Small but perfectly formed
Cerne Abbas
Cerne Abbas, with its famous giant and its beautiful old stone houses, is also renowned as the home of one of the region’s most delightful music festivals. Now scaled back to just two days, 19th and 20th July at the beautiful and historic St Mary’s Church, Cerne Abbas, and nearby Ashton Farm, Cerne Abbas Music Festival is still one of the musical jewels of the summer.
The festival, founded in 1991 by Richard Hosford, seeks to present chamber music of the highest standard in a relaxed and informal atmosphere. Based around the international Gaudier Ensemble, it brought chamber music from the 18th century to the present day to this historic Dorset village. For the musicians, it was also a break from busy touring schedules.
In its new form, the festival will continue its ethos of presenting varied programmes of music from the established repertoire as well as lesser-known works performed by musicians with a particular commitment to chamber music.
The musicians will include not only familiar faces from previous festivals but also other international colleagues, outstanding young professionals at the outset of their careers and students who comprise the next generation of professional musicians. Richard Hosford continues as artistic director.
The first 2025 festival concert features the Hyde Clarinet Quartet, an award-winning ensemble of postgraduate clarinet students from the Royal College of Music. Their recital on Saturday 19th at 3pm includes works by Beethoven and Borodin and light-hearted arrangements of other works.
That evening, Gaudier and Friends—an ensemble of violins, violas, cello and clarinet—will play a programme of works by Russian composers including Borodin and Glazunov, as well as Weber’s Quintet in B flat for clarinet and strings, and Dvorak’s Quintet in E flat for strings.
On Sunday afternoon at 3pm at Ashton Farm, the group of Gaudier musicians and friends will delight a family audience with Scandinavian and Scottish folk tunes, alongside some South American dance music.
Big birthday for folk festival
Sidmouth
SIDMOUTH Folk Festival, one of the biggest events in the folk and traditional music and dance calendar, is 70 this year. It is not the 70th festival (Covid and other factors intervened), but this seaside celebration of folk music, dance and song began in 1955, and it’s back this year from 1st to 8th August, in marquees and venues around pretty Sidmouth, with an amazing line-up.
From Morris dancers and shanty singers to the big names in contemporary folk, there is folk music for all tastes. The list of this year’s performer is very long, so here are just a few of the performers …
Richard Thompson, Dervish, Steve Knightley and friends, Grace Petrie, Talisk, Peatbog Faeries, Seth Lakeman Band, Jon Boden and The Remnant Kings, Martin and Eliza Carthy, John Tams, Leveret, The Rheingans Sisters and Sam Sweeney.
The festival has always prided itself on creating an inclusive music community that embraces variety—celebrating tradition in all its many forms, including the rich diversity of folk arts in the UK, from the grassroots to the cutting edge, from long-established stars to emerging talent.
It’s an immersive, participative week-long gathering of songs, stories, tunes and shared culture—deeply rooted, ever-evolving and open to everyone.
It is also, of course, a great boost to the economy not only of this coastal town but of the East Devon area more widely, attracting tens of thousands of visitors every August.
Kick off Sidmouth folk week with a couple of exciting pre-festival gigs—Cornwall’s much-loved Fisherman’s Friends at The Ham on Thursday 31st July at 7.30pm, and the legendary Fairport Convention on Friday 1st August at 3pm.
Re-creating musical favourites
Bridport
JAZZ is all about reinvention, re-imagining the sounds and shapes of music, instrumental combinations and revisiting classics. Frome-based composer, improviser and pianist John Law brings his ensemble Re-Creations to Bridport Arts Centre on Friday 4th July with a programme that ranges rom Debussy to Dylan.
Classically trained and regarded as one of Europe’s leading jazz pianists, John Law’s quartet will be playing a wide-ranging programme of intriguing re-arrangements from the worlds of jazz and pop and classical.
So Debussy’s Clair de Lune might sit alongside a rhythmic re-imagining of Smoke on the Water, or a boogie-type reshaping of Blowin’ in the Wind might rub shoulders with a baroque rearrangement of Fly Me to the Moon.
As well as the melodic inventions of Parliamentary Jazz Award-winning saxophonist saxophonist Sam Crockatt, the quartet features Danish bass player Henrik Jensen and a new firebrand on the UK jazz drumming scene, Alex Goodyear.
Scottish violinist on tour
Concerts in the West
THE talented Scottish violinist Colin Scobie comes to Bridport, Ilminster and Crewkerne on Friday 11th and Saturday 12th July, on a Concerts in the West tour, playing works by Beethoven, Elgar and Schumann, accompanied by pianist Jâms Coleman.
