Events
The Ropemakers is a popular local venue offering regular live music, open mic nights, a monthly chese club, a weekly quiz, a meat draw, and various events throughout the year.
Open Mic Night
Wed 6th Mar - 8:30pm
Pack your talent and leave the safety of the bedroom and come on down and strut your inner rock star so that all can enjoy. All types of musician and poet welcomed. Better come early to book yer space. Hosted by the talented Nick and Si from Behind Closed Doors.
The Devil's Doorbells
Fri 8th Mar - 9:15pm
The Devil makes work for idle hands, and Doorbells were made for pushing. The Devil’s Doorbells play a mix of trad and originals with subjects as diverse as coal mining to anarchist uprisings to Alan Titchmarsh on Desert Island Discs. It’s music to cleanse and then to dirten. Pushing it, the debut album, was recorded in fields and car parks via solar power.
Cuba Libre
Sat 9th Mar - 9:15pm
Headlining shows throughout the UK and supporting some of the biggest artist in the music scene Cuba Libre are making their mark. With recognition from bands that have had world wide success and help inspire them throughout the years helping the band to create a unique sound and a performance that is unforgettable. Cuba Libre have travelled around the UK packing out music venues and have a constant growing fan base. There E.P which was released last year with previous members Steve and Adam made its way to being played on Brighton's radio station Code South and the track Alice has been used by top DJ's in remixes and mixtape's.
Lil Jim
Sun 10th Mar - 4:00pm
Lil Jim is an award winning, multi-instrumentalist. Dynamic and irrepressible. Seamlessly tying the roots of traditional music with modern arrangements and hooks. Combining guitar, harmonica and accordion with vocals and foot percussion to create a fresh sound of unstoppable rhythm and unrelenting melody. From supporting Hayseed Dixie, Paul Jones, The Waterboys and Midge Ure, with standout performances at Leek Blues and Americana and Acoustic Festival of Britain, Lil Jim is fast becoming the must-see act on the festival and touring circuit.
Cheese Club
Wed 13th Mar - 7:30pm
Six superb cheeses all served with a selection of crackers and accompaniments. Tickets are available from the bar at £6.50 each. Get your tickets early for this popular night as we have limited spaces. Booking for this event is essential.
The Sweetchunks Band / The Devil's Prefects
Fri 15th Mar - 9:15pm
The Sweetchunks Band are a Southampton based eccentric comedy outfit, performing bastardised versions of songs that you know and brilliant versions of songs that you don’t. They are known for their ability to entertain any audience with a fun, engaging performance that leave people smiling, dancing and humming the tunes for hours afterwards. The Sweetchunks Band create a memorable evening of fun and dancing. The festivals they have played so far in the UK include, Isle of Wight Festival, Beautiful Days, Mudfest, Watchet, Bearded Theory, Something to Smile About and many more. They have supported acts including Chas and Dave, The Wurzels, Hobo Jones & the Junkyard Dogs, Professor Elemental, Ferocious Dog and The Beards. The Devil’s Prefects - Country music with its tongue firmly jammed in its cheek. Johnny "Country" Crow and Willie "The Fury" Ford are a country duo; two men and a guitar, bringing you songs about beer, automobiles, trailers, zombies, television and more beer. With a nod to Johnny Cash and a wink to Elvis, this is what happens when country music goes bad. These boys do for country music what Scooby Doo did for paranormal investigation. Bring your cowboy hat, we know you have one! "Had the whole field singing along to instant classics" - ukfestivalguides.com "A hilarious country & western pastiche" - efestivals.co.uk
The Mighty Small ft Paulo Morena
Sat 16th MAr - 9:15pm
If you thought you'd seen and heard it all music-wise, you’d better prepare for TheMightySmall: a one man band for the 21st Century. The music grabs you from the very first breath and takes you on an emotional journey of soulful melodies and classic rock whilst hailing the distant tones of Van Morrison, Jeff Buckley and a slight hint of Dylan. The live-looping approach to performance, wrangling loops in similarly compelling style to a professional spinner of plates whilst turning out perfectly crafted multi-instrumental electro/folk/rock mash-ups is a show to behold.
