Fairport Convention: Press Release

Fairport Convention celebrates forty-fifth
anniversary in Ivybridge

Folkrock legends Fairport Convention will be celebrating their forty-fifth anniversary in Ivybridge when the band visits The Watermark on Saturday 26 May.

Formed in 1967′s ‘summer of love’, Fairport Convention has been delighting audiences for 45 years making them one of the most enduring bands to emerge from the fertile 60s music scene. Hailed as the originators of British folk-rock music, the band is still as vibrant and inventive as ever.

The 2012 anniversary tour will feature songs from the band’s recent studio album, the critically-acclaimed Festival Bell. However, with such a long history  the band has a vast repertoire to draw on so this year the tour concerts will also include a selection of favourite songs and tunes specially chosen in a poll of the band’s fans.

“Forty-five years is a milestone,” says Simon Nicol who co-founded the band in 1967, “but we don’t intend to rest on our laurels or hark back to the past – Fairport is a band that always looks to the future. All five of us are looking forward to getting back on the road – in fact, we’re raring to go – because our first love is live performance.”

“We’ve played in Devon many tims before and this will be our second visit to The Watermark,“ Mr Nicol adds. ” The venue has a very welcoming audience so we are looking forward to meeting them again on Saturday evening. This year, the concert will be rather different – not only have we got the new material from  Festival Bell but this will be the first time we’ve invited our audiences to help us select the repertoire for a concert tour.”

As well as Simon Nicol on guitar and lead vocals, Fairport Convention features Dave Pegg on bass and backing vocals, Chris Leslie on fiddle, mandolin, bouzouki and lead vocals, Ric Sanders on violin and Gerry Conway on drums and percussion.

Fairport Convention has won a coveted BBC Lifetime Achievement Award and Radio 2 listeners voted Fairport’s groundbreaking album Liege & Lief  ’The Most Influential Folkrock Album of All Time’.

Fairport Convention’s concert at The Watermark starts at 8pm. Tickets and booking information from 01752 892220 or online ivybridgewatermark.co.uk

Posted in >Day to Day Goings On, Live Performances
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‘A Royal Design Challenge’

The Watermark would like to invite local children to create a design to celebrate our Queen’s Diamond Jubilee anniversary for June this year.  The winning entry will be made into commemorative mugs and sold in the Information Centre and at our Diamond Jubilee party in Victoria Park on Tuesday 5^th June 2012, where the winner will be presented with a pair of free mugs for their reward.

In addition the school where the winner attends will receive 2 sets of adult cinema vouchers for use by the school, eg. raffle prizes.

Whatever their design, it is up to them, perhaps a portrait of the Queen, or a look back at the last 60 years of her reign and all the events which have taken place.  Maybe you would like to incorporate something to do with Ivybridge?  We’ll leave it to you.

Entries should be brought to The Watermark by 5^th  May 2012 where the best will be displayed and the town mayor will be part of the judging panel.

Please write your name, age, address and telephone number and school attended, on the back of your drawing.

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Toy Hearts – Press Release

An evening of solid kicks and red hot licks!

We are delighted to announce that on the 4th May 2012 at 8pm, one of the Uk’s most exciting country/bluegrass/western swing bands, who are undoubtedly one of the country’s finest live groups, The Toy Hearts will be playing at the Ivybridge Watermark to celebrate the release of their fourth studio album ‘Whiskey’.

The Toy Hearts have been making music together for over ten years, Sisters Hannah (lead vocal/mandolin) and Sophia (guitar/harmony vocals) front the band, and along with their father Stewart (banjo/dobro) they carry on the established tradition of the family aspect within country music. Blood harmonies, original songwriting and arrangements, instrumental virtuosity and a deep love for that high lonesome sound means that despite being geographically removed from the bluegrass state, the Johnson family have successfully created their own kind of sound that encompasses both Bill Monroe in Kentucky with a dash of hot club straight from the Continent. They have honed their skills the hard way by gigging across the UK, USA and Europe, the result being that they deliver an exciting, energetic and dynamic live show, packed with just the right amounts of sweetness, sass and style.

