Wiltshire country singer-songwriter Kirsty Clinch released a Christmas song only yesterday, raising funds for the Caenhill Countryside Centre near Devizes, and it’s already racing up the iTunes country musiccharts….
It’s one thing to get your song out locally, but Kirsty was excited to announce that she, “woke up this morning, and we are still in the top 10 of the iTunes country music charts and 180 in the overall charts, not only that, last night I saw we hit 7!”
In collaboration with the Caenhill Countryside Centre, a charity project which brings countryside learning to children and communities west of Devizes near the Caen Hill locks, The Best Christmas Ever was mastered by Peter Lamb, with Kara Robertson and Lorna Carroll. Kirtsy describes it as “cheesy but addictive, cute but meaningful, and it definitely has a twist dance and country vibe to it!”
Founder of First Melodies Music School, Kirsty has even choreographed a fun dance routine to learn too. A video of Kirsty showing us the moves is on social media, (Facebook – Instagram) and encourages children to send their own video of them doing the dance.
The preferred way to buy it is on iTunes, because it’s raising funds for the charity, and will go towards the future of the farm project and the animals there. “It makes me incredibly happy and proud as an independent artist,” Kirsty said, “that’s always been told they are not good enough!” No idea who would’ve dreamed of saying this, but they deserve a sack of coal from Santa this year!
“Let’s keep the hype going until Christmas,” Kirsty says; we agree and send you Christmassy blessings! Christmas number one, I say, with your help: download the song HERE.
I’m delighted to announce Devizine will be actively assisting to organise a new county-wide music awards administration, in conjunction with Wiltshire Music Events UK. The public will be asked to vote, and the award ceremony will take place in Devizes at the Corn Exchange, on Saturday 25th October 2025, with hope it will continue annually…..
Wiltshire Music Events UK in conjunction with Devizine, have decided it is overdue to acknowledge and celebrate the creativity, innovation and dedication of musicians, music promoters, and venues in Wiltshire. Therefore, we have created The Wiltshire Music Awards, an annual award ceremony reflecting and commemorating musical talent within the county.
Nominations are open for the ceremony from 1st May 2025, and will close on 10th June 2025. We are excited to unveil the categories, which reflect the diverse ways people bring music to life within their respective communities, county-wide.
These awards will recognise the individuals, groups and organisations whose efforts make a real difference. If you know someone you believe deserves recognition, or want to showcase your group, this is your chance to give them the spotlight they deserve.
Wiltshire Music Events calls for anyone promoting music locally to get involved and help create diversity and coverage for their own communities. A panel of professionals from across the county will be elected to assist in judging the nominations. With a finale date of Saturday 25th October, when an award ceremony will take place, central to the county, at the Corn Exchange, Devizes.
I have pushed for this event to take place in Devizes, for while it’s geographically central to the county, I’m sure you’ll agree, there is also a powerhouse of talent emerging in this area and it will be a positive attribute to Devizes and hallmark its rightful place in the arts scene of Wiltshire.
Why get involved?
Music has the power to unite communities, foster creativity, and change lives. The Wiltshire Music Awards will honour those who make this possible and provide a platform to showcase to local talents. Whether you’re a performer, organiser, or supporter, these awards are an opportunity to highlight the hard work that often goes unseen.
To receive an award will bring more than just a trophy. It will elevate profiles, help with funding applications, and energise the community.
There is plenty of time to recognise the people and projects that inspire you. Nominating will be easy and online, and we will release the website in which to do so nearer the time for voting. There will be categories. The public can nominate their choices in all of the categories. Once the nominations process is completed, the top three of each category will be presented to the judges, who will then decide the winner of each category. The judges decision will be final, and we shall then announce to the public the top 3 of each category with the result announced at the ceremony.
The 2025 Categories:
Best Solo Male Artist – Best Solo Female Artist
Best Covers Band – Best Original Band
Best Duo – Rising Star Newcomer
Tribute Artist /Band – Music Venue
Best Original Song – Best Vocalist
Best Guitarist – Best Bassist
Best Drummer – Best Instrumentalist
Best Original Song – Best DJ
Lifetime Achievement Award
Outstanding Contribution to the Wiltshire Music Scene
Outstanding Contribution to Music in the Community:
Somewhere just outside Westbury a sizable barn hosted the most memorable new year’s eve raves in the mid-nineties, but I’d never have imagined then, that thirty years later I’d be saying I went out raving in Westbury last night, but I did, sort of!
Attendees at the Westbury Conservative Club yesterday willingly admitted not a lot happened here, but none I badgered about it, Uncle Albert style, seemed to recall any of the raves, nor can I find any record of them online. It is not all in my warped imagination, honest, that I recall a rumour circulating one year that Altern 8 played a live PA. They may have done, but with hazy recollections, my matured mind must consider the very real possibility it could’ve been any number of random nutters dressed in illuminous bodysuits and dust masks, probably was, and no one would’ve been any the wiser if it was!
No one there at the time gave a hoot if Altern 8 played or didn’t, it was never an era for live music, (it wouldn’t have been “live” music anyway,) it was all about DJ culture. Likewise, events for rave die-hards today mostly rely solely on DJs, unless you’re lucky enough to trek to festivals or city gigs from bands like Orbital. That is, not to discredit them, even those who combine cheesy raves with soft play centres, just to say, when local trance-techno collective Hedge Monkey organise something of a reunion, or comeback gig in an era geared more toward actual live music, with instruments and everything, it was something matured, proper, and fantastically different.
“We were a band years ago,” singer Lou Cox explained for our preview piece, “even played Glastonbury festival twice! But this was before social media, really. I’ve been recording music with Jase the whole time, but we never did anything with it. Just recently we decided to get it all back together and it’s been fab, so we decided that we need to have a comeback gig!” Both Jase, the main man at the control tower of Hedge Monkey, and Lou, were que sera sera on what the gig indicated for the future of the band, but based on what I and a packed club of devoted fans, friends and family of the collective’s members witnessed, I sincerely hope there’s more to come.
It was, in technical jargon, bangin’. If we’re at the boundary for the westcountry penchant for crusty trance-techno, historically bands emerged from it, like Eat Static, tended to knock out endless layer-building electronic beats, chuck a few samples in and tick them off as a job well done. Not that there’s anything wrong there, it’s the beats and bass entrancing the crowds and hence giving the subgenre its name, but as a collective Hedge Monkey brought out multiple female singers, who did their parts and returned to the dancefloor with their friends, and a real drummer, with a real drum kit, and these elements gave it body and soul, something I feel often overlooked from the ambience of techno.
