Performances
Friday night is performance night. We host live music from top artists, including internationally-renowned musicians. Concerts cover a wide range of genres, including jazz, blues, folk, classical, pop and rock music. We also put on plays, talks and more! There's something for everyone.
To book a great night out buy tickets online or call 01460 54973. Performances start at 7.30pm, unless otherwise stated. Doors open at 6.30pm with a bar.
A warm welcome awaits – just grab a drink, sit back and enjoy some of the best performances around.
*Please note that tickets for performances and workshops are not refundable unless we are fully booked and have a waiting list. Refunds are subject to a £5 admin charge.
Blues: Johnny Mars + The Craig Milverton Quartet
Join us for an evening with legendary US blues harmonica player, Johnny Mars
Tickets:
Early bird: £18
Standard adult: £20,
Mike Denham’s SpeakEasy
Mike Denham, at the grand piano, welcomes Trevor Whiting, a truly exceptional clarinet and saxophone player. Trevor and Mike have often performed together and have a great rapport and a varied, engaging repertoire from Scott Joplin to Benny Goodman.
Tonight their programme will give at least a passing nod to the time of year!
Tickets: £20
Flying Folk
A fantastic folk evening. Tonight we have the Nightjars performing as well as Patrick & Jemima Moran of the Farey Family.
Tickets: £16
Blackdown Acapella and Somer Singers
Ilminster Arts Centre is delighted to give a first-time welcome to two local singing groups, renowned for their glorious, unaccompanied vocal harmonies: Blackdown Acapella and Somer Singers
Tickets: £12
Hilary Cronin and Asako Ogawa
Selected by BBC Music Magazine as a Rising Star of 2022, Hilary Cronin won both First Prize and the Audience Prize at the 2021 Handel Singing Competition. Hilary is a regular soloist with The Monteverdi Choir, the English Baroque Soloists and Sir John Eliot Gardiner.
Asako Ogawa is one of the today’s most versatile performers on keyboard instruments, from virginals, harpsichord, fortepiano to modern piano. Her wide repertoire covers all periods both on harpsichord and modern piano.
Promoted by Concerts in the West.
Tickets: £18
Led Zeppelish
A tribute to the 70's rock legends Led Zeppelin.
Early Bird: £20
General admission: £22
Students: £5 with valid student ID
Spikedrivers - bluesroots at its best
Their music has been described as 'haunting', 'gutsy', 'tribal' and even psychedelic. Inspired by the early blues of Robert Johnson, John Lee Hooker and Big Bill Broonzy they have added their own blend of north African and Native American rhythms, gospel harmonies, sixties blues and rock guitar.
Tickets:
Early Bird: £20 Standard Adult: £22, Students: £5, Children 12 and under: Free
Voces Amici - accompanied by Jonathan Delbridge
Group of young professional vocalists with programmes ranging from light classical Operatic arias to songs of the Wars and musical theatre.
Tickets: £15
Craig Milverton with Simon Spillett
Inspired by the classic Brit-bop of the 1950s and 1960s, Simon's style is powerfully passionate, its emphasis on straight-ahead jazz. Simon is supported by Craig Milverton, one of Britain's finest Jazz Pianists.
Tickets: £20
Budapest Café Orchestra
Budapest Café Orchestra play a blistering barrage of traditional folk and gypsy-flavoured music
Tickets: £22
The Berkley Ensemble
The Berkeley Ensemble was formed by friends in a spirit of adventure. ‘An instinctive collective’ (The Strad), its members have come together from diverse corners of musical life to make music in new ways.
Promoted by Concerts in the West.
Tickets: £18
Babooshka - Salute to Kate Bush
The ultimate Kate Bush tribute show, will take you through the career of one of the worlds most iconic artistes of the 20th Century.
Tickets: £18
Dave’s Big General Knowledge Quiz
Come and support the Arts Centre with a wonderful evening of quizzing! Fiendish questions, bar and a raffle await.
Tickets: £12 per team of 4
Mela Guitar Quartet
Winners of the prestigious Guitar Foundation of America International Ensemble Competition 2023, the Mēla guitar quartet are known for imaginative, engaging programmes of their ingenious arrangements and celebrated original works.
Promoted by Concerts in the West.
Tickets: £18
The Seatrees + *pint and ploughman's
Fully Booked
The Seatrees are a lively acoustic duo. Bring your friends and family and have a boogie to the all your favourite rock classics.
Ticket price includes ploughman’s and *glass of cider or soft drink.
Tickets: £12 (includes ploughman’s and glass of cider or soft drink)
Dave’s Big General Knowledge Quiz
Come and support the Arts Centre with a wonderful evening of quizzing! Fiendish questions, bar and a raffle await.
Tickets: £12 per team of 4
La Vie en Rose - Gypsy Jazz
The south-west’s favourite gypsy jazz and hot swing band has a well-earned reputation for its take on the ‘Hot Club’ style. Toe-tapping rhythms and soaring melodies combine in a virtuoso performance of gypsy favourites, jazz standards, soulful ballads and Latin swing, all played with the verve and joy that is the heart of this music.
Tickets
Early bird: £18
Standard Adult: £20
The Dreamettes
Experience the Timeless Magic of Motown with The Dreamettes: A Tribute to the Soul & Motown Divas
Early Bird: £23
General admission: £25
Students: £5 with valid student ID
Greg Abate with the Craig Milverton trio
Greg Abate, the talented and versatile saxophone star, is supported by Craig Milverton, one of Britain's finest Jazz Pianists. Craig’s trio also includes Ashley John Long on bass and Alex Goodyear on drums.
Tickets: £20
Lumas Winds
Lumas Winds is a dynamic, young chamber ensemble based in London. Winners of the 71st Royal Over-Seas League Mixed Ensemble Prize in 2023, Lumas are committed ambassadors for wind chamber music and the rich variety of repertoire that it offers.
