Kiya Ashton – Anchor

Back in December 2018 Kiya Ashton released her debut EP, Sweet Decadence, to quite some positive response. Since then she has become even more of a fixture of Guernsey’s live music scene and, during the current break from live public events, has been a big part of the Upload Festival CI series of online streaming gigs which she’s now followed...

Vale Earth Fair Sneakaway To The Library and Zine Launch – Guille-Allès Library – 14/03/20

This is an excerpt of an article written by Tom Girard Beth Brown on stageAt last summer’s Vale Earth Fair a new stage debuted, The Sneakaway, focussing, for the first time that I can recall at the festival, not on music but on spoken word performances. Now the team behind it have staged a night at Guernsey’s Guille-Allès Library featuring...

Sound At St James 2 – St James Concert Hall – 22/02/20

This is an excerpt of an article written by Tom Girard The first Sound At St James festival, a little under a year and a half ago, marked something of a relaunch of St James (or at least the perception of it) as a venue for more than classical music and rather staid, traditional entertainment. Since then a range of...

BBC Music Introducing In The Channel Islands: December 2019 – Live Session Special

This is an excerpt of an article written by Tom Girard Click here to listen to the show For my December 2019 edition of BBC Music Introducing in the Channel Islands I presented a look back at some of the best of the live sessions we’ve featured across the year. Along with the sessions recorded in our studio from the...

BBC Music Introducing In The Channel Islands: November 2019 – Track Not Found and Brunt

This is an excerpt of an article written by Tom Girard Track Not Found in the studioClick here to listen to the show On my BBC Music Introducing In The Channel Islands show for November 2019 we had a live session, a preview a new album and a listen to some of the acts I caught at BBC Music Introducing...

Vale Earth Fair Weekend 2019 – 24-25/08/19

This is an excerpt of an article written by Tom Girard The Neville Staple BandFor the third year in a row the Vale Earth Fair expanded to a two day event with the main festival, this year celebrating 43 years, in its usual place at the Vale Castle on the Sunday of the August bank holiday weekend but with Sound...

BBC Music Introducing In The Channel Islands – August 2019 – Unplugged Club, Hip Hop Coffee Shop and Tadhg Daly

This is an excerpt of an article written by Tom Girard Click here to listen to the show For my edition of BBC Music Introducing In The Channel Islands for August 2019 there was a packed line up. Rather than the usual live, acoustic session in the studio I headed to the Guernsey Gigs Unplugged Club and recorded some tracks...

BBC Music Introducing In The Channel Islands – July 2019 – Vale Earth Fair and King Nun

This is an excerpt of an article written by Tom Girard Vale Earth Fair Collective and King NunClick here to listen to the show For my BBC Introducing In The Channel Islands radio show there was a lot going on being deep in the midst of summer festival season. With that in mind, as well as a little look back...

Chaos 15 – Pleinmont, Guernsey – 28-30/06/19

This is an excerpt of an article written by Tom Girard After seemingly settling back into a winning formula last year, Chaos returned for a 15th time to the Pleinmont headland in Guernsey over the weekend of 28th to 30th June 2019. With two stages running for the three days it was possibly the most varied Chaos event yet with...

BBC Music Introducing in the Channel Islands – May 2019 – The Cor Damme Lars

This is an excerpt of an article written by Tom Girard The Cor Damme Lars in the studioClick here to listen to the show This month I was back across all Channel Islands once again for BBC Music Introducing In The Channel Islands with new music from Guernsey, Jersey, Sark and Alderney all represented (I’ve still not got anything from...

Havoc Presents… Kings, Coastal Fire Dept, Vice and Kiya Ashton – The Fermain Tavern – 02/03/19

This is an excerpt of an article written by Tom Girard KingsBack in November Havoc Events revived themselves after a few years away from organising shows with a metal night at The Fermain Tavern harking back to their former glory days. At the time though they were already saying they had plans to put on shows with a broader appeal...

BBC Music Introducing In Guernsey: February 2019 – Lord Vapour and Dan Ashplant

This is an excerpt of an article written by Tom Girard Click here to listen to the show For February edition of BBC Music Introducing In Guernsey I featured a familiar band along side a brand new artist. Lord Vapour will be well known to anyone with an eye on the island’s music scene through their relentless gigging and well...

BBC Music Introducing In Guernsey: December 2018 – Review of the Year

This is an excerpt of an article written by Tom Girard Click here to listen to the show For the final BBC Music Introducing In Guernsey radio show of 2018 I took a look back at the last year of music in the islands. As well as reflecting on some of the big events that took place across the year,...

