Your weekly what’s on guide for Bedford and the surrounding area from the Bedford Clanger.
Never miss a thing in Bedford ever again. From theatre to film, live music to art exhibitions, The Bedford Clanger what’s on guide lands every Thursday and is the only guide you need to know what’s on and what’s happening across the Borough for the next 11 days.
The Bedford Clanger’s What’s On Guide is kindly sponsored by The Cellar Bar.
Thursday 2 January 2025
Talk: Lighting the Fuse by Lucy Lewis
Kempston East Methodist Church Hall, Foster Road, MK42 8BT @ 2pm
Tickets: £3 on the door
Lucy Lewis is truly a ground-breaking pioneer who became the UK’s first female bomb disposal officer. Author of the best-selling book ‘Lighting The Fuse’, she will be recalling joining the military in the 1980s at a time when women were taking on more dangerous roles and how her every move was watched and scrutinised. This didn’t hold her back however, and she broke through the ceiling, fought against sexism and achieved something no woman had ever done before.
From joining Sandhurst to rushing to her first bomb disposal call-out, Lucy’s story is full of high stakes and tense situations that for most of us, are beyond comprehension. Since leaving the military Lucy has continued to make history becoming the first female Marshall of Cambridge University, leading the country’s oldest police force.
This is an open meeting of the Kempston Over 50’s Club and entry is £3.00 on the door
Thursday 2 January 2025
Live Music: Karaoke
The Cellar Bar @ 9pm / requests from 8pm / doors open 6pm / Happy Hour 6pm – 9pm
Free entry
The Cellar Bar is the only place for Karaoke on a Thursday night on Bedford High Street, with over 50,000 songs to perform, a professional lighting, sound and stage and two hosts, Cameo and Sarah Ellen.
Friday 3 January 2025
Creative crafts: Epiphany Superstars
The Higgins Bedford @ 11.15am, 12.45pm and 2.15pm
£5.50/child Booking via the Box Office on 01234 718044 or online at thehigginsbedford.org.uk
Make the most of the end of the school holidays with this magical workshop at the Higgins on Friday, 3 January. Philippa and her team at Creative Days will look at Epiphany stars as a starting point before creating special stars to celebrate the new year, new beginnings, thoughts and focus. Children will also get to choose from a collection of hidden words, all meaningful and special, to keep with their star as something to reflect on throughout 2025.
Suitable for children of primary school age. Younger children are welcome but will need significant support from their parents.
Workshops last an hour.
Friday 3 January 2025
Live music: Mat Roberts & J37
The Cellar Bar at 8.30pm
Free entry. Bar opens at 6.00pm
Mat Roberts has been a huge supporter of The Cellar Bar from the start, hosting the venue’s open mic night and junior open mic, so they are delighted to welcome him back for a night of musical entertainment.
Expect a diverse range of music, from pop to rock and anything in between. Performed with his partner in music – the duo J37.
Saturday 4 January 2025
Live music: Ouse Valley Singles Club
Bedford Esquires @ 7.30pm
Tickets: £12
Keeping up traditions of years gone by The Ouse Valley Singles Club return to the main stage at Bedford Esquires to play what has become their traditional ‘First Gig Of The Year’.
They will be bringing their truly original and highly entertaining sound that has been dubbed “New Wave Skiffle” and they have been described as ‘George Formby meets The Clash’ where Vaudeville music Hall meets Working Men’s club.
Saturday 4 January 2025
Live music: Double header of live music Cameo & Five Five Six
The Cellar Bar at 8.30pm / Bar opens at 6pm /Happy hour 6pm – 9pm
Free entry
They are back!
First up Cellar Bar favourite Cameo is back for another solo performance, so expect a beautiful voice and some cracking party tunes. Singing classic rock/pop songs from Dolly Parton to Fleetwood Mac to The Red Hot Chili Peppers and so much in between, be ready for a cracking party.
If you’ve not seen Five Five Six at The Cellar Bar before, you are in for a treat, get ready for a great night of legendary rock tunes. The Cellar Bar literally rocks when these guys play!