Promoted by Concerts in the West.
Tickets: £18
Mike Denham’s Sunset Café Stompers
Mike Denham brings his Sunset Café Stompers for an exciting evening of vintage jazz from 1920s & 30s New Orleans, Chicago & New York!
Tickets: £20
MOSCOW DRUG CLUB
Moscow Drug Club are transcendent Troubadours of World Jazz and Folk. Combining their original material with songs by the likes of Jaques Brel, Tom Waits, Leonard Cohen & Eartha Kitt, Moscow Drug Club deliver an intoxicating and intimate musical experience.
Tickets £20
Lara Melda
An award winning pianist, we are delighted to welcome Lara Melda for the first time.
Promoted by Concerts in the West.
Tickets: £18
Louise Parker
Ilminster Arts Centre is honoured to host the magnetic voice of Louise Parker, hailed a ‘totally genuine Jazz Performer’ by Les Tomkins of The Jazz Rag and exalted for her “Sweetly soulful jazz vocals” by Mike Flynn, Jazzwise Magazine.
Louise will be joined by pianist/organist Martin Jenkins and bass player John Donnelly.
Tickets: £20
Three Men in a Boat - Play
A hilarious play starring Giles Shenton about boats and men behaving badly.
Tickets: £16
Flying Folk - The Arquebus Trio
Jemima Farey presents a wonderful evening of folk music and will be accompanied by invited folk bands The Farey Family and Arquebus Trio performing a mix of traditional folk and original songs.
Tickets: £16
Pocket Sinfonia
Pocket Sinfonia recreate the atmosphere of 19th-century living room parties, applying the intimacy of chamber music performance to orchestral-scale pieces.
Promoted by Concerts in the West.
Tickets: £18
The Bee Gees Experience
A 3 piece group re-creating the music of the Bee Gees. The band members perform classic harmonies featuring the unforgettable voice of Nick Lester on lead vocals as Barry Gibb.
Tickets £25
Karen Sharp and the Craig Milverton Trio
Multi-Award Winning Jazz saxophonist Karen Sharp is supported by the Craig Milverton trio, which includes the man himself on piano, plus Ashley John Long on bass and Coach York on drums.
Tickets £20
Gildas Quartet
Welcoming the critically acclaimed Gildas Quartet, praised for their ‘energy, verve and refreshing approach’ to performance.
Promoted by Concerts in the West.
Tickets £18
Zoe Schwarz Blue Commotion
Zoe Schwarz Blue Commotion refresh the blues genre with eclectic arrangements, virtuosic playing and vocal prowess. With an exciting live set based around rootsy original songs, strong catchy riffs and exciting grooves; they mix old school tradition with contemporary flare and sophistication.
Vibrant, contemporary, original, melodic, funky rocking blues featuring Hammond-organ, drums, guitar and vocals.
Tickets £20
John Law’s Re-Creations
John Law presents his new album Re-Creations: creative arrangements of some of the world’s most familiar music.
The band will be playing imaginative versions of popular tunes including Smoke On The Water, Mama Mia (mashed up with Pachelbel's Canon, believe it or not!) Eye Of The Tiger and U Can't Touch This.
Tickets: £20
Dave’s Big General Knowledge Quiz
Come and support the Arts Centre with a wonderful evening of quizzing! Fiendish questions, bar and a raffle await.
Tickets: £12 per team of 4
Sara Trickey and Ivana Gavric
A concert of passionately beautiful classical music from dynamic duo Sara Trickey and Ivana Gavric.
Promoted by Concerts in the West.
Tickets £18
The Gaz Hughes Trio – Nuclear Bebopalypse
A Swing and Bop Odyssey from three rising stars of British Jazz blending Jazz Heritage with a modern twist.
Tickets: £18
Julian Phillips - Boogie Woogie Nights
Julian Phillips Boogie Woogie Nights
An outstanding night of Boogie Woogie and Blues music played by Julian Phillips (piano/piano accordion), Axel Keim (guitar, slide guitar and harmonica) and Izi Onslow (Vocals).
Together these three musicians create a Boogie and Blues performance which has rhythm and toe-tapping audiences enthralled, from traditional old-style instrumental classics through to haunting melodic blues ballads, all infused with zest and enthusiasm for the best in the Boogie Woogie and Blues genres.
Tickets: £18
The Perks Ensemble
We are delighted to welcome Oscar Perks on violin, Elliott Perks on viola, Sebastian Kolin on cello and Alexander Ullman on piano . They will be delighting us with a programme including Mozart and Brahms, among others.
Promoted by Concerts in the West.
Tickets: £18
The All Seasons
SOLD OUT
Bringing to life the music of Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons, The All Seasons present a show that will wow fans of the Jersey Boys sound.
Tickets: £22
Oh La La! Quintet - A Night of French Music
SOLD OUT
A fabulous quintet led by Parisian-born Fifi la Mer on vocals and accordion with Alex Garnett on vocals, tenor sax and clarinet; Oliver Wilby on accordion, clarinet and tenor sax; Simon Picton on guitar and Julian Bury on bass. French jazz at its best!
Tickets: £20
Flying Folk
Jemima Farey presents a wonderful evening of folk music. A mix of traditional folk and original songs.
Tickets: £12
Craig Milverton - Jazz Piano Legends
Craig Milverton pays homage to 17 of the great piano players from James P Johnson through to Dave Brubeck.
Tickets: £16
Ilminster Arts Centre Christmas Party featuring Roadstars
POSTPONED
Celebrate the festivities at Ilminster Arts Centre for a Christmas party, with a performance by Roadstars!
Tickets: £10