B-Bar March 2018

About us

B-Bar Plymouth March

1st - Elani Evangelou - 8.30pm - £2

“Elani is one of the brightest young voices on the scene and sings with a power and understanding way beyond her young age. Her knowledge of jazz is already earning her fans wherever she performs and her studio work is earning her support amongst producers. "She is soulful. She is unique. She is badass.” Simon Dobson [Composer]. “This kid is raw, heartfelt and completely unique on the British unsigned music scene. My money's on Elani Evangelou.” Sarah Lacey [Promoter].

2nd - Hamer & Co - 9pm - £3

Hamer & Co is a smokin' hot jazz outfit with a difference. Experienced guitar-players Rich and Frank Hamer blend everything from hot and swingin' to cool and mellow jazz using a combination of silky smooth basslines, powerful improvisation and groovy rhythms. Shows frequently feature special guest players who join the guitar duo in their improvisational eruption of jazz. One time the Hamers might bring in a trumpet player, another time it might be a singer, a sax, a flute... every show is different and every show is something special. The band can appear as a duo, trio, quartet or more...

3rd - The Kit Hillbillies - 9pm - £3

Old-timey, good-timey bluegrass. With rousing vocal harmonies that smuggle in some darkly humorous local references. Instrumental tasting notes: banjo, fiddle, mandolin, guitar, double bass. Vigorous, expressive, and unvarnished, with a crisp percussive finish, think Betty Stogs rather than Harvey's Bristol Cream.

7th - Comedy - 7.30pm - £10

8th - Mitchell & Vincent - 8:30pm - £2

The Westcountry duo’s fiddle and guitar playing has been described by Acoustic magazine as, “Stunning”, while Bright Young Folk praised their music for; "Providing skilled arrangements and expert delivery of tunes and songs which showcase the vibrancy, and variety, of folk music across  Britain: a thoroughly engaging and enjoyable experience.”

9th - Vince Lee & Becca Langsford - 9pm - £3

Vince and Becca share vocal duties on a varied set of classic blues and self-written tunes featuring Vince's authentic guitar stylings and Becca's driving washboard rhythms. They are influenced by the pioneers of early blues; Bessie Smith, Leadbelly, Memphis Minnie & Blind Boy Fuller to name a few. Together they have played shows all over and tonight we are delighted to welcome them to our classy little corner of the Barbican.

10th - Free Cuba Party - 10pm - Free

Latin tunes and cocktails with our resident DJ playing the best in salsa, merengue, bachata, son and more.

14th - Café Acoustica - 8pm - Free

Fortnightly showcase of great local talent, with a focus on performing original material

15th - Claude Bourbon - 8:30pm - £2

Ready for a unique and talented take on a wide range of musical traditions? Claude Bourbon is known throughout Europe and America for amazing guitar performances that take blues, Spanish, Middle Eastern, and Russian stylings into uncharted territories. Each year Bourbon plays more than 100 shows around the world. Born in France in the early 60s, Claude Bourbon grew up in Switzerland, where he was classically trained for many years. This finger picking guitarist has performed and studied all over the world. He has played countless venues, including Glastonbury Festival, Isle of Wight Festival, Colne Great British & Blues Festival, Rock O'Z Arene, Avenches, Switzerland, among others. He has shared the stage in Europe and the USA with countless musicians; Calvin Russel, Charlie Morgan (Elton John, Gary Moore), Jan Akkerman (Focus), Steve Grossman (Miles Davis), Herbie Armstrong ( Van Morisson), Jose Barrense Dias and many more. Now based in the UK, some of this guitarists’ influences allow us a fascinating insight into this remarkable musician; Paco De Lucia: Deep Purple’s Richie Blackmore; Joaquin Rodrigo; JJ Cale; JS Bach…. One reviewer even noted that although “Claude’s roots were in blues, that is like saying Leonardo da Vinci was a painter”. Claude's official website : www.claudebourbon.org

