Free Entry

Folk, Roots and Blues provided by Mark Henderson & Co. on Telford’s intimate Window Stage. See some of the best acoustic acts from the Northwest up close and personal. This time we feature an acoustic set from The Kindest Of Thieves, a Quirk Pop trio from Warrington Cheshire.

Free Before 9pm, £4.00 thereafter

Telford’s cult favourites Lord Scotland bring their funky chugging blues, gypsy punk, and folky polka – these guys hit all the genres and are guaranteed to get everyone dancing.

with Support JOE BANFI

Free Entry Before 9pm, £4 Thereafter

It’s been a busy year for Leeds-based quintet Ellen and the Escapades. Blending elements of folk, pop and rock, the band’s distinctive and unabashedly appealing sound seems to have everyone talking. After winning last year’s Glastonbury Emerging Talent Competition and playing BBC Introducing stages at both Reading and Leeds Festivals, the band have gone from strength to strength.

Ellen’s dusky, enchanting vocals and strikingly well-crafted songs have already captured the attention of BBC Radio 2, BBC 6 Music and Amazing Radio. Fans include Lauren Laverne and Steve Lamacq, and the band have already been playlisted for ten weeks on Amazing Radio. Supporting the likes of Josh T. Pearson, First Aid Kit and Paolo Nutini has brought the band’s music to even bigger audiences all over the country.

Summer 2011 saw an abundant string of festival appearances for Ellen and co, including major festivals Glastonbury, Bestival and Green Man, and a range of smaller boutique festivals such as 2000 Trees, Lounge On The Farm and Winterwell. Their Green Man appearance on one of the festival’s biggest stages attracted a full capacity crowd and resulted in unprecedented press attention, including hugely complimentary reviews from Clash Magazine and The Line of Best Fit.

Latest single ‘When The Tide Creeps In’ hit the top spot in both the Amazon Folk and Amazon Rock Charts during its release week. The song is taken from the band’s debut album, which is set for release in spring 2012.

PRAISE FOR ELLEN AND THE ESCAPADES:

“Ellen Smith’s captivating vocals are the highlight in a fantastically catchy collection of songs that tread a line between folk, pop and rock, with plenty of harmonica thrown in for good measure…. these guys are definitely one to watch.”
Clash Magazine

“…enormously catchy songs. They would fit nicely into the music collections of the 400,000 Brits who’ve bought Mumford & Sons’ album…could easily fall head over heels for their warm, literate songs.”
The Guardian

“…stunning set from Ellen and the Escapades, practically dripping with poppy modern folk credibility, and Ellen Smith’s admirable vocals were some of the best I heard all weekend.”
The Line of Best Fit

JOE BANFI

Joe Banfi hails from Chester. He is a young singer-songwriter who is known for combining sounds from the likes of Nick Drake and early Dylan with with the darker tones of the grunge/rock scene – think of Five Leaves Left with White Pony poured all over it. Joe recently recorderd with Communion Records and is on track for big things this year. Keep an ear out!

Tickets available via See Tickets

Free Entry

Tickets £10.00

Although better known for his electrifying band performances, this is a chance to see Aynsley up close and personal in a stripped down, intimate set-up. Don’t be fooled into thinking solo means ‘limited and plodding’; his solo performances are the perfect platform to witness his amazing ability to sync rhythmical chords, bass lines, and stinging lead guitar whilst singing and accompanying it all with his custom built stomp box! Expect an electric range of material from blues to folk and everything in between.

‘His guitar playing is a fire hazard’ –MOJO ‘Superb’ –The Times

www.aynsleylister.co.uk

Free Entry – Free Beginners Classes – £3 Intermediate Lessons

Free Entry

1989 saw the US release coast-to-coast hit album, Change, and #1 AOR single, ‘Sold Me Down the River’, from British rock band, The Alarm. Sadly, 1991 saw the surprise departure of the band’s lead singer…

Dave Sharp, co-founder of The Alarm had that previous year enlisted the help of legendary maverick record producer Bob Johnston (Dylan, Willie Nelson & Leonard Cohen) to help cut his first solo record. It was a determined young man who walked through the doors at The Hit Factory NYC in December 1990, and in under a week Sharp’s album Hard Travlin’ had been recorded, mixed and delivered for release to IRS Records. Read more… »

Free Before 9pm, £4.00 thereafter

Many believe that the number of love songs in the world far outstrip the number of things with which one can fall in love. That is why Louis Barabbas & The Bedlam Six are doing their very best to readdress the balance, penning twisted dirt-swing about lust and loathing, served up on an exuberant gobbet of malicious delight.
Stories about grieving lovers, thieving lovers and deceiving lovers seep from their songbook like a putrescent parade of painful parables. It’s strangely beautiful – but not very.

