BackBeat Village will be bringing some soulful live music to Berkshire on Thursday 3rd July. We will be performing at the Sunningdale Lounge – live music from 8:45pm – 11pm. We will hope to see you there!

Upstairs @ Ronnie Scott’s
47 Frith Street
London W1D 4HT

Doors 6:30pm, music from 7:00pm – 8:45pm
Tickets £15 – all proceeds go to MacMillan Cancer Support

Following the success of their sell-out performance in May 2012, BackBeat Village and The Jazz Reporters will again be joining forces and returning to the upstairs bar at London’s famous Ronnie Scott’s jazz club. The band will be performing as a 10 piece, and will open with a set of jazz / swing / Latin / blues, followed by a set of funk / soul / Motown. The gig is advertised under the name of “The Jazz Reporters” and will feature the incredible vocals of Sophie Smith.

The band will be on stage promptly at 7:00pm, performing 2 x 45 minute sets finishing at 8:45pm.

The event is raising money for MacMillan Cancer Support. BackBeat Village and Jazz Reporters singer Sophie Smith is the force behind this fund-raising project, and you can read about her endeavours on her “Just Giving” page.

To purchase tickets, please visit the above-mentioned Just Giving page and donate £15 per person. Your name (+ number of guests) will then be added to the guest list. You will also receive an email from Just Giving confirming receipt of your donation.

It’s going to be another great evening of live music – we hope to see you there!

It’s no wonder that every time this band puts on a gig the tickets sell out some time before the event. This is not just live music – it is real entertainment, thanks to the energy and relaxed humour on stage, the exceptional musical talent, and the genres of music being played. As might be expected for a band of this instrumentation, the sounds and grooves of New Orleans brass bands feature prominently throughout much of the set. There is also plenty of jazz, blues, funk, Latin American – resulting in a highly varied set, and a captivated audience throughout.

Last night they performed in the Elgar Room at London’s Royal Albert Hall, and a few weeks ago at The Hideaway in Streatham. Both were superb performances, featuring the rootsy talents of guest vocalist Beth Rowley on a few numbers. Both gigs were also recorded, for their upcoming live album (due to be released in October).

The repertoire is a healthy mix of original and classic material, all composed and / or arranged by members of the band, as well as some guest writers. Last night’s set included “Funky Mama” (Evan Jolly), “Happy Medium” (Russell Bennett), “All God’s Chillun’ Got Rhythm” (arr. Sam Bullard), “The Snag” (Jon Stokes) and “Dance of the Sugar Rum Fairy” (Gavin Broom), as well as arrangements of New Orleans classics such as “Bourbon Street Parade.”

On Friday 17th May 2013 they will be performing (and recording) once more at The Forge in Camden – a few tickets are currently still available. Don’t miss out! Full details (and the opportunity to purchase their highly-regarded 2010 debut album) can be found on the Bad Ass Brass website.

“A lineup of Vocals, Bass, Percussion, Drums and a trio of Guitars, digging up the very roots of R&B, playing songs you can sink your teeth into…”

This is good honest music from some of the grooviest, most soulful musicians in London. Musicians who are not governed by ego, and do not feel obliged to blind their audience with virtuosic displays of technique when the songs don’t require it. This music requires a much higher level of technique, one which takes much more time and patience to learn. Every member of this band is a true master of their instrument / voice – the band wouldn’t sound this great if they weren’t. That’s exactly the point: The band as a whole sounds great – the listener isn’t drawn to individual components of its line-up. Why is that? Because they are playing for the music. They have studied the history of the genre, and have a thorough understanding of it. They each have musical abilities that take years to learn – discretion, taste, soul, rock-solid time feels, and how to play and sing together with other musicians as an ensemble so that we, the listeners, hear one thing: The music.

Very much looking forward to seeing their gig in London this evening – read all about it on their Facebook page.