This weekend sees the start of the 2014 Middle Earth Beer and Music Festival and if you like you could mark it in your own mind as the start of the fairer weather months - spring and summer. Outdoor meandering at stalls and indoor meandering from real ale to real. And all to a backdrop of live music.
Here's a decent enough list of what's going on musically over the weekend. So if you need to plan your musical preferences ( a plan that may well be ruined by spontaneous enjoyment) this is a good place to start.
There is shed loads of live performances running from the evening of Thursday April 24th through Friday and Saturday until after 4pm on Sunday the 27th April, with evening and afternoon sets of swing, jazz, hillbilly, rock, blues and original acoustic songwriters.
And of course there will be a great stock of beers to mill about with...
Beer & Cider
We’re bringing in over 40 real ales from local real ale brewers as well as some from
around the country that you maybe won't be as familiar with.
In addition we’ll have another excellent selection of real cider from independent
ciders makers up and down the country.
Brewers will include...
Bollington, Tyrril, George Wright, Caledonian, Wensleydale, Wadworth, Batemans,
Adnams, Northumberland, Lytham, Milestone, Wentworth, Allgates, Kirby Lonsdale, Fuzzy
Duck, Bogart, Hopstar, Three Bees, Thwaites, Wychwood and others TBC
...and the music.
There are three ticketed live music evenings to be enjoyed on the Thursday, Friday and Saturday. This is separate from the Music In The Afternoons which includes solo acts, duos and bands - all for a £3 entry fee. Plenty for your ears to enjoy while you drink and wander about in all the outside goings on (which I haven't even had chance to look at yet in this complex day and age of endless online event description ...but I will be enjoying it all in real life).
I hope this list will make it clear and easy for all you punters out there to understand. At least now while you're still sober. Please invite your friends to the online facebook events, share the music and make arrangements for lifts and babysitters now. The more of us the merrier.
LISTINGS:
Thursday April 24th Emma Stevens plus the Remedy.
Doors open 6.00pm Tickets £8.00 / Music starts at 8.00pm
Friday April 25th Rambunkshus
Doors open 6.00pm Tickets £6.00. Music starts around 7.00pm (Soul DJ)
Saturday April 26th Swing Commanders
Doors open 7.00pm / Music from 9.00pm / Tickets £10.00
Also note: and if you can't get tickets to see the Swing Commanders at this point, for reasons of musical self preservation I have to mention that nearby on the very same night is another gig in Clitheroe at the Grand venue on York Street. The Gren Bartley Band with Sweeney Astray!
doors open at 7pm, music starts at 7.30pm and tickets are £8.50.
Swing Commanders have sold out before so hurry and buy your tickets.
Saturday April 26th Afternoon Acts (£3 entry):
11.15am Peter Aldridge
12pm Blanty
1pm Mog Stanley
2pm George Harris
3pm Bad Cardigan
4pm Western Valley Hot Club
Sunday April 27th Afternoon Acts(£3 entry)
11am Mike Kneafsey (of Sweeney Astray) with Elliott Dryden
12pm Brother Bastion
1pm David Jaggs (of The Ragamuffins)
2pm Sean Keefe and the Hostages
3pm The Jackrats (£3 entrance fee)
Thursday Evening April the 24th: Emma Stevens plus The Remedy
sample Emma Stevens youtube from Radio Two http://youtu.be/M4E2diZyqos
With loads of recent airplay on the BBC Emma’s visit as part of her spring tour is
a real coup for the Middle Earth Festival.
“I write and sing haunting folk & pop songs with a twist and lots of sparkle. We’re
looking forward to meeting you in person on my forthcoming UK tour which visits the
Middle Earth Festival on Thursday 24th April 2014. Emma x
The Remedy
The Remedy are an up and coming, mellow, acoustic duo consisting of singer-songwriter Hannah Spurgeon and creative bass player Elliott Dryden. Formed in and inspired by the picturesque Ribble Valley, The Remedy, who are both 18, won The Reidys Home of Music Talent Competition 2013 playing their own brand of inspiring acoustic music. Described by a local journalist as "tall and skinny and tight and melodic" their self-penned songs are said to be “captivating, carefully crafted and tasteful”. Comments made upon their live appearances include "you took me on a journey that was so beautiful I felt part of the performance" and praise including "they project optimism from the stage".
Friday Evening April 25th: Rambunkshus
The North West's finest Rhythm and Blues, Northern Soul and Funk band, playing authentic
rare sounds of the Soulful States from the 50's, 60's and 70’s.
