, you’re more likely to attract people with narcissistic tendencies,โ€ she explained, justifying her โ€œhorrible cycleโ€ sheโ€™s trying to break, โ€œof quite abusive relationships,โ€ and how this is reflected in her songwriting. โ€œThere’s a lot of resilience and hope that comes from the songs. I’m on a journey of healing. I think we’re all on a journey of healing, and Iโ€™ve always used the music as a form of therapy. If I can get my experiences onto paper, it’s like I’m not affected by it.โ€

Andy agreed, spoke of his consistent neurological pain, โ€œbut when I’m playing it just goes. I don’t think about it. I’m just so intense in the music. I mean, it’s just my passion.โ€ He began reminiscing of his instant attraction to guitar when, on his first day at secondary school, the music teacher putting a guitar in his hand, and that was his calling.  โ€œI wanted to be a professional guitar player, and nothing would stop me.โ€

If this is all beginning to feel like Iโ€™m in a support group here, the proof is the pudding, and the three tracks theyโ€™ve put down so far suggests otherwise. With harmonica and wavering strings opening, Lock Up has a rootsy blues feel, Chrissyโ€™s vocals poignantlyย express the theme of the arrival of mysterious and dubious fellow, expertly, and the whole vibe is nonchalant and smooth.

Scapegoat ushers in a more upbeat bluegrass air, with a deadpan subject, and Werewolf posing similar tenet, yet tips back into blues, and probably contains the most beguiling hook. Throughout though, thereโ€™s an intelligent balance between Americana and UK folk-rock, bags of potential, and the stylised promise of a blossoming band heading for something far greater.

In trying to think of a suitable female-fronted comparison, I changed to consider The Doors in the end, for the composition of three individuals with varying influences combining to create a timeless sound is how Iโ€™d pitch them both. On songwriting Chrissy connoted a song she was working on called Devil You Know, โ€œbecause statistically you’re more likely, as a woman, to be raped by somebody you know,โ€ she said. โ€œIt’s not about being dragged into the bushes, and that’s been my experience I’m really trying to connect with, those darker sides of life experiences, because life’s hard, it’s not any an easy ride for anyone.โ€ Using a metaphor comparing a paper cut to a broken leg, Chrissy conveyed an expression she said she was fond of, that โ€œpain is pain. I really want to connect with people of over-shared experiences like this, in the hopes that music could be healing.โ€

It’s the most common conviction of dedicated singer-songwriters to want your audience to identify with your outpourings, otherwise your voice is just an instrument, and you are just a pop singer. Though within the masses of potential for Burn the Midnight Oil I hear scope for commercial viability, itโ€™s through their personal reflections and devotion to support one another which I feel will strengthen their ability to convey the image they desire. After a successful first gig last weekend at The Kings Arms in Amesbury, arranged by Wiltshire Music Events, Burn the Midnight Oil are looking forward to a fundraiser at the Devizes Southgate on Sunday 22nd December. See the poster below, thereโ€™s raffle prizes et al.

Chrissy has a solo set at the Lamb in Urchfont this afternoon (15th Dec) supporting Vince Bell, the most modest of Devizes acoustic legends, who Chrissy cited as assisting her in developing her songwriting talent. Promising things are afoot here, and youโ€™ll be chuffed with yourself to witness it blossoming, I believe.

โ€œSeeing us as a brand and my understanding of working in the industry,โ€ Chrissy figured, โ€œis like, actually the music isn’t the product, we’re the product and I really want to share that journey, make it personal for everybody.โ€

With folk songs drafted about the origins of tiramisu, odes to Morticia and Gomez Addams, Steen justified her thought processes and random muses, the latter being an โ€œepitome of a really healthy, loving relationship,โ€ in a tenacious yet optimistic manner to direct her developing subjects didnโ€™t all focus on โ€œthe bad things that happened to me.โ€ Though I find itโ€™s the ability to use such as metaphoric examples and include them into a combination which will really make the hairs on the back of our necks stand up, and theyโ€™ve the greatest potential to do this.

ย I’m hoping one day I can write a happy song,โ€ she mused, โ€œbut the style is, well, you know, you donโ€™t choose the songs, the songs choose you.โ€ And so ensued a conversation about the differences between the melancholy of Dylan and wild romantic images Springsteen tended to paint, for thereโ€™s always exceptions to the rule, they both broke their own style at times, but pictures, I think youโ€™ve got this one now; Burn the Midnight Oil is a name we will be hearing a lot of over next year.

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YEA Devizes: DOCA New Youth Project

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

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Salisburyโ€™s Rosie Jay Releases Debut EP

Salisbury acoustic singer-songwriter Rosie Jay released her debut EP today, taking its title from her first single from June this year, I Donโ€™t Give a Damn. Thing being, I do, I give much more than a damn about Rosieโ€™s musical outpourings, because this doesn’t sound like a debut EP from a nervous teenager warbling immature ruminations. This sounds like an accomplished artist who’s been with an agent, producer and mainstream record label for eons, and established a name for themselves by acquiring the skill to balance a hook and identifiable narrative, and compose them into a beautifully stylised soundโ€ฆ.