Free Entry Before 9pm, £4 Thereafter

Free Entry

Free Entry – Free Beginners Lessons – £3 Intermediate Lessons

Free Entry

“Beautiful stuff” - Dave Monks, BBC Introducing

Free Entry Before 9pm, £4 Thereafter

Hailing from Wrexham, North Wales, The Roseville Band deliver soulful, bluesy rock tunes. Forming the creative nucleus of the band are the guitarist brothers Andy and Steve Jones, who grew up in the idyllic Flintshire Mountains in a house called – Roseville – drawing in a community of friends and musicians from the surrounding area, which gave rise to the Roseville Band in 2006.

The Roseville Band form a folksy fusion built around songwriter Andy’s distinctive husky vocals, intertwined with beguiling melodies, a sturdy rhythm section and embellished by a two-piece horn section, delivering a joyful musical celebration. The six-piece line-up reverts to the heartfelt, rhapsodic and gritty music of Neil Young, Dexy’s Midnight Runners and The Band, as well as drawing fresher influences from the likes of Wilco, Arcade Fire and Fleet Foxes. Their conviction and dedication to innovation has steered them beyond trends to places of unfettered artistic integrity.

Championed by Paul Lester of The Guardian, and dubbed ‘the Welsh Kings of Leon’ by the NME, The Roseville Band debuted with sessions and airplay on XFM Manchester, Juice FM, BBC6 Music and – of course – BBC Wales, and all ahead of the release of the bands debut album ‘Little Eyes In The Universe’ (Released June 2010 – Tri-Tone Records). The release saw the band reach new audiences at home and abroad with press and airplays in the US and Europe, and an eventual tour of the Netherlands and Germany followed on from triumphant performances at Liverpool Sound City, and Glastonbury Festival. All this, tied in with a commendably intense work ethic (well over three hundred shows to date), has established their reputation as fervently committed performers of powerful songs.

Following on from their debut release, the band return in 2011 with their new album ‘Shake The Walls’. The new album sees the bands song-writing take on a broader range of themes, from their debut offering. Inspired by a whirlwind year, taking in tours, tornados, and near death experiences on the Autobahn, the results have provided the band with a newfound perspective, and a new album that offers more in terms of sounds and dynamic, whilst reaffirming the bands reputation as top quality song-smiths. Recorded at Giant Wafer Studios, Powys, Wales, The Roseville Band new album ‘Shake The Walls’ is due for release in August 2011.

Free Before 9pm, £4.00 thereafter

http://www.myspace.com/willesband

Free admission before 9pm, £4 thereafter

One of the most exciting and talked about acts to emerge in the past year, their sound seems to be an amalgamation of the best elements of music from every era creating a new vibe which is wholely their own. Imagine dusting off your old vinyl and blasting it out in your new spaceship.One of the most exciting and talked about acts to emerge in the past year, their sound seems to be an amalgamation of the best elements of music from every era creating a new vibe which is wholely their own. Imagine dusting off your old vinyl and blasting it out in your new spaceship.

The band are embarking on a similar trail to those great British bands of the 70’s such as Led Zeppelin, Cream and the Rolling Stones by trying to put their take on the blues into a different format and bringing it into the present, whereas the bands in the 70’s sped it up and made it electric the bandits are taking a different approach to the rhythm section using more hip hop and reggae grooves.

“Front man Will Edwards’ whiskey soaked drawl and inspired slide guitar licks hark back to the 1930’s Mississippi, while drummer Andy Naumann and bassist Kieran Doherty drag the Bandits brilliantly unique sound into the 21st century” (GO2 Magazine)

Wille is regarded by many as one of the most innovative lap steel players in the country while the guitar lays across his lap all sorts of sounds can be heard, from the soft trippy soundscape’s associated with Dave Gilmore’s playing right through to the thunderous distorting blues licks of Rage against the Machine, add this to Wille’s gravelly voice and the more than capable rhythm section ‘The Bandits’ the concoction becomes irresistible.

