So. We had a wonderful time last night at the Holywell Inn, raising yet more money for Jessie’s Fund, and inaugurating the new function room. And a fantastic birthday cake for Jules.

Quick announcement- Bournemouth Folk Club on Thursday! There are tickets left but don’t leave it to chance. Support from the wonderful Catherine Burke band. Come if you can- Thunderbridge have a quiet month coming up- this is your last chance for a (short) while.

We had a ball in March, in between emergency hospital visits, lost voices and other commitments we managed to celebrate our 7th birthday and pull off several lovely gigs across the region and met loads of new people. We also fullfilled one of the recent Jessie’s
Fund auctions (www.jessiesfund.org) and raised a stack for the worthy charity. Thanks to all who came to all the shows – and thanks of course to all who made them happen. The latest CD, Back In The Land Of The Living Room, also acheived a 5 star review in Maverick Magazine (available online and in WHSmiths), which was lovely.

We’re all busy during April, what with Jules doing lots of thespian stuff on the side and of course the now-compulsory Sore Fingers bluegrass school during Easter week, of which he is now a main fixture. He’s also playing this evening, Good Friday, at the wonderful Milverton Music Club (www.milverton-music.co.uk) with the wonderfully daft Green & Bushell, featuring Jules on whatever he can get his hands on and the clown-prince Rupert Green on vocals and Ukelele. They’ll be doing a little set during the evening, and Nick will turf out a couple of new solo songs too, as he gears up for the recording of his third solo CD. Martin’s busy working on some special additions to the usual Thunderbridge show and Brian’s got the job replacing Earl Scruggs….RIP Earl.

Thunderbridge-wise it’s been a long time comin’, but we’re FINALLY doing another Jessie’s Fund gig on the 14th April for our old mate and chief venue-owner Vic Bigg. He’s been off the scene for a while but he’s taken over The Holywell Inn, a lovely little pub just outside Wellington and we are there on the 14th to celebrate the opening of his function room. It’s free admission, great beer, great
bluegrass and of course a great laugh all around. Welcome back Vic & Paulette, you have no idea how much Thunderbridge
need a place like yours……We start at 8.30 ish and who knows what time it will end. There may also be a guest spot from long-time friend Jim Bellamy on the banjo. We can’t wiat…Oh! And if that wasn’t enough, it’s Jules’ birthday that day too!!! Come and share the cake…..

Nick will be hosting another 2-hour Folk Roots and Branches radio show on www.10radio.org on Thursday 12th April at 6pm. He’ll be going through all sorts of stuff from his collection and will be digging deep for great music, especially the ‘roots’ part of the show! Please
log on if you can…..

On Thursday 19th April we’re heading off to Bournemouth to play the great Bournemouth Folk Club. We’ve played there before and had a ball – a really lovely venue, and top-notch support from the folky-rootsy-grassy Catherine Burke. More details on the website.

There’s also a new band entry for us on the great website www.ukbluegrass.com, which is a site well worth checking out.

Keep well, have a great Easter and, as always, we hope to see you out there soon.

Ok, actually, the first one is on video/youtube, courtesy of Songs From The Shed, which you can see as soon as it is uploaded, and then a gig at Five The Beach in Clevedon. TODAY! Apparently there are 4 tickets suddenly available (it has been sold out for ages!) so QUICK if you want them!

Following that, on Friday the 23rd, is a show at the wonderful Clayhidon Village Hall on the Blackdown hills. That is also sold out, so you can also only come along if there are any last-minute cancellations for that one. So far, no-one has been foolish enough to give up the oportunity to see Wellington’s finest bluegrass band…

But… the next chance is not far away! The Rest And Be Thankful Inn at Wheddon Cross- there are still a few tickets available- contact the venue for details. Food and Bluegrass- the perfect combination.

We hope to see you soon….

Bap Kennedy (‘The finest singer / songwriter I ever saw’ – Steve Earle) – only West Country gig Wellington Arts Centre 4th March 2012 to promote the new Mark Knopfler-produced CD ‘The Sailor’s Revenge’ currently #1 in the Proper Music Bestseller CD chart. With support for one night only from Thunderbridge ‘Americana’ Boys. Tickets are £10 adv. from here.

Be quick.

Thanks to all who came and supported our Christmas Shindig – over £400 raised for Jessie’s Fund and a super evening was had by all. Apart from an open-air session at Princesshay Shopping Centre in Exeter on 17th Dec (11am  – 2pm) (gloves on boys!), and a solo gig for Nick that evening in Bath, we’re done for the year. Thanks for all your support in 2011, and we hope to see you again in 2012, when we have loads of great things planned….

On that note, a Special Announcement…..we pride ourselves in bringing you the best acts we can find, and we know you’ll love this one….

