The coming Bank Holiday Weekend brings the first Southend Scene Spring Festival at Chinnery’s, Marine Parade, Southend on Sea.
Over Sunday and Monday, the rich musical history of South East Essex will be celebrated with original artists from the area performing at the iconic music venue from mid-afternoon through to the evening.
Advance tickets are £10 / day and all profits will be donated to Cancer research.
Doors open at 3pm, with the music ending at 10pm on Sunday and 9pm Monday.
The Southend Scene Spring Festival is aligned with the new 60 Years of the Southend Scene album released by Conquest Music.
Sunday features more contemporary performers from the area. The festival kicks off with breezy, all girl outfit, The Ondines. Their sassy charm, sharp lyrics and sumptuous vocal harmonies deliver a performance not to be missed.
Fresh from his tour with Fairground Attraction’s Eddi Reader, the hard-working M G Boulter finds room in his busy schedule to squeeze in an afternoon show for us. His gentle and intense song craft is as stunning live as it is on record.
Albeit not from the area, we couldn’t pass up on adding the renowned talent of Willie Dowling to the proceedings. He was granted a temporary Southend passport after producing a number of new tracks for The Ondines, as well as mastering the 60 Years of the Southend Scene album. A successful composer of music for film and TV, Willie may be known for being a founder of 90’s Brit Rock outfit, Honeycrack. More recently, from the Dowling Poole, and touring with the Quireboys, Willie Dowling’s new album, The Simpleton could be described as Billy Joel meets Sparks.
Next are the Tuppenny Bunters, with their ‘trashy Rhodes and trashier drums’. Dave and Fi Dulake have long been key figures in the Southend music scene, not least during their tenure as landlords of the sorely missed Railway pub. Soulful, sassy, smart and sharp dressed, they will be playing tracks from the latest album, The Tuppenny Hangover.
Closing out the Sunday is David Woodcock. Another in the strong Southend tradition of producing excellent singer songwriters, David released his self-titled debut album in 2014. Since then, he’s built an impressive catalogue of songs with sharp lyrics and strong melodies. David Woodcock will no doubt be airing songs from his new album ‘Readjusting’.
Bank Holiday Monday brings us the Old School artists.
Opening the day is The Jives – a duo formed by a couple of Southend music linchpins, The Jives are Big Baz on Vocals, Acoustic Guitar, Dobro Slide, Cigar Box, Foot Drum, Loop Pedal and Al E Bye on Harmonicas, Jawharp, Percussion and Backing Vocals.
Delivering a delightfully authentic old blues feel, The Jives mix carefully chosen covers with their own compositions.
Then comes the legendary Steve Hooker. Steve has been an institution and inspirational figure in Southend music for 50 years now. Never compromising, Steve epitomises the punk rock ‘n’ roll spirit. His Stripped Down Stompin’ Band is like nothing you’ve seen or heard before. An Elvis mic, two amps, a snare drum and a truck load of attitude.
Closing the Southend Scene Spring Festival is Eddie and the Hot Rods.
Eddie and The Hot Rods were formed in 1975 and rode high as the pub rock scene morphed into punk and new wave. Do Anything You Wanna Do was a massive hit in 1977 and they carried on the incessant touring throughout the world.
With a fluid line-up, the only constant member was singer Barrie Masters until his sad passing in 2019. Bassist Ian Dean then took over the lead vocal duties and with the band, Si Bowley, Richard Holgarth and Mic Stoner, they continue to record and thrill audiences to this day. Their latest album, Guardians of the Legacy was released in 2023.