Globe Open Mic Night at Chagford

#158. 29-May-24. A pleasingly busy Half-Term session, with 11 acts doing 3 songs each and a good audience. Peter Shields kicked off proceedings at 8:00, and was followed by teenager Barnaby, Pete Tansey, Tim O'C (half of duo 'Hooked' who played last month), 'The Leon Redbones' duo (Axel Van der Neut on voice/guitar, Ian Atherton on piano accordion - pictured), Shaun Wilson, 'Deacon Martin & Brother Ben' (guitar/vocal & violin duo), 'Pauper's Fortune' duo (Dave & Caroline), Matt Tanner, 'Poultry Rewards' duo (Aaron Custance & Johnny Young) and finally Tim Matthews (also joined by Johnny Young on violin). We wrapped at 10:45.

Wednesday's Globe Open Mic will start at 8:00 pm.
(No prior teens' session.)

#157. 24-Apr-24. A strong start at 7:15 from the teenagers, with two songs each from Barnaby, Minti, and Asta, followed by a trio of rock songs showcasing young teen lead guitarist Elijah, joined by guitar teacher Shaun.
From 8:15, we had 3 songs each from host Peter Shields, Pete Tansey, duo 'Pauper's Fortune', duo 'Hooked' (Stuart & Tim, pictured) in a first appearance here, Shaun Wilson, duo 'Skellum' (John Kerry with Martin on bass), and finally 3 songs and an encore from 'Chicken Coop DeVille', Aaron Custance joined by a scratch band with Johnny Young on fiddle and Steve Dooley (who had accompanied several acts in the course of the evening) on cajón. We wrapped up at around 10:15.
31 songs from 11 acts - a great evening!

#156. 27-Mar-24. The One Where It Snowed. We had a really lovely teens session with 5 acts, kicking off at 7:15 with Phoebe & Ciaran, Minti, and Himaya who all did 3 songs each - variously with guitar, piano and backing tracks. Then Asta and Barnaby both did two each taking us up to 8:30.
Lee Coatham kicked off the adults session with three songs (one sung by Yvonne) on both piano and guitar, then Niall MacLeod sang 3 well-chosen Beatles numbers to ukulele accompaniment. Wez Cutler (pictured) in a welcome return, sang 3 of his impressive originals. Jenny & The Bets in both 4-piece and 5-piece configurations followed at 9:15, when it started snowing heavily. Roger Ash Wheeler followed and the snow continued falling hard and Steve Colderick, who had been due to go on next, decided to head home before the roads got too bad. So Pete Tansey was last on the bill with 3 songs variously accompanied by cajón (Steve) and uke bass (James) and fiddle (Johnny Young). Host Peter Shields called it a night at 10:15 as all were keen to get home.
The snow continued falling for another hour

Great Open Mic in prospect tonight with 5 teenage acts from 7:00-ish onwards before the main session

#155. 28-Feb-24. Our 15th anniversary of starting this Open Mic in Feb-09. We kicked off at 7:20 with the teenagers' session (and they weren't all born when this Open Mic was inaugurated!) with strong sets from Phoebe & Ciaran (3 songs) and Henry (4). Then young teenager Elijah rocked some lead guitar on two numbers sung and played by Shaun Wilson. Host Peter Shields did 3 covers, as did Steve Colderick. Shaun Wilson then did 3 originals, as did Jenny and the Bets (Jenny, James & Steve). Duo Pauper's Fortune (Dave & Caroline) gave us 3 covers, including a spirited 'Mystery Train' complete with train whistle. Aaron Custance (pictured), in a welcome return visit, delighted the audience with 3 highly entertaining numbers with Steve on cajón. Axel Van der Neut did 3 of his songs, and Niall MacLeod sang 3 covers with uke accompaniment. It was just past 10:00 by this time and Tim Matthews finished off with 3 singalong covers with mandolin accompaniment from James and Steve on cajón. We wrapped up at 10:20.
3 hours of music and 36 songs from performers aged 13 to 70s, a fitting celebration of 15 years of the Globe Open Mic.

Lots of teenagers playing tonight.
Music will be under way at 7:15.
It's 15 years since we started!

