There was a bit of drizzle in the air when we arrived at Evington Park, Leicester to perform on Sunday. But, undeterred, we decided to risk the elements and set up in front of the manor house to entertain the gathering crowd, who had come to hear us play.
But then the black clouds started to descend, and we unfortunately didn’t quite make it to the end of our 1 hour set before the heavens opened to deliver a torrential downpour!
We’d like to thank Dan Watson, who stepped in for us as Musical Director on Sunday, the park wardens and the lovely audience at Evington, some of whom even came forward to hold brollies over us and our instruments as the rain started to fall. We’ve had some great feedback from the audience too, one of whom said:
“What a great tonic. Bands on Parks should be on prescription for everyone. Phoenix were nothing like I expected from saxophones, we got all the range of an orchestra, not jazz and swing. Being out in the fresh air in beautiful surroundings and listening to amazing musicians all for free – a lot of people don’t know what they are missing and I’m telling as many as I can. You even get birdsong between the music.”
This certainly goes down as the soggiest gig we’ve ever played, but we’re proud to say that we didn’t let rain stop play – great teamwork all round guys!
If you’d like to find out where Phoenix is playing next, see our events calendar.
Photographs by James Palfrey ABIPP