Mutter Slater and Clive Ashley
Sun 17th MAr - 4:00pm
Mutter Slater was the front man and flute player for the 70’s cult band Stackridge (produced by George Martin, signed by Elton John): a group that established itself as a firm favourite on countless stages throughout the land and appeared regularly on BBC TV’s The Old Grey Whistle Test and John Peel’s radio programmes. After Stackridge Mutter returned to a life of quiet domesticity in the South West of England. The song-writing and performing bug eventually got the better of him, leading to the formation of his band and a return to the recording studios – Love & Hate 2006; Riding A Hurricane 2008 (produced by Billy Bragg) and 2014’s Absobloodylutely. His songs reflect his primary interest in 60’s American blues, soul and R’n’B as well as his persistent addiction to a ‘half decent tune’. The music is warm, harmonically panoramic and edgy. Lyrically it’s intriguing; telling of human strengths and frailties and illicit loves, bar room observations, train rides, bus rides, long walks and cosmic disintegration.
The Sunset Cafe Stompers
Mon 18th Mar - 8:15pm
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.
Toxic Fish
Fri 22nd MAr - 9:15pm
3 piece Reggae/Ska/Punk band from Weymouth, Dorset
Two Man Ting
Sat 23rd Mar - 9:15pm
TwoManTing was formed in 2004, when Jon Lewis and Jah-man Aggrey were working together in world/dance band Le Cod Afrique, performing at the likes of WOMAD, Montreux Jazz Festival and Glastonbury. Since then, the duo has been performing regularly throughout the UK, and particularly on the Festival circuit. Festie shows have included Glastonbury, the Secret Garden Party, Musicport, Green Man, Whychwood, Big Green Gathering, Off the Tracks, Sunrise Celebration, Broadstairs Folk Week, Small World, Waveform....to name but a few. Recent arts centre shows have included support slots for Mali desert-blues legends, Tinariwen, and Muntu Valdo. TwoManTing are regularly featured on UK and US radio stations. The album “Legacy” is a collection of 12 songs, some old, some new, all recorded in the Autumn of 2010. We feel it captures the essence of the live TwoManTing show, with Jon’s bouncy African guitar licks, live looped to create a full band sound. This is complemented by Jah’s djembe beats, and meaningful and witty lyrics, sung in Krio - his native tongue from Sierra Leone
Elfentale
Sun 24th Mar - 4:00pm
Two superbly talented musicians presenting traditional and contemporary folk, with the beautiful vocals of elegant Jess Yarham-Baker accompanied by Chris Deacon former lead of Acoustic Rooster. They have been together for just over three years focusing on close harmony vocals with a little guitar accompaniment. They perform some self penned material to supplement their own arrangements of better known songs from Kate Rusby to the Saw Doctors.
The Junkyard Angels
Fri 29th Mar
Junkyard Angels will be hitting The Ropemakers, Bridport, on Fri 29th March! Expect to be taken on a trip from New Orleans, through Mississippi, up to Chicago, and back...
Two Man Travelling Medicine Show
Sat 30th Mar - 9:15pm
Two Man Travelling Medicine Show – 9:15pm – Eight piece Americana/Country/punk outfit. Think CSNY meets The Band and has a fight with The Libertines. Up for any shows anywhere including guerrilla gigging in people's front rooms. Critically acclaimed and garnering great radio support. 'Funked up folk with a mohawked heart' Yack Magazine 'Pastoral folk on a white knuckle ride on an out of control Cider cart' Dancing with architecture blog
Slack Bird
Sun 31st Mar - 4:00pm
Well this is going to be a delight. All the way from Finland this three piece folk unit will blow you away with their unique style. Banjo led and backed by accordion and may be a hurdy gurdy this band are starting to get noticed by some top festival bookers. Well, you saw them here first!