Rosieโ€™s been working with producer Joylon Dixon on these four tunes, and it shows. Likely a perfect match, for this is faultlessly fresh, like Kirsty MacColl in her prime; a comparison Iโ€™ve used before for Rosie, and though a high accolade, itโ€™s fully deserved. For there is nothing to dislike here, the mood is breezy, the prose is thoughtful, both reaching out to her generation, while maintaining the classic template for acoustic folk rock for all to appreciate.

Beginning with her heartfelt breakup song, I Donโ€™t Give a Damn, the opening has this easy to sing along to chorus, but defines the potent melancholic and ironic thought pattern of the victim of a relationship breakdown in its verses. Akin to Sinead O’Connorโ€™s Nothing Compares 2U, and just as expressly delivered.

For Rosieโ€™s voice is magnetism, flowing gracefully and earnestly, but the whole composition suits this, perhaps with no better example than the second tune, also the second single released, Sing Another Love Song. As it sounds this is a flowing, more positive angle yet while thereโ€™s still a clever hook, in so much as McCartneyโ€™s ironic Silly Love Songs conveys the opposite effect.

If I preferred this song from the debut at the time, the next two, so far unreleased tracks, proves Rosie though beginning with a firm base, her songs will improve each time. Mind Fuckery is her magnum opus, but only to date. Isolation and affliction brought about by addiction is spelt out in the imperfections Rosie compares within herself and her generation. Again, weโ€™re sneaking through an open door into Rosieโ€™s mindscape, and it’s a poignant landscape of intense pensive and evocative prose.

The measure of a good singer-songwriter is when a listener feels like they bring a little subconscious of the artist back with them, the notion they identified and made a friend through their performance, as if they knew this person all along. I had been reviewing Rosieโ€™s singles for a few months before finally meeting her. When I did, it was exactly like this, it felt as if I had known her for ages, because even at this young age she projects herself, her thought processes and emotions so utterly exquisitely through this beautiful music. The final tune, well, despite all thatโ€™s been before, Carry Me, is the most graceful yet.

The final song is angelic, and steeped in astute metaphors Rosie faces her โ€œpersonal battle,โ€ it is, just as the other three songs, an emotive treasure wrapped in sublimity. There’s something standalone in the simplicity of person with guitar; the stripped back diploma for a musician, the final exam, and Rosie passed with flying colours. She should be setting the exam rather than taking it! What an amazing start.

Just as Iโ€™ve seen the careers of profoundly talented local artists like George Wilding, Tamsin Quin, Kirsty Clinch and Jamie R Hawkins progress from first reporting on them, I have high hopes for many of our aspiring newcomers, from Ruby Darbyshire to Meg and Harmony. Rosie Jay is high among these others, and based on the excellence of this EP I see no reason not to compare her to the likes of Elkie Brooks, The Beautiful South or Cerys Matthews. You simply have to allow yourself a quarter of an hour to take this in, released on all streaming platforms and as a CD. Follow Rosie on Insta. TikTok. YouTube. Thereโ€™s an EP launch party at the Winchester Gate in Salisbury, tonight.

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Autumn-Winter Comedy in Devizes

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

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Fun Lovinโ€™ Criminals to Headline Minety Music Festival

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

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

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

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

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

Tickets are up for grabs HERE.

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Swindon Gets Shuffling!

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

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Ian Siegal at Long Street Blues Club

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Soul Sessions from Bristolโ€™s Kaya Street

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

LinkTree . Facebook . Insta .

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Sign of Life; The New Single From George Wilding

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

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

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

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

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

George Wilding

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

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

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

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New Single: Phil Cooper Still Holding His Breath

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Get ‘Lifted’ by Chandra

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

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Some Days with Paul Lappin

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

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Rachel Sinnetta & Rosie Jay at the Crown, Bishops Cannings

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Ruzz Up The Gate!

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

Sing Another Love Song with Rosie Jay

Second impressive single from young Salisbury singer-songwriter Rosie Jay is released today. Sing Another Love Song; a sound of the summerโ€ฆ.. Her debut breakup trackโ€ฆ

Cotswold Water Park to be Renamed

Here’s a prime example as to why I could never be a councillor….. Cotswold District Council will vote on changing the name of Cotswold Waterโ€ฆ

Harder to Breathe; New Single from Talk in Code

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Devizes Scooter Rally Rules, OK?!

If it’s been a fantastic weekend on Devizes Green with the orchestral Full-Tone Festival, further out of town scooterists, mods, skins and anyone else withโ€ฆ

The Next Season at the Wharf Theatre

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