New Essex Bluegrass Band: Old gigs 2009-2010

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Date What you may have missed
15/Aug/2010
11 am-5pm
Bluegrass Canal Boat Trip

Back on the 9/Sep/2006 we played at the Slough Canal Boat Festival where we met Vicky on her canal boat. She invited us to play on the amazing barge, Elsdale II, during a trip down the Grand Union Canal. This was a great success (despite Graham becoming so excited that his hands ceased to work towards the end of the show), and we were invited back. It was really nice to see Vicky and her family again; she even laid on beautiful weather.

Canal Boat Trip '10. Photo:Hazel Smith

28/July/2010
1/Aug/2010
La Roche Bluegrass Festival Map

We enjoyed ourselves so much last year that we applied to be invited again (but this year we did not enter the band competition). We were delighted to have been asked back. We would encourage other UK bands to apply; you will have a wonderful time. We'd be happy to share our experiences with any band that is thinking of going.

La Roche '10, Roots and Galoots. Photo:Greg Smith
This year, Wales was represented by our mates, Roots and Galoots, who presented a great set on stage and who were busy round the town playing at the brewery, and at several bars (is there a pattern developing here?) We're looking for the best caption for the 'photo - what has Chris just said? We'll be seeing them all later in the year when we make the trip to Gower to play at Roland's festival.

La Roche '10, Roots and Galoots. Photo:Greg Smith
Of course, it's not all fun and games. Here you see us having to practice in warm sunshine surrounded by a beautiful view (this is at the local school where we were staying).
9-11/Jul/2010 The Ely Folk Festival at The Ely City Football Club ground

Apart from the Cambridge Folk Festival, this is the first one I have been to for many years and it was very interesting to see how the Folk movement has moved on to encompass a broader range of accoustic music, while at the same time preserving the spirit of the Sea Shanties sung in a pub with a morris side stomping outside. The festival was great fun to attend, though the weather was ridiculously hot.

We played two full-length sets, plus performing in the Club Tent and we gave a Workshop on harmony singing. You can get a flavour of our performances from some videos that were posted to You Tube by Karl Bedingfield (to whom many thanks are due). The first is All I Ever Loved was You. The next is our first live performance of Long Black Veil, which didn't go too badly! True Life Blues. And if you got this far, this is the first minute of our encore (before the battery ran flat)!. I think that this is the fastest we have ever played this... Graham was feeling a bit frisky.

1-4/Jul/2010 Conwy North Wales Bluegrass Festival
NWales '09, Conwy Civic Hall. Photo:Hazel Smith
Great to be asked back again. This year the festival was extended to a 4 day event, from the Thursday, but we arrived on Friday due to work commitments. The festival site was well-filled (possibly the busiest we have ever seen it) and there was a lot more activity in the marquee on the site with some great sets played by some of the younger members of the bluegrass community.
26/Jun/2010 Private party, Westfield, near Ipswich
30/Apr/2010 - 2/May/2010 Bordergrass 2010 at Weobley Hopelands

Another outing for the new tent. We now know that two people cannot put it up in a strong wind! At least this time we had a groundsheet, so we were all warmer that last week end. It was also a great relief to have Grahame back... it feels very odd to be banjoless.

This is a new addition to the Bluegrass festival circuit; the site is in the well-appointed village hall with camping in the adjacent field. Although it is called Bordergrass, the organisers are aiming at a broader spectrum of accoustic music than Bluegrass, and had a wide variety of bands, including international contributions from Canada and Germany. There were not that many folks camping, but the concerts and workshops were very well attended. Well worth considering if you are in the area next year.

23-25/Apr/2010 Orwell Bluegrass Festival

There were several novelties about the NEBB at Orwell. The first was that our old tent, whose frame has now disintegrated into a complicated metal puzzle, was retired and we turned up with a new gin palace. Our first attempt at assembly resulted in a tent that stopped 4 inches from the ground all around, so Terry insisted we start again, this time following the instructions. Half an hour later we got to exactly the same position - four inches off the ground. At this point we realised that the tent was missing a zip-in groundsheet... so we enjoyed a couple of nights with the Cold Wind (geddit?) whistling around our ears. We hope to get a groundsheet in time for next week!

The second novelty was that Grahame was otherwise engaged at a family wedding, so we did not perform as the New Essex Bluegrass Band, but we were delighted to be able to support the very talented Heather Bristow, appearing under the title & Band as in Heather Bristow & Band.

