BallaLouda
Fresh from performances in Venice, Cargo and the Spitz, the anglo-italian six-piece brings the irresistible dancing funk back home to N16. Fronted by your music host at the Lion, Tim McLeish
Sunday evening, The Lion

Esther Bennett
Singing a mixture of jazz standards, modern and original material, Esther combines an innate sense of musicality with a studied knowledge of the jazz idiom and of the voice. Her latest CD Just in Time was produced by Ian Shaw. ‘Esther Bennett’s many virtues include a seductive vibrato... a smokily appealing lower register... and a winning sense of humour.’ Jazzwise
Saturday night, Vortex, £10

Big Fibbers
The Beautiful Bucket of Fun, a variety show for the 21st century in the basement bar of one of Stokie's fave Turkish cafes. For the N16 Fringe, The Big Fibbers present Bits Of The Bucket, featuring at least 10 acts all who have performed at The Bucket over the past 18 months, including Tom Cronenberg, Dana Immanuel, Treeman, Wolfpack of One, J.J. Crash, Lou Spyche, Joe Buzfuz, Kate Langan, Jan Noble, Sarah Jayne Summerfield, but not necessarily in that order. Compered by The Big Fibbers. Food available.
www.bigfibbers.co.uk
Friday night, Bodrum, doors 8pm

The Cesarians

So, Leonard Cohen is on one side of the canal and Scott Walker is on the other: who jumps first? Screw the cap back on the valium, pull the stopper from the bottle and let the murky, undercurrents of The Cesarians take you down with them. It's not all dark here, though, there are bubbles from the deep, a happy cabaret with a Berlin bop. Give up, give in.

Sunday night, Bird Cage

Dan Chester
Daniel Thomas Chester started playing guitar in prison where upon his first night he was told by his fellow inmates that he had a choice to be 'early evening entertainment' or 'late night entertainment'. He got good fast. After his release he moved to Stoke Newington where he got known on the acoustic circuit for his unique style and songs. Such as, 'I can smell your womb from across the room' and 'If it fits a finger it's worth a try'.
'I couldn't really hear him: it was a bad PA system' NME.
'In a couple of years he'll be mediocre at best' MOJO.
Sunday night, Birdcage

City Farmers

Mike Gibson formed the City Farmers to perform at this very church in order to launch the solo album City Farm, a radical departure from his hard rockin' days in the Godfathers. While continuing to play with the full line-up, Gibson still does acoustic shows with and without his compadre 'Strollin' Al Kenning' and fellow guitarist Matthew Wig

Saturday night: St Mary's Old Church

Corn Rocket Club
An all-day event with five wild Rock’n’Roll bands.

The Bloodhounds (UK)
Savage R & B trio, a little early Yardbirds, a smidgeon of Butterfield, edging towards Cream and early Zep. Frantic takes on Tiger In Your Tank, Daddy Rolling Stone & Get Out My Life Woman. If you like your R & B REAL (as opposed to sanitised pub rock), this is as good a place as any to start!
The Heartattacks (Sweden)
Ox magazine reviewed Here Come The Heart Attacks saying: ‘Wow, what a hell of a record! I almost destroyed my living-room because of jumping around and going crazy while listening to this piece of wax!… They are not doing any spectacular new stuff – it’s the same old rock’n’roll – but only a few special combos make such a blast like this out of it. A tiny, razor-sharp and well-placed guitar-lead here and there and the rest is just completely wild, overcharged, teenpunk hysteria.’
http://www.heartattacks.tk/
The Campus Tramps (UK)
This will be the first gig in way too many years for these double dumb Geordie rock’n’rollers. Although the band themselves don’t rate their own records – they were always a great live act – there are still mounds of their Devil Dogs, Heartbreakers, Ramones garage-rock style swag to be had on too-cool-for-school record labels like Sympathy, Damaged Goods, Screaming Apple, to name a few.
The Buckets (UK)
Wild foot-tapping old-school beat-rhythm and blues, mixing the early Yardbirds with Johnny Kids and the Pirates and the Coasters. Features Bruce Brand (thee Milkshakes, Headcoats, Holly Golightly) & Eric Ulcer (Parkinsons, Ulcers, Chinese Lungs).
The Kidnappers (Germany)
Anyone expecting a reprisal of the Teengenerate-gone-pop brilliance of first album Ransom Notes Telephone Calls may be disappointed the first time they spin new album Neon Signs (Rip Off Records). But keep with it and you might like this album even better than the first one. Neon Signs most definitely rocks. Germany's best rock and roll band. www.myspace.com/kidnappers
http://www.cornrocket.co.nr
Saturday, 2-10,30pm, Ryan’s

