Two up and coming stars and one with years of live performance behind him are part of next week’s first ever Ropewalk Guitar Festival.
Played out at Barton upon Humber’s Ropery Hall from Thursday, June 2, to Saturday, June 4, the Festival promises something for everyone – from the dizzying heights of Martin Taylor on the first evening to folk legend Dave Swarbrick on Friday and Chantel McGregor on the final evening.
“I think that for the first Guitar Festival staged at The Ropewalk we have been very lucky to attract such a diversity of guitar talent,” said promoter Mark Keable of mtm promotions.
“One band I am particularly looking forward to is the Marcus Bonfanti Trio who spent last year playing his own brand of blues up and down the country,” Mark went on. “He is fast building a reputation as one of the most exciting acts on the live circuit.”
Bradford born Chantel McGregor is making a rare solo appearance at the Maltkiln Road venue. Chantel has been playing guitar – a half-size acoustic – since the ripe old age of three and in her early teens developed rapidly into an incredible rock and blues musician.
Realising at an early age that if you picked up a guitar you got attention, especially from her dad whose guitar it usually was, it was inevitable that she would get one of her own. So at the ripe old age of three, she got her first guitar, a half size acoustic.
After studying at the Leeds College of Music where she achieved a First Class Honours degree in Popular Music in July 2009 she has quickly built up a following playing both solo and with her band throughout the UK and in Europe.
He may not be a guitar player but Dave Swarbrick can certainly play those strings. Described as “the most influential [British] fiddle player bar none” his style has been copied or developed by almost every British and many world folk violin players.
One of the most highly regarded musicians produced by the second British folk revival, his work for the group Fairport Convention from 1969 is usually credited with leading them to produce their seminal album Liege and Lief (1969) which initiated the electric folk movement.
He guided the band through a series of important albums until its disbandment in 1979 and since then he has played in a series of smaller, acoustic units and engaged in solo projects.
“Dave was last at Ropery Hall nearly two years ago with his band Lazarus so we are delighted to welcome him back,” Mark continued.
Tickets for Dave’s appearance on Friday evening alongside the Steve Tilston and Chris Sherburn and Denny Bartley cost £20; to listen to Marcus Bonfanti alongside the Steve Skaith Band and Paul Lidell on the Saturday afternoon costs £18 while Chantel McGregor will be appearing in the final session alongside Walter Strauss and Ezio with tickets costing £20.
The Ropery Coffee shop will be open until 7.30pm on the Saturday evening and will be serving food until 7pm for those who will be at both afternoon and evening sessions or arriving early for the evening session.
Throughout the summer in the Box Gallery we are showcasing work from makers who are influenced by the sea.
Featuring in Coastal are ceramics by Tregear Pottery from the Isle of Wight, Rebecca Harvey from St Ives, Pru Green from Essex and Dianne Cross from Yorkshire. A new collection of work by Tony Bellars of King’s Lynn brings a bright splash of colour, looking at his fishing boats and gulls you can almost smell the salt air and hear the unmistakable cry of the gull.
This month in the Box Gallery we are celebrating everything nautical with a range of makers from around the UK. Their pieces aim to represent the fun of the ocean and the curious creatures that live within it.
We have a range of ceramics and prints to transport you back to the seaside or give you gift inspiration for that perfect someone who is never far from the beach. So why not come and visit the Craft Gallery today and start your holiday early with a piece from our exhibition, transforming your home into your very own seaside escape.
Here are just a few of the pieces we have on offer in the exhibition.
You are probably wondering why we have a boat within the Box Gallery exhibition!
Not only does it match this month’s nautical theme in the gallery it also promotes Barton’s Heritage Open Days and the free tours taking place from September 14 to September 22 in the neighbouring Barton Haven Shipyard.
Don’t forget to book your free ticket today along with many more events on offer at The Ropewalk.
Selected by Rob Moore and Melvyn Petterson, this biennial exhibition aims to show the best of our region’s printmakers.
Situated on the rugged south coast of the Isle of Wight, Tregear Pottery produces a beautiful range of handmade stoneware pottery. Each piece is made from fine white stoneware clay. The work is hand decorated in a variety of designs – all drawing their inspiration and influences from the exceptional beauty of the surrounding landscapes.
Trained in Kyoto, Japan, in porcelain throwing, Neil’s passion for pottery has seen his work travel across the globe. He continually pushes and challenges the work at Tregear Pottery, refining glazes, developing new designs and expanding the studio. Neil has been awarded with a number of grants, international show selections, and other accolades for the quality of his work. The work is sold in several galleries and shops on the Isle of Wight as well as many well-known outlets across the mainland and now at The Ropewalk. Come in to the Craft Gallery during the month of June and admire the coastal bliss that Neil Tregear’s pottery creates.
Noted brings together artists Lou Hazelwood and Sarah Pennington for the first time, as they negotiate similar interests in the mechanisation of music and roles of women.
Hazelwood’s piece in progress ‘La Boheme/I’ve Got Her Disease Inside My Head’ transposes pianola scores to playable music boxes working with the oppositional themes of the female bohemian and hysteric.
Pennington has constructed a series of new sculptural observations and print works through a combination of historical research and material experimentation with player piano rolls and remnants of piano mechanisms.
This exhibition showcases the initial findings of their separate but related research into, and interventions with, the structures of pianos and pianolas, and social situations surrounding their key periods of use.
If you are interested in following these processes of exploration as they continue to unfold, please visit www.facebook.com/Noted
Rachel Morley creates unique felt items by hand using the wet felt method. The natural colours and shapes of the Scottish coastal landscape have inspired the Pebble range or Doorstops, Cubby Bowls, Cubbyholes and Pebble Pods. Rachel experiments with wool fibres from British breeds of sheep to take advantage to their varying qualities. As a contrast, Rachel enjoys the challenges of felting with a broad colour palette to create the colourful range of bowls.
Rachel’s aim is to elevate felt craft to create innovate products for the interior, echoing organic forms of the coastal landscape. Her fine art background brings a very sculptural feel to her work which is tactile and evocative.
Rachel has a Fine Art Degree and Level 2 and Level 3 Diplomas in Feltmaking. She is a member of the international Feltmakers Association and Design Nation. She is a supporter of the campaign for Wool and member of the Rare Breeds Survival Trust. Rachel works from a studio in Hickling a village situated between Nottingham and Melton Mowbray. Come in to the Craft Gallery during the month of May and admire the Scottish bliss Rachel Morley felt pieces create.
