Beatz Music & Gig Buddies go Country...

For several different reasons, one being the soulful soundtrack, another the highly quotable dialogue, The Blues Brothers is one of the few constants on my ever-changing list of favourite films*. John Landis' madcap musical comedy, with its raft of Saturday Night Live's early stars performing alongside some of Stax & Atlantic's best musicians, is a surreal portrait of early 80's America (replete with levitating Nuns and a Twiggy cameo).

In one of the film's most memorable scenes our behatted protagonists rustle up a gig at a misbegotten venue in the middle of nowhere, a roadhouse that is not at all welcoming to the Brothers' brand of R'n'B. From my first watch of the film this venue, and the quip about it having both kinds of music, coloured my view of Country music and its fans as a cinematic punchline; bottle throwing red-necks love Tammy Wynette. 

Whilst the sequence is still admittedly funny I have found, having watched the film again through my now considerably older eyes, that it unfairly stereotypes both the music it tenuously represents and the folk who listen to it. That might sound a bit PC but, as I've got older, my tastes have broadened and now an evening spent listening to both the theme from Rawhide and Stand By You Man on repeat, drinking beer and singing along, definitely appeals. 

Unfortunately Bob's Country Bunker only exists in a 35mm world however, in our reality, venerable Portsmouth venue The Wedgewood Rooms boasts at least some of the magic of a roadhouse (the trademark sticky floors and cold beer I mean, not a wall of chicken-wire across the front of the stage to protect the musicians). Admittedly the Wedge may be more Donny that Marie but it has credentials enough to host an evening of modern Country music. 

And when better to do so than on America's birthday? 

This Fourth of July the Wedge will don its blue jeans, polish its Dingo boots, and welcome some modern Country music onto its stage, and it's all thanks to Gig Buddies and Beatz Club. These two organisations promote regular events for adults with disabilities which, whilst providing people with special needs an authentic night of live music in a safe environment, are open to ALL music lovers who want to share a good night's entertainment. 

The line-up for this Thursday night's hoe-down features a performance from local singer-songwriter Alex Krupa, some multi-instrumentalist mellifluousness from RSD Unsigned 2019 shortlisted act Hengistbury, with four-piece Dirt Road Diary closing the evening with a no doubt loud set of Country Rock.



Tickets are for this hootenanny are just £5, available in advance from the venue, with carers getting in for FREE. Yee haw! (sorry, I just couldn't help myself)

* Star Wars and Empire Strikes Back are the other two

Follow The Sun Festival

There is so much good new music out there, so many prospective new favourite bands and artists who want your ear's attention, that it can sometimes seem a struggle knowing where to begin with life's musical buffet. What's better, wilfing your way through SoundCloud or typing random characters into Spotify's search box? Should we wait for 6Music to spin our new musical obsession or go along with Last.FM's "if you like this then you might like that" algorithms? Or, if you're at all like me, do you spread yourself across all options in a desire to hear as new music as you can? Decisions decisions, there are only so many hours in the day, etc etc..

One of the more sociable ways of encountering new music is obviously the humble gig where, just possibly, you might be lucky enough to catch a future stadium band in their first support slot (have I ever mentioned the time I saw The Killers play such a set at The Wedgewood Rooms?). Better yet are music festivals, sprawling events where a wider array of music is invariably on offer, although enjoyment of such events can depend on just how much confidence you have in your Wellingtons. 

If you fear that your galoshes are suspect, are distrustful of Ian McCaskill's brethren, or simply don't want to walk too far then fear not, these are salad days for indoor festivals, one or two day shindigs that offer tasty musical morsels in a mud-free environment. Portsmouth was previously home to one such urban festival, SouthseaFest, an annual event that turned Albert Road's pubs into pop-up venues.

Unfortunately SouthseaFest is no longer running however, such was its impact, like-minded groups of promoters have channelled its spirit into a new series of microfestivals that call Pompey home; from the multi-venue joys of Dials and Icebreaker to the one day, one venue affairs of Golden Touch and Follow The Sun, all showcase a variety of both local and national acts.

