Gloucester gets a flavour of the Edinburgh Festival as the Guildhall lines up an exciting preview show with two rising stars of the comedy world.

Josh Widdicombe has made a lot of waves in the comedy circuit over the last three years. In 2010 he won FHM’s Stand Up Hero competition and was named Leicester Mercury Comedian of the Year, his original musings and quirky punchlines securing him support slots for established acts such as Kevin Bridges and Alan Carr. Currently preparing for his slot at this year’s Edinburgh Festival with a show entitled ‘If This Show Saves One Life’, Josh Widdicombe is fast becoming one of the most in-demand up-and-coming comedy acts in the UK.

Also receiving rave reviews across the UK is Andrew Lawrence, the sheer power of his diatribes and his beautiful and impressive use of the English language gaining him recognition as one of the most passionate and talented new acts on the circuit. Double nominated for Chortle’s Best UK Headline Act and as seen on BBC 1’s Michael McIntyre’s Comedy Roadshow, audiences can’t help but be captivated by the bleakly dark comic world he creates.

You can see both these comedians at the cut-price cost of just £5 for one night only – that’s half the price of a ticket for The Big Laugh (which, incidentally, will be returning later in the year).

Saturday 2nd July / Doors 8.30pm / Tickets £5 adv, £8 door / Over 18s only

For tickets visit Gloucester Guildhall’s Box Office, call 01452 503050 or book online at www.gloucesterguildhall.co.uk

Tickets are also available from the Tourist Information Centre on Southgate Street.

His 2006 album ‘Freedom Fields’ sold over 120,000 copies in the UK alone and helped Seth build on his traditional cult following, finding a whole new audience for his rhythmic, captivating brand of indie-folk song writing. Seth was named Folk Singer of the Year and album Freedom Fields was awarded Album of the Year at the prestigious Radio 2 Folk Awards in 2007. He released his most recent studio album Hearts & Minds in July 2010. The follow up to 2008’s Top 10 critically acclaimed Poor Man’s Heaven, Hearts & Minds encompasses traditional and modern themes of love, loss and human struggle.

This tour will see Seth playing songs from his four hit albums plus brand new tracks. Expect an enthralling and energetic live performance from award-winning Lakeman and the superbly talented multi-instrumentalists Benji Kirkpatrick and Cormac Byrne.

Tickets £15 advance or £18 on the door.

For tickets visit Gloucester Guildhall’s Box Office, call 01452 503050 or book online at www.gloucesterguildhall.co.uk. Tickets are also available from the Tourist Information Centre on Southgate Street in Gloucester.

Once described as what would happen if you gave ‘every member of Belle & Sebastian a dangerous dose of Sherbet Dip and Red Bull’, Los Campesinos! are a Welsh band without any Welsh band members. They got together at Cardiff University (all seven members of the band eventually left with a degree) and proceeded to gig around the area and post their music on the internet until they were enthusiastically picked up by Bethan Elfyn and Huw Stephens and featured on their Radio 1 Wales show. The band’s reputation continued to grow and in August 2006 they landed a support slot with Broken Social Scene. A few months later they signed to Wichita Recordings and by February 2007 they had released their first single, double A-side We Throw Parties, You Throw Knives/Don’t Tell Me To Do The Math(s). In October that year they embarked on their first full UK tour.

Debut album, Hold On Now, Youngster, was released in February 2008 to glowing praise from critics. Lauded as a ‘giddy, tuneful love note to individuality, pathos, silliness and everything else indie-pop built its name on’, it features crescendos, hooks and clever turns of phrase in all the right places to perfectly complement the emotional vividness of the poetic lyrics. In August that year the band released another record entitled We Are Beautiful, We Are Doomed, proclaiming that there were not going to be any singles released from it and there would be limited distribution. Though many consider it to be an album due to its length, the band have always referred to it as an extended EP, citing ‘artistic reasons’.

With the band’s songwriting skills on a steady upwards trajectory, the second official album, Romance Is Boring, was released in February 2010, and they recently announced the launch of their quarterly fanzine, Heat Rash, which is intended to ‘allow us to act in the moment, to talk about what we want to, as a platform for other mediums of ‘art’, and to write and release songs in a more spontaneous way. This will hopefully allow a less formal, more fluid, DIY vein of work to develop alongside, and outside, of our album releases.’

Colourful and energetic, this is a show not to be missed!

http://www.gloucesterguildhall.co.uk/

Friday night headliners The Zydeco Diamonds, led by ex-ZFunk accordian player Gavin Lewery, who is widely considered to be the best Cajun/Zydeco accordian player in the UK, will be joined for this tour only by Harold Guillory, one of the biggest names in the genre today. A direct descendant of Zydeco founder Amade Ardoin and grandson of the great Boisec Ardoin, Harold will also be running his infamous dance workshops on the Saturday and Sunday.

On Saturday afternoon The Whiskey River Zydeco Twisters will be making a welcome return to the festival, after they blew the roof off last year. They’ll certainly get you warmed up for a real treat on Saturday night in the form of The Flatville Aces, who are renowned as one of the best Cajun bands in the UK.

The final day of the festival features the brilliant Cajun Dawgs, who combine traditional Louisiana Cajun and Zydeco with swamp Blues, Country and early rock’n'roll, all served up with an earthy authentic sound resonating back to the 1940s and 1950s, and Sunday headliners The Bayou Brothers. All the way from San Diego, their unique blend of intricate harmonies and rocking Zydeco blues, combined with trademark dazzling showmanship and a lot of dancing, will be a riotous end to what proves to be a fantastic festival.

Delivering an unrivalled mix of music and dance rooted in the traditions of America’s Deep South, Gloucester’s Cajun & Zydeco Festival is hot and steamy entertainment for a miserable January.

