Wanna hear some great new music? Be the first one on your block! Tell your mates

 I have been a musician for all of my adult life. I've played in the same band for nearly 47 years, and I've seen all manner of musical styles and fads come and go. There have been lulls in music and great peaks. In London currently we have a really schizophrenic situation at the moment. We have amazing bands, playing great music, often to decent sized crowds. However, live music venues are closing, promoters are struggling to make a living, the bands generally get paid little. Perhaps the hardest thing of all is for bands to get from playing great shows to 50 people to making a proper career where playing music is their day job, playing bigger venues on a regular basis.

As someone who does pay the bills running a music related business, I see the way many musicians struggle. One of the biggest problems artists have is connecting with the audience for their music. You can record the very best song in the world, but if no one ever gets to hear it, then it will never take the artist forward. As a '77 punk rocker, I have always been of the opinion that if someone slams the door in your face, you kick it in. Our mainstream radio stations seem to be totally uninterested in what is going on in the grassroots music scene. So what can be done? Well I've hooked up with a good mate of mine, Griff Griffiths, who does the drivetime show on Rock Radio UK.

Having had a chat with Griff, I suggested that we do a  shout out to the bands that use my studios and also on social media and we asked for artists to submit tracks, so that we can play them on Griff's show. Rock Radio UK has a listenership of around 100,000 and is constantly growing. I was shocked and pleased to get over 50 submissions. I spent a couple of days listening to them all. Nearly all were excellent. I sent them over to Griff and his team and we will be playing four of them on his show on Tuesday. As the station is a specialist Rock station, we had to limit it to Rock tracks. The good news is that the listeners know their mustard and the station will connect the artists with a ready made audience.

If the show gets a good response, we will be chosing some more.

I have a date for your diary! If you are not doing anything on Sunday 2nd November, why not come down to watch my band, The False Dots and a couple of other great bands

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And as it's Friday, here are the local gigs (follow the Barnet Music Facebook page for full details)

Friday 17th
Builders Arms 8.30pm – 11.30pm Groove Rats (rock/blues)
Kings Head 8.30pm – 11.30pm  The Curfew (Classic rock)
Butchers Arms 9pm – 11.45pm Redriffe (classic rock 4 piece)
Sebright Arms 9pm – 11.30pm Runner Brothers (rock covers)
The Arkley Club 7.30pm - late £10 cash entry Vikki Clayton + Floor Spots
Barrington 8.30pm – midnight Karaoke with Neil
Ye Olde Monken Holt 8.30pm – late Robert Storey (DJ) Soul Storey

Saturday 18th
EB RB Legion 8.30pm - late Soul Chain
Lord Kitchener 8.30pm – late Karaoke with Johnno
Butchers Arms 9pm – 11.30pm Bear Pit Band (pop/rock covers 4 piece)
Toolans 9pm X - Pressions 

Maddens 8pm – 11.30pm Cruisin Mooses (blues/rock/soul 4 piece)
The Arkley Club 8.30pm - late £5 cash entry Back To Legends disco

Sunday 19th
Butchers 8.30 – 11.30pm
Butchers Arms Jam Electric/Blues/Rock (Full backline available)
Toolans 8.30 Kieran White

Monday 20th
Ye Olde Mitre Inn, High Street 8pm – 11pm (stables room) Barnet Acoustics Session

Tuesday 21st
The Bull Theatre £5 Acapella & Accoustic Speakeasy 14+ (3rd Tuesday)
further details from Nikki or Tim 07754067594 07956875758

Wednesday 22nd
Toolans 5pm-8pm JJ Galway
Ye Olde Monken Holt 8.30 – 11pm Open Mic Night

Thursday 23rd
Ye Olde Monken Holt 8.30 – 10.30pm Irish Session
Maddens 8.30pm – 11pm Ronnie Gordon Legacy (ska, reggae, blue, soul, latin)Thursday

Friday 24th
Butchers Arms 9pm – 11.30pm Harripaul (pop/rock/jazz/blues)
EB RB Legion 9pm – 11.30pm Broken Bones (Classic rock 3 piece)
Lord Kitchener 8.30pm – late Jamie Callis (Solo artist)
Builders Arms 8 – 11pm Tim Leffman
Kings Head 9.15pm Jamie Whelligan
Barrington 8.30pm – midnight Karaoke with Neil

And if it's Friday, it is time for a joke!

