The Baz Dunnery Memorial gig was a huge success and raised £1,550.
All of the money will be donated to the Charlie and Kathleen Dunnery Children’s Fund (www.ckdcf.org). Having moved to a bigger venue due to demand, the 250 tickets for Egremont Market Hall sold out quickly.
The evening was opened by Tabula Raza who were joined by Slade’s lead singer Mal McNulty, who kicked off the evening with a round of songs by Slade and AC/DC and warmed the audience up well before South Quay took to the stage.
South Quay won the Maryport Blues battle of the bands and have gone from strength to strength. They performed original songs and classic blues covers, with Whipping Post being a highlight of the set.
The raffle included Verve-signed memorabilia and a signed cymbal, supplied by Frank Hall, long-time friend and band mate of Baz Dunnery, now drummer with Tabula Raza. John Dunnery and Wayne Wilkinson performed as their duo John and Wayne.
John paid tribute to his father, Baz, before letting loose their own brand of Cumbrian Folk.
Tabula Raza returned to the stage to raise the tempo for the rest of the night. Lead vocalist Cameron Wade opened up the evening with his blistering covers of AC/DC and ZZ Top. He was backed by Gerry Millar on bass and Phil Walton’s lead guitar. Blues sorceress, Sam Millar, joined the band on stage for some blues.
One of the highlights of the evening was when Tabula Raza were joined on stage by South Quay’s drummer, Andrew Bates. Both ends of the age spectrum were represented and came together for a 20-minute drum duet which delighted the audience. The encore was in the form of a Led Zeppelin medley, topping off a successful night.
Now the question on everyone’s lips is will there be another? Watch this space.
PUBLISHED APRIL 8, 2009
Published in The Whitehaven News