Alongside the archetypal gorgeous, plodding basslines of trance it was experimental too, with dubbed rises and delays akin to what Norman Cook later brought to the breakbeat party, but with a squeaking overlay of wobbly 808s it held tightly to acid house, the root of it all. But to repeat myself, for it’s worth noting, each singer brought their own styled vocals to the melting pot, one even brought alto choral tones, and the drummer watching the tempo, Hedge Monkey’s sound is unique, as if striving to make the subgenre formulated to traditional pop music templates without rejecting its roots. At one point interpreting Nina Simone’s Feeling Good, at most though, original compositions which wouldn’t look out of place when LFO and 808 State ruled the day.
Needless to say, without intoxication, as I’ve matured way past all that, and even booze was off the cards being I drove, I still felt the irresistible urge to shake my thang to this like the noughties never happened! There was a communal, reunion feel to the gig, without cheese, glowsticks, and the poorly researched assumptions of what symbolised the rave epoch, and though not part of that and alone, by the end I made temporary friendships in the manner the rave scene has always advocated, and this besides the sublime sounds, blessed the party with vibes of yore; top one, nice one, and all this grandad needed to be sorted was a nice cup of tea and cheese toastie when I got home!
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Okay, so, I’m a little behind, recently opting to perfect my couch potato posture and consider hibernation, meaning I’ve not yet mentioned Kirsty Clinch’s new single Chapters, released at the beginning of the month, which I should have done. Why, you might ask, is it any good? Did you hear me right, it’s Kirsty Clinch?!
Eloquently sentimental as ever, Kirsty suggests it would make the perfect wedding song, and I’m inclined to agree, though I had my turn already, choosing Ben E King; for prospective newlyweds though, take heed! This bears all the hallmarks of a breezy country classic from the likes of Dolly or Wynette, with a contemporary sense subtler than Swift, that is, added bass by local legend Pete Lamb, who also mixed and mastered this delicate beauty recorded by Kirsty herself.
It trickles like water, with a loose narrative to be interpreted to suit your dreams too, but if there’s the opening of a new chapter of thoughtful prose, the character in the song admits to being too young to reminisce on previous chapters. In fact, it has been a few years since past chapters opened musically for Kirsty, her Evolution album was released in 2021. She has been concentrating on Westbury’s Award Winning music school, First Melodies,which she created to coincide with a series of preschool music books. I love this project as it’s perfect for Kirsty, but, it’s a warm welcome back to recording, as this song sure makes up for lost time!
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If rural West Country had a penchant for trance in the happy daze of the mid-nineties, heady nights of fluorescent-clad crusties with eyes like flying saucers and gyrating like robots at the UFO club down Longleat’s Berkeley Suite, or bumbling around a nearby forest afterparty keeping Wrigley’s in business, trance-techno, it could be debated, tended to be heavily influenced by German Tekno and of Kraftwerk and Tangerine Dream which predated it, and in doing so, often felt rather soulless when compared to rivalling subgenres spawned from the rave era, of house or drum n bass, but there’s an alternative, Hedge Monkey….
House, jungle, happy hardcore, et al, they all had their pros and cons, but I tended to saunter them all with equal love, as I arrived on the rave scene at its inception, acid house, and if any splitting subgenre related closer to those roots it was trance and techno. Lou’s smooth vocal chants on Westbury’s electronic dance music ensemble Hedge Monkey blesses it with something bands like Eat Static lacked, a soulful voice and meaning. With an underlying base of trance-techno of yore, Hedge Monkey’s engineer Jase cherry-picks other dance music influences and moulds them into the melting pot. If Massive Attack came from rural Somerset, their sway to hip hop might be lessened, and you might find yourself with a sound not so unlike Hedge Monkey.
Being honest, I hadn’t heard of them until last night; I may have completed my rave honeymoon when Hedge Monkey was blossoming. They’ve three tracks on SoundCloud worth checking out, two new and one being a “samba dub” of an older tune. “We were a band years ago,” Lou explained, “even played Glastonbury festival twice! But this was before social media, really. I’ve been recording music with Jase the whole time, but we never did anything with it. Just recently we decided to get it all back together and it’s been fab, so we decided that we need to have a comeback gig!”
The comeback gig is Saturday November 30th at Westbury Cons Club, tickets are £8, from HERE. There’s DJs until 9pm, then Hedge Monkey swings on stage. If you’ve a passion for dance music of any pigeonholing subgenre, you should take note of this gig.
Based on the tunes, there’s more going on than mindless techno stomp, the vocals on the first tune Deeper Meanings, echoes out as 808 squeaks build in layers to a bouncing beat akin to Leftfield. It’s uplifting, euphoric trance, like Warp’s early days, elements took me back, conjured happy memories of fluffy nuggets like Tuff Little Unit’s Join the Future, (or am I showing my age now?!) which used subtle piano to give balance to the hypnotic ambience. Similar here, actual drum beats, guitars, and vocals give it body, makes it a band, which it is, rather than the sole bedroom producer flouting the usual samples.
The second tune, Lou’s Samba Dub Lung, shakes up more experimentally and contemporarily, dubbing a chemical breakbeat. There’s absolutely no reason for Plump DJs or The Chemical Brothers not to spin this one in my humble opinion, yet still, there’s still something underlyingly faithful to the trance techno of its roots, the dirty little tent on a muddy Somerset field!
Final tune to mention, then you can go take your meds; Turkish E, take us back to trance. It’s seven minutes of bliss, retaining uplifting vocals, squidgy 808s, shroom-inspired twirls and block rockin’ beats. You know, I might have an efficacious relapse if I attend this reunion-type gig, just try to prevent me from waffling Uncle Albert moments; “when I was in the rave,” type stuff! Ruffle your matted dreadlocks, unearth your tie-dye T-shirt from the loft, ignore me best you can, and I might see you there!
If we spoke only last month about Wiltshire Council’s threats to prosecute Wiltshire Music Events over posters advertising a Bob Marley tribute event in Devizes, it seems we were only at the tip of a disheartening iceberg for event promoters. Promoter for Adrenaline Stomper rave nights at Venom Nightclub in Westbury, Chris Freeman is the latest victim of their crackdown on fly-posting….
Mr Freeman tasted their venom, and was given a 24-month Conditional Discharge and ordered to pay £1,465 on the 19th April for flyposting, and then Wiltshire Council had the audacity to brag about it online. But, karma is a bitch; in a gloaty moment of stupidity, they displayed a photograph of the offending poster, acting like an advert for the event! We do hope it backlashes upon them, and entices people to attend on the 13th July. You can’t make it up! You’ve got to love our Council. I’m such a conformist I will certainly not give it this massive rave a plug for them….
