We extend a big welcome to all musicians, poets, comedians, storytellers and any other performers to come down and show your talents in the Ropemakers Open Mic Night. Hosted by the talented Chris Deacon
You have to see Paolo perform live to believe just what he can do! To call him a live looping artist just doesn’t give him enough credit! Paolo is passionate, vibrant, charismatic and ultra-talented! His music is from the heart and his songs tell us a story where we are transported to wherever he is. To see him play all the instruments he does live will leave you in awe. He puts Ed Sheeran to shame with his simple beats and acoustic layers. Paolo plays drums, guitar, bass, keyboards, harmonica and more...at once!
Multi-genre 9 piece group The Midnight Alliance has been reformed from the former festival band Pachango (a Latin, funk, reggae, ska band), known on the festival circuit since 2010.Consisting of 8 original members plus new drummer Nick Scott, The Midnight Alliance have been creating and recording new original songs over the last two years. They'll be bringing their super-groovy fusion of influences from Latin, disco, jazz funk, ska and soul. Their multi-cultural sound with its diverse mix of rhythms and uplifting brass section, vibrant keys and soulful lyrics is sure to get the crowd on their feet up and moving.
Jim Reynolds is a guitarist and singer who writes and plays an eclectic mix of music. The individual pieces tap into blues, ragtime, rhythm and blues, music hall and folk traditions. Some are extremely sensitive songs about life, people and relationships, while others are tongue in cheek. His albums are also sprinkled with classics from the likes of J.J. Cale, Nick Drake, John Martyn, Roy Orbison, the Inkspots, Jelly Roll Morton and Jimmy Rogers.
The September Cheese Club is here with six cheeses from Thornbyu Moor DAiry in Cumbria for you to try and compare. These will come served with tasting notes, crackers and accompaniments. With each Cheese, Palmers Wine Store have selected a drink to further enhance your enjoyment of the cheese and these are available at an extra cost. The cost for the cheese platter is £7.50 per person. Booking is absolutely essential as these evenings are very popular. There will be three sittings, one at 7:30pm, one at 8:00pm and one at 8:30pm. Booking and pre-payment are essential for this event.
Emerging from the darkest depths of Dorset, Vanilla Radio burst onto the funk scene in 2013 delivering their soulful funky grooves to crowds all over the south coast. At its core Jamie Parker, Jack Ansell and Rick Veall have been playing in various line-ups for the last 10 years with the later addition of Will Sear on keys adding another dimension to their sound. Vanilla Radio’s live set is a funk explosion taking influence from acid jazz, funk, soul and rock. Mixing all out furious guitar and keys, exploding bass lines and outrageous drum breaks to create a sound that will get you grooving.
South West based Urban Reggae/Hip Hop band. 4 albums, over 900 live shows, sponsored by FAITH GUITARS and THTC Clothing, support for Arrested Development, Peter Andre, Mica Paris, Finley Quaye, Zion Train, Dreadzone, Frank Turner, Dub Pistols, Akala, as seen/heard on BBC Radio Devon, Exe FM, Phonic FM, Glastonbury Festival, Beachbreak Live Festival, 02 Wireless Festival, Watchet Festival, Secret Garden Party, etc.,
Danny's art of performance and production has already helped him achieve some of his dreams and aspirations including making his first EP with Tribal Law at Abbey Road Studios with living legend Eddie Kramer in 2010, to being 1 of only one hundred singers chosen out of 180,000 to Audition For the first Series of BBC's The Voice UK 2012. Performing to live to audiences ranging from hundreds to thousands since the age of 6 and cutting his teeth gigging from age 13, Music and the love of music is as much a part of Danny as the love he has for his family and friends. With the release of his first album with "The Black Mariahs" in 2013 and constant work live and in the studio with up and coming talent of all genres, Danny hopes to make an impression on the world of music and its listeners with his unique style, performance, sound design, and song writing
The Sunset Cafe was a top night-spot on Chicago’s infamous South Side. Al Capone owned it, Louis Armstrong starred there. The Sunset Cafe Stompers do play the music of that period... great tunes from Scott Joplin, Irving Berlin, Jelly Roll Morton, Duke Ellington, Fats Waller... but the band’s wide repertoire also features songs made famous by artists as diverse as Patsy Cline, Marilyn Monroe, the Inkspots, Fats Domino... even Elvis. Beneath it all, one can sense the elusive, shifting, pulse which defines the sound of New Orleans. In that city, ever since the 1900s, bands have been hired to attract a crowd, or to add spirit and generate excitement for all kinds of occasion. Throughout the last twenty years we have followed in that tradition: playing jazz clubs, concerts for churches, arts centres, village dances, weddings, festivals, funerals, garden parties... from our Dorset/Somerset base, down to Cornwall and up to Cumbria
Folk session hosted by local legend Chris Deacon
Samantics is a livewire rap-poet and musician whose lyrical maps are a personal stroll around his vision of England and his own life. Taking us on a multitudinous odyssey of instrumentation: Ukulele, piano, beats, bass, electronics and more, all created via loop station and sampler. His live shows are a frantic, funny, meaningful and thrilling experience. Skirting the line between slam poet, social commentator and street performer, Samantics is an unmissable solo artist bound to spike your energy levels.
