Thursday
At The Victoria, tonight, a swath of local indie goodness takes the stage led by Misfires, a band that blend a rough backstreet swagger with infectious melodies and are in possession of more hooks than a Peter Pan convention. Joining them are B.G.T.O who inject some punk-pop bounce into the indie template and who also seem to have slimmed down their moniker from Break Glass To Open, presumable to save merchandise printing costs. Reading’s Kevin and the Vandals get the night underway.
Ron Truman-Border returns to The Beehive with a bag of deft and delightful acoustic tunes, which roam pop, folk and roots traditions to combine vivid lyrical visions and wonderfully accessible melody.
Friday
Well, this is a pickle. Fans of rootsy, bluesy Americana type sounds are faced with some pretty tricky choices on Friday
At The Queen’s Tap Ragged Union offer the heavier end of that menu with their wonderfully deep fried, southern rock and kicking alt-country grooves, whilst The Beehive is the place to be for a more traditional, East Nashville take on the American music experience as Open Secrets tip a hat to the likes of David Rawlings, The Band and Ryan Adams.
At The Victoria, The True Strays, Delta rock and roll revivalists and also the guys normally found in the Midnight Heist role of Sam Green and the Midnight Heist, sit somewhere between the previous two offerings. These cosmic, bandito-brethren deliver bar-brawling hoedowns and foot-stomping rhythm and blues that will both please traditionalists and take the genre to new audiences. Support comes from The Dustbowl Children who possess some of the funkiest slide blues this side of The Music City
Saturday
And if something with a dance groove is your cup of tea, then The Victoria on Saturday has an act that you really can’t afford to miss. The Bongolian are a fantastic soul, funk and jazz inspired band lead by Big Boss Man’s multi-instrumental whizz kid Nasser Bouzida. Pop-soul melodies, Day-Glo dance vibes, Hammond organs and Bongo led percussion are the order of the day. Imagine Bentley Rhythm Ace on a cosmic road trip with Deee-lite, or better still, don’t imagine it just go along to this show.
