Coming up at Stroud Subscription Rooms in April:
Lissie – 8pm Tue 2 Apr – £26.50: The search for connection never ends. It drives us from birth, and it makes life not only interesting, but worth living. After four albums, multiple EPs, and countless gigs, Lissie still derives the strongest connection from music.
The award-winning and acclaimed Illinois-born and Iowa-based singer, songwriter, and guitarist also manages to consistently connect, whether on tape, on-screen for David Lynch’s Twin Peaks and Peter Farrelly’s Loudermilk, or during one of her sold-out shows. Along the way, she’s gathered nearly a quarter of a billion streams and received widespread critical acclaim from NME, The FADER, The Line of Best Fit, The Guardian, Salon, and NPR who fittingly mused, “Lissie seems like the quintessential California songwriter, but she’s really from the Midwest.”
Whether she’s delicately plucking an acoustic melody or summoning a power chord, her plainspoken poetry, eloquent songcraft, and bewitching timbre echo every facet of human experience—the wonder, the drama, the sadness, the triumph, the darkness, the light, and the love.
WFEL Fairey Band – 3pm Sun 3 Apr – from £7.50: Founded in 1937 by a group of employees at the Fairey Aviation Works in Stockport, the Band achieved many musical successes under the brilliant direction of Harry Mortimer. Since those early days, the Band has been 16 times British Open Champions and National Champions of Great Britain on 9 occasions. Winners of the European Championship, BBC ‘Best of Brass’ and Granada ‘Band of the Year’ titles add further touches of distinction to this famous Band.
The First Farewell Tour – Peggy Seeger & Calum MacColl – 8pm Mon 4 Apr – from £19.50: Making a very welcome visit to Stroud on her rescheduled ‘First Farewell Tour’, the charismatic Peggy Seeger – singer, songwriter, feminist, icon, Ewan MacColl’s partner and muse – is the undisputed queen of folk and political song. Join Peggy and her son Calum MacColl, an exceptional musician in his own right, for a glorious evening of up-close performance by these two world class musicians. Expect to hear some of Peggy’s new songs from her hugely successful ‘First Farewell’ album, some old favourites, a few surprises, and plenty of relaxed family banter.
Simon Brodkin – 8pm Thu 7 Apr – £16.50: CrazyBird Comedy presents Simon Brodkin & Support. Named “the world’s most famous blagger” by The Daily Telegraph, untameable prankster and acclaimed character comedian Simon Brodkin has hit global headlines multiple times for his high-profile stunts. Most famously he handed Prime Minister Theresa May a P45 form during her keynote speech at the Conservative Party Conference and showered disgraced FIFA president Sepp Blatter with hundreds of dollar bills in bribe payments “for the North Korea 2026 World Cup bid”. Of his many characters, Simon is best known for his irrepressible, south London wide boy Lee Nelson.
Fisherman’s Friends – 8pm Fri 8 Apr – from £26.50: Formed in 1995 Fisherman’s Friends are the UK’s foremost folk group. Real fisherman from Port Isaac, Cornwall. They signed a record deal with Universal Music in March 2010 and had chart success thereafter.
The heart-warming 2019 film Fisherman’s Friends captured the spirit of the real-life group of singers who share the same name. Although the characters were inventions, the story about a record label manager who stumbles across a group of musically gifted fishermen and turns them into stars isn’t.
Whilst essentially an a cappella group, their works mainly revolves around traditional sea shanties and stirring choral pieces.
When in Rome wine tasting – 4pm Sat 9 Apr – £26.50: In Italy, wine lovers visit their local winery with a refillable container, fill them, go home, decant and enjoy! Here at When in Rome we are on a mission to bring this tradition to the UK. Serving you beautiful Italian craft wine, made by independent producers and packaged in sustainable, eco-friendly packaging, including canned wine and Bag in Box formats. Come and enjoy a tasting session with us where you can discover the variety of different wines we have to offer and listen to the stories from our producers, all while learning a more sustainable way to drink wine… cheers to that!
Emily Barker – 7.30pm Sat 9 Apr – £16.50: Emily Barker is an award-winning singer-songwriter, best known as the writer and performer of the theme to the BBC’s hugely successful crime drama Wallander starring Kenneth Branagh. She has released music as a solo artist as well as with various bands and collaborations including The Red Clay Halo, Vena Portae, Marry Waterson and Applewood Road (with whom she released a remarkable album of original songs recorded live around a single microphone, dubbed “flawless” by The Sunday Times) and has written for film, including composing the soundtrack for Jake Gavin’s lauded debut feature Hector starring Peter Mullan and Keith Allen.
Summer Of Soul (12a) – 8pm Tue 12 Apr – £8: We all know Woodstock, that legendary concert which took place in 1969. Did you know there was another major concert taking place in Harlem at the same time? The Harlem Cultural Festival lasted for 6 weeks and included such performers as Nina Simone, Gladys Knight and Stevie Wonder. Finally, 50 years later, the documentary footage taken at the time is being released. This is a concert and a time capsule you will not want to miss.
