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
Eight piece band of master funkateers. Get your dancing pumps out for [an evening of both covers and originals. They’re so phunky you can smell them!!
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. The duo immediately became a hit on the UK festival circuit with their brand of bouncy “Sunshine Afro-roots”. Shows have included Glastonbury, Secret Garden Party, Wilderness and Green Man Festivals to name but a few. Using guitar, live loops and percussion the duo creates a highly danceable full band sound and their reputation has earned them recent support slots with the likes of Tinariwen, The Oyster Band, Edward 2 and Dub Colossus. Their music is often featured on BBC Radio 3 and 6Music. Shows feature palm-wine, acoustic dub and highlife grooves with thoughtful and thought-provoking lyrics on subjects ranging from childhood memories, political protest and er….duvets.
Whispering tales of many cultures and experiences through his instruments, Jon Mabey breathes life and vibrancy into traditional and contemporary folk music
This month we welcome six more excellent cheese together with crackers and accompaniments. There will be three sittings, one at 7:30 pm, one at 8:00 pm and one at 8:30 pm. The cost for this event is £8.50 per head and there will be a selections of paired drinks chosen by Palmers Wine Store available for purchase. Booking for this event is essential.
Lost Revellers are a four piece original folk band from East Sussex. Their music draws on Gypsy jazz, tango, Celtic and Eastern-European folk, and mixes traditional instruments with polyphonic electric string and synth sounds. Jazz and blues infused violin solos intertwine with soaring accordion melodies, infectious bass riffs and fiery percussion to make a unique fusion. Since releasing their debut ep in 2017 the band have toured extensively in the Uk, performed in Germany and had their music used in films and played on radio including BBC Radio 3. Their first album Midnight Circus was released in 2019 and their new album Sunrise and Sea-monsters was released in April 2023.
The Scribes are a multi-award-winning hip hop three-piece whose unique blend of beatboxing, off the cuff freestyling and genre-spanning music has created a live show quite unlike any other on the scene today, with appeal ranging far beyond traditional hip hop fare. The Scribes are hotly tipped as one to watch with live dates across the UK and Europe, as well as sharing the stage with the likes of Macklemore, Wu Tang Clan, Dizzee Rascal, Kelis, Rag N Bone Man, Example, Lethal Bizzle, The Wailers, Jurassic 5, Sugarhill Gang, KRS One, De La Soul, MF Doom, and Souls Of Mischief to name (drop) but a few, and are steadily establishing a growing following across the continent to add to their already significant fan base at home.
TBC
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
Many people who have heard MSB play would agree but the overriding emotion that lingers and taken home in the heart after a sweat-drenched performance is joy. The infectious joy shared by six musicians at the height of their powers playing the music they love. MSB’s music is slippery when it comes to categorisation. You think you hear traces of 60s soul or possibly blues when hints of heartland rock make an appearance and a nod towards country music can easily be confounded by a psychedelic wig out. Mutter’s addiction to ‘a half-decent tune’ and the band playing what comes naturally are the main consistencies and there is always and ever will be the joy.
Somerset Ska Band performing live covers of Ska, Rocksteady, Reggae & TwoTone from 60’s to 80’s
Hugely talented local musicians will charm you indeed with a Sunday selection of music that feeds the soul.
Old Baby Mackerel play high-energy, foot-stomping Bluegrass featuring a dizzying line-up of renowned UK Bluegrass musicians. Their music uses the rhythmic sounds of banjo, guitar, mandolin, fiddle and double bass to get knees bouncing and elbows swinging to the virtuosic sound of blistering solos and tasteful harmonies. Be prepared to be transported back in time to the early 20th century and across the Atlantic to North America where songs dramatized the small town fascination with locomotion, religion and the veneration of whisky and bootleg liquor.
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.
Aidan Simpson is a wandering poet-singer native to West Dorset. He can often be seen pecking at musical shrubs and small lyrical mushrooms in local parks and wildlands, and has been heard as far afield as BBC Radio 6 Music and BBC Radio 2. His two new albums “Blue and Green” and “Fishponds” are out now and available on Bandcamp.com
