FUSE - Outreach Programme (Chadsmead Primary School) Wednesday 9th June - Wednesday 30th June

Shakespeare In The Park Wednesday 16th June - Saturday 19th June

REAL ALE, JAZZ & BLUES FESTIVAL (Lichfield Rugby Club) Thursday 24th June - Sunday 27th June

Tickets: Full festival ticket – £36/£33 concs/£30 members/£18 students. Separate tickets required for Blues Band and Alan Price Set

RAJB Festival - The Blues Band (Lichfield Rugby Club) Thursday 24th June

8.00pm Tickets: £18 /£17concs/£16 members/£10 students/£10 for holders of full festival tickets

We are simply delighted to be celebrating our 21st birthday with this band who are simply the best purveyors of the Blues in the UK today. Celebrating 30 years together they are PAUL JONES, DAVE KELLY, ROB TOWNSEND, GARY FLETCHER and TOM McGUINNESS Their fabulous musicianship is augmented by their close and personal understanding of the genre and their heartfelt pleasure in performing. After 30 years of performing together, the integral voices and instruments interlock seamlessly with feeling and understanding. You won't leave a Blues Band concert with 'the blues'. Arguably the most successful Blues Band in Britain today, these blues lovers and great showmen continue to delight audiences with their extensive mix of Rhythm & Blues and Roots music. Powerful and emotional lead vocals from Paul Jones and Dave Kelly are the 'icing' on an evening of authentic blues music. Their extensive canon of recorded material includes a large catalogue of original songs as well as their own interpretations of songs from the genre's finest writers like Willie Dixon, Muddy Waters,to Howlin' Wolf. Acknowledged throughout Europe and beyond as being amongst the very finest purveyors of R&B, they have inspired numerous other blues bands - but The Blues Band remain an increasingly popular fixture. All reserved seats book early to avoid disappointment. www.thebluesband.com

RAJB Festival - Bare Bones Boogie Band (Lichfield Rugby Club) Friday 25th June

8.30pm Tickets: £7/£6 concs/£5 members/£4 students

If you are looking for some classic rock ‘n’ blues then this band is for you. They are the Award-winning and critically acclaimed Helen Turner, Iain Black, Trev Turley and Andy Jones who play some great heart-wrenchin’ classic rock ‘n’ blues, together with their own unique brand of original material. Couple this with some hot, deep down soul, all topped off with a dose of R&B, then all that’s left is to get the drinks in, roll back the carpet, and get yer dancin’ shoes on . . . To use just two quotes: "Helen Turner has probably the best blues voice in the UK at this time . . .” "Good-time, stripped down, no nonsense, rock ‘n’ blues ‘n’ boogie!!” www.myspace.com/barebonesboogieband

RAJB Festival - Sarah Gillespie with Gilad Atzmon + Tommaso Starace Quartet + Chicago Red + Wonderbrass+The Kingsize Five (Lichfield Rugby Club) Saturday 26th June

Noon onwards Tickets: Full Day Ticket £16/£15 concs/£14 members/£8 students

Tommaso Starace Quartet Noon + 4.00pm Italian saxophonist Tommaso Starace is acclaimed for his dynamic bebop style and melodious jazz compositions. This new international vibrant quartet was formed with the idea of combining musicians that display different styles and that together bring a distinctive, fresh and exciting sound to the music performed focusing on new compositions and the rework of jazz standards of composers such as Billy Strayhorn, Thelonious Monk, Cannonball Adderley to name a few. This will be a great gig of hard swinging no nonsense jazz. To use one quote, ‘Starace's melodious originals offer good blowing potential for alto and soprano solos delivered in a cleanly articulate post-bop style reminiscent of Phil Woods.’ www.tommasostarace.com Chicago Red 1.00pm + 5.15pm If it’s the REAL blues you want to hear then this Chicago born bluesman is the man for you. ‘Chicago Red’, now living in Los Angeles, learnt his music through the pain of life with fine songs, superb guitar musicianship a fine voice and a wicked sense of humour he is the complete performer. As one review said “Red lays it on naturally with a clear voice and heartfelt emotion. The originality in his song writing is refreshing but I was blown away by his guitar playing. www.chicagored.com The Kingsize Five 2.00pm + 6.30pm The Kingsize Five are a eight piece band led by tenor saxophone Michael Brown plus two singers and a full hot driving rhythm section. They play swing, rock and roll , ska and retro 50’s and are a real party band. To use one quote “Refreshing music, swinging, jumping, jiving blues somewhere near jazz and beyond rock & roll done with panache-get out and see them." www.myspace.com/thekingsizefive Sarah Gillespie with Gilad Atzmon 3.00pm + 7.45pm When a superb singer/songwriter Sarah Gillespie meets a wonderful jazz composer/saxophonist Gilad Atzmon you can only expect a brilliant album and ‘Stalking Juliet ‘is just that. In my humble opinion the BEST I heard in 2009 !!!. Just listen to the opening track You will hear an eclectic mix of Beat poetry, folk, jazz with middle eastern elements played by the wonderful Gilad Atzmon on saxes/clarinet/accordion supported by the awesome Josh Blackmore on drums and the bristling double bass of Ben Bastin. To use one quote “She is a young singer who is loud, defiant with a punkish ferocity and a mix of Bob Dylan’s drawl and Tom Wait’s growl the opposite of world –weary matching the inspirational Gilad Atzmon A must see at the festival. www.sarahgillespie.com Wonderbrass 9.30pm Apologies to all fans of The Big Easy who are unable to perform at the Festival due to illness. We are delighted however to have Wonderbrass join us on Saturday evening. Wonderbrass, a well established community band from South Wales led by Rob Smith, have been enjoying performances at major festivals in the UK and Europe for the last 17 years. Over 30 musicians, from very different backgrounds come together to produce a sound that is unique and engaging, outrageous and exciting. A rock solid rhythm section, led by Mark O'Connor, is complemented by a dazzling array of brass; playing juggernaut funk, filthy blues, spicy Latin, skankin' ska and uplifting African township melodies. The band play an eclectic repertoire that encompasses jazz and pop and various types of world music including both cover versions and original compositions. Thus you will hear pieces by the great Brazilian eccentric Hermeto Pascoal as well as by Mark Ronson, The Dirty Dozen Brass Band, King Django from New York City and The Beetles. "Smith is one of Wonderbrass' principal soloists but at some point during the evening virtually everybody gets a go on a mind boggling range of instruments. There was every member of the saxophone family (including a bass sax which incredibly I don't think I've ever seen before), trumpets, trombone, several flutes, guitar, bass, drums and- wait for it- sousaphone! Everybody sounded good, a tribute to Smith's arranging skills and the hard work the band clearly put in behind the good time façade" Ian Mann, The Jazz Mann Website (Thursday, July 02, 2009). "The So Solid Crew of Jazz" Anon. www.wonderbrass.org.uk

