Under 18s lose Sussex FA Cup Final 5-3 on penalties Reach TV Stadium Priory Lane Eastbourne East Sussex BN23 7QH Hassocks scored all five spot-kicks to prevail with the Sports’ one miss proving crucial after the game finished level after 90 minutes The Sports took the lead late in the first half at Culver Road through Sam Sharma and looked comfortable before a mix-up inside the last ten minutes saw Harry Hammond draw Hassocks level And the Mid-Sussex side went on to win 5-3 on penalties as the Sports missed out on silverware by the narrowest of margins Toby Whiteside had to be alert early on to deny Hassocks from close range but after that neither side really got a grip on an evenly contested Final Jimmy Holman had a looping header comfortably saved as he met a corner from the left and just when it looked like the teams would go into the break on level terms A long ball over the top was latched onto by Sharma who beat the advancing keeper to the ball before lifting it over him and into the unguarded net from outside the area although Zak Tarrant posed a threat on the counter attack Hassocks failed to register a shot on target – until the 80th minute A shot came in from the edge of the area and Hammond ran across Whiteside to cause the keeper to fumble the ball and the Hassocks forward bundled home and after Jack May and Theo Coleman-Standen converted their spot-kicks with Hassocks making no mistake to go on and win the cup Mark Standen’s side conclude their campaign on Monday night Brighthelmstone Promotions have been putting on this little festival since 2017 It takes place in the picturesque village of Hassocks Since its inception the 300-capacity hall has undergone several facelifts has transformed the hall into a real-easy-on-the-eye music venue The first band to grace the stage is Tapes For Diane a female duo formerly known as Lucas & King under which name they won the Fender Undiscovered Artist Of The Year award in 2018 full of lovely crafted songs that had me thinking I was in a small Nashville venue At times Bo Lucas’ voice was reminiscent of Amy Speace and Margo Cilker ‘Dancing To No Music‘ a sultry blues song evocative of Lucinda Williams and carried along with the sumptuous guitar picking of Heighlay King and their cover of Cher’s ‘Bang Bang’  were two of the many highlights The first thought that passed through my mind was – John Prine with more than a few historical references Highlights of a great set were ‘Toast First’ and ‘Good Kid’ The second containing the wonderful couplet – “You were a good kid but what are you good for?” Acker was joined on stage for a couple of songs by Dylan Earl The next act on stage were the ever-popular and well-travelled Trevor Moss & Hannah Lou they provided a concert full of exquisite melodic harmonies At times I was reminded of The Everly Brothers There were so many great songs it would be difficult to choose the best but the closing ‘Cheap Wine’ and the exquisite ‘Should Have Gone Dancing’ were stand-outs Having played at this particular festival several times Without doubt the UK’s outstanding purveyor of Tex-Mex inspired music he gives the audience a tour-de-force of the genre Mainly playing tracks from his latest album Highlights include the superb ‘I Saw James Hand’ and the wonderful ‘Slow Burner.’ He has the audience in the palm of his hand as he sings strong song after strong song Ags just keeps getting better and better and for me he feels like a pair of comfortable slippers If you prefer stronger country-tinged stuff Dylan Earl gives a superb performance full of world-weary songs taken mainly for his highly acclaimed latest album He had the audience enthralled and his between-song storytelling made for a very enjoyable 50 minutes He reminded me at times of Jim Croce and at other times of B J Barham of American Aquarium fame The last performers on stage were Campbell & Jensen An intriguing duo made up of Ashley Campbell and Thor Jensen a virtuoso guitarist who together put on a show of wonderful harmonies and fabulous musicianship Jensen’s guitar playing had me in raptures Alongside Campbell’s crystal clear singing they provided the audience with a dazzling Festival finale Highlights of an outstanding set were ‘Hard Not To Smile’ ‘Goodbye Cowboy’ and ‘You’re Still On My Mind’ Kudos to James Walker for producing this wonderful little festival I know first-hand how much hard work he and his wife Amy put in to ensuring that it continues to be a highlight of the summer Americana calendar Bear’s Den announce 10th anniversary reissue of debut “Islands” Carla Olson and Tall Poppy Syndrome “Is It True” – straight up Δdocument.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value" Δdocument.getElementById( "ak_js_2" ).setAttribute( "value" This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed. If you enjoy what you're reading and don't want to support us on a monthly basis you can help us keep this site free from looking like one of those awful REACH sites by making a one off donation towards our running costs Be daring, be yourself, be willing to take risks and stand alone. Vanessa Collier’s music is gritty, raw, and at times, either downright sad or bubbling happy. As with most songwriters worth their salt, her songs […] “All of a sudden, time stood still, and we watched our plans and expectations float away like lost balloons.” For Angela Easterling, life began in South Carolina and, except for college years in Boston, has been […] Past, present and future are inseparable in her songs. There is an openness to Maya de Vitry that is refreshing to come by. Formerly in the Stray Birds, a bluegrass band, the Lancaster, Pennsylvania-born musician is […] As always in these prescriptive articles there must be a drawing of boundaries and Clint’s first article in the series seemed to have dealt with the idea that you should define americana in a narrow sense […] Steve Earle announced his arrival in our lives with his debut album in 1986. Since then, he has racked up almost thirty studio and live albums under his own name or in collaboration with others. I […] I heard from a colleague,  who has contact with associates of Eric Taylor, that he had died on March 9th 2020 following a period of illness. I immediately checked the web for confirmation but there was […] Chuck Prophet was the Keith Richards-like guitar hotshot in Green On Red and among the raw country-punk architects of what became Americana Now he’s 61 and playing in a sold-out pub back-room in Hassocks still giving his all during two hours of humour and humane passion as if this is the biggest stage and this crowd a community clearly worth serving Green On Red proved to be a youthful waystation of high times and burnout, on the road to a greater career spent reinvigorating rock’n’roll’s essential language with Prophet’s songcraft and innately wry He’s here on the home straight of his most extensive ever UK tour with a new sound and band courtesy of the Cumbia Shoes Columbian music which recalls rock’s original offer to dance your cares away The genre was a salve to Prophet during a recent serious cancer bout comprising most of tonight’s set.