International touring blues rock powerhouse Catfish are making waves on the music scene in the UK and Europe. Matt Long the guitarist was named Instrumentalist of the Year in the UK Blues Awards 2021. In the UK Blues Awards of May 2020, the band were named Band of the Year and Matt Long was named Blues Instrumentalist of the Year. In 2018 they won the UK Blues Award for Blues Act of the Year (England) to add to their 2016 British Blues Award.
In the last few years, they have played at almost every major UK blues festival and have established themselves as a real force in the British blues scene. They now tour regularly in Europe.
Their first two albums ‘So Many Roads’ and ‘Broken Man’ both reached no. 1 in the IBBA airplay charts. The second of these, ‘Broken Man’, was also nominated for a UK Blues Award and was named album of the year by the IBBA. Their third album ‘Burning Bridges’ was released in May 2019 and has received excellent reviews from the UK and European music press. It was the third most played album by the Independent Blues Broadcasters Association in 2019 and was nominated for a UK blues award for 2020 as album of the year. They released a new live CD and DVD set on 1 December 2020 which was recorded during lockdown at a full band live stream broadcast across Europe by Blues Maastricht festival in Holland.
‘Catfish are one of the finest live bands in Britain today. The quality of musicianship is outstanding and in Matt Long, they have one of the greatest young guitarists on the scene today…‘ Blues Matters Magazine.
Support from Saltshaker
Doors open 7.30pm
Tickets £10 in advance / £13 on the door
Book online (fee applies) or call our Box Office on 01449 774678 (open 10am to 2pm weekdays).
Licensed bar
The Vinyl Lounge
A cracking night of sharing your vinyl
+ some of your favourite guest DJ’s
Bring along your favourite 45’s & Albums and the Vinyl Lounge DJs will turn them into a show…
It’s national album day – this year celebrating debut albums!
7.30pm till Midnight
£5.00 per ticket
Book online (fee applies) or call our Box Office on 01449 774678 (open 10am to 2pm weekdays).
Licensed bar.
Jazz at the JPC
ALAN BARNES
+ Chris Ingham Trio
A major instrumentalist, a droll raconteur and perilously close to becoming a Jazz Knight, Alan Barnes has won numerous UK Jazz Awards for Best Clarinettist, Best Alto Saxophonist and Best Baritone Saxophonist and is one of the UK’s most treasured and entertaining jazzmen. With Chris Ingham (piano), Malcolm Creese (bass) and George Double (drums).
“A master saxophonist…faultless virtuosity” GUARDIAN
“There’s not a single phrase that doesn’t sparkle with invention and swing” MOJO
Doors open 2.30pm
Cabaret Style Seating
Tickets £12.00 advance / £14.00 on the door
Book online (fee applies) or call our Box Office on 01449 774678 (open 10am to 2pm weekdays).
Licensed bar
After surfacing in 2013 with their debut EP, ‘Wasters & Wannabes’, The Kubricks soon became one of the must-see ska bands of this generation. Tracks from their debut release were supported by Huey Morgan (6Music) and Tom Robinson (BBC Introducing – 6Music), and The Specials’ bassist, Horace Panter championed the band, claiming “I can hear Madness, The Ruts, Squeeze and The Clash in there…” The timing was perfect, and coincided with a new interest in ska music, as many of UK’s festivals began dedicating entire stages to the genre. Riding on the back of this wave, the band soon found themselves supporting legends such as UB40, Bad Manners and The Toasters.
Produced by Toby Davies of Gentleman’s Dub Club, the band’s first album ‘The Heist’ was released in 2017. The UK’s longest-running skazine, Do The Dog, immediately commented that it was already, “A very strong contender for album of the year”, whilst Bucketlist in Canada called it, “A gem of an album that makes ska and reggae seem like a perfect fit with 21st-century musical trends.” Tom Robinson (6Music) immediately shared the track ‘Down With the Dogs’ with his listeners, and BBC Introducing in Essex soon began supporting the album too.
For their next project, the band began working with Tom Donovan – producer, writer and musician from Essex hip-hop act, Monster Florence. The subsequent album ‘Between Antipodes’ was released in the autumn of 2022, and is their most ska-pop venture to date.
