Jazz, country and cakes!

After playing two days at the Chainmakers' Festival, Marie and I rounded off the weekend with a wonderful night of jamming, friendship and cakes, courtesy of the wonderful Jan Brookfield.

Among a wealth of distinguished but incredibly vibrant musical talents were harmonica maestro Johnnie Cartwright, undisputed First Lady of the ukulele, Gabriela La Foley, the brilliant instrument maker and musician Paul Baker, local country legend Pete Boddis with his superb band – including Marilyn on drums and beautiful vocals, axeman Don, skilfully playing his upside-down guitar, and their fantastic bass player, Brian. Not forgetting our wonderful trio of ladies on percussion and backing vocals!  Last, but not least, Michael Timmins was there to film/snap the event ...

I had loads of fun soloing, singing and jamming with everyone .... And what about those cakes! :)

Saturday at the Chainmakers' Festival

Thanks to Billy and Lozz for a wonderful Chainmakers' Festival! I had a fantastic time playing there.

Friday, I closed the night at the Festival, which was great fun but a little tiring, so unfortunately, I didn't get to see all the great performers who were on earlier in the day on Saturday, such as Bryn Phillips & Steve Grosvenor, Alex Vann and East West Infusion (who I've previously featured at a Brett Huckfield & Friends night). But, before playing my Saturday set at the festival, circa 3.30 pm, I did catch Carol Widenbar, Tom Martin & Helena Rosewell, and Easy Street, who did a superb job of entertaining the festival goers. The sound and lighting crew were top-notch, too.

Lozz deemed it the best Chainmakers' Festival today, in terms of the performers and sound. My gratitude to Lozz, Billy and the other performers I spoke to – not to mention the sound crew – for all the praise heaped upon my songs! :)

Likewise, I was genuinely moved by how many people approached me as I left the festival site, just to tell me how much they had enjoyed my set. What a nice surprise ending to the festival, to discover my music had reached even more people than I'd realised.

A special mention must go to my percussionist Marie, for doing such a brilliant job of accompanying me on both days of the event – it's only been a few years since I taught her to play percussion; now she plays like a seasoned pro – so well done, Marie! Thanks, also, to everyone who turned up especially to see me play during the festival ... Especially to Sam, Mat, Kez and Jan! :)

Such a shame it's all over now ... Can't wait for next year's Chainmakers' Festival!

Just diving into bed for a few hours sleep after Friday night at the Chainmakers' Festival.

It was brilliant, not only to close the night with Marie, but also to listen to Carol Widenbar and Easy Street, and to catch up with some folks I haven't seen for ages! :)

Later today (starting with a procession through the town at 10am) is the main event of the Chainmakers' Festival. Around 4,000 people will be heading to Bearmore Park, Cradley Heath. I'll be taking to the stage, accompanied by Marie, circa 2.45 pm. There's a host of great local acts playing throughout the day too: 11am to 5pm. Hope to see some of you there! xo

 

 

The Black Country Bugle

Nice to get a little mention in the Black Country Bugle, re my appearance at the Chainmakers' Festival this coming weekend.

Chainmakers article in the Black Country Bugle (penultimate paragraph)

Of all the local papers, big and small, that I've been in, I don't recall ever cropping up in the Bugle before – as its primary focus is local history – so it was a nice surprise -lol!

Fellow songwriter Carol Widenbar gets a mention too. I haven't bumped into here since the 2013 Chainmakers' Festival, so it will be great to catch up with her again – we both supported Martin Stephenson at the Robin 2 a while back, and I always enjoy watching her set.

Anyway, if you live local, I hope you can make it to the Friday Night at the Chainmakers'

Free entry, runs from 7pm-11pm.

I'll be closing the night, hitting the stage circa 10pm. And, the wonderful, Carol will be performing earlier in the evening too.

Gig: Chainmakers Festival, June 6th and 7th

I'm doing two dates at a festival with Marie: 10pm on Friday 6th /2.45 pm on Saturday 7th.

Event: Women Chainmakers' Feastival (open-air, family friendly event, live music stage + bar + fair + stalls).

Price: Free! (despite costingthe TUC many thousands of pounds to stage and attracting around four-thousand people, amazingly, it's still a free event!)

Address: Bearmore Park, Bearmore Road, Cradley Heath, Sandwell, B64 6DU

Parking: See the official event's blog – http://womenchainmakersfestival.blogspot.co.uk/ – as I think there are some recommended free parking places and a free shuttle bus. But this is just what I've heard, so do please check the official blog for details.


More Info:

There's a great open-air festival in Black Country that has been running for the past decade. It's named after women chain makers whose historic strike in 1910 led to better pay and conditions. To commemorate this, the TUC put on a free festival each year complete with two days of live music, and a parade through the streets of Cradley Heath on the Saturday morning: local history and music, great stuff! :)

I played the festival for the first time last year, as a solo gig, and earned the title of 'Mr 110%' for the effort I put into my shows. This year, I'm taking my percussionist Marie with me, so, as challenging as it will be to top last year's performance, I think we can do it ... Though I may need to lie down for several month afterwards -lol!


I've been asked to close the Friday night again, so I expect to hit the stage somewhere around 10 pm.

Saturday, Marie and I are taking to the stage around 2.45 pm (the event finishes at 5 pm).

Both sets will be approximately 45 minutes long.

Last year around four-thousand people turned up to watch the music, enjoy the fair and the stalls, and take in a bit of important local history, so if you live in the Black Country or surrounding area do come along and make it an even more spectacular event this year. The event is free, it's family friendly, and yes, there is a mobile bar ;)


Here's the current line up for Saturday the 7th
(I don't have exact details for the Friday line-up).

Bryn Phillips & Steve Grosvenor : 11.00 - 11.45

Alex Vann : 11.45 - 12.30

East West Infusion : 12.30 - 1.15

Carol Widenbar : 1.15 - 2.00

Tom Martin and Helena Rosewell : 2.00 - 2.45

Brett Huckfield (& Marie Timmins) : 2.45 - 3.30

Easy Street : 3.30 - 4.15

Billy & Lozz :  4.15 - 5.00


I know most of the acts, so it should be a great festival. Can't wait! hope to see you there if you live close enough ... for all my friends who don't, I'll post some pics after the event x
 

Ernie Chattaway

I was saddened to discover that Ernie Chattaway had passed away recently.

 Although I lost touch with him after my days working at Modern Music guitar shop in Dudley (which closed in 2003), I have many fond memories of chatting to Ernie over a cup of coffee, trading licks with him and being entertained by his wonderful playing while I was working away in the shop. He was a smashing bloke!

http://www.blabbermouth.net/news/judas-priests-co-founding-guitarist-ernie-chataway-dead-at-62/

Summertime, and the gigging is easy!

After a few months layoff while I was busy tying up some loose ends – like completing my Advanced Creative Writing university course – it's time to launch into a summer of live music performances.

To kick things off and get back into the groove, I played a warm up gig with my percussionist Marie, at The Fox and Anchor in Coven last week – courtesy of talented local musician and music promoter, Sam Draisey.

It was a great chance to dust out the cobwebs, practice some new material and meet up with some folks I hadn't seen for ages. A great night was had by all – at a surprisingly well attended friendly pub, just outside of Wolverhampton. There are photos, but I haven't got hold of them yet ... So, I'll finish with Sam Draisey performing something on Youtube ... Deep Blue Something, to be exact ;)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=12WgQeaS7B8