... Roger McGuinn Burgess Hill I like folk songs, 'cause they tell stories, smiled Chicago-bom Roger McGuinn, whose tour is named Voice of the Byrds. Maybe that should read Voice of the Wyrds because-like so many of his sixties contemporaries-his songwriting talent is emphasised through the lyrics over the importance of the music. With pleasing anecdotes detailing lyric-swaps between him self ...

... Dervish Forum This, surely, is a fairly definitive example of a band living up to its name. Sligo-based Dervish plays with a stunning verve and energy, presenting Irish music at its most exciting: driving rhythms, lilting melodies and dynamic arrangements are there in profusion. The level of musicianship in the six-piece band is outstanding ly good, and is demonstrated to equal effect in ...

... Karen Akers Pizza on the Park Even before Karen Akers begins to sing, there is an elegance about her demeanour that is quite distracting. Despite her height-she is almost 6ft tall- the singer still cuts a graceful figure, and with her striking cheekbones and short bobbed stylish haircut, many a model would simply kill for her look. But what has probably made this US concert and cabaret star ...

... Cherish the Ladies Tunbridge Wells/Touring It is billed as Irish-American music, but although Cherish the Ladies are based in New York and five of the six women are American-bom, it is the Irish which invariably dominates. Most of the group are from Irisb-American families and all are totally steeped in the tradition. That is just as obvious in a set of recently self-penned tunes as in the ...

... Bob Goody Tristan Bates What a fantastic place the Actors Centre, just off Shaftesbury Avenue, is. It has exactly the relaxed, amiable air that befits what is essentially a community centre for actors. It is the perfect venue for Bob Goody, a performance poet who recites texts inspired by his expe riences as a performer, some times accompanied by the wonderfully deadpan Urban Tel on keyboards. ...

... Our Kind of Musicals Grimsby In aid of the When You Wish Upon a Star children's charity, more than two hours of show-stoppers pleased a near capacity Auditorium crowd and proved that local lad Gary Williams' star is still in the ascendancy. Hosting the show was the magnificent David Jacobs, whose self-deprecating anecdotes had everyone chuckling. While one could listen to Jacobs all night, his ...

... Kathy's just in Parr-fect form Wakefield Kathy Parr Halifax-based vocalist Kathy Parr is widely respected and admired in northern clubland circles. She went solo only a couple of years ago, after spending many years in bands and duos. Parr is now a major attraction on the club scene, which made it even more peculiar to find that her performance at Westgate Common Club was not that well ...

... Geoff Gravson Normanton For the past 25 years, Yorkshire-based balladeer Geoff Grayson has enjoyed handsome success on the club scene. He is held in particular esteem in the north, and the virtual full house at Hopetown Liberal Club was testament to his enduring popularity. I first saw Grayson in the late- seventies, and he does not look or sound a great deal different than he did then when ...

... Mystique Blackpool This latest edition of the Pleasure Beach Horseshoe Showbar annual extravaganza of magic, music, movement and mirth contains few actual surprises but then, as one of the few shows to buck last season's box office downturn, surprises are perhaps not what the Mystique audiences come to see. Put another way, if you could not work out how Richard de Vere pulled off his large ...

... Readers' Poll Awards Show Wakefield Readers of the Wakefield and District Review had been invited to nominate their Best Acts of 1998, placed in five categories. Westgate Common WMC hosted the resulting Reader's Poll Awards Show, a sell out, and it proved to be a very lively night indeed. Producer and host was The Stage's own Mark Ritchie, clear and informative, no mean vocalist in his own ...

... The Pleasure of a good book BY JOHN MARTLAND One recurring name in the recent obituaries of ventriloquist Peter Brough was that of Eric Sykes, who came to prominence in the forties and fifties writing scripts for radio programmes such as Educating Archie and Variety Bandbox. Now in his 77th year, Sykes recently recalled some of the literary highlights of his life in the delightful With Great ...

... Fresh and fizzy presentation Huddersfield The Barries Merseyside-based duo The Barries appeared at the Oakes club, where their cabaret-based performance was well-received by a presentation night audience. Tony and Tricia Barrie are twin brother and sister. They are very young, and their blend of fresh and fizzy presentation, com bined with Tricia's distinctive singing voice which sounds mature ...