The Kubricks have spent years developing their energetic live set, headlining their own shows and playing festivals across the country. They have played to tens of thousands, with notable appearances at The Isle of Wight Festival, Boomtown Fair, Bearded Theory’s Spring Gathering, Wickerman (Scotland), Godiva, and The London International Ska Festival, amongst many others.
“I can hear Madness, The Ruts, Squeeze and The Clash in there … all mashed up to make something very listenable. There are tunes you can sing in the bath or at the traffic lights. Intelligent lyrics and danceable too!!” Horace Panter, The Specials
“The Kubricks’ bring something surprisingly refreshing to the table”; “[they make] ska and reggae seem like a perfect fit with 21st-century musical trends.” Bucketlist Reviews, Canada
Event information
Doors 7.30pm
Tickets £11
Standing tickets only
Book online (fee applies) or call our Box Office on 01449 774678 (open 10am to 2pm weekdays).
Licensed bar.
Black Water County
+ Flint Moore (support)
“A beautiful cacophony of distilled folkpunk bliss!” – London Celtic Punks
“Mayhem sprinkled with laughs and beer and of course some rollicking good tunes.” – Gigs and Bands
Over the past eight years of playing music together, we’ve grown up through angsty teenage years into angstier adulthood, with only our music to reflect our hurdles and triumphs. On the days where the world seemed to be raging on indifferently or responsibilities came banging at our doors, we took solace amongst the singing, sweating people in front of us on a Friday night with that 10ft by 6ft space beneath our feet becoming our sanctuary.
In 2017 we independently released ‘Taking Chances’ with a sold out launch show at Mr Kyps and embarked on our first self booked UK tour. After signing with booking agency Midnight Mango in 2018 we’ve had three extensive UK headline tours as well as supports on the tours of a plethora of inspirational artists. Our second album ‘Comedies and Tragedies’ was released on March 13th 2020 with another sold out show at The Old Firestation in Bournemouth, however, the promotional UK tour was halted as soon as the pandemic hit.
If our first album, ‘Taking Chances’, is a post-university tale of early twenties life; refusing to conform and rebelling against anything that stands in the way of a good time, then consider ‘Comedies and Tragedies’ to be a reality check sequel; rife with confusion, uncertainty and the struggles of self-identity.
When creating music over the years, it has become integral for us to aknowledge not only a balance between guts and contemplation, but a harmony of punchy pop-punk guitar and hard hitting drums with the complex but determined layers of banjo, mandolin and tin whistle intertwined. With this we strive to pay homage to our appreciation of folk music and the significance of punk throughout our upbringings.
In both 2016 and 2018, we won our place on Fireball’s ‘Fueling the Fire Tour’ supporting Less Than Jake, Flogging Molly, The Bronx, The Skints and Face to Face. We then subsequently had an endorsement from Fireball UK in 2019 and featured in Kerrang!’s online coverage of the tour. We also appeared on BBC radio Solent with our single ‘Rise and Fall’ on March 10th 2018.
Our festival appearances have included WOMAD, Boomtown Fair, Beautiful Days, Camp Bestival, Larmer Tree and Teddy Rocks along with hundreds of smaller UK festivals and festival slots across Germany, Switzerland, The Netherlands and France. Since playing The Old Firestation in 2019 and again in March 2020 for our sold-out album launch we have confirmed our first headline show at the O2 Academy Bournemouth in March 2022.
Support
Flint Moore
UK rock-folk band Flint Moore don’t believe in doing music by halves – it must be ferocious and raw, or delicate and emotional. When people try and describe them, they reach for many different names – from Pearl Jam to Mumford and Sons, Audioslave to Dave Matthews Band. Whatever their choice, it always speaks volumes of their powerful and honest sound.
Flint Moore is grassroots in their attitude and grounded in their worldview. They believe music only comes alive when songs are meaningful, and when people feel truly connected.
Doors open 7.30pm
Tickets £12.00 advance / £14.00 on the door
Book online (fee applies) or call our Box Office on 01449 774678 (open 10am to 2pm weekdays).
Licensed bar.
The Vagaband have taken their brand of roots rock and Celtic soul across the UK & Europe for the last 15 years. Playing bars, street corners and house concerts and eventually honing their craft as festival headliners. With a rotating line-up of multi-instrumentalists and José McGill as the ever-present writer and producer, they have released a consistent output of slick Celtic /Americana.