Born in Edinburgh in 1991, Scobie is already established as one of the most creative and compelling violinists and chamber musicians of his generation. He has performed as concerto soloist to critical acclaim across Europe and further afield, with orchestras including Camerata Nordica, the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, Arcangelo, La Serenissima and Scottish Ensemble.
He began playing the violin at the age of eight, studying at St Mary’s Music School, Edinburgh, before going on to the Royal College of Music in London. He has given masterclasses at Oxford and Cambridge Universities.
In 2010, Colin was appointed second violin of the Fitzwilliam Quartet with whom he performed extensively for two years, touring Europe, Africa and America. His desire to explore the possibilities of the quartet repertoire and to lead a young and dynamic quartet led to him joining the Maxwell Quartet as first violin in 2013.
From Anglesey, Jâms Coleman performs as a soloist, chamber musician and vocal accompanist. He regularly performs at prestigious festivals and recent highlights include recitals at the Aldeburgh Festival, BBC Proms, Cheltenham Festival, LSO St Luke’s, Prussia Cove Open Chamber Music, the Royal Concertgebouw (Amsterdam) and the Wigmore Hall.
The concerts are at Bridport Arts Centre for the usual coffee concert on Friday 11th at 11.30am, Ilminster Arts Centre that evening at 7.30pm and Crewkerne Dance House on Saturday at 7.30.
Showcasing young talent
Bridport
BRIDPORT Arts Centre celebrates up and coming musicians with the Harbour Records Emerging Talent Showcase, on Friday 18th July.
Giving a platform to local young musicians, who perform across a wide range of styles and genres, this talented group has been working with Harbour Records since September 2024.
They have been supported to write, record and release their own original music, develop their skills and build confidence to take the next steps into the music industry. Expect a night of vibrant performances and amazing talent!
Circus Raj returns
Bridport
FOLLOWING last year’s sell-out show, Circus Raj returns to Bridport’s Millennium Green on Wednesday 30th July with an afternoon of exciting music, dance and enthralling acrobatics.
Colourful, noisy, musical, heart-stopping—Circus Raj brings to Dorset the street circus style of the dramatically beautiful Rajasthan region of India.
The cast of aerialists, acrobats, musicians, slack-rope walkers, giant puppet characters and the eye-watering displays by their fakir, present a colourful, vibrant, fast-moving extravaganza of intrigue, drama, feats of daring, music, laughter and surprise.
Rajasthan is home to elite street circus performers drawn from this fascinating region’s legendary entertainment communities, who combine their amazing skills to perform breathtaking acts of courage and bravery.
Bring your picnic blankets, cushions and camping chairs and enjoy a fantastic afternoon of live entertainment.
A classic novel comes to the stage
Lyme Regis
JOHN Fowles’ most famous novel, The French Lieutenant’s Woman, has so many connections with Lyme Regis: the story is set there, the award-winning film with Meryl Streep and Jeremy Irons was filmed there … and the author lived there. Now this great book is coming to the stage, and actors in the Lyme area are invited to audition for the production, which will be in February next year.
There are two auditions, at The Hub in Church Street on Saturday 5th July and at the Marine Theatre on Sunday 6th, both at 2pm. The novel has been adapted by Mark Healy, and the play will be directed by Chris Gill.
Following the auditions, there will be workshops in September, and rehearsals will start in December, with the performance dates set for 11th – 14th February 2026.
Boogie-woogie Waters
Lyme Regis
BEN Waters has for years been one of the biggest names in boogie-woogie. The Dorset-born musician, whose cousin is another Dorset star, the brilliant singer-songwriter PJ Harvey, also has a talented son, Tom. Father and son are coming to the Marine Theatre at Lyme Regis on Thursday 10th July.
The duo, who are two of the finest musicians in the world of boogie-woogie, rock ’n’ roll and blues, combine breathtaking musicianship, deep family connection and stories from their extraordinary lives in music.
This is not just a gig—it’s a joyous celebration of rhythm, soul and decades of unforgettable experiences shared with legends.
An agonising choice
Dorchester
DORCHESTER Drama tackles a profoundly challenging story in its new production, Not For Keeps, at the Corn Exchange on Friday 4th and Saturday 5th July at 7.30pm.
While her husband is away in Borneo during the Second World War, Mary is drawn to a handsome American soldier. The temporary fling leaves Mary pregnant. Faced with being shunned from society and rejected by her husband, will she keep the child?
Performed by Dorchester Drama, and based on the birth of the play’s local author, Vince Jones, Not For Keeps is set both in the 1940s and 1990s and tells the story of a woman who is forced to make an agonising choice.
On Thursday July 17th Declan Duffy brings his one man show Call yourself an Irishman? to the Corn Exchange, where he will attempt to answer the vexed question of how many boxes you technically have to tick in order to confidently state: “I am Irish (sort of)”.
