T HEY’VE played at venues throughout the country in recent months, but a Northumberland-based band are particularly looking forward to a homecoming gig.

For five-piece Dansi, which consists of Haydon Bridge singer/ songwriter Wilf Stone and Alston pair John Lambeth on drums and Mike Woodward on bass guitar, are heading to Allendale Village Hall to deliver a storming set.

The band, which also features Paul Holdsworth and Abigail Brierley, will head to the Allen Valleys on Saturday, December 10, with support from North-East bands Diddley Squat and Eabhal.

And it is a gig Dansi, which is Kiswahili for ‘rhythm’, are really looking forward to, playing in front of familiar faces.

Wilf said: “We haven’t played Allendale before. We played Sinderhope recently but that was just a small one, and it was pretty far removed from everywhere, even by our standards!

“There are buses coming from Carlisle, Alston, Penrith and Newcastle, and hopefully locals will be there too and we can have a good laugh.

“We are using my best friend from school, who I haven’t seen for months and months, as the sound technician; that is the beauty of playing for a home crowd. It’s like a little reunion.”

The gig is certain to be a night to remember, continuing the band’s trend which has seen them win fans up and down the country.

A tour has taken them across England and Scotland, and the reception they have received has been very positive.

Among the highlights have been shows at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and appearances at a number of festivals.

Wilf said: “We played Lindisfarne Festival and that was absolutely mint. None of us had played there before, and we’d never really played a festival as a band, but the crowed responded really well.

“We also played Solfest and that was a really good one, where we got another great reception.”

Dansi started as a bit of a side project for Wilf, a founding member of Tynedale ska band Pikey Beatz, and Paul as they studied a community music course run by Sunderland University and based at The Sage, Gateshead.

After months of writing songs, they were joined by John and were ready to produce their debut, eponymous EP.

Luke Logan played bass on the four-track album, but soon left and was replaced by Mike in time for the launch at the Cluny, in Newcastle.

EP opener Folk on the Hillside was the first song Wilf and John wrote together, while the remaining three are tracks produced by Wilf during a brief solo stint.

Wilf said: “We got the EP recorded at Blank Studios, and Chris McManus smashed it. The record is a culmination of a lot of money and time, and we are pretty happy with the sound of it.

“The launch was fantastic; we had a really big crowd there, and the response was great. Plus we sold lots of CDs which is always good!

“It’s really rewarding when that happens and people react positively to something you have put so much effort into.”

Following the release of the EP, Mike joined the band full-time as did Abigail, who hails from Lancashire but earned first class honours in music from Newcastle University, after she answered an advert to fill the brass requirements of the group.

As a five-piece, Dansi are going from strength-to-strength.

Wilf said: “It’s been a hell of a growing project, and the music and tunes coming out of the band, and the gigs we are getting, is great.”