The latter of these returns to the Edge of The Wedge for a second instalment this July, with a hand-picked by London-based promoters CloseUp, with the Wedge's sibling venue boasting a compact and bijou performance space which offers punters the opportunity of enjoying an intimate musical experience without the need for a trusty pair of Hunters.

The line-up for this year's instalment includes Londoners LONA and Shanghai Blues, local bands Sad Palace and Dutch Criminal Record, Southsea-based singer-songwriter Megan Linford, Isle of Wight indie-rockers JEPH (who release their new single, Space, via Honeymooner on Friday 5th July) and the hottest thing out of High Wycombe, Only Sun (woefully bad pun intended).



Topping the bill is Lauran Hibberd who, fresh from touring the UK & Europe alongside American indie-rock outfit Hippo Campus and supporting Norwegian pop-punk's Sløtface in London, will be taking her wry brand of observational indie pop to this weekend's Glastonbury Festival. If you miss her sets on the Greenpeace & BBC Introducing stages you'd best get yourself a ticket for Follow The Sun.

Follow The Sun 2019 takes place at the Edge of The Wedge on Saturday 13th July, with doors open from 1300. Tickets are priced at a very reasonable £10 (plus booking fee), available now either via TicketWeb or the venue, and punters are advised that the event has a 14+ age restriction.

Emptifish @ The House of Rapture

Portsmouth's legendary lost Surf Punks Emptifish return for a home-town show next weekend, headlining a night of Garage Rock at the city's newest venue, The House of Rapture. In the 80's the band's gigs gained an infamous reputation, due to in part to an often raw connection with some of the more raucous Pompey fans, leading to Emptifish gaining a  ban from playing within the city limits. Whilst it could be argued that this censure led in part to the band's split, on the eve of recording their debut album no less, time heals most rifts (even The Eagles reformed, despite Don Henley's famous quip) and, after all this time, it only seems fitting that their latest gig is in the shadow of Fratton Park.   

Support on the Skaraman curated night comes from Sci-Fi Punk supergroup The Gary 7, a band featuring members of Armoured Flu Unit, Thee DB3, The Good Time Charlies and, of course, Emptifish themselves, with mood music between sets courtesy of DJ Paul Groovy.

The band recently released a new single, Haunted, through local label Mayfield which featured ex-Damned drummer Rat Scabies on percussive duties (I remember seeing Dead Men Walking at The Wedgewood Rooms some years ago, an evening notable for Captain Sensible telling some rather interesting and slightly off-colour anecdotes about his old bandmate, but those are tales for another time).
 
Tickets for the Saturday 6th July gig are £8 in advance, available now from the venue, direct from the bands involved or in person from Lord Sonic's shop on Albert Road.  

Highlights of Our Modern World @ The Wave Maiden

Portsmouth's Dials Festival is an excellent showcase of new music, presenting local and touring talent that the average gig-goer may have otherwise not had the joy of stumbling across. Last year's festival provided me the pleasure of encountering both the jaw-dropping live spectacle of Brighton's LibraLibra and the mellow tune-scapes of Pompey's own Highlights of Our Modern World (or HoTM for short).

Watching a man hunched over an array of boxes and keyboards, twiddling nobs and fettling his MacBook, may not immediately appeal to those who like their performance art high in the frenetic. The experience of enjoying HoTM perform live is, however, more art than performance, with the music seeping into your pores and allowing your brain to paint pictures in your mind. OK, I'll admit that sounds more than mildly pretentious, but trust me on this one.



If you'd like to enjoy this experience then your luck is in; HoTM headline a Lathe To The Grave curated night at The Wave Maiden in Southsea next weekend, a line-up that also includes Winchester-based DJ and instrumentalist Inkhromo, Portsmouth's own trip-hop & glitch legend Yeti and new local talent Yung Chow.



Doors are from 1900 next Saturday, 29th June, with entry to the gig only £5 (or £3 for NUS cardholders). G'won, you know you want to...

