Cross Lances Open Mic

12/10/2026

Well - was I pleased to see Ch*****ne Charlie, when he came into The Cross Lances Pub last night!! For the first 15 minutes or so, it was just Piers Hogg and myself "on the list" for the Cross Lances Open Mic! 😮

Happily a number of other performers began arriving, including Pat Dyos, giving us two solo performers as well as the excellent "Double Bubble"! We also had Don and Kate - giving us their "Agnes and the Angel" duo - and Bill Pearce. Later on Peter Buckley Hill arrived too - hurraaay 🥳 - for some excruciatingly funny songs!! I had played "Me and Bobby McGee" during one of my performances, which prompted Peter to play his UK based parody version, called "Me and Sharon McGurk" (not sure if I spelt that correctly Peter)? 🤔😉

So - it turned out a lot of fun again! I particularly enjoyed Don and Kate's version of "Diamonds and Rust" and Piers played some blistering electric guitar solos as usual too! 🤩

Everyone was on good form and we were all challenged with having extra songs to perform (which we may not have rehearsed 😉)... That - of course - is the fun of a quieter night... getting to perform more and possibly jamming with others...🥳

I persuaded Bill to "have a go" at playing the bass guitar I bring along to the open mics and then I "had a go" on the bass, playing along with a couple of songs on Bill and Pier's set, which I really enjoyed (not sure about everyone else)! 😂🤣

Here is a selection of Clive's photos from the evening...

Come and join us for our next at The Cross Lances Pub on Sunday, October 25th - for some more musical fun... 🤩

28/09/2026

As I mentioned in my post about the 27th September open mic, Ian Rogerson had his wallet stolen... Ian went to the local shop, where his card has been used to buy goods last night, and checked the CCTV footage, which showed this man, who I remember from last night's Cross Lances Open Mic - So this is the thief! Keep an eye out for him and be careful...He is a pick-pocket! 😠

28/09/2026

We had a lovely Cross Lances Open Mic last night. We had memorable performances and great praise from Ch*****ne Charlie, playing his own solo spot as well as with Pat Dyos - as "Double Bubble". Charlie exclaimed that the equipment we used for our was some of the best in the area. Quite a few performers go to many open mics during the week (and even earlier in the day on a Sunday) - so they get to experience all sorts of equipment set ups.

We do try to get a good sound, both out the front and in the monitor for the performers "on stage"... (We have an 8 channel, 360W, Peavey mixer desk, 2 passive speakers and Eurolive 150W monitor). This also helps with the quality of the performance videos, which we can provide! 😉

We had some really excellent jamming from Piers Hogg (on electric guitar) and Ian Rogerson (on bass guitar), who played with Jon Bental and Bill Pearce...

Unfortunately, the evening was marred by the discovery that Ian's wallet had been stolen and money already removed from his account! 😱 We think we know which individual did it. He danced around with Ian near the bar (which is when we think he pick pocketed him). Ian has been looking at CCTV footage with Wilson Maharjan and the pub management team, and we hope to be able to alert the authorities, and all our open mic and local pub community, as to the identity of this thief soon! He is likely to strike again in other pubs but will be no doubt banned from The Cross Lances Pub, in future...

Here is a selection of Clive's lovely photos from last night's open mic...
Thanks to everyone who came along and made it so special again...🙂🙏

And join us for another fun open mic night on Sunday, 11th October, from 7pm...

14/09/2026

We had a bit of challenging Cross Lances Open Mic last night, with some issues with the lighting and electricity supply at the pub! This necessitated taking a torch to the ladies loos! 😲We have been told the electrician is coming and the problem should be identified and fixed soon! 😊 Despite this state of affairs, we had a really fun evening, with the performers able to have 2 sets of 3 songs / 15 minutes each and some enjoyable jamming - with Piers Hogg on his electric guitar and Jeff Bruckner playing cajon! 😉 Quite a few people were trying out new material and arrangements, which were great and I accompanied Beverly Johnston on a selection of covers, which was fun!

Well done everyone! Thanks for coming along and making it such an enjoyable evening!

Here is a selection of Clive's photos from last night

The next at The Cross Lances is set to be Sunday, 27th September...

24/08/2026

We had a super Cross Lances Open Mic last night with quite a few cowboy songs and excellent performances! Thanks to everyone who came and made it another enjoyable night!

