YOU don’t often hear the phrase “protest singer” these days, but the tradition – which stretches back for many years in unions and traditional working communities, and was reinvented by the folk singers of the 1960s – lives on in Reg Meuross, the Crewkerne-based singer-songwriter whose work has always championed the issues of the day,…
A TRIO of multi-instrumentalists who have played with many of the West Country’s leading theatre companies come to Dorset for three dates with Artsreach, from 14th to 16th March. Jaclarabag perform heartfelt, eclectic folk songs from across the world, with a good dose of original material thrown in. Jim Carey (accordion, trombone, guitar) and Giles…
BONFIRE Radicals, described as a “proper folk melting pot,” bring their blend of Balkan, African, French, Scandinavian, Irish and British musical influences to the Somerset Take Art circuit. coming to Roadwater village hall on Friday 28th March and Caryford Community Hall at Castle Cary on Saturday 29th. With a front line of recorders, fiddle, clarinet…
THE Marine Theatre at Lyme Regis welcomes Brit pop singer songwriter John Power on Friday 28th March and Bristol MC and songwriter Gardna on Saturday 29th. The very musical month of March finishes with Jazz by the Sea with Opa Rosa (pictured, who play the music of the Balkans and Eastern Europe to the Dorset…
DORSET’s Artsreach rural touring charity is working on a unique collaboration with the Anglo-Chilean band Quimantú and community singers from several Dorset choirs to perform Misa de los Mineros, The Miners’ Mass, in a series of concerts across the county, starting in April. The first Dorset concert takes place in Blandford Parish Church on Friday…
SINGER-songwriter Cole Stacey comes to St Michael & All Angels Church, Stockland in East Devon, on Friday 21st February, at 7pm, to launch his debut album, Postcards From Lost Places. The Dartmoor-based musician has a repertoire that ranges from British folk and 80s pop to spoken word and ambient electronics. With explorations into traditional song…
FOLK duo Coates and Cotterell, whose influences range from Shetland and around the British Isles to Quebec are coming to Dorset with Artsreach with gigs at the village halls at Shipton Gorge on Thursday 27th February, Milborne St Andrew on Friday 28th and Woodlands on Saturday 1st March. Arthur Coates and Kerran Cotterell are an…
SCOTLAND has Robert Burns, Yorkshire has the Brontes, Hampshire has Jane Austen, London has Charles Dickens (and many Moore) – but Dorset, quite small in comparison, has two great major figures who are rooted in the county – Thomas Hardy and William Barnes, who will be celebrated at a gathering to enjoy his poems, with…
IF you’re suffering Strictly Come Dancing withdrawal, Artsreach has a double dose of tango in February, which may not have the glitz and glamour, but certainly has the passion, with acclaimed trio Tango Calor and a new play exploring love between two middle-aged people, united by a love of the dance but divided by an…
DORCHESTER Arts has a packed programme for February ranging from tribute shows to half-term fun – to a one-woman entertainment celebrating opera and triathlon! Next up is a visit from the boisterously energetic folk music from The Churchfitters on Thursday 27th. The last day of February (Friday 28th) brings comedian Alyssa Kyria (pictured) in her…