If you somehow still don’t know that these guys are worth buying your ticket for now…. 🤷♀️ could you just please take our word for it and get yourself that seat at The Lens for March 4th.
They’ve been called ‘the legendary triumvirate‘.
They’ve been founding, former, and current members of bands such as Solas, The Battlefield Band, Flook, Lunasa & Capercaillie.
They’ve worked with musical pioneers including Joan Baez, Linda Thompson, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Mark Knopfler, Bob Dylan, Paul Weller, Eddi Reader, Heidi Talbot, Kris Drever & John Cale.
You like The Transatlantic Sessions? Then you’ve seen these guys already!
Michael McGoldrick, John McCusker & John Doyle are simply brilliant at what they do! All three musicians have won global acclaim for being the absolute top shelf of trad Celtic music. This will be their 7th WemsFest appearance (including several special online shows during the pandemic) and we are thrilled to have them back!
John McCusker – (Glasgow) fiddle, whistles, harmonium
John Doyle – (Dublin) vocals, guitar, bouzouki, mandola
“The Wishing Tree is exceptional and has to be a front-runner for album of the year” – Folk Radio
“A sparklingly tight programme… an excellent sound balance… never tiresome” – The Scotsman
“It takes a lifetime of playing to sound as effortless as these guys” – The Herald
“What an absolute pleasure to share in their warmth, intimacy and richly talented company” – Folking.com
Doors 7.30 for an 8pm show
Tickets available directly from Portsmouth Guildhall at the link here.
Michael Messer & Chaz Jankel – SOLD OUT
Their first album together, ‘Mostly We Drive’, is one of the highlights of 2024, from this master slide-guitarist and former Blockhead guitarist. Think JJ Cale or Clapton & Allman – and then bring it kicking and gently screaming into this decade.
Michael Messer is a virtuoso slide guitarist, singer, songwriter and roots & blues innovator. Throughout his forty two year career his music has remained individual and contemporary. Michael’s reputation as an innovator of the blues and master of slide guitar is well known.
Being British with an international reputation for blues slide guitar is a rarity in itself, but Messer’s obsessive appetite for knowledge of his art is virtually unrivalled. His stunning slide guitar playing and superb vocals ooze authenticity and integrity. His use of turntables in the Second Mind Band marked him as one of the trailblazers of the noughties blues sound and his blues-Indian trio, Michael Messer’s Mitra, has once again broken new ground by playing an exhilarating and accessible fusion of rural blues and Indian classical music. Their highly acclaimed album, ‘Call Of The Blues’, was iTunes No1 blues album and has won them worldwide acclaim, receiving radio airplay in more than fifty countries.
Johnny Cash was a fan of Michael Messer’s music and wrote the liner notes for his 1993 album ‘Rhythm Oil’, a rare honour shared only with Bob Dylan on the ‘Nashville Skyline’ album. ‘Rhythm Oil’ was awarded Import Album of the Year by the Austin, Texas, music press. Messer’s ‘King Guitar’ album reached number one in the US Living Blues chart. ‘Second Mind’ won Best International Guitar Album of the Year, and the American magazine ‘Spirit’ listed Michael Messer as one of the greatest slide guitarists ever, alongside Duane Allman and Ry Cooder.
Messer’s latest project is an album he has recorded with the renowned songwriter and musician, Chaz Jankel. A recording artist in his own right, Chaz Jankel is most widely known as the co-writer of many hit records with Ian Dury & The Blockheads. The album ‘Mostly We Drive’ was released in January 2024 and reached #2 in the IBBA (Independent Blues Broadcasters) chart for January. The album has been featured on numerous radio shows including – BBC Radio 2 Cerys Matthews Blues Show, Jazz FM David Freeman Blues & Boogie Show, WLTH Chicago Brothers Of The Blues Show, and shows in these countries… Ireland, Canada, Scotland, USA, Poland, Italy, France, Spain, Belgium, France, Japan….and more to follow.
In 2025, WemsFest adds The Havana (3 Little London, Chichester PO19 1PH) to its quiver of venues. The Havana is an atmospheric subterranean venue in the heart of Chichester. Easily accessible by public transport using bus or train, come enjoy an evening out in Chichester’s premier grassroots music venue. The Havana’s licensed bar and cosy seating will ensure you are comfortable.
