AN AWARD-winning music venue built on a narrow boat will journey to Coventry Canal Basin for two weeks of concerts to mark its big re-opening as part of the City of Culture.
The Village Butty was originally built in the 1950s and was converted into a music venue in 2010.
The Village Butty on the road to recovery. s
After winning the Inland Waterways Award for Best Arts Venue in 2019, the vessel fell on hard times during the pandemic and was sold to former documentary editor Richard Guard and former Primary School music teacher Anna Crockatt.
The pair gained an Arts Council England grant and began a complete renovation of the 50-foot boat, which included removing over 1,000litres of water and removing plants and fungus growing on the sodden floorboards.
The Village Butty will kick off its line-up of performances on April 29 with Mik Artistik’s Ego Trip, whose single ‘Sweet leaf of the north’ was lauded by rock legend Iggy Pop as the ‘best song of the decade’.
The Norfolk Broads will be headlining April 30, while on May 6 and 7 there will be performances from blue grass legend Stompin Dave, as well as tap dancing banjo maestro and futuristic folks duo Tom Moore and Archie Moss.
Ewan Bleach, who was voted the world’s best clarinet player last year, will be playing for five hours from 12pm on the following Thursday, and he will be bringing his jazz quintet for another performance the next day. The quintet’s most recent album received four stars in The Sunday Observer.
The Village Butty getting a tow across Brinklow Marina. s
Residents will get the chance to perform on the iconic boat in an open mic event between 12pm and 6pm on May 7.
The Village Butty will be open between its opening night and May 16, with local ales, teas and coffees for sale at the bar throughout.
Richard and Anna said: “This series of gigs in Coventry is going to be an explosive start to a journey we hope will continue for many years.
“We are so grateful to Coventry for asking us to pitch in, and really hope to have a long and lasting relationship with the city which we have fallen in love with.
“We’d also like to welcome all Coventry residents to drop in and enjoy the unique atmosphere of the basin and the Village Butty – we’ll be playing gramophone records during the day and reveling in the wonderful historic waterway that is such a part of Coventry past, present and future.”
Anyone wanting to be part of the open mic night on May 7 should email [email protected] for more details.