A new style of flamenco
Dorchester
IF you think you know about flamenco, you are in for a shock at Dorchester Corn Exchange on Friday 11th July, when performers Luz and Mannion bring Blue Ghost to the stage.
The production draws our attention to the unexpected beauty and rhythm harboured in the insect world in a visual, dynamic and electric flamenco show. Inspired by the Blue Ghost Firefly and the importance of insect conservation for the survival of our natural world, this is a nostalgic celebration that reminds us of our interconnectedness, embraces our need for transformation and shows us that even the smallest creatures have an important part to play.
Choreographers Luz and Mannion don’t play to the usual flamenco stereotype, but instead investigate the potential of this powerful and dynamic art, paying homage to its traditional forms while stretching its boundaries, embracing open-minded approaches and generating diverse, fresh and unique voices for contemporary flamenco.
Little Mermaids
Lyme Regis
THE youth theatre group based at the Marine Theatre at Lyme Regis takes to the stage on Sunday 20th July for two performances of a Disney family favourite, The Little Mermaid Jr.
The Marine Youth Theatre show will have a cast of talented seven to 12 year olds, performing songs including Under the Sea and Part of your World. There are performances at 2pm and 6pm.
What would you do?
Dorchester
HOW many times, when you hear of the devastating, horrifying, tragic or just astonishing things that happen to other people, do you ask yourself, what you would do in their place? That is the premise of a challenging new play coming to Dorchester Corn Exchange on Wednesday 16th July at 7.30pm.
In Behind The Doors’ Extra Ordinary, we meet Rachel and Max, an ordinary couple, living ordinary lives until something extraordinary turns everything upside down. Now they have the single most important decision of their life to make.
They piece together their thoughts, bit by bit, good and bad, speaking the things you don’t or shouldn’t say and contemplating the never ending ‘What ifs’.
This piece of new writing examines the effects of genetic testing and the impact this has on the diversity of our society. Extra Ordinary is a powerful, thought-provoking experience that will leave you wondering … what you would do in their position?
Well-seasoned folk
Honiton
HONITON’s Beehive Centre welcomes acclaimed folk band The Salts on Saturday 26th July for an evening of sea shanties and songs from the sea.
The five-strong band, whose performances are described as “21st century folk fires a respectful broadside at the traditional,” will play a set that celebrates maritime classics that we all know and love, including Bound for South Australia, Blow the Man Down, Drunken Sailor and many more, alongside well crafted original tunes.
The Salts are multi-instrumentalists, and have gained a reputation as one of the most exciting and energetic concept bands around, performing original material alongside interpretations of traditional songs.
An added bonus for this Honiton gig—they will be joined by the much-loved folk star Phil Beer!
French violist at Shute Festival
Colyton
FRENCH violist Hugo Haag and pianist Ivelina Krasteva give the July recital in this year’s Shute Festival series, at St Andrew’s Church, Colyton, on Saturday 12th July at 7.30pm.
The attractive programme includes Bach’s Cello Suite No 2 and his Sonata for viola da gamba and keyboard No 1 in G major, Kodaly’s Adagio for viola and piano, Robert Schumann’s Fantasiestücke, selected preludes by Messiaen and Brahms’ Sonata for viola and piano Op 120 No 2 in E flat major.
Hugo Haag has played as a soloist, chamber and orchestral musician at numerous venues all over Europe. He is musical director of a festival in Normandy, Les Musiques Vagabondes, and former student at the Yehudi Menuhin School and Guildhall School of Music and Drama.
Classical pianist Ivelina Krasteva performs internationally as a soloist and chamber musician, and has received numerous awards for her performance. An alumna of the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, she is passionate about bringing music to new audiences as well as teaching.
Blwgras – from Wales
Artsreach
IT may be a long way from the blue grass mountains of Virginia to the Welsh valleys but the five musicians of Taff Rapids have created their own musical genre—Blwgras from Wales. They have a short tour with Artsreach to village halls at Melbourne St Andrew on Wednesday 23rd August, Halstock, on Thursday 24th and East Stour on Friday 25th, all beginning at 7.30pm.
Taff Rapids from Cardiff have been making a big impression on folk audiences with their live performances, rich harmonies and instrumental mastery across the UK, Europe and Canada, while regular airtime on BBC Radio has solidified their reputation as an exciting new force in the genre.
Comprised of seasoned musicians Darren Eedens, Siôn Russell Jones, David Grubb and Clem Saynor, Taff Rapids brings a fresh perspective to bluegrass, infusing traditional American classics and captivating originals with Welsh-language elements for a unique global appeal.
This is a landmark year for the band, with the highly anticipated release of their debut album, Blŵgras, and an extensive live schedule, including a return tour to Canada alongside concerts and festival appearances around the UK and Europe.
GPW
