Club Review by The Teesdale Mercury

THE schedule for Kevin Montgomery and the Road Trippers forthcoming British tour reads very much like that of any acclaimed Nashville star. But take a closer look. Nestling between the predictable destinations of London, Bristol, Glasgow and Manchester, is the January 15th gig in a not so likely location (Mickleton).

Kevin Montgomery is a highly acclaimed singer-songwriter. Son of Buddy Holly’s song writing partner and the female backing singer on Elvis Presley’s classic Suspicious Minds. Whereas Mickleton is a picturesque Teesdale village, more associated with walking holidays than international rock tours. But Kevin is just one in a long line of stars that make a b-line for the village whenever they are in the UK.

The Mickleton R&B Club was set up four-years ago by local music lovers Steve and Sue Brown, and their friend John Carrington. Fed up of travelling to far-away venues to see their favourite bands play, the group simply decided that they would bring the big names to Mickleton instead. But never in their wildest dreams did they imagine that their quiet village would become a hot topic of conversation in Nashville, nor that loyal fans would flock to gigs in the inconspicuous village hall from all over the country.

We started going to see bands, but there was nothing up here, explained Sue. It started with us just going around different venues talking to organisers asking them for contact names of agents. But even in these early days the founders of the Mickleton R&B Club were determined to think big. To date they have welcomed a host of much sought after acts including, blues star Marcus Malone, The East Side Torpedoes, and Jools Holland s most fierce rival Mike Sanchez. And as word got out about the unique and intimate atmosphere in the Mickleton Village Hall, more and more bands began to make the trip. Most of them had never heard of Mickleton, laughed Sue. But all the bands that have come have been really surprised. And Steve added. When I speak to them they look at a map and can t believe where we are. They say, are you sure it is the Mickleton in the middle of nowhere?

Of course bringing the big acts to Mickleton isn’t cheap. Most performers demand a fee of at least £1,000 and there is travel and accommodation to think of as well. But the Mickleton R&B Club is a non profit-making organisation, investing any money made from ticket sales back into attracting bigger and better names to the village. And apart from a professional sound engineer the club is manned entirely by volunteers. We wanted to keep the prices as cheap as possible, but we can t keep them right down or we wouldn t get the quality of the bands that we do, said Steve. They have got good credentials and whenever they do a European Tour they like coming up here. We try and put on the best we can with what we have got. And Sue and Steve enjoy vetting the acts before inviting them to play. We try not to put anybody on unless we have seen them, said Sue. The music has to be very very good. When the lights go down and the kicks in, visitors to the R&B club would be forgiven for forgetting that they are inside a Teesdale village hall. Kitted out with jazz cafe style tables, and £9,000 worth of lights the hall is transformed into a fully functional concert venue. Most of the artists that come here come with mixed expectations but they are always pleasantly surprised, said Steve. It turns a sleepy village hall into a vibrant event. And although accustomed to playing to tens of thousands of fans the hall, with a capacity of 200 is quickly becoming the favourite venue of some of Nashville's finest. Because it s quite intimate here you get to talk to the artists, said Sue. You get that real personal contact, and a lot of the bands that tour never really get to meet people in this way. It s possible to try things out here that you wouldn t in the bigger venues. Piano artist Mike Sanchez certainly took advantage of this experimental venue, playing to the delighted Mickleton audience for three and a half hours, performing any song the crowd requested. And Sue describes the atmosphere at every R&B night as buzzing .

Steve admits to being apprehensive when he first embarked on a project of this scale but the rewards have been unimaginable. Despite attracting music fans from all over the country Steve and Sue s aim has always been to provide quality entertainment for the people of the village. It is nice to get the local people in here. That is what we did it for, said Steve. When Mike Sanchez came up we had people say that that was one of the best nights they have had. There s a lot of hard work and a lot of stress but when you hear something like that it s brilliant, Sue added. Even at one or two in the morning when you are clearing up you still feel this fantastic buzz. When Kevin Montgomery phoned the Mickleton R&B club to book his forthcoming gig he was sitting backstage at New York's Madison Square Garden. He phoned and said get Mickleton booked! said Steve. They are obviously all sat in Nashville chatting and saying, we are off too Mickleton are you?

by Sophie Doughty
Reporter
Teesdale Mercury