Rye International Jazz & Blues Festival proudly present singing sensation Russell Watson performing a special outdoor summer picnic concert at the stunning and historic setting of Tonbridge Castle, Kent on Sunday 9th July, with acclaimed Jazz singer Liane Carroll confirmed to perform in the supporting line up.
This is will be a wonderful event for the whole family and Russell will be performing an exciting programme which will include many of his best loved favourites, and songs from stunning latest album ‘True Stories’. Accompanying Russell on stage will be the Masquerade ensemble of wonderful musicians.
Recently I was lucky enough to chat to Russell about his upcoming open air show, but first I needed to ask him about a drama that occured before his scheduled concert in Glasgow…
So, Russell, tell me about the incident…
Oh good lord, yes. There we were, in Glasgow, and it’s such a shame and I’m really annoyed that we had to cancel the show. We were on the stage, rehearsing Flower of Scotland, because my Musical Director, Simon, pointed out that it probably wouldn’t be so good to do Jerusalem and Land of Hope and Glory. We’d even got this fantastic young lady Piper to come along and she was really great.
Anyway, we started rehearsal and had run through it a couple of times, my kids were in the auditorium watching as well when, next thing we know, they are looking at me like “Dad, what’s going on?” because there was smoke coming from underneath the doors at the side of the stage and then, all of a sudden, the fire alarms started blaring off.
We were on the stage, wondering what the hell was going on, when the venue manager came running on stage and said, “Everybody out, we need you to head to the fire assembly point!” There was a fire in the building so we all pegged it outside, in a bit of a panic to be fair, and when we got out there we could see smoke billowing out from the air vents in the side of the arena.
We all gathered on the car park when four fire engines arrived and the firemen started to chop through the outside wall of the building with an axe and then they all went in, using breathing apparatus. The worrying thing was, my sister Hayley who is my business manager, was still in the offices out the back when the fire alarm went off. She got a bit lost when she was trying to get out and ended up heading towards the corridors where the fire started. She got out safely, but for a few minutes there we were really worried.
It was very disappointing to let down the fans, but we were equally pleased that we all got out of the place safely. It was horrible because, it’s a bit like being a footballer and, on the way to the pitch, you trip up and do your ankle in. There we were, on stage and ready to go, and all of a sudden we had to cancel the concert.
Let’s hope there are no dramas like that when you are down here on July 9th!
Indeed, we are very much looking forward to the show at Tonbridge Castle so we’re hoping that the weather will be kind to us. I’ve sung in Tonbridge a few times over the years, but this will be the first time at the castle, and we’re very excited. It’s what we call our Picnic Concert.
We are hoping for beautiful weather so you can bring along a blanket and a picnic basket, crack open a bottle or two, and enjoy what I am absolutely sure will be a truly fabulous show. It really is looking good. We have the magnificent Masquerade Players and we’re using a local choir as well. It will be a great show with Pomp and Circumstance, Land of Hope and Glory, Swing Low Sweet Chariot, Abide With Me…and many many more!
So how have you become involved in the Rye Jazz and Blues Festival?
It’s very simple really, the promoters called and asked if we could do a show there, and we said yes. We like working with new people and they are a very enthusiastic team down there. They seem really focussed on promoting the festival and getting a huge diversity of performers. The Rye Festival people seem to be a family-run team, which we really like much more than the big multi-national faceless corporations that are so often involved with this kind of thing.
Is it very different, for you as a performer, to sing outdoors?
Oh, it’s massively different. There are no natural acoustics, generally, with outdoor concerts. I’ve sung in Hampton Court and that’s different because the stage is in a courtyard, and you are surrounded by buildings which give some sort of acoustic value, but, at Tonbridge Castle, we will be performing in the gardens and there is no acousic reflection so everything has to be added manually by our professional sound people so that we get the right sound for the audience.
In a theatre or arena you get reflection from the walls and the ceiling but, in my opinion, there is something so very special about performing in the great British outdoors. Particularly when we do the “Last Night of the Proms” repertoire, it just seems to suit itself really well to this type of event. There’s always such a great atmoshere and I really can’t wait to get out there.
Russell Watson’s Summer Picnic Concert takes place at Tonbridge Castle, Kent on Sunday 9th July: Gates 1pm, Support 2pm, Main Performance 4.30pm. Tickets: £30 / £45 / £60, children under 16 half price and under 5’s free, can be purchased at www.ryejazz.com or by calling the box office on 01892 530613.