Once in a blue moon, you get to play a gig that doesn’t involve hours of driving home after packing up. Last Wednesday was just such a night. Domaine de la Fauconnie is new to me and the band. But it’s absolutely perfect, in so many ways. Ceremony, cocktails and […]
weddings
17 posts
On Saturday, SouthWest returned to Chateau du Doux for our second Irish wedding of the year. (Featuring easily the tallest Irish people I’ve ever met.) I got to play the ceremony beforehand, and learnt a new song for the occasion (“The One” by Kodaline). The weather was fantastic – again […]
Last Saturday, I returned to Chateau de la Couronne for the first time since Covid. When I’m there, I usually set up in the garden. But this time, April showers said, “No”. Which meant I got to play the baby grand piano again! (Even when you have the best digital […]
Last Saturday saw the first wedding of the 2022 season, at the beautiful Chateau du Doux (as seen on TV). The weather (as you can see) could not have been more perfect. It was somewhere in the high 20sC and not a cloud in the sky. Which led to two […]
This year, I’ve been Instagramming stories on gig days. Which means I’ve totally neglected this blog. Back in June, the band actually got to play a wedding! At a venue we haven’t played before – Chateau Camp del Saltre. It was excellent to get out there again, and Andy fronted […]
A few clients have asked me about my solo piano set list, recently. I’ve been avoiding this, because my music pile has looked like this for months (taken earlier this morning): Following some prompting from a hairstylist and make up artist, I waded through the pile just now. And here […]
Last weekend (nearly up to date with the blog now), I had two weddings in one day. The first was a lunchtime affair back at Château de Lacoste, about 45 minutes east of where I live. The chapel is very small, as you can see from this photograph… So I […]
At least once a year, I get to play with the astonishing Phyllipa Scammell—singer, cellist, double-bass player and entertainer extraordinaire. This year, it was for a wedding at Chateau Soulac. We played the ceremony in the chapel, including a special request, followed by the drinks party in the garden. Because […]
And later that same week, I went to Chateau de la Côte with SouthWest for a full wedding. To me, that means playing the ceremony, the drinks party, then the evening with the band. The ceremony was wonderful, held in woodland in the chateau grounds. I had to use some […]
Andy Wilson-Taylor has appeared on this blog a couple of times so far—and this wedding was the main reason why. If you’re new to Andy, he’s a singer, drummer, bass player, guitarist, pianist, composer, and frontman for Midgar. Which means he’s perfect for SouthWest when Wil (or, actually, any of […]
On Saturday, I drove a couple of hours east, to the appropriately named Beaulieu(beautiful area)-sur-Dordogne, for a ceremony and evening party wedding at Chateau du Doux. I don’t have a TV, so I didn’t know the building and owners have been on this year’s Escape to the Chateau. It’s probably […]
On Saturday, I went back to the Chateau de St Paul in Boudy de Beauregard (which isn’t far from where I live). It was a ceremony, then cocktails, then dance party wedding and I tried out the panorama setting on the device I use. I think I’ll make a habit […]
Not really. This is the setup before we played a wedding last Saturday. A half-French, half-British affair – I’ve never seen so many bilingual people in one place! Video was shot and sound was recorded, but this week is very busy, preparing for two big gigs on Friday and Saturday, […]
On Saturday, we played a wedding for a Dutch couple up in the north of the Dordogne. I have very little Dutch, and some of it obscure—Hagelslag, for example, always raises a smile (although I’ve only just seen it written down for the first time and was expecting more As. […]
This is slightly out of order (not in a bad way), because of the confusion caused by the hacking of this site at the start of the season (which was out of order and not in a good way). It’s a video from the first wedding of 2019, at Domaine […]
I was delighted to witness – and play for – the marriage of George and Andrew yesterday, up at the Chateau de la Couronne. They asked for a wedding version of “Can’t help falling in love”, which I ripped off from this video. And then I played for drinks in […]
You’ll have to put up with the odd painful pun, I’m afraid. (I’m a dad.) While we’re (not) on the subject of comedy, here’s a gag from Gérard, the drummer of SouthWest: What’s the difference between God and a guitarist? God doesn’t think he’s a guitarist. I’m here all week, […]