Issued on behalf of the London Dorchester Committee Trust (LDCT).
Singer songwriter, Robb Johnson is bringing his award-winning show ‘Gentle Men’ to Dorchester’s Shire Hall on Thursday 22nd October. He will also be launching his new album on what promises to be a very special night.
In 1997, Robb Johnson released ‘Gentle Men’, a song cycle inspired by the experiences of Johnson’s two grandfathers during the First World War, as part of the Passchendaele Peace Concerts series.
The album was in recognition of the number of great sacrifices made by ordinary men and women as a result of wars, with the sensitively written songs being emotive, thought provoking and carrying great depth and weight.
As part of last year’s WW1 century commemorations, Robb performed ‘Gentle Men’ to a packed Marquee at the Tolpuddle Martyrs Festival.
Shire Hall event organiser, Keith Hatch, said:
“Gentle Men is an amazing set of songs and to have them performed in the unique setting of the Shire Hall will be something very special indeed.
“When Robb performed the show at the Tolpuddle Martyrs Festival to commemorate the centenary of the outbreak of the First World War, you could hear a pin drop in the packed marquee, as people hung onto every word.”
This year he is revisiting the songs and has recorded a live solo CD, which will be launched at the Justice Cafe and performed in the evocative surroundings of the Old Court House.
Local musician Billy Bragg said of ‘Gentle Men’:
“It’s a wonderful mixture of the political and personal that stretches over their entire lives as young men, soldiers in the trenches, working in the 30s, eventually becoming fathers and grandfathers. A really moving piece of work.”
Tickets for ‘Gentle Men’ are available from Dorchester Arts and cost £10 (£8 members).
The event takes place on Thursday 22 October 8.30 pm (doors open at 8.00pm)
Tickets are available from Dorchester Arts
https://www.dorchesterarts.org.uk/
For more information about the Justice Cafe events or the Shire Hall, please contact the district council’s communications team on 01305 838302.