Julie Dexter
Julie is a world-renowned singer/songwriter, classically trained, and is considered by many to be one of the most important female vocalists of her generation. The dynamic voice of Julie Dexter was first heard in 1997 on Dune Records' release of J-life. Since then Ms Dexter has released her second solo album, Conscious. Julie has performed at numerous venues worldwide including Jazz Cafe, Ronnie Scott's and The Blue Note. www.juliedexter.com
Friday-Sunday, Yum Yum Orchid Lounge

Diasporians
'The Diasporians' is a dynamic 8 to 10 piece reggae band. Recently formed as the back-line for the singer songwriter 'Bohbi FM', the band is composed of professional musicians with mixed musical backgrounds and nationalities. The music is fundamentally reggae with modern overtones and an exclusive message of peace, unity and happiness.
Saturday night, The Lion

Doctor Blue & The Prescription
Doctor Blue & The Prescription plays the classic blues of Chicago and Texas, influenced by the original blues greats, such as Muddy Waters, T-Bone Walker and Jimmy Reed, but also by later artists like The Fabulous Thunderbirds and Stevie Ray Vaughan. The band’s dynamic live act is lead by Mike McKeon’s forceful vocals and blasting harmonica, together with Dave Piggott’s blistering guitar. Backed up by the swinging rhythm section of Duncan Lane on bass and Pete Abernethy on drums, Doctor Blue’s interpretation of the blues is a heady mix, playing to enthusiastic audiences in packed venues.
Thursday night, Ryan’s

Falcone Records
The falcon has landed. Falcone Records is an independent label, devoted to the promotion of music, that challenges the ears, the brain, and that makes you shake your ass... Working from its East London-based nest, Falcone Records is collaborating with artists who challenge today's mainstream music soup, and do not try to surf any fake artrock/disco beat/cool angular haircut/free Tuesday night average bands wave.Falcone Records' first release, a limited 7" by Stoke Newington band Monkey Island, is the first milestone in a series of releases that aim to bring the finest essence of rock and roll and garage music to music fans worldwide. To get the records and get some more information, join the mailing list at www.falconerecords.com, or browse
www.myspace.com/falconerecords.

Great Bear

Great Bear are a Stoke Newington based 4-piece guitar band who have been playing gigs in and around London for a couple of years, building up a reputation for their energetic and uplifting shows. Recent Xfm unsigned winners Great Bear ran away with the poll of Xfm listeners with the infectious 'Think You Love Me'. '...inhabiting a London world where Blur drop all the art-school bollocks and Supergrass have a shave and learn to dress with a bit of class' Drowned in Sound. www.myspace.com/greatbeartheband

Friday night, White Hart

THE HELLS
The Hells, who've recently completed a European tour, which saw them play the world famous Primavera Sound festival in Barcelona, with the likes of Flaming Lips, YYY's and Motorhead, return to N16 Fringe, the site of one of their very first shows a few short years back. Fronted by Ippy and Kevin, the crucial twin-heart of this London-based Rock-n-Roll beast, and backed by the mighty Ed Grimshaw on drums,THE HELLS play it sonic and sexy,with one foot planted firmly in rock-n-roll's history and the other striding towards its future. If you've never seen THE HELLS perform live,do yourself a favour. This is the real deal! Pounding, visceral, sexy and a lot of fun. Hells Yeah!
Saturday night, White Hart

