NEWS ARCHIVE
MARCH - APRIL 2011:
LATEST NEWS:
Saturday 30th April | Energy and entertainment the Irish way!
One of the most vibrant and entertaining Irish / Celtic bands in Sussex, THE VILLAGE BAND gave a terrific performance last Wednesday at the Willows, blending well-known, chorus driven folk songs with their own unique sound powered by guitar, whistle, mandolin, fiddle, accordion and bass!
We had wondered whether having two Bank Holidays either side of this evening would damage the audience turnout, but in fact such is the Village Band's popularity that they pulled in a fantastic 74 people!
As ever, thanks to the band's great performance we have two more new YouTube videos to showcase! This first video shows off the band's sensitive side, with a lovely rendition of Ralph McTell's famous song, "From Claire To Here":
This second video features the band playing a great instrumental, "Horse's Brawl":
Again, big thanks to the band for a great evening of entertainment, and of course thanks to everyone who came along to support them!
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Wednesday 20th April | One of the UK's best songwriters gives a powerhouse performance!
Regarded by many as one of the finest singer-songwriters on the UK folk and acoustic scene, RON TRUEMAN-BORDER delivered another powerhouse performance when he returned to the Willows last Wednesday for two arresting sets of powerful, chorus-driven songs!
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Ron has long been a favourite for many of the Willows' supporters, and this was very much in evidence with the strong support his latest appearance generated - and by the lusty chorus singing of the audience! For a taste of what we mean, take a look at the latest additions to the Willows' YouTube channel, both taken from Ron's performance last Wednesday! This first video features Ron leading the audience in the driving song "Down The Road and Gone":
This second video shows Ron transforming the audience into a gospel choir for another of his original songs, "Wash My Sins Away":
Once again many thanks to everyone who came along, and of course to Ron himself for once again putting on a superb performance!
We're looking forward to doing it all again this Wednesday evening with another of our famous Come All Ye - Open Stage Nights! Hope to see you all then!
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Saturday 2nd April | Breathtaking music from a group with a world-class sound and reputation!
Some evenings of music just sparkle with a certain magic, and that was definitely the case last Wednesday when we welcomed SUNTRAP back to the Willows for another evening of entertainment - the band have earned many fans and followers over the years thanks to their finely-crafted harmonies, powerhouse sound and great selection of insightful songs, and this was reflected in the capacity turnout they generated last Wednesday!
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Suntrap's evening produced many memorable musical moments, and the band kindly gave us permission to feature some of these on our YouTube channel! The first of these is shows the band performing a Suntrap original, "Open The Door", which shows off well their talent for great harmonies:
This second video features Suntrap's majestic performance of "Pale Fire / Two Magicians":
It's not often we feature three videos from an evening, but this was such a special moment we felt it had to be added! One of the Willows' most loyal regulars over the last 10 years has been singer and harmonica player Richard Ratcliffe, and one of his very favourite guests over the years has been Suntrap - so, as a special surprise "Thank You" for Richard for his many years of loyal support, we asked Suntrap if they would consider accompanying Richard in a version of their song "Red Red Shoes", and they very kindly agreed! Massive thanks to all the members of Suntrap for agreeing to do this, and what a great performance came out of it!
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Monday 21st March | A great night from an old-school entertainer!
There can be no better word to describe last Wednesday's guest, TIM BROADBENT, than "entertainer" - not only is Tim a highly skilled singer and musician, but he is also a very witty, entertaining and engaging character, and it's easy to see why he's enjoyed so much success over the years! Last Wednesday Tim treated everyone to a masterclass in folk club entertainment, to a really healthy audience turnout!
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Thanks to Tim's appearance we also have - guess what? Yes, two new YouTube videos to share with you all! However, these videos are unique in that they are the first to be shot with the Willows' new video camera - notice how much better the lighting in these videos is, and that's all down to the camera, the lighting in the club room here is exactly the same as all our other videos!
This first video features Tim performing a song that he wrote himself, "Take Your Time", written about his two daughters:
This second video features Tim's red-hot performance of an old country blues standard, "Sittin' On Top Of The World", complete with some great guitar playing!
Also, on a different note, last Wednesday we had a wonderful and unusual event take place, when our friend David Beale proposed to his partner Chris from the Willows stage! It's a real honour to think that the Willows played a part in this, and on behalf of everyone at the club we'd like to extend our congratulations to David & Chris and wish them many happy years together!
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Friday 11th March | Alan Reid & Rob Van Sante video from Tim Kent's Hat Music Films!
As mentioned in the last update, as well as the YouTube video of ALAN REID & ROB VAN SANTE that we featured on the Willows' own YouTube channel, our good friend Tim Kent was also in attendance at their gig and very kindly offered to film, edit and upload highlights from Alan and Rob's performance to his own YouTube channel. Tim has completed work on the video and we're very proud to be able to showcase it here!
The video features a better-quality recording of the song we uploaded, "The Road of Tears", as well as full versions of "Saints and Sinners", "The Pleasure Will Be Mine", "Nancy's Whiskey", "The Last Lighthouse Keeper", and the duo's encore for which they brought up another former Battlefield Band member, Alistair Russell, to join them for "Green and the Blue". Many thanks to Tim for all his hard work on this, we hope you enjoy watching and listening!
In other news, we had another great evening last Wednesday with our Come All Ye - Open Stage Night, big thanks as always to all of the performers and audience for coming along! We're very much looking forward to Tim Broadbent's guest night appearance at the club next Wednesday (16th March)!
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Tuesday 8th March | From the Battlefield to the Willows!
Last Wednesday's guest night at the Willows was a real treat, as we welcomed acclaimed duo ALAN REID & ROB VAN SANTE to the club's stage! Alan is a former member of the legendary Scottish group The Battlefield Band, and Rob was (and still is) their sound engineer of many years! Stepping onto the other side of the stage, Rob showed that he is also a gifted musician and singer, and Alan oozes the professionalism and stage presence that comes from a lifetime spent performing with one of the most successful folk bands on the planet!
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We have a new YouTube video to share with you this week, taken from Alan and Rob's great performance! This video features the duo performing the song "The Road of Tears":
Our good friend Tim Kent of Hat Music Films was also on hand at this evening and very generously offered to create a YouTube movie of Alan and Rob's peformance, and this should be online very soon - once it is, we'll post up the links here on the Willows' website!
Thanks to Alan and Rob for a brilliant performance, and to everyone who came along to support them!
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