The Bandits and Wille endeavour to cover a wide range of genres from mellow folk and Americana to bouncing reggae and full on blues rock. The band are comfortable in any situation, whether it be a sit down affair or a huge festival stage, they have the musicanship and songs to play the right music at the right time to please any audience

Tickets £5.00 adv

• Early demos became a word-of-mouth and internet viral success in 2010, culminating in national (BBC Radio 1, BBC Radio 2, BBC Wales, BBC 6music etc) and international radio play and sessions.
• Picked as a live highlight of the SXSW Festival by Nic Harcourt (KCRW, Music Editor LA Times) and Steve Lamacq (BBC Radio 2, BBC 6music)
• Début album ‘Toy Horses’ (2011) was recorded in Nashville, TN and produced by Ken Coomer (Wilco). The album also features members of Counting Crows, Wilco and Taylor Swift’s band.
• ‘Toy Horses’ was among the early favourites for the 2011 Mercury Prize
• Album Reviews: “Critical List – The Independent, “Album Of The Week” – Daily Mirror, ***1/2 – Rolling Stone, “Timeless Classic” – Music Week, “The best thing to come out of Wales since the M4″ – Hit Sheet
• Stephen Fry proclaims Toy Horses his “new favourite indie band” to his 3.3m followers on Twitter
• Western Mail/Media Wales (Wales’ national newspaper and media outlet) award ‘Toy Horses’, “Top Welsh Album Of 2011″
• Adam and Tom are currently writing songs for forthcoming Jason Derulo, Drake and Sean Kingston albums
• 2012 brings new singles, new videos and new tours!

www.cracklingvinyl.tumblr.com

Free Entry – Free Beginners Lessons – £3 Intermediate Lessons

Free Before 9pm, £4.00 thereafter

Wilson Minds is Paul Wilkes new project working along side friends and musicians Carl Brightman, Rob Metcalfe and Golty Farabeau.

Paul and the lads met through the buzzing music sence in Winsford Cheshire and are now enjoying making honest authentic music.
Their latest album was produced by Chris Potter best known for his work producing the Verve’s Urban Hymns album amongst other including The Rolling Stones

Free Entry Before 9pm, £4 Thereafter

Inspired by the Blues, infused with a hard hitting, “in-yer-face” rock approach and topped-off by virtuoso musicianship, Ben Poole is being talked of as “the” new up-and-coming UK Blues guitarist; one of the finest to have emerged in Europe for years. Having already played with, and received critical acclaim from some of his heroes; legendary blues artists including Jeff Beck, Gary Moore and John Mayall, at just 22 years of age it appears that there is no stopping this young and incredibly gifted musician. His latest recordings reinforce this and make it blatantly clear that Ben is destined for a great future on the European Blues/Rock scene.

“F***ing amazing! I loved his playing…I really loved his playing!” -Jeff Beck

“A Really great player!” -Gary Moore

“??Unbelievable! It’s very refreshing to hear someone in today’s time who reminds me of the guys who inspired me when I was young. He’ll be a household name someday for sure…Amazing!” -Richie Kotzen

“Ben really brings the fire with his licks. He’s got neck-snapping vibrato where he catches a bunch of strings at once and grinds the shit out of them. By the way he hits the guitar, we can only assume it’s been saying rude things about his mother! Ben impressed with his tone, touch and stage presence. Ben Poole: the next Joe Bonamassa?” -’Total Guitar’ magazine

“A fleet fingered and talented newcomer to the British blues scene. His playing may be ferocious but he rarely sacrifices precision for it. His phrasing belies his years. Definitely one to watch.” -’Guitarist’ Magazine

“This is a young man to look out for as he is no doubt a rising talent and should be supported when he comes to a local venue.” -’Blues Matters’ Magazine

“Very good. A really fresh sound and style!” -Paul Jones (BBC Radio 2)

“Great tracks, great guitar and vocal live…one great special player!” -Bernie Torme (Ozzy Osbourne, Ian Gillan/Deep Purple)

“Blues Extravaganza! The guitar sounds were impeccable, the timing was beyond reproach and there was evidence of dynamic awareness throughout…This was no “lazy” blues offering – Ben managed to sneak in everything from country licks to Satriani-style legato widdling, yet this was never to the detriment of the overall musicality of the performance. Nice!” -Guthrie Govan

Free Entry

The Glendale Family are a collective of musicians based in the North West, with members ranging from Scotland to Australia and a number of places in between. They can most aptly be described as a modern folk band, influenced by sea shanties, heroic figures, tall tales and the natural world. They are the purveyors of good vibes, with a clear motivation to share the energy they create whilst maintaining a gracious approach to their performance

Tickets £10.00

“Softly softly” is not a maxim that King King are familiar with. Since surging into life two years ago they have barely stopped for breath, and their electrifying sound and scorching live shows have generated more of a thunderous roar than a buzz.

