Well, I woke up this morning, mah woman gone told me it’s the Swanage Blues Festival next weekend.

I said, I woke up this morning, she gone told me there’s 60 great gigs with 30 top bands in 15 different venues, all for a £10 wristband, over Friday, Saturday and Sunday, March 7, 8 and 9.

Well, with all that information now rolling inside of mah head...

I darned turned right over and went back to mah bed.

Yee-haw, sho’nuff...

Yep, now in its 14th amazing year, this fabulous event is attracting some of the best bands and artists on the blues circuit and is hugely popular with seemingly the whole town getting involved.

Check this lot out for starters: C Sharp Blues, The Jaw Breakers, The Fabulous Fezheads, Pete Christie, Zoe Schwarz, The Riotous Brothers and, many, many more.

 

 

The smallest café and wine bar, virtually every pub, every street corner and even the railway station in this charming little resort just up the coast is hosting some event or another and it’s hats off to organiser Steve Darrington who once again has worked a major miracle.

All you need to do is get yourself a £10 wristband which eases your entry (ooh, matron) into the venues from the festival website at swanage-blues.org and there’s a full list of all the bands, venues, times etc there too.

Moving on, and in the cut-throat world of the tribute band, you’ve got to be very, VERY good to survive and if you’ve been good enough to have lasted 15 years, you must be rather flipping awesome.

Step forward then, Hell’s Bells, the UK’s top AC/DC tribute act who have been on the Highway to Hell since 1999, constantly tearing up and down the motorways in this country and across Europe with gigs in Portugal, Austria, Russia and the Middle East as well.

 

 

They’re bringing their high energy show back in black to Finn’s in Weymouth tomorrow, Saturday, March 1 and you’re going to be shaken all night long if their last date there is anything to go by.

It’s £6 on the door tomorrow, but get there early, okay?

Just round the corner from Finn’s is the compact and bijou boozer The Star, which is a hosting a couple of notable gigs this weekend.

First up tonight it’s The Robbie McIntosh Band, featuring the considerable fretboard nift of the former Paul McCartney and Pretenders guitarist.

And tomorrow, Saturday, March 1, it’s a double header with the aforementioned C Sharp Blues Band and The Dutch Solo Mouses, featuring the combined talents of Roland Smith on guitar, Phil Evans-Jones on bass and Ady Milward on drums.

Incidentally, Dutch Solo Mouses is an anagram of something highly unsuitable for a family newspaper such as this.

I’ll leave you to work it out with answers to me at gigs@dorsetecho.co.uk Right, that’s it for this week… ‘till next time.

TONIGHT (28)

Lo Numbers (Finns, Westham Rd, Weymouth)

Replay (Poundbury Community Hall)

Tripod (Golden Lion, St Edmund St, Weymouth)

Ricky Solo (Edinburgh House of Sounds, St Thomas St, Weymouth)

BB Tim and Friends (Beach and Barnicott, Bridport)

The Mighty Fine (Wyke Smugglers, Portland Rd, Weymouth)

Finnian (Park Hotel, Grange Rd, Weymouth)

Freak Circus (Royal Exchange, Portland)

Robbie McIntosh Band (The Star, Park St, Weymouth)

Total Madness (Spice Ship, Preston, Weymouth)

Ed Hintze (John Gregory, Southill, Weymouth)

Lewis Craven (Royal Portland Arms, Fortuneswell, Portland)

Stress (Tom Brown’s, High East St, Dorchester)

Boy Le Monti (Ropemakers, Bridport)

Amy Mayes Trio (King’s Arms, Weymouth)

Andy Kennett (Weymouth Working Men’s Club, Mitchell St, Weymouth)

Paul Gibson (Duke of Cornwall, St Edmund St, Weymouth)

Peacock Suit (Royal Oak, Quayside, Weymouth)

Jam Night (The Lounge, Colwell Centre, Weymouth)

SATURDAY (1)

Kris Dollimore (Arts Centre, Dorchester) Part of the DA Blues season.

Hell’s Bells (Finns, Westham Rd, Weymouth) AC/DC tribute. £6 on door.

