Rough Island Band

6pm on Sunday November 2nd at the Manor House, Sibford Gower

The Rough Island Band have been creating the music of the Isles of Scilly since 2009, when they recorded their first album in a windswept cottage on the Wingletang Downs on the tiny island of St Agnes. Tom was the recording engineer on this and the band’s second album released a year later.

Since then, they’ve recorded another three albums and performed regularly both on the islands and around the mainland as the idea of an authentic Scillonian music has gradually taken root, filling a void in Scilly’s otherwise powerful traditional culture. Their original music blends aspects of the Celtic music of neighbouring Cornwall - foot-stamping jigs and reels - with heartfelt personal songs of the sea.

The Sibford Session on November 2nd will be a celebration of 15 years of Rough Island music-making and a chance to take stock. Since 2019, events both personal and international (Covid and a happy stream of Rough Island babies!) have slowed the band’s productivity, but this gig will mark the finish of an intense recording session at the Manor House, during which the band hope to set down a new album of all the island-drenched material that has been floating around in their heads over the last six years. The performance will showcase these new songs and tunes - a world premiere! And the start of a new chapter…

It will also be a family affair: Tom’s kids and Piers’s kids have grown up with Scillonian music and will be joining the Rough Island Band for a few old favourites. Piers’s brother Giles - a well-known fiddle player - will also step up, fully testing the capacity of our little stage. It’ll be an emotional and joyful evening, transporting the audience temporarily to a beautiful place and bringing a bit of salty air to Sibford Gower.

Tickets are £15. Buy yours soon! The capacity is 50 and we expect to sell out. You can change the quantity at the checkout page.