All posts by David Rozzell

G-Runs ‘n’ Roses at Didmarton 2024

Good afternoon and welcome to our second band announcement for Didmarton 2024. This time it’s the turn of a great European bluegrass band who first played for us in 2018, G-Runs ‘n’ Roses!

Upon hearing the name you expect to see a bunch of rough guys with tattoos and long hair, but the picture does not confirm your assumption. Luckily, these lads have other aces to pull out of their sleeves.

G-runs ‘n’ Roses are a young and energetic bluegrass band from the Czech Republic in the heart of Europe. They play both original and existing songs with a strong focus on solid rhythm and tight vocal harmonies. This is complemented with fancy instrumental solos and incorporated into elegant arrangements. However youthful their music may be, tasteful it shall remain, and the band retains a deep respect for traditional bluegrass music. The band was formed in July 2006 and their first CD “Learning To Fly” appeared in 2008. Their latest release “Gravity”, which features the second line-up of the band with Ondra Kozák on guitar, was released in May 2013. Both albums received enthusiastic reviews in the major bluegrass magazines.

Following a brief pause after the 2020 season, G-runs ‘n Roses returned to the scene in 2022 with a new line-up that still features veterans Ralph Schut and Milan Marek, but adds new members Vlado Krizan, Christopher Schut and Peter Burza.

The philosophy of G-runs ‘n’ Roses is, that if the band members are having fun, it shouldn’t be hard to share that fun with the audience. The result is a relaxed atmosphere, which gives every individual member enough space to add his own individual touch to the group’s music. Interaction with the audience is a key-element of any successful performance and the group will adapt itself to entertain audiences regardless of age or background.

Don’t miss this band they’re fantastic, so buy your advance tickets today! 😀

Cheaper Tickets for Children Aged 15-17!

Here at Didmarton Bluegrass Festival we love to encourage the younger generation to come to our festival and experience the music and atmosphere we all love so much and we understand how tight budgets are when trying to bring the whole family to a festival. So with that in mind we have decided to create a new tier of ticket prices to help make that happen and make it cheaper for families to attend. From today a Full Weekend Children’s Ticket for those aged between 15 and 17 (on 30th August 2024), when bought alongside an adult ticket, will be priced at just £30, a huge saving on all full weekend price tiers. When day tickets go on sale, there will also be Children’s Day Tickets available for those aged between 15 and 17 (on 30th August 2024), also priced at just £30 when purchased alongside an adult ticket. Children 14 and under still get into the festival for free.
If you have already purchased a ticket for a child that falls into this new price tier and would like a refund on the difference, please contact us via our tickets@ email address.

First Artists Announced!

Hello folks, the long wait is finally over, it’s time to start revealing the amazing line-up we have in store for you at Didmarton 2024 and what better way to start than with the fabulous Campell/Jensen! Ashley Campbell and Thor Jensen form a unique meeting of musical genres as the duo Campbell/Jensen. With Ashley coming from the world of country and Americana and Thor having a diverse background from rock to gypsy jazz, they create a fresh sound as a duo.

Ashley Campbell, daughter of country legend Glen Campbell, began her career playing in her father’s band on several world tours and has found success as a solo artist in the country music scene. Her original music has taken her all over the world, from China to Japan, to the mainstage at London’s O2 Arena to opening for Kris Kristofferson and the Bellamy Brothers. She has also been spotlighted for her banjo playing with Rascal Flatts in the music video for their hit single “Banjo”.

Thor Jensen, a virtuoso guitarist and songwriter from New York has traveled many different roads. From touring the world with Hazmat Modine, playing Americana with Quiet Life opening for the likes of Dr. Dog, Portugal. The Man and Shovels and Rope, then onto joining the Stephane Wrembel Band, playing the music of Django Reinhardt, performing at Carnegie Hall and all over the world, all the while immersing himself in New York’s jazz scene.

Ashley and Thor met in late 2021 and have been playing music together ever since. Both being strong instrumentalists in addition to the combination of Thor’s deep baritone and Ashley’s clear as a bell vocals, together they make a one of a kind blend.

Don’t miss these two at Didmarton this year, buy your tickets now!

Super Early Bird Tickets!

Yesterday we teased about some exciting news, well here it is. You’ve heard of Early Bird Tickets, well at Didmarton Bluegrass Festival we give you Super Early Bird Tickets! Not only that, but from 8am on 1st November, for a limited time, you can buy your full weekend festival tickets at last year’s Early Bird price of just £80!