Bridport based Rocksteady band with a little Latin infusion. 7 piece band guaranteed to get you moving
Robert Brown is an emerging singer songwriter with obvious comparisons such as Nick Drake, Davy Graham and Jimmy Page, not only in his writing but with his remarkable finger style technique. “I was lucky as a kid. When I was 17 I got to tour with Dick Heckstall Smith, and later in my teens I toured the southern states for 6 months with the US funk rock outfit the Blast. It was a crazy learning curve in which I saw our promoter being shot and having Boy George's producer chasing us all over Houston thinking we were the next big thing and had free coke to burn!” Whilst touring in New York last year, he was also approached by Alice Cooper’s Press agent and tour manager after they heard a particular track. Songs that are remembered the next day seem to be one of his main gifts. Extensive travelling in Europe, North Africa and North America have enabled Robert to absorb the music and culture, and this emerges in subtle rootsy nuances within his work. Some obvious, some hidden to all but the expert ear
Bristol's cyder-swiggin', shanty-singin', left-leanin', easy-skankin', foot-stompin' folk-punk trio travel down the A37 to make their appearance at The Ropemakers!
Skank you for the music! A Ska Abba mash up is finally here!!! Skabba take the near perfect songwriting craftsmanship of Swedish legends ABBA and combine it with the foot stomping rhythms and rawness of classic SKA and rocksteady music. With a solid rhythm section, silky brass section and truly fantastic vocals there hasn’t been such a successful mash up of two separate worlds since Harry Burnett-Reese mixed chocolate with peanut butter. So if you like the heavy monster sounds, the nuttiest sounds around from the likes of Prince Buster, The Specials, Madness, Bad Manners and The Selector as well as the sheer might of pop bangers such as Dancing Queen, Gimme Gimme Gimme, Voulez vous and Waterloo, Skabba might just be the sound of your summer, the afterparty of your Autumn, the warmer of your winter and the source of your spring .
Perfect Sunday afternoon chill-out session with this local extremely talented singer songwriter.
We extend a big welcome to all musicians, poets, comedians, storytellers and any other performers to come down and show your talents in the Ropemakers Open Mic Night. Hosted by the talented Chris Deacon.
The psychosonic constellations are clearing so open your airwaves and countenance these cavalcades of swinging surf and raucous rockabilly. Thundering their way to a gathering near you this year secreting rustic rockabilly charm, allow their guttural guitars and dynamic drums to reverberate your reason and magnify the madness. Simply throw back your hair, whirl that waistline onwards and follow your frenzied feet to the searing sounds of Dorset's musical sensation that is The Surfin' Birds.
TwoManTing was formed in 2004 when Sierra Leonean drummer Jah-man Aggrey, and guitarist Jon Lewis were playing together as part of dance band, Le Cod Afrique, at venues such as Montreux Jazz Festival and WOMAD. Using guitar, live loops and percussion the duo creates a highly danceable full band sound.
Arnie Cottrell is a multi-instrumentalist and singer based in the south of England, he has been performing and recording acoustic music for many years on both sides of the Atlantic. This is his current band with Graham Bushell and Rick Foot.
The October Cheese Club is here with six cheeses from Ribblesdale…..for you to try and compare. These will come served with tasting notes, crackers and accompaniments. With each Cheese, Palmers Wine Store have selected a drink to further enhance your enjoyment of the cheese and these are available at an extra cost. The cost for the cheese platter is £8.00 per person. Booking is absolutely essential as these evenings are very popular. There will be three sittings, one at 7:30pm, one at 8:00pm and one at 8:30pm. Booking and pre-payment are essential for this event.
Bemis are recognised among their peers as a superb live act who can headline any bill. They are Gareth Howells, Louis Howells, Dillon Hughes, Mark Finn, Kayleigh Thomas and Ian Scarbro. They're an acoustic rock group led by the songs of frontman Gareth Howells, with guitars played with attack, wrapped up in a punchy sound provided by a solid rhythm section. Getting an enviable reputation with their own take on the covers they perform, and their original songs heard across their albums.
Monkey Bizzle are a West-Country hip hop outfit who tell tales of the unexpected on relatable subjects symbiotically fused with live scratching, synced visuals and heavy beats. To put it into perspective imagine The Wurzels entering ‘The Bardo’ during crop season whilst in convoy on a 1946 Ferguson TEF.
