FESTIVAL FORUM
Debate, discussion and argument - gear, bands and gigs - it's your call
PROGRAMME 2005
What's on in 2005?
All the bands, venues and times
TICKETS
Which stage requires tickets?
Click here for all the info including eTickets
ARTISTES
Many of the Fest bands and musicians
who have appeared over the years.
Bio's, pic's and loads of info.
POSTER 2005
2004 FESTIVAL ARTISTES
The who's who of Festival 2004; pictures, links, the lot
2004 GIG REVIEWS
Photo's and Gig Reviews of ALL the stages/venues of Festival 2004
PREVIOUS FESTIVALS
Vast archive of Photo's and Gig Reviews of Previous Festivals
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FESTIVAL SITE - MAP
The Festival Site map is interactive - click on any of the details for more info
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ACOUSTIC STAGE
The "Acoustic Stage" (in reality an eclectic mix of music from Delta Blues to
flat out rock) at The Shore Hotel has it's own website which is now updated
with new pictures and info..
ISLE OF MAN BLUES CLUB
The Manx Blues Club; where the Festival sprang from
venue, dates, history etc..
VENUES
Info & Location
NEWSLETTER: SUBSCRIBE NOW - FREE
Be in the know...first
CONTACT US
Keep
us
in the know and tell us about broken links, bands, gigs & any other news
MAP
Where is it? Here!
Interactive
Festival Site Map
Includes Photo's of Laxey Village
TRAVEL
How to get to the Isle of Man
2003 GIG REVIEWS
Check the 2003 Festival and all the Gig reviews with a stack of pictures too
SPONSORS
Without our sonsors
there would be no
Fest - Who are these
generous people?
Lady Isabella - the Great Laxey Wheel keeps on turning...
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Set high on the hillside towards the hamlet of Agneash and overlooking Laxey
Village is the Great Laxey Wheel and is as much associated with the Isle of Man
as are the cats without tails. Built in 1854 the Laxey water wheel, known as
the Lady Isabella after the wife of the Lieutenant Governor of the island at
the time, was designed by the Manx engineer Robert Casement and engineered to
pump up to 250 gallons of water per minute at a depth of almost 1,500 feet from
the workings of the the lead and zinc mines operated by the Great Laxey Mining
Company. In 1965 the Manx government bought the water wheel and the restoration
work which followed, preserved it for future generations. Since 1989 it has
been under the control of Manx National Heritage and is open to the public.
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Click logo for Info and news about manx bands and musos
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Blues in Britain Magazine
Check it out
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Click to check timetables etc
and to book on-line
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Click to check timetables etc
and to book on-line
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Click to check timetables etc
and to book on-line
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A3 Island Marquees Ltd
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Bushy's Brewery supporting
the Fest since the last century.
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Millichaps Furniture Store - Ramsey
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Domicilium: Internet Providers to the Festival
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PDMS: On-Line Service Providers to the Festival
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Absolute Scaffolding - Blues Marquee Stage
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Laxey Garage & Manx Motor Auctions
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Triskel Promotions - Live Music Promotion & Support
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Bushy's Big Wheel Blues Festival 2005 is
a fund raising event for the British Red
Cross. Please give generously.
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Quine & Cubbon Printing & Plate Making Services
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Queen's Hotel Review 2005
Music, sunshine, beer and food at the Queen's Hotel brought large and
enthusiastic crowds throughout the festival weekend. First up inside the pub on
Friday night were those tireless purveyors of blues and quirky rock Walter Ego.
As usual the offer was there for any visiting musicians to get up and jam with
the band or perform their own set. This year we were lucky to have the jazzy
piano maestro of Steamroller, Steve Grey
join us for a few numbers and he
fitted in so well we were reluctant to let him go. No one else volunteered that
night however so we got on with the job of entertaining a heaving but friendly
crowd and had a great time doing it.
Saturday morning the PA was transferred over to the marquee and our young
volunteer sound engineers, James, James and Sean arrived to help out. The music
started with Blue Jay and
Papa Cass (featuring esteemed Festival Internet facilitator Tim Cass) who
entertained the growing crowd with their acoustic blues with
style. Next Anglin rushed over from running the sound desk at the main stage
and the Bartoads
performed as we have come to expect – with great skill and
polish and a diverse choice of superb material.
Four o'clock and time for Mannerisms. This four piece rocked the tent down with
Status Quo numbers and lots more solid rocky blues tunes. James Tinkler then
took to the stage for nearly two hours – first with his acoustic guitar and
then with
Outward Signs – giving us all a real treat. Full commitment and
excellent musicianship along with Jimmy's unique delivery made this a very
entertaining session.
Seven o'clock and The Darlings start their very first gig. Guitar, bass, drums,
two saxes and Sarah 'darling' on vocals playing a fine range of bluesy soul
tunes with great presence. They were followed by the Three Fat Greeks
with
their excellent harmonies and a bunch of great songs for the crowd to join in
with.
Nine o'clock and some familiar faces to the stage for Sweet Sweet Bulbs
first
festival performance. The legacy of superb musicianship and fantastic choice of
material continues from the days of the Land Crabs and Liebezeit but now with
the addition of keyboards and great lead vocals from Nicola Sherrard they seem
to be more adventurous than ever (and for me that echo guitar on The Dealer
really hits the spot).
Ten o'clock and our old friends from Cumbria
The Cahonies take to the Queens
stage for the fourth time. Their playing as always was top notch with great
rhythm and lead guitar from Adrian, very natural walking bass lines from Kev
and tight punchy drumming from Phil but for me what always puts them ahead of
other great rhythm and blues bands is their tight harmonies which this year
sounded sweeter than ever.
That just left Walter Ego to round off the night with a heavier set than the
one played earlier on the Bandstand stage. A great time was had by all and as
the marquee closed its doors (flaps?) a happy crowd dispersed into the starlit
night…….
It's Sunday. 2pm. The PA has been reassembled and it is revealed that there
never was an act called 'Big John Barker' as was in the programme. This was a
clever ruse to allow the wonderful
String Theory to play an unannounced set at
the Queen's marquee. Michael and Roland started of playing to a small but
appreciative crowd but soon, as the sounds of their jazzy, flamenco-y, bluesy
(hard to pin down) acoustic guitar instrumentals began to float across the car
park, more and more people joined us from the pub.
It was a privilege to have
such an intimate concert from one of the festival's headline acts and they
enjoyed it too. In fact Roland commented that the sound in the marquee was the
best they had had all weekend and he wanted to just keep on playing and
listening to Michael. So again well done to James and James on the sound desk.
There couldn't really have been much more of a contrast with the return of The
Darlings for their second set of the weekend but that's what it's all about.
The Scope followed and then a great set of rock and blues tunes from Moonshine.
It was the first time I had seen them with Ross drumming and I thought it was a
great set.
Timings were a bit awry by this time so we encouraged Moonshine to play on a
little longer and scrubbed the 'Blues Club Jam' from the running order. Instead
Walter Ego played a short set of all the songs they hadn't already played that
weekend before handing over to The Barry Nelson Band, aided and abetted by
Steve Courtie. By this time I though I had better return up the hill and see if
my house and family were still there and so I bade a happy farewell to the 2005
Big Wheel Blues Festival and started to look forward to next year.
Thanks again to
Jimmy, Jackie
and all their
bar staff
and
security personnel
who
remained cheerful and supportive throughout the weekend. Also to
Jim Houghton
for booking all the bands for the Queen's and
Martin Brunschweiller
for his
unrelenting support. See you next year.
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