The Bradninch musical gardens is always a delightful sign that summer is upon us and the festivals are in full swing. This year, Rosie joined Niall (The Sixty Six) and Randy (Abel & Eade) to serenade the wandering guests searching for pimms, cake and gardening charms. A surprise addition to the beautiful blue sky was a spectacular example of a sun halo:

Here’s hoping we get a repeat spectacle next weekend for the full Bradninch Music Festival, featuring a rocking blues set from The Sixty Six on Sunday 9th June at the Castle pub, 7-9pm.

 

https://www.facebook.com/BradninchMusicFestival/

We had a great time playing at Bradninch Rocks Festival last weekend! Thanks to Andy and the rest of the crew who helped organise the festival, and everyone who came along on the day. The view from the stage was amazing (see above) and Chris did a fantastic job with the sound – thanks Chris! We also got the chance to perform “Morning Star” (by the awesome Philip Sayce) for the first time, which is now a firm band favourite!

It was a great line-up of artists, including: singer-songwriter Holly Morwenna; acoustic duo Fly Yeti Fly; Indie-Pop newcomers The Sun Veins; and a headline set from the incredible, dance-inducing Mammoth!

Here’s a few photos we managed to snap during setup/sound-check. Thanks to Andy Hartley for the extra photos and video. You can find more photos and videos of the whole event at the Bradninch Rocks Facebook Page.

 

TheSixtySix made their way down to Plymouth last Saturday to play at the Blues Bar & Grill, down on the historic waterside. There’s a great Americana vibe in there and the jukebox playlist the venue had going was probably the best we’ve ever heard! The band went on at 10pm to an already busy venue, and the audience were fantastic; really into the music and dancing at the first opportunity. Particular highlights for us were “Foolish Woman Blues” (Janis Joplin’s slow Blues, which had the place transfixed) and the always-dance-inducing “Superstition” by Stevie Wonder.

All in all, a great night! Thanks to everyone who came to see us, and to Scott and his team for hosting. We look forward to coming back again later this year..

Anti-clockwise from bottom right: arrival at the venue; final checks and tuning up; Rosie and Niall during soundcheck.

 

I love singing the blues with The Sixty Six, and feel very lucky to have got to spend this Christmas holiday searching out blues singers old and new, from New Orleans to Austin – good inspiration for our next gig Jan 27th Jan at The Blues Bar, Plymouth!

I started off in New Orleans early December –  a great source of jazz and blues musicians and home of Louis Armstrong Park. After jazzed up Christmas carols in the French Quarter, and a packed out blues gig at The Spotted Cat on Frenchman Street, I headed down to sing at Buffa’s Bar open mic with my partner Randy Abel, where we were later joined by local legend Walter Craft on harmonica. A highlight was blues/folk man Pokey LaFarge at Tipitinas. Connecting with their superb support act Esther Rose led us to the All Star Country Jamboree – a local Honky Tonk/Western Swing Country Club at the Dragon’s Den. Definitely come check them out when they tour the UK in early March!

Next it was off to Texas. We drove through the Hill Country to Fredericksburg to see an old musician friend Paul Wright, played a gig at the Pecan Grove “Historic Ice House”, and spent Christmas jamming out by Enchanted Rock State Park. From there, we spent New Year in Galveston, playing at the biggest open mic I’ve ever seen  – the Townes Van Zandt Wake event at The Old Quarter. Then it was off to Austin and a photo shoot with Texas blues legend Stevie Ray Vaughan (statue). His songs are an important part of the inspiration behind the Sixty Six sound, with our sets including Pride and Joy, and Come On (Part III).

This was followed up by playing a string of local open mics including Threadgills – an important venue back in the day for developing Janis Joplin’s distinctive sound – and jamming with the Spicewood Blues Society at Poodies Roadhouse.

I’ll be home soon and can’t wait to get out singing with the band again!

Rosie xx

Next gig:

• Saturday 27th January 2018, 9:00-11:00pm @ The Blues Bar, Plymouth, PL1 2JL

 

TheSixtySix have recently re-located to the fantastic Tazma Studios in Exeter. It’s a great space to rehearse in with excellent PA and in-house amps and drum kit.

Here’s a few song excerpts from the recording we did at the last rehearsal, including some of the newer songs in the set. Video capture from GoPro Hero 3. Audio capture using Zoom R16.

 

We had a fantastic time at The Bowling Green last Saturday! It was the first gig in Exeter for a while and it was great to see so many of you who came along to support us – thanks!  We were too busy having a good time to take any photos during the main event, but here’s a few that we took during setting up and soundcheck. Many thanks to the kind folks at The Bowling Green for hosting us – we’re looking forward to playing again some time next year!

We had a great time playing at the Hook and Parrot Smugglers Bar in Seaton last night. Rosie was on both saxophone and guitar duties this time (and in full rock mode!).  Here’s a few photos from the evening – thanks to Kim and all at Smugglers Bar for hosting us.

We had a great time at the Bradninch Music Festival last Saturday! It was a day packed full of fantastic live music, including original artists performing outside the Guildhall for Green Light Unplugged in support of Macmillan. Here’s an excerpt from our set at The Castle – thanks to everyone who came along to support us!

Photos courtesy of Richard Graham.