Saturday 4 January 2025
Dancing: Bowie Disco
Bedford Esquires @ 8.30pm
Tickets: £5
The evening before Esquires’ annual Bowie Jam, celebrate the incredible music of ‘The Thin White Duke’ with all of his best songs, along with tunes from his biggest collaborators.
Expect to hear: Bowie hits & oddities, covers of Bowie, Bowie covering other artists, collaborations, friends of David (Iggy Pop, The Cure, T.Rex, Mott the Hoople, Blondie, Suede, Talking Heads, Kate Bush, NIN, Duran Duran, Lou Reed, Placebo, Queen) and MANY more! A must for all Bowie fans.
Sunday 5 January 2025
Live music: Soul Factory – Sunday Afternoon Chillout with DJ Rocky & Guests
The Cellar Bar @ 3pm
Free entry
Head to the Cellar Bar for an afternoon of rnb, house, Motown & northern soul classics with Soul Factory.
Sunday 5 January 2025
Live music: The Annual Esquires BowieJam 2025
Bedford Esquires @ 5pm
Free entry (all money raised donated to Bedford Daycare Hospice)
This year is the 78th anniversary of David Bowie’s birth and to celebrate his life in music, the very best of Bedford’s local musicians play tribute to the Starman at the annual BowieJam.
Anyone is welcome to come and play, but please email the host, Charly to confirm your song choice (porcelainwhite@gmail.com). There will be local bands coming along to do their versions of David Bowie hits – some will be faithful covers, others personal renditions. The event will be raising money for Bedford Daycare Hospice in his name.
Thursday 9 January 2025
Dancing: Planet Swing featuring T J Johnson & His Band
The Dance Hall, Wixams Retirement Village, Bedford Road, Bedford, MK42 6EA @ 8pm – 10.30pm
Tickets: £12.99
An evening for dancers and music enthusiasts alike. Cashless bar, plenty of seating (night club set up) and dance floor. Book in advance and come along at 7.15pm for a 45-minute dance class in Balboa, one of the original swing dances of the era. For the main event, just turn up – pay cash at reception – have fun, no booking needed.
Friday 10 January 2025
Live music: Cameo & Bazooka Joe
The Cellar Bar at 8.30pm
Free entry
A double-header at the Cellar Bar, with Cameo performing rock and pop classics, followed by Bazooka Joe banging out the 80s classics including Duran Duran, The Specials, Madness, Bon Jovi, Whitesnake, Human League to Queen, The Jam, Simple Minds and much more!
Friday 10 and Saturday 11 January 2025
Live music: Noasis
Bedford Esquires @ 7.30pm
Tickets: SOLD OUT
Following four SOLD OUT shows in 2024, Noasis return to Bedford Esquires this week for one giant party and a celebration of one of the greatest bands this country has ever produced.
Noasis is the definitive tribute band to Manchester’s five-piece super group Oasis. Since their formation in 2006 and with over 900 performances to date Noasis has justly earned its reputation as the best tribute on the circuit packing out venues up and down the UK.
With an obsessive attention to detail the band recreates the real Oasis experience with amazing energy playing all the classic songs as if they were their own. This is more than a tribute band this is Oasis from a parallel universe.
With a huge back catalogue from Oasis to choose from the band create huge crowd-pleasing sets taking tracks Definitely Maybe, (What’s the Story) Morning Glory, Be Here Now, Standing on the Shoulder of Giants, Heathen Chemistry, Don’t Believe the Truth, & Dig Out Your Soul delivering a supersonic show of the very best Oasis anthems.
Saturday 11 January 2025
Walking: North Bedfordshire Ramblers’ weekly walk
Mowsbury Park Bedford, MK41 8AH @ 10am
Bromham, Northampton Road, MK43 8PE @ 1pm
The North Beds Ramblers have a packed programme of walks this January, including a trip to London. You can find out more about the group on their website. What better way to blow away the festive cobwebs and work off those pigs in blankets?…
This weekend’s morning walk is an all day 11-mile walk into Renhold, Wilden and Ravensden, or choose the afternoon walk towards Stagsden – a 5.8-mile walk alongside Hangar Wood.
