Playing a solo spot for the Kent Chamber Choir in their concert at St Catherine’s Church, Preston-next-Faversham. photo: Alan Stopford
Exciting Development with my Children’s Albums
More info soon… a new collaboration with InterGenerational Children’s charity Truth Be Told… click for more on Truth Be Told
The most important gig you will ever do is the next one…
And the next one is…
Thursday 7 March 2024 – Sidcup – Conservative Club
Saturday 9 March 2024 – Kent Chamber Choir – Saturday Afternoon in Meopham – solo slot – I think my 7th solo slot for the choir
Sunday 10 March 2024 – Barny’s at the Queen Vic in Stroud, Gloucestershire – for my 3rd visit. Support Jean Bentley, Dik Cadbury
Monday 18 March 2024 – Kemsing – The Bell
and that will do for now… More gigs here
The Second in a series of concerts organised by Paul Nichols and the PJ crowd was at Sidcup in January and raised nearly £1450 for Cancer charity funds. A splendid evening with the audience really going for enjoyment from the off and every one of the acts on top form offering their entertainment sweeties from the off. Jean Bentley and I both did 20 minute sets after our offering at Plumstead in October.
The Cryer Arts Centre in Carshalton was the venue again this year for the New Year’s Eve Ceilidh Sandwich with The Aqueducts (in the guise of Dove’s Vagaries) playing for a couple of hours of dancing in between a folk rock band’s sets. Two new years in a row at this newish Arts Centre.
I’m joining the crew from last year’s excellent Betjeman poetry event for this poetry, readings and song afternoon celebrating autumn. I’ll be singing one, playing one, accompanying one, reciting one, and reading one – there that should be enough!
Paul Nichols’ Cancer Charity gig in Plumstead was another fun event with Tideway holding the whole thing together beautifully. Theirs is a lovely audience, listeners who want to be entertained, and Jean and I were very happy to spend a bit of time in conversation with a number of them before, in the interval of, and after the show. Thanks to Peter and his colleagues, Paul and John (who run PJs in Sidcup). I imagine they raised a few bob for the cause.
Unlikely though it may seem, you could have listened in to France Bleu Perigord, 29 August 2023, to hear an interview on Jean’s Campervan!
One of the great pleasures of being a working musician is the variety of events you can be invited to. I don’t turn much down because it is that variety that sparks and revitalises all the bits that contribute to it – and keeps me going! So, for example, Jean Bentley and I support local community events – twice a month we work in our village hall doing a short sing song for a Carers’ Café and a longer sing song for, guess what? – The Community Sing. For both, it’s splendid to be at the front listening to a crowd singing towards you! We also go to some Open Mics run by lovely people – PJs at Sidcup and at Bexley and The Bell at Kemsing run by Brin, Sandy and Jenny (Sunrise). Open Mics are great as you never quite know what you are going to get and the people are lovely. These are listening clubs, which we like.
One of the best listening clubs in the South East is run by The Bob Hope Theatre in Eltham. Here’s a link to a gig I did there, with a lovely comment from Ian Anderson.
Frank’s unique style of playing is a treasure to behold, close your eyes and you would swear there were two men playing at once, with a driving rhythm and power that belies his size, great stuff!
– https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0SpdhciH_u4
Recent performance highlights include Teddy’s Tower of Terror! Frightening.
Back in February 2023, I was the main guest in Stroud, Gloucestershire for Barny’s, and that was a thoroughly enjoyable gig. I’ve been booked again for March 2024 so they must have been happy. In early March there was a ceilidh with The Aquaducts and that will be followed by a couple of soloist spots for the Kent Chamber Choir in Faversham – details on the Gigs page. Oh and there are some feature slots at The Bob Hope Theatre in Eltham coming up for Jean and for me!
So as a working guitarist I get to accompany an excellent singer, entertain our neighbours, travel and be the main guest at a real life proper acoustic music clubs like in Gloucestershire, play for weddings (and sadly, funerals), work in an excellent great fun ceilidh band, and play for the discerning audience of a chamber choir concert. What’s not to like?
I last played Barny’s in Stroud just before Covid struck the music business. It’s a lovely place, a listening audience and an appreciative one. I had to wait to get back there because of the Covid backlog of performers who were due return gigs but it will be worth waiting for from my point of view. Two 40 minute slots or thereabouts gave me time to range across songs, instrumentals and stories to my heart’s content. It was great fun with my old friend Dik Cadbury doing support slots.
Looking Back…
On 11 March 2023, I did two solo instrumental spots for the Kent Chamber Choir in their concert at St Catherine’s Church, Preston-next-Faversham. This was the 5th or 6th Chamber Choir concert I’ve done and again, they have that delight – the listening audience. Return bookings – ambrosia – always happy to please the person who books me… And look – Don’t I scrub up well!!!
Dear Frank
Thank you very much for your excellent guitar solos and captivating introductions last night (Faversham). They provided a perfect contrast to the singing… I’m looking forward to more enjoyable entertainment from you at our summer concert at Ash Church.
