Circus Envy SOLD OUT
Saturday December 10 8pm £7/£9otd
Circus Envy and friends celebrate Christmas with special guests. After last year's sell-out Christmas Party, Circus Envy return to The Ropewalk where they will play songs from their last album and back catalogue interspersed with a sprinkle of Christmas tunes traditional and modern.
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The Suspicions SOLD OUT
Friday December 30 8pm £16/£18otd
Back by popular demand.... a great soul night to dance away in the lull between Christmas and the New Year
Once upon a time, a long time ago, in the student bar of Leeds Polytechnic, "Snake Davis and his Alligator Shoes" were born. A soulful unit playing sax versions of Stax, Motown and Atlantic classics. They went on to be embraced by the Northern Soul scene. They lit up the Astoria Ballroom and Central Station, Leeds as they played to some of the most passionate and committed music-loving crowds anywhere in the world.
Reformed a couple of years ago, Snake Davis and The Suspicions have been heralded as the best Soul band performing live in the UK today. They feature Snakes’ searing Junior Walker-inspired sax, the sumptuous vocals of Doreen Edwards and Sue Quinn, trumpet and a killer rhythm section.
As a backing band they’ve worked alongside Ben-E-King, Frank Wilson, Chuck Jackson, Brenda Holloway, Martha Reeves, Willie Hutch, JJ Barnes, Eddie Holman, Barbara Lynn and many more. They recorded “Get Ready” with the boy band Blue and on the DVD collection, “The Strange World of Northern Soul” – described as “An awesome Northern Compilation”. They have also recorded soundtracks for TV advertising campaigns.
They perform classic tracks from Atlanta, Motown and Northern Soul, including their own versions of tunes such as “The Champion”, “Sweetest Feeling”, Green Onions”, “Love is Serious Business” and “Do I Love You”
Please note: this gig is standing only
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Paul Jones and Dave Kelly SOLD OUT
Friday January 13 8pm £17/£19otd
The return to Ropery Hall of Britain’s best blues duo - a show not to be missed. These long standing co-vocalists with The Blues Band get a big buzz out of taking things down a level, simplifying the music a little, and plying their trade as a duo, thus imbuing their very own personal and individual approaches to a dynamic, rootsy and exhilarating set of Country Blues. Venues large and small have been hushed and then enraptured by the sense of “old times” in the Mississippi Delta
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Mad Jack and The Hatters CANCELLED
Friday January 27 8pm £6/£8otd
Mad Jack & The Hatters is a new gang of young musicians who are so different to what you're used to, especially live, that they will literally blow your mind!! From the ferociously intense tendencies of Mad Jack and crazy antics of his Hatters to a kind of raw, effortless musicianship that hasn't been seen in a long time - they will have you hooked from minute one! They are bringing the oldest forms of music back out of the closet and giving them a severe dusting-down!
Mad Jack and The Hatters is a band with a purpose....to bring good music with a beat to people who might not have noticed it before.
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The Carnival Band
Friday February 3 8pm £13/£15otd
The challenge – 20 (countries and a trip to the moon), 20 instruments (at least), 80 tunes. Only one band is talented and crazy enough to accept!
Spontaneous and exuberant, the Carnival Band turns musical convention on its head with this musical tour of the globe spanning five centuries of music. A vibrant mix of world, traditional and early music played with wit and consummate skill. Instruments include shawms, bagpipes, ‘ud, djembe as well as fiddle, guitar, bass etc., and the band sing in full-throated harmony. Recordings and tours with folk diva Maddy Prior have won them an enthusiastic following. Champions of carnival music from around the world, let the Carnival Band take you on an unforgettable audio odyssey!
“Full of vivacity, originality and wit” (BBC Stoke and Staffs)
“The variety of sounds was breathtaking…..this was a fun and delightful concert.” (Newbury Evening News)
“Irreverence, exuberance and variety… The Carnival Band should be bottled and made freely available on the NHS” (Nottingham Evening Post)
Suitable for all ages
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Patsy and Bex
Friday February 10 8pm £10/£12otd
One half of award winning female acoustic quartet, Waking the Witch, Patsy Matheson and Becky Mills have continued to delight audiences throughout the UK since the group’s well publicised break up – Patsy as half of a duo with the legendary Clive Gregson (Gregson & Collister, Richard Thompson Band), and Becky singing alongside Ken Nicol (Steeleye Span) and Ashley Hutchins (Fairport Convention).
Now, to support the release of their two new albums - Patsy’s “Stories of Angels & Guitars”,’ available 16th Jan 2012, and Becky’s “ ‘Dandelion” - these two world class songwriters, singers and guitar players have joined forces resulting in a unique and personal sound, drawing on roots in traditional and contemporary folk, acoustic blues, R & B, jazz and rock, with an emphasis on intricate vocal harmonies.
Combine this with the pair’s engaging charm and sense of humour, and this promises to be a very special evening of top quality entertainment.
