9th Emsworth Beer, Wine, & Cider Festival

Our 9th Emsworth Beer, Wine, & Cider Festival will have around 25 delicious cask-conditioned ales from near and far, including interesting local brews and national award winners, along with a number of excellent ciders.  We will be joined by independent wine merchant, Bush Vines, who will be providing a range of wines by the glass.  Please note we do not stock ales which you will find in the Emsworth area – we source from as far afield as Scotland’s Northern Isles!

Local musicians will perform at all sessions.  During the Friday evening session, local shantygang Spinnaker Shanty will sing from their wide repertoire of songs of the sea.  During the Saturday afternoon session, the Southampton Ukulele Jam will be on hand to properly entertain you!  Andy Beaumont will perform songs on Saturday evening.  The Westbourne‘s Top Burrito van will be parked on site for the weekend to ensure that no one goes hungry!

All profits from ticket and bar sales go towards supporting WemsFest (an entirely volunteer-run community interest company) to deliver world-class live music at very local venues – in addition to bringing musical workshops into local schools for Black History Month in October!

The Festival is held in the Emsworth Community Centre, a short walk from Emsworth Station and a stone’s throw from the 700 bus route.  The Community Centre is at the bottom of North Street, just north of the roundabout, between Emsworth Medical Practice and the Fire Station.

We will have an outdoor seating area, subject to the weather, and an additional large ‘quiet’ room inside where we will show silent films and where you can play cards or board games.

Tickets include a souvenir glass, programme and your first pint of beer or cider, or glass of wine.

There are four sessions:

Friday 19th September – 5.00pm – 10.30pm – £12.50
Saturday 20th September – 11am – 5.00pm – £12.50
Saturday 20th September – 5.00pm – 10.30pm – £12.50
Sunday 21st September – 12 noon – 4.00pm – FREE Admission with all remaining beers (if there is any beer left) at substantially reduced prices.  

Tickets are now available from Bookends, Harbour Records, the Emsworth Community Centre, and online at www.WeGotTickets.com/WemsFest

Why Not Sponsor a Barrel?

If you or your business are interested in sponsoring a barrel for the Festival we’d love to hear from you – please email Mark at adwemsfest@gmail.com.  Sponsorship costs only £100; you will receive 4 free tickets for you and your friends and advertising on our promotional material, including the souvenir glasses, and at the event.  Most importantly you will be helping to ensure the financial viability of a great local event.  Cheers!

GNOSS (SOLD OUT)

A welcome back to WemsFest, but to a new venue, for this multi-talented and award-winning Scots band.  GNOSS combines the talents of Aidan Moodie (guitar/vocals), Graham Rorie (fiddle/mandolin/electric tenor guitar), Connor Sinclair (flute/whistles/vocals), and Craig Baxter (bodhran/percussion) – and they have 3 fabulous albums which exemplify their forward-thinking take on traditional music coupled with the warmth of their live shows.

‘Album of the Year’ Nominees, Scots Trad Music Awards 2019 & 2021
‘Up and Coming Artist of the Year’ Nominees, Scots Trad Music Awards 2017
BBC Radio 2 Young Folk Award Semi-Finalists 2016
Danny Kyle Award Winners 2015

“Gnoss are one of those rare birds in folk: a group you can name after hearing their first notes.” –  Folk Radio UK

Gnoss’ signature sound is a rich tapestry of acoustic layers; outstanding musicianship, deep traditional roots and contemporary compositional flair combine to create songs and tunes brimming with character. Triple Scots Trad Music Awards nominees, the band have built an invested following through their forward-thinking take on traditional music and the unique warmth of their live shows. This has been proven through three consecutive sellout appearances at Glasgow’s world-famous Celtic Connections festival.

Their 2019 release, ‘Drawn From Deep Water’ was met with widespread praise (“a refreshing blast” – RnR) for its exemplary interplay, nakedly emotional playing, and well chosen material. The 11-track album brought Gnoss to entranced audiences across France, Italy and Denmark, not to
mention the length and breadth of the UK.

Their follow-up album, ‘The Light of The Moon’, continued to demonstrate Gnoss’ dedication to their craft that places them firmly at the fore of what’s happening in Scottish folk and earned them a nomination for Album of the Year at the Scots Trad Music Awards. Described as “an invigorating new direction for the Gnoss boys” by Songlines, this album took Gnoss’ online fanbase by storm gaining over one million streams in 2022.

With the release of their third album, 2023’s ‘Stretching Skyward’, Gnoss reignite their collaboration with producer and engineer, Scott Wood (Skerryvore), further exploring their acoustic roots whilst incorporating new, electronic elements. Launch dates included performances across the UK and Europe, including standout appearances at the Orkney Folk Festival, Cambridge Folk Festival, Towersey Festival and Denmark’s Tønder Festival.

 

Doors open 7.30pm for an 8pm show.

Licensed Bar helps support WemsFest – As always, we’ll have our licensed bar serving delicious beers from Langham Brewery 🍻 as well as wines, local cider, nonalcoholic beers, and soft drinks.  All profits from bar and ticket sales are reinvested in the local community.

Tickets available now at Bookends and Harbour Records and online here

If you require special assistance or have mobility difficulties, please contact us in advance and we will do our very best to accommodate you so that you are comfortable.

The South Side Racketeers, and DJ Rob Moore

Blue Beat, Ska but most of all Jamaican RnB will pour out of the speakers for this classic night featuring 80% of self-penned material along with some all-time classics.  When you hear this beat you’ll want to move your feet !