GROWfest 2019

Music is a bountiful feast, an endless buffet of mellifluous morsels to suit all tastes, open to all who want to listen. And so it should be with life, open to all of us to enjoy to the best of its advantage; we all share this pale blue dot and it behoves to make our collective journey through space and time as good as it can possibly be. To paraphrase the legendary duo of William "Bill" S. Preston Esq. and Theodore "Ted" Logan, we should be excellent to each other.

Some people who are channelling their inner Bill & Ted are the fine folks at Southampton's GROW Project, a day service for adults with learning disabilities that offers its members assistance in acquiring new skills, focusing on improving both their independence and quality of life. In addition to their excellent work day-to-day the GROW Project also organises a FREE one-day music festival, GROWfest. 

GROWfest was set up with the aim to provide a free, safe environment for adults with learning, mental or physical disabilities in which to enjoy the festival vibe (an experience that, yes, the rest of us take for granted). Since the first festival in 2017 GROWfest has, ahem, grown in both size and scope, opening itself up to all in the community to enjoy together.

The line-up for GROWfest 2019 so far includes five-piece cover outfit The Honest Lawyers, and local singer-songwriter Jack Howson, with more acts still to be confirmed.



GROWfest 2019 takes place at the Royal Victoria Country Park, Netley, this Saturday, 22nd June, with live entertainment from 1100 to 1600.

Hive Aid / Eşya @ The House of Rapture

David Addison once famously posited, do bees bee? I really hope so, and I really hope they keep bee-ing, but the humble Honey Bee, arguably the most industrious and important creature on our planet, is in serious trouble. A combination of habitat loss, pesticide usage and climate change have seen a dramatic drop in numbers of our honey-making chums, something that we should all be concerned about as, without these amazing, pollinating, waggle-dancing insects us humans would be in deep doo-doo.

Thankfully there is still time to help our little buzzing benefactors and, to highlight their importance, the work they do and how we can give them a helping hand, the fine folks at Portsmouth's Staggeringly Good Brewery are hosting a festival this weekend to celebrate all things bee and raise money to support new hives in the area. In addition to beer (obviously) and honey-based food there will also be presentations from bee experts and, yes, live music.

Hive Aid, and yes I see what they did there, starts this Friday, 21st June, with a performance by Eşya, the solo project of Savage's bass player Ayşe Hassan, at The House of Rapture. Eşya's intoxicating blend of delicate, slightly troubling vocals and persistent beats produce songs laden with foreboding.



Support on the night comes from Hyperstition Duo, ex of the late lamented Sheffield band Blood Sport (whose set at Drift a few years back still burns bright in my memory), and London-based trio Mohit.



Entrance to Friday night's gig is £5 (or free if you pre-order Eşya's EP from Pie & Vinyl).

Hive Aid continues across the weekend with live music throughout; unfortunately details of Saturday's line-up are not available at time of writing but Sunday's session is notable for featuring acts from the Ready To Rock School collective; Luca & Madison, Electric Milk, Glass Cage, Charlotte Neal & Markus Smith will all be performing and entry is FREE!

Ogikubo Station @ The Edge of The Wedge

Californian duo Ogikubo Station, better known indiviually as Mixtapes' guitarist Maura Weaver and Asian Man Records founder Mike Park, bring their beautiful noise to the Edge of the Wedge next week to kick off their first UK headline tour. The pair released their debut long player We Can Pretend Like last year and recently added to their catalogue with the Okinawan Love Songs EP.

Ogikubo Station play an acoustic set at The Edge on Monday 17th June, with support coming from El Morgan, Brighton-based four-piece Cryptic Street, local favourites The Stayawakes and the enigmatically named Shoes On, Now! Tickets are a bargain £7 in advance and, as always, it'll be more on the door.

If you can't make the duo's gig at The Edge then fear not gentle reader, their tour also takes in The Joiners in Southampton on Wednesday 19th June, Brighton's Prince Albert the following night and the New Cross Inn, London, on Tuesday 25th June.

UPDATE: 20/06 - Apparently Mike Park isn't playing all the dates on the tour, if you're expecting to see him in London then unfortunately you'll be out of luck (the venue are offering refunds).