“Expert musicianship and compelling interchanging lead vocals” – Maverick Magazine
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Martin Carthy
Saturday February 18 2012 8pm £12/£14otd
Mad Dog Folk in association with
Beverley Folk Acoustic Roots Festival 2012
presents Martin Carthy
Support Kirsty Bromley
For more than 40 years Martin Carthy has been one of folk music's greatest innovators, one of its best loved, most enthusiastic and, at times, most quietly controversial of figures. His skill, stage presence and natural charm have won him many admirers, not only from within the folk scene, but also far beyond it. Trailblazing musical partnerships with, amongst others, Steeleye Span, Dave Swarbrick and his award-winning wife Norma Waterson and daughter Eliza Carthy have resulted in more than 40 albums, but Martin has only recorded 10 solo albums, of which the much anticipated Waiting for Angels (Topic TSCD527) is the latest.
Whether in the folk clubs (which he continues to champion), on the concert stage or making TV appearances (he was the subject of the acclaimed `Originals' music documentary strand on BBC 2) - there are few roles that Martin Carthy hasn't played. He's a ballad singer, a ground-breaking acoustic and electric guitarist and an authoritative interpreter of newly composed material. He always prefers to follow an insatiable musical curiosity rather than cash in on his unrivalled position. Perhaps, most significant of all, are his settings of traditional songs with guitar which have influenced a generation of artists, including Bob Dylan and Paul Simon, on both sides of the Atlantic.
In June 1998 he was appointed an MBE in the Queen's Birthday Honours. He was named Folk Singer of the Year at the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards in 2002, and again in 2005 when he also won the award for Best Traditional Track for Famous Flower of Serving Men. In the 2007 Folk Awards Martin Carthy and Dave Swarbrick won Best Duo. In 2008 he won the BBC Radio 2 Folk Award Best Traditional Track for Cold Haily Rainy Night alongside Eliza Carthy and Chris Wood as part of The Imagined Village project.
“Arguably the greatest English folk song performer, writer, collector and editor of them all” Q Magazine
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KAN
Friday February 24 8pm £12/£14otd
Brian Finnegan and Aidan O’Rourke, front men with two of the most revered bands ever to have thrilled the folk scene, BBC award winning Flook and Lau, join forces with Ian Stephenson on guitar and Jim Goodwin on drums to create an enthralling and beautiful new sound.
Brian and Aidan are an irresistible partnership, both men with a style that is fiercely unique; Brian’s grounded in the Irish tradition, Aidan’s in both the Irish and Scottish, both highly accomplished improvisers and celebrated composers with a brace of solo CDs each, and neither afraid to take risks and explore new sonic frontiers.
Yorkshire guitarist and multi-instrumentalist Ian Stephenson, no stranger to BBC awards himself, with his band 422 and work with Kathryn Tickell and Chris Stout, is at the forefront of the new wave of rhythm accompanists, but it is his willingness to experiment and hone his own bass/funk style of play that makes this sonic whiz kid such an exciting player. His teaming up with rhythm master Jim Goodwin, drummer and percussionist with the Halle and Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, has forged a formidable rhythm department, full of drive and imagination.
Together, all four have a largely intuitive ability to journey into the heart and soul of a melody, to take it somewhere fresh and new… however old… and to take the listener with them.
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Keith James
Saturday February 25 8pm £14/£16otd
Singer and Guitarist Keith James has, of late, become hugely applauded for his particularly successful tours of concerts spanning the past decade. They have included the works of Nick Drake, Joni Mitchell, Neil Young, Leonard Cohen and many more great song writers of this era. Keith has also set to music of his own the poetry of L. Cohen and F. Garcia Lorca.
Across autumn 2011 and spring 2012 Keith will be performing a new concert entitled “The Great Canadian Songbook.” Performing with guest vocalist Louise Spencer, Keith has interpreted songs by Neil Young, Joni Mitchell, Leonard Cohen and others into an intimate, sincere evening of music with such depth that it resonates within the fabric of the soul.
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Snake Strings
Friday March 2 8pm £15/£17otd
A ground-breaking collaboration between sax maestro Snake Davis and an outstanding British string quartet, featuring peerless sax melody and classical strings in a fresh and innovative crossover of classical, pop, soul and jazz, all with a Snakey twist. Expect tunes ranging from “River Deep, Mountain High” and “A Little Respect” and self penned numbers to classics from Albinoni, Faure and Bach.
Acknowledged as one of the UK’s foremost saxophonists, the go-to-guy for session work with the likes of Sir Paul McCartney, M-People and The Eurythmics, Snake Davis explores the emotive and uplifting registers of tenor, alto and soprano sax, shakuhachi and wood flute, in a glorious classical/soul fusion.
The music sometimes gets deep and emotional but the evening is always relaxed and entertaining. A great show for all the family, crossing genres and introducing a wide spectrum of music to audiences of all ages.
