A Blog by Kieran Moore
This year’s ¬†Devizes Festival¬†is set to be one of the best yet, with its strong theatre, comedy and talks announcement, but it‚Äôs the Music that really get me going.
Here’s a run down of this years festival…
Kicking off the big music bookings, on Friday 5th June, will be Exeter’s THE COMPUTERS. Beautifully uniting out going chairman, Ian Hopkins’s type of traditional blues and soul interests a la, the Long Street Blues Club. With Devizes resident contemporary and boundary pusher Kieran Moore. We have a band that will appeal across the genres and ages.
Famed for their utterly uninhibited live shows that evoke the flamboyance of Freddie Mercury, the traditional rock n roll of Eddie Cochran with pinches¬†of punk rock and northern soul thrown in for good measure, I can¬†confidently,¬†say Devizes¬†hasn’t¬†had a show quite like this since it‚Äôs 60‚Äôs and 70‚Äôs hay day.
We have a cutting edge, exciting, in demand band in our biggest venue the town has to offer, with a industry standard PA and lighting array. To say I’m a little excited is an understatement! You’ll be talking about this for years to come, I promise.
 Keeping with the festivals theme of quality, broad appeal, international music, Monday 8th June see’s American bluegrass band THE RAILSPLITTERS. Booked by Ian prior to his departure, this show has his stamp of approval all over it. Coming all the way form the Colorado Rocky mountains, the five piece perform upbeat, refreshing and charming range of bluegrass and beyond-bluegrass music.
And unlike previous years, we haven’t crammed 3 or 4 similar acts into the Cellar Bar – you’ll have plenty of space to dance about and enjoy the authentic roots music.
Attempting to appeal to as wide a range of audience as possible, we have on Wednesday 10th June, THE RUTS DC. The agro-punk band from the late 70’s dropped the harsh and abrasive nature of their music when they added the DC, and now accentuate their reggae sound.
Famed for their anti-racism & equal rights political messages, they scored hit singles such as Babylon’s Burning and In A Rut, achieving a staggering amount in their career, check their Wikipedia for a run down.
Finally the big Corn Exchange shows conclude on Friday 19th June, with a genuine Mexican El Marichi band, the aptly titled, MARIACHI EL MEXICANO. This band are the ones you have seen from TV. The Piri Piri and Flybe adverts? Big Brother or Strictly Come Dancing? Nevertheless, complete with oversized guitars, trumpets and a complete lack of understanding English, this is authentic as it gets. Pete Vaughn provides a Mexican meal, all included in the price! Impressive! 
As opening gambits go, that’s impressive enough but there’s more to come.
Sunday 7th June, in the Merchants Suite there will be a Jazz tribute to Billy Holliday from Edana Minghella whilst The Wharf makes a welcome return to our list of venues, as The Other Half make their way there on Sunday 14th June. Who are A dark and glorious mix of song and story. 
I haven’t even covered the Classical music here, though there will be a separate blog dedicated to the Free Fringe in due course! PHEW! – SEE SOMETHING FOR EVERYONE!!
 http://www.devizesfestival.co.uk/
TICKET SOURCE: https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/venue/MEGKJ