christian prommer's drumlesson & son of dave

Thought we'd show you some more of the people who will be playing at the fete. First, Christian Prommer's Drumlesson, who plough the furrow where jazz meets classic house.

They do a mean drum solo too.

And here's Son of Dave doing his one man thing.

any more for any more?

We're very pleased to now confirm that the wonderful Angus & Julia Stone will be also be playing at our fete on the Sunday. If you aren't familiar with either Angus or Julia (brother and sister) then have a little look at the below video.

I've got them on my ipod. They're very good.

ukulele a go go

Amidst the welly wanging, odd shaped vegetables and unruly ducks,  you might notice an abundance of small, four stringed instruments around the park this summer, that resemble a cross between miniature Portuguese guitars and plucked lutes.

As part of our cracking line up of music and dancing, we've enlisted the help of some very fine ukulele players to get everyone into the fete spirit.

The Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain are coming along on the Sunday to strum everything from Nirvana through to the theme tune from Shaft and a Cossack version of that old George Formby classic, Leaning on the lampost.

George - an inspiration to ukulele lovers everywhere and collector of execllent ties

The orchestra itself consists of seven ukuleles and a bass ukulele (which is actually a bass guitar but since it has four strings, is affectionately known as the bass ukulele). They've been going for 23 years, ever since Richie dared George to play his son's Smurf guitar at a gig, and they're still going strong.

According to Jodi who looks after getting the orchestra from A to B, the ukulele or 'uke' is relatively easy to learn and with schools across the country encouraging budding ukulele players of the future, there is now a shortage of ukuleles in the UK.

So if you've always fancied yourself as a ukulele player but have never got round to learning, you can come along and try the next best thing with the nice people from Karauke, who will also be at our fete on the Sunday.

Karauke is just like karaoke but instead of singing at a bored telly, you get to jam with a band of chipper ukulele players instead.

According to Nick from Karauke, soft rock numbers work really well and they do a mean version of Karma Chameleon, in case you want to get a bit of practice in before the fete.

And for any of you who were slightly concerned about toe treading or string bashing-at-dawn, Nick lent George from The Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain a spare ukulele the other week when they were an instrument short, so there's no animosity or professional rivalry there.

Just plain, good old fashioned ukulele love.

Make sure you get involved in some at the fete.

please say hello to the innocent band

Here's a very sneak preview of the innocent band who played for us here at Fruit Towers last Thursday lunch time. They'll be playing again at our village fete on both the Saturday and Sunday so keep your eye out for them on the programme.

Every single member works here Monday to Friday, 9am-6pm, so we're quite proud that they've managed to pull together a fully fledged 9 piece band in such a short space of time. In the blurry distance, you can probably just about make out Caroline, Cass, Ceri and Vic on vocals, Duncan on drums, Jamie M and Tim S on trombone and trumpet respectively, Ruvan on guitar, Malinna on bass and Ben T working his magic on the piano. Oh and there's a tambourine that gets passed around as well. We can't forget the tambourine.

And here's a chicken with his eye on some apples. Unfortunately, he's already been booked for another engagement this summer.

re-entrants ukulele duo do the ace of spades

We love a bit of the ukulele at innocent. That's why we've got the Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain coming along to play at our fete on the Sunday.

If you also like a bit of the ukulele have a look at this rendition of Motorhead's The Ace of Spades by The Re-entrants. It's truly unique.

Just to be clear The Re-entrants won't be playing at the fete. But we will have cover versions done on ukulele's that's for sure.

some musical highlights from this year's fete

some musical highlights from this years fete

Here's a very quick run down of some of the great music acts we've booked in over the weekend so far (and a nice picture of a duck listening to music)...

It's an eclectic collection as ever.

James Taylor Quartet:

Imelda May
Faireys Band (see them in action at last year's fete here)
The Boy Least Likely To
Jive Aces
Josie Jo
Son of Dave :

Peter & The Wolf
Wallis Bird
James Yuill:

Prints Of Whales
Adam Callan's Sweet Memory Sounds
Cut A Shine:

Christian Prommer's Drumlesson
The Boy Least Likely To
Ukulele Orchestra of GB:

James Carrington
Imelda May
Dynamos Rhythm Aces
Josie Jo
Earl Okin:

Findlay Brown
Wallis Bird
Prints Of Whales
Adam Callan's Sweet Memory Sounds
Dynamos Rhythm Aces:

Cut A Shine
Cosmic Sausages

Still lots more to be confirmed.

the innocent village fete day one

We were blessed with sunshine and blue skies today for the first day of our big village fete in Regent's Park. Here are just some of the highlights so far...

People enjoying the sunshine. There was a lot of it.

Bunting making with the Girl Guides.

Duck herding.