Straight out of the blocks it was clear that King King is a band which knows how to make an entrance. An exhilarating debut at the Monaghan Blues Festival created such a stir that it prompted organizer Somhairle MacConghail to remark: “King King aren’t just playing the festival. Word is that King King ARE the festival”. With a reception like this there’s little surprise that the phone has been ringing off the hook ever since, and the last year has seen them bring their inimitable brand of multi-faceted blues rock to the Great British Rhythm and Blues Festival, the Edinburgh Jazz and Blues Festival, Abertillery Festival and even Glastonbury. This was in addition to a seemingly non-stop series of rousing live shows across the UK and Europe, much to the delight of the band’s burgeoning fan base.

In the midst of all this, a particular highlight of 2010 was King King’s invitation to perform within the hallowed walls of the BBC’s Maida Vale studios. The boys’ set went out on Radio 2 and won the approval of DJ and blues aficionado Paul Jones who was moved to remark: “Here at Radio 2, we think Alan Nimmo and King King are going to go all the way”.

Having signed to Manhaton Records, next came a return to Chapel Studios to record the eagerly anticipated debut album. King King are familiar faces having recorded their critically acclaimed EP Broken Heal at the studio, and again collaborated with the production team behind the Arctic Monkeys, Kaiser Chiefs and the Editors.
The resulting album, Take My Hand, is a bold and wildly enjoyable collection of songs showcasing King King’s unique sound, swaggering from Stones-tinged blues rock through throbbing funk to reflective ballad and back.

Free Entry – Free Beginners Lessons – £3 Intermediate Lessons

Free Before 9pm, £4.00 thereafter

www.driverdrivefaster.com

Driver Drive Faster are a new band from Manchester, but you wouldn’t necessarily tell: this masterful debut album presents a rich, timeworn sound that exists somewhere between Americana and spectral indie rock. It’s crafted song-writing at its best, hinging on stirring chord sequences and moments of fragile beauty. “A review described us as ‘misfits’,” says singer/guitarist Dylan Giles. “We took it as a compliment.”

Named Open House and recorded in the shared digs in which the entire band reside, the album was a labour of love begun in late 2009, poured over in 2010 and set for release in 2011. The result is a lush, layered record that slowly draws you into its world. Think Mercury Rev’s Deserter’s Songs for a new generation. “We spent around nine months editing, overdubbing, mixing and tweaking every little detail until we couldn’t obsess any more,” says Dylan. “It was all self funded through working day jobs so we had no deadline, nor any expectations outside of the band’s own ambitions and ideas.” Read more… »

Free Before 9pm, £4.00 thereafter

Since forming in 2004 Society have supported many great visiting artistes when they toured the UK, opening for notable musicians and performers such as Eve Selis, Deadstring Brothers, Corb Lund, Luke Doucet and The Wailin’ Jennys. Apart from their own UK headline shows, Society have completed two tours of Canada along with a string of dates in the American mid-west gaining a whole new legion of fans in the USA. This constant touring has honed both their musical and vocal chops and in the winter of 2008 Society left their disused stable that served as their rehearsal space and spent time at The Brickhouse Studios near Brighton recording their debut release entitled SONGS FROM THE BRICKHOUSE. The album is a collection of eleven original songs from the pen of Matt Wise and arranged by all three band members. Guest musicians helping out on the recording included Spencer Cullum, a member of the Deadstring Brothers who is one of the foremost young pedal steel players around today, Dave Berliner and James Batchelar on keyboards and the glorious violin of the classically trained musician Sarah Gonputh. The songs on the album echo their love of all things West Coast, Laurel Canyon and the great country rock music of the early seventies yet bringing their sound right up to date with a distinct indie feel.