London and Provincial Music

Your Guide To Musical Entertainment, Both In London And Further Afield

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Welcome to the London and Provincial Music website

January 21st, 2010 by admin

Welcome to this complete resource of musical information for London, and places which are easy to reach from London.

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CONTACT ME – HELPDESK

I love to hear from fellow music enthusiasts!

I have set up a Helpdesk on this site so that all queries, requests and dialogue can be easily handled. Please get in touch if you need more information, if you spot something on the site which needs amending, or if you have a music event which you want me to promote on the front page of the site.

All submissions will be replied to as soon as possible, provided the subject matter is relevant to this site. No response will be made to unsolicited commercial submissions unrelated to music.

LONDON AND PROVINCIAL MUSIC HELPDESK

What this site covers –

CLASSICAL AND CHAMBER MUSIC

This site has links to the major London classical and chamber music venues, such as The Barbican, Wigmore Hall, Cadogan Hall, St Martin-In-The Fields, and St James Piccadilly. Also covered are the best seasons which are easy to reach from London, such as the Church of Christ the Cornerstone in Milton Keynes, and the United Reformed Church in Coventry.

BRASS BAND AND MILITARY BAND EVENTS, INCLUDING BANDS IN THE PARK

The traditional summer Bands In The Park seasons are covered, both within London and in places which are easily reached. These include -

Bands In The Park – St James’s Park, London
Bands In The Park – Leighton Buzzard
Bands In The Park – Eastbourne
Bands In The Park – Leamington Spa
Bands In The Park – Northampton
Bands In The Park – Kettering
Bands In The Park – St Neots
Bands In The Park – Hunstanton
Bands In The Park – Stratford Upon Avon

Also covered are The Military Sound weeks in Eastbourne, featuring the Central Band of the Royal British Legion and The Band Of The Guards Association.

JAZZ

The major jazz seasons in London are featured, including the Bay Club in Enfield, the Globe In Morning Lane, Hackney and the Wenlock Arms. Also featured are the Sunday Lunchtime jazz sessions which can be easily reached, such as Roade Jazz Club in Northamptonshire and The Lansdowne Club in Luton.

VINTAGE MUSIC

Any major vintage music events are covered here. Recently, we have covered the Royal British Legion VE65 Celebrations on Whitehall and Horse Guards Parade. We cover all appearances of quality acts who are keeping vintage music alive, such as The Glenn Miller Orchestra, Duggie Chapman’s “We’ll Meet Again” tour, the Polka Dot Dolls, Andy Eastwood, and Andy Collier.

THE SEASON 2010

We are now into the 2010 summer band season.

If you are interested in the Bands In The Park seasons, there are links on the right to all of the major ones in the area between London and Birmingham, and some outside. Follow the links and you will get a fixture list for any season which has produced one.

If you want to know where I will be this year, I will list my planned programme below. This is subject to change at very short notice, although it is unlikely to change now that Northampton Bummer Clowncil have announced their (pitiful) programme, and all of the dates for the whole season are known.

I keep this constantly updated, so it will always be real time. Dates which have passed will be actual events I have attended.

If you read this blog, please feel free to come and have a chat if you see me at any of these events.

MAY

Sat 1st – Gretton Silver Band (Northampton Market Square)
Sun 2nd – Eastbourne Silver Band (Eastbourne)
Mon 3rd – Bradwell Silver Band (Bradwell Mill)

Sat 8th (VE Day) – Royal British Legion VE65 Celebrations (Whitehall and Horse Guards Parade)
Sun 9th – We’ll Meet Again (Hunstanton Princess Theatre)

Sat 15th – Andy Collier (Clapham, Bedfordshire)
Sun 16th – Cleobury Mortimer Concert Brass (Stratford-Upon-Avon)

Sat 22nd – Bradwell Silver Band (St James Church, New Bradwell)
Sun 23rd – Watford Band (Bushey)

Sat 29th – Jazz Brothers (Bletchley) and Frog Island Jazz Band (Wenlock Arms, Shoreditch)
Sun 30th – University of Warwick Brass Band (Leamington Spa)

JUNE

Sat 5th – Daventry Brass (Courteenhall Village Fete)
Sun 6th (D Day) – Gretton Silver Band (Northampton)

Sat 12th – Moulton 77 Brass Band (St Matthew’s Church Fete)
Sun 13th – Milton Keynes Brass (Northampton)

Sat 19th – Stackyard Stompers (Bletchley) – Bradwell Silver Band (Dobbies Garden Centre, Fenny Stratford) – JP Jazz (Bletchley)
Sun 20th – Shirley Band (Warwick)

Sat 26th – Toddington Town Band (Toddington)
Sun 27th – Ilkeston Brass (Nottingham)

JULY

Sat 3rd – Moulton 77 Brass Band (Great Billing Church Fete)
Sun 4th – Great Horwood Silver Band (Cheddington)

