I’m in Battle, Sussex (ACTUAL site of the Battle of Hastings) on a Friday night and there’s much ELF talk about. Well, it IS only two months to Christmas. However, the ELF in question has little to do with one of Santa’s little helpers. In Battle, everyone knows ELF stands for Every Last Friday, an evening on which the only dashers you’ll see are musicians moving between venues to entertain delighted audiences.
It’s a neat concept where five sets of artistes move between five venues, playing a 25 minute set in each before gathering up their gear and moving to the next to repeat the performance. The audience can either stay where they are, relax and enjoy the variety, or follow a favourite to each venue. As suggested by the event’s title, this occurs on the last Friday of each month.
ELF night is one of the busiest in Battle with people travelling from throughout East Sussex and Kent to attend. It’s beneficial to the artistes, the venues, the public, the event sponsor and the town of Battle, as a whole.
The model works very well in Battle due to the town’s layout and close proximity of pubs and eateries that are suitable for hosting a music performance. Darren says that if a venue has to drop out, there’s always another one that wants to fill the slot and benefit from the increased trade the evening brings.
ELF has been run by Darren Watson for almost a decade, having launched about 4 years prior. Despite the time it takes him to organise the monthly event, Darren decided to take it on because he wanted to “give young and new artistes and bands a head start by getting them up in front of crowds and getting them noticed.” Darren clearly appreciates ELF’s sponsor, JF Stoneworks (some gorgeous examples of their building works on the company website) as well as the venues who offer space for the musicians.
I trod the pavements with guitarist/vocalist, Neil Grove of Midnight Cannonball. We started at The Bull Inn, progressed to Ye Olde King’s Head, repaired to Battle Brewery Tap Room, stopped into the Abbey Hotel and finished off at Sarah’s Cellar. All the venues were deliciously different, giving artistes experience of playing in diverse locations. Each audience was most attentive and welcoming and the mood throughout the town was appreciative and friendly.
Equipment, in the form of an amp and microphone, is provided in each venue but some of it isn’t great, suffering through overwork and misuse (I know how it feels!). Darren repairs and replaces over time but it can be expensive and it’s a labour of love for him, so he always suggests artistes bring their own if they can. Again, it’s all good experience for artistes to deal with different set-ups and there’s good-humoured banter if hiccups occur.
On the night, the artistes really only get to meet the musicians before them who are just leaving a venue and those just arriving to play next. Hence, we encountered Get Real, a young, up & coming group, and award-winning roots artiste, King Size Slim. Also playing that night were Step Adams of 23 Fields and trio, A Great Bunch O’Lads. Darren ensures there’s plenty of musical variety on ELF night.
Music starts at 7pm, with the last performance scheduled to finish at 9:45pm, although the audience at Sarah’s Cellar called for more a couple of times. I suspect all the artistes perform slightly longer at their final venues.
I highly recommend a visit to an ELF night – it’s easy to work out when it’s going to be on…
EVERY LAST FRIDAY of the month.
For info about what’s coming up, visit the Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/everylastfriday/
Email Darren at: darren.cutandgrill@gmail.com or call 07521419056
Great review, encompassing the “raison d’etre” of ELF. Darren does a fantastic job organising it all. Played there a couple of times as “The Brahma Sistaz”