THE Countrymen will be headlining this year’s St Piran’s Eve Gig to be held in the Steam Bar at the Great Western Hotel in Newquay on Tuesday, March 4, 7.30pm.

It’s difficult to find a musical genre that would fully describe The Countrymen, but Folk Rock Harmony comes close. A five-piece band featuring tight four-part vocal harmony and strong instrumentation.

Primarily performing original songs and their own arrangements of lesser-known contemporary folk, the band’s lyrical inspiration is drawn from life in Cornwall, the demise of local industries and other rural issues that resonate throughout the country.

The Countrymen are accomplished performers, engaging the audience with light-hearted banter and back-stories to their songs.

They have performed at Little Orchard Festival, Rock Oyster Festival, Falmouth International Sea Shanty Festival, Falmouth Oyster Festival and Falmouth Week as well as Looe Saves The Day, supporting Paul Young’s Los Pacaminos.

They have headlined at Bridport Folk Festival and last summer, appeared at Bie Diap in The Netherlands, Europe’s largest folk and sea-song festival. September also saw them performing at the Mineral Point Opera House in Wisconsin USA.

Additionally, in 2023 The Countrymen were shortlisted for Glastonbury’s Pilton Stage Party and have also made several appearances on Westcountry Television, BBC Radio Cornwall and numerous online folk radio stations.

The evening kicks off at 7.30pm when local a capella group, Oll an Gwella, take to the stage.

Oll an Gwella has an enviable national & international reputation for wowing audiences with their fabulous Cornish, folk, seasonal and shanty songs presented with smiles.

The group has performed on elaborate sound stages at the Lorient Festival Interceltique, Boardmasters Music Festival and on Cruise Liners visiting Falmouth as well as performing acoustically on the deck of the Cutty Sark and in Salisbury, Exeter and Truro Cathedrals.

They are equally at home performing in local festivals and in care homes and have broadcast live on BBC Radio and TV and ITV; they have also been recorded by ZDF for German Television, singing in Kernewek (Cornish).

Entertaining for pleasure, they have raised more than £67,000 in the past 9 years for local charities, notably Cornwall Blood Bikes.

Newquay Rowing Club Singers close the evening leading a traditional ‘shout’ from 9.30pm.

The Singers are a group of friends who enjoy a pint and a song. They make no claim for technical accuracy and, while endeavouring to make a decent noise, refuse to take themselves too seriously.

Their popularity has spread far and wide and they are in great demand. Since their formation in the 1970’s they have raised many thousands of pounds for charity, notably Children’s Hospice South West (Little Harbour).