Ropemakers Open Mic Night
Wed 3rd April - 8:30pm
Pack your talent and leave the safety of the bedroom and come on down and strut your inner rock star so that all can enjoy. All types of musician and poet welcomed. Better come early to book yer space. Hosted by the talented Nick and Si from Behind Closed Doors
Muddy Summers and the Dirty Field Whores
Fri 5th April - 9:15pm
Muddy Summers and the Dirty Field Whores are a radical feistyfolkpunkpop band based in the UK. They perform predominantly on the festival circuit and we at the Ropemakers are extremely proud to have them perform for us. Muddy Summers and The Dirty Field Whores have been a moveable feast for some years now, but over the last two they’ve had a consistently all-female line up and, it has to be said, it is their best and most successful incarnation by far. Hailing from the Forest of Dean and Nottingham and fronted by the irrepressible Gail Something Else (she of the wonderfully anarchic Something Else festivals), this radical feistyfolkpunkpop band are in their prime, and their second album, From Seeds, is a refreshing slice of female perspective bursting at the seams with confidence and strength. With irresistibly catchy rhythms and urgent poetry, sweet and mournful fiddle, haunting flute, impudent melodica, and a driving cajon, it’s a big two-fingered salute to patriarchy, monarchy, ‘normality’, arbitrary inequality and to every ‘ism’ and ‘ist’ you could care to list. Fearlessly, the songs address issues such as abortion, breastfeeding (and rejection of the social stigma of), the worries and responsibilities of motherhood in these fraught and worrying times, the taint and disparity of capitalism, the endless misogyny that should surely have run its course by now, and the pisstaking price we pay as women who bleed. You may find yourself swaying, laughing, nodding in recognition and despair, your hackles and goosebumps raised in solidarity. There’s every chance you’ll be singing along at the top of your voice to the more anthemic festival favourites
Psychadelephant
Sat 6th Apr - 9:15pm
New band for us but sound brilliant and based in Bridders. Psychadelephant - noun [si-co-de-li-fent] - An eight legged mystical creature that appears to music lovers in the form of a psychedelic apparition, known to bring good fortune on a journey. Psychedelic Funk and Heavy Soul 4 piece based out of the deep south west.
Dread Balloon
Sun 7th Apr - 4:00pm
This is an amazing new band from Bridport playing some covers and originals in their own unique way. This is the product of a fusion of ex Cradle of Filth band member Rosie Smith and an innocent young man from West Dorset.
Ropemakers Cheese Club
Wed 10th Apr - 7:30pm
Six superb cheeses all served with a selection of crackers and accompaniments. Tickets are available from the bar at £6.50 each. Get your tickets early for this popular night as we have limited spaces. Booking for this event is essential.
Samantics
Fri 12th Apr - 9:15pm
Samantics is a next generation one man band. Using a loop-station and a sh*t load of instruments he creates live, multi-instrumental spoken word. He's not a stereotypical rapper, he's not into maiming and murking Gs but he does like gaming a slurping tea.
Lady Winwood's Maggot
Sat 13th Apr
Sometimes an angel choir. Sometimes a chainsaw screaming through raw flesh. The Clash mating with Johnny Cash. Lady Winwood’s Maggot have been storming the south for many years with their unique style of Death Western. Fusing traditional American and Irish music with self-written songs and presenting them with an old-school punk attitude. Banjo, Mandolin and Acoustic Guitar are backed with thunderous Drums and Bass. This is a band who believes in putting on a show, with their own full scale lighting rig, stage attire and presence they bring to the audience an energetic and absorbing performance
Garry "The Slide Guy" Smith
Sun 14th Apr - 4:00pm
Taking slide guitar out of the "Blues Ghetto" "Why, that's crazy talk!" you might say, but Garry’s self-appointed mission is to take slide guitar and its associated open tunings out of the Mississippi Delta and into the wider world. So, using his own songs and instrumentals as well as carefully selected covers I've taken myself on a journey and he’d like you to come with him.
The Sunset Cafe Stompers
Mon 15th Apr - 8:15pm
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 Festival Music Quiz
Thu 18th Apr - 8:00pm
Fundraising quiz for Bridport Folk Festival held every third Thursday of the month until summer. Come and enjoy the music.
The Fat Marrow Blues Band
Fri 19th Apr - 9:15pm
The Fat Marrow Band play jazzy rhythm and blues with a feel good factor. Experienced and reliable we find inspiration in traditional blues music and update and embellish it with brass, harmonica and sparkling guitar to create a fantastic sound. Influences such as Stevie Ray Vaughan, BB King, John Mayall and Robert Cray are all used, and, having played together for some time, the music is tight and polished. They have played for TV, at large outdoor venues and in small local pubs and are well known in our local area of Somerset and Dorset.
