THREE gigs will give you a spring in your step as part of a varied season of music at a Mossley arts centre.
The Vale, which has recently stepped up its live musical offering, will welcome back folk-hop innovators Ríoghnach Connolly & Honeyfeet, who last played in the town at the venue’s relaunch in 2021.
Manchester-based troupe Honeyfeet provide brass heavy sound, with everything from big-band swing to Alabama blues-tinged folk. It’s all held together by the vocals and flute from Ríoghnach, who is currently BBC Radio 2’s folk singer of the year.
The band, which has performed together since 2008, has played at festivals including Glastonbury, Shambala and Secret Garden Party.
They will be supported by performance poet Bassie Gracie – who has just finished supporting Beans on Toast on tour – on Saturday, April 27.
Tickets for the gig are £16.50 and can be booked here:
https://www.the-vale.co.uk/event/april-rioghnach-connolly-honey-feet/
Next up at The Vale, at Vale Mill off Micklehurst Road, will be The Barefoot Bandit on Saturday, May 25.
The band released its long-awaited debut album called Hello Welcome in April 2023 and toured throughout the winter with Dub Pistols.
Other high-profile support slots include Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry, Horace Panter and Lynval Golding (The Specials) and Dreadzone and the band have a busy summer of festivals planned, including Gone Wild, Jurassic Fields and Great Estate.
They will be the headline act in Mossley, with support coming from rapper, poet and educator Donovan Christoper.
Tickets are £15 and can be bought here: https://www.the-vale.co.uk/event/the-barefoot-bandit-support-dj/
Then, on Saturday, June 22, there will be a celebration of local music – featuring four bands from in and around Tameside and Oldham – at In Our Backyard.
Heavy Salad was formed in 2018 by Lee Mann (bass and vocals), Rob Glennie (guitar) and Allan Hutchison (drums). Augmented by the Priestesses, the band draws musical influences from surf rock and free jazz to overdriven pop and experimental rock.
Eccentric three-piece Jesus Knievel has self-produced and released four albums under their own label since 2007, and blazed a live trail across pubs, clubs and bandstands. Their latest album, The Plural of Hiatus, was released in February.
Madame Claude is a band of vibrant musical tastes, based in Saddleworth and Tameside. It consists of frontman Frank Williams; former circus performer Mikey; Henry Williamson playing rhythm guitar; drummer Gabriel Preston, and bassist Charlie Lawless.
And Oldham’s Sugar Crease, originally solely intended as a shed-based experiment, have been compared to bands such as Talking Heads and Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band. Their latest single, Lemon Cake, was released in January.
Tickets for In Our Backyard can be bought here for £12.50: https://www.the-vale.co.uk/event/inourbackyard/
