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...........the MEET YOU THERE Tour continues in UK and Canada..........Big Session ³early-bird² tickets on sale.........Mr Clowtt to ³retire².......



Hi

And a happy and healthy 2008 to you and yours. We enter our 30th year as a band with astonishment, scepticism and good cheer in about equal measures. We really must get the book written one of these years, while we can still agree what actually happened.

We won¹t really  get the 30th celebrations under way until after the Big Session in June and various other festivals (we date the band from November Œ78), but in the meantime we¹ve managed to extend the MEET YOU THERE Tour with some extra UK dates:

Sat 9 Feb           SOUTHPORT  -  ARTS CENTRE FOLK DAY  01704 540 011   www.seftonarts.co.uk
9.45pm     £25  /  £23 concessions (for the whole festival)
                                            
Fri 7 Mar               BURY ST EDMUNDS  -  CORN EXCHANGE       01284 769505    www.stedmundsbury.gov.uk        7pm     £13 advance / £15 door 

Sat 8 Mar       SLOUGH  -  WEST WING ARTS CENTRE        01753 823710    www.westwingartscentre.org.uk   7pm     £13 and £11
    
Sun 9 Mar       HAILSHAM  -  HAILSHAM PAVILION  01323 841414    www.spyboy.co.uk        7pm     £18.50 

Wed 12  Mar     MILTON KEYNES  -  THE STABLES   01908 280800    www.stables.org         7.30pm  £17.50 

Thu 13 Mar      BROMSGROVE, Worcestershire      BROMSGROVE FOLK CLUB    0121 476 5938   www.bromsgrovefolkclub.co.uk   
               
Fri 14 Mar      PONTARDAWE      ARTS CENTRE     01792 863722    www.npt.gov.uk/theatres

                       
Sat 15 Mar      SWINDON 12 BAR  01793 535713    www.the12barswindon.com         8pm     £14adv 

Wed 19  Mar    AYLESBURY       AYLESBURY CIVIL HALL    01296 486 009   www.aylesburycivic.org          £15
    
Sat 22  Mar     FAREHAM   -  FERNEHAM HALL  -  GOSPORT & FAREHAM EASTER FESTIVAL        01329 231942    www. gosportfestival.co.uk  / www.eastfest.co.uk        7pm     £15 standing, £20 seated

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This year there will also be the first overland tour  in CANADA for many years. Shows may still be added, but dates confirmed so far are:

     April 2008
 
     11   Peterborough, ON
     12   Port Dover, ON
     13   Toronto, ON
     15   Winnipeg, MBN
     16   Banff, AB
     17   Cochrane, AB
     18   Calgary, AB
     19   Edmonton, AB
     20   Athatbasca, AB
     22   Fort MacLeod, AB
     25   Kelowna, BC
     26   Vancouver, BC
 
More details on this soon. We¹re really looking forward to revisiting some old haunts and discovering new ones.  When it¹s springtime in the Rockies....

_______________________________________________

Tickets are now on sale for THE 4th BIG SESSION FESTIVAL at De Montfort Hall & Gardens, Leicester, on June 13-15. The box-office is +44 (0)116 233 3111, or you can also buy at <www.bigsessionfestival.com>.

³Early-bird² tickets are available now at £55 for an adult weekend ticket, rising to £65 on March 1st (unless they sell out first). For children¹s rates, day tickets, concessionary rates, camping etc, see <www.bigsessionfestival.com>.

Artists so far announced:  OYSTERBAND  -  BELLOWHEAD  -  CARA DILLON  -  THE HANDSOME FAMLY  -  KILA  -  LAU  -  DEVON SPROULE  -  VINCENT VINCENT & THE VILLAINS  -  THE TROUBADOURS  -  and HEY NEGRITA. But there¹s lots more to come, including major names.

This year sees a modest price increase, but we reckon you¹ll find quite a lot to show for it.

Virtual.Festivals.com  -  whose voters gave The Big Session the ³Greener Festival² Award for 2007 (ta!)  -  wrote:  ³The phenomenal organisation blows any other event out of the water right now. ... Big Session is the best kept secret of the festival circuit right now  -  get in while you still can.²

We find it hard to disagree....

_________________________________________________

Long-time cohort, multi-tasker and ³outlaw in-law² of the band Colin Clowtt is proposing to return to New Zealand at the beginning of February for, well, he¹s not sure how long. As well as answering the mail and minding the store, he¹s kept us consistently entertained and intermittently hungover, and will be much missed. He attributes his stamina to ³a deep indifference to folk music² (ratbag!)



All the best


John, Alan, Chopper, Ian, Dil (and Lee, of course)  x

OYSTERBAND
c/o Running Man, PO Box 32100, London N4 1GR
email:     oysters_at_oysterband_dot_co_dot_uk
URL:    http://www.oysterband.co.uk
www.MySpace.com/oysterband