Cllr Nick Holder, Cabinet Member for Transport and Street Scene, waffled, “we’re committed to reducing fly-posting in Wiltshire, and this prosecution is part of our wider clampdown on this unsightly blight on our communities.” As unsightly as, say, the construction of a £2.4 billion tunnel under Stonehenge that the High Court stated was “unlawful,” perhaps? Or the thousands of miles of unrepaired roads in the county, the plight of vacant high street shops due to hikes in rent, the construction of solar farms on areas of outstanding natural beauty when they could quite easily be put along our motorways, or maybe, just maybe, the human faeces pouring into our rivers the government they back allowed water companies to ignore? That level of unsightliness? A poster, advertising an event? Really?!
“It creates a bad impression of an area,” the councillor who couldn’t bear the thought of people enjoying themselves at a party he obviously wasn’t invited to, continued, “and it costs the council thousands of pounds each year to remove.” As costly as £1.4 million for a PCC re-election in 2021, because the Conservative candidate was a drink-driving wildlife assassin, perhaps? Or the £57,000 taxpayers paid to bail out MP Michelle Donelan for slanderous comments on her personal Twitter page? That kind of costly? To rip a poster off a lamppost, really?!
Chris Freeman personally expressed his “disappointment” to see Wiltshire Council brag about their successful prosecution, telling us, “it’s disappointing what they’ve done, still can’t believe it really.”
“I just want this whole thing done with,” he said. “Being I’m someone in the local community and having lived in Wiltshire all of my life, with no previous convictions of any kind, of course I cannot begin to tell you how very disappointed that this went to court, without even a warning.” Mr Freeman continued to suggest not only had it had a significant impact on him mentally, but also taken a huge toll on his family, even without the financial burden now in place.
Chris, a keen fundraiser for local charities, and a regular Father Christmas for local schools, asked Facebook users if justice was really served, “especially considering these types of events bring business locally into our local towns, shops and hotels?”
The nature of the events they seem to target could suggest the possibility of cherry picking events they take a personal dislike to, being that other event advertisements appear to be immune to the crackdown. Of course, this is highly debatable speculation, and far be for me to say it’s so. But with the hospitality industry at its knees post lockdown, again, maybe, just maybe, a little compromise is needed here from Wiltshire Council, just, y’know, a level of compassion, a little communication, and understanding, perhaps, maybe, just a smidgen?!
“In times like these,” Chris continued, “events that promote wellbeing, and aim to give people a reason to smile should be pushed forward, not pushed back.” Bingo, sir.
Obviously though, we have to go along with Wiltshire Council on this one, and we cannot tell you that the Adrenaline Stompers Festival 2024 at Venom Nightclub in Westbury, on Saturday 13th July promises to be their biggest single day event to date! We really shouldn’t say, it hosts over forty DJs and thirty MCs, over indoor and outdoor stages, has weekend camping including a shuttle bus to & from the event, and retails for a mere £35 a ticket! Because, you know, your council wants you tucked up in bed by ten pm, after enjoying an entertaining TV show with Ant & Dec in…. so, jump to it.
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If I said these four words, in this order: open, mic, cellar, and bar, lots of Devizes folk will be evoked with fond reminiscences of Alan Jones and Richard Ben’s regular sessions down in the basement of the Bear Hotel. Many local musicians cut their teeth there, else if already established, rung out their labour of love, and that, in a nutshell is what open mic nights are all about….
But with the event being kaput, I get asked time over, here at Devizine, if I know of any still operating. So last night I popped along to see Nick Beere of Marlborough’s Mooncalf Studios, hosting one at the Bell in Great Cheverell, and off the back of it thought today we could talk about it, and present a more general piece on local open mics; double-whammy.
“I don’t know why I got started doing it,” Nick tells me, as he sets up for the next act. Far from karaoke, Nick is tweaking technical bobs, engineering the sound and advising newcomers, to make them both comfortable and sound professional. There’s a communal feel about open mic nights without pretence. Vince Bell is there, no stranger to an open mic, explaining their importance as a bridge from practising and playing to your friends and family, to getting out gigging. Indeed, there’s an unplanned duo playing tonight, Lisa the singer, and though it’s a nervous start for them, the applause received sent them brewing with deserved confidence.
While you can take it as red Vince delivered his sublime acoustic goodness, he’s here with Devizes singer-songwriter Sorrel Pits, coming across as one of those artists to make excuses, prior to pulling off some beautiful songs adroitly self-penned with meaningful prose.
Guitarist Steve Nicholls and bassist Troy Orourke are also present, uncertain about the future of their band Alfred’s Tower since the singer left, but accompanied on cajon they produced some wonderful instrumental pieces. They asked me if I knew of any singers in need of a band, so if you’re on the hunt get in touch with us and I’ll hook you up. And within this here’s another notable point about open mics, they’re convention-like for networking, a social get-together of like minded talent, and new connections will undoubtedly be made at them.
The Bell at Great Cheverell makes for a hospitable village free house, catering for diners more so, yet often hosting live music; those Truzzy Boys being a particular favourite. No one seemed bothered by being treated to a selection of songs after their meals. Nick runs the open mic here on the second Tuesday of the month, the first Monday of the month he does similar at the perhaps more apt Lamb in Marlborough, and the third Thursday at the Horseshoe in Minal.
To get involved with open mics, a quick Facebook search is all you need to do to get the ball rolling. Though there’s lots of said groups inactive though, especially post-lockdown. I’ll stick a few groups and pages which we’ve discovered and are currently running at the bottom of this piece. For if you want to break into the local scene, open mic could well be your route.
Other local open mics worthy of your perusal are Tom Harris’s at the Barge on HoneyStreet. The next one being 22nd September. Join HERE for updates.
In Devizes I only know of one, The Exchange nightclub runs. The next one is Thursday 7th September, and thereafter the first Thursday of each month. HERE is the group you need to join. Though another similar thang, even more communal than open mics are acoustic jams, a particularly popular one being each Wednesday at The Southgate.
Stallards in Trowbridge have open mics on the last Thursday of each month. This group is HERE.
The Old Road Tavern in Chippenham has regular open mics on the last Sunday of the month. Group is HERE. Next evening is Sunday Aug 27th, 7pm to 10.30pm, their 16th anniversary. Chippenham FM’s Brian Reid has been running it since 2014. “We regularly get thirty-forty people each month,” he told us.
Another crucial point Brian made was the Old Road’s is open to poetry and comedy too, as others are likewise. “We have a space which I am proud to say is welcoming and attentive and supportive of newcomers,” he explained, “and a lot of experienced participants come too.”
In Bath Connor McLeod has a regular Monday evening at Belushis, and there’s a general open mic group for Bath, HERE.
Delaney’s in Wantage have open mics the first Thursday of the month, next up also 7th September.
For Open Mics across Wiltshire, HERE, and For Open Mics throughout the Southwest, HERE. Have mic will travel!