The South Side Racketeers were conceived on a stag night about four in the morning sometime in 2004!  Four friends with a common love for sixties Blue Beat, Ska, Jamaican RnB and other music decided to form a band incorporating the above influences into their own material.  A few choice cover versions including ‘Ali Baba’, ‘Bartender’ and Renegade’ complemented the bed of contemporary sounding but original cuts written by the four. 

The Racketeers without doubt are one of Portsmouth’s finest and certainly one of the most popular bands in the area since the early days of ‘Empitfish’, ‘The Caravans’, ‘Six Gun Sound’ an the early 80s.  Now a six/seven piece-piece band playing Jamaican RnB, Trad Ska, with lashings of rare Soul, The Racketeers are not a total covers band with 80% of self-penned material. Charismatic to the end with consistently tight and lively performances, The Racketeers can be seen performing in venues across the south of England. The band have their eyes and ears firmly focused on the future. So, when you hear the beat and want to move your feet just dance to the Racketeers and the sun will keep shining!

Licensed bar helps support WemsFest – As always, we’ll have our licensed bar serving delicious beers from Langham Brewery 🍻 as well as wines, local cider, nonalcoholic beers, and soft drinks.  All profits from bar and ticket sales are reinvested in the local community.

Tickets available now at Bookends and Harbour Records and online here

Doors open 7.30 for an 8pm start – but no admission after 9pm.

If you require special assistance or have mobility difficulties, please contact us in advance and we will do our very best to accommodate you so that you are comfortable.

Please park considerately.

 

Feast of Fiddles (note early start time 7.30pm)

The clue is in the name !

Born in Nettlebed on Valentine’s Day 1994 as a one-off special concert, Feast of Fiddles has done 29 spring tours, 26 festivals and has 7 CDs to its name. Not bad for a bunch of old folk-rockers!

This is a band of friends that puts on a show of huge dynamic range performed with passion, joy and a liberal dose of fun. Fiddlers Garry Blakeley (Band of Two), Ian Cutler (Bully Wee), Marion Fleetwood (Trad Arr, Sandy Denny Project), Tom Leary (Joe Brown), Brian McNeill (Battlefield Band), and Simon Swarbrick (Merry Hell) bring a large range of fiddle playing styles to the rock back-line – all held together by legendary drummer Dave Mattacks, Martin Vincent on guitar, Dave Harding on bass, and genial host Hugh Crabtree on accordion.  This is a live music entertainment like no other on the circuit which is guaranteed to be enjoyed by even the most doubting of friends dragged along!

“Absolutely awesome!” – Sue Marchant, BBC East

“Britain’s fiddling supergroup” – Mark Radcliffe, BBC Radio 2

“The best fiddle players of a generation” – Ian A Anderson

** NOTE EARLY START!!** Doors open 7pm for a 7.30pm start.

Licensed Bar helps support WemsFest – As always, we’ll have our licensed bar serving delicious beers from Langham Brewery 🍻 as well as wines, local cider, nonalcoholic beers, and soft drinks.  All profits from bar and ticket sales are reinvested in the local community.

Tickets available now at Bookends and Harbour Records and online here

Please don’t try to park on Church Path or the other small local roads – there is plenty of free car parking in local car parks.

If you require special assistance or have mobility difficulties, please contact us in advance and we will do our very best to accommodate you so that you are comfortable.

FREE Blues! An afternoon in the Emsworth pubs

You heard it right, FREE MUSIC!  As part of the 3rd Emsworth ‘January Blues’ Festival (Jan 17-18, 2025), WemsFest and Harbour Records Emsworth are delighted to present an afternoon of free Blues music in three Emsworth venues: Queenie’s Tearoom, The Crown Hotel, and The Coal Exchange.

Presented by WemsFest and Harbour Records Emsworth, this weekend festival features two ticketed nights of brilliant blues (Friday & Saturday) and one long afternoon of FREE MUSIC in Emsworth pubs!

Friday night’s opening concert at St James Church Parish Hall features Bex Marshall and her band, hot off a US tour.

Saturday afternoon at The Coal Exchange and The Crown Hotel features Dino Baptiste, Mark Harrison, Michael Roach, and Ben Waters, who will rotate between the pubs, playing sets in both venues, between 1pm-5pm.  This will be Dino’s fourth WemsFest appearance (!) and we are thrilled to welcome his boogie-woogie fingers and keyboard back to Emsworth.  We are equally delighted to bring Mark, Michael, and Ben to WemsFest for the first time – all brilliant blues musicians with many accolades and accomplishments between them.

Saturday afternoon at Queenie’s Vintage Tearoom features the fantastic Debbie C at 2pm.

Saturday night’s closing concert at St James Church Parish Hall features Jo Harman and her 7-piece band, including local vocalists Amba Tremain & Leonie Gale

Tickets for the evening concerts are on sale now from Bookends and Harbour Records in Emsworth village, and online at www.WeGotTickets.com/WemsFest

At the evening shows, we’ll have our licensed bar serving delicious beer from Langham Brewery 🍻 as well as wines, local cider, nonalcoholic beers, and soft drinks.

For the afternoon music, you just need to get yourself to your favourite venue – Queenie’s Vintage Tearoom (beautifully hidden on the Portsmouth-bound platform at Emsworth Railway Station), The Crown Hotel, or The Coal Exchange) – in good time to get a seat! Then, enjoy your favourite beverage and let the music come to you.