Marlborough will be Rising this weekend. Tony O’Malley – ex of Kokomo, 10cc, Bob Dylan to name but a few will be opening this year’s Rising with a Blues and Soul night at the Club Movida in Hughenden Yard this Friday (9 August) bringing his jazz-tinged contemporary soul and blues band to a Marlborough audience. St Mary’s will be hosting the return of last year’s great success, Musical Jukebox for an evening’s celebration of some of the biggest numbers from many of the greatest and most memorable West End shows including Guys & Dolls, Phantom, Oliver, Cabaret and plenty more.
A bit of everything is what Marlborough Rising sets out to deliver and on Saturday it’s Indie Rock as ‘Flyte’, fresh from their recent BST Hyde Park appearance supporting Neil Young and Bob Dylan headline the Town Hall, supported by local favourites Ben Cipolla and George Wilding. Earlier in the day the Town Hall will be showcasing some of the area’s up and coming acts with an afternoon of Rising Talent, following last year’s very popular session giving young performers and bands the chance to play on the bigger stage.
Sunday – what else but Pimms in the park, or more precisely at the Marlborough College Memorial Hall where the The Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain will bring this year’s Rising to a close with a Sunday afternoon BBQ and a glass of Pimms. Bring your Uke along, prepare to get involved because there’s every chance that you will. A fun afternoon for all the family and an opportunity for all you Uke players!
Supporting Tony O’Malley on Friday’s Blues and Soul night will be Bristol-based Little Geneva, fast becoming one of the must-see blues bands in the UK. Tickets for Friday night at Cafe Movida will be just £15.00.
Flyte are building a big following and it’s a real coup for Marlborough Rising to bring them to the Town Hall as part of their tour. Described as ‘a band for our time’, accomplished songwriters Will, Sam, Nick, and Jon have released a flurry of alternative-indie anthems including ‘We Are The Rain’, ‘Closer Together,’ and ‘Light Me Up’ over the past few years and have amassed over 1.5M Spotify streams. Evolving together as a band and great friends.
George Wilding and Ben Cipolla are two of Marlborough’s breakthrough artists with very strong and growing followings from the Marlborough area and way beyond. Ben has performed at numerous festivals, the Albert Hall as well as many major venues and has had plenty of radio airplay whilst George grabbed the attention years ago at Avebury Rocks, where he has performed every year since supporting acts such as Newton Faulkner and The Levellers. Saturday night’s tickets for Flyte, Ben Cipolla and George Wilding at the Town Hall are priced at £20.00.
Saturday afternoon at the Town Hall will be free – a chance to hear the next generation of Rising Talent, a very popular feature of Last year’s Marlborough Rising where up and coming young local bands and performers gets a chance to showcase their talent.
On Sunday afternoon Marlborough College’s acoustically perfect Memorial Hall will resound to the strumming of lots of ukeleles. Some will be from George Hinchliffe’s Ukelele Orchestra of Great Britain but many will be from the audience as they will be encouraged to join in the ‘stringalong’. Learn a few chords (click to their site), buy a ticket (£25.00), and get involved.
A tantalising weekend, tickets can be bought directly from the Marlborough Rising website, or from the purple ‘shed’ parked on the High Street in its normal position adjacent to the Castle & Ball.