Rolly pollies on the village green during the Gymnastics workshop.

A Town Crier testing the dog agility course.

Lots of Morris dancing throughout the day.

Lovely flower arranging by our Aliana's sister.

Adem playing 'God Only Knows What I'd Be Without You' on the acoustic stage on a very small guitar in that nice t-shirt with two red circles and two green rectangles again. What are those small guitars actually called?

The William Fairey Band working the hay barn crowd into a frenzy with their brass band versions of acid house classics. They are probably the only brass band in the country to get this kind of reaction on a Saturday afternoon at a fete I imagine.

Plus our smoothies were very popular which was a relief.

Oh and I spotted Louis Theroux wandering around. Appreciating the stranger bits probably.

seth lakeman at the fete

We've finally finally finished the music line up for our village fete. The last bit of the jigsaw is the excellent Seth Lakeman. Seth went down a storm at Glastonbury this year, and we reckon he'll be doing the business for us too.

Tickets for the fete are available here - see you in the park on 4th and 5th August.

mr james carrington

We've just confirmed our final guest slot for Sunday afternoon on the Acoustic Bandstand. James Carrington will be coming along with his guitar to serenade us all. We hope he brings the weather with him.

innocent village fete – full line up announced

Our village fete committee has been working away tirelessly behind the scenes for some time now, living on a diet of tea, cakes and piles and piles of paper. So we're very glad to now formally announce the full line up of acts to you. Here's a little guide to the some of our selected bits:

Adem playing on the Acoustic Stage on Saturday

We wrote a little introduction to Adem last week. We're very excited to have him play on Saturday on the Acoustic Bandstand. Sit near the front, he'll be good.

Geno Washington and the Ram Jam Band playing on the Bandstand on Saturday & Sunday

Geno Washington and The Ram Jam Band had two of the biggest selling UK albums of the sixties. It's now 2007, it's the innocent villlage fete and as the title of their latest album puts it, it's 'The Return Of The G'.

Little Barrie playing in the Entertainment Tent on Sunday

Little Barrie are named after their guitarist, singer and songwriter Barrie Cadogan. We don't actually know how tall he is. Little Barrie's debut LP 'We Are Little Barrie' was released to rave reviews in 2005. Since then, Barrie has been playing with Primal Scream, but is now ready for our fete. Bring it on Barrie.

Jack Savoretti playing on the Acoustic Stage stage on Saturday & Sunday

Jack Savoretti is a bit special. Just 22 years old, strikingly handsome, with soulful Latin good looks, his sinuous, husky, emotive voice synthesizes with his fluid, inventive guitar playing so you can hardly tell where one begins and the other ends. One for the ladies.

The Fairey Band playing on the Bandstand on Saturday

Founded in 1937, The Fairey Band are undoubtedly one of the world's leading brass bands. The 32-piece outfit from Stockport are sixteen times British Open Champions (brass bands open not tennis) and nine times winners of the title 'National Champion Band of Great Britain'. Past winners of the BBC's 'Best of Brass' and twice holders of the 'Granada Band of the Year'. They look very smart in their blue jackets and will hopefully add an air of bygone class to Saturday afternoon, as well as hopefully playing some of their patented acid house classics (they do you know - they do brass versions of old acid house tunes - we are excited about this).

Earl Okin playing on the Bandstand stage on Saturday & Sunday

Earl Okin is one of those rare performers - a true original. His one man show has made his name a legend at the Edinburgh International Festival and venues around the world. You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll shout 'do that one again, Earl'.

The Epstein playing in the Entertainment Tent on Saturday & Sunday

Oxford’s loveable alt-country favourites The Epstein are au fait with a myriad of instruments including the banjo, mandolin, sitar, bouzouki, sitar, glockenspiel and many more. The Epstein's debut album 'The Last of the Charangistas’ is forthcoming and the band just received the impressive accolade of runners up in the 'Glastonbury Emerging Act' competition. One to watch out for.

Kitty,Daisy and Lewis playing in the Alfresco Ballroom on Saturday & Sunday

This brother and sister trio are so talented it's almost not funny, rattling through a rockabilly set like mini-me versions of Elvis, Billie Holiday and Johnny Cash. Constantly swapping instruments, the prodigiously talented youngsters win over crowds who more often than not yelp, jostle and jive in appreciation. So good even Blue Peter had to have them on.

London Swing Dance Society dancing in the Alfresco Ballroom on Saturday & Sunday

The UK's biggest and longest running swing dance club. Please feel free to join in.

And it’s not just the music. On both days we will have amazing stage comedy from two of Edinburgh Festival's most renowned acts – DotComedy and the Strangelings, both performing their absurd brand of street theatre on the bandstand in between acts.

Plus loads more. See you on the grass.