POCKLINGTON ACOUSTIC BLUES WEEKEND 2015!
Sept 8, 2015 14:03:01 GMT
Brad Bechtel, bod, and 6 more like this
Post by Michael Messer on Sept 8, 2015 14:03:01 GMT
The Dates: 20th / 21st / 22nd November 2015 >Pocklington Arts Centre, North Yorkshire.
Hi everyone,
Thanks for your patience. I know I am running late with publicity, but this is the first opportunity I have had for quite a few weeks to sit down and write a press release about this year’s Pocklington Acoustic Blues Weekend.
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I have been asked by quite a few of our regular participants about broadening the musical content of the event, to still keep it in the Acoustic Blues, but to stretch out and incorporate other acoustic roots styles. I put a lot of thought and research into this suggestion of a change, I am very much a believer in ‘if it ain’t broke...don’t fix it’, but I too have been concerned that we mustn’t become complacent and allow the social side of the event to overpower the educational side, such as inviting the same tutors back every few years because they are old friends and it’s fun to hang out with them. I also can see that some of the advanced students/participants are looking for more than a repeat of the same lesson from the same tutor. Well because over the past few years we have been very lucky to have been taught by many of the current masters of acoustic Blues and because those masters have covered so much of the subject of acoustic Blues in all its forms, that is not an easy request to fulfill!
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The Tutors:
Faris - Acoustic 'Tuareg' Desert Blues & Lap-Steel Slide 'Weissenborn' Guitar.
Rather than try and find an American Blues player with a different slant on a style that has already been covered, or a British Folk guitarist with a leaning towards the Blues, I have brought in a fantastic and very talented musician for this year’s event that I really hope you all enjoy spending time with. His name is Faris and he is an Algerian-Italian who plays a style of guitar music that through artists like Ali Farka Toure, Tinariwen, and more recently, Songhoy Blues, has become known as Desert Blues. Faris lives in Italy and has spent many years playing on the Blues scene in Europe. So as well as his mastery of Tuareg (nomad) Blues guitar, Faris has strong links with the Blues. His musical roots sit as much in the American South as they do in the Sahara Desert. So much so that his debut solo album titled ‘Mississippi to Sahara’ contains material by Skip James, Son House, Fred McDowell, Muddy Waters and Blind Willie Johnson, and has Leo Bud Welch as a guest on two tracks. Faris plays beautiful finger-style acoustic guitar and acoustic lap-style (Weissenborn) slide guitar. Both of these instruments he plays in a style which sits somewhere between the Sahara Desert and the Mississippi Delta, in a way that Blues and roots music listeners and players can really relate to. Skip James with a twist of the Sahara!
Faris is a talented great musician that I am sure will be a big success at the Pocklington weekend. He will be teaching regular finger-style and if people want to, he will spend some time with the acoustic lap-steel (Weissenborn). Faris will certainly bring something new and different to the weekend that I believe will be a refreshing twist on the Blues styles that students already know. I always try to make the Pocklington weekend educational and a lot of fun!
Here is a Youtube video promo for the album ‘Mississippi to Sahara’
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Michael Messer - Slide Guitar & Open-Tuned Finger-Style Guitar.
I will be teaching Slide Guitar and being very aware of what I have said about tutors being repetitive, and that many of the slide students have been coming for many years, I am bringing a whole bunch of new material to work on in my classes. I will post details of what we will be doing in my classes in a another post on this thread.
In addition to my own slide guitar classes, I would like Faris to spend some time teaching his unique style of slide guitar. While this happening I am going to hold a finger-style open-tuned session, teaching open-tuned Blues guitar without a slide.
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I may bring another musician to help and teach during the weekend, but due to the cost of bringing in a musician from overseas, I will make that decision a little closer to the time.
(I have a room booked at the Feathers just in case!)
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Booking & Ticket Prices:
A full weekend of Acoustic Finger-Style and Slide Guitar tuition, plus the 'Acoustic Blues House Party' concert on Saturday night featuring; Faris, Michael Messer, and some of our students!
Here are the details:
'Michael Messer's Acoustic Blues Weekend' at Pocklington Arts Centre, North Yorkshire.
The Venue: Pocklington Arts Centre, 22-24 Market Place, Pocklington, North Yorkshire, YO42 2AR
Booking: www.pocklingtonartscentre.co.uk/booking Box Office - 01759 301547
Meeting on Friday 20th November at midday and classes starting at 1:30pm through until 5:00pm.
Friday night from 8:00pm there is a student performance session.
Saturday classes run from 10:00am through to 5:00pm.
Saturday night - there will be the legendary 'Acoustic Blues House Party' concert, which is also open to the public - Tickets £10 from the box office, and on the door.
Sunday classes will start at 10:30 through until 3:00pm.
Faris - Acoustic Blues Tuareg Guitar, Acoustic Lap Steel Slide Guitar >Desert Blues Guitar
Michael Messer - Bottleneck Slide Guitar, Open-Tuned Finger-Style Guitar
Ticket Prices:
Weekend ticket (including Saturday concert) - £135.00
Friday or Sunday ticket - £35.00
Saturday ticket (including concert) - £75
Saturday concert ticket - £10.00
www.pocklingtonartscentre.co.uk - Box Office 01759 301547
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Schedule:
FRIDAY - classes start at 2:00pm through to 5:00pm. There is a break for tea & coffee at 3:15 to 3:45. I have reserved tables at the Feathers Hotel for 25 people at 6:30pm. (please order food at lunchtime from the menus they have given me to avoid a long wait)
Friday Night Student Concert: This starts at around 8:00pm at the Arts Centre. It is a relaxed evening where people can get up and play a few songs, drink a few beers and meet other participants. If possible, I may bring a guest in to do a short performance....talk....type of thing.
SATURDAY - Classes start at 10:00am through to 5:00pm with breaks for tea, coffee and lunch. I have reserved tables at the Feathers Hotel for 25 people at 6:30pm. (please order food at lunchtime from the menus they have given me to avoid a long wait)
Saturday Night Concert - 'Acoustic Blues House Party': Doors open at 7:30pm / show starts at 8:00pm. After the show there is a jam session and student performances.
SUNDAY - Classes start at 10:30 through to 3:00pm, with breaks for tea, coffee and lunch. After lunch on Sunday there are classes for an hour or so, but this is on a very casual basis due to the fact that many people hit the road to get home, and everyone is usually shattered and overloaded with Blues!
(Faris with his friend, Leo Bud Welch)
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As far as I know this is the first time Faris has played in the UK and it is the first time anyone from the Sahara has taught Desert Blues Guitar in this country.
I think I have covered everything and I really look forward to seeing old friends and meeting some new like-minded people who love acoustic Blues guitar in all its forms.
Thank you,
Shine On
Michael.