Acoustic Sessions @ The Dolphin / JunkStar-Baby

Portsmouth still has, despite the best efforts of the Luftwaffe and keen property developers, a large number of public houses for a city its size, offering refreshing alcoholic beverages and, in some cases live music, to a discerning clientèle. The oldest of Pompey's many hostelries is located in the city's old quarter, just a short distance from the historic Square Tower, opposite the Cathedral, and has been serving ales to legions of eager punters since 1716 (or thereabouts). 

Whilst The Dolphin certainly boasts longevity, and successfully managed to survive the Blitz better than some of its neighbours, there have been periods of late when its future has been in question; changes of management alienated some of its regulars, as did refurbishment and a move toward a more food orientated business plan, all of which led inexorably to an abrupt closure. Thankfully, after a lick of paint and another change of management, the pub reopened and appears to be going from strength to strength.

Long known for hosting live comedy The Dolphin has been hosting a limited season of live music each Friday evenings, with these Acoustic Sessions set to run through to mid-June. Following sets from Si Hitchenson and Andy Muscat the next act to perform are, according to the blurb on their Facebook page, "born out of bands long gone, both forged in an age when Play-Doh smelled good enough to eat". They are, of course, JunkStar-Baby.



The awesome twosome of Steve Arnott (no, not that one) and Maria Ede-Weaving are no strangers to the Portsmouth music scene, with both separately performing in various local bands over the years (including The Chosen, whose debut single can still be procured on ebay) before joining forces to become the most mellifluous JunkStar-Baby. 

Steve & Maria will be performing original songs, a choice cover or three and, if gently persuaded, some of The Chosen's back catalogue, this coming Friday, 24th May. The duo are playing two sets, the first starting at 2015 and, after a short break, the second starting at 2130. Entry is free and, if you are so inclined, the pub is also hosting a beer festival this weekend. Well, it is a Bank Holiday after all.

Hungry and The Hunted @ The Bird

A tired looking public house on the Gosport Road may not appear, at first glance, to be Fareham's premier live venue but The Bird In Hand, with its fading paintwork out front and inside walls held firm with load-bearing dust, has over the years gained a reputation for regularly hosting an eclectic selection of live music.

The pub itself is much-loved, dog-eared even, with a grubby charm that's found all too rarely these days; visiting is not like stepping into a generic chained pub, no Wetherspoon or Hungry Horse this and, if those are the kind of hostelries you prefer, The Bird won't be for you. 

There's no stage to speak of, the Pool table is shunted to aside to make room for a band to set up in a corner of the main bar, and bands regularly find themselves coming into very close contact with the music-loving regulars, and that's what makes a gig at The Bird such an experience. 

The venue has an open booking policy, welcoming cover acts, new bands who want to gain live experience and artists from further afield, and all forthcoming attractions are chalked on the wall so everyone knows who's playing and when (there's also a well subscribed Facebook group too). 

Blues-rock trio Hungry and The Hunted bill themselves as "the last Rock & Roll band", describing their sound as "an unholy product of Joe Strummer and Lemmy gatecrashing a Deep Purple rehearsal, armed with a pile of STAX & CHESS records", and a listen to songs from either of their two albums shows that this is not immodest chest-beating. There's a rawness, there's groove, there's honesty, and the band are not shy about who they've been influenced by.



Hungry and The Hunted play The Bird this Sunday, 7th April, and I can think of few better ways of seeing out the weekend then with two hours of "demolition Blues and outlaw Rock & Roll". Entry is FREE, music from 1800.

Death By Shotgun @ The Wave Maiden

Bournemouth emo-punks Death By Shotgun kick off a short Spring tour with a stop-off at Southsea craft ale haven The Wave Maiden on Friday 12th April, a nice warm-up for their appearance at Brighton's Washed Out Festival the following day.

The band's latest release Good Times / Sad Times, the vinyl edition of which not only boasts eco-friendly credentials (making every pressing unique) but also features the band's debut EP on the flip-side, is available from Bandcamp via Beth Shalom Records.