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 note that unfortunately there is no wheelchair access at this venue.
InOurArea Creative Cafe: An informal gathering to discuss and collaborate on local projects
In 2023, WemsFest launched a new initiative, ‘InOurArea’. We hope that this will be a regular opportunity for thinkers, doers, artists, activists, anyone who has an idea and wants to find local like minds to help discuss and collaborate!
We had a fantastic turnout at our inaugural InOurArea event in November 2023 – loads of connections made and ideas shared. Our second InOurArea event in November 2024 progressed discussion around a number of local topics including the idea of a year-round programme of cultural events in Emsworth.
We want to keep momentum growing amongst locals who are interested to be involved in making Emsworth and the surrounding area an even better place to live! Therefore, the third ‘InOurArea’ Creative Cafewill take place on Sat 8th February from 4-6pm, upstairs at The Crown Inn, Emsworth, PO10 7AW.
Bring an old friend or meet someone new Stay 10 minutes or 2 hours Share your idea or learn about others’
Wine and cheese provided by WemsFest to help lubricate any nervous introductions!
Please RSVP to Mark at adwemsfest@gmail.com so we know how much wine and cheese to order…
Let’s enjoy, discuss, and collaborate!
Emily Barden & Friends (SOLD OUT)
Vibrant performer, and deservedly celebrated contemporary choir leader, celebrating the release of her new album ‘Vapour Trails’, Emily Barden is a singer-songwriter, performing acoustically both as a solo artist and alongside other musicians.
Writing songs inspired by travel, love, life and the observing of people, Emily plays piano and guitar and sings a wide variety of styles, from country/folk-inspired originals to well-loved classic songs and jazz standards. She works professionally as a singer and composer, and has toured with artists from the worlds of rock through to opera, as a backing vocalist and choir director.
Emily is an experienced choral leader and vocal arranger, and currently runs several adult Community Choirs, including the WemsFest Surtierra Touring Project Choir. She is one quarter of the acapella group Oaken, regularly travelling the country doing workshops and gigs. Visit www.westsussexsings.com and www.oakenharmony.com for more info. Information on the Surtierra Touring Project can be found at www.WemsFest.com/Surtierra-Touring-Project
This will be the first of several afternoon gigs WemsFest is organising at The Havana, 3 Little London, Chichester PO19 1PH – an atmospheric subterranean venue in the heart of Chichester. Easily accessible by public transport using bus or train, come enjoy an afternoon performance and be home in time for your Sunday roast! The Havana’s licensed bar and cosy seating will ensure you are comfortable.
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 note that unfortunately there is no wheelchair access at this venue.
Jo Harman (and band)
A warm welcome to Emsworth for one of the most talented Blues artists to emerge in the past 20 years – Jo Harman will be the closing act for the 3rd Emsworth Blues Festival, presented by WemsFest and Harbour Records over the weekend of 17-18 January 2025.
Widely regarded as one of Europe’s finest ever soul/blues fuelled voices, Jo Harman is an international touring and recording artist who remains a genre-defying, independently minded artist of rare credibility. An artist who makes sincere and heartfelt music, The Mirror proclaimed her ‘UK’s finest female soul blues voice’ who, according to Classic Rock, writes ‘lip-biting beautiful songs’.
Jo released her second studio album ‘People We Album’ to much critical acclaim (see accolades at foot of the page) and no little commercial success. Indeed the ‘lead single’, ‘When We Were Young’ (featuring Michael McDonald) achieved BBC Radio 2 play-listing, as well as play listing on other mainstream national stations across Ireland (RTE1) and Europe. The album has also made various ‘best of’ lists, internationally.