Hickey
Hickey are a three-piece based in N16 playing a genre-hopping slice of Alt-Americana. An impressive, powerful live band, they recently supported folk legend Richard Thompson at the Ascott Music Festival and were extremely well received. They consist of main songwriter Steve Hickey- Guitars/Vocals, Nathan Holloway-Bass/B.Vs and Ray Crouch on Drums.For more details and song downloads – www.hickeymusic.co.uk or www.myspace.com/stevehickeysmusic.
Saturday night, Yucatan

Brian Iddenden’s Jazz Troubadours
3-Piece contemporary jazz and standards on Sunday afternoon (3pm-6pm). In the evening, The Jazz Troubadours in a whole different light! Accompanied by gorgeous burlesque vocalist/dancer performing Fever! This performance will no doubt lead the audience into a fevered frenzy as the layers come off… (8pm-late)
Sunday, Stage B

Jules and The Gamblers

Powerful electric Chicago Blues band playing Rhythm N Blues, Rock N Roll with influences from Little Walter, Jimmy Rogers, Sonny Boy Williamson and more contemporary artists.. Electric vintage sounds featuring fiery harmonica and guitar bringing you back to that Chess era ! Music to shake to! Fun guaranteed!

Saturday Afternoon, 2-5pm, Stage B

Lord John Paul Holt III
A psychotic, psychedelic mean groove that goes round and round your tiny mind until combustion time. For the anoraks, the drummer plays with Wedding Present, the bassist is ex-Massive Attack, the Lord the only surviving member of 80s apocalyptic visionaries the Palookas. Forget the talent, get down for the crack.
Thursday night, Ryan’s

Luxury Condo
Formed from a collective desire to spend more time ‘on the dark side’, Luxury Condo are an amalgam of wastrels plucked from various seedy street corners. Their intense but totally seated live performances are supported by the visual stimulus of back-projected weird and wonderful Super 8 films. Expect to have your ears pinned back by the glorious sleazy blues/country/tex-mex assault, whilst your eyes feast on trampolining families, Godzilla out-takes and smutty cartoons.
Saturday night, St Mary’s Old Church

Mariachi Mixteca
From 5pm Mariachi Mixteca play live. Salvador Jimenez leads a quartet of Latin American musicians playing the best and most traditional mariachi tunes from Mexico. The band will be playing both indoors and outdoors for a period of about two hours.
Saturday afternoon, 5pm, Mercado

Monkey Island
‘Rocking like The Stooges mid-pelt through a rendition of Ginsberg's 'Howl', the music comes fast, heavy, feral; full of potent dysfunction. Acidic punk and molten blues jack up the psycho-ward thrills with mouth-harp frenzy. More disquieting still are the quieter, more elliptic tracks, itch-inducing psychological sketches, like insects crawling across sensitive skin. Monkey Island are the great undiscovered garage-riot band of London town, don't wait for a Nuggets-style excavation to dig their avant savage genius.’ Stevie Chick, Kerrang
New single Feel Good For Nothing/Bobby No Bobby out now on Falcone Records. Album out this autumn.Download new single at myspace.com/monkeyislanduk MP3: monkeyislanduk.com info@monkeyislanduk.com
Saturday night, White Hart

Mysterious Benefactors
Stoke Newington youth gone rotten with the booze’n’blues. If you can imagine a hot, sweaty night in a Memphis hotel in 1974 and The Faces creeping into bed with Neil Young, with Dylan and The Band taking photos, the outcome may look something like these guttersnipes.
Saturday night, St Mary’s Old Church

Mystery Meat
Formed just one year ago, this London three-piece have gained a loyal following through their raucous live shows and talent for writing catchy hooks. Mystery Meat are a stripped-down rock’n’roll act reminding us of Dinosaur Jr
and Royal Trux in particular, but have also had comparisons to such as David Bowie, Butthole Surfers and even the toxic twin days of Aerosmith.
‘Mystery Meat are pretty much rock n roll incarnate’ Artrocker
Friday night, Ryan’s