A versatile seven-piece line-up of professional and semi-professional musicians,
bass, drums, keyboards, two guitars, sax and trumpet, Rambunkshus authentically cover
the brightest stars of Motown, such as The Temptations, The Four Tops & Smokey Robinson
to the greats of Rhythm and Blues Ray Charles & Sam Cooke and James Brown, to the
less famous but equally esteemed stars of Northern Soul, such as Solomon Burke, Jackie
Wilson, Johnny Taylor and Billy Butler.
Experienced soul DJs accompany us on our travels
https://www.facebook.com/Rambunkshus
Doors open 6.00pm Tickets £6.00 Music starts around 7.00pm (Soul DJ)
Saturday Evening April the 26th: Swing Commanders
http://youtu.be/YiddPfBNCe4
Swing Commanders: "If it swings, they can, and will play it"
The Swing Commanders is a stunningly vibrant and versatile group that performs an
exciting mix of 1940’s classics, boogie-woogie, western swing, 50’s jump jazz and
more!
Every member of the Swing Commanders sings and plays at least one instrument, sometimes
three. Yet what makes them stand out even above their incredible music ability and performing
skills is their joie-de-vivre.
Doors open 7.00pm / Music from 9.00pm / Tickets £10.00
And
if you can't get tickets to see the Swing Commanders at this point, for
reasons of musical self preservation I have to mention that nearby on the very same night is another gig in Clitheroe at the Grand venue on York Street.
Saturday Evening April the 26th: at the Grand in Clitheroe and please note, not at the Beer Festival: Gren Bartley Band plus Sweeney Astray
doors open at 7pm, music starts at 7.30pm and tickets are £8.50.OK Free Music at the Beer Fest in the Afternoon apart from a £3 charge to stay for the Jackrats.
The Western Valley Hotclub at 4pm Saturday
The Western Valley Hotclub will be playing a variety of Swing, Bluegrass and Gypsy Jazz so you really mustn’t miss this fantastic opportunity to see such quality music. The band consists of Simon Brady who sings and plays Mandolin as well as Guitar, Gaynor Sutcliffe who also sings and plays Violin & Accordion and Ray Walmsley who plays the Double Bass.
Bad Cardigan at 3pm on Saturday
Jack Anwyl & Tom Randall.
http://badcardigan.bandcamp.com/
http://badcardigan.tumblr.com/
http://www.soundcloud.com/bad-cardigan
http://badcardigan.bandcamp.com/
http://badcardigan.tumblr.com/
http://www.soundcloud.com/bad-cardigan
Biography
Bad
Cardigan formed in September 2011. An acoustic duo from
Lancashire; Jack Anwyl and Tom Randall. Both sing, both play guitar to
create a harmonious array of music, playing self penned original songs.
"We have supported The Levellers at
Manchester Academy 1 and Liverpool 02 Academy. And played in
Manchester, Liverpool, Birmingham and London and have spent
some wonderful nights in Yorkshire. Tweet us, like us on Facebook (but
only if you actually like our sound!). We are also on Instagram, Tumblr,
YouTube, Soundcloud and Twitter.
It is hard to say who inspires us
as our musical interests are so varied but a few inspirational artists
include John Frusciante, Alex Turner, Bon Iver, Jimi Hendrix and Dallas
Green. Hope you enjoy our music! Feel free to message us your thoughts!
PS "name your price" on Bandcamp means if you want to pay nothing enter "0" after clicking "buy now" .
PS "name your price" on Bandcamp means if you want to pay nothing enter "0" after clicking "buy now" .
Description
Here's a link to live video/audio recordings of Complexity, Manchester to Exeter and Nursery Rhymes: http://vimeo.com/33656385 Two more links to recordings from our EP: Complexity http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fsoundcloud.com%2Fright-on-management%2Fcomplexity%2F&George Harris and the Memory Makers (solo set by George) at 2pm on Saturday
Biography
George
Harris is a singer-songwriter based in Preston, Lancashire and has been
writing honest, folk based songs for half a decade. Taking inspiration
from first-hand experiences and artists such as John Martyn, Foy Vance,
Bob Dylan, Alex Ebbert, Eddie Vedder and Ben Howard George has played
live in pubs, cafes, garden parties, house parties and festivals for the
past few years. After playing the circuit
as a solo artist George now plays with support from two good friends;
Jack Rostron (Drums) and Carl Slater(Bass) . George Harris and the
Memory Makers recorded their first EP at Brock and Broll Studios in the
summer of 2013 (available for download on Facebook). The Band looks
forward to starting the recording of their second EP in the near future,
meanwhile George Harris and the Memory Makers continue to write and
perform with relentless enthusiasm. George Harris - “I can smell an
album”.http://youtu.be/Ls1kciDaOB4
Mog Stanley at 1pm on Saturday
One Man Rock n Roll Machine. Toe tapping extraordinaire.
