What’s on where around Luton: listings, August 19 edition

WEDS AUGUST 19

Adults with learning difficulties’ arts and craft sessions. Every Wednesday 10.30am to 12.30pm and Saturdays from 11am to 1pm at Arttrend, Arundel Road, Luton. Social and creative activity for adults with learning difficulties, engaging in all types of art and craft work such as painting in acrylics, papier mache, salt dough, cross stitch, rug making etc. Please see the website www.arttrend.co.uk and go to Art ALD, then see the gallery of work already done.Tel 07794987796 if you would like more details. 10.30am to 12.30pm Wednesdays, 11am to 1pm Saturdays – but can come and go at any time. £6 per session including materials and refreshments.

Quiz Night every Wednesday from 8pm. £1 entry per person, maximum of six per team. St Vincents Social Centre, Houghton Regis. Prize for the winning team.

Stockwood Discovery Centre hosts free fun activities from 1pm to 3pm, Children and their parents or carers can take part in a variety of workshops. Come and try your hand at natural art, have a taster of growing your own veg, and harness your inner chef in Ready, Steady, Cook – then get rid of extra energy with some outdoor activities. See page 23 for more details.

FRIDAY AUGUST 21

Hot on the heels of Il Divo and Collabro, Brit-award-winning harmonisers Blake are back at The Stables, Wavendon with a new album, new songs and their most uplifting live show yet. Inspired by the lush trio harmonies of The Three Tenors, The Bee Gees and The Lettermen, the boys will perform exclusive songs from their latest CD, In Harmony, along with hits from their four other award-winning pop/classical albums, including Fields of Gold, Bring Him Home, Nessun Dorma and Chasing Cars. It starts at 8pm. Tickets: £25. Call 01908 280800 or visit www.stables.org

Multiple nominees for the 2014 Canadian Folk Music Awards, Ten String And A Goat Skin are a young, bilingual trad/folk/fusion trio celebrating the music of the Irish, Acadian, French and Maritime cultures. Integrating modern and world rhythms with traditional and original tunes, they create a fiery, contagious and unique sound that has caught the attention of audiences in the US and Europe. They take to the stage at The Stables, Wavendon at 8.45pm. Tickets: £10 in advance, £12 on the door. Call 01908 280800 or visit www.stables.org

SATURDAY AUGUST 22

Close your eyes and let these four world-class musicians take you back to when Led Zeppelin ruled the earth. Having played with the likes of Queen, Ray Davies, Edwin Starr and Iron Maiden, as well as appearing in a plethora of London shows, including We Will Rock You, Thriller LIVE!, Wicked and Return to the Forbidden Planet, Hats Off to Led Zeppelin are a truly professional outfit promising to give you a night that you won’t forget in a hurry. They play at The Stables, Wavendon from 8pm. Tickets: £18.50. Call 01908 280800 or visit www.stables.org

TBelly bring their acclaimed contemporary blues to The Bear Club in Luton.

THURSDAY AUGUST 27

The son of Lonnie Donegan, Peter, is a talented musician in his own right. Joining forces with the band that toured with the legend for the last 30 years, he will perform some of Lonnie’s classic hits, including Putting On The Style, Have a Drink On Me, Rock Island Line and Pick a Bale of Cotton. A great night of skiffle, blues, jazz and a lot of foot-stomping fun. He plays at The Stables, Wavendon from 8pm. Tickets: £16.50. Call 01908 280800 or visit www.stables.org

FRIDAY AUGUST 28

The music of The Doors continues to reach into souls in a way little other music can, whether it be the moving intrigue of Riders On The Storm, the expansive energy of L.A. Woman or the sheer exuberance of the out-and-out rock classic, Light My Fire. With their authentic instruments and sets crafted through years of experience, The Strange Doors invite audiences to immerse themselves in the vibe, to move to the hypnotic beat and to allow the sound to help them break on through to the other side. They play at The Stables, Wavendon from 8pm. Tickets: £15. Call 01908 280800 or visit www.stables.org

The familiar saying ‘everything is bigger in Texas’ comes to mind when describing powerhouse country vocalist and Texas native, SaraBeth. Born and raised in Dallas, she is a contemporary country singer-songwriter who is making her mark in Nashville as the sweetly southern artist with an edge.

Few British people have enjoyed success in country music the way Glen Mitchell has. Since moving to Nashville in 2001, Glen has toured with many of Nashville’s finest artists, playing lead guitar and on many occasions taking the role of band leader for artists that include Billy Currington, Frankie Ballard, Lonestar, Joe Nichols and Chely Wright, among others. The pair play The Stables, Wavendon from 8.45pm. Tickets: £10 in advance, £12 on the door. Call 01908 280800 or visit www.stables.org and see page 26 for more on SaraBeth.

SATURDAY AUGUST 29

Wrest Park opens its doors for a special evening of side-splitting splendour. The Magna Laughter crew will bring the history of Wrest Park to life for the evening, with their own brand of mirth and historical humour. Performing on the night will be popular satirist, Andy Saltzman, who has been winning critical acclaim since his Edinburgh Fringe debut in 2001; Iszi Lawrence, who herself has a historical comedy background with the ‘Z List Deadlist’ podcast about some of the more interesting people in history; and Chris Purchase, who joins fresh from supporting Reginald D Hunter. Tickets cost £22. Call 0370 333 1183 Monday to Friday from 8.30am to 5.30pm or Saturday from 9am to 5pm.

The Spooky Men’s Chorale from the Blue Mountains in Australia employ a combination of musical sensibilities, cavernous vocal chords and extreme silliness to explore the paradoxes of latter day masculinity. Their repertoire is a tour of massive, hair-raising Georgian harmonies, immaculate ballads and vaudevillian nonsense. They play at The Stables, Wavendon from 8pm. Tickets: £21.50. Call 01908 280800 or visit www.stables.org

Ginger Baker, renowned for his work with the Graham Bond Organisation, Cream and Blind Faith, is back at The Stables, Wavendon with fusion quartet Ginger Baker Jazz Confusion. The band features a sound that is both a return to Baker’s jazz roots and an exploration of the kind of cross-genre, innovative fusion that he has championed since his afrobeat years in Nigeria with Fela Kuti. It’s an unconventional line-up and an unconventional sound from a man who has never done what anyone expected of him; once voted Musician Least Likely To Survive The 60s, Ginger Baker is still here, still playing and still pushing boundaries. Tickets: £22.50 and £24. Call 01908 280800 or visit www.stables.org

THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 3

The Big Chris Barber Band features everything from New Orleans to blues to late 1920s Ellington, all played with extraordinary panache and skill. They play to The Stables, Wavendon from 8pm. Hits include Bourbon Street Parade, Jubilee Stomp, Ice Cream and When the Saints Go Marching In. You can count on an exciting evening of high quality jazz and blues which will appeal to aficionados and newcomers alike. Tickets: £23. Call 01908 280800 or visit www.stables.org