Paloma Faith presents...
An evening of eerie adventure into obscurist theatrical jazz. Paloma Faith and the Healers will be headlining the evening paying homage to the past and Paloma’s own theatrical roots. Also on the bill are Ronnie King and the Hustlers with energetic early r&b, blues and swing. Later there will be a jam session – music provided by DJ’s Ronnie King and Jake Vegas. Dance your socks off!
Friday night, Vortex, £8

Penny Rimbaud and Friends
N16 Magazine’s ‘disgruntled anarchist’, Penny Rimbaud, presents an evening of poetry and music. Working alongside some of London’s leading jazz players, firstly as Crass Agenda, but now as Last Amendment, Penny has managed to establish the links between jazz and poetry so celebrated by America’s West Coast beats and France’s Left Bank bohemians. Penny will be performing ‘How?’, a poem in response to Rupert Murdoch’s ownership to the copyright of Ginsberg’s ‘Howl’, an attack on the corporate hold on poetry. Coupled with the political anger for which Crass were so renowned, Penny’s poetry offers comfort through consolation, consolation through chaos: make it if you can take it.
Saturday night, Bodrum

Luddy Samms
A long-term Stokey resident, Luddy is one of the great soul voices. Born in the USA, Luddy sang with the Drifters as a young man and since then he has worked alongside the likes of James Brown, Wilson Pickett, Otis Redding, Eddie Floyd, Rufus Thomas and other soul legends. His distinctive, powerful yet silky vocals have brought him concerts and gigs across Europe and beyond. His stunning acoustic set at last year’s Fringe in the Barracuda garden was one of the high spots of the weekend, and we are delighted to have him back this year. Come early for a good seat.
Sunday afternoon, 2pm, Barracuda.

Scintilla
Scintilla are a four-piece band based in Stoke Newington & Hackney. They have a unique sound that combines the raw energy of punk, the melodies of pop and lyrics mined from the dark and twisted depths ofLondon. Powerhouse riffs are provided by Sean, one-time guitarist for dayglo punk band Rubella Ballet. We have glam rock, courtesy of Candy Allan (formerly of cult band The Trudy). All firmly anchored by the loudest drummer in London, the Mighty Nitram. Scintilla have recorded with Grant Showbiz (producer of The Fall, Billy Bragg and The Smiths) and have featured on Steve Lamacq's Session Unsigned Show on Radio One.
http://www.myspace.com/scintillarock
Friday night, White Hart

Martin Simpson
Martin Simpson is one of the world's finest acoustic guitarists, and a powerful songwriter and singer. His playing, which in part defined the English steel string acoustic guitar sound, is idiosyncratic, instantly recognizable, and revered among guitar fans. His body of work is very diverse, encompassing all types of traditional and acoustic music, and he has collaborated with a bewildering variety of musicians from June Tabor through Martin Carthy to Jackson Browne.
A renowned teacher, Martin gives workshops and master classes around the world and has recorded a number of teaching videos, as well as a number of critically acclaimed albums. He lived and worked in the USA for a number of years and celebrated his return to living in the UK in 2002 by winning BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards for ‘Best Instrumentalist’ and ‘Album of the Year’ with The Bramble Briar” His next album, Righteousness and Humidity was released in September 2003 on Topic Records.
In February 2004 Martin’s outstanding reputation was further enhanced when he won the ‘Musician of the Year’ Award at the BBC Folk Awards, while Righteousness and Humidity was a nominee for ‘Best Album’. His latest album Kind Letters was released in the Spring 2005 to more critical acclaim.
‘outshining the lot of them was the prodigal guitar maestro – Martin Simpson – the defining moment of the whole weekend’ ,The Independent, Cambridge Folk Festival. Do not miss this man.
Friday night, St Mary’s Old Church, doors 7pm, £10

$kull Di$ko
$kull Di$ko caramelise your brains, make a paper chain of uranium butterflies and hang you off the walls of shattered rock’n’roll. If you’re still breathing, the future is yours. The noise salutes you.
Friday night, White Hart

Soixante Neuf
There are stories that someone once created a group by an almost scientific formula, Incidents that occurred by mistake were incorporated to produce one of the most shattering explosions of chemistry seen on the beat circuit. Their philosophy is simple: like all the best things in life, sex is fun, bad taste is often in the mouths of the joyless critics.
Saturday night, White Hart

Spaghetti West One

Ennio Morricone meet five desperados from Stoke Newington as Spaghetti West One try to shrug off their 'laziest band in London' tag. Classic 60s film and   dance grooves with plenty of twang. They're Good, They're Back and They're still Ugly. Don't miss them.