And if I missed your favourite one, let us know, and we’ll add, provided you don’t expect me to sing personally, as there’s a government health warning on that!
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For eight years on the trot, minus the lockdown year no one needs reminding of, local all-female supergroup, The Female of the Species have performed a one-off gig raising funds for various local charities; 2023 is no different as they announce this year’s will be on 21st October at Seend Community Hall….
It’s an amalgamation made in heaven. Five frontwomen of various local bands join in celebration, which is the sum of all their individual talent and a whole lot more. Nicky Davis from People Like Us and The Reason, Julia Greenland from Soulville Express & Delta Swing, Claire Perry from Big Mamma’s Banned & The Misfitz, Charmaigne Andrews from Siren, and Julie Moreton from Train to Skaville and Jules & The Odd Men make the line up, and if you’ve seen these any of these girls in action solo or with their own bands, you’ll know they’re all 100% dynamite; imagine this times five, forget the maths, the result is greater than 500%, an atomic detonation of wonderful!
I’ll see your examples of legends upstaging each other when on the same stage at the same time, as it’s fair to wonder how on earth something so right like Mike Jagger and David Bowie recording Dancing in the Street could’ve gone so utterly wrong, but raise you my assurance this is not the same ballpark here. The girls of Female of the Species work together in unison, back each other’s solos with such gusto, skill and friendship, it’s a sight to behold.
From Teen Talk to Young Melksham, and even once for Carmela’s Fight Against Muscular Dystrophy, Female of the Species must have raised tens of thousands of pounds by now, and received a civic award three years ago. Last year was a Halloween theme, this time the girls cover “the MTV years.” And will raise funds for Alzheimers Support.
I mean, yeah, it’s an assortment of sing-a-long covers, but with the adjoining of so much talent, it’s the unmissable cover show bursting with energy and fun you must see for yourself; the likes you only know if you know. Because of this ever growing need to know basis, it will sell out super fast, so….
The Female of the Species throw absolutely everything they have at this annual event. With great support acts and on stage banter, it’s something to behold. Here at Devizine we congratulate and thank the girls and all involved in this annual event which has become as special on our local event calendar as Christmas day!
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Hey, how’s you? Ah, been better, been worse, thanks for asking. Here’s what we’ve found to be doing over this coming week…….
All links, info and updates can be found on our event calendar. Other incoming events will be added there when we discover them, so do check in later in the week. For now though….
Tuesday 25th April:
Deadlight Dance on the Radio! Yes, Marlborough’s goth-rock duo Deadlight Dance will be live and chatting to Peggy on Don’t Stop the Music Show tonight, on Swindon 105.
Staying in Swindon, The Cavern Beatles pay The Wyvern Theatre.
And there’s the regular jazz night at il Fiume in Bradford-on-Avon, with the Graham Dent Trio.
Wednesday 26th:
Acoustic Jam at The Southgate, Devizes.
Sirius Chau at Wiltshire Music Centre in Bradford-on-Avon.
Running until 29th April, opening night for Julius Caesar at Rondo Theatre, Bath.
Also Running until 29th, Phoenix Players presents The Business Of Murder at Swindon Arts Centre.
Thursday 27th:
Open Mic night at Stallards, in Trowbridge.
Alex Lipinski and The Crown Electric & Matt Owens and The Delusional Vanity Project at Chapel Arts, Bath.
Mr Love & Justice play The Tuppenny, Swindon, while there’s a Chuckles Comedy Club at Meca, and The Diana Ross Story at The Wyvern Theatre, Swindon
Friday 28th:
Marillion tribute Marquee Square Heroes play the entire Script For A Jesters Tear for its 40th anniversary at Marlborough Town FC. Laurence plays Motown and soul classics at The Castle & Ball.
It’s The Final of Take the Stage 2023 at The Neeld, Chippenham, and Mr Love & Justice play The Old Road Tavern.
A Moroccan Banquet at Trowbridge Town Hall.
Billie Bottle’s Temple of Shibboleth – Solarference at Wiltshire Music Centre, Bradford-on-Avon, while Brake Lights play The Boathouse.
Tribute to Bonnie Raitt at Chapel Arts, Bath,The First Raitt Band.
Oasish & Stereotonics at The Vic in Swindon, The Illegal Eagles at The Wyvern Theatre.
The Big Excuse: Featuring Solcura, Bit Bigger, and Big Dog at 23 Bath Street, Frome, and the Toasters play The Cheese & Grain.
Saturday 29th:
Is Seend Beer Festival, also the start of Urchfont Scarecrow Festival, which is running until Monday.
Mr Love & Justice is at The Southgate, Devizes, Ben Borrill at the Moonrakers.
The Duskers at The Barge on Honey-Street.
Barrelhouse plays The Bear in Marlborough.
The Woodbridge, Pewsey has a hog roast with live music from The Busy Fools.
From Jovi & Dragoneye at The Wheatsheaf in Calne.
The Upbeat Beatles play The Civic in Trowbridge, sold out already at The Pump for Carsick with support from Nothing Rhymes With Orange and Meg.
A Midsummer Night’s Dream Masquerade – The Mayor’s Charity Ball at the Neeld, Chippenham.
Operation 77 at the Westbury Cons Club, Local Heroes Inc at Prestbury Sports Club, Warminster.
The Lost Trades return to Wiltshire after a national tour, and play the Hop Inn, Swindon. Meanwhile it’s emo night at The Vic with Black Parade. Paul Young – Behind The Lens at The Wyvern Theatre.
Lucis Choir at Wiltshire Music Centre, Bradford-on-Avon, Pop-Up Bowie at Chapel Arts in Bath.
The Cheese & Grain in Frome has Peter Hook & The Light, and Greg Lake tribute Lucky Man at the Tree House.
Sunday 30th:
Dr Zebo’s Wheezy Club will be at The Southgate, Devizes from 5pm.
May Day Musical Mayhem at The Talbot Inn, Calne, raising funds for Campaign Against Living Miserably, they have Six O’Clock Circus, Peaky Blinders, One Chord Wonders, Red Light, Absolute Beginners, The Killertones Underground and The Daybreakers.
Family Concert at Wiltshire Music Centre, Bradford-on-Avon,Noisy Nature with the Magnard Ensemble.
Devil’s Doorbell are live in session at The Electric Bar, Bath
Raver Tots comes to Meca, Swindon, while The Wyvern Theatre has the Ministry of Science.
Monday 1st:
Running until 7th May, Swindon Festival of Literature opens.
Monthly album listening club, The long Player at The Vic, Swindon.
And that’s it, do check out Zog with the kids at The Wyvern Theatre, Swindon, opening Tuesday 2nd, and running until 4th May. Then we have the King’s Coronation next weekend, lots going on to do with that, and lots happening if you wish to avoid that! Do keep a check up on the calendar.