Supports for The Wave Maiden gig are TBA, advance tickets are £4 (plus booking fee), available from WeGotTickets, entry £5 OTD.

Crocodile Nightmares: Violet Mud, Sans, Gork and Make Them All Smile

The Checkatrade Trophy is, for those unfamiliar with the vagaries of the beautiful game, the third most prestigious trophy in the realm of English football. Were it not for capricious fate (and two goals from Sunderland) Bristol Rovers would have reached this year's final at Wembley, playing Portsmouth for the honour of lifting the silverware. 

If Rovers had made it to this weekend's final then linking the game to Crocodile Nightmares' forthcoming gig at The Loft, which features bands both from Bristol and Pompey, would not have required such tenuous opening spiel. But that's football for you, it's a funny old game but, at the end of 90 minutes, Ron Manager will have something inane to say.

Noise merchants Violet Mud, local purveyors of raw, loud musical morsels, headline an evening of mellifluous entertainments. The band played the Strong Island Recordings stage at this year's Icebreaker, always a sign of quality.

The first of the Bristle bands is Sans, a three-piece whose Facebook bio likens their output to audio treacle. Mmm, treacle. Ahead of the release of their first long player Misophonic Songs the band released a track, Ode to Marilyn, which is currently streaming on Bristol In Stereo. If you remember Rickyfitts then you may recognise one of Sans.


 
Also out of Brizzle are Gork, a six-headed, twelve-legged power punk pop monster of epic proportions. All hail Gork, our new Bristolian overlords... feed the Gork and it will score, etc..



Rounding out the bill are Make Them All Smile, Portsmouth post-punks with a predilection for choice tunes and post-gig kebabs (who also, like Violet Mud, played the SIR stage at Icebreaker in January).



This fun-packed fixture is scheduled for Friday 12th April, at The Loft on Albert Road, with tickets priced at a bargain £5.

Nod Ya Head #4 - Jeph, Flying Machines & Fugitive Orchestra

The motto "same old town, brand new music" befits Nod Ya Head well, with the Fareham promoter quickly establishing a deserved reputation for booking an interesting mix of bands for its live music nights. The line-up for their fourth showcase, which includes something great from the other side of the Solent, can only add to this renown.

The Isle of Wight continues to bring forth great musical offerings, such as the cinematic electronica of Curxes, the spiky indie-pop of Lauran Hibberd and the eclectic loveliness of Plastic Mermaids. The island's latest export is Jeph, an indie foursome with a lush line of jangly guitar; if you like The Beths then these should be right up your street.



Second on the bill are Flying Machines who, I have no doubt, some idle writer will tailor a quip about being magnificent men. The band Portsmouth band, not to be confused with the London outfit of the same name, released their debut long player Tales of a Quiet Guest last year.



Rounding out the line-up is Portsmouth's own Fugitive Orchestra, the one-man-band of James Tattington, who recently celebrated the release of his new single Tomahawk Caress with a gig at the city's newest venue, The House of Rapture.



Advance tickets for the Saturday 6th April gig at The Roundabout Hotel are available online now via BookEvents, priced at £6, with entry OTD still a snip at £7. 

UPDATE:

02/04 Physical tickets are available for purchase from Heathen Chemistry, West Street, Fareham.

The Domestics @ The Festing

Ipswich punk/hardcore outfit The Domestics descend on Pompey next month, headlining a Portsmouth Punk Promotions/Charlie's Big Ray Gun Records promoted night at The Birdcage, and already I'd put money on a raucous circle pit forming during their set. If you like fast, loud and shouty then this gig will definitely be your bag of chips.



The band play the upstairs venue at The Festing on Friday 6th April, with local bands Hack Job and Flybums so far announced as support. For the low low price of £5 you can enjoy an evening of loud guitars, throaty vocals and fast drumming (with the chance of suffering a ringing head the following morning being highly likely).

