Joining us on this week's Sheer Isolation is songwriter and artist, Alan Pettifer.

He's launching a new, monthly music night in North Wiltshire which brings together the best components from every folk night, open mic and charity show he's ever performed at.

As well as promoting the Crudwell Music Club, he also talks about his time frequenting German folk clubs in the seventies, how his songwriting has raised tens and thousands for good causes, and the perils of selling CDs through online retailers.

We've also got two tracks as always - this week we play a brand new tune from Bristol songwriter Sarah Larkham, and we play one of Alan's charity singles from 2011.

In news, Kieran recaps on his first rap and hiphop event in Trowbridge last weekend, and we discuss if the fuel disruptions have left musicians, and their audiences, struggling to get to gigs.

This episode was created by Kieran Moore in Trowbridge and Jon Ponting in Cricklade.

Regular music nights are appearing back on the pub chalkboards as life continues to return to normal.

That's music to the ears of this week's guest, Evie Em-Jay, who organises weekly jazz nights in Swindon.

She talks to us about how she fell in love with the genre, and how she ended up being Swindon's premier jazz promoter.

Her weekly music nights have now resumed at the Royal Oak in Old Town, and hopes that more of her venues will be welcoming back live music very soon.

A truly eclectic mix of music is on offer this week with Evie picking a jazz melody from the Bristol based Hopkins Hammond Trio, and Kieran goes full rap with a track from Cardiff's Juice Menace, who's playing in Wiltshire this week.

We also cover the news that UK law may be changing to pay musicians more for their streams, and that large music venues west of the Severn will be forced to check Covid ID before entry, but no such requirements are (so far) on the cards for England.

This episode was created by Kieran Moore in Trowbridge and Jon Ponting in Cricklade.

We're talking to Mike Williams on this week's Sheer Isolation, who is part of the team behind Corsham's Pound Arts venue.

The town centre site includes a 100 seat auditorium for live events, exhibition spaces for artists, rehearsal rooms, workshops and a cafe.

Mike explains how the centre has evolved into a community hub, with lots of Corsham's residents making the most of their unique facility.

On the music menu, we play one from the vaults courtesy of Swindon three piece ska outfit, Slagerij, and Mike chooses a track from Kitty MacFarlane - a Somerset based singer who is performing at the venue later this year.

In news, Kieran talks about Frank Turner's 2022 England tour dates, and the confusion over Covid passports for nightclubs rolls on.

This episode was created by Kieran Moore in Trowbridge and Jon Ponting in Cricklade.

This week's guest on Sheer Isolation is going old-school to help share community successes across the centre of Wiltshire.

Ben Parkes is part of the team behind the newly launched Celebrate newspaper in Trowbridge.

The idea of the paper is to promote local events, share good news stories and encourage more people to make their home town a more cheery and friendly place.

We ask Ben why he's taken on this project, and what he sees are the advantages of promotion via a physical newspaper.

On the music menu, we play a brand new tune from Chippenham/Bristol fuzzy rock outfit, The Erotic Secrets of Pompeii, and Ben picks a family favourite during lockdown... a single-take, quirky, sample and loop build-up from South African YouTube star, The Kiffness.

In news, we get confused about next month's plans to introduce Covid passports for nightclubs and large venues in England, and we're not the only ones looking for clearer guidance.

This episode was created by Kieran Moore in Chippenham and Jon Ponting in Cricklade.

It was bound to happen eventually! We've turned the spotlight on ourselves for this week's Sheer Isolation. Our very own Jon Ponting explains how we grew from a local radio journalist to presenting and editing your favourite podcast about musicians from the West.

He looks back on hosting open mic nights across North Wiltshire and the Cotswolds, helping out at community radio stations, and taking the reins at Westonbirt's Treefest Festival.

We've also thrown a couple of songs into the mix; We have a new release from Bristol based songwriter, Onika Venus, and also a tune from the grandmaster of agricultural hiphop, Corky, who has just been announced as support for The Wurzels on their upcoming tour of the West later this year.

In news, we big up the Swindon Shuffle which takes place in the town next weekend, and explain why a shortage of toilets is leading to event cancellations in the region.

This episode was created by Kieran Moore in Chippenham and Jon Ponting in Cricklade.

Don't forget to look for us on the schedule of your local community radio station; we're on the airwaves in Wiltshire, Gloucestershire and Somerset.

For over two decades, a dedicated team has been working in Chippenham to reach out to marginalised communities and to offer support to the disaffected through music, film, art and sport.

Ed Deedigan is the Director of Kandu Arts. He joins us on this week's Sheer Isolation to look back at how the project started, to promote their upcoming music and film festivals, and to thank the many people who have helped and supported the cause through the years.

