From Bristol to Exeter it’s a rockless wilderness. Apart from here in Bridgwater where that music form has always found a home and a heady mix of touring bands and original homegrown groups that make this place something special. In the 196o’s it was the Town Hall and the Top Twenty club hosting Billy Fury, Johnny Kidd and the Pirates, the Swinging Blue Jeans and the Who. In the 70’s and 80’s it was the Bridgwater Art Centre with it’s punk, ska,reggae and indie gigs featuring Crass, Chumbawamba, Black Roots and the Toy Dolls then in the ’90’s and into the 21st Century it was the Palace with Joe Strummer, Madness and the suppers from that eternal elixir of the cider cup, the Wurzels. These days……it’s the Cobblestones Pub in Eastover.
The Cobblestones has been run by local rock promoter Graham Hodgson for just two years but in that time him and his 3 partners have turned the place into a key rock venue on the touring circuit for name bands and eagerly backed by a growing stream of talented local rock groups who write their own music and not only keep a Bridgwater music scene going but keep their town on the rock map of the country. As their fathers did before them, and their grandfathers before them. And some grandmothers. Continue reading “Bridgwater Keeps its Place at the Top Table of Rock -Thanks to the Cobblestones”