Name: Connolly Hayes
Start: 2024-10-19T19:00:00+01:00
Location: Coolham Village Hall

Tickets for this event are £20, please email Rich at [email protected] to reserve yours. Doors will open at 7.15pm with music from around 7.45pm. Please bring your own refreshments, food, nibbles etc (and some change for the charity bucket).
As many of you will be aware, Matt Long, frontman of Catfish and long-term supporter of Coolham Live Music Club, has been battling bowel cancer for nearly a year and has endured radiotherapy, chemotherapy and surgery. Unfortunately, that hasn't worked and his ongoing desperate fight to survive now requires investigating very expensive treatments that are not available through the NHS and some that are only available in the USA.

His family have a GoFundMe at
https://www.gofundme.com/f/matt-long-cancer-treatment-fundraiser
to create a fighting fund to cover the substantial costs of these and there's already been a fabulous response from those that love him and we have decided to donate all monies collected during the interval at this gig to that fund.
UK Blues Awards 2024 UK Emerging Act of The Year nominees ‘Connolly Hayes’ comprises Jess Hayes (vocals), Frankie Connolly (vocals/guitar), Richard Clarke (guitar/bvs), Beau Barnard (bass), Joe Mac (keys) and Andy Wilder (drums). Six long-time friends playing a carefully curated blend of blues/rock/soul nationwide and further.
The band have just released their Debut Album "Remember " which was instantly chosen as ‘Pick of the Month’ by the Independent Blues Broadcasters Association in the UK.
Jess and Frankie had already been making waves on the UK blues scene with their own projects but, in the summer of 2023, following a performance at the legendary Isle of Wight festival, the decision was made to combine the bands and start writing and recording new, original music.
Amplifying Jess and Frankie's dynamic vocal harmony and musicianship, they enlisted Richard Clarke, a seasoned figure in the blues community, to join them on second guitar, alongside the familiar presence of Beau Barnard, Joe Mac and the rhythm machine that is Andy Wilder.
Gathering inspiration from band favourites, such as Bros Landreth, Tedeschi Trucks, Marcus King and Chris Stapleton (to name a few!), the group embarked on the task of crafting and recording new material in late 2023.
The band already has a stellar reputation for their live performances, with the blend of two of the most soulful voices around, guitar wizardry from both sides of the stage and the grooviest rhythm section going. The Connolly Hayes’ name is already appearing on many of the UK’s festival listings this year and they are due to tour Europe in the Autumn.
Never ones to be left behind, we have booked Connolly Hayes to play for us,
and on the night they will play a 1 hour opening set as a stripped back trio with Jess, Frankie and Richard before bringing the rest of the band on for a full length second set. Having seen them several times over the past few months, I can only say we are in for a real treat. Here are some videos to whet your appetite.