A second track from local anonymous songwriter Joyrobber has mysteriously appeared online, and he’s bitter about not getting his dream job….. If this mysterious dude’s…
It’s not Christmas until the choir sings, and Devizes Chamber Choir intend to do precisely this by announcing their Christmas Concert, as they have done…
If Devizes’ celebrated FullTone Festival is to relocate to Whistley Road’s Park Farm for next summer’s extravaganza, what better way to give it the rustic…
This afternoon sees the inaugural grand ceremony of Stone Circle Music Events’ Wiltshire Music Awards taking place at the Devizes Corn Exchange. It’s a sellout…
In association with PF Events, Devizes Outdoor Celebratory Arts introduces a Young Urban Digitals course in video mapping and projection mapping for sixteen to twenty…
Independent optician, Haine & Smith, are backing a national campaign this summer to raise awareness of the link between screen time and short-sightedness in children.……
Myopia is a growing, global, epidemic linked to the amount of time spent looking at tablets, phones and TV screens. If left un-diagnosed, this can cause serious eye problems in later life.
Anna Lewin, Clinical Lead at Haine & Smith, advised: “Along with cutting back on screen time, we’re also encouraging parents and guardians to get their children’s eyes examined regularly. This will allow your optician to see the health of the eyes and whether they have deteriorated at all since the last exam. Our opticians can provide helpful tips on ways to keep your children’s eyes healthy which is extremely important while they are still growing and developing.
“The World Health Organisation (WHO) predicts that up to half of all people will have myopia by 2050. This is a startling figure which is why we have to educate people now to hopefully bring this figure down.”
Anna has also given some signs to look out for which could indicate your child is short-sighted. “They could be struggling to see the board at school, squint when they try to see something in the distance, hold their screen close to their face or sit close to the TV and maybe even complain of headaches. Although sometimes there are no signs or symptoms, which is why regular eye tests are so important.”
Anna Lewin Clinical Lead at Haine & Smith
The aim of the national campaign by Myopia Focus is for myopia to be recognised as an ocular disease by the NHS and for there to be free myopia management for all children in the UK. Haine & Smith has signed the petition and is giving its full support to get this agreed upon.
Children under the age of 16 are entitled to a free NHS eye test and, if needed, free glasses. To make an appointment with Haine & Smith either visit your local practice, call them to book a test, or fill out the contact form on the website www.haineandsmith.co.uk
Myopia Facts
1 in 3 people in the UK are affected by myopia
2.6 billion people worldwide have myopia or short-sightedness
In the last 50 years, the number of children in the UK with myopia has doubled.
By 2050 half of the world’s population will be myopic
**Information and figures from World Health Organisation and Myopia Focus (www.myopiafocus.org/)**
What the Myopia Focus petition aims to achieve:
Myopia recognised as an ocular disease by the NHS
To provide a myopia screening service across UK schools from the age of 4-5 to include all children and all areas
To provide a new GOS (general ophthalmic services) provision for children to pay a higher eye examination fee to take account of myopia screening and management, including a three-month recall for those with progressive myopia and undergoing treatment
To provide a new tier of spectacle/contact lens vouchers for myopia management – to ensure that all children receive free access to myopia management solutions to a minimum standard
To provide free eye examinations to those with high myopia of any age
To provide free eye examinations to all myopes up to the age of 25
To provide greater provision for vouchers for myopia management optical appliances for those over 25 on limited means
The Government to set up a task force to listen to the optical/ophthalmic bodies and align with the WCO stance
Secondary care NHS to include myopia management in eye departments
The government to invest in a large scale public health campaign to reduce the potential risk to our children’s and grandchildren’s long term sight health
by Ian Diddamsimages by Penny Clegg and Shakespeare Live “Antony & Cleopatra” is one of Shakespeare’s four “Roman Plays”, and chronologically is set after “Julius…
by Ian Diddamsimages by Chris Watkins Media and Ian Diddams Whilst probably best known for his editorship of “Private Eye” magazine and thirty-five years as…
I mean, Devizes own contemporary blues throwback, JP is getting bookings, and rightly so. He’s off to Trowbridge’s Lamb next Saturday for a double-bill with…
If it’s the beginning, it’s a loud one; kicking punk album release from Start the Sirens out last week has got me potentially stage-diving off the top of wardrobe.…..
A collaboration of members from Trowbridge, Devizes, Westbury and Wotton Bassett, Start The Sirens formed in 2019, hit the pandemic with an acoustic EP, which bassist Leyton Jones, aka Rocky explains was an experimental project to “find our own style, and achieve that upbeat sound.” Just the Beginning is the kicking debut, and a testament to accomplishment; they rock it with bells on.
If Forget What You Heard sets the mood, kick-ass skater punk which takes no prisoners, the second track Sunset to Sunrise breathes an air of carefree ingenuity akin to millennial pop-punk. Three tunes in though, Tell Me hints of traditional punk, well, at me it does! Lead vocalist Holly Harwood in Siouxsie Sioux fashion, especially with the “Whoa Whoa” chorus. It’s beguiling stuff hard to pinpoint but with a wave insensible to pigeonholing; just shut it and rock out.
Keen though I am to shelf this with punk roots, for it has that DIY ethos, Rocky was adamant to cite pop-punk and emo bands like New Found Glory and Blink 182 as obvious influences, and I’m forced to shed my aged perceptions and agree, it’s high-energy vibes and doesn’t come up for air, but cast in positive light rather than the dejected attitude of original punk. Positivity was key, Rocky established with me.
Design by Nikki Noodle
We spoke of tricky placements in local circuit pub gigs, though the band rocked Trowbridge’s Stallards last weekend, play the Old Bear Staverton tonight (2nd June) at 8pm, and support USA’s Hit Like A Girl with Brighton-based I Feel Fine, for a Sheer Music gig at The Village Pump on Friday 17th June. Rocky spelled out their motivation was a labour of love, and based on this showcase album, they should be placed firmly on a touring map of UK punk venues. Though I think Swindon’s Vic should snap them up, Bradford’s Three Horseshoes and Devizes Southgate would love it too.
Seven original three-to-four-minute heroes here, the penultimate This One’s For You perhaps the most enticingly commercially viable, and it finishes with one final name-sake anthem blast; I’m looking forward to catching these guys live. What? No, I’m convinced I still got it, mate! I’ve told you my story of Dad’s taxi to a Bowling for Soup gig at Bristol’s O2 before, haven’t I? I was like leaning on the railings of the upper area when I perchance to spot another glum looking expression on a guy of similar age. Seems like he was also chaperone to his kids, and we did the dad nod. Then I thought fuck it, I’m here, allowed to enjoy myself too and tried to drag that son to the mosh pit!
