Saturday the 22nd and Sunday the 23rd of November see's the first ever weekend festival of rock, blues, and a bit of soul in Howden.(Or a lot of soul depending on if you look on it as a musical genre or an impassioned committment)

The Howden RiBFest (Rock in Blues...stick an apostrophe in somewhere and you get the idea) was born of a desire to maintain the high quality of artists presented by Howden Live and at the same time give lesser known musicians the opportunity to play in front of a larger audience.

There will also be some sort of workshop provision, probably percussion based, aimed at the children of Howden.
A secondary venue upstairs at the Wellington,featuring local acoustic acts,is a welcome addition to proceedings......who knows what else may happen....watch this space!

This will be very, very special indeed, feel free to be part of it!

The timings quoted below are provisional and may be subject to change but they are not far off. No tickets available at the box office just yet.

WEEKEND TICKETS BEFORE OCTOBER 31st ARE £50. AFTER THAT £55 TO NOVEMBER 21st.
£60 on the door and sessions as priced. Early booking gives a £10 discount per weekend ticket.

THE SATURDAY AFTERNOON SESSION £15

DOORS OPEN 1pm.

1.15pm
DOSCH (AKA Do$ch) : South Yorkshire's "Weapons Grade" Maximum Rhythm and Blues outfit.
Those seeking complete musical exhilaration delivered with wit and relentless energy will never be left wanting by this exceptional quartet of R & B maniacs.
Right from their opening number, audiences find themselves on a compelling rollercoaster ride, hurtling between the crazy and furious without warning.

Dabble with Dosch here.

2.15pm.
THE BLUE BISHOPS: Regular visitors to Howden over the years, this band comprises a bunch of seasoned players who, between them, have played with household names and global stars galore, ranging from Jethro Tull to Joan Armatrading, to the Kinks, Blancmange, Bill Wyman, Lena Lovich and The Swinging Blue Jeans.This formula means the Blue Bishops music is crafted, exciting, deep-rooted, ballsy and different, with enough early blues and enough late acid rock to turn every gig into an unforgettable rock’n'roll event.

Bash the Bishops here.

3.30pm.
THE STEVE GIBBONS BAND: Words such as artistry, charisma, endurance and integrity are often used in describing a legend. They all apply to Steve Gibbons, who has been in the music business for over four decades, surviving the ever-changing trends by being himself. His creativity as a writer is reflected in the scores of songs to his credit, 14 albums (not counting "greatest hits", singles, EPs and guest appearances) sales of which have long surpassed the 1 million mark. In the small country of Sweden alone (population 8 million) he sold over 100,000 copies of his hit album "Down in the Bunker". The most notable cover of a Steve Gibbons song is the title track for Roger Daltrey's (The Who) solo album "One of the Boys". Add to this material Steve's vitality and charisma as a storytelling performer, backed by a hard driving/country flavored classic rock & roll band, and it's easy to understand why Steve Gibbons has such a loyal and yet still growing audience.

THE SATURDAY EVENING SESSION £25

DOORS OPEN 6pm.

6.30pm
Artist tba.

7.30pm
SLACK ALICE: Cliff Stocker's voice is like being wrapped in warm mollases,you can't get enough, original music, played by wonderful musicians. Years of experience shine through, great rapport, great songs, one of Britains greatest blues bands.

8.45pm.
DERRIN NAUENDORF: is a singer/songwriter who really has built his reputation and fan base from the ground up. In the past 5 years, he has played close to 1000 shows around the globe, most of them in the UK. Renowned for his intense live shows and raw emotive music he has been invited to play in hundreds of towns and venues, has played dozens of festivals and is now a main stage act at these events. He has done all of this simply by word of mouth. No management, no publicity, nothing. Just an intense spirit for the music he plays and the people he plays for.
He blew the audience away at his appearence in Howden earlier this year, tonight will be no exception.

Marvel at what you are in for here!

10pm.
GENO WASHINGTON & THE RAM JAM BAND: Anyone who saw this band in Howden the first time around will be queueing around the block for tickets, they had two of the biggest selling UK albums of the sixties. Amazingly both of these were live albums. Hand Clappin, Foot Stompin, Funky Butt Live was in the album charts for 48 weeks of the year 1966 and was only out-sold by The Sound of Music and Bridge over Troubled Water.US soul acts rarely visited the UK and, having come over as a part of the US Air force and stayed, Geno was our soul man. His level of touring and the high energy of his gigs was, and still is (as immortalized by Dexy's Midnight Runners in the 80's hit Geno) the stuff of legends. During his sets, the beat is continuous and the hits are incessant.

THE SUNDAY SESSION £20

DOORS OPEN 2pm.
A specially designed session to enable travelling folks to get home in good time for a good kip and anyone else in time for Heartbeat.

2.30pm.
THE PEASANTS: are a five-piece, almost-acoustic group who cover a range of memorable rock and pop tunes in a stripped-back format, using various combinations of guitars, mandolin, bass, drums and harmony vocals. Don't be fooled by the fact that they are middle-aged men with mainly wooden instruments, though; these boys play with an energy and power seldom seen on the acoustic circuit!

Peasantry r 'ere

3.20pm.
THE STEVE FULSHAM BAND: are on an new journey, to seek out new venues, strange new festivals, and to boldly go where plenty of people have gone before. Here's to a band that works together,a band that entertains, that rocks, that swings, that boogies,that does not comromise their musical integrity for the sake of anything. With Mike Baker on drums and Ched of Doghouse Skiffle Group fame on bass this promises to be a highlight set amongst highlight sets.

Hear 'em here.

4.15pm.
JIM DIAMOND & SNAKE DAVIS: The Scottish singing and writing star is sounding better than ever. Jim 'n' Snake have been touring acoustically and soulfully for some years now, just the two of them, playing Jims hits, some classic soul covers and whatever heartfelt melodies they fancy getting their teeth into…. Speaks for itself really....

Snakes myspace

And Jim's

5.40pm:
SHERMAN ROBERTSON: One of the giants of the 21st Century blues world, Sherman Robertson and BluesMove is a powerful combination with some of the best Texas soul-blues anyone could hope for. Sherman Robertson is already considered a young master of zydeco, hard-swinging Texas electric blues, R&B and swampy Louisiana blues. Robertson often surprises audiences with his ability to play R&B, zydeco and blues with a rock edge. "I use that driving, road-cooking type zydeco groove, and put blues on top of it," says Robertson. It's basically rhythm and feel." When Paul Simon needed a guitar player to add some sounds to his Graceland album he chose Robertson. Who could ask for a better recommendation than that?

Check Sherman out at this fantastic website.