Thu 15th March, 2018
8:00 pm - 10:30 pm (Doors: 7:30pm)
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Bookings are closed for this event.
The Cafe is open this evening, last orders at 6.30pm
Mark Bloomer & Andrew Cadie have been constantly tearing up and down the autobahn since 2007, spreading their infectious music and wooing new fans with their congenial storytelling wherever they go.
Now firmly established in Germany, Broom Bezzums have twice won the “Folk” category at the German Rock and Pop Prize. They are regulars on TV and radio and have been heavily featured in the music press and lauded in broadsheets.
Broom Bezzums return to the UK for tours and festivals whenever they can and have proved that their unusual yet comfortingly familiar approach to folk music can be a real hit back home too. After an appearance at Glasgow’s Celtic Connections festival, they were invited to join Show of Hands on two support tours and Andrew was taken on the road as a guest performer in Jez Lowe’s band.
Mike Harding announced on his radio show that Broom Bezzums is one of his favourite bands, adding “I love everything they do” and Steve Knightley called them “Just about the best young duo on the circuit”.
Based on Anglo – Celtic traditions, Broom Bezzums’ music is flavoured by Andrew’s Northumbrian homeland and the formidable rock heritage of Mark’s Black Country roots. Andrew’s Northumbrian pipes are the most obvious local reference, while his fiddle playing is heavily influenced by neighbouring Scottish styles. Mark, a seasoned drummer, learned to play the guitar and mandola in his years as a stalwart of the Cork session scene. Live, the rhythmical element is expanded on more dynamic numbers with guitar-slapping, tambourine-stamping and a pulsating foot drum.
As singers, their full but very different voices harmonise to a surprisingly dense fusion. The tales in their own compositions and in their versions of traditional songs hark back to their itinerant lifestyles, political alienation and the love stories that caused them both to land in Germany in the first place.
Occasionally Mark and Andrew are joined on stage and on CD by singer Katie Doherty. Her spellbinding voice somehow finds its place in the harmonies and opens out the sound of the band even more.
Broom Bezzums’ evolution is an uncanny story, but that’s what makes the music what it is. Catch Broom Bezzums live and experience it for yourselves!
As a Swiss critic once put it… “Broom Bezzums don’t just play their music – they live it”
“From the moment I first saw and heard Broom Bezzums I recognised they’ve got it – instinctively. And their playing is a delightful reminder of the beauty of simplicity.” – Andy Kershaw
“Blissful (!) …this CD should really see them heralded as one of Britain’s leading ‘folk’ acts…even though they’re actually based in Germany!” – Folking.com
“Just about the best young duo on the circuit – a real class act!” – Steve Knightley (Show of Hands)
“They perform with soulful passion and create a full, rich sound” – fRoots