Lower Slaughter @ The Loft

Marsh Gibbon. Queen Camel. Lickfold. Curry Mallet. Throop. The English countryside is liberally sprinkled with odd sounding places, quaint hamlets with weird names, that lend themselves easily to naming your new favourite band (though I'll admit Throop does have a bit of a "Brian Pern" feel about it). The Cotswold village of Lower Slaughter, an outpost better known of late as being a no-go area for selling ice cream, might not feature amongst the odder patronymics but, yes, it has indeed named a band.

The musical version of Lower Slaughter are an indie-rock foursome, three quarters of which are based in Brighton (with singer Sinead Young now residing in her home town of Glasgow), who release their second album Some Things Take Work via Newcastle's Box Records later this month. With the new long player imminent the band are taking to the road, stopping off at The Loft in Portsmouth on Friday 5th April.



Support comes from the magnificently monikered You're Smiling Now But We'll All Turn Into Demons, a band who take their name from a comment in documentary about female wrestling (and not, as I previously thought, from a badly translated Anime), Horsefiles and Dad Hair.



Advance tickets are available online from WeGotTickets, priced £7 plus booking fee.

Calamity Cratediggers: Horseflies EP launch

For nearly forty years the brutalist magnificence of the Tricorn Centre dominated the heart of Portsmouth's commercial quarter, a confection of concrete and reinforced steel that stirred opinion, for and against, in all who saw it. In latter years the dank, grey structure looked more like somewhere Rick Deckard would hang out but, in its heyday, the Tricorn was host both to one of the first Virgin Megastores and a venue which the likes of Marc Bolan, Sigue Sigue Sputnik, The Wedding Present and Hothouse Flowers all played.

After years of neglect, and despite the protestations of its architects and the locals that loved its strong presence, the Tricorn was demolished in 2004. However since its destruction the building's legend has grown, becoming the subject of a short documentary, lending its name to an electronica duo and proving to be an inspiration for local artists. Its angular logo features on custom apparel, prints of its likeness have proven popular and now it has inspired the city's newest label, Brutalist Records.

Brutalist are a cassette-only outfit, a format which easily lends itself to DIY releasing despite splitting opinion nearly as much as the architectural oddity that inspired the label's name and logo. The label's initial offering is from Horseflies and to mark its release Brutalist have teamed with local collective Calamity Cratediggers for a launch party at The Birdcage.
  
Horseflies, if you've not yet encountered them, are a magnificent noise machine that consists of both current and ex-members of Deluxe Flamingos & Attack! Vipers!. The band released Fist, the first track from their new Lucidity EP, earlier this year with the song subsequently getting a spin from Tom Robinson on his BBC Introducing 6Music show.
 


Joining Horseflies on the bill are recent These Bloody Thieves signings The Howlers, purveyors of alt/desert rock hailing from east London. If you missed seeing them play the Edge of The Wedge in February, or fancy checking them out ahead of their set at this year's Portsmouth Psych Fest, here's your chance.



Rounding out the line-up are local acts Make Them All Smile and the quite magnificently named Dad Hair (finally, a band name that I can aspire to).



Things get real at The Festing on Saturday 23rd March; entrance is £5 OTD, details of advance ticket information are available via the Facebook event page.

Giant Peach @ The Wave Maiden

Indie quartet Giant Peach pay a visit to Southsea next week, headlining the bijou experience that is The Wave Maiden's upstairs stage. The band, who formed in Brighton early last year, released their debut single in June with a party at the city's Hope & Ruin venue (i.e. the place where I've queued in vain outside at every Great Escape I've attended, despite the bouncer's assurances to the contrary). 

Melatonin is a fine shimmery slice of alt-rock, replete with noodly guitar, moody lyrics and a catchy chorus (which, yes, has a bit of an Enjoy The Silence vibe to it) and has a suitably sparse video to accompany it (though I think leaving your bike in a field and wandering off like that is just asking for trouble).



Support comes from Berlin-based foursome Askers Dodge who'll be bringing some brooding alt-rock to the fray. The lyrics, and vocal delivery of frontman Greg Thompson, are reminiscent of a certain Sheffield band, something which the band allude to in their bio, or even that bloke who always arrives late for his own gigs, but these are merely cosmetic similarities; whilst you may pick up musical references at first listen there is a lot more going on here.