#153. 31-Jan-24. A game of two halves. The opening half hour got under way at 7:45 and featured teenagers Minti and Henry, who both mixed covers and originals, playing to a full room. For the main session the first turn was from James Goodwin (accomp'd by Peter Shields) on 3 gypsy jazz instrumentals, showcasing his Maccaferri style guitar (pictured) made by local luthier Doug Kyle who has recently retired. We then lost a chunk of the early crowd (who went home to revising for GCSE mocks) and although others drifted in there were fewer than 20 in the room, of whom half were performers. Anyway, these stayed with us and the music was as good as always. Robin Bower, Steve Colderick and duo Skellum went next, all with 3 songs each. 9:30 by now, and the turn of David Osbiston with an octave bass pedal and a looper playing two songs with layered guitar textures. Hugh Clench followed with two songs and a joke or two, and Tim Matthews closed the evening with three. We finished at around 10:15.

#152. 27-Dec-23. A great night with 3 songs each from Peter Shields, teenager Minti, Jenny & The Bets (trio), Roger Ash Wheeler, Pauper's Fortune (duo), Muzz Murray, Alex Kumar, Dave Osbiston (2 songs), Axel Van der Neut (who did one of his three songs in Dutch, which is a first), Shoot The Moose (Phil Cribb / Dave Woolston duo, with additions) and Robin & Rachel Bower, joined on their last number 'Bambalaya' by Dave Oz and Jenny & Steve Dooley - see pic. Three hours of music - 11 acts and 32 songs.

#151. 29-Nov-23. A great session, in a repainted Globe dining room dressed up with Christmas tree and hundreds of Santas. 12 acts in all, 3 songs each. The teenagers - Asta, then Himaya - mixing covers and originals kicked things off at 7:45 by which time we already had a good crowd in the room with the overflow watching from the doorway (see pic!). Niall MacLeod did three affecting songs with his uke, then 4-piece Jenny & The Bets rocked the joint, followed by piano man Julian Turner. At 9:00 we enjoyed fingerpicked country bluesy songs from Steve Colderick, then harmonies from duo Pauper's Fortune, a strong turn from duo Skellum (John Kerry and Martin Hallam), and a stonking set by Dave Rich with bass from Doug Lander. 10:00 pm, by now, and the turn of Axel Van der Neut and then Muzz Murray, both in fine voice. Host Peter Shields closed the evening. 3 hours of great, and very varied, music.

#150. 25-Oct-23. Our busiest night ever, for the 150th celebratory Globe Open Mic. We took all the bookings beforehand, and with 17 signed up we started at 7:30 with 2 songs each.
Host Peter Shields was wearing a 150th celebratory sweatshirt given by the pub, and introduced Graham Keitch, Dickon Fell, and Elijah & Shaun. Then at 8:00 pm our 'mystery guest', landlord Graham Flight, did a karaoke rendering of Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick, and landlords Graham and Mary treated the entire company to a glass of fizz and we toasted and thanked them for nearly 15 years of hosting the Open Mic.
The evening continued with 2 songs from Steve Colderick, an Alan Bennett monologue by John Brooks who also led a singalong number with accordionist Paul Hirst, and then 2 songs each from Johnny Fuller, Pete Tansey, and Jenny & The Bets (5-piece). Axel van der Neut then sang a tribute to host Peter as one of his two songs, and then on behalf of the regulars Susan B presented Graham & Mary with flowers, and Peter with flowers and a £50 Book Token, in appreciation for 150 open mics.
It was by now past 9:30, and the music continued with 2 songs each from Crossing Borders (duo), Muzz Murray, Robin & Rachel Bower (with backing band), Deacon Martin & Brother Ben, Pauper's Fortune (duo), Tim Matthews, and finally host Peter Shields with Dave Osbiston, Steve Dooley joining on cahón. The evening finished at 11:15.
It was nice to see so many past performers in the audience, including Roger Ash Wheeler, Chris Durney, Johnny Young, and Matt Tanner. Commiserations to Adam from Meeth who had come 'on spec', not knowing it was the 150th, and couldn't be fitted in.

#149. 30-Aug-23. Our busiest night post-Covid. 13 acts and 34 songs. Host Peter Shields did a single number to get things started at 8:00 pm, then "Platform 2" did 2 (Axel and Sue McNeil on guitar/vocal and piano accordion) and it was 2 each from 12-year-old Elijah (on lead guitar, accompanied by Shaun) and 15-year-old Asta in her debut here (one of hers was an original). Then 3 each from the rest: Jenny & The Bets (4-piece), Julian Turner, Shaun, Pauper's Fortune (duo), BAGAS (duo), Si Ford & Matt Tanner (pictured), John Brooks & Paul Hirst (vocal & piano-accordion), Axel Van der Neut acc. James Goodwin, and finally Muzz Murray, taking us up to 11:20 pm.
No open mic in September (due to the Chagford Film Festival).
See you all in October for our 150th!