Biography
Song singing, guitar playing foot tapping blues folk indie musician residing in the northern quarter of beautiful England."Mog Stanley has a bright future in the music industry, his melodic and haunting vocals are beautiful and touching. Mog’s well put together Blues style riffs, combined with his modern day and thought provoking lyrics provide endless listening experiences." Freaky Pug Records
"Gut-thumping Northern Blues" Caroline Rennie (All fm)
Description
www.mogstanley.comBlanty at 12pm on Saturday
Blanty has lots of his own songs & plays styles from all around the world (there is a recording from The Western Sahara on his Soundcloud page), also lots of Celtic songs... he stayed with & was taught by champion piper Con Durham of Kerry for 3 years ...... he also knows lots of Spanish songs, fluent in fact https://www.facebook.com/Blantymusic https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=459706854145689 https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLoUiSKRqUh64nMf_G_wd0jzOBirdBBE- https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLoUi-SKRqUh4CLK2p-q59OjvhyxDyOvxgBlanty recently played 2 slots at Musicport 2013 festival (he will be playing Musicport 2014 North Sea & is booked for The Free Stonehenge Camp 2014, he was involved in Oxjam Takeover Manchester 2013 & has supported George Borowski.
More info and pictures of Blanty to come..Sunday Music In The Afternoon...write up to follow shor
Sean Keefe and the Hostages at 2pm on Sunday
About
Bluesy Slide Guitar Americana
Biography
After
selling and fixing up instruments for more years than we care to
remember, we tried playing 'em instead, all at the same time, and we
liked it.
Description
Songs about swamps and motel rooms, serial killers and lost roadhouses that only appear once every 1,000 hangovers....
Artists we also like
Tom
Waits, Fred Eaglesmith, Steve Earle, Bruce Springsteen, Creedence,
Willie Nelson, Johnny Cash, Georgia Satellites, Cake, Volkerfirm.| Genre | Bluesy Slide Guitar Americana | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Members | Sean Keefe - Guitar, Dobro, Harmonica, Vocals, Breadmaking Andy Guttridge - Bass, Guitar, Vocals, Providing Rich Ilott - Piano, Keys, Guitar, Theramin, Swirly Noises Scott Callaghan - Drums, Guitar, Optimism | ||
Don't forget to invite your friends to the facebook event and tell them about it!!
https://www.facebook.com/events/466846573387996/
Thank you for listening.
Mike Kneafsey
Mike Kneafsey is lead singer and songwriter with Sweeney Astray. He also teaches the guitar full time and works as a professional musician playing solo gigs as well as being an occasional promoter, writer and compere.
Sweeney Astray will be playing live at the Grand in Clitheroe on Saturday April the 26th. (doors open at 7pm, music starts at 7.30, tickets are £8. The Gren Bartley Band will headline the night).
Mike will be playing a solo gig with vocalist and multi instrumentlist Katie Ritson (Royal Northern College Manchester) at the Times pub in VBlackburn on Friday May 2nd.
Mike will be playing a solo gig with vocalist and multi instrumentlist Katie Ritson (Royal Northern College Manchester) at the Times pub in VBlackburn on Friday May 2nd.
To hear our music visit the following sites...
http://www.reverbnation.com/sweeneyastray
official website...http://www.sweeneyastray.co.uk/
https://soundcloud.com/mike-kneafsey-songwriter/tracks
https://soundcloud.com/streamhttps://soundcloud.com/sweeneyastray-1
and please can you like our Facebook page. It really helps us know you're there!!
https://www.facebook.com/SweeneyAstray
Sweeney Astray is
Vocals/guitar Mike Kneafsey
Drums/percussion - Anna Ashworth
Double bass/vocals- Hannah Dacey
Musicians Katie Ritson (vocals/guitar/piano), Elliott Dryden (bass) and Marta Canellas (cello) - also play gigs with Sweeney Astray and at Mike's solo gigs.
 |
| Sweeney Astray playing live at the Grand Clitheroe |
 |
| Vocalist and songwriter Katie Ritson (Royal Northern College Manchester) |
 |
| Cellist Marta Canellas trained in Vienna and originally based in Barcelona. |
 |
| Elliott Dryden bass player with the Remedy and with Mike Kneafsey. He is also training as a sound engineer and works professionally as a musician and sound man. |
Swing Commanders
"If it swings, they can, and will play it"
The Swing Commanders is a stunningly vibrant and versatile group that performs an
exciting mix of 1940’s classics, boogie-woogie, western swing, 50’s jump jazz and
more!
Every member of the Swing Commanders sings and plays at least one instrument, sometimes
three…
Yet what makes them stand out even above their incredible music ability and performing
skills is their joie-de-vivre.
Doors open 7.00pm / Music from 9.00pm / Tickets £10.00
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