Music In Guernsey In 2018

This is an excerpt of an article written by Tom Girard A year ago, when I was writing my review of music in Guernsey in 2017, I commented that it felt like a year when the bands and musicians in and from the island had all, collectively, taken a great step forward I terms of the quality of what was...

Kiya Ashton EP Launch with The Cor Damme Lars, Gregory Harrison and Elisha Horsepool – The Doghouse – 05/12/18

This is an excerpt of an article written by Tom Girard Kiya AshtonAfter the previous week’s mid-week show at St James it was time for another Wednesday night outing, this time at The Doghouse to celebrate the release of Sweet Decadence, the debut EP from 15-year-old musician and songwriter Kiya Ashton, along with support in the night from The Cor...

Kiya Ashton – Sweet Decadence EP

This is an excerpt of an article written by Tom Girard Over the last couple of years Kiya Ashton has gone from attending the shows organised by Sound Guernsey to being one of the most interesting performers at them. As well as this she has appeared at both Chaos and the Vale Earth Fair while becoming a recognisable member of...

BBC Music Introducing In Guernsey: November 2018 – Kiya Ashton in session and The Honest Crooks

This is an excerpt of an article written by Tom Girard Kiya Ashton and The Honest CrooksClick here to listen to the show On the November 2018 edition of BBC Music Introducing In Guernsey I was joined in the studio by a band an artist preparing to release their debut EPs. Kiya Ashton has been gigging for a couple of...

Sound At St James – St James Concert Hall, Guernsey – 27-28/10/18

This is an excerpt of an article written by Tom Girard Of Empires on the main stageFor as long as I can remember St James, the impressive looking former church on the main road into St Peter Port, has been the home of classical music in Guernsey with rarely anything even bordering on pop gracing its impressive main hall, or...

BBC Music Introducing in Guernsey: October 2018 – Havoc Events and Out Of The Box

This is an excerpt of an article written by Tom Girard Havoc Events and Graham DuerdenClick here to listen to the show On the October 2018 edition of BBC Music Introducing In Guernsey, after a packed summer of live music, I featured a couple of things a little different. First I spoke to Graham Duerden, more well-known as drummer from...

Out Of The Box – Various Artists

This is an excerpt of an article written by Tom Girard Every few years it seems someone strikes on the idea of releasing a compilation album celebrating something of Guernsey’s music scene. From the Guernsey Rock Album in the early 1980s through Twist Records GBG series they have acted as a glimpse into what’s happening in the island’s ‘scene’ at...

Chaos 14 – Pleinmont, Guernsey – 29/06-01/07/18

This is an excerpt of an article written by Tom Girard Now in its 14th year I think it’s safe to say that, after the Vale Earth Fair, Chaos (aka Chaos Weekend or Chaos Festival) is one of the most established events in the Channel Islands music calendar regularly attracting visitors from Jersey, the U.K. and mainland Europe. Over that...

BBC Music Introducing In Guernsey: June 2018 – Arts Sunday Lookback

This is an excerpt of an article written by Tom Girard Click here to listen to the show For the June 2018 edition BBC Music Introducing In Guernsey its a bit of a special looking back at our stage on Arts Sunday earlier in the month. With that in mind there are live sets from Kiya Ashton, Ukuladeez, Track Not...

BBC Music Introducing at Arts Sunday 2018 – 10/06/18

This is an excerpt of an article written by Tom Girard UkuladeezFor a fourth year BBC Music Introducing in Guernsey was part of Guernsey Arts Commission‘s Arts Sunday event on 10th June. The event, this year focussed on the theme of ‘Express Yourself’, took over the St Peter Port seafront from 10 until 4 and featured a showcase of pretty...

Sound In The Market – Market Square, St Peter Port – 02/06/18

This is an excerpt of an article written by Tom Girard KingsIn the past there has been something of a tradition of energetic live music performances in the heart of St Peter Port. From the likes of My Generation being famously photographed in Church Square in the 1960s to the Market Rock events in the 90s there was often a...

Music on Liberation Day 2018 – Albert Pier and The Mariners – 09/05/18

This is an excerpt of an article written by Tom Girard The Space Pirates of Rocquaine on the Albert Pier stageIt’s something I’ve said before but something that seems to feel truer every year that, on Guernsey’s Liberation Day, amongst the various forms of celebration and commemoration it’s music that brings it all together and allows us to feel truly...

Sound Guernsey present The Young Ones, Vol. 2 – The Fermain Tavern – 02/03/18

This is an excerpt of an article written by Tom Girard Track Not FoundFor two and a bit years Sound Guernsey have been giving young music fans in the island the chance to experience live music from both established and new bands. From this, as well as the work of music schools like Thirst and School Of Popular Music (amongst...