Support comes from Tom Mally
Tom Mally is a singer songwriter from the east of England. Influenced by working with his hands outside in all weathers on building sites and farms. Influencers in music – Bob Dylan, Van Morrison, Ray Lamontagne, The Band, Luke Kelly, The Dubliners, Christy Moore and of course blues music such as Mississippi Fred McDowell, Muddy Waters, Howling Wolf, Robert Johnson to say a few…
Doors open from 7.30pm
Event starts at 8:00 pm
Tickets £12 adv. / £14 otd.
Book online (fee applies) or call our Box Office on 01449 774678 (open 10am to 2pm weekdays).
Licensed bar.
WOOM is comprised of Alice, Izzy, Gray and Lara. A low hum, a harmony and ripple, a mirror of reverberating melismatic vocals carrying listeners to the heart of a sound. In all their live performances this south London four-piece choir sends a message of solidarity and care to the audience, their voices together forming an embrace of sound. WOOM imbues all their songs, whether re-worked, written or devised, with the mesmerising strength and hope of storytellers. Comprising something of a supergroup of southeast London luminaries, WOOM features members of Babeheaven, Jerkcurb, Arlo Day, Teeth Machine and Thidius. Following the success of their 2021 debut EP ‘Into The Rest’, and their compelling sold out Southbank shows, WOOM released a new single; a reinterpretation of Bon Iver’s iconic ‘Skinny Love’ as a part of acclaimed director Andrea Arnold’s (‘Big Little Lies’) new motion picture soundtrack ‘COW’, alongside the likes of Billie Eilish and Angel Olsen. The track was requested by Arnold after following the band from the early days.
After rising to prominence via acapella re-interpretations of songs by the likes of Frank Ocean, Angel Olsen & Outkast, amongst others, WOOM are now evolving their own songwriting, working on their upcoming EP. These songs grew through writing and collaborating together during their escape from the city in 2021. WOOM will be unveiling these along with new arrangements on their first ever headline tour across the UK at the end of this year.
Support t.b.c
Doors open 7.30pm
Tickets £10 in advance / £12 on the door
Book online (fee applies) or call our Box Office on 01449 774678 (open 10am to 2pm weekdays).
Licensed bar
Tales From The Wedding Present
An evening ‘in conversation’ with David Gedge
Includes stripped-back set
- Interview with David
- Q&A
- Stripped-back Acoustic set
- Book Signing
TALES FROM THE WEDDING PRESENT
VOLUME 2
SOMETHING AND NOTHING
The second instalment of David Lewis Gedge’s ‘memoir in comic-book form’!
Released – via Scopitones Books – on 11 November 2022
Something And Nothing is the second volume in the autobiography from David Gedge of Wedding Present fame.
The stories featured in this stunning 176-page matt-laminated, hard-back book have previously only been available to readers of the Tales From The Wedding Present comic book series. This collected edition comes with 100 pages of never-before-seen additional material and an introduction by Craig Cash.
David writes the Tales From The Wedding Present narrative together with long-time musical associate Terry de Castro, and then the stories are illustrated by virtuoso artist Lee Thacker. For the past decade, they’ve been working steadily (along with editing help from Jessica McMillan) to relate David’s life and adventures.
Something And Nothing is presented in chronological order; it takes up where Volume One left off – just after the release of The Wedding Present’s first single ‘Go Out And Get ’Em, Boy!’ in 1985 – and takes us through the next three years of the band’s existence. David writes intimately about all of the events leading up to the writing, recording and release of the band’s classic debut album, George Best, as well as detailing sessions that the group recorded for John Peel [including the legendary Ukrainian folk music ones], early live appearances in the UK and the rest of Europe and the development of their label Reception Records. On the way, we also learn about some of the romantic experiences that may have informed his writing.
Something And Nothing will be launched at the Louder Than Words literary festival in Manchester in November 2022. The release will be accompanied by a live Tales From The Wedding Present tour of seated venues in the UK which will feature Terry interviewing David, an audience Q&A, and a 45 minute semi-acoustic set.
