RIPON: Arts Hub

Saturday 15th April, 2023

7:00pm

Event information

Benji Kirkpatrick and the Excess return to play Ripon having previously played a fantastic "sold out " gig in September 2019.
Benji formed The Excess in 2017, drafting in fellow Bellowhead member Pete Flood on drums and Jackie Oates and Megan Henwood collaborator Pete Thomas on bass. This line up toured in 2018 and 2019, when the band released their debut album GOLD HAS WORN AWAY on Westpark Music, to critical acclaim - "A dynamic and powerful roots rock album for our age" according to FATEA Records Magazine.
Whilst being at the heart of various successful bands, big band folk trailblazers Bellowhead; power folk trio Faustus; the Seth Lakeman band, Benji Kirkpatrick was making plans and writing material for his own project, which takes the form of The Excess. A trio: comprising of, Pete Flood on drums with Pete Thomas (Megan Henwood and Jackie Oates) on bass.
With Benji leading on bouzoukis – electric and acoustic – and guitar the band stoke up rhythms, riffs and uproarious, soaring melodies; sometimes cacophonous, sometimes stark and raw, at times sensitive, always powerful.
BENJI ON THE ORIGINS OF THE EXCESS.
I’ve always been a fan of the power rock trio; The Police, The Jimi Hendrix Experience, Cream, ZZ Top, Nirvana, etc. There have been many. For quite some time it’s been my dream to put together one such trio. I love the simplicity of the line up, it’s an exciting challenge to explore the possibilities therein and I felt that my own material was well suited to this approach. I’ve always worked with lots of different musicians – the live music scene sort of demands that you have to if you want to make a living, unless you get a lucky break of course or are ruthlessly single-minded – which is a brilliant thing but can make it hard to knuckle down to your own project and work on your own ideas. I had managed to build up a store of songs (and some instrumentals) and fairly doggedly stuck to the idea of performing them with a trio of drums, bass and myself.

With festival appearances at FolkEast, Beardy Folk, Shrewsbury Folk Festival and a live session for Tom Robinson on Radio 6 Music, they began to stir up a storm; with Benji leading on bouzoukis - electric and acoustic - and guitar they stoke up rhythm’s, riffs and uproarious, soaring melodies; at times stark and raw, at times sensitive, always powerful.

NEW LINE UP!

In 2022 Pete Flood has to move on to pastures new, so the remaining Pete (Thomas) and Benji bring in Joelle Barker to take the drum seat. Joelle has an impressive CV; freelance percussionist for the RSC, drummer and percussionist with The Edwin Starr Band, TG Collective, Del Camino and she brings a new and exciting energy to the music. Joelle and Pete T played together in The Worry Dolls and Pete has an equally impressive and diverse CV, playing with The Vanguards, Philip Murray Warson, The London Django Collective and more. With this triumvirate in place and a stack of new material the band are ready to embark upon a new era of touring, festivals and recording!
The gig will be seated with excellent visibility in this intimate venue.
The fully stocked bar at the Arts Hub will be open from 7.00pm , doors to the auditorium will be open at 7.30 pm and music will begin at 8.00pm

49 Allhallowgate
Ripon
HG4 1LQ

www.facebook.com/search/top?q=ripon%20arts%20hub

Parking nearby