Davey Malone and the Longtails
Sat 20th Apr - 9:15pm
Davey Malone & The Longtails are the new musical offering from Scary Dave, best known as front man of punk skiffle outfit Hobo Jones & The Junkyard Dogs. Davey is accompanied by a few well chosen friends and together they will be unleashing themselves on a stage near you! "A folk-punk phenomenon, a dark and dodgy dealer in high tragedy, comedy and sparkling morality. He'll have you laughing, weeping and thinking things you won't want to mention in polite company. Blending powerful political folk numbers with comic ditties, Davey seizes the crowd's attention with charisma and talent both, and delivers entertainment in spades" - The Good Gig Guide
James Hollingsworth
Sun 21st Apr - 4:00pm
South-West England-based James Hollingsworth has a passionate voice and a unique, complex acoustic guitar finger-style, reminiscent of Andalusian guitar, fusing elements of folk, blues, trance, metal and psychedelic rock. Since turning professional in 2006 he's played numerous festivals, private bookings, folk, acoustic and rock venues nationally, supported Nick Harper (twice since 2008), and again this Friday 1 Feb, 2019)), Cara Dillon, Hazel O'Connor, 60's legends It's a Beautiful Day and Barry 'The Fish' Melton (of Country Joe and The Fish), who said: "It was truly a phenomenal experience hearing James Hollingsworth's music, I know now that the tradition of groundbreaking music is in good hands. Thank you, James – Barry Melton." A former long-time resident of Bristol's Tantric Jazz Cafe, James is adaptable and spontaneous, picking material with his mood and that of the audience. As well as being a critically acclaimed songwriter, he performs soulful interpretations from his repertoire of 300+ covers
Pronghorn
Fri 26th Apr - 9:15pm
In 1992 when grunge was what every self respecting alternative music fan was into, a group of friends who decided to go against the grain formed a band that the likes of Dorset and the world had never seen. 20 odd years ago they started off by busking outside Debenhams in Bournemouth and then played their first gig at the Brunswick Hotel in Charminster. It was after that gig they received their first ever review too- on collection of their gear the following morning, they discovered the landlord's dog had left a rather large message by the drum kit. The band was put together from the ashes of skiffle outfit 'Hoedown at Hanks'. a Cult tribute band ' Blue Rain' and local upstarts 'the Crunchy Tractors and quickly went onto busking outside more salubrious locations, Amsterdam Central Station, Copenhagen Homeless Hostels and Cherbourg docks to name but a few. As the band's sound evolved with a mash of punk, country and rockabilly which brought together the band’s very own genre “Cowpunk”, proper gigs soon followed and then the festivals came calling.. The line up has seen many changes over the years but the founder members, Toni Viagra and Lamma are still there, along with newbies(!) Ffi, Krusty, Gypo, Aussie Mike and Andy Law- who've only done the last twelve years or so.
Palooka 5
Sat 27th Apr - 9:15pm
...this is the most quirky band that you’re likely to come across: 60s surf and garage music played on original vintage instruments. Our LP ‘Rough Magic’ received airplay throughout the summer from BBC Radio 6 Music’s Gideon Coe. Expect originals, alongside the odd fresh interpretation of The Sonics, The Ventures and The Cramps. This is Rock n Roll cut to the bone! “Palooka 5 tick all the boxes for that curl-shooting, shape-throwing, surf hoodang you've always dreamed of". - Shindig Magazine “Palooka 5 play their own brand of surf music, tinged with a large inspirational helping of the B52’s, just what the Doctor ordered to bring a smile to the face.” - UK Festival Guides ".....after a very entertaining opening band, Palooka 5 who play splendid organ-driven surf" - UK Rock n Roll Magazine “ The ‘apocalyptic’ surf combo PALOOKA 5. Killer riff after riff - delivered on vintage gear, ensured their supercharged ‘bad vibrations’ kept the punters captivated for an all too short 40 minute slot”. - Suited and Booted magazine
Mitch Norman
Sun 28th Apr - 4:00pm
Enjoy an afternoon of gentle folky type tunes.