Snake- Saxes and flutes
Damion Browne- cello
Jayne Coyle- Viola
Raymond Lester- Violin
Adam Robinson- Violin
“A virtuoso saxophonist” Daily Telegraph
“One of the most passionate sax styles and simple bluesy approaches a-la-Sanborn heard in these isles for a while” Time Out
“Snake is a joy to work alongside. His musical skills have no limit, in fact he is as free as a bird” Dave Stewart (Eurythmics)
www.snakedavis.com
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Chris Wood
Saturday March 10 8pm £12/£14otd
Chris Wood is an uncompromising writer whose music reveals his love for the un-official history of the English speaking people. With gentle intelligence he weaves the tradition with his own contemporary parables, his writing has been said to share the same timeless quality as Richard Thompson at his best.
Since the release of The Lark Descending Wood’s appeal has gone way beyond English folk music. He was invited to sing at last year's WOMEX where he garnered much praise and found many new followers. Likewise, his spot at this year's WOMAD festival was testament to his widening appeal.
He has had musical commissions from BBC Radio 3's Late Junction and Between The Ears also from The Sage Gateshead and has completed work for Arts Council England whilst continuing his writing and lecturing.
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The Aynsley Lister Band
Friday March 23 8pm £10/£12otd
Aynsley has never been an artist to reheat the music of yesteryear. Influenced from an early age by the 60’s R ‘n’ B era, Lister takes these key elements and mixes them with a more current and melodic lyrical approach.
He is one of very few artists playing blues infused rock with a modern edge -tangible, heartfelt, soul searching and full of fine song-writing played with passion and vitality. His hard hitting rhythms and guitar work are reminiscent of a young Clapton.
Lister began his career when he signed to Ruf Records in 1998. During his time on the label he worked with producers such as Jim Gaines (SRV, Santana) and Greg Haver (Manic Street Preachers) and recorded four studio albums, two live albums and two DVD’s. However, if these earlier albums were Lister making his mark as a well respected blues rock artist, it was when he signed to Manhaton Records in June 2008 that he showed he had more commercial appeal to a bigger audience.
Featuring John Mayer’s guitarist Robbie Macintosh, Equilibrium was released in March 2009 and received rave reviews everywhere. In addition to doing live sessions for Radio 2’s Bob Harris and Paul Jones, Aynsley was the only British artist to be featured in Classic Rocks review: TOP 10 CONTEMPORARY BLUES ROCK ARTISTS….......alongside The White Stripes, The Black Keys, John Mayer, Jon Spencer, Jonny Lang, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Joe Bonamassa, Derek Trucks and the North Mississippi Allstars. They also listed Equilibrium in the Top 50 albums released in 2009
His live work has seen him work with a whole host of big names. Earlier in his career it was with blues legends such as Buddy Guy, John Mayall and Robert Cray, while more recently he played a sell out tour with Lynyrd Skynyrd when their UK tour visited such venues as Brixton Academy, Manchester Apollo and Birmingham’s NIA.
In June 2010, The Tower Sessions was released. Recorded live at the end of a 45 date European tour this album captures Lister and his band in best ever form. Headlining Glastonbury’s Bourbon Street stage and opening for ZZ Top a week later, this was the perfect platform to release what is a document indeed of Aynsley Lister in his best ever form
Please note: this gig is standing only
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Martin Taylor and Alan Barnes
Saturday March 31 8pm £16/£18otd
Award winning guitarist Martin Taylor has established a unique musical career as an internationally acclaimed musician, and his inimitable style has seen him recognised as the world’s foremost exponent of solo jazz guitar playing. .As well as being a true guitar innovator, he is also a master concert performer, dazzling audiences with his solo shows, which combine virtuosity, emotion, humour, with a strong stage presence.
As well as his solo concerts and recordings, he has also collaborated with musicians from many different musical genre including, Stephane Grappelli, Jeff Beck, Gary Burton, Chet Atkins, Bill Wyman, George Harrison, Dionne Warwick, Diane Schuur and Jamie Cullum. He spends much of the year travelling the world, playing in concert halls in Europe, North America, Japan, Asia, and Australasia.
Alan Barnes has enjoyed a prolific career as a sideman, playing and recording for many bands. He broadcast regularly over a 10-year period with the BBC Big Band and Radio Orchestra and has toured and recorded with big band leaders, Dick Walter, Kenny Baker, Bob Wilber, Don Weller, Stan Tracey, Mike Westbrook and John Dankworth.
Other bands he has toured and recorded with include the Tina May Trio, Bill LeSage’s Genetically Modified Quintet, Spike Robinson’s Tenor Madness, Clare Teale, and a sextet with Don Weller playing the music of Cannonball Adderley. Alan has also toured the U.K. with Freddie Hubbard. Alan has long associations with pianist David Newton, going back to their college days, and with blistering be-bop trumpeter Bruce Adams, with whom he has co-led a quintet since the early nineties.
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