Sadly our costs, like everyone’s, have skyrocketed in the last couple of years and if we are to survive we have little choice but to increase the price of our tickets to offset that. To this end full weekend tickets will be: Early Bird – £85, on sale from 1st February, Advance – £90 from 1st June and the On-The-Gate price will be £98.

However, if you buy your tickets between 1st November and 31st January, you will be able to buy your weekend tickets at last year’s Early Bird price of just £80, beat the increase and save almost £20 on the Gate price!

I’m not going to mention the ‘C’ word as it’s still Halloween, but, festival tickets do make the most excellent gifts for almost any occasion… 😉

We look forward to seeing you in 2024! 😀

Exciting 2024 News!

Committee meetings have been had, ideas have been bounced around, very important decisions have been made and exciting things are afoot in regards to Didmarton 2024! ‘What exciting things’ I hear you cry? Oh come now, it would be little fun to tell you everything all at once, but the date is set, 30th August to 1st September and if you watch out on this or our Facebook page tomorrow, we’ll be making a big announcement you really won’t want to miss. 😁

May Madness 2023

Hot off the press! The Didmarton Bluegrass Festival committee have once again all caught May Madness! That’s right, the crazy madness that makes us give things away has struck the committee for the second year in a row. How can you help I hear you cry? Well it’s very simple, all you have to do is purchase a Full Weekend Ticket before the end of May and you will be entered into a prize draw. All Early Bird ticket sales to date have automatically been included in the draw too! If your name is drawn on 3rd June, you will win another full weekend ticket to give to a friend, plus £100 spending money and a bottle of bubbly to celebrate! Plus, the Didmarton committee will get cured of this May Madness that’s caught them unawares, it’s a win-win situation! Please help save your festival committee from this madness and buy your festival tickets now! 😀

Day Ticket Sales

We know many of you can’t make the whole Didmarton Festival weekend and we know you like to plan your visit in advance, so here are the day ticket prices for this year’s festival – Friday £40, Saturday £40, Sunday £30. We also like to make your planning and visit as easy and relaxed as possible, so in a break from our usual day ticket sales on the gate only, this year from 1st August, there will be a limited number of day tickets for all three days available to buy in advance.

Traders Market Opportunity

Would you like to trade at Didmarton over the festival weekend, 2nd-4th September? Think you have a stall that would go down well in our Festival Market with our festival goers? You could well be in luck, there are some spaces still available and we’d like to hear from you, please contact us via email: traders@didmarton-bluegrass.co.uk and be quick, we wouldn’t want you to miss out on this opportunity.

May Madness

Hot off the press! The Didmarton Bluegrass Festival committee have all caught May Madness! That’s right, the crazy madness that makes people give things away has struck the committee. How can you help I hear you cry? Well it’s very simple, all you have to do is purchase a bargain priced Early Bird Full Weekend Ticket before the end of May and you will be entered into a prize draw. All Early Bird ticket sales to date have automatically been included in the draw too! If your name is drawn after the month is up, you will win another full weekend ticket to give to a friend, plus £100 spending money and a bottle of bubbly to celebrate Didmarton being back! Plus, the Didmarton committee get cured of the May Madness that’s caught them unawares, it’s a win-win situation! Please help save your festival committee from this madness and buy your Early Bird tickets now! 😀

Didmarton 2022 Line-up!

With tickets going on sale tomorrow morning, 1st March at 9am, we thought you’d like to know who you’re going to see at Didmarton 2022. So we are delighted to announce the following bands have been booked to perform, we think it’s a wonderful range of music and hopefully more than a little something for everyone! If you head to the Line-Up page of our website you’ll find a Spotify playlist with some of the bands you’ll hear this year too, so why not drop by and find out just how great they all sound. The website will also soon be updated with biogs of all the bands performing, so keep an eye open for updates.

The Slocan Ramblers (Canada)
Flats & Sharps
The Firecrackers
The Stompin’ Dave Bluegrass Band
Sapphire Storm
Bearlands
The Rip-Roaring Success
Jaywalkers
Jaeja (Iceland/UK)
The Fountaineers
The Vanguards
Carrivick Sisters
Pet Yeti
The Boatswain Brothers
Phil Davidson Band
Boston Boys Bluegrass band

Join us 2nd-4th September, it’s going to be an amazing weekend!