Paella Night – 6-10pm Every Tuesday
Circus Sonas – Family Show – 2pm Wed 13 Apr – from £9: All the way from Northern Ireland, Father and son Martin and Logy take the traditional circus double act and give it a unique and modern twist.
This family-friendly show contains circus stunts that will make you gasp, juggling tricks that will surprise you, and magic tricks that will make you go WOW! There will be shouting, cheering, and lots, and lots of laughing. Top class circus entertainment, and the two best beards in the business. This show is suitable for children and adults of all ages.
Huey Morgan NYC Block Party – 9pm Thu 14 Apr – £15.50: DJ, raconteur, author, producer, broadcaster and fun lovin’ criminal, Huey Morgan – a modern day rock’n’roll Renaissance man – is many things to many people.
As the whisky-soaked Lower East Side voice of 6 Music and Radio 2, he’s the man who joins the dots between funk, soul, disco, classic hip hop and rock’n’roll. As a broadcaster, he’s the man who tells laugh-out-loud stories and talks to the listener as if pulled up on a bar stool next to them. And as a musician, he’s the frontman of legendary 90s outfit Fun Lovin’ Criminals, a funk-fried indie outfit that broke big worldwide selling over 10 million records, recently celebrating their 20th anniversary.
Nick Lowe – 8pm Fri 15 Apr – from £34: Somewhere in London a musician carries the keys to the musical kingdom. In his Technicolor sonic scope are all kinds of sounds, from rock to country to soul to pop. Nothing is off limits, as long as it has a groove and goodness based in reality. The musician has been performing for 40 years, but is as fresh today as the first time he stepped on stage. There are no tricks or short cuts here. Far from it. His songs are as solid as the earth, yet carry no lingering hype or heaviness. The musician is Nick Lowe, the headmaster of British rock.
Roni Size – 8pm Sun 17 Apr – SOLD OUT! Bristol native Roni Size is making his debut at the Subs for April’s Bank Holiday.
Size’s influence as a producer, label owner, and committed underground magnate figured him as one of the emerging sound’s true pioneers.
SubVerse presents Clare Pollard – 7.30pm Wed 20 Apr – £11.50: One of the most exciting voices in British poetry, Clare Pollard has published five collections with Bloodaxe, most recently Incarnation, and a pamphlet The Lives of the Female Poets, published by Bad Betty Press. Her play The Weather (Faber, 2004) premiered at the Royal Court Theatre.
Medico – 7.30pm Thu 21 Mar – £10: Italian NHS intensive care doctor and comedian (yes, she really is both) Dr Stefania Licari (Ecole Philippe Gaulier, East 15, Medical School University of Milan) brings to the stage her comedy alter-ego Dr Anna LaRosa (from the multi-award-winning online series ‘My Doctor’s Advice’) for a, by turns, hysterical and moving exploration of the medical world, immigration and what it means to become British. Physical gags, silly jokes and true stories from the medical frontline combine with Stefania’s own experience of being an Italian doctor in the UK.
Stereo MCs – 8pm Fri 22 Apr – £22: Formed in 1985, Stereo MCs hit the public’s attention with 1990 album Supernatural and single Elevate My Mind.
It was 1992 follow up Connected, with hit singles of the same name and Step It Up that confirmed their status at the front of a burgeoning UK hip-hop scene.
After an extended hiatus, the group released fourth album Deep Down and Dirty in 2001.
Rock For Heroes – 8pm Sat 23 Apr – from £19: Rock For Heroes – The No 1 UK Touring Rock Show is back baby! The boys and girls are back in town celebrating the greatest heroes of Rock in this sublime musical spectacle! Where were you when Bon Jovi was Livin’ on a prayer? Or Prince was drenched in Purple Rain? What about When the Eagles checked in to The Hotel California? Rock For Heroes transports you back to the memories of hearing these iconic bands for the first time, celebrating the legendary members of The Rock n Roll Hall of Fame! Brought to you by a 7-piece live band this show is full of incredible singers and musicians who will have you laughing out loud whilst rocking out in the aisles. Featuring over 20 classic rock songs, amazing lighting and sound. There is a reason we are The No 1 UK Touring rock show, Rock For Heroes is a show like no other, it’s the night out you’ve been waiting for, so hold on because “For Those About To Rock, We Salute You”!
Fleetwood Bac – 8pm Thu 28 Apr – from £21.50: FLEETWOOD BAC are the world’s first and best Fleetwood Mac Tribute Band, endorsed by Mick Fleetwood himself, the only Mac tribute to authentically replicate the classic ‘Rumours’ line-up. Over the last few years they have received rave reviews from ‘The Stage’ newspaper, the U.K.s leading Fleetwood Mac fansites, the official Stevie Nicks website; and from ecstatic audiences wherever the band played, wowing audiences as far afield as Dubai, St. Tropez, the Cayman Islands and Monte Carlo, and recently selling out the world-famous Minack Theatre in Cornwall.