We had time to all do a 15 minute spot and then play some end jams together! As usual, Piers Hogg did plenty of great electric guitar solos and Berni Messenger did some really quality bass jamming! And Jeff Bruckner enhanced many of our songs with his cajon and percussion playing. Maurice played some cajon too and the audience joined in with some shakey egg and tambourine playing as well as backing vocals! 😉

Here are Clive's lovely photos from last night's open mic

Join us for more fun at The Cross Lances Pub on Sunday, 13th September!

10/08/2026

It was another hot night last night at the (I had to turn the fan up to max for us all!😮)! It was another enjoyable evening though, seeing some new performers and jammers Piers Hogg and Jeff Bruckner in demand! There was just enough time to go round again for a couple of extra numbers for everyone too!😉

We had several fun end jams lead by Bill & Piers, with lots of us piling "on stage", but unfortunately Clive had to leave early (due to a very early start coming in the morning) - so we don't have photos of those... Here are Clive's photos from the first half of the evening...

Join us for more fun and musical activity at the next Cross Lances Open Mic on Sunday, 23rd August...😉👍

28/07/2026

We had a CRACKING Cross Lances Open Mic last night! Lots of jamming (and drummers with cajons and a drum called a "Dhol", which got a good play at the end of the night)! Piers Hogg was a popular choice for having some electric guitar playing along with their set (as usual). Several performers had a crack at jamming with the 'house' bass guitar.

We had some super performances from John Evans, Jaya and John, Rob Ward, Dave Janes, Stephen Brewin, "Double Bubble" - Pat Dyos and Ch*****ne Charlie, Brendon, The Highlighters, Bill and Piers and Jeff!

Here is the full selection of photos

Join us at the next Cross Lances Open Mic at The Cross Lances Pub, Hanworth Rd., on:-

Sunday, August 9th, from 7pm

13/07/2026

It was a HOT Cross Lances Open Mic last night BUT the performers were kept cool with a fan (and their own talent of course)! 😎🤟

We had more performers than last open mic at The Cross Lances Pub and we were able to go round again for another number as well as enjoy some jamming, with Wilson Maharjan and Berni Messenger both giving us some excellent playing. Piers Hogg provided us with more brilliant electric guitar playing and TOTALLY inspiring jamming along with Berni Messenger and Jeff Bruckner to Unique Technique UK's super rapping numbers! We love the "Apple Pie - where's my custard!" number. A REALLY important social comment, which resonated with VERY many of us!! 😉👍

Here are a selection of Clive's lovely photos from last night's ...

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And DON'T FORGET - the next open mic will be on MONDAY - 27th of July, from 7pm (because I am heavily involved with on Sunday 26th and also lots of local performers will be going to this too I expect)...
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My "Kindred Spirit Band" will be performing at the Rose & Lion Twickenham, as part of High Tide Festival, Sunday, 26th July, at 3.30pm, if anyone wants to see / hear the whole band...
https://www.facebook.com/events/967743119202196

29/06/2026

Well - what a contrast between this Cross Lances Open Mic and the last one (which was packed)! Last night we were very thin on the ground for performers! However, this also presents an interesting challenge, allowing the fewer performers to both perform more and also attempt more jams with each other!

Last night, we had some fun with kazoo instrumentals and a number of us jammed on the bass - me included! Morris brought his cajon along and Wilson Maharjan did some jamming with the cajon and the bass guitar. We saw spots from new performers Namgyal and Anup, as well as Ollie, Morris, Hagrid sings and Rhian Howell. Piers Hogg did some awesome electric guitar playing!

As well as getting the chance to jam on the bass guitar, I got the chance to try and perform my brand new song ("We're Human" - which I only wrote a couple of days ago and will feature as the final song on our next "Kindred Spirit Band" album, which we are currently working on - see more about it here: https://www.elainesamuels.co.uk/news-ksb.htm)... 😉

Here is the full selection of Clive's lovely photos from last night's ...

Our next open mic at The Cross Lances Pub is going to be Sunday, 12th July.

Come and have lots of open mic fun with us at the next one...

(And note that the second one in July will be on MONDAY, 27th July - due to our Kindred Spirit Band performing at High Tide Festival in Twickenham on the Sunday, 26th http://facebook.com/events/967743119202196 and me running one of the stages)...

24/06/2026

I received this message via Lemon rock gig guide just now - in case anyone wants to follow this up...:-

https://www.lemonrock.com/lasthop

Rock / Indie covers band, artist, duo needed for the Friday night.

If you haven't played the Last Hop you're in for a treat!

Please include your rate.

Best regards

Last Hop

[email protected]

Music Venue: Last Hop, Thames Edge, Clarence Street, Staines, Surrey TW18 4SU, Venue Type: Pub, Current Gigs: 3