What They Say About David Lewis Gedge:
David Lewis Gedge is an English musician, best known for his work in the influential indie rock group The Wedding Present, of which he is the singer, guitarist, principal songwriter and only ever-present member.
In the UK, The Wedding Present have had eighteen Top 40 singles and seven Top 40 albums – a remarkable achievement for a band that has, from its inception, refused to play the record industry’s game.
Gedge also runs his own record label, Scopitones, an annual festival in Brighton called At The Edge Of The Sea, and a second band, Cinerama.
He is known and respected as a champion of the DIY ethic and, over the years, has collaborated with people as diverse as Steve Albini and the BBC Big Band. In 2018, a feature length documentary film telling the story of The Wedding Present’s debut album, George Best, was released.
He has also been the subject of several books, including the Wedding Present ‘fanthology’ Sometimes These Words Just Don’t Have To Be Said (This Day In Music), the self-penned Sleevenotes (Pomona), Valentina: The Story Of A Wedding Present Album (HarperCollins), and Thank Yer, Very Glad (Omnibus).
“The boy Gedge has written some of the best love songs of the ‘Rock ‘n’ Roll’ era. You may dispute this, but I’m right and you’re wrong!” John Peel.
What They Said About Tales From The Wedding Present Volume One:
“An autobiography of The Wedding Present would be great on its own. An autobiography in beautiful graphic novel form? Even better!” Dan Vebber (Writer, The Simpsons)
“This is brilliant! It’s like the storyboard for a Wedding Present biopic.” Marc Riley (Broadcaster, BBC)
“As informative, funny and essential as David Gedge himself. Can I be in the movie when all this is franchised?” Tony Gardner (Actor)
“This is the graphic novel indie music mash up that we have all be waiting for and only David Gedge could deliver. It’s amazing!” Stella Creasy (Member, British Parliament)
“This is a Wedding Present fan’s dream come true. Pure unfiltered Gedge; the inside track on what makes him tick and anecdotes aplenty. Essential!” Mike Gayle (Author)
“It’s very typical of The Wedding Present to do an autobiography differently to everyone else… but the stunning illustrations in this book really bring David’s stories to life.” Louise Wener (Writer, Musician)
Doors open 7.00pm.
Tickets £20.00 advance
Book online (fee applies) or call our Box Office on 01449 774678 (open 10am to 2pm weekdays).
Please note that this is a seated event. Seating is unallocated, though all have a good view.
Licensed bar.
The three sisters can’t recall when or why they started playing, the music’s always just been there. In their late teens, the sisters joined forces with their dad, who for decades was a one man band playing old blues and country tunes for a living.
This foundation of classic “roots music and Americana” settled in their hearts, but also awoke the urge of breaking the rules of traditional music. Baskery is a band built on what three people can do together and it’s all about turning the music on its head, blending the straightforwardness of punk with the subtlety of singer/ songwriting.
Doors open 7.30 pm
£12.50 adv. / £14 otd.
Book online (fee applies) or call our Box Office on 01449 774678 (open 10am to 2pm weekdays).
Licensed bar
Millie Manders and The Shutup create cross-genre punk that is hard to ignore. With lyricism that pokes fun, draws you in or leaves you questioning social norms teamed with incredible vocal dexterity, grinding guitars, irresistible horn hooks and a pumping rhythm section, the Millie Manders Music Machine churns out more raw punk fusion than you can shake a stick at, with a huge amount of Pop appeal.
“High-octane, fierce, bursting with attitude and almost obnoxiously addictive” – Fortitude Magazine
“If Kate Nash was actually any good, she’d probably sound like this” – Rock Sound
“The world needs more ballsy female vocalists like this.” – MOSH/Hit The Floor
+ Support t.b.c
Doors open 7.30pm
Tickets £12.00
Book online (fee applies) or call our Box Office on 01449 774678 (open 10am to 2pm weekdays).
Licensed bar.
The JPC Funk & Soul Shack Presents: SHAKA LOVES YOU
“IF YOU DON’T LIKE THESE GUYS, JUST THROW AWAY YOUR EARS” – CRAIG CHARLES BBC RADIO 2 / 6 MUSIC
Originally hailing from the highlands of Scotland, Jamie & Marty met in Glasgow in 2011 and since then have gone on to support such luminaries as George Clinton, De La Soul, The Jacksons, DJ Jazzy Jeff, David Rodigan, Chali 2na of Jurassic 5, Craig Charles, Joey Negro, Mr scruff, The Reflex & The Cuban brothers.