‘Sometimes you hear a voice that leaves you speechless’ – Huey Morgan, Fun Loving Criminals on his BBC Radio 2 show
‘On course to be the finest UK female blues soul voice’ – Gavin Martin, Daily Mirror
‘Cracking rootsy blues singer well known to festival audiences’ – Mail On Sunday
‘What a voice!’ – Classic Rock Magazine
‘Stunning. Harman’s music mainlines the human soul’ – Classic Rock Blues Magazine
‘It was my great privilege to work with her. Listening to her interpret one of my songs was a spiritual experience’ – Michael McDonald (Soul superstar and Doobie Brothers frontman)
‘I believe this lady to be one of the finest singers this country has to offer! She really is tremendous! I hope our paths cross again’ – Rag N Bone Man
‘An exquisite album rooted in the classic, timeless music of past generations, and quite possibly the finest blue eyed soul vocal performance you’ll hear all year.’ – Get Ready To Rock
‘Jo mines pop, soul and gritty blues with conviction’ – The Daily Mirror
‘Jo Harman is an incredibly believable and soulful singer…perhaps right now UK’s finest’ – Chris Wells, Editor, Echoes
‘Just Stunning’ – Mail On Sunday
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.
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. Church Path is parking for residents only, but there is plenty of free parking in town car parks off Bridge Street and Palmers Road.
The Bex Marshall Band
Raunchy blues-rock from the lady who wears her heart on her sleeve – Bex Marshall will be the opening act for the 3rd Emsworth Blues Festival, presented by WemsFest and Harbour Records over the weekend of 17-18 January 2025.
‘….at last a woman who plays guitar like a goddess, sings like an angel, writes like Dylan and smiles like the devil’ – Booker T.
UK British Blues Award winner and 4 time European Blues Awards nomineeBex Marshall’s unique style of guitar playing is a combined technique of slide, blues rock, ragtime and roots pickin’.
Her voice is a powerful melting pot of old black woman’s heartache and rock diva soul. Bex is a writer of distinction and notability. She pushes the boundaries of blues. Her songs have been called ‘timeless touches of genius’, and now she tours internationally solo or with a three-piece band which augments her unique style of of virtuoso playing. Born In Plymouth, Devon, she was the product of two very different families: blue-blooded landed gentry (her great grandfather was the Squire of Cornwall) and Irish Romany (her great grandmother was the original fairground fortune teller Madam Olga).
As a child at family gatherings, her uncles would always play and stand her on the table to sing. At 11 years old she was given a 1963 Gibson Hummingbird by her Uncle David and started playing – she got hooked on instrumentals and classical guitar standards, which stretched her fingers and gave her a great basis for her own music to develop: flamenco, ragtime, country chicken pickin’, rock, and on to blues and roots where she is now in her element.
She always had a passion for travelling; it is in her blood. Trained as a croupier at 18, she began her travels around the world working gaming tables on cruise liners to Park Lane, even dealing illegal poker games in Amsterdam. She hitchhiked the coast of Australia on cattle trains – always with a guitar on her back, living and storing tales.
‘Bex Marshall is a heartwrenching singer, a dazzling guitarist, and a charismatic stage presence. Whatever she does, you’re in safe hands… but heh, not TOO safe’ – Charles Shaar Murray
‘…sounds like a breakthrough album’– Rock n Reel (R2) UK
‘…Marshall’s album is of such class and maturity, without an apparent weakness or filler’ – Blues Matters UK
‘…As a writer she’s mastered the art of making new material sound like its been found in long-forgotten vaults’ –Net Rhythms UK
‘…She has harnessed the power of the blues without resorting to cliché or plagiarism’ – Spiral Earth UK
‘…deserves wider recognition for her spit and saw dust vocals and fluid resonator guitar licks’ – Classic Rock Magazine UK
‘..Marshall’s competent axework has Mark Knopfler’s feathery touch’ – LA Weekly US
‘…the blues ‘Black Guitar’ culminates in a slide guitar clamour Derek Trucks would be pleased to call his own’ – Downbeat Magazine US
‘…a younger version of Bonnie Raitt. Seldom do we hear such blues inflected rawness in female guitar players and its so refreshing to hear it done with such authenticity and assurance’ – Folk and Roots Magazine UK
‘…..Bex Marshall’s voice draws up the ghosts of old blues women’s heartaches’ – Outlaw Magazine US
‘…the absolute stand out on this album is Marshall’s vocals’ – Root of Rock Magazine NZ
‘….She has all those essential vocal frailties that make the difference between soul and soulful’ – Folk and Roots Magazine UK
Bex’s first release ‘Bootlace’ was released on Numinous Records in 2002. Her second album ‘Kitchen Table’ (released May 2008) pushed Bex to number 13 in the USA ‘UK artists chart’ and number 20 in the USA national Americana Music Association Chart. ‘The House Of Mercy’, released Sept 17th 2012, received stunning reviews worldwide along with her stand out sessions recorded for Paul Jones‘s & Bob Harris’ BBC radio 2 shows. ‘The House Of Mercy’ won 3rd Best British Blues Album of the year Award 2013 and is featured in DOWNBEAT magazine’s ‘Best Album of the Year’ list 2013 with a rare 4-star review. Guests musicians on the record are Don Wayne Reno (banjo), Dale Reno (mandolin) & Jake Byers (acoustic bass), all from Hayseed Dixie, plus B J Cole (dobro), Eileen Healy (fiddle) and Brigitte DeMeyer adding backing vocals, along with The Bex Marshall Band of Barry Payne (acoustic bass), Crispin Taylor (drums), Danny Bryan (percussion), Toby Baker (keyboards) and newest edition, gospel singer Shola Adegorove.