BAP KENNEDY

Cited by Steve Earle as ‘the greatest singer / songwriter I ever saw’, Bap Kennedy has had a professional career spanning more than 25 years and has collaborated with some of the biggest names in Country, Roots and Folk music.

From being a founder member of of of Ireland’s greatest folk/rock bands Energy Orchard, through collaborations with Steve Earle, Van Morrison and Shane McGowan, Bap is performing a few rare live shows with his guitarist in support of his new album ‘The Sailor’s Revenge’ which is produced by Dire Straits’ Mark Knopfler.

Thunderbridge are honoured to have him perform at the Wellington Arts Centre on 4th March and strongly encourage early booking to avoid disappointment. This isn’t a bluegrass gig, but with support from a one-off incarnation of Thunderbridge, this is going to be an acoustic night to remember!

Click here to find out more about Bap and his music:  http://www.bapkennedy.com/main/biography.asp

Tickets are £10 adv, £12 door and are strictly limited to 100.

They are available from the usual Thunderbridge outlets:
By Paypal at www.thunderbridgebluegrass.com
By phone from 01823 667669
Or in person from Nurtured by Nature, High Street, Wellington 01823 663424

…at Wellington Arts Centre!

Once again we’re pleased to announce our annual shindig at The Wellington Arts Centre. On Saturday 3rd December, Thunderbridge Bluegrass Boys, and very special guests, Old Time wonders The Gollywhoppers, will entertain the crowds for the seventh WAC Bluegrass Night!

Tickets are available from the store page, or by good old telephone on 01823 667669 (business hours). We’ve come from a long year of both recording and gigging and we’re just pleased to get back home to play to all the wonderful people of Wellington, our fab Hometown. Expect new songs, new album songs and some really old songs, first played at our very first performance there in 2005 – see early-era image for four (much) younger Somerset hillbillies….!

After the rather mad round of summer gigs that we’ve just finished, we are now looking forward to a couple more shows, one of which is just next weekend. But first! Let’s talk about someone else…… 

As many TBB followers will know, there is a rather good songwriter from Tennessee called Scott Miller. Now, he’s done some rather lovely songs which are now a regular part of the TBB set – and the new CD. If you like the sounds of Is There Room On The Cross?, The Rain, Dear Sarah and For Jack Tymon, you’ll know what we mean. This is songwriting of the highest calibre, and all of Scott’s CDs are available through his website www.thescottmiller.com.

Anyhow, after liaising with Scott’s HQ, it seems he’s finally got a UK distribution deal, and we’ve promised them we’d tell you all about it.

Proper Records,
http://www.propermusic.com/search?term=The+V-Roys, has two of Scott’s CDs for sale, the wonderful live solo acoustic ‘Are You With Me?‘, featuring the original live recording of The Rain, and ‘Christmas Gift’,
a collection of seasonal faves from the man himself, just in time for December (see what they did there…?) Also, and well worth checking out, is a new ‘best of’ from Scott’s former Alt. Country band, The V-Roys, called ‘Sooner or Later’. It features tracks from both the band’s late 90′s albums, as well as some never-heard-before stuff. Now, none of these recordings are strictly bluegrass, but we are sure that because his songs are so well received by our gig-goers, then many of you may want to hear the real thing. All the CDs are worth checking out, and all being well, Scott may be over in 2012 to show us all how its done.

Now, back to the land of the living room……just one date to tell you all about in November, and that’s at the Devonport Guildhall in Plymouth. This is yet another Bluegrass Night on 12th November with our good friends, and UK bluegrass mainstays The Morris Boys, who are making a welcome return to the circuit after a bit of time off. Get yer tickets from the box office or the website, but be quick as we are sure there’s only a few left! http://devonportguildhall.realideas.org/

Also worth a mention is the fact that tickets for our annual Christmas bash at the Wellington Arts Centre are now available at our webstore, along with everything else we’re trying to sell to you. Remember that there’s only 100 tickets for this and it usually sells out fairly quickly – hence the earlier availability.

That’s about it – keep the comments coming in, and don’t forget to follow us on both Facebook and Twitter. If you do that sort of thing.

Friday 14th – TBB have just returned from Worcester where they played the magnificent Cathedral, with none other than Patrick Duffy (aka Bobby Ewing) talking about life, loves and JR – an excellent and entertaining evening all round. The usual TBB antics were present, including pitching up and singing randomly to people, a dressing room bigger than all of our houses put together, and a (very) late night with the natives and their whisky! To cap it all, and highlighting the continuing adventures of TBB, the Cathedral gig was the biggest venue we have ever played it is, like, hooooooge), and the ‘after show’ venue – the wonderful Marwood pub in the centre of Worcester – was without doubt the smallest and loudest! From one extreme to the other. Other happenings also occurred, such as a lovely chat with Mr Duffy (seen here – ain’t he tall???), and an apparition on stage. Spooky.

Thanks very much…