Their eclectic sets fuse and draw on many influences. From funk, soul & hip-hop to boogie, disco & house all expertly mixed with turntable trickery and tight, live percussion.
Complementing their live show, ‘sly’ also release their own material with equal acclaim. Their music gains regular support from BBC radio 2 and BBC 6 music & has also attracted the attention of mixmag, DJ mag, ministry of sound & the defected ‘glitterbox’ radio show.
The last two years haven’t slowed ’sly’ down, adapting quickly to the changing landscape, they continued to write and release music and are back to full swing with shows. Kicking off 2022 in style, sly released the second in their very own compilation series joints n’ jams with regular collaborators bombstrikes records. Always looking to build they then launched the joints n’ jams radio show, livestream & club residency, a monthly dive into the hottest cuts from the sly crates.
The national press has come calling too with a ‘sly’ feature in the ‘best of Scotland’ magazine for the herald and national newspapers. With a busy year of shows ahead and lots of new music planned, be sure to give sly some of your attention in 2022!
“THESE GUYS KILL IT” – DJ JAZZY JEFF
“I LOVE THEIR VIBE” – DJ MASEO, DE LA SOUL
Doors open 7.30pm
Tickets £15.00
Book online (fee applies) or call our Box Office on 01449 774678 (open 10am to 2pm weekdays).
Licensed bar.
Emerge is our local band night, showcasing exciting new local talent. Come along to support these talented artists and potentially see the international stars of the future!
“Worth supporting if you live locally, these emerge nights” – Steve Lamacq, BBC Radio 6 Music
Anna’s Bones
“A very intriguing piece of dimly lit lo-fi crooning” – Steve Lamacq
Lost Movies
Lost Movies feature former members of long-time Essex bands Absent Kid and Warm Winters, reuniting with an expanded line-up, new songs, re-worked favourites and a darker and revitalised sound. Influences include The Cure, Manic Street Preachers and Pavement.
“Contagiously awesome stage presence and intricate tunes – not to be missed” – Underground Sound.
Anorak
Anorak are a 4 piece indie band based in Cambridgeshire. At just 16 years old Susanna (lead vocals), Theo (guitar), James (bass) and Ned (drums) have taken the local music scene by storm only making their live debut in March 2022.
Collective music influences include Two Door Cinema Club, Pink Floyd, Velvet Underground and Amy Winehouse.
In just a few short months the band have already performed at some of the region’s best known outdoor events and venues including Strawberry Fair, the Big Weekend in Cambridge and the Cambridge Junction.
The bands self-produced EP titled ‘Make Up Your Mind’ has received generous support from local and international radio including the New Music Generator and Amazing Radio as well as BBC Introducing who invited the band to record a special ‘At Home’ session which was broadcast on BBC Radio Cambridgeshire.
Suns of Icarus
Suns Of Icarus are a new upcoming band on their musical voyage of discovering their sound together as a tight-knit Rock Band. Their origin goes back earlier to when the band members met listening to a variety of musical genres at college that has played an influential role in shaping their paths as musicians and ultimately led them to join forces. Suns Of Icarus are collectively finding their signature sound and will offer something different and unique to their fans by creating and sharing original music that is unmistakably thrilling.
£3 entry on the door
Licensed bar.
Do you want to perform at one of our emerge nights? Then send us an email to emerge@johnpeelcentre.com, with details of who you are, where you are from, and a link to a video of you performing live. We are after acts who are able to perform approx 30mins of original music.
Vicki Swan & Jonny Dyer’s Winter Warmer
Swan & Dyers Winter Warmer will appeal to those who associate Christmas with carols, singing, dancing and the joy of being together as family and friends.
Vicki & Jonny have created a show that brings together classic Christmas carols, winter stories, Scandinavian traditions and ancient stories. It is informative, fun and full of chorus songs that you’ll know and stories that you probably won’t.
Multi-instrumentalists and storytellers of the highest calibre, you have no idea what you’re going to see next, but we know you’ll love it.