Bex Marshall’s brand new album ‘Fortuna’ was released and distributed through Dixiefrog Records in March 2024 alongside three single releases supporting the album: ‘5am’, ‘I Cant Look You In The Eye’ (remixed & re-released) & ‘Preaching To The Choir’.
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.
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. Church Path is parking for residents only, but there is plenty of free parking in town car parks off Bridge Street and Palmers Road.
Oysterband – A Long, Long Goodbye Tour! (SOLD OUT)
Going out on a high!
Since they started as a noisy, politicised ceilidh band in the late Seventies, Oysterband have remained true to their beliefs and never wavered as they’ve worn their hearts on their sleeves whilst delivering a plethora of acclaimed albums, winning multiple awards, and travelling the world. Now they’re taking the tour bus out for it’s last ride – and stopping in Emsworth on the way!
John Jones (vocals & melodeon), Alan Prosser (guitar), and Ian Telfer (violin) are joined by longtime producer Al Scott (bass), Adrian Oxaal (cello & guitar) and Sean Randle (drums)
Let’s give them the send-off they deserve !
“We’re hanging up our travelling shoes, but we’re taking a year or so to say goodbye to our lovely live audience. And we mean to enjoy every minute!”
Emerging in the early 80s from their folk club and ceilidh band days, Oysterband infused both the tradition and their own songs with a passion and energy that was electrifying for the time. Polkas, politics and a heaving dance floor seemed just right for Thatcher’s Britain. Signing to new roots label Cooking Vinyl, headlining English Roots Against Apartheid, playing Glastonbury and the Fleadh several times each, touring with The Pogues in Europe and Billy Bragg in North America, hosting the Big Session Festival….. all gained them a large and loyal international following.
Their collaboration with June Tabor in 1990 produced the cult-classic album Freedom & Rain, and it was renewed 21 years later for Ragged Kingdom, one of the best-selling folk-rock albums of the new millennium.
Winners of several BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards, including Best Band twice, Oysterband’s song-writing has never stood still, and classics such as The Oxford Girl, When I’m Up (I Can’t Get Down), Everywhere I Go and Put Out The Lights have entered the folk canon.
“It’s been a long, tough, joyful journey, but the time has come. In the words of our own song Granite Years, we’re waving you a long, long goodbye…..come help us celebrate!”
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 (well – there are about 5 left at the time of posting!) at Bookends and Harbour Records and online here
Doors open 7.30 for an 8pm start
Please don’t try to park on Church Path or other local roads – there is plenty of free car parking in local car parks. Better yet, take the bus or train! St James Church is less than 5 minutes’ walk from either.
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.
Alasdair Fraser & Natalie Haas
Alasdair Fraser & Natalie Haas have been performing together for 20 years and we have finally got them booked for our WemsFest stage!
Known as “the Michael Jordan of Scottish fiddling”, Alasdair’s musical partnership with Californian cellist Natalie is a true delight for all listeners.
The musical partnership between consummate performer Alasdair Fraser, “the Michael Jordan of Scottish fiddling”, and brilliant Californian cellist Natalie Haas spans the full spectrum between intimate chamber music and ecstatic dance energy. Over the last 20 years of creating a buzz at festivals and concert halls across the world, they have truly set the standard for fiddle and cello in traditional music. They continue to thrill audiences internationally with their virtuosic playing, their near-telepathic understanding and the joyful spontaneity and sheer physical presence of their music.