16th - Mae Karthauser - 9pm - £3

Mae Karthauser is a British songwriter with a rich, acrobatic voice and a distinctive circus-(esque) piano style. She has performed in France, Austria, Italy, Spain, Belgium, Sweden, Norway and California and collaborates often with contemporary circus (she has played whilst harnessed off the edge of BBC Television studios, shooting across a zipwire in Chamonix Mont Blanc, dangling from the side of an old English fire engine, as well as flying tandem over the French alps in a paraglider). Mae has worked with circus companies such as Svalbard Company, Sweden, The Flying Frenchies (her music appears also on the film Petit Bus Rouge), Cirkus Nikolajeff and Compagnie 9.81. Alongside collaborative work, she has recorded three albums and performs solo and occasionally with the band The Midnight Fairground. Raised in a musical family and one of seven children, she began learning piano, violin and singing as a child, before going on to study at Dartington College of Arts and California Institute of the Arts in LA. Her training began classically, but quickly spread to music spanning Eastern Europe, Bulgaria, Africa, North India and Java, as well as in jazz, folk and more popular modern styles. Her songs are populated by wayward characters both human and animal and leap playfully between story and fantasy and hard social questions, asking for what is faithful in a world of mirrors. She is inspired by the likes of Lhasa de Sela, The Do, Zulya, Kate Bush, Regina Spektor, Joni Mitchell and Joanna Newsom.

17th - Lars Pluto - 9pm - £3

Lars Pluto was born just outside Atlanta, Georgia to a family that was also a touring Southern Baptist Gospel Bluegrass group. They travelled the entirety of the southern highways of America and by age thirteen Lars had lived in just about every state south of the Mason Dixon Line. "Music just was. It was everywhere when I was growing up...country, rock n roll, gospel...it's all mixed up in the air down there. Kentucky left me with a certain sound; Tennessee left me with another.  It gets in you in the South and you gotta get it out. You can't help it". He’s been described as Honky Tonk Outlaw Country Rockabilly.

21st - Geoff Lakeman - 8:30pm - £2

B-Bar regular Geoff Lakeman (dad to famous folk stars Seth,Sean and Sam) plays for us again including tracks from his lauded album After All These Years. The CD has had national five and four--star reviews and been played on BBC Radio 2 by Mark Radcliffe, by Tom Robinson on his BBC Radio Six show, on BBC Radio 3 and just about every local radio station in the country. Come and hear the singer and concertina master's musical take on the west country,American and Irish folk, Americana and even 20's/30's jazz

22nd - Thomas Ford - 8:30pm - £2

Born in a field 20-something years ago, Thomas Ford is a blues shouter, a guitar picker and a harmonica fire-breather. His energetic live shows have taken him from Bodmin to Berlin. His records have sold from the Eastern Block to the East Indies and he has been played on radio shows from Luton to Laos. Mixing delta blues traditions with nu-blues songwriting, this one man trio has been hailed as “The rising star of British blues”.

23rd - Swingology - 9pm - £3

Swingology perform gypsy swing in the style of guitar legend Django Reinhardt. The swinging guitars and soaring clarinet solos are evocative of the soundtrack to 1940's Paris. Swingology will be performing as a quartet of two guitars, double bass and clarinet.

24th - Free Cuba Party - 10pm - Free

Latin tunes and cocktails with our resident DJ playing the best in salsa, merengue, bachata, son and more.

25th - Will McNicol - 8pm - £7.50

Multi-award winning acoustic guitarist, Will McNicol, is returning to the B-Bar again in 2018 following the release of his new album. Having worked relentlessly on various collaborative projects and touring new countries for the past few years, Will has just completed recording his first solo album in five years. Produced by one of the world’s most highly-respected acoustic guitarists (Clive Carroll), the album has already received acclaim from a special pre-release concert at the prestigious Ullapool Guitar Festival in October. In the time since his last solo release, Will has performed, given workshops and masterclasses in England, Ireland, Scotland, France, Italy, and most recently a substantial tour of China (a country he will be revisiting in 2018 to promote this new release). Having picked up his first guitar at the age of six, Will has gone on to become Guitarist Magazine's UK Acoustic Guitarist of the Year (2011) and one of Acoustic Guitar Magazine's 30 Great Guitarists Under 30 from around the world (2014). He holds Associate, Licentiate and Fellowship diplomas with Trinity College London in Classical Guitar Recital and has released four critically acclaimed albums of original material. Will has performed relentlessly throughout his career and has given concerts up and down the UK and abroad. Whether it be headlining his own solo shows, performing at festivals, or supporting world-renowned artists such as Pierre Bensusan, Clive Carroll, Jon Gomm, Martin Simpson and Mumford & Sons among others, his performances have been described as "beautifully flawless" and "magical" by the music press. Having toured, performed, workshopped and given masterclasses in the UK, Ireland, France, Italy, Zimbabwe and China, Will has also made appearances including multiple concerts and workshops at one of Africa's biggest music festivals - The Harare International Festival of Arts.