Heather Bristow & Band, 24/Apr/2010. Photo: Danny Bristow

This was an interesting departure for the NEBB as almost all the material was written by Heather and we had to assemble the entire set in the space of 24 hours. It was quite a challenge! As many of the songs required vocal harmonies of the female persuasion, we were delighted to be joined by Liz Taylor. You can find out more about Heather, her songs and her recent album Hope On The Vine, here. We will all be getting back together (with Grahame) to support Heather when she plays at the Didmarton Bluegrass Festival later this year.

Heather Bristow & Band, 24/Apr/2010. Photo: Danny Bristow
Here you can see Liz, Heather and Paul (Paul is the one on the right).

We also hosted the Sunday morning Gospel session. This is always a pleasure; folks sang a great range of gospel material ranging from the early days of bluegrass to much more modern songs. Paul was able to lead the backing for most of the numbers, but his encyclopedic knowledge of bluegrass was finally defeated by a Bob Dylan number.

We have attended every Orwell festival since the very first, and we are pleased to report that this was the best yet (all the previous ones were pretty good, too!) Chris and Ralph and the team are to be congratulated on a well-run festival with a great site, showers (with hot water), a good and varied programme of British Bluegrass, a great main stage with excellent sound and lighting, workshops, wonderful beer (at very reasonable prices) and a good turnout from the British Bluegrass devotees. Even the weather was great. If you have never been to this festival, make a note in your diary now to go next year.

6/Mar/2010 Bristol Bluegrass Day at The Folk House, Bristol

Bristol Bluegrass Day, 2010. Photo:katherine's mum
A most enjoyable day... the concert featured Shoot the Breeze making their debut as a band: intricate instrumentals played well, plus the vocal delights of Jer. They were followed by a great set from The Hog Ranch who somehow managed to fit in performing between organising duties and running the PA. We followed the interval, and the show was closed by a rousing and energetic set from the Thunderbridge Bluegrass Band. The day was well-attended, which bodes well for the future of this event. Many thanks to all the organisers for inviting us.
28/Feb/2010 Bluegrass & Traditional Music Day at Kersey Mill, Stone Street, Near Hadleigh Suffolk IP7 6DP

There is more information on this event at the Street Legal web site. Thanks to Mike Green for inviting us. This was originally scheduled for Jan 10, but was cancelled due to the terrible weather.

20-21/Nov/2009 Vilnius Bluegrass Festival, Lithuania

We met the organiser of this festival, Algirdas Klova, at La Roche in August, and he invited us to play in Vilnius. The festival is based in Vilnius Town Hall for concerts and workshops plus some more informal sessions in Bobos, a bar that oozes character.


We got to play three songs Friday night in prime time TV on the top Lithuanian show, which is a cross between the X Factor, Strictly Come Dancing and the White Heather Club. The show features villages competing in traditional dance, song and music, and although Bluegrass was a little distant from the music they played, they had lots of fiddle players, so Greg felt right at home. You can still see the show (if it is not visible above) by going here for the next few months. You can find us at about 20, then 43 minutes into the show, then finally at 1 hr, 11 minutes. The whole show is around 2 hours!

We played a concert at the town hall on Saturday night, with NEBB doing the first half and Peter Rowan playing the second. We also backed Peter Rowan for a couple of songs at the end. NEBB with Peter Rowan, 21/Nov/09, Vilnius Town Hall

We would very much like to thank Algirdas and his team for making us so welcome and for looking after us so well.

8/Nov/2009 2:30-6pm Bluegrass Canal Boat Trip

Back on the 9/Sep/2006 we played at the Slough Canal Boat Festival where we met Vicky on her canal boat. In her words:

Come and listen to one of the best bluegrass bands in the country while cruising down the Grand Union Canal on one of the most amazing barges in the country, Elsdale II.

The New Essex Bluegrass band perform traditional bluegrass at its best, chill out to their music while supporting the work of Elsdale the West London Floating Classroom. Tickets sales go toward the boats educational outreach to schools and community groups.

