What’s On

LUNATRAKTORS
Award-winning ‘broken folk’ experimentalists — Lunatraktors strip Anglo-Celtic traditionals to the bare bones of vocal harmony and percussive dance, expanding into weird, playful spaces with eclectic acoustic beats, accordion, whistles and deep drones. Ancient and contemporary, mournful and joyously deranged, Lunatraktors are ‘simply different’ (RTÉ Lyric FM). MOJO Top Ten Folk Albums 2019 & 2021, British Music Collection LGBTQ+ Composer Award 2021.

“☆☆☆☆ A clap of thunder over the lukewarm waters of contemporary folk.” François Gorin, Télérama

Bandcamp: https://lunatraktors.bandcamp.com/
Website: https://www.lunatraktors.space/

ROARY SKAISTA
Roary Skaista is a folk singer-songwriter, performing original material, as well as traditional songs updated for a more diverse contemporary society. Their music blends a trad folk sound with up-to-date, witty and poignant lyrics, challenging audiences on current issues such as mental health, neurodiversity, LGBT+ rights, gender equality and the environment.
“Roary Skaista […] shared their joy, along with intimate and personally revealing songs, addressing issues close to their heart.” The Folk Wizard, Folk North West

Bandcamp: https://roaryskaista.bandcamp.com/
Linktree: https://linktr.ee/roaryskaista

Hosted by JUSTA KNIGHT

Japanese noise legends Melt-Banana make a very welcome return to Cambridge in September! Over the last 30 or so years they’ve ploughed their own distinct furrow and played with bands such as Wire, Mr.Bungle, Fantomas, Tool, MGMT, Napalm Death etc.

Join us for a multi-game tournament on classic arcade games tbc, as well as retro console classics on the SNES, Mega Drive and arcade cabinets. Played live and loud from the iconic Portland Arms venue.

Free entry to the tournament for those wanting a challenge as well as machines on free-play for the spectators and casual gamers to try!

Prizes including merch, free drinks and Portland Pounds to the winners!
Register your interest by dropping us a line on our socials or email us at post@theportlandarms.co.uk

Cambridge rock outfit The Routine sees Liam Palmer (vocals/rhythm guitar), Ben Taylor (lead guitar), Ben Nunn (bass) and Mark Thomson (drums) join forces to create a sound somewhere between Foo Fighters and Franz Ferdinand. Chugging guitars mingle with melodic harmonies, forging a rocktail of alternative styles.

Melody Coles – 7.30 PM
Crowned Hyenas – 8:15 PM
Grace Calver – 9:00 PM
The Routine – 9:45 – 10:45 PM

The Alley Club Presents…60th Anniversary of The Skatalites DJ Night
WOW! Has it really been 60 years? Yes! And Ska music (and The Skatalites band) has been around just as long and longer!
Come and celebrate the best genre of music there is! Enduring, easy to join in and dance to and FUN, Ska music still leads the way!
DJs Sawty, Ska Bar Steve & Gonzo will be playing the best in ORIGINAL 60’s Ska on original. chunky and sometimes crackly vinyl,
with an emphasis on The Skatalites (Don Drummond, Tommy McCook, Baba Brooks, Roland Alphonso etc.)
Also, expect sounds by Prince Buster, Bob Marley & The Wailers, Jimmy Cliff, Toots & The Maytals and more!
This is the music that paved the way for 2 Tone and the late ’70’s Ska Revival 45 years ago,
which we’ll be celebrating (@ The Portland ofcourse!) 18th Oct .24.

http://alleyclub.co.uk/

Simmering memory and unspoken truth righteously seethe in songs with tenderness, anger and startling leaps of joy and optimism. To see it live is to truly feel it. Dominie Hooper, long-time session musician, collaborator and multi-instrumentalist, takes flight in the centre of a stage wrapped in musical alchemy with bandmate mainstays Phil Self and Dave Hamblett.

Her folk-steeped debut EP “Anno” was described as “beautiful, challenging, fruitful… captivating” (Liverpool Sound & Vision), and “confident and impressive” (Fatea Magazine), and was triumphantly celebrated with a sell-out debut headline tour in June 2022.

Cambridge Portland Arms, Thu, 18 Apr 2024 at 7:00pm
buy tickets

Ryley Walker began his career in the early 2010s, after moving from Illinois’ provincial town of Rockford, and settling into Chicago’s independent scene. After a slew of cassette and vinyl releases, Tompkins Square put out his debut album in 2014, which was then followed up by the Dead Oceans-released “Primrose Green” a year later. His most recent album, “Course in Fable”, was released on his own Husky Pants Recordings label in 2021.

Having toured with the likes of Richard Thompson, and with a supporting slot for Dinosaur Jr. forthcoming – as well as a tremendous Bert Jansch tribute show behind him, wherein his hero Anne Briggs called him the ‘c word’ – Walker has rubbed shoulders with the very best.

While, in the past, his desire to be as great as his influences may have dogged and hindered him from bringing his own personality to his music, now, Walker’s music is undeniably his. A mix of Twitter and sobriety may be partially responsible. “Music is an exciting thing I get to do because I’m alive and well. I take every opportunity I’m given very seriously; I’ve gotta pay tribute to that by staying alive and being as good to the people who love me as I can,” he said.