Stereoironics (Sailors Return, St Nicholas St, Weymouth)

The Bowie Experience (The Rock, Abbotsbury Rd, Weymouth)

State of Undress (Tom Brown’s, High East St, Dorchester)

Light Fire Down, Thomas and the Mock-Ups, Patchwork Native (Goldies, Borough Arms, High East St, Dorchester)

The Mighty Fine (Rendezvous, Town Bridge, Weymouth)

Biproxy (Golden Lion, St Edmund St, Weymouth)

C Sharp Blues Band, Dutch Solo Mouses (The Star, Park St, Weymouth)

Sheryl Lee (King’s Arms, Weymouth)

Georgie Broad and the Breakwater Band (Dorothy, Esplanade, Weymouth)

Ska (Edinburgh House of Sounds, St Thomas St, Weymouth)

Jim Martin (Centenary Club, Jubilee Sidings, Weymouth)

Lauren Bannon Royal Oak, Quayside, Weymouth)

Bitter and Twisted (Clifton Portland)

Amy Mayes Trio (New Star Inn, Fortuneswell, Portland)

Jolly Boys Outing (Railway Tavern, Weymouth)

Karen Kay (Belvedere, High West St, Weymouth)

Tony Carbis (Conservative Club, Dorchester Rd, Weymouth)

Phoenix (Wyke Regis Working Men’s Club, Portland Rd, Weymouth)

Bex Hannigan (Weymouth Working Men’s Club, Mitchell St, Weymouth)

Diva Lea (Duke of Cornwall, St Edmund St, Weymouth)

BJ McCabe (Bridge Inn, Preston, Weymouth)

SUNDAY (2)

The Dinnerladies (Three Compasses, Charminster)

Danny Adams (Oasis Bistro, Weymouth) 1pm.

Gut and Steel (Old Ship, Upwey, Weymouth) 2.30pm.

Karen Kay Royal Oak, Quayside, Weymouth) 3pm.

Sheryl Lee (King’s Arms, Weymouth)

Ronnie Taylor and Friends (Royal Portland Arms, Fortuneswell, Portland) 4.30pm.

The Decades (Belvedere, High West St, Weymouth) 8pm.

Finn (Duke of Cornwall, St Edmund St, Weymouth)

Martin Freed (Edinburgh House of Sounds, Weymouth)

Ricky Solo (Sailor’s Return, St Nicholas St, Weymouth) From 3pm.

Jam Night (Sailor’s Return, Nicholas Street, Weymouth) Mark Stacey and friends host this acoustic jam session. 8pm.

MONDAY (3)

Lucy’s Ukulele Night (King’s Arms, Portesham) 8pm.

TUESDAY (4)

Loop (The Boot, Weymouth)

WEDNESDAY (5)

Danny Adams (Oasis Bistro, Weymouth) 7pm.

Jam with Mark (Wellington Arms, St Alban Street, Weymouth) Mark Stacey hosts this regular acoustic jam session.

Wessex Folk Night (Sailors Return, Nicholas Street, Weymouth)

THURSDAY (6)

Open Mic Surgery (Tom Brown’s, High East St, Dorchester) All backline provided, come on down and have a play.

Steve’s Singalong (Duke of Cornwall, St Edmund Street, Weymouth) Steve hosts this session, with guests joining in.

Traditional Tune Session (Cove House Inn, ChiswelI, Portland) Ukulele Sessions (Sailors Return, St Nicholas St, Weymouth) 8pm.

FRIDAY (7)

Swanage Blues Festival (Various venues, Swanage) See swanage-blues.org for details Jilted Generation (Finns, Westham Rd, Weymouth) Prodigy tribute.

Matt Wallis (Weymouth Working Men’s Club, Mitchell St, Weymouth)

Average Wyke Band (Royal Portland Arms, Portland)

Shooter (Royal Exchange, Portland)

Devil’s Rejects (Ropemakers, Bridport)

Leggomen (Royal Oak, Weymouth)

Jam Night (The Lounge, Colwell Centre, Weymouth)