2nd December - Lyrica at Martin & Co

We were at Martin & Co on the 2nd December for our second Wokingham Living Advent Calendar performance.

It was a cold evening, but act Lyrica warmed the crowd up with dancing and getting everyone singing along, while enjoying a mince pie and a tipple of mulled wine kindly provided by Martin & Co.

Lyrica are a fabulous trio comprising of the wonderful Gillie on vocals, Diane on the soulful cello and the awesome Kevin on guitar and backing vocals, who cheered the crowd with a fantastic mix of music including "Stand By Me", "Proud Mary", "Those were the days my friend" and everyone joined in with their final Christmas song, "We wish you a merry Christmas". 

Enjoy these photos of the evening, also below a short video from the evening from Facebook.

Tonight we are all gathering in the Market Place for the annual Dressing of the Christmas Tree where 13 local schools will present their decorations to the Town Mayor Cllr Gwynneth Hewetson, carols will be led by Wokingham Choral Society and refreshments provided by 1st Winnersh Scouts and local supermarkets.

8th December 2012 - Austentation at Anthony Blay

Who better to perform on the 8^th day of our Living Advent Calendar and outside a formal Menswear specialist (Anthony Blay on Rose Street) but a trio of musicians who hark back to days of bodices, corsets and top hats!

Austentation are a Regency Musical Trio, with Frank and Angela Underwood on romantic guitar and Gillie Tunley on vocals and percussion. They perform popular tunes and airs from the time of Jane Austen, including "The Irishman", a witty and incisive song written by Jane Austen herself. They have performed in the splendid domed Prince Regent's Music Room at the Royal Pavilion, Jane Austen's house at Chawton, the Jane Austen Centre and the Royal Crescent Hotel in Bath.

But it was not just the music, Gillie, Frank and Angela were dressed up in fashions of the time adding an extra element to the performance. The only thing missing was a light dusting of snow and out Regency Christmas would have been complete.

Regency versions of Carols and less well known Regency Era songs were sung. I was intrigued to learn when I got home that many well known carols had a completely different tune in the Regency Era than today.

Photos by Anne Coffey and Tony Hewetson.

Thanks to Anthony Blay (www.anthonyblay.co.uk/) for hosting last nights event.

Tonight we hope you can make it to Bookends on Peach Street for a literary performance.

Video: December 1st 2012 – GK at the Town Hall

For all of you who were there and for those who weren't (where were you!) here is a clip from the video taken at the opening night of the Wokingham Living Advent Calendar.

GK performing their version of Bob Dylan's "Make You Feel My Love"

December 1st 2012 – GK at the Town Hall

GK aka Gillie and Kevin are a theatrical musical duo, comprising vocals, acoustic guitar and percussion. Their genre is wide ranging from semi-classical through to rock. They are available for weddings, bar mitzvahs and Grand Openings! 

And what a Grand Opening it was!

Starting us off in a spectacular fashion Gillie appeared on the balcony of the Town Hall with a multi lingual and musical welcome then came down to street level to her partner Kevin on guitar.

Gillie and Kevin serenaded the crowd to the tune of some well known songs including a cover of Make you Feel my Love by Bob Dylan, but it was their cover of Proud Mary that really got the crowd dancing, which was needed in last nights freezing conditions.

Finishing off in style was a classic rendition of Silent Night and a rousing chorus of We Wish You a Merry Christmas which the crowd joined in with, a fitting end to the 1^st of December and the first day of advent.

Don't forget to open up the calendar to see where tonight's performance is and we hope to see you there.

I will leave you with a hint for tonight's performance: Well known Wokingham based performance group with a name that soars in the atmosphere.