The exceptional vocalist and talented guitarist from the phenomenal Psychadelephant perform on a Sunday afternoon. Looking forward to this one!
The Sunset Cafe was a top night-spot on Chicago’s infamous South Side. Al Capone owned it, Louis Armstrong starred there. The Sunset Cafe Stompers do play the music of that period... great tunes from Scott Joplin, Irving Berlin, Jelly Roll Morton, Duke Ellington, Fats Waller... but the band’s wide repertoire also features songs made famous by artists as diverse as Patsy Cline, Marilyn Monroe, the Inkspots, Fats Domino... even Elvis. Beneath it all, one can sense the elusive, shifting, pulse which defines the sound of New Orleans. In that city, ever since the 1900s, bands have been hired to attract a crowd, or to add spirit and generate excitement for all kinds of occasion. Throughout the last twenty years we have followed in that tradition: playing jazz clubs, concerts for churches, arts centres, village dances, weddings, festivals, funerals, garden parties... from our Dorset/Somerset base, down to Cornwall and up to Cumbria
Psychadelephant is a groove heavy four piece smashing their way out of the Southwest UK. Celebrating a plethora of psychedelic funk, heavy soul, blues, jazz and R’nB. Expect gymnastic guitar and vocal shenanigans with provoking lyrics and a rhythm section that would keep James brown on his toes!
Come and shake your backside to the bombastic horn fuelled ska reggae rock dance explosion that is BRA! Welcome to the new line-up!!!!!!!! We’ve regrouped and are going again! Welcome Tom on sax, Jonto on Trumpet, Rich singing Dan on Keys, Dave (yes another one!) on bass and Anna on sax and clarinet! Catch you at a gig soon. Big love. The Ass xx
Howlin' Mat has lived an almost nomadic lifestyle to become one of the hardest working solo blues acts around with gigs all over the UK and Europe. Howlin' Mat started his blues journey some 15 years ago playing material by the likes of Robert Johnson, Mississippi Fred McDowell, Jimmy Reed, Muddy Waters, Elmore James, Earl Hooker, Robert Nighthawk, and Hound Dog Taylor. He gained quite a reputation as a slide guitarist and in particular, for his skills on the cigar box guitar. Sadly whilst the pandemic in 2020 meant that his touring had to stop, it gave him the opportunity to blend his blues roots with the heavier styles of artists like Bo Diddley, Chuck Berry and the Black Keys. Howlin' Mat is very much looking forward to touring this voodoo gumbo of heavy blues as soon as the pandemic restrictions are lifted.
On this date in 2007 Geraldine and John took over the Ropemakers. We would like to thank all of our customers, staff, musicians, suppliers, Palmers and every-one else involved for their support and help that they have given over the years. A lot has changed and we have had some fantastic memories along the way. We would like to invite all of you to come and celebrate with us.
The Jimmy Hillbillies are a seven-piece good-time, Hoedowning "Rockabilly Stomp" outfit straight out of Dorset. We specialise in a heady mix of old time Hillbilly and Country tunes, mashed up with a driving rockabilly bass and beat, then fused with some modern classics, to generate a distinctive and ultimately danceable, party band for all occasions. In the summer of 2014 we’ve played an array of festivals to great, toe-tapping effect (including Wonky Donk, Wimborne Folk Festival, Forever Sun, Camp Bestival, Freshfields, Boomtown Festival and the Purbeck Folk Festival to name a few).
The Cabarats bring a new musical experience to the global underground, combining traditional Balkan and Middle Eastern sounds with lively reggae and ska. Using a collection of intriguing instruments such as accordion, oud, keyboard and brass, the band have dazzled a wide range of audiences from festival crowds and stages at iconic venues to private functions and community events. After the successful release of their debut album 'Out of the Bag', the last two years have been an exciting journey for the rats. The band appeared on one of the main stages at Boomtown Fair and gained the attention of BBC Introducing, performing on their stage at Looe Saves the Day. The Cabarats have had the pleasure of supporting renowned acts such as Dubioza Kollectiv, Tankus the Henge, The Undercover Hippy, and Cut Capers as well as headlining their own shows across the nation and embarking on various European adventures. Once again, The Cabarats set out to share their magic at festivals, venues, parties and even a few street corners.
Jinder is an English singer-songwriter and guitarist. He is best known for his extensive catalogue of dark folk-and-country-influenced solo work, including his 2019 Top 40 single, 'Keep Me In Your Heart', which features in the 2019 film Fisherman's Friends and has been successfully covered by many other artists. He is also known for his brief tenure as the frontman of The Mercurymen. A musician from an early age, Jinder began a lifelong career in song-writing in his early teen years.
