Congleton Jazz and Blues Festival
Jumping, jiving and singing the blues
A musical bank holiday treat.
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| Festival poster 2017 |
Every August Bank Holiday, from lunch time on Saturday until midnight on Sunday, Congleton vibrates with the sound of jazz and blues issuing forth from over 20 venues. Styles of music vary from traditional jazz to swing, roots, blues, big band and boogie woogie, to name just a few. The venues welcome everyone for free, bars and BBQs do a brisk trade and everyone has plenty of toe tapping fun.
This bank holiday was no exception, the weather was lovely and crowds were wandering from bar to bar picking out their favourite bands and solo artists. People were having a great time.
Our first stop was at the Beartown Cock to see Benjamin Bassford playing some very bluesy tunes on the guitar. Most gigs have two 45 minute sets so you can see part of one then pick up on another during the break. Our second stop was in the beer garden at the back of the Beartown Tap to hear Sunjay, whose wonderful voice and superb guitar playing really brightened up our day.
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| Beer garden at the Beartown Tap |
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| Sunjay |
Next stop, Quigleys, for a touch of Swingology, playing music by Django Reinhardt and fronted by a talented violin player, they had the crowd swinging along. Wandering back to the High Street at the break we made our way to Ye Olde White Lion to enjoy some soothing sounds in the garden behind the pub.
The music continued until midnight but we had to head home, however we did rejoin the crowds on Sunday to be entertained by the Robin Bibi Band at the Lion and Swan Hotel. The lead guitarist, Robin, was very energetically jumping up on tables and playing (well) with his guitar behind his back!
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| Robin Bibi Band |
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| What a showman! |
The Electric Picture House was our next venue for Chris Bevington Organisation, with Scott Ralph and Jim Kirkpatrick. This is an unusual venue, now an art gallery with rough walls, high ceilings and a great atmosphere. People were crowding in at the doors to hear the music and see the band play.
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| Chris Bevington Organisation |
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| Crowding at the doorway of the Electric Picture House |
We then wandered into Rumba to catch a glimpse of Robin Pierce, playing solo, followed by a return to Quigleys for the Chris King Robinson Band which featured some great bass playing from Nigel Turner.
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| Chris King Robinson Band |
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| View from the stage |
Again, the music continued throughout the day, and the Mayor of Congleton was joining in too. Recognised as one of the biggest Jazz and Blues festivals in Cheshire, this event has been running for the last eight years and I hope it will continue as it is a friendly, fun weekend with some excellent music for everyone to enjoy.
Here is a link to the festival site:
Here is a link to the festival site:
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| The Town Mayor of Congleton, Councillor Charles Booth |
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