Doors open 7.00 pm
Tickets £10 ADV. / £12 OTD. / Under 18s – £6
Book online (fee applies) or call our Box Office on 01449 774678 (open 10am to 2pm weekdays).
Licensed bar
Blackbeard’s Tea Party: ‘ Kick The Curb’ Tour
Their bold and rioutous modern folk rock is built for late nights and big stages. Hold on to your tri-corn hats and be prepared to stamp your
wooden legs – Blackbeard’s Tea Party are in town. Sea-shanties will be given a bombastic rock edge, and folk instrumentals will become late-night floor-fillers when this raucous bunch of reprobates hit the stage. They have dirt under their fingernails and a twinkle in their eyes, and you can expect fantastic musicianship, playful choreography and an unstoppable urge to move your body.
Blackbeard’s Tea Party believe a live show should be a spectacle for the eyes as well as the ears. Outlandish outfits, costume changes, DIY props, unhinged stage antics and chaotic choreography all add up to an engaging, high-octane show that inevitably leaves audiences cheering for more. Two drummers, electric guitars, fiddle, melodeon and 4-part harmonies combine to create music that is drenched in tradition, but filtered through a kaleidoscope of modern rock and pop. Established as the go-to band for folkin’ fun shenanigans, Blackbeard’s Tea Party have played memorable sets at; Glastonbury, Cambridge Folk Festival, Fairport’s Cropredy Convention, The Rainforest World Music Festival in Borneo and many many more.
The band celebrated a decade of ‘rocking the folk boat’ in 2019 and commemorated this with their ‘Ten YAAR Anniversary Tour’ during the Autumn & Winter. They also re-released an updated version of their most popular track ‘Chicken on a Raft’ to commemorate this milestone. Their previous release, the 5-track EP ‘Leviathan!’, explores the romanticized glories and the full gruesome horrors of the 19th century whaling industry. This record brought with it a bigger, bolder sound and a revamped live show, employing a heftier rhythm section with their new double-Drum Kit set up. During ‘Lockdown’ the band began writing material remotely via Asana for their fourth album and as things began to return to normality they were very excited to get into the studio with their new lineup to record these tracks. The result is ‘Kick The Curb’, their first album in 5 years which will be released in September 2022 and they can’t wait to get out on the road to play them live !!
‘Contemporary folk rock at its most infectious’
R2
‘York’s answer to The Pogues, but with cleaner fingernails’
The Telegraph
‘Blackbeard’s Tea Party restored my faith in foot-tapping, fun, energy-packed music
recently. In short: they make shanties chic’
Roger Crow, Huffington Post
‘Gloriously wild, gamely OTT and sharp. This is convincing and essential’
fRoots
‘Barnstorming buccaneers belting our riff-tastic folk rock’
Songlines
Doors open 7.30pm.
Tickets £10 in advance / £12 on the door
Book online (fee applies) or call our Box Office on 01449 774678 (open 10am to 2pm weekdays).
Licensed bar.
Martyn Joseph
“One of the most charismatic and electrifying performers in Britain today…tough and passionate” – Tom Robinson BBC 6 music
Martyn Joseph is a completely unique and mind blowing artist. Take everything you think you know about singer songwriters….and rip it up. For one man and a guitar he creates a performance with a huge far-reaching sound that is energetic, compelling and passionate. Be it to two hundred people or twenty thousand, he blows the crowd away night after night.
He is gifted with the rare ability to speak to the soul with his expressive and poignant lyrics and has a career spanning 30 years, 32 albums, over a half a million record sales and thousands of live performances.
Compared to Bruce Springsteen, John Mayer, Bruce Cockburn and Dave Matthews, he has created his own style and reputation as a mesmerising live performer and stands in his own right, built on a reputation for giving what thousands have described as the best live music experience of their lives. A unique talent driven by passion, social awareness and love for his trade, he’s a jaw dropping guitar player who has developed a unique percussive style, teamed up with a powerful show stopping voice, and has been called “The Welsh Springsteen”.
Part of Independent Venue Week ’23
Doors open 7.00pm
Tickets £19.00
Book online (fee applies) or call our Box Office on 01449 774678 (open 10am to 2pm weekdays).
Licensed bar.