St Ives September Festival 10-24 September

Ahh, the St Ives September Festival - one of those special times in St Ives. The school holidays are over, the sun is shining, the sea is at its warmest, a sense of relaxation settles into the town as the season is coming to an end - time to celebrate!

The September Festival is time for locals (and everyone in the know ;-) ) to celebrate the end of another summer with two weeks of live music, arts, poetry, and everything in between. Guests who stay during the festival almost always book for the next year, if you haven't been before - try it!

This years line up is even bigger and better than before, the important thing is to get your tickets early for the main acts...

Here is our pick of the bunch for this years festival:


The Big Chris Barber Band - Saturday 10th September 2011 8pm at the Guildhall
81 year old band leader Chris Barber is world renowned, now with an 11 piece band the combination of blues and jazz make this a must see! Tickets are £25 and we strongly recommend booking these early.

Brodsky Quartet & Jacqui Dankworth - Monday 12th September 2011 8pm at the Guildhall
The Brodsky Quartet are at the forefront of the international chamber-music scene, mastering the string quartet to become very well know for their work with other artists including Elvis Costello, Bjork and Sting. Their skill lies in their diverse performances of complex compositions from the likes of Hayden, Beethoven, Bartok, Britten and more. If you like this type of music it should be an excellent night of music.

Lau & Adrian O'Reilly Wednesday 14th September 2011 8pm at the Guildhall
 A must see if you like folk, winners of Best Group at the Radio 2 Folk Awards for three years in a row (2008, 2009 and 2010) this is the perfect time to see Lau. Three very talented chaps make up the group who are by no means restricted to the 'folk' genre and instead explore across genres to create a fabulously unique sound.


We'll be back with more recommendations as and when the acts are announced. If you still haven't arranged for accommodation in St Ives during the festival we recommend booking early as it is a very popular time.

If you have any other comments or recommendations do feed them back on the blog!

St Ives September Festival

We are pleased to be supporting the St Ives September Festival 2010 which is set to be a great week of music, art, theatre and events. The Guildhall will once again be hosting the majority of the music with St Ives Parish church acting as a secondary venue.

Some highlights of the festival this year include:

Guildhall

Battle of the Bands - 13th 7:30pm £7.50 presented by Every Child Matters.

Eddi Reader - 14th 8:30pm £20 Eddi Reader is a Scottish singer known both for her work with Fairground Attraction and for an enduring solo career. 

Atlan - 15th 8:30pm £20 Atlan emerged during the 1990s as one of Ireland's premier traditional bands. 

Donavan - Thursday 16th 8:30pm SOLD OUT The 1960s folk singer/songwriter Donavan is coming to St Ives. With support from Kirsty McGee. 

The Imagined Village - Friday 17th 8:30pm £25 A popular live show featured at lots of festivals around the UK and Europe. 

Paco Pena - Saturday 18th 8:30pm £20 Flamenco guitar at its best.

Kila - Sunday 19th 8:30pm £20 A superb Irish folk/world music band.

The Fishermans Friends - Monday 20th 8pm SOLD OUT.  An array of sea shanties.

Mousehole Male Voice Choir - Wednesday 22nd 8pm £7.50 The choir has an impressive repertoire and have toured across the world.

Robin Trower Band and Hamsters - Thursday 23rd 8:30pm £20

The Beat and John Otway - Friday 24th 8:30pm £15 The Beat fuse ska, pop, reggae, punk rock and soul with special guest John Otway. 

For Those About To Rock - Saturday 25th 8pm £16 The UK's leading high energy rock show featuring Live Wire, ACDC, and Limehouse Lizzy. 

St Ives Art Club (Our pick) 

Edgar Macias Quintet Tuesday 21st 8:30pm £12 A five piece band that combines different jazz styles and rhythms from funk to South American. 

Ken Nicol and Phil Cool Saturday 25th 8:30pm £12 adv. Phil Cool, comedian and impressionist teams up with Ken Nicol guitar virtuoso of Steeleye Span to produce a two hour show full of music and laughs. 

Arts and Literature (Our Pick) 

Bernard Leach - open daily 10am to 4:30pm

Tom Cross Retrospective - Open Monday to Saturday 10am - 6pm at Belgrave Gallery. 

Kiln Opening - Sunday 19th, Leach Pottery 12-2pm. 

Late at Tate St Ives - Friday 24th Tate St Ives. 7pm-9pm A chance to visit the current exhibitions for free. 

Workshops (Our Pick)

Feltmaking - Friday 17th, St Ives Library. With local Jo McIntosh, all ages welcome and materials provided. £5. 

Drop-in Beginners' Oil Painting 14th and 21st Starting with some basic colour theory and colour mixing exercises, this an ideal introduction to this popular medium. 

Films (Our Pick)

Toy Story - Saturday 18th 4pm St Ives Art Club. £3

Hairspray - Saturday 18th, Porthmeor Beach, 8:15 Tate St Ives presents a unique screening on the beach of this cult family classic.