Maiden Anglia – East Anglia’s premier Iron Maiden tribute band are making their Cambridge debut at the Portland Arms!

Bringing you two hi-octane sets of classic Maiden, performed with passion, precision and reverence for the source material.

Support: Planet Fatale

Our regular night of mirth featuring top comics from the national circuit.

Headline: JAKE DONALDSON
A combination of storytelling and stand-up comedy, Jake’s material often explores themes of masculinity and mental health through stories from Jake’s real life as a partially sighted person, who grew up in the North East of England with a disabled, working-class Dad.
https://www.glee.co.uk/performer/jake-donaldson/

Opening act
BEN BRIGGS
https://thetopsecretcomedyclub.co.uk/comedians/ben-briggs/

Compere
AARON LEVENE
https://www.mirthcontrolcomedy.com/aaronlevene

With:
JULIA ECKHOFF
https://randomaxcomedy.com/artists/eckhoff/
JACK CHANNELL
https://opencomedy.com/watch/4915

The New Music Generator presents four of the most exciting upcoming Indie bands from the region on one lineup.

9.45-10.30: AFTERDRIVE
9-9:30: LAY/BYE
8:15-8:45: Moonlight Academy
7:30-8:00: In Cairo

http://newmusicgenerator.com

Green Mind presents… acts TBA

Tom’s 9th studio album is an album of duets with some of his favourite French artists. McRae decided to collaborate on these 11 new songs with various artists as a way of acknowledging his deep love of French music, and deepen his relationship with mainland Europe, following Britain’s disastrous decision to leave the EU.

Tom’s debut album went Gold in France in 2001, selling over 60,000 copies, and he has divided his time between Paris and Wiltshire since 2021. Says Tom: “I grew up being intrigued by classic French songs. Before streaming services made all music readily available, only the huge crossover pop songs made it across the channel, but while my friends were listening to Vanessa Paradis, I was listening to Serge Gainsbourg. It seemed exotic, adventurous, and to be from another planet, let alone a country only 21 miles away from my own.”

Combining her sultry voice and electric guitar to create rock songs infused with blues and soul, Mary Spender’s songwriting showcases her virtuosic style of guitar playing as well as her wide vocal range.

Mary has amassed over 79 million views on her YouTube channel with over 690k subscribers watching her weekly videos on life as a 21st century musician. Predominantly targeted towards guitarists and singer/songwriters, she both shares her own experiences and interviews prominent artists such as Cory Wong, Santana, KT Tunstall and James Valentine of Maroon 5. Mary has found an interactive community who are incredibly supportive of her work and allow her to release music as an independent artist – no label, no middlemen, just true fans.

In March 2021 Mary wrote, recorded and released John Mayer’s new track ‘Last Train Home’ before he did, responding to a snippet he released on Instagram. The video went viral and caught the attention of Mayer himself, who invited Mary to hear the finished track before anyone else.

In 2022 she released ‘Songbook Volumes 1 & 2’, a double album of new material funded by fans through Patreon.

A fully produced studio album of fan favourites, titled Super. Sexy. Heartbreak was released in October 2023.

This event has been rescheduled from 15th February. All tickets remain valid.

Sivu recently released his incredible album Wild Horse Running, alongside trailer single Apollo, where his more acoustic leanings mixed with influences like Wild Beasts, Hot Chip, SBTRKT and Beck to devastating effect. While recording the album he assembled a crack team of musicians to bring the album to life and he’s bringing this home for the first time in celebration of the tenth anniversary of début album Something on High.

Watermelon Slim & Heavy Drunk & Guitarist Leonardo Giuliani

Fans of blues rejoice as US and UK artists Watermelon Slim, Heavy Drunk, and Leonardo Guiliani team up for ‘The Mississippi Delta Blues Experience 2024’ tour this October.
The tour will see the three artists play 10 intimate shows across the UK between Oct 2nd to 12th, starting and ending with unforgettable London performances.
Multi-award-winning Watermelon Slim was perhaps best summed up by the late Jerry Wexler (co-owner Atlantic Records, producer for Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin) who described him as “a one-of-a-kind, pickin’ n singing Okie dynamo”. He is a 2x winner of the Blues Music Award for Band of the Year and Album of the Year, as well as a 2x winner of MOJO Magazine’s no. 1 Blues Album of the Year.
https://ffm.to/travelingman

Sons of the South soul outfit HeavyDrunk has made waves with their signature raspy vocals and Americana infused sound. Their Mississippi delta blues, powerful gospel, and hard-hitting rock ‘n’ roll energy charged their 2023 album You Don’t Know Me which was released to raise awareness and funds for the crumbling grave of music legend Robert Johnson.
https://listen.heavydrunk.com/youdontknowmeuk

UK based independent musician, guitar player, and singer-songwriter Leonardo Guiliani joins The Mississippi Delta Blues Experience 2024 fresh off the release of his 2023 album Rogue. Produced by four-time Grammy award winner producer Tom Hambridge, Rogue showcases Guiliani’s talents inspired by the acoustic singer-songwriters and electric jam bands of the late ‘60s and the ‘70s.
https://music.youtube.com/channel/UCuJjCil4qkTA5k3ygcVqIZQ