Please bring a drink, snack or lunch as the group always stops for a break. Check out the North Bedfordshire Ramblers’ excellent website for further information.
Saturday, 11 January 2025
Talk: The Quarry Theatre Spring Launch
The Quarry Theatre @ 2pm
Tickets: Free
Join the Quarry team for the launch of their 2024 Spring programme. During your visit you can enjoy discounts at the bar, a flash sale on selected events, a presentation about how the theatre came to be and explore areas of the theatre that most people don’t get to see!
Artist Simon Wrigley is exhibiting in the gallery space during January. He will be in the building to answer any questions you might have about his beautiful paintings.
Sunday 12 January 2025
Live music: Sunday Chillout Session – 80’s Daytime Disco
The Cellar Bar @ 3pm – 7pm
Free entry
Fancy dancing along to some 80’s retro bangers on a Sunday afternoon? DJ Stevo will transport you back in time to an 80’s retro nightclub where night and day literally become one.
What better way to spend a Sunday afternoon!
Sunday 12 January 2025
Live music: The Workshop Boys
The Cellar Bar at 8.30pm
Free entry
Formed by former members of Los Marbles and Cutting Out, The Workshop Boys have fast become one of Bedford’s most loved bar bands – the soundtrack to your perfect Saturday night.
At the Higgins Bedford
Exhibition: Rediscovering Black Portraiture
The Higgins Bedford
Free entry
The newest exhibition at the Higgins began as a diversionary lockdown project in 2020 and can now be seen at Kensington Palace, the Bodeian Library in Oxford and now in Bedford.
It features the work of Manchester-born professional opera singer, Peter Brathwaite, who has lived in the Black Tom area of Bedford since 2018.
With all his singing work cancelled during the pandemic, Peter began looking for an outlet for his creative talents and started recreating famous and lesser-known Black portraiture paintings using as props whatever he could find around his house.
It was inspired by the Getty Foundation’s lockdown project, but quickly took on a life of its own, gathering a large international online following. You can explore the project at his Instagram page @peter_brathwaite.
And from Saturday, 18 May, they will form part of an installation at the Higgins Bedford which will lead visitors through the main collections and into Cecil Higgins’ house, with Peter’s interpretation of The Paston Treasure at its heart.
Read: ‘Rediscovering Black Portraiture’ at the Higgins Bedford this May
Exhibition: Edward Bawden & Me
The Higgins Bedford until
Free entry
Brand new work by some of the biggest names in contemporary British art, illustration and textiles are on display at an exhibition at the Higgins Bedford in celebration of the work of one of Britain’s most inventive and influential artists
Entitled Edward Bawden & Me, the exhibition has been curated by Bawden’s good friend, illustrator and printmaker, Chris Brown and also features work by local artists’ collective, the Circus of Illustration.
Read: Star-studded new Edward Bawden exhibition opens at the Higgins Bedford
You can also read the full article in the February issue of The Bedford Clanger.
Every Thursday
Cocktails, Quiz Night & Karaoke
The Cellar Bar from 5.00pm
Pit your wits against The Cellar Bar’s resident quizmaster to see if you can win the jackpot every Thursday from 8pm. £2 per person entry and a maximum of six per team. The winning team will win the jackpot PLUS a round of shots. Followed by Karaoke til close
Every Saturday
Food & drink: Cocktail mixology masterclass
The Cellar Bar @ 3pm / doors open at 12 noon
£30 per person
The Cellar Bar’s resident mixologist, Marley, will explain how to create some outstanding cocktails for your tasting enjoyment. Then, it’s your turn to put what you’ve learned into practice by making (and drinking) three cocktails!
Every Sunday
Live Music: Open Mic Night
The Cellar Bar @ 7.30pm
Free Entry
Every Sunday, join Mat Roberts for the Cellar Bar’s weekly Open Mic night. An opportunity for new and experienced performers to get up on stage and perform.
So whether you think you are the next Tom Grennan or just want a good night of entertainment, head the to Cellar Bar from 7.30pm.
Theatre highlights by Paula Walker
