Julie, Ben and I travelled by train on Friday to north Yorkshire for a long weekend in Richmond and the surrounding countryside. The trip was centred on the wedding of Julie’s nephew Robbie and Ellis at the delightful setting of the Middleton Lodge estate.
Tag: Events
Party at the 229
An excellent evening at the 229 Club in Great Portland Street, as the efforts to organise a Christmas Party for the Council of Music Makers – at very short notice – all paid off. The Council consists of five music organisations: the MU, the Featured Artists Coalition, The Ivors Academy, the Music Producers’ Guild and the Music Managers’ Forum.
Day and Night Owl
This afternoon I attended that classic start to the party season at 7 St James’s St, the PPL Christmas drinks. As ever, good to catch up with Peter Leathem, John Smith, David Cohen and their colleagues from the collecting society, plus to meet many familiar faces from across the industry.
Beckenham Labour
It has been a busy week, with planning for events during December and the New Year, plus working in PR and other comms for the MU. Tonight, my attention turned to local issues, as I joined the local Labour Party members for a social and fundraising evening with Jess Phillips MP, at the Amber Fort in Elmers End. My thanks to Eileen Welsh for the invitation.
Musicians in Whitehall
The MU, Equity and Bectu officials and members gathered this morning outside the offices of the DCMS on Whitehall, to voice their anger at the cuts in arts funding for certain organisations announced this month by Arts Council England.
Ivors Composer Awards
The Ivors Academy revealed the twelve winners at the 20th edition of The Ivors Composer Awards last night, celebrating the best new music in classical, jazz and sound art.
Brian Blain
I attended the memorial service for Brian Blain this afternoon at Golders Green Crematorium. Brian was an influential music promoter, editor, writer and MU Official, with a particular love of live jazz.
Brodsky Quartet
The world-renowned Brodsky Quartet have been performing at Kings Place in London this weekend, offering a complete Shostakovich Quartet Cycle to mark their 50th anniversary. The group, who started out in Middlesbrough in 1972 as the ‘Cleveland Quartet’, now feature original members Ian Belton (violin)and Jacqueline Thomas (cello) alongside Krysia Osostowicz (violin) and Paul Cassidy (viola).
Guitars at the races
The annual London International Guitar Show is being held once again at Kempton Race Course this Sunday and I dropped in this afternoon to deliver lanyards and tote bags for distribution to the 150 exhibitors.
Brighton Congress
The rearranged TUC Congress has been taking place this week in Brighton this week, so I travelled down to the south coast from Leeds today, upon the closure of the MU Members’ Conference.
Langley quiz time
I have always loved a quiz and so was pleased to hear that our local cafe/wine bar, Langley Quarter, were hosting a quiz for the first time tonight.
Drake Yolanda Awards
A very pleasant evening at Boisdale in Canary Wharf for the Drake Yolanda Awards event, which celebrates emerging artists plus offers a rewarding platform for developing their careers.
With the media
I travelled down from Liverpool to Birmingham on Thursday (29th) in advance of the Conservative Conference and the second stage of our representing musicians at the principal party gatherings.
Labour in Liverpool
A very busy two-week period at the party conferences began last Thursday (22nd) for me, as I caught the train from Euston to Liverpool Lime Street and checked in at the superb Hope Street Hotel in the city’s elegant Georgian Quarter.
Black Deer
A superb weekend in the Kent countryside at the third Black Deer Festival. The event was cruelly cancelled at very short notice last year courtesy of an impactful lockdown and it was wonderful to be back amongst the enthusiastic crowd in Eridge Park.
MPG Awards
I was delighted to attend the Music Producers Guild 2022 Awards event at the Tower Hotel tonight and to host the MU table and welcome our guests Gary Crosby, Janine Irons, Tom Gray, Anna Neale, Dave Webster and producer Greg Fitzgerald.
Jimmy Webb
A wonderful night at Chelsea’s Cadogan Hall in the company of Jimmy Webb as he performed a selection of his legendary songs on the first night of a UK tour. The awesome setlist included all my favourites, plus fascinating stories from his inspiring career composing for Glen Campbell, Frank Sinatra, Linda Ronstadt, the 5th Dimension, The Supremes, Art Garfunkel, and Richard Harris.
Spectrum of styles
Mark Batchelor and I drove an Enterprise van up to Springfield Farm in St Albans this morning, to set up the MU presence at Flesh Festival, the UK’s first queer LGBTQ+ electronic music & camping festival.
Cumberwell Park
Another rewarding day at Cumberwell Park, the challenging golf centre at Bradford-on-Avon just outside Bath, in aid of the Bath Cancer Support Group & Dorothy House. I had played in the competition, organised by Sarah and Neil Davies, in 2017 and 2018 and it was very pleasant to compete in its first return after the pandemic.
New season
The second match of the cricket season for Beckenham CC’s Under 17 team, saw a straightforward victory by 71 runs over a youthful but committed side from Bickley Park in delightful early summer sunshine.
Guitar Show
An excellent weekend in the company of photographer Jonathan Stewart, catching up with the UK guitar community at the ‘Guitar Show’ in the spacious New Bingley Hall in Birmingham.
Songwriters’ circle
Another enjoyable evening in town, this time at the Crypt underneath St Martin-the-Fields in Trafalgar Square. The venue has been home to a varied mix of genres and style down the years, presenting acoustic, folk, jazz, blues, classical and ethnic music.
UK Americana Awards
With the UK Americana Music Week in Hackney falling to the on-going health issues, principally the Omicron Covid variant, it was heartening to hear that the AMA-UK team had managed to organise an online/hybrid Awards Show.
UK Music comms
UK Music Chief Executive Jamie Njoku-Goodwin hosted the annual event for its communications representatives today at the Groucho Club in Soho. The attendance list was understandably smaller than usual, courtesy of safety concerns.
Half Moon gig
I have just spent a very worthwhile evening in the welcome surroundings of the legendary Half Moon in Putney, south west London, enjoying superb performances by the award-winning Robert Vincent and the evergreen Peter Bruntnell.
A Great Day
Tomorrow’s Warriors, the exemplary charity set up by Gary Crosby OBE and Janine Irons MBE to support and sustain our up and coming jazz musicians, is celebrating its thirtieth year of operation.
