Pickers ready to play again

Key to the happy story has been finding the ideal venue in the Gribble Inn at Oving.

Organiser Andrew Perry said: “Since the club moved to the Gribble Inn, the club has gone from strength to strength. People really like the atmosphere of the pub, and the feel and acoustics of the Skittle Alley, and licensees - Simon Wood and Nicola Tester have been very supportive of our twice-monthly meetings. And of course, fine home-brewed ales served in the lovely period bar are another important attraction”.

Andrew added: “The Chichester Pickers is a meeting place for acoustic musicians – mostly singer - guitarists, but banjo, fiddle and mandolin players, and recently even a tuba player are welcomed!

“The club is run by musicians for musicians, and we meet to play for fun, and to entertain each other and our appreciative audience who come along simply to enjoy the music and the atmosphere.

“There is no amplification – no loud electric guitars or drums, and no musical policy, but most of the players favour American-influenced folk, bluegrass, jazz and blues, and people often travel from as far as Southampton in the west, Seaford in the east and from south London.

“And earlier in the year, we had a guest appearance by Joel Gervitz, the fine jazz guitarist from Houston, Texas.”

The Chichester Pickers meet on the second and fourth Thursday of every month. For further information and to be added to the mailing list, contact Andrew on [email protected]. The club resumes on January 12.