Fraser has a concert and recording career spanning over 30 years, with a long list of awards, accolades, radio and television credits, and feature performances on top movie soundtracks (Last of the Mohicans, Titanic, etc.). In 2011, he was inducted into the Scottish Traditional Music Hall of Fame. Haas, a graduate of the Juilliard School of Music, is one of the most sought after cellists in traditional music today. She has performed and recorded with a who’s who of the fiddle world including Mark O’Connor, Natalie MacMaster, Irish supergroups Solas and Altan, Liz Carroll, Dirk Powell, Brittany Haas, Darol Anger, Jeremy Kittel, Hanneke Cassel, Laura Cortese, and many more.
This seemingly unlikely pairing of fiddle and cello is the fulfillment of a long-standing musical dream for Fraser. His search eventually led him to find a cellist who could help return the cello to its historical role at the rhythmic heart of Scottish dance music, where it stood for hundreds of years before being relegated to the orchestra. The duo’s debut recording, Fire & Grace, won the coveted the Scots Trad Music “Album of the Year” award, the Scottish equivalent of a Grammy. Since its release, the two have gone on to record five more critically acclaimed albums that blend a profound understanding of the Scottish tradition with cutting-edge string explorations. In additional to performing, they both have motivated generations of string players through their teaching at fiddle camps across the globe.
‘You would think they’d been playing together for centuries. While his fiddle dances, her cello throbs darkly or plucks puckishly. Then Haas opens her cello’s throat, joining Fraser in soaring sustains, windswept refrains, and sudden, jazzy explosions. Their sound is as urbane as a Manhattan midnight, and as wild as a Clackmannan winter!’ – Boston Globe
‘As many gigs as they must have played together over the past decade or so, there remains a striking spontaneity about Fraser and Haas’s music-making. He has tonal variation and attack to spare, but what makes them so consistently absorbing is the responsiveness each shows to the other. Haas is more than a cellist: she’s the rhythm section who uses the percussive chip’n’chop of her bowing and the double bass-like pulse of her pizzicato playing to great effect. The accompanist’s role moves so fluently between them, building tension all the while, and then they’ll slip into unison and it’s like floodgates opening.’ –The Herald
‘Fraser, one of the most respected of all exponents of the Scots fiddle, would look long and hard to find a more appropriate cellist as a partner…A positive joy.’ – The Scotsman
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.
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 Barleycorn Tavern, which is a stone’s throw from the Village Hall, are very kindly offering ticket holders 2 for 1 meals before the concert. You’ll need to call them and book at least 3 days before the event, and will need to show either your ticket or your WeGotTickets.com email.
The Soul Train! with DJs Richard ‘Tricky’ Marsh & Martin Jackson
Back by popular demand! The ‘Express’ steams into town with carriages full of your favourite music.
Richard ‘Tricky’ Marsh and Martin Jackson spin 60s and 70s Soul, R&B, Motown, Stax, Atlantic, Rare Groove, and Northern Soul mainly on vinyl. A night for filling the dance floor !
Tricky’s radio show on The Flash – DAB+ to the Portsmouth area every Friday 7-9pm is one of the most popular on the station. Come out for yet another fantastic evening in Westbourne Community Hall!
Late bar – with G&Ts this time!
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.
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.
InOurArea Creative Cafe: An informal gathering to discuss and collaborate on local projects
Last year, WemsFest launched a new initiative, ‘InOurArea’. We hope that this will be a regular opportunity for thinkers, doers, artists, activists, anyone who has an idea and wants to find local like minds to help discuss and collaborate!
We had a fantastic turnout at our inaugural InOurArea event last November – loads of connections made, ideas shared, and projects progressed.
The second ‘InOurArea’ Creative Cafe will take place on Sat 23rd Nov from 4-6pm, upstairs at The Crown Inn, Emsworth, PO10 7AW.
Bring an old friend or meet someone new Stay 10 minutes or 2 hours Share your idea or learn about others’
Wine and cheese provided by WemsFest to help lubricate any nervous introductions! Please RSVP to Mark at adwemsfest@gmail.com so we know how much wine and cheese to order…
as well as wines, local cider, nonalcoholic beers, and soft drinks. All profits from bar and ticket sales are reinvested in the local community.
