The Gate to Southwell is still one of the best value festivals on the scene with:   Over 180 musicians and performers in 40 hours of concerts. Fabulous Headline Acts including three 2014 BBC Folk Award Winners A beautiful greenfield festival site and camping,  interesting craft and trade stalls, a choice of 10 food outlets, an exciting array of real ales and ciders, amazing childrens' and family entertainers, morris dancers galore, ceilidhs every day, Silent Discos,  a Big Top with giant video screens,  3 Main Stages and another 12 venues for music and dancing.

Keep watching the festival website. There is full information here about all of the acts booked, a provisional programme and video clips of many of the artists, just to whet your appetites.   I don't want to keep going on about how amazing this festival is - why not just come along and see for yourselves?   The sun is shining, the evenings are getting longer and the days are getting warmer - proper festival weather!

Latest Additions to the Line Up

More award winners have been added - this time winners of the Danny Kyle stage at Celtic Connections - The Chaplins - playing a timeless country-tinged pop, the young trio should appeal to all ages.    Another exciting addition is Sera, a delightful young singer-songwriter from North Wales.

Focus on Guitarists   There is an impressive list of guitarists exhibiting a range of styles at the festival this year: Jazz and blues legend Woody Mann, Nancy Griffiths side-man, Pete Kennedy, West Midlands guitar maestro Madi Simpson and Dorset based lap-steel guitarist Alex Roberts, plus our own local hero Steve Hicks with Lynn Goulbourn.

Not too long before this years Gate to Southwell Folk Festival. I'm really looking forward to seeing 3 days of great folk & roots music.

Particularly want to see Hatful of Rain   
                                                                                               
                                                                     and Vin Garbutt 


Other big names appearing include, Lucy Ward, Martyn Joseph, The Poozies, Bella Hardy, Feast of Fiddles, plus many many more. Click on pic below to see full line up and for more info about this great festival.

As i've mentioned before I ran a music store in Sutton in Ashfield, Nottinghamshire, England for almost 19 years with my wife and the help of some bloody great staff.

I have just uploaded a few more pictures onto our Facebook page "I remember DISKITS Sutton in Ashfield"

Why not take a look and if you remember the store why not join the group and join in some of the discussions.

It's been a good few months since my last post, lots of thing have been happening and just not had the time. I hope everyone who is following is still around and keeping well.

Did anyone out there support Record Store Day at the weekend, and if so what did you manage to purchase. Did you get the item you wanted. Lots of pictures on Facebook showing the turn out around the world.

I will post a few links later when I get time.

I also recently found a great little site charting a huge list of Record stores past and present here in the U.K. I will be emailing the site owner some pics from my Pride & Diskits days.

It's well worth a look and if you have any memories of working at any of the stores or remember buying from them, i'm sure that any input you can give will be most welcome.

Anyway that's it for now.

Mel