Next weekend we’re heading off to the Devonian country town of Totnes for the first annual Sea Change Festival, curated by the excellent people at the Drift Record Shop. As regular readers will know, we’re all about celebrating the excellent things people are doing outside of the capital and major cities, from bonkers events in village halls to festivals like Wysing and Supernormal and venues like Trades Club in Hebden Bridge.
Totnes, for those who aren’t aware of it, is a pleasant town on the railway line to Cornwall. Indeed, it’s a strange place with unusual energies that marks the boundaries between middle England and the wilder lands of the Celtic West. There’s a castle, an excellent river, and plenty of shops selling crystals etc. We’re more than chuffed to be doing a whole host of activities at Sea Change: John Doran will be interviewing Brother John Robb of the Membranes onstage, Luke Turner is discussing sex and Epping Forest with Roy Wilkinson, and on the Friday night we’re doing a special live edition of The Quietus Hour.
We’re also hosting a stage on Saturday night that’s more stuffed with goodness than a Hogs Pudding and features some of our very favourite acts – Teeth Of The Sea, Bo Ningen, Richard Dawson and British Sea Power’s Modern Lovers tribute act, The Modern Ovens. It should be noted that Bo Ningen’s recent set at Caught By The River’s stage at the Port Eliot festival was one of the best gigs we’ve seen all year. Our friends the psychedelic undertakers from Ways With Weirds will be collecting tQ from the station next Friday afternoon and using various parts of our corporeality in an opening ritual. Come down to find out what they might have taken.
We’d also heartily recommend the Heavenly Records’ Friday night stage that features the likes of Rose Elinor Dougall and Toy, and across the weekend Luke Abbott, Sylvia Patterson, Jude Rogers and Laura Snapes in conversation, Howes, Alasdair Roberts, Richard King and all the other things we’ve never heard of but that’s why we’re going. Ah yes, we were also lucky enough to see British Sea Power play a small gig in York recently and their Saturday night headline set promises to be an utter banger – guitarist Noble’s Telstar shredding on the new material is something to be heard indeed. For full details and times you can find the programme here and the website with tickets and other information here.