27th - Plymouth Humanists - 7:30pm - Free

Monthly open discussion night, all welcome

28th - Café Acoustica - 8pm - Free
Fortnightly showcase of great local talent, with a focus on performing original material

29th - Pucker Poets - 8pm - £5
Regular spoken word and poetry showcase featuring guests performers and a poetry slam

30th - The Busketeers - 9pm - £3
The Busketeers formed on the streets of Plymouth and are mainly a trio but occasionally a four piece. The band is made up of four artists in their own right, Luke Engel, Matt Price, Olly Parker and recently the addition of Andy George. The band labels itself as a “Progressive Busking” act which is also the title of their debut EP. The musicians are from different backgrounds and have unique styles, but what really makes these guys stand out is their ability to swap instruments, all sing in their own style and of course their harmonies, while maintaining that raw-energetic sound. "Blown away by their performance on stage at BBC Takeover at UPSU. I love how they captured their fun live energy in their recordings. They always post really good videos. You would've seen them around Plymouth, and the south west - They are brilliant." - BBC Introducing Devon (James Santer).

1st - The Trees - 9pm - £3

Becca Langsford comes from a strong musical background; her father played harmonica with Plymouth-based band ‘The Legal Eagles’ and her brothers are all musicians with direct links to blues and roots music. Being raised on the likes of Taj Mahal, Ray Charles and Aretha Franklin has given her an early insight into blues, soul and gospel music. In 2008 she was invited to sing onstage by virtuoso blues guitarist/vocalist, Vince Lee and his band, The Big Combo, and has been singing and playing washboard with Vince and the band since then. Becca has also been touring with Martin Barre alongside Alex Hart for the past two years, playing internationally both as backing vocalists/percussion and as a duo. Alex Hart is a singer songwriter from Ashill, Devon. She released her first album "On This Day" in 2014 and has just finished her UK Tour with her band. Alex performs all over the world with her west country-country sound and Taylor Guitar. She supported Turin Brakes at the Lyme Regis Folk Festival where she managed to pick up two record deals, one in the US [OK!Good Records] and in the UK [Right Track Records]. Alex now lives in Plymouth and is currently writing her second album to be released this year. Elani Evangelou is a singer-songwriter & guitarist from Plymouth. Born into a family of musicians, namely 1950s Jazz singer - June Marlow [The Stargazers] - her vast range of influences from Sarah Vaughan to Jeff Buckley makes for an eclectic, raw and unique live performance. In recent years Elani has taken the south west by storm, and continues to do so, performing live both as a solo act and with southwest funk band, Freshly Squeezed. Martha Nash is a guitarist hailing from The Barbican, Plymouth. Coming from a family of artists, her creative flare is astonishingly tasteful and attentive, with a passion that lights up any performance. Martha brings something to the table rather unique and inspiring, especially for female musicians. She has been involved with various local bands, making a valuable contribution to the live music scene as one of the only female lead guitarists in the area, especially in the rock, metal and punk world. Martha’s playing inspires vibes of the 60s, blues-rock and folk - showing influences from Jimmy Page, John Frusciante & Joni Mitchell. Together. These four women have come together to share their influences and experience, create a collective of musicians and form one of the only current all female bands in Plymouth. The Trees introduce a new meaning to the term “girl band”, fusing intense vocal polyphony with rootsy strings, beats and buckets of passion. Be sure not to miss out on this new folk/soul/roots project!

See b-bar.co.uk for more information or find us on social media.