The bookable 'first hour' slots for tomorrow's Open Mic are already taken:

08:00 Peter S (1 song)
Susan McN with Axel (3)
Elijah (2)
Asta (2)
Jenny & The Bets (3
09:00 Julian Turner (3)

Waiting in the wings, we already have intentions signalled by John Brooks, BAGAS duo, Pauper's Fortune duo, Muzz Murray, and Axel.

See you all tomorrow, Weds 30-Aug..
There will be no session in September due to Film Festival.

#148. 26-Jul-23. One of the best evenings for some time. There were over 30 in the room, and we enjoyed 9 acts. Muzz Murray kicked off with 3 originals, then there were 2 covers from Steve Colderick. Next up was Mike Palmer on melodeon with James Goodwin on mandolin, Trevor Melhuish on bass, and Steve Dooley on cajón. They did 2 folk tunes and a protest song. Steve and James (switching to bass ukulele) stayed up for 3 originals by Jenny & The Bets, with Jenny on vocals and Martin Bush on guitar. We were then treated to 3 country-flavoured numbers by 'Paupers Fortune' (Dave & Caroline Gooding) on their first visit here with strong vocal harmonies, very well received. Open mic host Peter Shields led an incarnation of ‘Panic Pete & The Roughbeats’ (1st pic) for a trio of late 50s rock’n’roll numbers with Trevor on bass, Steve on cajón, and Catherine Back on alto sax. Over to John Kerry for 3 songs including a sing-along version of ‘Daydream Believer’, then Axel Van der Neut sang 3 of his originals including a tribute to the 173 bus to Exeter. The evening closed with Phil Cribb & Dave Woolston (‘Bow Toxic’ - 2nd pic) performing three strong covers with guitars and mandolin, joined by James (bass uke), Martin and Steve.

#147. 28-Jun-23. A great teenagers' session got under way at 7:15 with 2 originals from Saxon, a mix of 5 covers and originals from Henry, and a cover from debut performer Barnaby. 3 acts and 8 songs.
The older generation got under way at 8:15 with 3 songs each from Peter Shields (host/MC), first-timer here Graham Keitch (pictured) who has recently returned to guitar after a 40-year layoff (!) and impressed with his fingerpicking and original songs, BAGAS (John Kerry and bassist Martin Henning), Matt Tanner, Muzz Murray, Axel Van der Neut, Pete Tansey and Tim Matthews.
8 acts and 24 songs. A smallish audience stayed the course and we wrapped up at 10:15.

#146. 31-May-23. No teenagers' session as it's half-term, so we started at 8:00 pm with a singalong number from James Goodwin. Then there were 3 each from Peter Shields, Niall MacLeod (pictured) in an impressive debut, 'Jenny & The Bets', Axel Van der Neut, Muzz Murray, Pete Tansey, 'Deacon' Martin (backed by 'Brother' Dave Os), and finally Tim Matthews who did 4 with an impromptu backing band of Dave Os and Steve & Jenny Dooley. Peter and Tim both included Tina Turner tributes in their repertoire.
9 acts, 26 songs, and an attentive and appreciative audience.

#145. 26-Apr-23. By prior arrangement, the teenagers' slot was delayed until 8:00 pm, when a good crowd supported Elijah, playing electric guitar on 2 songs from his guitar teacher Sean, and Himaya gave us 2 originals and 2 covers. From the older generation we had 7 acts performing 20 songs, with 2 from Peter Shields (backed by Dave Os and Steve D), 2 from Dave Os, 3 from "The Sons of The Desert" (Axel Van de Neut & Ian Atherton channelling Laurel & Hardy songs from the movies, very entertainingly), 3 originals from Muzz Murray, 3 from Peter Jones of Diving for Pearls joined by Hugh Gascoyne on bass (pictured), 3 from 'Revd Deacon' Martin (backed by Dave Os and Steve D) and finally 4 from Matt Tanner.

