This month, Llanelli is host to a music resurrection, with a personal twist.
Hailing from South Wales, The Rumblestrutters bring you feel-good blues, jazz and ragtime of the Prohibition era. These evocative sounds have earned the acoustic trio a reputation as one of the most authentic and popular roots bands around. Stellar performances at some of the UK’s top blues and jazz festivals have abounded, but – for a specific reason – bringing their music back to Llanelli feels very grounding indeed.
“My great-grandfather was a jazz musician in Llanelli in the 1920s, in a band called The Blue Lagoons,” explains guitarist Jonathan Nicholas. “Coming back here and playing these songs, I feel very close to him.”
Nicholas’ great-grandfather, John William Bird, originally from West Bromwich, married a Llanelli girl and settled down here in the early twentieth century, working as a labourer in a foundry and playing jazz in his spare time.
“He was versatile,” continues Nicholas, “playing piano and also the banjo ukulele, which I still have to this day”.
The Rumblestrutters play a host of instruments – including jug, swanee whistle and washboard – selecting only the finest music of the great era of jazz and blues. There’s even time in the band’s set for a jazz classic they know The Blue Lagoons played in this very town way back in the 1920s. Which song? You’ll need a ticket to find out!
Hearing the band, it’s clear these boys are passionate about their music. But with an average age of 30, and a musical canon from a time few of us remember, how do The Rumblestrutters manage to tap into this rich musical source?
Perhaps this trio have an unlikely fourth member. John William Bird may have died before the second world war, but as Nicholas says, “In this town, it’s almost like he’s with us.”
The Rumblestrutters give you the authentic sound of 1920s and ’30s America – via Llanelli!
The Rumblestrutters play the Ffwrnes Theatre on Monday 23rd February at 8pm, as part of the monthly Jazz & Blues Club.
Ffwrnes Theatre
Park Street, Llanelli, SA15 3YE
0845 2263510
http://www.carmarthenshiretheatres.co.uk
COMPILED FOR LLANELLI MUSIC SCENE WITH LIAM ALEXANDER WARD
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