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.
Saturday sees the wonderful Skalatans take to the stage at 9:15pm. This wonderful musical medley of local harmonic hedonism will have you both begging for more whilst your feet will be begging them to stop. The Skalatans, Bridport’s answer to early Jamaican Ska and Rocksteady band will blend in a bit of Latin to the mix till you won’t want to stop.
James has a unique, exciting acoustic guitar style reminiscent of the Andalusian tradition, a superb and passionate singing voice with a mean harmonica style to boot. ince going full-time as a music professional in 2006, James has survived through recession and pandemic as a songwriter and multi-instrumentalist performer, travelling the length and breadth of the UK with bards and in bars, festivals and arts centres, honing his talents as an energetic and animated front man, making for a "captivating performance..."
Whether you are a musician, singer, poet or comedian please pack up your talent and bring it on down to the Ropemakers for all to enjoy. Hosted by the talented Chris Deacon
Bemis are a folk-rock vocal harmony group led by the songs of frontman Gareth Howells, with driving acoustic guitars, catchy hooks and smooth three part harmonies. Beginning life as a duo, Gareth and Richie Leo performed in the South East and the 100 Club before starting to expand their sound to what is now a seven-piece band with 4 vocalists.
Since 1993 Lady Winwoods Maggot have travelled afar spreading their distorted gospel. A unique, anarchic sound regurgitating traditional transatlantic music, blended with their own material. From dark tragic songs to the satirical and ridiculous interspersed with instrumentals. Incorporating Mandolin, Banjo, Guitar, Bass and Drums Lady Winwoods Maggot channel THE DEVILS’ MUSIC!
JINDER is a songwriter, storyteller and international touring musician based in the UK's pastoral Westcountry. Best known for his 2019 UK top 40 single 'Keep Me In Your Heart', which topped charts in eight countries following its inclusion in international smash hit movie 'Fishermen's Friends', Jinder has released twelve critically acclaimed albums for five different labels, including Sony BMG and Universal. Much anticipated thirteenth album ‘Codetta’ is released out now, and features successful singles ‘A Simple Song’, ‘Isabel’ and ‘Between Vermillion & Mitchell’.
Scottish Cheese from Highland Fine Cheese – The September Cheese Club is here with six cheeses from Highland Fine Cheese in Scotland for you to try and compare. These are produced by small producers and made in small batches. 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 £8.50 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.
Manchester based singer songwriter, Sam Jefferson, is steeped in the folklore of his ancestors who worked the coal pits of Yorkshire’s West Riding by day, and performed in music halls at night. With dynamic sets that span intense folk balladry to soulful blues and jazz, Sam’s virtuosic fluidity is always in service of the story behind the song. At the heart of Sam’s music is an astonishing rawness and authenticity; one which allows him to seamlessly blend the sound of his own roots with those that grew Blues and Jazz in America. The way that he writes and plays within these traditions could make it appear as though the Mississippi ran alongside the coal seams of Yorkshire.
The Curst Sons have been playing their powerful stripped back take on early American traditional music since 1998. Performing mainly original material with a few distinctive arrangements of traditional songs they have released six full length albums and one 10” vinyl EP on their own Curst Mountain label. Over the years they have played venues ranging from tiny country pubs to festival main stages, appeared on several local radio shows and recorded two live sessions on the much missed Mark Lamarr BBC Radio 2 show. They were runners up in the 2013 International Song Writing Competition, nominated for Best Alt Country Album in the 10th Independent Music Awards 2011 and for Best Americana Act in the British Country Music Awards 2010.
Rosie Eade "Folk-Pixie", "Combines the lyricism of singer-songwriterdom with the attitude of rock'n'roll ", (Rock-n-Reel, 2020). Inspired by Kate Bush and The Who as much as Steeleye Span, Rosie sings stories of people, places, and gin, written over many years gigging solo around the country, from a party in a field to Glastonbury’s Avalon Café, arranged around her love of folk, rock and thrashing her old nylon strung guitar. Her new album "Folk Pixie" celebrates her roots as a solo acoustic-folk performer with songs from the beginning of the journey to her most recent creations of 2019. "Sonically superb" (BunkFest Main Stage, 2016). "An appealing touch of English folk influences ... clear and sonorous", (Bluesbunny, 2018).