Wyse, who recently released their Switch Of My Controller EP, have been added to the line-up of the Friday 22nd March gig, with tickets are available now priced £4 in advance (via WeGotTickets) or £5 OTD. 

 

Updated 17/03 - Poster and support act added

Radlouse @ The Festing

Grimy grunge merchants Radlouse play The Festing's Birdcage venue this Thursday, 7th March, topping a bill featuring some great local talent. The Portsmouth four-piece, who headlined the Acapulco stage at the city's Icebreaker Festival this year, should rock the hot and sweaty confines of the compact yet bijou venue with their raw yet melodic tunes.


 
Joining them on the night will be Portsmouth post-punks Hallan, also headliners at Icebreaker 2018 (where they closed out the The Honest Politician stage), who head into Thursday's gig fresh from playing the quarter-final of the Isle of Wight Festival's New Blood competition at The Wedgewood Rooms earlier in the week.



Rounding out the bill are Southampton alt-rockers Sleazy Shoes, local punky three-piece Flange and Fareham grit-popsters The Gillies (who make a rather good fist of a Chris Isaak classic). Entrance to this Thursday night feast of music is just £3, a bargain, and should make for a great way to welcome in the weekend (well, Thursday IS the new Friday after all).
 

Twisted Village - Second Wave / CANCELLED

UPDATE: 19/06 - Unfortunately, owing to poor ticket sales and the financial risk this has incurred, the organisers of the Twisted Village Festival have made the sad decision not to proceed with year's event. A full statement on the event's cancellation can be found on the festival's website and Facebook page.

UPDATE: 25/06 - The Portsmouth News is reporting that the festival's production company has gone into liquidation; the festival's website is still active, however its social media presence has been shuttered. 

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Following on from their initial line-up announcement the organisers of boutique festival Twisted Village have released details of more acts and artists performing at the inaugural event. Joining the already mouth-watering selection of acts, which include Alabama 3 and The Lovely Eggs, are bhangra drummers The Dhol Foundation, players of tiny instruments Babsie Brown and the Miniature Orchestra, the quite fantastically named Johnny Kowalski & The Sexy Weirdos, the funky brass of Tuba Libres and the excellent Fake Empire.

In addition to the live music on offer there'll also be sets on the decks from Brandon Block, the rebel dread himself Don Letts and the one and only DJ Format. Twisted Village also sees the welcome return of Portsmouth’s legendary Hipshaker DJs to the festival circuit, if you want a taste of what they'll bring to the party check out their Express FM radio show (past episodes of which are available online). On the performing arts side of things the Circo Rum Ba Ba troupe will bring some joyful anarchy to proceedings and, if it all gets too much, there's always a relaxing game or two of Drag Queen Bingo to look forward to.

With more acts, including headliners, yet to be announced all is looking very good indeed for Twisted Village. The festival takes place at Vicarage Farm, Woodmancott, from Friday 16th to Sunday 18th August, Early Bird tickets may have sold out but Tier 2 tickets (priced at £105) are available now from the festival website.

Penelope Isles @ The House of Rapture

Recent Bella Union signings Penelope Isles are set to release their debut long player, Until The Tide Creeps In, on the label this Summer. Ahead of this the Brighton-based quartet of Jack Wolter, Lily Wolter, Becky Redford and Jack Sowton are hitting the road, playing a selection of dates which includes a stop at SXSW and a home-town show for the Wolters on the Isle of Man.



Along the way the band will be making a return visit to Portsmouth, where they played Dials Festival last year, to play a set at the city's newest venue The House of Rapture. Tickets for the Tuesday 2nd April gig, co-promoted by Dials, Strong Island Recordings and Pie & Vinyl, are priced at a very reasonable £6 and available online via Billetto.

Support on the night comes from local acts Barbudo, who recently released their new EP Sunshine, and the lo-fi soul of Ban Summers. The gig poster, below, has been conjured up by Chris Williamson and, disturbingly, reflects how I feel some Saturday mornings. No, really.