#144. 29-Mar-23. Another great Teenagers' hour with 3 songs from Saxon and 5 from Henry. Then for the 8:00 pm session we had 12 acts performing 35 songs - a return to pre-Covid times! There were 3 each from Peter Shields, Julian Turner, Deacon Martin + Ben on fiddle, 'The Two Johns' backed by David Osbiston, Leighe J Hall (pictured) backed by John Ewings, Roger Ash Wheeler (2 songs), Alex Kumar, Robin Bower, Muzz Murray, Matt Tanner, Dickon Fell and Tim Matthews. What a night!

#143. 22-Feb-23. A great Teenagers' hour with a new original song from Saxon, 4 originals from Henry, and 4 covers from Jess. Then for the 8:00 pm session we had 3 each from Peter Shields and Muzz Murray, 4 from first-time visitors 'The Two Johns' from Exeter (pictured), 3 each from trios 'Crossing Borders with Annie McGee' and 'Jenny & The Bets' (both augmented with guitar from Martin Bush), and from duo Robin & Rachel Bower. David Osbiston then did two, with vocals from Peter and cajón from Steve, before Tim Matthews closed the evening in fine style with 3 popular covers with instrumental backup from Martin and Steve, and backup vocals from all and sundry.

#142. 25-Jan-23. Tonight marked the completion of 14 years of these open mics at The Globe, as we started in Feb 2009. Of course there was a break for Covid, but we have clocked up 142 sessions so far.
No teenagers tonight, but the 8:00 pm session delivered a return to something more like pre-Covid form, with 10 acts. We enjoyed 3 songs each from Peter Shields, Deacon Martin, Pete Tansey, 'Panda's Pouch' (Dave Woolston & Phil Cribb), Axel Van der Neut, Muzz Murray, Julian Turner, Steve Colderick, and Robin & Rachel Bower. Steve & Jenny Dooley provided cajón and backing vocals to several of these. The evening closed with 2 songs from Dave Osbiston and ended with a finale of "Long Time Gone" in tribute to the late David Crosby, sung by Peter with stonking lead guitar from Dave Os and backing from Steve, Jenny and Rachel.

10 acts, 30 songs, 3 hours of magic. ☺️

#141: Last night's (21-Dec) session featured Peter Shields, Robin Bower, Roger Ash Wheeler, Axel Van der Neut, James Goodwin and Mike Palmer. We had instrumentals, Christmas-themed songs, a yodelling song (Robin), a joke or two, Americana, polkas, swing jazz, Elvis covers and more besides. It was a great evening, where most of the performers went round twice doing 3 numbers each time. See you all in 2023!

#140: The 30-Nov session was hosted by James Goodwin and featured 10 acts.

#139: The 26-Oct session had a great Teenagers' Hour from 7:00 pm with Saxon , Himaya, and Lois & friends. The later part of the evening featured Peter Shields, Roger Ash Wheeler, Axel Van Der Neut, Muzz Murray, James Goodwin & friends, Tim Matthews and Matt Tanner.

Next Globe Open Mic:
Weds 25-Jan-23.
Teenagers at 7:00 pm,
the rest from 8:00 pm.

#138. We held September's session a week early because of the upcoming Film Festival. The early evening teenagers' session saw two fine songs from Henry and some informal jamming from Ben and Toby, but with only a few family members as audience. For the 8:00 pm session, performer numbers were up to par, but audience numbers were very low. Undaunted, the performers delivered a fun evening of music, dancing and comedy.
Peter Shields did 3 backed on lead guitar by David Osbiston who then did a couple of his own. Muzz Murray did 3 of his originals, then we had 3 from Matt Tanner (one original) and 3 from keyboardist Julian Turner (one original). Michael Creighton debuted with some stand-up comedy, which prompted more comedy from others, with Robin Bower doing a Vivian Stanshall monologue in addition to a a straight song, and Dave Hooper reciting a comic poem he'd written. The finale was Dan Eccles doing Appalachian tap dancing (pictured) to two more songs from Matt, with David on cajón.

#137. Last month's (August's) Open Mic skipped the 6:30 Teenagers' session, which we have decided is a "term-time only" thing, and started at 8:00. We had 11 acts in all. Host Peter Shields did a number to settle the room, then we had three each from Johnny Fuller, singer/guitarist "The Revd Deacon Martin" (pictured), with friend Ben and daughter Hazel joining on violins, David Osbiston, the "Fold" duo, Jim (from South Moulton), Roger Ash-Wheeler, Axel Van der Neut, Muzz Murray, Alex Kumar, and Tim Matthews (up from Dawlish). Peter then did a guitar instrumental to end the evening.