Boat departs from Packet Boat Marina, Packet Boat Lane, Cowley nr Uxbridge UB8 2JJ. Booking is essential as places are limited. Tickets 10 pounds pre-purchased 12 pounds if bought on the day. Contact Vicky Tustian on 07545 924 868 or email her by clicking here

Elsdale is special as she is the only one of her kind on the canal. She is one of the biggest boats you will see operating on the canal and completely electrically powered, so no noisey engine or diesel fumes. She takes thousands of children onto the canal every year to learn about their industrial heritage and local wildlife. The name comes from the first floating classroom commissioned by the Rev. Elsdale about 70 years ago to follow the working boats and provide an education for the bargees children who didn't have the opportunity to attend school.

4/Oct/2009 An hour of... Bluegrass at St. Peter's Church, Duxford. 5.00 pm

We played as part of a series of concerts organised to support the upkeep of the church and in aid of other charities. This was very much a home gig for Greg as he and his wife Hazel are associated with the Duxford Saturday Workshop, and we knew a very large proportion of the audience.
18-20/Sep/2009 Cornish Bluegrass Festival
at Hendra Holiday Park Newquay

Cornwall, Friday Night, 2007. Photo:Hazel Smith
Here you can see us the last time we all played at Corwall, with Dixon Smith on banjo. I'll replace the picture when I have one from the weekend.

This was a great way to finish off the festival season for us, and the weather was also very kind. It is always nice to be here as the organisers make you feel very welcome, and being put up in a caravan is a treat for our old bones. It was especially nice to finish off the weekend with the Gospel session; however, it made it even sadder to leave for the long drive back home.

4-6/Sep/2009 Didmarton Bluegrass Festival
NEBB at Didmarton 2008. Photo: Hazel Smith

This year we were running a one hour workshop on the use of a single microphone. This came about because Audio Technica had provided an AT4033a microphone (the same model that we use) as a raffle prize in order to help raise money to sponsor young people to attend SFSS. Paul talked about our approach; you can read more about this here.

Each year, this festival improves, and we would warmly recommend it to all bluegrass fans and also to lovers of accoustic music.

30/July/2009
2/Aug/2009
La Roche Bluegrass Festival Map

Each year this festival holds a competition for the EWOB Bluegrass band of the year. This year, out of 60 applicants, 12 bands were selected to take part in the competition and I am delighted to say that we were one of the 12. We were thrilled to be placed second in the competition, behind Kreni. As soon as we find a little time and collect up a few more photos we will write up our experiences of a very pleasant trip.

La Roche '09, Stage and mountains. Photo:Hazel Smith
To whet your appetites, here is picture of the stage with a small section of the local scenery behind it.

We would like to thank all the kind folks who sat out in the very hot afternoon sun to encourage us when we were performing. We'd also like to thank TWS Engineering for their very generous sponsorship (some of you may know their connections with the Orwell Bluegrass Festival which we enjoyed so much earlier this year).

11/July/2009 Private function (Wedding)
Radnage Village Hall, Radnage Common Road, Radnage, Buckinghamshire, HP14 4DF
3-5/July/2009 Conwy North Wales Bluegrass Festival
NWales '09, Conwy Civic Hall. Photo:Hazel Smith
Once more it was a pleasure to travel to Conwy and play for the North Wales Bluegrass Festival. Despite threats of rain we had great weather, in fact some would say it was too hot... it was certainly too hot for Grahame on Friday night. In the middle of our set first his leg gave way, then his hand cramped up! Fortunately, he was just about able to continue... he was then fed a diet of bananas the next day to make sure he had plenty of potassium, and seemed right as rain for the rest of the weekend.

We have been sent a couple of DVDs of our performances by Eric and Sheila Rein who also very kindly sent us DVDs of our sets at Orwell. These have proved very useful in our practice for the La Roche Bluegrass Festival as we can see and hear what we need to work on. We may even post some of the songs somewhere once we've figured out the technology!

23/May/2009 Private function (Oddfellows Annual Conference in Eastbourne)

An interesting day at the seaside. We were playing in the Floral Hall, which is a very fine example of its type. We also had a walk along the prom to visit one of the few remaining piers in England that are solid enough for the public to be let loose upon. It even has a camera obscura (not operating when we climbed up to it) an the end of the pier.

2/May/2009 Private function (Wedding)
24-26/Apr/2009 Orwell Bluegrass Festival

We were delighted to be asked back to the third Orwell Bluegrass Festival. The festival lineup included lots of our mates (Chris Moreton, Home Territory, Kitty Hawks, Monroes Revenge, Hope Mountain Band, Chill Until Blue, Thunderbridge Bluegrass Boys, Longway...), the weather was glorious, the facilities excellent with splendid camping, hot showers, hot food all day and great picking.