I may be outdated for the skater punk detonation, but it’s high energy, full of zest and aspiration, that’s my take, and something Start the Sirens has captured here; have a listen, get ’em in your local….
by Mick Brianimages from Lauren Arena-McCann The playwright Tom Stoppard is probably best known for his work “Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead”, his absurdist comedy…
You might think it’s a laryngologist’s dream come true, this Lewis Capaldi-led decade’s penchant for the blue-eyed soul singers’ melismatic strain to cause Mick Hucknall…
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…
There’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 took only a couple of hours at a Wiltshire Council meeting yesterday, to decide punishing drivers would be the order of day; they intend to whack up parking charges an extra 10p per hour, and enforce blue-badged disabled drivers to cough up too…...
Free Sunday parking and Town Council’s free event parking will also be a thing of the past, as the conservative-led council voted in favour of the proposals.
Liberal Democrats called for the amendment to be scrapped, while Wiltshire Council leader Richard Clewer called it “economic illiteracy” and “morally bankrupt.” Apparently,it’s all part of our town centres’ “transformation.” Cllr Clewer claimed the Conservative administration “has a clear plan for the future of our towns,” continued to slag off the Lib Dems’ for their “lack a coherent strategy,” and accused them of “playing politics for short-term gains.”
So, there you go, online shoppers, let’s say a prayer for our High Streets, as we once knew them…..
We’re talking with Wiltshire Police about spiking in the area, how common it is, how to best prevent being a victim of it, and what to do if you suspect you’ve been “spiked.”
There’s been a truckload of media coverage of “spiking” nationally, with a notion towards a trend of using needles rather than the more common practises of topping up a drink or dropping a drug into a drink. If anything, it’s made me realise how totally out of touch I am with modern clubbing. While it may’ve been a while since I got my groove thang on, which I feel imperative to add I can still cut-a-rug as good as any twentysomething, clubbing was a religion in my younger years, and I retain, just about, fond memories of carefree dancing the night away; but you don’t want to hear about that!
Therefore, I’m saddened and literally sickened to hear stories in the press of youngsters who’d rather stay in than risk being spiked, and those who’ve been victims. So, I’ve called upon Wiltshire Police, to find out how common this appalling trend is in the county, what people can do to both prevent it, and what action they should take if they suspect they’ve been spiked.
Wiltshire Police told me, “This issue has caused a lot of interest recently and we are keen as a Force to make sure the story is being told correctly and the actual picture in Wiltshire is being shown.” Still, I’d like to think cases in our county are low, and figures for the past three years in Wiltshire, supplied by Wiltshire Police’s Business Intelligence Unit show while twelve incidents were reported in 2019, this was reduced to eight incidents in 2020, which I suppose lockdown had an effect, because unfortunately, this year another twelve incidents have been reported. Police are keen to point out, these figures include instances where spiking may be mentioned in the summary of the incident but may not later be confirmed, and they relate to drink spiking, not needle spiking.
Yet this leaves me pondering incidents which go unreported, and I’m alarmed to read the charity Talk To FRANK website suggesting “while the aim may be to incapacitate someone enough to rob or sexually assault them, sometimes it is just intended as a joke – a bad joke as it is very dangerous.”
Beggar’s belief someone would do this as a prank, and in turn, I must say, I’ve had trouble angling this article. Firstly, if you’re a regular reader you’ll be aware I attempt sprinkling humour into my words, but there’s nothing funny to this issue. Secondly, I originally thought I’d have something concrete to say to anyone considering spiking another person, but I changed my mind; I have nothing to say to you which you’d probably take heed of, and I could legally publish.
The concentration has to be on sending a message to potential victims, which could be anyone. I’d like to advise you not to let these nasty bastards spoil your fun, but at the same time I implore you to stay safe.
Watch your drink at all times, remain within a group of trusted friends, and if you believe you’ve been spiked, try not to panic, but find support from friends. I accept this is easier said than done, the drugs these idiots use can be seriously intoxicating, things are going to get wobbly, so much more than having too many drinks, which should act as the indicator something is amiss, especially if you’ve taken account of how much you’ve drunk.
You may question what’s happening, where you are, even who you are, commonly used drugs like ketamine and Rohypnol are seriously debilitating, so getting help urgently is paramount. Wiltshire Police say, “we would encourage anyone who believes they have been the victim of spiking or have witnessed it to contact us on 101. Any reports of spiking will be investigated and taken seriously.” Details of prevention on Wiltshire Police’s website can be found here, please read it.
FRANK gives tips to stay safe: Plan your night out, including your journey there and back. Make sure the venue you are going to is licensed – venues are required to take steps to ensure the safety of their customers. When going to a pub, club or party avoid going alone. Friends can look out for one another. Stay aware of what’s going on around you and keep away from situations you don’t feel comfortable with. Think very carefully about whether you should leave a pub, club or party with someone you’ve just met, and make sure your mobile phone has plenty of charge in it before you leave home and keep your mobile safe.
I’m pleased to read nightclubs like The Chapel in Salisbury and Tree Swindon freely distribute “bottle stoppers,” but contacting another two local nightclubs, I received no response when asking them what they’re doing to prevent such incidents. While I know it’s not an easy issue, I urge them to reconsider policies such as no glass on dancefloors, hoping they can provide a plastic alternative.
Wiltshire Police have launched Project Vigilant, with operations being carried out on a frequent basis to proactively prevent violence and sexual offences. You can read more about Project Vigilant on the Wiltshire Police website. A Wiltshire Police spokesperson said: “We continue to work closely with licensed premises and our partners across the county through initiatives like Project Vigilant to ensure everything is being done to spot the signs of predatory behaviour.”
FRANK continues onto how to avoid drink spiking, suggesting always buy your own drink and watch it being poured. Don’t accept drinks from strangers. Never leave your drink unattended while you dance or go to the toilet. Don’t drink or taste anyone else’s drink. Throw your drink away if you think it tastes odd.
There is also an initiative led by Wiltshire Council called Ask For Angela, which the Police supports. The scheme helps people who are on a date or who have met someone at a venue and feel unsafe get help from bar staff. Anyone who feels unsafe in such a situation can get help from bar staff by simply asking to speak to “Angela.” Staff will then assist the person in leaving the venue discreetly and getting home or to a place of safety. This could mean taking the distressed person out of sight, calling for a taxi and making sure they get home okay or even asking the person causing distress to leave the venue if appropriate. Details about this are here.
To conclude, I’d just like to reaffirm my appeal you stay safe by taking heed of the advice, because although the media are focussing on needle spiking, spiking your drink is far more common and easier to execute. Prof Adam Winstock from the Global Drugs Survey says it would be difficult to inject someone with drugs in a night out situation, “needles have to be inserted with a level of care – and that’s when you’ve got the patient sitting in front of you with skin and no clothes. The idea these things can be randomly given through clothes in a club is just not that likely.” But not impossible, and dropping a pill into a drink, well, this is far simpler, so go out and have fun, but be aware, please.
