Audlem – the Music Village

Each month, the Audlem Online team sends a 500-word article about the village to the publishers of the Whitchurch Gossip and Market Drayton Gossip magazines.

These excellent publications are widely (and freely) distributed in North Shropshire and many in Audlem see a copy, particularly of the Whitchurch magazine. Many of our readers, however, are outside their distribution area.

We thought you might like to read what we said about the village earlier this month in the October issues.

It is also an excellent excuse to include a link to Jack Marshalls' amazing video on YouTube which is mentioned in the article – click on the link below his photo.

Audlem – the Music village

Audlem is a village with a fantastic reputation for live music, as most visitors know. Not only does the Audlem Festival in May attract thousands but there is live music every week of the year.

This month, a whole Sunday (7th October) was given over to live music to raise funds for a charity in memory of a local drummer who tragically died in a motorcycle accident.  Local bands played to appreciative audiences and money for a very good cause was raised.

Last year, an Oxjam fund-raising event was a great success, so this year, The Lord Combermere, hosted a day of excellent music for charity supporting The Paul Murfin Foundation for Young Drummers which was set up in memory of Paul.

He was a delightful man and an inspirational percussionist who performed regularly at the Audlem Festival. Many of the musicians who worked with Paul over the years were playing that Sunday.

Every Thursday, there is live music at the Lord Combermere with local and bands from near and afar appearing. Many Manchester bands seem to love playing in the village including big names like the Travelling Band and the Rainband while from Chester, the reeds have been regular visitors.

The Shroppie Fly has long had Saturday night live music, also often on Fridays, while a jamming session on Monday nights attracts many musicians with an amazing array of instruments. As the Shroppie may be closed for a period from the end of this month, do check out details on Audlem Online of What’s On.

Few villages in Britain hold an annual Hurdy Gurdy & Bagpipe Festival – yet Audlem does each November. Indeed, Audlem probably has the greatest concentration of Hurdy Gurdy players in Britain!

And barn dances around the area often feature the Crofters, Audlem's own Ceilidh Band and longest established local band too.

Audlem Voices, a choir created much more recently, now puts on many concerts in the village and elsewhere. There’s one coming up on 20th October supporting ADAS, the Audlem District Amenities Society.

It’s a very popular and magical night of singing by the joint choirs of Audlem Voices and The Crewe Male Voice Choir in the wonderful setting of the ancient St James church in the centre of the village.

The concert begins at 7.30pm with a blend of classic pieces alongside rousing modern songs.  Tickets at just £5 are on sale in Audlem Post Office and The Newsagents.

Musicians like guitarist, vocalist and songwriter Jim Kirkpatrick and drummer Johnny Miller, amongst others, have lived in the village and are often playing live locally. The Johnny Miller Allstars provide a memorable finale at the May Music Festival.

Young musical talent abounds too. Audlem has its very own recording studio run by Jack Marshall. Check out a wonderful recent video of him and members of the Marshall family on YouTube. Simply search for Blue Moon Jack Marshall. It really is a treat, filmed and edited superbly, and great music too.  

This article is from our news archive. As a result pictures or videos originally associated with it may have been removed and some of the content may no longer be accurate or relevant.