A fabulous evening of music was arranged at the Queens Head recently to raise funds for Macmillan Cancer Support. Lots of local musicians came together and provided a wonderful evening of music and the punters loved it.
The Queen’s Head in Rye is a real-ale pub which offers craft-brewed, local and organic products, and a range of live music throughout the week. It hosts Rye Variations, Rye’s monthly showcase for original music, song and spoken word. Some of the region’s most talented creators and performers share their work in an intimate setting, conducive to both artist and audience. The pub is also a venue renowned for its fundraising efforts for many local and national charities.
Jonathan Breeds, the licensee explains: “We at the Queens Head are proud to consider ourselves a hub for the community. Not only do we have great live music, fundraising activities, we also have meetings of key Societies, play readings, Open Mic and Jam sessions. We pride ourselves on being an inclusive pub and welcome new ideas to make it more vibrant, a place to be.
“We are proud to offer space to charities to put on musical gigs to raise funds for their cause. We have helped so many charities including the RNLI, and Macmillan Cancer Support.”
Chris Jolly tells Rye News about a fundraiser in the Queen’s Head: “I and musician Ian Ellis, who lives in Rye, ran a fortnightly Jam Night at the Queen’s Head for about a year in 2024. Ian was previously the bassist and singer with sixties and seventies bands Savoy Brown, Chicken Shack, The Tremeloes, The Mindbenders and many other well-known groups. He had been professionally playing on the road for roughly sixty years when we met several years ago in Rye.
“Sadly the Jam Night ended because Ian was not able to continue, so musicians Jacob Willoughby, Cal Roberts, Andy Guainiere and I all contributed to the organisation of last Friday’s Charity Gig. It was Jacob’s suggestion that it was in aid of McMillan Cancer Charity.
“We were all delighted that Ian was able to attend and actually play on the night. Many other local musicians took part, including Tony Taylor, John Delipps, Lee Igglesden, Sally Bayly and Carmen Kubisa”.
The event raised £683.20 for Macmillan which was a great achievement. There is more to be added after an auction later.
Andy Guianiere adds to the story. “lan and I crossed paths many times in the mid 70s having both been pro players since the early 70s. lan was with Savoy Brown and Stan Webb’s Chicken Shack and I was with Ronnie Lane’s band when he left The Faces. The London scene back then was so different from today: you had to learn your trade and be able to play to a high standard to get into good bands as the calibre of performance was very high. Luckily both lan and I have managed to work as pro players for over sixty years.
Some of the other players play locally on a semi-pro basis. There may be an unplugged show with some of the players that played on Friday night later in the summer, called The Lost Amigos acoustic show. Watch out on social media.”
Image Credits: Tony Ham , Kt bruce .
Great to see live music is still so alive and kicking and the Queen’s Head run by the ever ebullient and talented Jonathan Breeds always such an important part of Rye Cultural life…Since we moved I miss our many Wall Of Sound Choir performances there….happy happy days! Also lovely to see the legend that is Andy Guarniere still being fab! Happy Days in Rye!