The Wiltshire Music Awards are delighted to confirm a new headline partnership with Stone Circle Music Events, who will sponsor the Awards for 2025 and…
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…
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Is it a bird? Is it a plane? Nope, just shopping I’m afraid, but a marvellous idea to help small businesses locally!
With a striking superhero comic-book themed corporate identity, a small group of marketing agents from Westbury have donned cloaks and set up a voucher system in support of our local high streets.
Claire Rowlands runs Fundraising in the Community, a local company dedicated to supporting businesses in Wiltshire, whilst helping schools, groups, charities and organisations raise funds. They plan to launch Crusader Vouchers as a subsidiary to FITC Media. As it sounds, it’s a voucher-based concept akin to the website Groupon, but for local small businesses, the ones hit hardest by the lockdown.
Fundraising in the Community is a quality, professional service that offers a unique platform with a tailored audience to help drive prospective new business through the doors of local companies; whilst helping schools, charities, clubs and organisations within the community fundraise for their good causes.
Their voucher idea launches this October, and asks you to “put on your mask, grab your vouchers, support local businesses and bag yourself the best deals in town!” They have a website, but the majority of action is via Facebook, so like their page, where you’ll be able to access monthly vouchers for independent shops and small businesses throughout the South West.
These crusaders of independent shopping say, “the offers that we provide are free for everyone to enjoy, no catches, just straight forward vouchers to take advantage of each month for local small businesses and independent businesses. Due to Covid-19 our businesses need us more than ever so we’re appealing to you to put your mask on, grab your vouchers, buy local and bag yourself the best deals in town!”
Since the successful IndieDay in Devizes, I’ve noticed many similar schemes in local towns but here’s something truly original but like any new scheme, it’ll only work if people get behind it. So please do, everyone loves a voucher!
Everyone having a nice March so far, been alright, innit? I promised, when I featured the first fortnight of events, here, that I would return to complete the last two weeks. I’ve promised this before and totally spaced on it, for which I apologise; not enough hours in the day. Nothing to do with my goldfish memory. Here though, this month, I’ve actually only gone and done it, before the 31st March too! See below if you don’t believe it’s true, the last fortnight in March, stuff to do while waiting for the supermarkets to restock on bog roll, and all that. I know, it scares me sometimes too.
Click on the hare here to see the first fortnight of March
Bear in mind, mind, our calendar is constantly updating, so do check in as more events and gigs are bound to magically appear like the shopkeeper in Mr Ben.
Week 3
Sunday 15th is where we were up to, and I got two fantablous gigs, Burbank are the White Bear in Devizes, while Jon Amor is at the Three Horseshoes in Bradford on Avon; nice.
Monday, I never know if the Devizes Folk Club is on down the Lamb or not, to be frank, but it’s a place for a beer if I’m wrong and it’s not!!
Tuesday 17th The Stonehenge lecture at the Wiltshire Museum is now sold out. Celebrated cartoonist and artist, Norman Thelwell is at The Merchant’s House in Marlborough, for a fascinating hour illustrated talk, tracing his life, passions and artistic development. Thelwell produced 1,500 cartoons and 60 front covers for the famed Punch magazine alone and some 32 books translated into a dozen different languages. His works were full of beautifully observed detail and mainly of rural subjects, including country and leisure pursuits, sport, house sales and renovation, stately homes, gardening and sailing. Failing that, Cracknakeel provides live music at The Sun in Frome for their St Patrick’s Day celebration.
Wednesday 18th is jam-packed, for a Wednesday! Acoustic jam down the Southgate, Devizes. Bromham’s Farm Cookery School has a Taste of Morocco class, where you could be learning how to make a Briouat which is like a Moroccan Samosa, make your own Khobz and Kefta Mkaouara. £40.00 per person. Over in Marlborough David Evans gives the second of three lectures in The Merchant’s House Study Series, focussing on Reformation in England and the Arts. The Roots Sessions continues at Frome’s Cheese & Grain with the fantastic Ruzz Guitar’s Blues Revue.
Thursday 19th and you could be back down The Farm Cookery School in Bromham for a Mozzarella & Halloumi Masterclass with Josie. She will teach how to make both cheese which is technical but fun! £35.00 per person. The fantastic Ed Byrne is at the Bath Forum and Moles has a punky/metal night with the Anarchist’s Bookfair, Butter The Pavement and Out Of Reach.
If it’s a slow start to the week, Friday 20th March makes up for it. If, like me, all you know about Jesus Christ Superstar is that he came down from heaven on a Yamaha, and you have doubts with your conviction of that, it’s the opening night for this amateur production by arrangement with The Really Useful Group Ltd at Devizes’ Wharf Theatre. Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber’s classic musical portrayal of the last seven days of the life of Christ as seen through the eyes of Judas Iscariot runs until Sat 28th March and while tickets are still available as I write this, do be as quick, as if you were on a Yamaha yourself; take care not to skid though!
Meanwhile Devizes Town Hall is the place to head for opera fans, as The White Horse Opera presents their Spring Concert. Including Donizetti’s L’Elisir d’amore, Ruddigore by Gilbert and Sullivan and Hadyn’s Creation, this would be the perfect introduction to opera for those, like me, who thought Donizetti was a type of pasta sauce!
If you fancy music more pop, the local supergroup I’m always raving about, the Female Of The Species play Melksham’s Assembly Hall. Fusing all their respective band’s influences, expect the best of rock, soul and ska as the girl’s combine forces for a fun-filled gig; I’ve been to see one of these shows and I’m not hyping it up because they’re all awesome chicks, I highly recommend it!
Day one of two, at the inspiring Shoebox Theatre in Swindon of their FUSE Festival where six emerging artists test a new performance idea over three days. Fuse is about supporting the beginnings of new work before it’s fully developed. Watch, discuss, and be part of the creation of something brilliant. Two performances Kat Lyons’ Dry Season, interweaving music and movement with original spoken word poetry and extracts from medical literature. And the debut one-woman-show from Mighty Mammal Theatre, Swine of the Times, where you can meet the piggies at the troff; they sing songs, say prayers and even mime. Alice Wolff-Whitehouse employs her skills in physical comedy, dance and song to bring to life a series of flawed and quintessentially British characters, looking at the grotesque nature of privilege in the UK through a warped and colourful lens.