Sat 10th – Staines Brass (St James’s Park)
Sun 11th – Tilbury Brass Band (St James’s Park)

Sat 17th – Bradwell Silver Band (Bradwell Carnival)
Sun 18th – Bilton Silver (Rugby) Band (Leamington Spa) [Venue change due to potential inclement weather]

Sat 24th – Ipswich and Norwich Co-op Brass Band (St James’s Park)
Sun 25th – Band Of The Guards Association (Eastbourne)

Sat 31st – Mid-Sussex Brass Band (Eastbourne)

AUGUST

Sun 1st – Central Band Of The Royal British Legion (Eastbourne)

Sat 7th – Fulham Brass Band (St James’s Park)[FIXTURE CHANGED BY THE ROYAL PARKS FROM BRACKLEY AND DISTRICT BRASS BAND]
Sun 8th – Bedworth Brass (Northampton)

Sat 14th – East London Brass (St James’s Park)
Sun 15th (VJ Day) – Jaguar Coventry Band (St James’s Park)

Sat 21st – Sandhurst Silver Band (St James’s Park)
Sun 22nd – Moulton 77 Brass Band (Northampton)

Sat 28th – Bourne Concert Band (St James’s Park)
Sun 29th – Thundersley Brass Band (Kensington Gardens)

SEPTEMBER

Sun 5th – St Albans City Band (Leighton Buzzard)

Sun 12th – March Brass 2000 (Hunstanton)

Sun 19th – Wadhurst Brass Band (Eastbourne)

Sun 26th – Lancing Brass Of The Royal British Legion (Eastbourne)

BULLETIN BOARD

Details of forthcoming music events. To advertise your own music event here, please use the LONDON AND PROVINCIAL MUSIC HELPDESK. MUSIC EVENTS ONLY PLEASE. Thank you.

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Bilton Silver (Rugby) Band

July 18th, 2010 by admin

There is nothing like the British weather to add an air of unpredictability to the summer events. Today, I had intended to visit Kenilworth to hear Bedworth Brass. That is a venue I have never visited before, so I have no idea as to the state of the facilities. The visit to Warwick earlier in the year, though, had been worrying. The band simply set up on grass and played with no facilities or covering, in the most primitive of settings. When this happens, you are totally at the mercy of the weather. Kenilworth is run by the same organisation which manages the Warwick events, so the portents are not good.

The weather forecast today says we should get away with it. The rain is to the north and west of Kenilworth, and I make the train journey to Coventry confident that I will be heading Kenilworth way. At 11:51, however, only 15 minutes before I have to make a final choice, the heavens open copiously. This is completely against the forecast, and it makes me wonder whether there has been an unexpected wind change. The skies are dark grey, and the signs are not good. I cannot risk Kenilworth in these circumstances.

The risk is not worth taking because the Bilton Silver Band, from Rugby, is playing in Leamington Spa at the same time. Leamington is also run by Warwickshire DC, but here the facilities are different. Bands have played in wet weather under the overhang of the cafe, and even completely inside when the rain has been very severe. If there is one place where they do make an effort to get bands to play in bad weather it is Leamington Spa. The bus to Kenilworth leaves Coventry station at 12:07, and the train to Leamington Spa at 12:25. The only intelligent choice is the latter, as it is a much safer bet. As it happens, I would be surprised if Bedworth were troubled by rain in Kenilworth, but there was no way to predict this three hours earlier. A lot can happen in that time, never mind the five hours to the end of the event.

Amazingly, Bilton Silver Band is one I’ve never heard, despite the fact that Rugby is only twenty minutes away from Northampton on a direct train link. They have never been booked to play in Abington Park, their own season is tragically no more, and they are even infrequent visitors to this season. They have a full complement of players and they do play well, so my first impressions are very positive. We could again do with either a printed programme or an announcement from the MD, as much of the material is unfamiliar. It is well played and satisfying, though, which is what really counts.

We get away with the weather, despite the arctic temperature and the howling wind. I can only assume that had I gone to Kenilworth I would have been lucky, but you cannot predict these things. As if to emphasize the point, it starts raining at 5:35, half an hour after the band has finished playing. That in itself is enough to prove that the forecast was inaccurate.

I don’t know whether I shall be back to Leamington Spa this year or not. There is one last possibility in August when Jaguar (Coventry) is here. I am still trying to find out which bands are playing in London on that day. As for Bedworth Brass, they are due in Northampton on August 8th, so hopefully I shall still get the chance to hear them this year. For now, though, the weather is dramatically improving when it is all too late, as I sit on Leamington’s wonderful preserved GWR railway station, waiting for the Tchaikovsky train – the 18:12 back to Coventry. I have heard one more new band than I was expecting to this season, and come away with a very positive impression of Bilton Silver (Rugby) Band.

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