Grahame enjoying the sun, Orwell 2009. Photo: Greg Smith
Sadly, Hazel, who normally wields the camera was not with us on this trip, so you are spared piccies of the new Essex on stage. However, I did take a few and cannot resist showing you what Grahame looks like out of his band uniform (so to speak).
Grahame enjoying the sun, Orwell 2009. Photo: Greg Smith
We really enjoyed playing our sets on Friday and Saturday evening (thanks to John Wirtz and Dave for a superb job on the sound desk), but the highlight for me was the Gospel session on Sunday morning (see photo above for some of the audience). We played one number to set the ball rolling, then we were treated to song after song of brilliant stuff. The variety of material was superb, and the quality was even better. The session ran for 90 minutes, but it seemed to be over in a flash. Many thanks to everyone who came.

Apart from the main stage, there was the opportunity for scratch bands to play around an open (single) microphone in the bar area and the standard was wonderful. The buildings on the site also provide five or six separate rooms for picking in the evenings so there was space for sessions of different characters without any acoustic interference.

The Orwell Bluegrass festival has now run for three years, and each year the organisation, facilities, bands, picking and weather have been great. Each year the attendance has gone up; all this festival needs to be truly great is more support from the Bluegrass fans. Congratulations to Chris and Ralph; we're already looking forward to next year.

6/Feb/2009 Bluegrass and Old-Time Music Night at High Lane Conservative Club, High Lane (on the A6) Stockport, Cheshire, SK6 8DR.

Tom and his band, Stockport, 2009. Photo: Greg Smith
We set off with some trepidation for this gig - there having been several days of snow and it was snowing quite heavily in Cambridge and Essex early in the day. However, Tom Travis had assured us that the weather was fine in Sunny Stockport, so we girded our loins and set off. The worst bit was picking up Terry in Kettering... he lives at the bottom of a fairly deep hollow and we needed several people pushing to get us out! However, we had a warm welcome at the club, which made up for the journey, and it was good to hear Tom and his band open up the evening with a set of Bluegrass classics.
Mandolin and Banjo, Stockport, 2009. Photo: Greg Smith
His band is full of accomplished musicians, and we were treated to a spirited set of Irish reels on mandolin and 5-string. Michael Giverin (mandolin) is part of the Jaywalkers who made the finals of the 2009 Young Folk Musician of the Year.
NEBB, Stockport, 2009. Photo: Hazel Smith
It is always a treat to play to an attentive audience; Tom and his team have established a great club and deserve the support they get. Greg would like to put out a special word of thanks to the sound guy, as Hazel says that the fiddle sound (maybe not the notes) was perfect. For those of you who think that the life of a bluegrass musician is glamorous, Hazel and Greg got home to Cambridge at 4 a.m. after driving through temperatures of -11 degrees Centigrade! Paul, Mike and Grahame, being sane, were delighted to stay overnight with Tom.
24/Jan/2009 East Anglian Bluegrass Day, Steeple Morden, South Cambridgeshire

Congratulations are due to Phill Morley and his team for putting on a really entertaining and instructive day of bluegrass. The concert by The Special Consensus was stunning; we were delighted to be part of it. Dave Bresnen did an excellent job as sound man and MC - how does he twiddle the knobs and talk from the stage at the same time? We'd like to thank the folks who sent us nice emails about our performance - it gives us a warm glow in these cold January days. Let's all look forward to the next bash in Steeple Morden.

18/Jan/2009 Bluegrass Day at the Steamboat, Ipswich

Mike Green asked us to be the featured band at this annual event, and it proved a great way to start the year with lots of picking before the concert started. Mike Green prevailed on Greg to join him and Dave Tricker on stage - this time with 10 minutes to prepare (it was 2 minutes the last time they all played together) - Greg hopes he didn't ruin their set. Mike Green sent us a couple of pictures from the day.

Ipswich, Jan 2009. Photo: Linda Green
As Grahame had been away in Florida for a few weeks it was good to get back playing together as a band. It was cold outside but there was a warm and friendly atmosphere intside. Congratulations to Mike and his team for organising such an enjoyable day.
Ipswich, Jan 2009. Photo: Mike Green
We're all looking forward to seeing everyone at Steeple Morden next weekend.
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Last updated: Tuesday, 17th August, 2010, GPS