“Jesus Was A Social Drinker” gives an early taste of Prophet’s sly Wake the Dead’s “Give the Boy a Kiss” then foregrounds the underlying tenderness of an album made with death in the wings perhaps his wife and usual bandmate Stephanie Finch turning to leave him “to wander for all eternity” for once making a weekend UK Americana gig feel like Saturday night “This is your old pal Chuck Prophet – I’m not here to bum anyone out,” the singer says before making a case against casual gun ownership “Killing Machine” then charts the murderous collision of a man buying a weapon “like paying for gum” and a young mother who “went out for a smoke/on a hot afternoon” over a mid-Sixties West Coast pop groove “Sally Was A Cop” takes a still darker view of violence where “the socialites and psychopaths are dancing with each other” Introductory keyboards and pizzicato guitar are sorrowful and premonitory “Thirty-five bodies lying in the highway/Children forced to dig the graves of their fathers,” Prophet sings raising his arm as if in protest before making his electric guitar wail as the organ takes a haunted highway cruise Certain Prophet songs chart America’s political shadow-side from Green On Red’s bleak Reagan-era panoramas through Prophet’s upbringing in conservative Orange County in “Nixonland” to his searingly funny kiss-off to Trump’s first term Such perspectives are lightly but unmistakably applied and need no special emphasis days after Trump and Vance’s gangster shakedown of an ally in the Oval Office imagine Musk as a lovelorn loner awaking in “a mansion like a tomb” “At the time he seemed like a harmless fucking weirdo,” Prophet sighs Current events are responded to with an extra chorus pioneered by Newcastle gig-goers and enthusiastically taken up in Hassocks: “Elon Musk’s a wanker…” Chuck Prophet and the rich brew of liberating music he represents need to be remembered as Trump desecrates his country Prophet’s America has been embattled for most of his playing life “Sugar Into Water” suggests the alchemy at play in song and dance and “Ford Econoline” hymns the classic tour van which has carried the singer on his way Prophet dedicates this gig to New York Dolls singer David Johansen He sings Green On Red’s “Time Ain’t Nothing” about memories perishing even when you’re young an acoustic heartbreaker about what really counts “It’s a good day to walk on water,” he sings “Good day to swallow your pride/Good day to call your mother…” Good day to play a healing elixir of rock’n’roll too More information about text formats We urgently need financing to survive. 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And if you're looking for that extra gift for a friend or family member, why not treat them to a theartsdesk.com gift subscription Get a weekly digest of our critical highlights in your inbox each Thursday Simply enter your email address in the box below View previous newsletters We recommend you upgrade your software or view our website on an alternate device or browser To sign up to play or for help with your People’s Postcode Lottery account, call our Customer Experience team on 0808 109 8765 or email us at info@postcodelottery.co.uk. and hundreds more are also celebrating wins Our weekly Millionaire Street prize landed in postcode BN6 8JZ today Two players on Parklands Road won the lion's share of the £1 million prize The rest of the bumper bonanza was shared among 555 people in the wider BN6 8 postcode sector Postcode Lottery presenter Danyl Johnson said "Congratulations to the two players who have won life-changing amounts of money." "Their joy will be shared by hundreds of their neighbours who are also Millionaire Street winners this week." "Their wins also mean that some charities in the area will benefit from the postcode area's good fortune." And one local organisation, Age Concern Hassocks & District, has been awarded £50,000 in funding from Postcode Community Trust The charity's main aim is to combat loneliness in the elderly population of Hassocks and nearby villages It offers a safe and welcoming place to get a cooked lunch and enjoy weekday activities such as table tennis and bingo a former civil servant of 42 years and now CEO of the charity "This funding is quite unbelievable - we lose around £50,000 a year so this will enable us to do the things needed to make us more sustainable "We're going to put solar panels on the roof and replace our old gas ovens with electric so that we can create the energy we then use." With 11 part-time staff and 50 volunteers - some far into their 80s and 90s - the charity has become a beacon of hope for the village of Hassocks "It's about looking out for each other and starting a conversation; we found out one of our volunteers had never been on a plane in her life so for her 100th birthday we clubbed together to take her up in a light aircraft "We can still bring joy to people's lives in their later years whether that's a surprise like that or simply some company Other charities in the area benefitting from the Millionaire Street prize include: All funding was awarded by Postcode Community Trust Our players are raising funds for charities and good causes across Britain and around the world People's Postcode Lottery players have raised more than £1.3 billion for thousands of deserving projects and organisations That support is changing lives and making a huge difference every single day Not playing yet? It takes two minutes to sign up and play. Let us explain How It Works - it couldn't be simpler - and show you the amazing Prizes which players win every month New dad Dave Lowe told how he won a whopping £404,048 on People’s Postcode Lottery - because of his newborn baby daughter Eight neighbours in a block of flats are celebrating together after sharing a £1 Million prize on People’s Postcode Lottery A son won three times more than his dad on People's Postcode Lottery after he kept playing with his parents' address - despite moving out…