Music
Music helps make life technicolour - its the spring in your step, the tear in your eye and the excitement in your heart. Sometimes we have big names, sometimes we have people you've never heard of, but we always aim to host the very highest quality artists. In our intimate space, you get to feel what the musician feels, to be a part of an experience that you will remember all your life. Music can touch your emotions and give you new perspectives on your life, transport you to another plane altogether or simply be a barrel load of fun. Either way, there's little to compare with an evening of great music. We hope to see you soon!
For Rock gigs, click here
Tcha Limberger's Budapest Gypsy
Orchestra
Thu 8th May 8pm £14 (£12 concs) seated
The amazing blind violinist Tcha Limberger leads his superb group of hand picked gypsy musicians in a journey through Magyar Nota, the classic Hungarian “gypsy” music that first emerged in the early 1800’s. Tcha is quite simply the most incredibly special musician that you will meet, an unbelievable educator and world class violinist. He is one of the most respected Primas in the world, recently touring internationally as a performer and musical advisor with Fabrizio Cassols 'Vespers'.
Tcha will give a pre-concert talk that starts at 6.30pm.
Why?... We are incredibly fortunate to be able to present these virtuoso musicians in such a breathtaking concert.
John
Power Band
+ support from
Edward James Mugford
Fri 9th May 8.30pm £10 (£8 concs) standing
Seat free zone for your dancing pleasure
This is a very exciting find! Skiffle, mountain folk and dustbowl blues mingle with a 60’s vibe and classic pop to create something fantastically fresh, reminiscent of Beefheart and The Zutons. After stardom with The Las and Cast, it would have been easy to rest on his laurels, but in this new outfit John has gone way beyond that and achieved something truly inspired.
www.myspace.com/johnpowerukcom
http://www.myspace.com/edwardjamesmusic
Why?... Because its great! Listen to it!
Helium
Soul
Fri 16th May 8.30pm £8 (£6.50 concs) standing
Seat free zone for your dancing pleasure
Immense blues rock that swaggers and struts with funky footwork and a heart full of soul. Imagine Deep Purple playing heavy, groove-laden blues, after a night listening to Funkadelic - this is really good rock music.
Why?... Let your hair down and have some fun this Friday!
Conservatoire
Folk Ensemble
Tue 27th May 8pm £12 (£10 concs) seated
Joe Broughton has a fascinating history including busking the Cambridge Folk Festival queue at 5 years old and training for the circus, plus of course a spell in Ashley Hutchings’ Albion Band. But now he’s topped it all! He is bringing an epic folk orchestra with over 40 members to little old us. I know! That’s what we thought! Its clearly madness, but that is what we thrive on – so bag yourself a ticket for one of the most exceptional evenings of the Westy’s life so far!
Why?... Do you really need to ask? Imagine the sheer scale of it all!
Andy McKee
Thu 29th May 8pm £12 (£10 concs) seated
Phenomenal young fingerstyle guitarist Andy McKee is the toast of many in the acoustic world, and has become one of the biggest hits ever on Youtube. Over the last thirteen years, Andy has cited numerous influences from Metallica, to Bjork, to Don Ross, to Tchaikovsky, to Michael Hedges and has created a unique and innovative voice on the acoustic guitar by drawing from these inspirations.
Run
for Your Life
Fri 30th May 8pm £6 standing
Fast becoming a collective of the most creative people around, with Toby and Stef at the fore, this is messy, noisy, groundbreaking fun, organised by the underground, for the underground.
www.myspace.com/wearerunningforourlives
Why?... Because getting your mind blown every once in a while is good for your health!
Eleanor McEvoy
Weds 4th June £8 (£6.50 concs)
Leading Irish songwriter and singer, Eleanor McEvoy is one of the best selling artists in Ireland with a fast rising reputation as a stunning vocalist in the UK. Her laid-back, conversational style connects with audiences of all backgrounds.
“Immaculately tuneful, lyrically potent tales of love and life” - MOJO
Bedouin
Jerry Can Band
Fri 13th June 8pm £14 (£12 concs) seated
The Bedouin Jerry Can Band is a collective of semi-nomadic musicians, storytellers and coffee grinders from the Egyptian Sinai desert. Blending Simsimiyya (traditional 5 string Egyptian lyre) with desert flutes and reed pipes, they perform infectious Bedouin rhythms on junk percussion including ammunition boxes and Jerry Cans, scavenged from the former battlegrounds of conflicts fought across their homelands during the Six-day War of 1967 and the subsequent Israeli occupation of Sinai. The group’s songs and poetry recount the exploits of ancient Arabian tribes though fables of trusty camels, warnings of the dastardly deeds of sheep rustlers, and tales of unrequited love for the girl in the next settlement with beautiful eyes.
Why?... After last year’s sell out show as part of the Barbican’s Ramadan season, you need to grab a ticket fast!
Massukos
Fri 20th June 8.30pm £12 (£10 concs) standing
Seat free zone for your dancing pleasure
Mozambique superstars Massukos are coming to Aldershot upfront of their appearance at Glastonbury Festival. This is musical sunshine – life-giving, happy music that makes you want to dance. Massive in their homeland, their biggest UK shows so far have been at the Make Poverty History Rally in Edinburgh where they played to 100,000 people, and on WOMAD’s mainstage in 2006 – fingers crossed they like intimate shows too! They sing in their traditional languages; Yao, Nyanga and Makua, and still care passionately about local communities, using their high profile to raise awareness of HIV and initiate social change.
Why?... ‘This band are a joy live... bright sun-drenched music with enough edge to keep your mind as well as your feet engaged”’
The Independent
Sandi
Thom
+ support
Wed 25th June £9.50
The internet phenomenon coming at you from a basement in tooting.
The
Power Of Compassion - Tibetan Monks From Tashi Lhunpo Monastery
Thu 10th July 8pm £12 (£10 concs) seated
We are delighted to welcome the monks to the West End Centre, complete with bells and long horns. The Power of Compassion is a dramatic, entertaining and informative ninety-minute performance of the majestic masked dances and the sacred chant from Tashi Lhunpo Monastery - one of the most important of Tibet's teaching monasteries. The monks, from their re-established monastery in exile in South India, present a fascinating taste of the culture of Tibet, and of Tashi Lhunpo Monastery in particular.
Why?... This event provides a unique insight into the world of the monks and we are very honoured they have chosen to visit us in Aldershot.
The monks also offer workshops for schools or mixed age groups/families, giving an insight into the world of the Tibetan monastery, and/or the visual arts of the Tantric tradition, such as prayer-flag printing, butter sculpture and sand mandala making. Please contact us if you are interested in organising a session.
The
Summer Westival!
Fri 18th & Sat 19th July
The West End Centre’s very own indoor festival complete with grass (yes, real grass!) You have no idea how exciting it is to be able to bring you this year’s Summer Westival or how exciting it is to experience it yourself. Expect the Pyramid stage, the acoustic stage, and a host of other little touches that make it a very special event. Prices and line up have yet to be finalised, but you know it will be brilliant!
Why?... Because it really is like a mini festival that encompasses everything that is great about the Westy!
An Audience With John Coghlan
Fri 19th September £12 (£10 concs)
A unique and intimate evening with former Status Quo drummer John Coghlan.
The first half of the show will be seated, and you will be able to listen to
John talk about his 20 years with Quo - there will also be an opportunity to
ask John questions.
The second half of the show will be a full live set of classic Quo tunes. John
will be joined by the boys from Preditur to re-create the sound of early Quo -
You wont get closer to the real thing!
