Named in the Top 100 Acoustic Guitarists, Brooks Williams is one of the premier singer-guitarists on the acoustic music scene. The proverbial triple threat, Williams plays a fiery guitar, has a rich and silky voice, and writes hook-laden songs. For 25-years he has been wowing audiences worldwide, every night delivering the deepest and most intense interpretations of everything from early blues to inventive covers to his own recent original compositions.

From his birthplace of Statesboro Georgia in the USA to his current home in Cambridge England, Brooks Williams is the proverbial road-warrior, touring throughout the UK, Italy, Ireland, Canada and the USA. He has even played his unique brand of roots-blues in Turkey, Kenya and Tanzania. Recent appearances include Shrewsbury Folk Festival, Celtic Connections, London Acoustic Guitar Show and Glastonbury.

No stranger to the studio, Brooks Williams has, at last count, an amazing 19 CDs to his name, including Baby O! (2010), engineered by Andy Bell, Live Blues (2011), recorded at Crawley Blues Festival, and State Of The Union (2012), Williams’ collaboration with Boo Hewerdine on Reveal Records and launched at this year’s Celtic Connections.

In the trio, Williams teams up with legendary bassist Dave Olney and saxophonist-vocalist Myke Clifford. Olney is recognized as one of the UK’s most highly talented bass players, he has performed or recorded with everyone from Cliff Richard, Olivia Newton-John, Gilbert O’Sullivan, the BBC Big Band, John Dankworth and Cleo Laine. He has appeared on Graham Norton and Loose Women and is heard daily on the BBC playing the signature tune for The Archers. Clifford is one of the most prominent side musicians in the greater Cambridge area, working regularly with folk, jazz and funk artists.

  Brooks Williams Trio standard ticket £12.50
  Brooks Williams Trio concessionary ticket £11.00

Please Note We do not post out tickets from online bookings. Bring your PayPal receipt/ref number on the night. We will have a list of all online bookings on the door.
Thank you.

Jez Lowe’s band, The Bad Pennies, have been one of the high points of the international folk scene for over a decade, frequently touring to the USA, Canada, Australia and beyond! This time they are touring Jez Lowe’s new studio album ‘Jack Common’s Anthem’ as well as a prestigious back catalogue of classics. Jez Lowe was recently described as ‘one of our best songwriters’ by BBC Radio 2 and his songwriting work for the BBC ‘Radio Ballads’ series was honoured by a SONY Radio Academy Award. In December 2007 he was nominated for the BBC Radio Folk Awards as ‘Folksinger of the Year’. His lively, toe-tapping melodies and bittersweet lyrics are complimented by the excellent band line-up of Kate Bramley (fiddle/ duet vocals), Tyneside champion Northumbrian piper Andy May (pipes, whistles, piano) and fretless bass supremo David de la Haye
(bass/ vocals).

  Jez Lowe & The Bad Pennies standard ticket £12.50
  Jez Lowe & The Bad Pennies concessionary ticket £11.00

Please Note We do not post out tickets from online bookings. Bring your PayPal receipt/ref number on the night. We will have a list of all online bookings on the door.
Thank you.

Ashover is a pretty village and extensive parish, situated in the beautiful Amber valley, Derbyshire, just outside the Peak District National Park, 4 miles North East of Matlock, and about 7 miles South West of Chesterfield off the B6036 Matlock to Chesterfield road.

Standing about 600ft. above sea level, protected on the North and North East by the Rattle and Fabric (980ft.), from which the counties of York, Lincoln, Nottingham, Leicester, Stafford and Derby, can be seen, together with 20 parish churches within a radius of six miles, and extensive views of the Slack, Bradley Tor, Cocking Tor, Ravensnest, High Ordish, and Ashover Hay, which reach up to 1000ft. on the other side of the valley.

The Fabric was once the site of an old Druid temple, and is a landmark that can be seen from a great distance. The village and parish was first mentioned in the Doomsday book when it was known as ‘Essovre’, derived from village standing beyond the edge of the Ash Forest, and it has been called the valley of ‘silence and wild flowers’

The river Amber rises above and North East of Wilkin House in Upper Town and flows chiefly North West to South East through the valley, and bends South to meet the Derwent at Ambergate.

Ashover was at one time a flourishing business centre, with lead mines, 13 lime kilns, coal at Alton, smelting at Stonedge, lace thread at Kelstedge, four flour mills on the Amber, shoemakers, nail makers, basket makers, stocking frames, and rope works which used to spin ropes which reached right across the Moor Road down to the Church gate, claimed to be the longest ropes made in the country, and used for the mines.

Lavender, roses, valerian, camomile, elecampane, and other plants were grown in large quantities, dried, and used for medical and other purposes. There were also the Fluor Spar mines and Stone Quarries at Mill Town.

None of these industries still exist but evidence of their being may be found everywhere. One part of the village was known as the Rattle because of the sound of the looms rattling in the making of stockings.

Information taken from www.derbyshireuk.net/ashover.html and www.ashover.org

Local Accommodation

Holly Cottage Hoildays and B & B
Ilex Farm
Handley
Clay Cross
Derbyshire S45 9AT
Holiday Cottage available all year for self catering holidays or B & B (sleeps 4)

Contact: 01246 862681/ 07775921517

‘Sheeplea House Farm’ B & B
Birkin Lane
Ashover
Derbyshire
S45 0LQ

Contact: 01246 590015

‘The Old Poets’ Pub – B & B
Great Real Ale & Pub Grub
Butts Road
Ashover
S45 0EW

www.oldpoets.co.uk
Contact: 01246 590888

‘The Nettle Inn’ B & B and Food Pub
Hardmeadow Lane
Ashover
Derbyshire
S45 0ES

Contact: 01246 590462

‘Kelstedge Inn’ B & B and Food Pub
Matlock Road
Ashover
Chesterfield
Derbyshire
S45 0DX

Contact: 01246 590448

Other good food pubs in Ashover

‘The Crispin Inn’
Good Food pub
Church Street
Ashover
Chesterfield
Derbyshire
S45 0AB

Contact: 01246 590911

‘The Black Swan’
Real Ales and Good Food
Church Street
Ashover
Chesterfield
Derbyshire
S45 0AB

Contact: 01246 591648

‘Three Horse Shoes’
Good Food Pub
Matlock Road
Spitewinter
Ashover
Chesterfield
S45 0LL

Contact: 01246 568034