The new record ‘Whiskey’ is an original mix of old and new material, The Toy Hearts prove their songwriting worth with more than just a nod to the good old country tradition of ‘the drinking song’, while also including in their own takes of material by Bob Wills & His Texas Playboys, Ronnie Self, Moon Mullican, Bessie Smith and Wayne Hancock. The new record, and indeed their live show, is as sincere as it gets: their love for the music they play and the conviction of their delivery far exceeds any simple mimicry of American music. They manage to tip their hats to their influences from Bluegrass, Western Swing, Country, Rockabilly & Blues, while making their own mark, and having their own distinct style, which is quite different to that of those whom inspire them. From the heartbreak in Hannah’s voice, to her sister’s take-no-prisoners guitar playing, to their father Stewarts multi instrumental talents, this unlikely trio demonstrate what it really means to want to play this kind of music and truly love doing so.

This Birmingham based outfit have been not-so-quietly carving out their own niche in the Americana and Roots music scene for a while now, so if you haven’t been to one of their shows before you are in for a real treat, there brilliant musicianship and stunning stagecraft combine to leave audiences gasping for more. And, although it may seem improbable that two young women from the midlands would have the ability to produce authentic and innovative Country music, you really should leave those pre-conceptions at the door.
With an extensive UK tour, and with fans in people as diverse as Bob Harris, Ronnie Wood, Rob da Bank, and Imelda May isn’t it time you saw them for yourself?

Tickets are £12/£11 Box Office 01752 892220

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Coming Soon to The Watermark (April Edition)

What’s happening in Ivybridge this April & May?

The next couple of months promise to be exciting ones here at The Watermark. Not only have we got some great Cinema Screenings coming up (they can be found here on our Cinema Page) – but we also have some fantastic Live acts joining us this May. 

First, some cinema dates for your diary! 

Woman In Black (12A) – Wed 18th, Thurs 19th, Fri 20th & Sat 21st April. 

Bel Ami (15) – Wed 25th, Thurs 26th, Fri 27th & Sat 28th April

The Iron Lady (15) – Wed 2nd, Fri 4th & Sat 5th May

War Horse – Thurs 10th, Fri 11th & Wed 16th May

The Artist – Wed 30th, Thurs 31st May & Fri 1st June

We have lots of other films screening so be sure to pick up a What’s On Guide at The Watermark or Check our cinema page here on the site. 

This May we will be bringing you our very fist Opera Screening at The Watermark. Puccini’s Tosca will be screened on Saturday 19th May 2012, starting at 7.30, the showing is 2hrs & 05mins and there will be an interval. Here’s a bit more info: 

Set in the Rome of 1800, a political world of control and suspicion, Tosca is a beautiful diva in love with idealistic painter, Cavaradossi, whose beliefs and loyalties bring him into conflict with the malevolent Chief of Police, Scarpia. Conducted by Antonio Pappano, the score includes great set pieces such as ‘Te Deum’ and the arias ‘Vissi d’arte’ and ‘E lucevan le stelle’. Drama, passion and fabulous music – Tosca is one of opera’s brilliant nights out. For more info and a clip, see this link >> http://cinema.roh.org.uk/content/tosca

As for our Live Events, we’re back to our folky roots, with The Toy Hearts & Fairport Convention visiting the Watermark on Friday 4th May & Saturday 26th May respectively. Tickets are booking now. We’ll be posting more about these events in the coming weeks. Tickets for The Toy Hearts are £12 and £11 Concession & Fairport Convention Tickets are £20 & £19 Concessions, as with all our events you can find more info on our Live Events page.

For frequent updates from The Watermark, you can sign up to our Online Newsletter by clicking here, or like us on Facebook, or Follow us on Twitter. 

Posted in >Day to Day Goings On, General, Live Performances
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