4 Music


Summer starts here


WITH the season of music fes- tivals fast approaching, Wales Millennium Centre kicks off twith their annual folk event Calan Mai. Across four days, this festival


offers up live music from some of the best folk artists from Wales and beyond, sessions and dancing for the Bank Holiday weekend.


Celebrations begin on the Fri-


day night with a folk music ses- sion at The Old Market Tavern in Cardiff City Centre. Bring your instrument, grab yourself a drink, sit back and enjoy the music (free and open to all). Saturday sees the free perfor- mance stage get underway at Wales Millennium Centre with Welsh artists Gareth Bonello, Gwyneth Glyn, Richard James and the Rag Foundation. Families can try their hand at making an instrument and join the dancing in the Twmpath Dawns (the Welsh equivalent of the Gaelic Ceilidh). A highlight for Sunday will


be Patagonian folk singer René Griffiths who showcases music from our South American com- patriots, celebrating 150 years of the Welsh settlement across the Atlantic. Among a packed weekend of


free activities, workshops and performances, witness six of the finest young folk musicians from Wales and England come together to explore and cel- ebrate the shared history and culture of the two nations in Beyond the Marches. In Wales, Calan Mai (or Calan


Haf) is known as the first day of May. According to the Celtic calendar it is considered to be the start of summer. Calan Mai can be watched


live online via the website link wmc.org.uk/connected


Thomas recently guested at Steve Bissex-Williams show This Is My Life


FUNDRAISER: Phil Lee Picture: Phil Mansell


Band gets ready for big night


RAISING the roof in order to repair it. That’s the aim of an evening of big band music be- ing held at the Dolman Thea- tre on Saturday, May 9. The Swingcopation Chep-


stow Community Big Band will swing into action to lead the fundraiser with their resi- dent vocalists, Nataley Simp- son and Phil Lee-Thomas, whom audiences will have seen recently in Newport Playgoers’ production of the Noel Coward classic Waiting in the Wings. “The Dolman Theatre roof


Fundraiser


is desperately in need of re- pair and renovation,” said Phil Mansell, spokesperson for Playgoers who own and run the 400-seat theatre. “This concert is the latest


of several fundraising events held to raise the necessary money to carry out the work. It’s sure to be a great evening of swing music performed by this great band. “They have appeared at many local festivals and ven- ues. As well as great music there’s a hog roast and au- dience members are being urged to dress to impress.” At another recent fund- raiser, Steve Bissex-Williams raised an amazing £970 to- wards the upkeep of the thea- tre’s roof with his one man show This Is My Life. A mix- ture of songs, reminiscences and special guests added up to a truly entertaining even- ing in the Dolman foyer. Swingcopation will be per-


forming at 7.30pm. Tickets, which cost £20 (including food) should be booked in advance. Call 01633 263670 or visit dolmantheatre.co.uk


Revisiting the classics with tribute show


THE iconic sound of Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons will shortly be rec- reated in a “feel-good” con- cert called Big Girls Don’t Cry at Blackwood Miners Institute. Four phenomenal singers


and a fantastic live band with lots of fun and danc- ing in the aisles, this show is a must-see. Don’t miss it. Valli and The Four Sea-


sons had a string of hits beginning with the clas- sic number one, Sherry in 1962. After a further run of hits, My Eyes Adored You hit number 1 on Billboard’s Hot 100 in 1975 followed by the theme song from the 1978 film Grease,which also went to number one.


This fantastic show is guaranteed to have you up on your feet featuring many hits from both sides of the Atlantic including, Grease Is The Word, Bye Bye Baby, Stay, Silence is Golden, Working My Way Back to You Babe, Oh What a Night, plus many, many more. This is a night not to be missed. Tickets for the Blackwood Miners Institute show tak- ing place on Saturday, June 13 are available from 01495 227206 or by visiting your. caerphilly.gov.uk/bmi/ whatson/eventlist/4#Big Girls Don’t Cry


LIVE: Phil Lee-Thomas will be performing with the Swingcopation Chepstow Community Big Band at the Dolman Theatre Picture: Phil Mansell


Follow us on Twitter @Argus_The Guide Friday, May 1, 2015


JOYFUL: Big Girls Don’t Cry


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