Citizens!
If you happen to be at the Godiva Festival in Coventry this Sunday (2nd Sept), you could come to the BBC Introducing stage at 5.30 and watch the Swaps play a couple of tunes. BUT ONLY IF YOU REALLY WANT TO.

Yes we know. Cos we're busy crafting deadly tunes. Also, we'll be playing a couple of gigs on the Sunday of the Upton Blues Festival. Maybe a couple of secret gigs in preparation, if that's what you really want.

Last chance to see The Swaps for a while is when they support the good ole Folly Brothers down the good ole Zephyr in Leamington on Saturday 9 December. Plan is to start early (7ish), each of the three bands to do a set (we're on around 8ish I think), finish up by 10 and then all back to the TownHouse for a lock in with more music from us all. And all for a tenner. It's gonna be right fun. You can get tickets from the link in the event page here, or in person from the TownHouse or by getting in touch with us here. First come first served. Hoorah

The Swaps are off to play in Cambridge on Saturday (11 Nov). We'll be at the very groovy Earl of Beaconsfield at 9. All people in the eastern quadrant of the country should attend. Those in the central belt can get their fix on Thursday (16 Nov) when we play the PunchBowl in Warwick. At both events, the band will once again be healing all of the world's ills through the power of song.

Some poor souls have never been to a Swaps gig, so The Swaps have made some rudimentary films of The Swaps playing live. If you go to the VIDEO PAGE of the website, you can watch them. Our promo videos for Jump and Coming Home are there too. Its a right old treasure trove.

It's been a highly eventful year for The Swaps - sessions for local and national BBC radio, triumphant festival appearances over the summer, and that weird bit where James and Beth supported Erasure on tour. But now it's time to calm down and return to the bread and butter of being a top pop sensation: playing gigs at venues that could be spelt as two words or one. So it is that on Thursday (21 September, 8.30 pm) we will doing our thing at the PunchBowl in Warwick, and then doing it all again on Saturday (23 September, 8.30 pm) at the TownHouse in Leamington. The thing is, you could actually be there to see “it” happen. For free.

The Swaps are doing a couple of pairs of local gigs this autumn. First pair is this month - Thurs 21 Sept at the Punchbowl in Warwick, then Sat 23 Sept at the TownHouse in Leamington. This wam-bam scheduling is either a fiendish marketing ruse or a result of chaotic planning. Only you can decide which.

The Swaps would like to emphasize that they wholeheartedly agree with the sentiments expressed by the remarkably discerning folk at "Rhythm & Booze":
"Back to the Meadow Stage for Upton regulars, The Swaps, last year the Leamington Spa based blues, folk, soul five-piece dazzled in a tight courtyard, so to see the band promoted to one of the main stages was more than a little pleasing to see and the band grabbed the chance with both hands, producing one of the performances of the weekend. As ever the rhythm section locked down the bottom end with plenty of style and substance, whilst James strummed and struck his guitar with desire; but it’s the effortless blend of genres, the wondrous harmonica of Tomo and the effortless lead vocals of Beth that really help this band stand apart from their contemporaries. From the disco blues of Crow with it’s contagious groove to the acoustic led newbie Pocketful Of Holes and onto Beth's inspired take of I Put A Spell On You and the band’s own slow waltz, Fish had numerous dancers take to the floor to showcase their best moves, whilst the rest of us soaked up the intoxicating sounds emanating from the stage."
Fuill Upton review HERE

After the excitement of the Upton Blues Festival, The Swaps are hunkering down to prepare for some recording sometime in the near future. But we've booked in a couple of dates for the autumn which you can peruse right HERE. Thanks to everyone who came and saw us at Upton. We'll be putting up some photos soon...