Al O'Kane is a West Country troubadour who folds Jimi Hendrix into the sound of Celtic resistance rock 'n' roll. Part Waterboys, part Velvet Underground, Al's music is a cry for action - nestled into a firy acoustic blend...
The common thread running through Young Martyrs is that they keep coming back to a few simple needs; guitars, drums, great lyrics and great harmonies. There's no attempt to be clever, they just play great songs.
This 10-piece dance band puts out the kind of irresistible sound that only a big band can. The rhythm/bass section are rock solid, the brass section produces a wall of sound which hits you right in the diaphragm - great to hear massed horns like this, not to mention excellent lead guitar and keyboards.
The Decatonics are a high energy brass driven ska/mod/soul band based in Dorset, combining some of Bournemouth's best and finest ska musicians.
The Blockheads are an English rock band formed in London in 1977. Originally fronted by lead singer Ian Dury as Ian Dury and the Blockheads, the band has continued to perform since Dury's death in 2000
Jamestown Brothers are a high energy, foot-stomping original indie folk band from Somerset, playing original songs influenced by folk, country and Americana.
A band from the South West which is breaking into the live music scene. Having released an album in 2019 they are looking to hit the stage at full force and make it a night the audience won't forget.
With an electrifying blend of modern roots reggae, bass-heavy riddims, deep dark dub and spine-tingling brass lines, The Barefoot Bandit is becoming a must-watch act on the UK touring and festival circuit.
British born singer-songwriter and musician, Matt Owens came first to prominence as a founder member of indie-folk band Noah and the Whale. Releasing four albums, Noah and the Whale achieved huge success.
Tom has been descibed as a master of a lock pedal, and during lockdown he released his latest EP "Three Chords and Four Walls" to great acclaim.
Ginger bloke, ginger guitar, ginger tunes... Nick’s songs are often tongue-in-cheek and cheerful, and on the rare occasion when fun IS poked (usually at himself) it is always with a wry smile and an element of satire.
The 8-piece band take audiences on a spectacular journey through the golden age of Classic Rock, performing hits from artists such as Led Zeppelin, AC/DC, Aerosmith, Pink Floyd, Bon Jovi, Fleetwood Mac & the Eagles
Sponsored by Nick Shore Builders & Trebble Roofing
Al O’Kane is an Avalonian troubadour who pulls influences from all genres to create cries for action nestled into fiery Alt/Folk-rock blends that he calls ‘West Country Gumbo from the Somerset Delta’. Having played many of the big festivals and toured Europe in 2019, Al has also supported the likes of Seth Lakeman, Martha Tilston, White Lies, Cara Dillon, Ben Ottewell and Nick Harper, steadily gaining loyal fans along the way. Al won Shrewsbury Folk Festival’s Open Mic Competition in 2019 and is the opening act for the Somerstock 2023.
His most recent releases and the ‘hidden gem’ self-titled debut album are available on all music providers. All of which are mixed by Steve Evans (Robert Plant, Goldfrapp)
We are delighted to welcome back Area 52 to round off our Friday night entertainment. This 10-piece dance band put out the kind of irresistible sound that only a big band can make. The rhythm/bass section are rock solid throughout, the brass section produces a wall of sound which hits you right in the diaphragm – so great (and rare) to hear massed horns like this, not to mention excellent lead guitar and keyboards.
Sponsored by Bancombe Joinery
The Barefoot Bandit is a heavy-weight ensemble based in the South West. The band mixes various musical styles, incorporating elements of reggae, punk rock, dub and world music.
Building a strong and loyal fan base, TBB have spread their sounds far and wide. Packed out shows at prestigious venues such as the Electric Ballroom in Camden have seen the band become a must-watch act on the UK touring and festival circuit.
Festival highlights include appearances at Glastonbury Festival, Boardmasters, Boomtown Fair, and more including headline slots and main stage displays at some of the UK’s favourite music festivals.
Having reached #4 in the iTunes reggae charts, TBB have self released two EPs. Both records have received national airplay from the likes of legendary DJ David Rodigan on BBC Radio 1 Extra and numerous plays on BBC Introducing.
The Bandit has had the pleasure of supporting renowned artists such as Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry, Katchafire, The Cat Empire, Easy Star All-Stars, Dubioza Kolectiv, Gentleman’s Dub Club, Horace Panter & Lynval Golding (The Specials) and have been regular openers for electronica dub favourites, Dreadzone.
The group is gearing up to release its debut album later this year, recorded at the illustrious Karma Sound Studios in Thailand.
Beware of Leopards is a band from the south west of England which is breaking into the live music scene.
Having released an album in 2019, Ethan, Cal and Phil are looking to hit the stage full force, and make it a night the crowd won’t forget. With electrifying shows, joyful and emotive lyrics, and a killer atmosphere, you don’t want to miss out on this up-and-coming band.
