The London and Provincial Music website has been set up by Andrew Wardle for the purposes of raising awareness of music events, both in the capital and further afield.
The site will cover -
Classical and Chamber Music
London remains one of the best places in the world to hear classical and chamber music. Most of the venues are well known, but there are some gems which lack access to the publicity machine which would thrust them into the limelight. This site has reviews of both.
Outside of London, the classical music scene is sparse and bleak, but there are places where music of exceptionally high quality can be heard at very reasonable prices. Many of these, I only discovered by accident. I will pass them on to you so that you too may find an undiscovered treat in an unusual location.
Band Music
Despite the sad decline in the numbers of bands and seasons supporting bands over the last half a century, it is still possible to hear fine brass and military bands in many parks across the country every Sunday throughout the summer.
In London, St James’s Park continues to showcase bands from London and further afield every Saturday and Sunday from the end of June to the end of August. Other London parks away from the centre also host quality band music.
In the provinces around London, there are many great days out to be had. If you pick the right day, the right venue and the right band, you can have a wonderful day out for far less than the price of competing attractions. Many Councils continue to support band events in their parks in the summer, and it is my intention to bring them as much deserved publicity and attention as I can. This is the site where you will find the best places to visit for summer entertainment.
Jazz
The jazz scene is also suffering from declining numbers, but there are still stalwarts running clubs offering quality jazz music every week. The best of these will be featured on this site.
Vintage Music
Whereas classical and brass band music can last for decades and even centuries without a great deal of change, due to further players being trained to carry on the tradition, vintage music is rarely able to do this. How can you create another George Formby, or another Bud Flanagan and Chesney Allen? How can you even create someone who can sing like Vera Lynn or Deanna Durbin?
Nevertheless, there are people carrying on the tradition in their own way. There are bands who play in the swing band style, and even singers who keep alive the songs of previous eras by singing them in their own way. The vintage music scene may be “sparse”, but there are still some exceptional events if you know where to find them. This site will help you to do so.
The site will contain regular short reviews of music events, stored as posts within each relevant category. It also has pages covering each of the major venues and seasons within each category, so that you can make an informed choice as to where to find quality music. The front page also features a “recommended events” section for one-off events.
Comments are always welcomed and appreciated. They can be left on any post or page. Please try to leave your comment on the relevant post or page, otherwise I will have to move it and your links may be lost. The London and Provincial Music site has disabled the “no-follow” attribute, so any comments left will provide a live backlink to your site.
I can also be contacted through the HELPDESK if you have any questions, information, or requests for promotion etc. I will endeavour to reply to all communications the same day as they are received.
Of course, it goes without saying that only messages related to music and the business of this site will be responded to. Any communications containing unsolicited commercial content will be ignored and deleted.
Music is a wonderful art. Let’s do our best to enjoy it, to promote it and further its interests, and to keep it going so it is still there for future generations. I hope you find the site useful.
Best Wishes,
Andrew Wardle