Alan
The barn dance with the Aquaducts on 4 March in Hartley was a sell-out and great fun. A sell-out barn dance is always a good one. The organisers there have booked us again for 2024 – 2 March.
Jean Bentley and I played Ruskin House in Croydon and I was with the Aquaducts for a ceilidh in Carshalton for New Year’s Eve. Great crowd, fun dancing and a wonderful welcome to 2023 as I managed to get back home for about 12:30 – at home they hadn’t all gone to bed yet.
Saturday, 22nd October 2022, I was singing a song, playing a tune, reading a poem, and accompanying Jean Bentley singing in a fun Betjeman programme in Ash Church near New Ash Green in Kent. A good size crowd for this one and a well received programme.
It’s good to get feedback and to see the positive advertising in advance although this one is a bit old now (the promo, not Steve Shorey. Actually Steve is getting …) – like this one for Chelsfield…
RECENT VIDEO ON https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FF2_lG1_V0o. The Unquiet Grave, courtesy Ian Anderson at Eltham’s Bob Hope Theatre.
Some time ago, when I was putting this website together I started with…
‘Thanks for popping in, I hope my website will keep you up to date with what I am doing at the moment.’
and a while after that I wrote…
‘We’re going to be quite busy in 2020 by the look of it with a diary filling up for January into March. Good times.’
And then came COVID…
Like musicians all round the world, my’ List of Current Gigs’ page became somewhat redundant. Still, I had some interesting gigs just before lockdown even if my memory has had to stretch to remember that far back!
KEEPING THE FLAG FLYING..
During the vacuum, I recorded a few bits and pieces of guitar playing and put them on Facebook. They’re not the kinds of pieces that I usually play in clubs but sometimes I do background music things or I put together special repertoires for particular reasons. Jean and I also did a number of zoom concerts for Carers and old people’s homes..
Besides those repertoires, there are also my studio recordings which are available on iTunes here , (Apple Music these days!) Most of those recordings are commissioned and they are fun in their own way.
So, here’s a few of those lockdown recordings starting with I’ve grown accustomed to the first time ever I saw your face. I hope you enjoy it.
http://www.facebook.com/frank.mcconnell.12/videos/2618018848478071
Here’s Tea for Two;
https://www.facebook.com/frank.mcconnell.12/videos/2608683626078260
and Largo, Kite and Sun
https://www.facebook.com/frank.mcconnell.12/videos/2627928154153807
I recorded one for my birthday near the beginning of lockdown, when we didn’t know how long all this would be going on;
https://www.facebook.com/frank.mcconnell.12/videos/2598100973803192
If you want a bit of church type music, there’s My Song is Love Unknown
https://www.facebook.com/frank.mcconnell.12/videos/2609546002658689
Something a bit quicker? How about Anything Goes?
https://www.facebook.com/frank.mcconnell.12/videos/2613797148900241
One of my own tunes is Papa Woo. Here’s a duet version;
https://www.facebook.com/frank.mcconnell.12/videos/2615611402052149
I am often asked how I became the guitarist I am, what contributed to the development of my style? The answer is of course Flash Gittaro. This video shows an average practise session being rescued by a quick slug of Flash Gittaro and further assisted by some Super Flash Gittaro. Gittaro is banned from all my gigs but is on sale in all good horse tackle shops by knocking three times and asking for Harry.
https://www.facebook.com/frank.mcconnell.12/videos/2622462814700341
Gitaro, Gittaro, and Super Flash Gittaro are all copyrighted trademarks and cannot be used without permission.
I found a very important letter from Thomas!
There’s a lifetime of involvement in the music world which I have been busily writing up into my book. I’m editing that now and proofing as I go. You never know someone might publish it. It includes details of how I got involved in the French Film Industry with Comme un Avion and with American Television with the HBO series Bones, specifically The Nightmare in the Nightmare in 2016 or was it 2017? But there are lots of other stories there which if nothing else could be a personal history for my grandchildren.
I’d like to add a word of thanks to Alan and Carole (from the Kent Chamber Choir and the Meopham U3A respectively) who have written to me;
Kent Chamber Choir – Faversham
Thank you very much for your excellent guitar solos and captivating introductions last night. They provided a perfect contrast to the singing… I’m looking forward to more enjoyable entertainment from you at our summer concert at Ash Church.
Alan Vincent – Kent Chamber Choir
Dear Frank
Very many thanks for your delightful guitar solos at St Martin’s in Maidstone. I feel that in their intimacy they prove a perfect contrast to the choral items and are always greatly appreciated by our audiences.
Alan Vincent – Kent Chamber Choir
Dear Frank
…thanks again to you and Jean for generously giving of your time to come and talk and play and sing to our group.
We felt honoured to experience such talent and it was the best Monday afternoon that I’ve experienced for many a year.
The guitar group have been messaging their thoughts and comments about your visit and are taking on board some of the techniques that you displayed.
Carole – Meopham U3A Guitar Group
I was persuaded by some friends to write some 120,000+ words of my musical experience across the years. I’m into the editing stage now! I wonder if anyone will publish it?
Have fun.
see Frank McConnell’s latest albums
‘Ruth’ and ‘This is Not My Room’
on iTunes at