Sponsored by The Courtyard Cafe, Somerton
The Charlie Miller Band play Charlie’s original music and classic funk and soul covers. The band oozes sweetness, grooves hard and will makes you dance the night away. In addition to the great Charlie Miller, the line-up includes the following: Richie Brunton on lead guitar; Liz Gilbert on vocals; Richard Jenkins on keyboards; Greg Shepheard on bass; Ian Miller on drums.
Sponsored by Medivet, Somerton
Relive the glory days of Classic Rock from the 60s, 70s and 80s brought to you by a full 8-piece band in one high-energy, spectacular live show. The 8-piece band, made up of some of the finest musicians in the country take audiences on a spectacular journey through the golden age of Classic Rock, performing hits from genre-defining artists such as Led Zeppelin, AC/DC, Aerosmith, Pink Floyd, Bon Jovi, Fleetwood Mac, Eagles and many more along the way.
Through their impeccable attention to detail, Classic Rock Revival seamlessly captures the timeless essence of Classic Rock. Whether that be through flawless four-part vocal harmonies or note-perfect guitar solos, the band strive to recreate each song as close to the original record as possible, all whilst delivering an authentic and engaging live show that is guaranteed to have audiences singing along from the first note to the last.
Classic Rock Revival have been performing at festivals and theatres across the United Kingdom and have built their reputation as one of the leading Classic Rock tribute acts in the country and are ready to take you on a spectacular journey through three decades of Classic Rock.
Formed in 2012, The Decatonics is a powerful 8 piece female fronted ska band from Dorset. Their vibrant live show has built up a great reputation for its high energy and party atmosphere. Drawing on classic tunes from the ska, 2tone, soul and reggae genres, their set is guaranteed to fill the dance floor. They play about 40 gigs a year, including many festivals such as Skamouth and Teddy Rocks. The band has previously played with The Skatalites, Neville Staples, Bad Manners and a sold out show at the 100 Club in London last year with King Hammond. In 2022 they again supported The Dualers at the O2 Academy in Bournemouth. The band will be supporting The Beat on a number of dates on their UK tour in 2023.
They continue to contribute and support the Specialized Project, recording tracks each year for their CD, performing at Specialized events and the annual Big One Weekender festival. Theye are currently writing and recording their first album of all original material.
Sponsored by H&M Motors
The Jamestown Brothers are a high energy foot stomping original indie folk band from Somerset.
Drifting between the likes of The Men They Couldn’t Hang, Merry Hell and The Pogues, they play original songs influenced by folk, country and Americana, with lyrics that mine the rich history and social tapestry of Great Britain and Ireland.
2021 saw the band play a number of successful big stage festival shows alongside the likes of Seth Lakeman,Scouting for Girls, Show of Hands and Tankus the Henge. In 2022 they played headline slots at both Beardy Folk Festival and Home Farm Festival, alongside main stage slots at Godney and Watchet festivals and Somerton Music and Arts Festival !
Sponsored by Colin Powell Home Maintenance
Singer/songwriter, coming from punk rock college bands and folk harmony-focused duets, Flo now mainly plays her own folk indie music, influenced by the likes of Death Cab For Cutie and The Frames.
Joined by the felted piano and artful performance of John Hare, talented multi-instrumentalist, together, they perform Flo’s original songs of contemporary life, loneliness and affection, alongside songs touching on the life experiences of others.
Not From Nebraska is the cut down side project from Katy and Scott from local act Cover All Bases. Named after a misheard lyric and built on 10 years of gigging together – Playing acoustic versions of some of the most recognisable songs from the 70s, 80s, 90s and 2000s
British born singer-songwriter and musician Matt Owens first came to prominence as a founder member of indie-folk band Noah and the Whale. Releasing four albums, Noah and the Whale achieved huge success in the UK and overseas, selling over one million albums in the UK alone. The band toured the world between 2006 and 2014, playing hundreds of festivals, including Austin City Limits, Fuji Rocks and Lollapalooza, as well as touring with the likes of Arcade Fire, Bahamas, and Laura Marling.
February 2019 saw the release of Matt’s debut solo album, “Whiskey and Orchids” to widespread critical acclaim including a 5-star review in “Maverick” magazine. Nigel Stonier produced the album which featured Tom Waits’ drummer Michael Blair, Thea Gilmore, and Carleigh Aikins from Bahamas. The album received substantial radio play and that summer he played over 25 festivals as far flung as the west coast of Ireland and northern Scotland, including Glastonbury.
Matt released his second album “Scorched Earth” in 2022 to a fanfare of acclaim from the music press. Many BBC radio shows made it their album of the week, Bob Harris included “Cargo For The Road” on his first ‘best of under the apple tree’ compilation and the album went on to feature in many Americana album of the year polls. 2020 also saw Matt co-writing Elles Bailey’s smash hit “Sunshine City” which was Planet Rock’s Number 1 song for eight weeks.