Weekend tickets £55, Friday tickets £20, Saturday tickets £25, Sunday tickets £25

For tickets visit Gloucester Guildhall’s Box Office, call 01452 503050 or book online at www.gloucesterguildhall.co.uk

Tickets are also available from the Tourist Information Centre on Southgate Street.

The exhibition will show over 75 works from 48 artists – a who’s who of contemporary British sculpture – from the “New Bronze Age” sculptors of the 1950s to current household names like Damien Hirst and Antony Gormley.

Crucible is a joint venture between Gallery Pangolin and Gloucester Cathedral. Most of the works were made in Gloucestershire, by the talented craftsmen working at Pangolin Editions foundry in the Stroud valleys, or by artists from Gloucester Cathedral.

The Very Reverend Nicholas Bury, Dean of Gloucester Cathedral says: “The Cathedral is a great work of art in itself, where masons and sculptors have worked for centuries. It makes a truly wonderful setting in which to see the great works of contemporary artists. We are thrilled to be working with Pangolin and to be welcoming local and international audiences to contemporary sculpture in this inspiring space.”

As the Dean of Gloucester Cathedral prepares to retire, this world-class exhibition is a fitting tribute to his commitment to the arts in Gloucestershire.

The exhibition will take place throughout the building and grounds, including the crypt and cloisters. Crucible runs until 30th October 2010 & entry to the exhibition is free of charge - www.crucible2010.co.uk

The event, which is the largest in the South West of England, takes place from 9^th – 12^th September. The full programme, leaflet and tickets will be available from Monday 9^th August from Gloucester Tourist Information Centre.

Heritage Open Days celebrates Gloucester’s fantastic architecture and culture by offering free access to properties that are usually closed to the public or normally charge for admission. Every year on four days in September, buildings of every age, style and function throw open their doors. It is a once-a-year chance to discover hidden architectural treasures and enjoy a wide range of tours, events and activities which bring to life local history and culture.

There are a number of new events for 2010 which include discovering Gloucester’s aerospace heritage at the Jet Age Museum to learning about one of the world’s natural phenomena the Severn Bore.  There is also the opportunity to go behind the scenes at BBC Radio Gloucestershire and see sculptures at the Crucible exhibition at Gloucester Cathedral.

Alex Bailey of Gloucester Civic Trust said “Gloucester has an amazing history and Heritage Open Days gives people not only chance to see for free buildings that are not normally open to the public, but enjoy free music, talks, tours and events to celebrate our cultural heritage.”

For further information on the Open Days please visit www.heritagegloucester.co.uk/  or pick up a brochure and your free tickets from Gloucester Tourist Information Centre in Southgate Street from 9^th August. Download the programme here.

An exciting and unusual evening combining the awesome talents of international guitarist Rick Payne with the relevant and irreverent verse of the star of the roaring boy world of performance poetry, Peter Wyton.

Slide guitar maestro Rick Payne’s performances have taken him to prime time TV, to festivals and theatres throughout UK and on tour to Europe, USA, Scandinavia and the Greek Islands.

Reviewers have described his sound as: heart wrenching and passionate, delicate and scorching, seriously brilliant, totally absorbing and spellbindingly evocative with raw and fiery vocals to match.

Peter Wyton has twice been nominated for the Forward Book Of Poetry, appearing in it in 1997 alongside Seamus Heaney, U. A. Fanthorpe and Ruth Padel. He has appeared at events as diverse as Cheltenham Literature Festival and Glastonbury, Radio 4 and Oxford TV delighting everyone from formalists to the avant-garde. Reviewed as; ready with irony, riddled with word play, acute with enquiry and a real writer with something to say; often something uniquely skewed. He writes with economy and wit.

Each is widely known as a solo artist. As the duo Rhythm And Muse they mix their solo work with collaborations of both arts. The music encompasses Celtic, traditional American folk, mediaeval, Spanish and of course blues and ragtime. The poetry ranges from the reflective to the hilariously funny and always has a cutting edge.

‘Just brilliant – nicely put together, lots of laughter with honest and well thought out perceptions of life intertwined with some great music. This partnership is destined for much higher things. ‘The Lowdown’

http://www.rickpayne.co.uk/

www.myspace.com/peterwytonpoet

Tickets available from the Three Choirs Festival Office – 0845 652 1823

July sees Open Air Theatre, Gloucester Carnival & the World Together Festival, whilst August includes Volleyball, Witches & Wizards, Seaside Fun and a celebration of Jamaican Independence Day.

Find out more at www.thecityofgloucester.co.uk/site/whats-on/summer-in-gloucester

Along the way there will be six public weekend events, one in each district. At each site there will be art workshops, guided walks, donkey grooming, and opportunities to camp.

We’d love you to join us for one or more of these activities or go the whole hog and volunteer to walk a leg of the journey with us.

Weekend Dates:

Stroud

Westley Farm, Chalford GL6 8HP. 26th – 27th June 2010

Cotswolds

Cotswold Forest School, Spine Road East, Cotswold Water Park. 3rd – 4th July 2010

Cheltenham

Cheltenham Race Course GL50 4SH. 17th – 18th July 2010

(Priority Booking for disabled young people and their families)

Tewkesbury

Nature in Art, Twigworth GL2 9PA. 23rd – 24th July 2010

Gloucester

Over Farm, Gloucester GL2 8DB. 30th – 31st July 2010

Forest of Dean

Millers Farm, Blakeney GL15 4AP. 14th – 15th August 2010

‘As I Walked Out’ is part of Gloucestershire’s cultural Olympiad programme of events, sponsored by Gloucestershire County and District Councils. For more details see www.asiwalkedout.com.