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
The Legendary snakeSNAKEsnake are a musical Burrow hill-billy three piece from Somerset featuring guitar, banjo, melodica and cello. They describe their sound as Johnny Cash meets Hayseed Dixie and The Ramones. A sort of country, cowpunk, vaudeville, mish mash. Chris (Vocals and Guitar) and Kev (Banjo, Melodica, Vocals) first played together in rowdy ska-punkateers Bucket* where they shared their love of cider, road movies and celebrity baiting. After a few years it was felt that perhaps they were ‘too old’ for punk and they turned their attention to the next logical musical step for white trash: country. Kev picked up a banjo and having long been fans of Johnny Cash, they began playing some of his songs along with other country and bluegrass numbers before beginning to work on their own compositions. They named the band after a variation on the snakebite drink (instead of cider and beer, three different ciders together). As the sound developed they realized that something was missing, a fellow cider drinking troubadour who could complete the sound. That was Ben who joined on cello, simultaneously filling the roles of bassist and fiddle with a unique twist. In 2015 they release their debut album “The Gentlemen’s Kitchen” (available on bandcamp) and they are now working on their second
QUO, FISH & BOZARD are three London-based Songwriters on the road with their collaborative show. They tell stories about stuck clocks, ice-creams in space and finally seeing the birds. Within the same set, they organically transition from stripped down Solo songs to busy textures with Guitars, Shruti box, Resonator, Fiddles, and Vocal harmonies. Pearl Fish is a songwriter, singer and musician from SE London, currently living itinerantly on the UK’s historically woven waterways. Intimate and warm, her sound shifts with a transient scape of musicians and projects, fronted by Pearl’s “sometimes spoken and sometimes soaring” vocals and lyrics fuelled by “murmurings of melancholia, hope and wit”. Rob Quo’s Contemporary Folk songwriting is emotive & humorous in equal measure, touching on the human experience with lyrical grace and a melodic simplicity which is uniquely his own.‘ Rob has a particular gift lyrically, writing with a simple elegance’ – Fatea Magazine Bozard’s songwriting harbours the seeds of restlessness and surrenders to some sort of constant pilgrimage to the next Winter. “This is unique and off the wall stuff […] There is so much to hold our attention and once it has it, we can explore the highways and byways of brokenm_oon to our heart’s content. Bozard is breaking new ground here and underneath the fresh turned soil is a bumper harvest.” – Mp3Hugger
Andy first took to the stage aged 12 in pubs and clubs, with his guitar, voice and harmonica. Before hitting 18, he had gigged as a solo act in top London venues including The Jazz Café and 100 Club. Driven to create a distinctive and exciting act, Andy learnt to play foot operated drums, giving his songs a beat to get people on their feet. Drawing on influences as diverse as Muddy Waters, Monty Python, the White Stripes and Noel Fielding he developed a one man band show. In recent years Andy has brought this show to Spain, the Netherlands and France, has had airplay on BBC Radio Kent and London’s Resonance 104.4FM, and has had articles written about his music in The Sun, the Mirror, and The Daily Mail newspapers. When the summer arrives, Andy finds himself having fun at festivals all over the country inducing laughter and dancing amongst the drunk and disorderly. Allow Andy to tickle your funny follicles with lyrics absurd and profound, and dazzle your ear drums with music and sound. You know you want to.
Folk Sessions with Chris Deacon
Mick O'Toole formed in 2012 In the deepest darkest Shire, Wiltshire in a town called Calne. This town would be the breeding ground to where we honed our style of chaotic English Punk with our ancestral Celtic and English Folk to create our style of British Folk Punk. Mick O’Toole was a character in a song from local legends ‘The Boys From County Hell’ a band who we get most of our inspiration from. However we are also inspired by the likes of The Dropkick Murphys, Flogging Molly, Gogol Bordello and The Pogues not to mention many other great punk bands such as The Clash, The Sex Pistols,The Adverts and Rancid. This is how we get our sound by combining the great punk ethos with traditional Folk. We now have three EP’s ‘Deep In Cider, ‘1665 Pitchfork Rebellion’ and 'A Working Class Battalion" while performing over hundreds of gigs we realised that we only have one goal to keep making music that hopefully brings people together for a good ole knees up and a grand old sing along. No egos, no divas just working class men having a good time.
JollyRoger are a Sea-Punk, folk, band hailing from the cornish coast. Their high energy live performances have caused widespread outbreaks of dancing, moshing and having a ruddy good time at an international level, gaining them the coveted ‘Golden Gnome’ award in September 2022. Under their live performance belts they have a list of some of the best music festivals in the UK and Europe, including: Glastonbury, Boomtown Fair, Boardmasters, Bearded Theory, Lindisfarne Festival and Festival Medieval - Germany. JollyRoger also have had the privilege of supporting popular artists such as The Rumjacks, Ferocious Dog, Fisherman's Friends and The Wurzels. With one album, four EP's and three singles in their discography, JollyRoger are always looking to hone their sound and release new material, supporting the description given to them as ‘the hardest working band in the south west’ These smelly pirates will give you the night of your lives!!
