THE STABLES IN PREVIEW: HERITAGE BLUES QUINTET AND DOUGIE MACLEAN LINE-UP FOR YOU

The Heritage Blues Quintet will be live at The Stables this Thursday night (July 3). It's a chance to experience 'the grit of low-down country and urban blues with the bold brass of New Orleans; the hand clapping fervour of gospel punctuated with fiery post-modern, jazz-infused horn arrangements and the haunting cries of work songs and pulsating drums that reach back to the real roots of it all.' The band is pushed by the terrific rhythms of Grammy-award winning blues drummer Kenny 'Beedy Eyes' Smith, along with harmonica virtuoso Vincent Bucher and some of New York's heaviest horn players who have worked with Sting, Springsteen and Wynton Marsalis. In short, this is a quality line-up offering really great stuff - prepare for members to take you down Highway 49 from Clarksdale to New Orleans, journey across the Middle Passage, from the chain gangs and juke joints to the orchestra pits and church and then to the back porches. Over the past 18 months the band has ignited the blues world stateside, and their debut album And Still I Rise has been dazzling critics this side of the pond too. Sounds sweet, right?  But wait, that's not all - Milton Keynes is represented,  with Josh Chandler Morris (below) supporting at the show. Anti-Vigilante at Heygate Estate in London on 16 May 2012 Josh has just released his new EP Tired which has been received favourably  - Rock N Reel magazine want him on their pages too now.  Nice work. Tickets for the show are £18.50. On Friday (July 4) Counterpoise with Donald Maxwell present American Dream. Baritone Maxwell will bring the sensual allure of song and dance across the Americas - expect music by Gershwin, Dizzy Gillespie and Astor Piazzolla. Over on Stage 2, Pete Firman, star of the BBC series The Magicians will bring new tricks and jokes. Or would you rather the ABBA Reunion on Saturday night (July 5). This show celebrates the 40th anniversary of the Eurovision-winning song Waterloo, but of course also brings a truckload of other ABBA successes to the fore too. Stage 2 will be kept busy by three contrasting independent singer-songwriters: Dan Whitehouse, Anja and Rebecca De Winter will all show you what they are about when they hold court in the snug confines. Last up this week, Dougie Maclean (Sun, July 6) His song Caledonia was the featured track on the Last of the Mohicans big screen affair, and his songs have been covered by artists including Paolo Nutini, Amy Macdonald and Ronan Keating. He has also been awarded an OBE, a Lifetime Achievement Award by the Radio 2 Folk Awards and not one, but two Tartan Clef Awards. To book for Dougie, or any of the aforementioned, call 01908 280800 or visit www.stables.org