Dartmouth's musical event of the year keeps on growing!
Line Up for the 2018 Festival is available on the Festival website - below are the key highlights
Headlining:
It’s no surprise that Dodgy’s biggest hit, ‘Good Enough’, is officially one of the most played tracks on British radio in the last 20 years. However, it’s more of a surprise that they were only together for seven years the first time round, as they sold over a million records worldwide, released three albums and enjoyed 12 Top 40 singles during that 1990s Britpop era.
The original line-up of Nigel Clark (guitar/vocals), Matthew Priest (drums/vocals) and Andy Miller (guitar/vocals) released their fifth album ‘What Are We Fighting For’ in September 2016, receiving fantastic reviews. The album also featured new bassist, Stu Thoy, who joined the band to help them tour the reunion album ‘Stand Upright In A Cool Place’ and never left.
A seasoned festival band having played at, amongst others, Glastonbury, Isle of Wight, Bestival, V Festival, Beautiful Days, Wychwood and Kendal Calling, we’re delighted to welcome Dodgy to Dart Music Festival in 2018.
Latest additions (February 2018)
Devonly Voices is a 60-strong choir based in Totnes, while The Singers Upstairs is a 35-strong choir based in Ashburton. Choir members come from all over South Devon and are directed by Vicky Hadland and co-directed by Tao Hinton. The emphasis is on having fun, singing together in harmony. You can see them (any maybe join in!) on Saturday at The Guildhall. Vicky will be following this up with a singing workshop in The Guildhall on Sunday.
Local lad, Connor Everitt is a singer-songwriter who released his debut single in August 2017. It’s been played a few times on BBC Introducing Cornwall and Connor also boasts almost 5000 subscribers on YouTube. You can check out his acoustic sets at The Anchorstone Café on Saturday and in the Harbour Bar at The Royal Castle Hotel on Sunday.
With her powerful and soulful voice, Melissa Bel has been captivating audiences and listeners her whole life. Her latest album, ‘In The Light’, follows the story of how the girl from Canada found the love of her life in Las Vegas and unexpectedly relocated across the globe to rural Devon. The killer combination of infectious pop beats was produced by Justin Gray (Joss Stone, John Legend) and has features on BBC Introducing in Devon. Catch her at Bayards Fort and the Anchorstone Café on Sunday.
K.O.G. & The Zongo Brigade fuse afrobeat with funk, ska, reggae and a host of other popular genres. The music is based on the clever merging of indigenous rhythms of Africa with genres of mainstream music, effectively an energetic mix on tones and grooves accompanied by afrosoul vocals live on stage. You won’t want to miss them on the Bandstand on Saturday.
Folk & Country
Four new additions to the folk and country line-up…some of whom you might recognise from last year!
The Trees are a collective of musicians from Plymouth who have fused their individual styles and skills together to form a folk-heavy, harmony-rich, multi-instrumental roots project. Formed in September 2017, you can expect to hear a mix of covers and originals, raging stringed solos and stripped back acapella tunes when the take to Market Square on Sunday.
Circe’s Diner are dedicated to self-penned, honest, rootsy tunes and return to the Festival with their Country, Americana, Folk and Pop traditions, yet the presentation and lyrical content comments on modern life through wondrous tales of love, loss, friendship and tigers! If you missed them performing to the Great British Bakeoff’s family in the final, make sure you don’t miss them at The Harbour Bar and The Anchorstone Café.
Alex Hart has been lucky enough to have played at some legendary venues including the Troubadour, Ronnie Scott’s and many concert venues around Europe. And we’re lucky enough to be able to see her at The Guildhall on Saturday. She has toured with Martin Barre from Jethro Tull and worked with the likes of Terry Britten (Grammy away winner for Tina Turner’s ‘What’s Love Got To Do With It’) and is currently spending time recording at State of the Ark studios in Richmond.
Bristol-based Elles Bailey has a talent for crafting and seamlessly weaving rootsy blues, country and soulful rock with a contemporary edge. What’s more, fate has blessed her with a ‘smoky vocal’ style that perfectly fits her music. Make sure you catch her at Bayards Fort on Sunday.
Blues & Soul
The blues and soul line-up is getting stronger by the minute with these two latest additions.
The mesmerising voice of Joanna Cooke can be heard on Saturday in the Harbour Bar at the Royal Castle Hotel. Inspired by legends such as Aretha Franklin, Nina Simone, Ella Fitzgerald and Bessie Smith, her versatility and soul shine through. You can also catch her session on BBC Introducing in Devon.
If you’ve seen The Primitive Noise Band live before and witnessed Becky Brine singing her heart out for all she’s worth, you’ll realise this isn’t just another “newcomer” bank on the scene. This is a scorching collaboration between some of the UK’s firebrands of blues, rock ‘n’ roll, rockabilly and jazz. One day playing a dive, lucky to get out alive, the next playing The Royal Albert Hall and everything in between, make sure you see them on The Bandstand on Sunday.
Jazz
The 2018 line-up for jazz acts is looking strong with a number of acts returning to the festival.
Jazz singer Annette Gregory is blessed with incredible vocal tones that are rich, smooth and full of soul. Inspired by Ella Fitzgerald, Annette’s “Ladies of Jazz” show has received high praise for brning rich, deep and delicate phrasing to songs sung by legends like Sarah Vaughan, Julie London, Billie Holiday and Nina Simone. Make sure you don’t miss her at The Flavel on Sunday.
The award-winning Devon Youth Jazz Orchestra return to play The Flavel on Sunday. DYJO teaches young people from across the whole of Devon to play and perform a wide variety of jazz.
Saxophonist Martin Dale returns to the festival with his own quartet, although regularly appears as a guest soloist. He has worked on the QE2 as lead alto player, backing such artists as Neil Sedaka, Petual Clark and Tom Jones. He’ll be playing the Grill Room at The Royal Castle Hotel on Saturday.
If you can’t wait until Saturday, then you can also see Martin Dale perform with Mark Nightingale at The Flavel on Friday. Martin has recorded for the BBC on radio and television soundtracks and released eight CDs, which have been played on Radio 2, 3 and Jazz FM. Mark Nightingale began on trombone at the age of nine and played in the Midland Youth Jazz Orchestra and the National Youth Jazz Orchestra in his teens. Nightingale has also played with the likes of John Dankworth, Cleo Laine, Urbie Green, Carl Fontana and Jiggs Whigham to name just a few. In addition, he played trombone on the album Ten Summoner’s Tales by Sting.
Manouche Jazz Quartet is a Devon based gypsy jazz outfit with style. Atmosphere, romance, virtuosity – it’s in the bag. With roots in the timeless repertoire of Django Reinhardt and Stephane Grapelli’s Hot Club De Paris, they have a hand in jazz styles spanning a century. Make sure you check out their set at The Guildhall on Sunday.
