Ben Russell and the Charmers

Gala had a special treat in store for me on Friday 22nd August, Ben Russell and the Charmers, a band from Canterbury in Kent, they’re up in Scotland to take part in the Edinburgh Fringe Festival but made a detour to the Reivers in Gala to bring us something a little bit different..

A four piece band playing Reggae music, in Gala, never thought I’d see the day, but the Reivers did it again, brought us something different and they had such a lovely vibe about them, excellent musicians with a very relaxed and welcoming way of playing and Ben Russell has a smile that makes you melt away, so does their music.. their set consisted of well known covers mixed with some of their own songs, as the name of their band suggests, I did indeed find myself quickly charmed by them and the reggae sound which flows though into unconscious movement both on the stage and off.

An accomplished band with an EP for sale on the night of their own music and the promise of an album to follow, these guys know how to please an audience, usually on a night of music in Gala I find myself flying around at least three different venues and heading home early to work on photos and video, but I stayed right to the very end to savor every minute and came away feeling uplifted and very glad that I managed to catch them in action, I would have no hesitation in recommending them and would love to see them playing again.

I’ve taken a wee video of one of the songs they played, Red Red Wine, a UB40 cover, this in no way defines the band as they had a wide ranging and very uplifting set, but it’s one of my favorites so I just had to capture it, if you’d like to find out more about the band or follow them on facebook here is a link to their website: click here