Staying in Swindon, Baila Coffee & Vinyl have some Disco Voodoo with DJ Amir, or try indie rock covers with Joli & the Souls at the Vic. Elsewhere, the Leathers play The Three Horseshoes in Bradford on Avon, Clannad are at Bath Forum, and Jack Dee’s Off The Telly tour is at Salisbury City Hall.
Saturday 21st then. After the hugely successful free concert in the Market Place last summer, The Full Tone Orchestra have taken their show to Marlborough, and return to town to rave the night away at the Corn Exchange. Taking the most popular section of their show, the club anthems, expect this to be something innovative and all glowsticks, as conductor Anthony Brown’s beloved orchestra reproduce the club classics which defined an era.
The Cavalier go country with the Stone Mountain Sinners, caught these guys before, they’ve a refreshing approach to country-rock which is a cut above the rest. And breezy, original songwriter Ed Witcomb makes a welcome return to The Southgate. For surf beats, odd time signatures, eccentric tunes and irony-fuelled free jazz, try The Barge at Honeystreet, where bonkers surf surrealists Mustard Allegro do their stuff.
Super Trooper Abba tribute, Sensations grace the Seend Community Centre, while Swindon’s Meca has a Whitney Houston tribute. Don’t forget though, it’s day two of the Shoebox’s Fuse Festival too.
Mercy Lounge at The Three Horseshoes, Bradford on Avon. Recommended ska night at Warminster’s Prestbury Sports Bar with the Train To Skaville, and Paul Carrick is at Bath Forum.
Train to Skaville
Week 4
Head to the Southgate for an afternoon pint or three, on Sunday 22nd, and our fantastic singer-songwriter Vince Bell will entertain you. Meanwhile, Groovelator play The Three Horseshoes in Bradford.
Vince
Tuesday, Devizes Film Club at the Town Hall have the latest Ken Loach film, Sorry We Missed You, which you will be if you miss this one film fans. Full of drama, tension and heartbreak. Ricky and Debbie are the parents of teenage children. Ricky joins the ‘gig’ economy with a franchise for a parcel delivery firm. The job is sold to him as one where he will become master of his own destiny. Providing, that is, he complies with the labyrinth of deadlines, rules and conditions imposed by the company, a near impossible task. Debbie is a care worker who wants to care for the old people as though they are her Mam. But her working conditions thwart her in doing the job as she thinks fit. This modern Dickensian story dramatises the conflict between work and family life in contemporary Britain.
Don’t forget Wednesday’s acoustic Jam down the Southgate, and blues-folk singer Elles Bailey is with Phil King at the Chapel Arts, Bath. Thursday you can witness epic human-powered feats, life-affirming challenges and mind-blowing cinematography on the big screen at The Banff Mountain Film Festival world tour, coming to the Salisbury City Hall. Staying in Devizes on the last Thursday of every month though is no bore, as the regular and celebrated open mic night at the Cellar Bar is something to behold.
Seventies punk bands never had such a great name as Brighton’s Peter & The Test Tube Babies. Still going strong forty years on, they play the Vic in Swindon on Friday 27th. Tenner on the door. Swindon also has an Improv Jam at The Shoebox, and homemade function band Locomotion at the Swiss Chalet.
Locomotion
While it’ll sadly never be possible for the boys to be back in town, Preston’s tribute Twin Lizzy will. They make a welcomed return to the Cavalier, Devizes on Friday. Meanwhile, the Devizes & District Twinning Association take over the town hall to bring us some French Café Music with Jac & Co, tickets are also a tenner for both these diverse evenings.
How much more diverse do you want? A dedicated club night for adults with Learning Disabilities? This Is Me at the wonderful charity youth centre, Young Melksham is precisely that, a night of great music and friendship. There’s a series of these events, first one is Friday.
Another welcomed return to Marlborough Folk-Roots at the Town Hall on Friday, when Steve Knightley explores the themes and stories that inspire him and shows how music and words can become lyrics and chords and notes can meld to create songs that acquire a life of their own.
For want of an authentic tribute band, From The Jam play The Cheese & Grain in Frome, and I’ve heard all good stories about them. If originals are what you want though, The Queen’s Head in Box has a double-booking Friday. Katy Hurt stretches the country music genre in exciting new directions; haunting blues vocals, towering country rock guitars, even a reggae vibe, and she is followed by psychedelic alternative rock band, The Bohemian Embassy.
Saturday night of the 28th March is alright, but no fighting, please. Time for the Devizes Lions’ Spring Concert at St Andrew’s Church, where Ian Diddams comperes Bath Coleman, Bangers & Nash, and the Trowbridge & District Youth Band. Tickets are £10, proceeds to Wiltshire Young Carers.
The Corn Exchange has a Gin Festival. Tribute act, Motley Crude are The Cavalier and local heroes Rockhoppaz play The Black Swan. For high octane original and classic rock mixed with some tasteful Bluesy tracks, check the Mark Smallman Band at the Southgate.
Devizine is the unofficial Tamsin Quin fan club, if you wanna hear why, head to Bromham’s Owl on Saturday. Another Abba Tribute, Swede Dreams play Market Lavington Community Hall.
Tamsin Quin
Highly recommended for the mods, The Roughcut Rebels are at The Pheasant in Chippenham. Also, Blondie & Ska are great fun, they’re at the Wiltshire Yeoman in Trowbridge, checking ahead, they play in Devizes, at the Pelican in May. The Blue Rose Band at The Westbury Conservative Club and an Amy Winehouse tribute at Bath’s Odd Down AFC & Social Club. Level III have a “One Step Beyond-ska and punk club-night.
Elsewhere in Swindon, homemade Damm at Coleview Community Centre and P!nk tribute, Beautiful Trauma play Brookhouse Farm, and a Pearl Jam tribute, Earl Jam at the Vic.
Sophie Matthews explores the links between the visual and the aural in a one-hour presentation at the Merchant’s House, Marlborough. Drawing on the works of great painters including Brueghel, Hogarth and Rigaud, Sophie presents a feast of images featuring historical woodwind instruments in their original social context interspersed with live performances of historical music using authentic instruments.
Sunday 29th – Nearly there, and breath…. Yin Yoga & Gong Bath at Devizes Corn Exchange, The Sunday Sessions continue at The White Bear with Matt Cook and Gary Hall at The Southgate. There’s a Comic-Con at Bath Pavilion, to be frank, it’s a commercial affair rather than a genuine “comic” con, with cosplay, gaming and meeting vague TV actors and ex-Gladiators, but might be fun for the kids.
That’s it, folks, March done, save Bradford on Avon Folk Club have Geoff Lakeman on Tuesday 31st. Let’s regroup in April, but feedback on these articles are needed. Do they work for you? Long-winded I know, but in order to fit it in. Devizine is a work in progress, I enjoy and need to know what’s working and what’s not. So, if you’ve read this far, I salute you! Tell me about it!
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