Thursday night, Ryan's

SriVibe
A DJ renowed for her eclectic selection of music. SriVibe has played at the Jazz Cafe, 10 Rooms, and the Queen Elizabeth Hall, to mention just a few. SriVibe has worked with with Break Beat collective Break Reform (Abstract Ble), Jazz Reloaded's Darren Taylor (The Courtney Pine Band), Julie Dexter, the renowned performance poet Zena Edwards and the award-winning F-ire collective. www.srivibe.com
Friday-Sunday, Yum Yum, Orchid Lounge

Swing Dance Exhibition
London’s Swing Dance community will be pulling out all the stops & steps in this introduction to one of the fastest growing dance styles around. If you always wanted to swing around the dance floor and learn to boogie this event might just get you there! Swing Dance DJs performing as well.
Friday night, Stage B, 9pm

Darren Taylor
Darren is the man behind the Jazzreloaded vibe and the debut EP Get Out. Darren has worked alongside the UK jazz vanguard, including Courtney Pine and Denys Baptiste. He has also collaborated with artists as diverse as Maxi Jazz (Faithless), Wyclef Jean, Omar Puente, Chris Franck (Jazzinho), Carleen Anderson and Talvin Al Singh. ‘digging deep into the groove... the phenomenal bassist Darren Taylor… for getting the reluctant to their feet, it was a triumph’ Daily Mail. www.jazzreloaded.co.uk
Friday-Sunday, Yum Yum Orchid Lounge

The Touchy Two
Songs of discord and strife from Stokey’s own troubled couple. Duet Charlie Wilson, from the Brick Lane Boogie Boys, and She Rocola from Lady and the Tramps.
Sunday evening, The Lion

Washington Rays
After their highly popular appearance at St Mary’s Church in December 2005, the Washington Rays are back to bless the congregation with their angelic sounds, and to provide you with a taste of what’s to come from their forthcoming CD. More on the Washington Rays at http://www.myspace.com/washingtonrays, including a link to their movie ‘Superfried’.
Saturday night, St Mary’s Old Church

Weird Love
A new London/Stoke Newington-based band featuring members of The Hells, Quickspace and Insignificunts. After only a handful of gigs in warehouses, basements, and people’s front rooms, they've already managed to secure a 'singles deal' from local independent Falcone Records, due for release in September, and support slots for up-coming tours with THE HELLS,Jia-Alia Sevant,and LILYS.
But this ain't your daddy's guitar rock, no sir. Boy/girl vocals, sometimes reminiscent of Royal Trux/Sonic Youth. Sexy repetive riffs, but with strange time signatures that get under your skin and make you shake your ass. In your face guitar. And tunes that do not fit neatly into any particular 'media invented' genre that you'll still be humming long after hearing. Sound interesting yet?
Friday night, Ryan’s

Tony Wrafter Quartet
Tony plays the N16 Fringe for the fourth time! After a gap last year when he was performing in America, he will be celebrating this occasion with a mix of originals and selected Jazz classics from Duke Pearson. Tony, a Bristol legend, has previously played with such luminaries as Don Cherry, Massive Attack, Smith & Mighty, Tricky, The Sugar Hill Gang and Nigel Kennedy. The Quartet features: Giles Barratt/Guitar, Solomon Ahmed/Double Bass, Simon Cass/Kit and Tony on Sax and Flute. The combination which is cool and endearing, has brought many fresh disciples to this beautiful jazz. Tony will be touring in the States later this year and early next, so catch his breath while you can.
Sunday afternoon, Auld Shillelagh