RAJB Festival - Asaf Sirkis Trio + Led Bib + Zoe Gilby+ Back Door Too (Lichfield Rugby Club) Sunday 27th June

Noon onwards Tickets: £16/£15 concs/£14 members/£8 students

Asaf Sirkis Noon + 4.00pm Now recognised as one of Britain’s finest drummers Asaf Sirkis brings his latest project for you to enjoy at the festival with him is the wonderful Tassos Spiliotopoulos on guitar and Yaron Staoi electric bass. Their spell binding hard hitting, thought provoking fusion reflects Asaf’s varied background, it is reflective, sometimes dynamic but bears the hallmark of wonderful musicianship. His album ‘the Monk’ received this rave review “Wonderful music underpinned and shaped by Sirkis searching drumming. It is an utterly distinctive learning experience.” www.asafsirkis.co.uk Back Door Too 1.00pm + 5.00pm Those who remember the jazz rock of the 70’s will know what to expect but those who don’t are for a real treat. Founder of the original trio guitarist Colin Hodgkinson joins forces with drummer Paul Robinson and one of this festival’s favourites saxophone players, the superlative Rod Mason. This power jazz/blues trio play wonderful new material written by Rod Mason as well as old favourites. The empathy between bass innovator Colin Hodginson and drummer Paul Robinson is something really special. www.backdoortoo.co.uk Zoe Gilby 2.00pm + 6.00pm From the North East we welcome this tremendous young jazz vocalist Zoe Gilby who has been making a real impression on the jazz scene today with her superb interpretations of the great American songbook and her own original songs with her excellent backing musicians Andy Champion double bass and Mark Williams guitar. To use just one review "She has the bluesy versatile voice and the jazz chops of a future star - Modern Mature and swings like a bell with a wide vocal range, warm timbre and clear diction which she uses skilfully to unveil her moods. It's clear that she's already found her own voice." www.zoegilby.co.uk Led Bib 3.00pm + 7.00pm Relentlessly dodging definition, Led Bib are both a maverick jazz band and an unlikely rock quintet. Taking their name from a protective garment used on patients during dental treatment, this Walthamstow based five-piece of twenty-somethings pride themselves on side- stepping convention, with incendiary results. The friends, who can usually be found in one another’s homes drinking tea and discussing the merits of biscuit types, have together torn apart the jazz world with their avant-jazz-euphoric-rock explosions of improvisation. And whilst fun may not be something which often comes to mind in relation to jazz, it’s the addition of this playfulness that has over years seen Led Bib throw out any jazz preconceptions and entice a whole new army of supporters to the genre. Combining the energy and passion of a rock outfit with the technical ability of trained jazz musicians their effect is exhilarating. Led Bib are bandleader Mark Holub on drums, Liran Donin on electric and stand up bass, Toby McLaren playing Rhodes and piano and Chris Williams and Pete Grogan up front as the two duelling alto sax players. Although egalitarian in design, Holub’s presence as bandleader is felt throughout. Fired by the sounds of Ornette Coleman and John Zorn emanating from the downtown scene where he started out, he leaves his mark on the group by driving tracks through at full throttle with his 700 BPM drumming. Led Bib continue to reflect the realities and dreams of life living in London, offering an honest comment on the struggle, drama, losses and loves – but always they deliver it with an element of playfulness. www.ledbib.com

RAJB Festival - Alan Price Set (Lichfield Rugby Club) Sunday 27th June

8.45pm Tickets: £18/£17concs/£16 members/£10 students/ £10 for holders of full festival tickets

What better way to finish off this festival then with the ‘Alan Price Set’ The name immediately summons up some of the most memorable sounds in the last 40 years: from the Animals’ ‘House Of The Rising Sun’ to his quirky take on Randy Newman’s ‘Simon Smith And His Amazing Dancing Bear’ to his many hits with Georgie Fame, including the most famous ‘Rosetta’. His induction into the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame in 1994 was testimony to his achievements throughout his career in the music industry and sits well alongside his BAFTA award for the soundtrack of the highly acclaimed film ‘O Lucky Man!’ in which he also appeared as ‘himself’. With superb musicians backing him, is great love for the blues, which highlights his live concerts and makes him such a stunning performer, acknowledged as one of the most talented and enduring musical artists to have emerged from the 1960’s British Beat Boom. www.derekfranks.co.uk www.alanprice.com

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