I ordered some cheap German food from Ebay

The sauerkraut is awful and the wurst is yet to come.

And finally, have a great weekend!

Friday Fun for The London Borough of Barnet - 23rd May 2025

As ever we start with the Friday Joke to kick things off.  I thought this one was rather funny, oddly my wife and her sister less so!

My wife and her sister fell out on a holiday trip.

The rest of the balloon flight was, however , peaceful.

— Robert Wilkinson (@robertwlk) May 20, 2025

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And on to the music news for the London Borough of Barnet. Make sure you follow the Barnet Music Facebook page for all the latest gig news. 

Fothcoming events of note

The Mill Hill Music Festival starts with a free gig at The Adam and Eve on 31st May. Click on the image for full details

Of special note is Barnet's favourites, The Silencerz at The Mill Hill Golf Club. A great chance to see this amazing band in the wonderful grounds of the golf club, the bar is reasonable and there will be barbecue!

One week to go until the start of Mill Hill Music Festival - click on the image for full tickets and full details

One of the highlights is the BBC Elstree Concert Band. Check out this amazing video of the band in action

It's nearly upon us. Mill Hill's finest, The False Dots launch their new single at The Dublin Castle this Sunday. If that wasn't exciting enough, two amazing local support bands. Dubvocaliza are a brilliant Dub Reggae band and Niall Logue is an amazing singer songwriter, who has recently signed to Marquee records. Click the image for more details and tickets

Dubvocaliza in action!

Niall Logue's recent video

As for all you Jazzers, check this out. The Bohemia is a brilliant pub, a microbrewery where they brew the beer on the premises! www.b3lounge.live

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And on to the rest of this weeks gig listings.

Friday 23rd

DJ Fresh (Karaoke) at The Three Wishes, Edgware 

9pm - 11pm

Butchers Arms 9pm – midnight Beyond Retro (Rock & Roll)

Sebright Arms 8.45pm – 11pm Paparazzi 5 piece (Covers)

The Lord Kitchener 8.30pm – late One Man Stand

Builders Arms 8pm – 11pm Tim Leffman (Original Acoustic + Covers, Solo Artist)

Barrington 8.30-midnight Karaoke with Neil

Ye Olde Monken Holt 9pm – midnight DJ Sadie

Saturday 24th

Butchers Arms 9pm – 11.30pm The Bear Pit Band 4 pieces (pop/rock covers)

East Barnet RBLegion 8.30pm – 11.30pm The Silver Searchers 4 piece (60s covers)

Ye Olde Monken Holt, 9.30pm - midnight Luke Carey (Acoustic / Electric Rock & Pop)

Ye  Olde Mitre Inn, High Street 8.30pm – 11pm Natalie Shay

Maddens 9pm – 11.30pm UnderCovered 5 piece (Pop/rock/funk)

Sunday 25th

East Barnet CIU Club 2-5pm £1 non members Megan Coxall

Black Horse 3pm – Home Cookin Jazz

Ye Olde Monken Holt 7pm – 9pm Creekside (Americana)

Butchers 8.30pm – 11.30pm Butchers Arms Jam Electric/Blues/Rock (Full backline available)

Monday 26th

Jan's North London Jam at The Three Wishes, Edgware 4.5 miles

9pm - 11pm

Ye Olde Mitre Inn, High Street 8pm – 11pm (stables room) Barnet Acoustics Sessions

Wednesday 28th

Ye Olde Monken Holt 8.30pm – 11pm Open Mic Night

Thursday 29th

Ye Olde Monken Holt 8.30pm – 10.30pm Irish Session

The Sebright Arms 7.30pm – 11pm Open Mic Night

Have a great weekend!