29/06/2012

John Jones - Five gigs and 100 miles in five days

John Jones (Oysterband0 dons his walking boots once more and summons the reluctant ramblers to walk 100 miles of the White Horse Trail. Joining him on the ancient trackway will be some special guests. Rowan Godel , who sang on his album Rising Road and is the beautiful voice on Oysterband's Street of Dreams, will be joining him for part of his walking tour along with friends , fans and fellow-walkers and special guests from the folk world, walking from gig to gig on The White Horse Tour.

Also joining the tour will be Benji Kirkpatrick from Bellowhead and Boff Whalley from Chumbawamba.  Rowan Godel will be playing with John Jones and the Reluctant Ramblers on Tuesday 17th July in Wantage; Friday 20th July in Devizes; and Saturday 21st July at the Village Pump Folk Festival. Benji Kirkpatrick will be joining on Monday 16th July in Nettlebed and Wednesday 18th July in Marlborough. Boff Whalley’s dates are yet to be confirmed.

Each day John and other musicians will walk from one venue to the next, encouraging fans and members of the public to join them for part or all of the way as they follow the ancient Ridgeway from Oxfordshire into Wiltshire, taking in White Horses, stone circles and monuments to a different age, stopping each evening to round off the day with a gig.

John says “Each day of the tour brings its own highlights. Monday’s gig is the last night of Nettlebed's summer season - one of the great folk clubs of England. Tuesday takes us to the Uffington White Horse. Wednesday, Avebury’s stone circle. Thursday night in Pewsey is not a formal gig but a session – bring instruments! On Friday we will follow the Kennet and Avon canal with the instruments travelling by narrowboat alongside us, all the way into Devizes. The final walk on Saturday takes us to the famous Westbury white horse and then on to the Village Pump Folk Festival to join Show of Hands for a Saturday evening main stage gig. And then Oysterband arrive at the festival to play on Sunday!”

The gigs will include songs from John Jones’ acclaimed album Rising Road, plus new songs. John will be supported by his band, the Reluctant Ramblers: Dil Davies (drummer with Oysterband); Al Scott (Oysterband producer) and Tim Cotterell, who plays with bands including McDermott’s 2 hours and Martha Tilston and the Woods.

The walks are designed so that anyone can join in. Though each full day averages 20 miles, they are split into sections which can be as short as four miles, and the route guide distinguishes between easy sections on the flat and more challenging sections as they climb the Ridgeway.

More details of gigs and walks at www.jj-rr.org.

bookmark this story with::