On the music menu, Ed selects a new track from Malmesbury based Will Lawton, the video for which was filmed at the Kandu Arts drop-in centre in the centre of Chippenham.

Meanwhile Jon lowers the tone with his selection, courtesy of Cotswolds based parody artist, Silver Sam.

We also look ahead to an event in Swindon next weekend in memory of previous Sheer guest and manager of Swindon's Vic and 12 Bar, Dave Young. The My Dad Is Bigger Than Your Dad event is raising money for Prospect Hospice.

This episode was created by Kieran Moore in Trowbridge and Jon Ponting in Cricklade.

Don't forget to look for us on the schedule of your local community radio station; we're on the airwaves in Wiltshire, Gloucestershire and Somerset.

The Trowbridge Village Pump Festival has been a regular event on the summer calendar for decades, but in more recent years the musical line-up took a different turn, a new site meant the festival moved away from it's home town, and the organisers eventually called it a day.

But after a successful one-off event in 2018, our guest this week has plans to revitalise the festival and bring it back to its former glory.

Nick Reed has been a part of the festival since the eighties, from a child attending with his parents, to working backstage, and now taking a top seat in planning the 2022 event.

He tells us about the festival's history, why it disappeared off the calendar, and how work is already underway for a weekend event next year.

On the music menu, Nick chooses a track from traditional folk group Gigspanner, featuring Steeleye Span's Peter Knight. We also play a tune from south west based act Samantics, who is currently touring the UK with a previous guest on Sheer Isolation, Frank Turner.

This episode was created by Kieran Moore in Trowbridge (and the Wye Valley) and Jon Ponting in Cricklade.

Don't forget to look for us on the schedule of your local community radio station; we're on the airwaves in Wiltshire, Gloucestershire and Somerset.

Our guest on Sheer Isolation this week has made it his mission to get the West's youngsters engaged with classical, opera and choir music.

Adam Laughton is part of the team at the Wiltshire Music Centre in Bradford-on-Avon - a venue which showcases genres of music traditionally considered highbrow, while ensuring performances are fully inclusive, with workshops, events and rehearsal space to encourage teenagers to take up classical instruments and join youth orchestras and singing groups.

On our playlist, Adam picks a live recording performance by Bristol's Fitzhardinge Consort. We also play a track from Wiltshire group, Port Erin, who are making a real-life appearance at this weekend's Bath Festival.

This episode was created by Kieran Moore in Chippenham and Jon Ponting in Cricklade.

Don't forget to look for us on the schedule of your local community radio station; we're on the airwaves in Wiltshire, Gloucestershire and Somerset.

We are joined on this week's Sheer Isolation by Wiltshire's very own Kirsty Clinch.

Kirsty is a folk musician who has more recently turned her attention to creating songs for toddlers. Over lockdown she illustrated and authored a children's song book which links to a series of short music videos on YouTube that she also produced.

On top of this, she has also opened her own music school for young children with plans to expand into nurseries and village halls as more restrictions are eased.

And with an impressive 111,000+ Instagram followers, she's got plenty of support for her many projects, although we learn that having that many followers comes with its own challenges!

We play a couple of singer-songwriter tracks this week - one from Americana artist, Steve Hewitt, who will be playing in Trowbridge in August, and Kirsty's choice is a tune from UK based Texan, Arielle.

In the news, we look at new rules coming into force next month for nightclubs and large venues to reduce the spread of Covid.

This episode was created by Kieran Moore in Trowbridge and Jon Ponting in Cricklade.

Don't forget to look for us on the schedule of your local community radio station; we're on the airwaves in Wiltshire, Gloucestershire and Somerset.

After 63 episodes, this will be the last Sheer Isolation... to be recorded under Covid restrictions! Don't worry... we aren't ready to retire the show just yet!

This week our guest is Dan Greeves who has recently set up his own music management business and plans to offer an alternative way for acts to get their music heard.

The first band on the Pegasus books is Concrete Prairie; a folk act from Bristol, and he is looking for more untapped local talent to get in touch.

Dan tells us why he's chosen now to return to the music industry after a 20 year absence, and why he thinks there is a better way to promote and support performers in the music industry.

We play a tune from Concrete Prairie, as well as a song by Trowbridge based songwriter, Daisy Chapman.

And in news, we look ahead to the 19th of July when most Covid restrictions in England will be lifted. What does this mean for live music, and why is Government advice for nightclubs still muddying the waters?

This episode was created by Kieran Moore in Trowbridge and Jon Ponting in Cricklade.

Don't forget to look for us on the schedule of your local community radio station; we're on the airwaves in Wiltshire, Gloucestershire and Somerset.