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This is the archive of the combined Barking Spider and Andy Broad Portsmouth Blues Site mailing lists.
For the latest information on what's on at The Bullfrog Blues Club click here
Barking Spider Promotions Mailing List |
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Hi all, This looks great- TONY JOE WHITE, SID GRIFFIN'S LONG RIDERS, THE SADIES, ,THE HOT CLUB OF COWTOWN, HAMMELL ON TRIAL, GORDON HASKELL…go if you can make it, the Barking Spydah (sorry, SPIDER) will certainly be there! Book early, it looks like being a sell out! On the weekend of June 25-27 2004, a new high quality music and community arts festival is set to take place at Southwell Business Park (www.southwellbusinesspark.com) on the Isle of Portland, Dorset. SpydaFest will be an intimate, high quality music festival featuring international roots, rock and world music acts that can only complement the spectacular natural environment and unique community spirit of the island and offers something for everyone. Promoted by leading internet radio station SpydaRadio (www.spydaradio.co.uk) in association with London's celebrated Borderline Club ( www.borderline.co.uk) , now a Mean Fiddler Group venue and locally based music agency Mutiny Music (www.mutinymusic.co.uk), the event will showcase the eclectic music presented by Spyda Radio and The Borderline, with a strong bias towards contemporary songwriting excellence, from both sides of the Atlantic on two stages. SpydaFest also sets out to draw national attention to the excellent quality of home grown live music to be found in the borough, with a dedicated showcase event for local bands performing original material. There will be some other opportunities for local musicians to get a foot in the door too, and organisers are also currently considering building an acoustic "open mike" stage into the programme. There will also be some more cutting edge funk, hip hop and world music bands for those who prefer to dance the night away.There will of course be a fully licensed bar, food concessions and a full range of market stalls present to give the event a real festival atmosphere. The site will be open until 11pm each evening. In addition a lot of work has gone into setting up a programme of community activities and workshops off site in the week leading up to the event, so that local residents and children can attend workshops and learn new skills which might then culminate in a short series of performances at the festival itself. Collaborations with Royal Manor Arts College, Youth Music Project and local schools are in the pipeline to this effect, with workshops in Street Dance, DJ techniques, harmony singing, and percussion skills planned amongst others. In addition Portland residents stand to benefit from a generous discounted ticket price. There will also be music workshops, masterclasses and children's entertainment on offer at the festival site too. SpydaFest organisers have been liaising with Glastonbury festival to secure a number of artists from the US and Canada, who will just be in the UK for the weekend; current bookings include TONY JOE WHITE, SID GRIFFIN'S LONG RIDERS, THE SADIES, ,THE HOT CLUB OF COWTOWN, HAMMELL ON TRIAL …a musical smorgasbord which ranges from swamp rock to jazzy blue grass to acoustic punk! Dorset's own chart busting songwriter GORDON HASKELL is also expected to play over the weekend, showcasing material from his forthcoming new album. Media profile for this event will be strong; SpydaRadio will be launching the event at a dedicated press gig at the Borderline in London early next month, along with their new CD, to coincide with advertisements in the Guardian, Independent on Sunday, MOJO, UNCUT and the like. The Big Issue, BT Broadband and brewers Carling are all on board at this stage to assist boost national profile. Key shows on BBC Radio 2 will run features on some of the artists. Tickets for SpydaFest will be on sale from Weymouth's Pavilion Box Office (tel 01305 783225) from early April, and full event details will be available from the website www.spydafest.com at the same time. Organisers anticipate that demand for the allocated 2500 tickets will be high, pulling people to Portland from across the UK.