For a while I have been making music with a group who call themselves Swing 42, which sort of grew out of the @swing47 duo with clarinettist Danielle. We also have Ray on bass, guitar, and drums, Barbara on keyboards, Anke on guitar and Bob on flute. I play guitar, ukulele and some drums as well as singing. We actually have four singers to add some variety.
Today we played a set at the Railway Steamer pub in Shefford. Apparently the place had a bad reputation for a while, but the new owners have made it nice now. They have a small stage out back for live music. We were in need of shade as it was a clear and sunny day.
I got a lift there from Bob, but we had a small crisis when we realised we needed more PA equipment. Had to make a quick dash back to my place for it, which took about half an hour. We still played for nearly an hour. We have plenty of songs in our setlist, so we can play for much longer.
Our time was limited today as England were playing in Euro 2020 (a year late) and the soccer fans were going to be noisy. We did have some nice comments about the music. We play mostly old songs dating back to the 1920s, some of which most older people will know. I do not think there are many groups with our sort of sound, so we may stand out. We have been asked back.
We stayed for a while to have a drink and some food. We had a red kite swoop quite low over us, but it was not after our chips. I was not paying much attention to the footie, but England won against Croatia.
We have some busking slots coming up soon around Hitchin and Letchworth. I need to work on some of the songs as I do not have them quite as I would like yet.
I think people appreciate some live music as it has been lacking recently.
Rock on!
Update: As some people have asked to hear us here is an old clip of an outdoor rehearsal minus Bob. I will see if we can get some newer video available soon.
