MILKYS MUSIC MATTERS FOCUS ON UPCOMING BEDFORD GIGS If you are reading this page, then there is an extraordinarily strong chance that like me you’re badly missing the buzz that live music provides. The anticipation of hearing & eyeballing the new hype or maybe something recently unveiled to you through radio or even a returning favourite. What this provides is the opportunity to soundtrack an evening and shape memories, meet like-minded souls and maybe even tap a foot, pogo tigger bounce or flat out cut some rug. How have we coped? In Bedford we are blessed with an exceptionally fine music venue in Esquires and a collection of promoters who first and foremost are music loopy and forever searching for the perfect gig. Like all businesses affected by the pandemic Esquires has had a tough time, staff furloughed, over a year gone with zero income and a government roadmap that at first seemed to be built on sand. With strong leadership and the dedication of the supporting Esquires crew alongside an enthusiastically wellreceived Crowdfunder, hope does spring eternal. During the enforced downtime, a lot of work has been undertaken at the venue to upgrade the facilities and help to ensure the venue continues to be a firm staple of the national touring circuit.
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I’m not going to bang on about all the great bands and big names who have played at Esquires (ahem.. I am still trying to get Adele to fulfil the date she pulled out on with a sore throat all those years ago) but instead highlight some of the incredible acts we have managed to book for the rest of 2021. First off though, the venue will open with a series of socially distanced gigs before we return to a desperately required sense of normality from the 21st of June. Through August to December Esquires will host the absolute best of a wave of new hyped indie bands (Dream Wife, PVA, Yard Act, The Lounge Society, The Goa Express, Coach Party and TV Priest), some classic ‘vintage’ bands such as The Futureheads, British Sea Power, CUD, The Nightingales and Shonen Knife and still find room to accommodate the likes of The Dub Pistols, The Meteors, The Blockheads, Lee Scratch Perry, KatyJ Pearson, Tom Grennan and Emily Capell. Seriously, there are too many to list here and as if that wasn’t enough, a new one-day multi-stage annual festival (CEREMONY) will be launched on Saturday 17th July with sets from a dazzling array of the best emerging UK bands. We cannot wait to see you back at live music events in Bedford and after a year of staying in, it will soon be time to go out EVERY NIGHT. Keep music live, Milky.
