Jez Hellard and The Djukella Orchestra

Name: Jez Hellard and The Djukella Orchestra
Start: 2025-08-29T20:00:00+01:00
Location: Worth Matravers, BH19 3LF Worth Matravers, United Kingdom

Schedule

Fri, 29 Aug, 2025 at 08:00 pm

UTC+01:00

Location

Worth Matravers, BH19 3LF Worth Matravers, United Kingdom | Wareham, EN

https://squareandcompasspub.co.uk/what-s-on/1620
Jez Hellard is a singer of potent songs, fine guitarist and simply stunning harmonica player. His band, The Djukella Orchestra, play traditional and contemporary folk music, from jigs, reels and ballads to tango, rhumba and even reggae. Featuring one of the most captivating double-bassists you`re likely to see and some of the finest instrumentalists on the UK folk scene, their blend of virtuoso musicianship, witty political comment and a deep repertoire of powerful songs never fails to turn heads. Since hitting the road full time in 2005, Jez has played well over a thousand gigs; from the Glastonbury Festival to the North Country Fair, New York to Taipei, Istanbul to the Iberian Peninsular, gaining fans far and wide.
Touring extensively in the UK, Canada, East Asia, Germany, The Netherlands and the Balkans, Jez performs solo, as a duo with London Irish/Basque fiddle maestro James Patrick Gavin and with his band, The Djukella Orchestra, featuring a fine batch of fiendish fiddlers including Julie Rands-Allen and Alastair Caplin, the formidable double-bassist, Nye Parsons, and renowned Macedonian Accordionist, Jordan Kostov, amongst other talented players. When there`s time Jez also tours with Prairie Balladeer, Scott Cook, the sublime luthier/song-writer, Nathan Ball, his sometime twin, Gareth Austin, Cardiff pub-church legends, JC`s Hopeless Sinners, anarchist folksters, Firepit Collective, the righteous reggae of Avalon Roots, the folk-hop of political pop-star Billy Rowan (The Undercover Hippy), and a host of other acts.
In Canada he`s performed and recorded with virtuoso fiddler Cam Neufeld, caramel toned troubador, Scott Cook, and veteran Ukulele master Maurice Jones, to name but a few, and in the Balkans with The Djukella Orkestra, Kalevala, and various gypsy brass orchestras.
As a freelance harmonica player, he plays with a variety of acts from reggae to bluegrass, Celtic to Jazz, and is always happy to broaden the repertoire.
Links:
jezhellard.net
facebook.com/DjukellaMusic
youtube.com/@MrJeremoon
jezhellardthedjukellaorchestra.bandcamp.com
soundcloud.com/jez-hellard
Press:
"Jez has the type of voice that impels you to listen. Ridiculously enjoyable... An unequivocal thumbs up." ~ Folk Radio UK
"It's heartening to hear such thoughtful yet deeply felt songs, given the times we live in now. To hear them so well sung, so adroitly arranged and brilliantly performed is a joy." ~ Songlines
"Simply superb... I cannot praise this album highly enough. Wonderfully packaged, with stunningly interpreted and performed songs full of depth, texture and passion that reveal themselves even more with repeated plays." ~ Fatea Magazine
"The performance on the Main Stage at this years Wessex Folk Festival of Jez Hellard and the Djukella Orchestra was one of the highlights of the festival. Quite simply the band were excellent. Distinctive and innovative alternative folk produced at full throttle by a tight unit who know how to play their instruments and work an audience. If you get the chance go see the band as it is well worth it." ~ Bob Ford, Wessex Folk Festival
"If Heavy Wood doesn't place Jez Hellard & The Djukella Orchestra among the leaders of contemporary folk then whoever in this world is responsible for seeing that justice is done, clearly isn't on the case." ~ FolkWords
"Unyielding and dynamic... as robust as time and as sturdy as Heavy Wood. It flows without pressure, it guides without malice and in the end produces such a selection of songs that the listener can only ever be enthralled." ~ Liverpool Sound and Vision
"Jez Hellard epitomises the hardcore troubadour.”" ~ R2 Magazine
"Jez Hellard demonstrated that playing harmonica is a full on body experience...With fans across 3 continents, It was easy to see and hear what all the hullaballoo was about." ~ Earshot Magazine, Canada
"Beautifully crafted and stunningly delivered... a staggering jigsaw of musical invention and a sonorous voice that drags you into every song." ~ Folking.com
"Having never heard of Mr Hellard, this came as a delightful surprise. Immersing myself in this album for a day or two, I find myself baffled as to how I have avoided him. The loss is all mine, because this is a seriously good CD." ~ Living Tradition
"Hellard is a traveller of the world, having played over a thousand gigs in the last decade, many in unlikely places and countries, and he's absorbed all those influences into his music to create something genuinely unique." ~ R2 Magazine