We have an extraordinary heritage of live music, from The Rolling Stones and Marc Bolan playing in the town’s pubs, to Howard Jones launching his career after attending Royal Grammar School, to the plethora of choirs, orchestras, drum bands, steel bands and modern jazz. All here in High Wycombe.
In 2021 Stephanos Karageorgi, Mat Gogeck and Semper Azeez-Harris established Catch22jams. Seeing a niche for live jazz nights in the heart of Wycombe, the ‘vetted jam’ has perhaps become the most chilled night in Wycombe, at The Front Room café in Castle Street on the last Saturday of the month.
Diverse themed jazz nights like Japanese jazz, synth wave, Arabic, La Dolce Vita and more, help to increase the jazz jam’s popularity.
Indeed, whilst building jazz, in 2022 the trio set up the Wycombe Jazz Festival, a family-friendly event. Look out for it again next Spring! Find out more by visiting www.catch22jams.com or following them on Instagram @catch22jams.
Founded in 1934 the High Wycombe Choral Society celebrates its 90th anniversary this year. It’s a friendly and dedicated choir comprising members from High Wycombe and surrounding areas who love singing together. The Society sings classical choral music of the highest quality, holding two major concerts each year. They invite new singers of all ages to join them and help build up numbers to continue their aim of providing beautiful choral music to the community. Rehearsals are held in central High Wycombe every Monday from 7.45 until 9.30pm from January to early May and from September to early December. They would be delighted to hear from you if you would like to join rehearsals for a trial period. Please contact Becky Sharman by emailing hwcs100@btinternet.com. For more information, visit www.hwcs.altervista.org.
Mike About Town
Our town socialiser at large, Mike’s mission is to inspire you to visit his favourite haunts, where you can find something delicious to eat or drink and maybe listen to some tunes. Here is his review of the Mad Squirrel which often hosts live music events: My friend and I tried the Mad Squirrel, opposite All Saints Church. The space is inviting with a wealth of artisan craft beers on offer, some made locally. I chose Golden Revolution IPA to accompany the Margherita Pizza I ordered. Taking our drinks upstairs, there was a fantastic live band playing. The pizza was one of the best I’ve ever had! You get to see it being made in their open kitchen. We eventually settled the bill, which was reasonable, given how expensive things are nowadays. Put simply, The Mad Squirrel is all about great food, great drinks, great vibes - you’d be mad not to go there! For updates and events visit www.madsquirrelbrew.co.uk.
