I realise that pun in the title is precisely the sort of thing that often leads Emily to despair when I get access to a microphone at gigs, but that is why I put that there. For demonstrative purposes.
GIgs for the next couple of months. Make a note, come on down!
We had QUITE a weekend just gone, as the first stop on our ‘Wigs In The Glovebox’ set of gigs was Lichfield Fuse Festival on Saturday afternoon. Beacon Park was beautifully decked out with tents, stages, games and portaloos.* It’s always nice at this time of year to see people camping out on blankets and desperately trying to enjoy summer weather with the standard kit - jackets, sunglasses, drinks and, most importantly, fingers crossed that the sun will come out.
I arrived early afternoon, fully-laden with three guitars, pedalboard, guitar stands and my overnight bag. The train journey was fine, forgetting both taxi cash AND that I could’ve just used Uber was NOT fine, and I walked to the park, not unlike a complete chump.
We basked in the threatening near-absence of rain for much of the day, until just before our poetry session began, at which point the grey clouds buggered off, to reveal glorious sunshine and blue skies.
Emily had curated a marvellous cluster of spoken word artists to perform: Gabriella Gay, Jane James, and Charley Barnes - all giving out warmth, wit, and heart by the bucketload. Tough acts to follow, all of them, but we enjoyed playing our set and as ever it was over far too quickly (stage time seems to operate differently to actual regular time, doesn’t it?). We also gave some new material an airing, which we have been excited about for weeks!
Taken by Hayley Bryant-Williams
The afternoon became evening, and we remained ensconced on Beacon Park, listening to the music from the Momentum Stage, occasionally getting drinks refilled, and at one point aiding in the removal of the festival’s token tipsy nuisance** who tried to nick our friend Hayley’s reusable cup (a cherished sight for me was him, walking through the park, oblivious to the 8 or 9 fluorescent-vested security officials following him).
Sunday morning. I awoke at the crack of dawn so that Emily could give me a lift back to Stoke, where she had a meeting and a Poet’s Corner session in Hanley Park. After getting stuck behind a horse box for much of the drive, she dropped me home and away she went.
About an hour later, I received a text message from Hanley Park: “There’s a PA system up if you fancy playing a set?” And so it came to pass that we found ourselves performing an impromptu Rose&Cloud gig on a reasonably sunny afternoon, accompanied by the lilting screams of giddy terror coming from the nearby carnival rides. It was lovely to do, and if you’re going to gig at the weekend, you may as well nail both days down, right?
Taken by Mel Wardle Woodend
In other news, our EP approaches completion! More news as it comes, but the behind-the-scenes stuff is slowly slotting into place, so release news is IMMINENT.
Beyond that, tonight we play at Bar Social for the NCS Fundraiser - an excellent cause aiding domestic abuse sufferers, and we’re proud to be on the bill.
See you soon, no doubt!
John, on behalf of R&C xx
*Okay the portaloos weren’t necessarily beautiful, per se, but they were decked out. Well, they were out.
**Every local festival gets at least one. I was once harangued by a hairy drunk fella at Lymelight Festival 2017, who spent the entirety of John Dhali’s set trying for a high five and asking me if he could try my coat on.