This autumn, Matt’s back with his eagerly anticipated third album, “Beer For The Horses”, cut live with an all-star 7-piece live band, The Delusional Vanity Project. Produced by and featuring Robert Vincent, the band also features members of the Leylines, Clemencie, Danny and the Champs, Tree Top Flyers, and Little Mammoths.
The collection of songs is his most accessible and rocking to date and Matt can’t wait to take them out on the road with the DVP.
Although primarily a solo entertainer, Nick often plays with his band ‘The False Alarms’ which is a folky/rocky/country affair using guitars, fiddle, pedal steel, banjo, mandolin, cornet, accordion, keys, whistles, pipes, bass and drums, often with various members switching instruments when space permits. At a recent gig the band were described as ‘A British Arcade Fire’, something that Nick was very pleased about. At that same gig they teamed up with Les ‘Fruitbat’ Carter to perform a 9-piece version of CarterUSM’s “Only Living Boy in New Cross”, something that now happens whenever Les is in the building.
The False Alarms’ newest addition is multi-instrumentalist John Leonard. John, fiddle player Ben Wain and Nick also regularly gig as a trio and the term ‘beautiful shambles’ springs to mind.
Over the last few years Nick – either solo or with his various line-ups – has played at many festivals including Chagstock, Wickham, Watchet, Glastonbury, Frivolt (Sweden) and Zytanien (Hannover) among many others, with the highlight being Beautiful Days mainstage in August 2019. When Nick’s not gigging he is usually busy making videos for his songs which include a very time consuming lyric video made using spaghetti letters, and an even more time consuming stop motion animation of a live gig which has recently been selected for inclusion in the Leeds International Film Festival. Nick recently made a return to video making and much of his work will be featured on Levellers’ new album Peace (DVD version) which comes out in August. He also has recently taken the False Alarms on a European tour supporting Levellers and is looking forward to returning to Somerstock in 2023!
Not Like The Others is a four-piece covers act with a great high energy party vibe. They enjoy performing quality rock, indie, dance classics old and new across the South West. From Bruce Springsteen, Alanis Morissette, Chic and B52s to The Killers, Fratellis, Reef, Robbie Williams, Good Charlotte, Pink and Bruno Mars. Good times and dancing for everyone.
All four experienced musicians and good friends have come together from other quality working bands to form Not Like The Others. Lead vocalist Laura was previously with Snooky Duke, High Voltage and still keeps up with Alfie’s Sister. Bassist Stevie still performs regularly with The Garden Club. Guitarist Ade has joined after moving on from a great time playing lead with Indie/Rock covers band New Ocean. And Terry? He has previous drumming with originals band Fluid. Took a break for his family and now launched back into playing like he was never away.
Sponsored by Wine Wize
Since quitting the day job in 2011, Tom has performed over 1000 gigs and released three EP’s and two albums. Tom reached the quarter finals of the Dorset Music Awards in 2012, and has been runner up in the Salisbury Music Awards (2012 & 2014) and semi-finalist in ‘Bournemouth unplugged’ 2012. Tom has also appeared on BBC Wiltshire’s Live Lounge and featured on BBC Introducing Solent. Tom has opened shows for The Wurzels, Larkin Poe, Mark Chadwick (The Levellers) and Toploader. He has been described as a master of a loop pedal. During the 2020 lockdown Tom recorded and released his latest EP “Three Chords and Four Walls” with positive reviews as his best work to date. During the pandemic, Tom worked temporarily as a companion and activities worker in a residential home, entertaining the residents with music and conversation.
Sponsored by The Royal Oak
Music should take you somewhere, should make you feel something. So say Young Martyrs. There’s no attempt here to be clever, they just play great songs.
The common thread running through Young Martyrs is that they keep coming back to a few simple needs; guitars, drums, great lyrics and great harmonies. The debut album came from a handful of songs written by Tom over a decade or so, but which just hadn’t found the right family yet. It took the end of the world as we know it (see 2020) and a need to create something with a bit of heart for Tom, Lee, Rich and Simon to put other work aside and bring these songs to life.
Putting something together during a global lockdown was no easy task but the album that emerged from it has received a fantastic response, getting played on radio stations across the UK. The band are excited to get out onstage now and share the news with friends old and new.
Sponsored by Nature’s Pantry
ZANII is an abstract artist who dabbles in a range of styles from pop, experimental, rap and more.
ZANII delivers a performance of high art with powerful artistic statements and unique sounds throughout, there is not a dull moment from the visuals to the sonics.
Sponsored by Flash Electrical
Groove to your own tune… The festival kicks off with a silent disco especially for the children, and closes after the headline band, with some silent grooving for the grown ups.
Sponsored by Accounting Angels
FESTIVAL DETAILS
12th & 13th JULY 2024
RECREATION GROUND
GASSONS LANE
SOMERTON
TA11 6HS
SOMERTON RECREATION GROUND
Somerstock is a Somerton Music & Arts Festival event