The Ship's electro acoustic open-mic night, every first Wednesday of the month, from 8.30pm

Originally started in March 2000 at The Barge and still going strong here at The Ship. Performers and spectators all welcome.

Just turn up and put your name down for your 15 minutes of fame! Everyone welcome, but slots are limited so get here early.

Selection of instruments available to use (see below). PA supplied and run by our own in-house engineer.

Free drink for each performer! - A pint, a single spirit shot & mixer, or a soft drink of your choice - max 4 drinks per group if more than one performer, at the discretion of the bar staff - free drinks can only be claimed after your performance.

Free digital audio recording of your performance! - If you'd like a recording of your performance then make sure you give us your email address (you can put it in the list when you book your slot), and we'll send you an MP3. This usually takes a few days to sort out, so please be patient.

Come and have a go!

Please note:

This is primarily an acoustic night, so no amplifiers or drum kits unless by prior arrangement. Please email enquiries@shipgillingham.com if you want to break the rules.

We have a full-size, weighted-key Yamaha electric piano available, along with an electro-acoustic guitar and electro-acoustic bass guitar - the guitars are not the best quality so if you have your own instrument it might be better to bring that. We also have a selection of percussion available (congas, djembe, cajon) - these are slightly better.

Performers are given a 15 minute slot, allocated on a 'first-come, first-served' basis, so the earlier you get here the better the choice of slots available. Please make sure your instruments are in tune before your start time, otherwise time spent tuning will come out of your 15 minutes.

Sorry for all the rules and regulations... we really want you to come along and enjoy yourselves!

Every Sunday* evening, from 8.30pm onwards.

£1 per person entry, teams up to a maximum of 6.

Cash Prizes!!! 

Come along and join in the fun!

How It Works:

Everybody pays £1 each to enter the quiz. Teams can be up to 6 people. This money goes into the Prize Pot.

There are five rounds of ten questions each. The first round is a quick-fire round where you get 10 general knowledge questions fired at you in a short space of time. The next four rounds each have a specific theme and are a little more relaxed. Each team gets a Joker to play on a round of their choice (excluding quick-fire) which will double their points for that round. Teams must declare their Joker before the start of their chosen round.

At the end of the five rounds, the team with the winning score** elects a single member to answer one further question from a choice of Hard, Medium or Easy. If they get that question right then the team wins all or part of the Prize pot (see below). Should they get the question wrong then a raffle ticket is drawn (each team is given one raffle ticket at the start), and the team holding the drawn number gets a chance at whichever of the Hard, Medium or Easy questions haven't yet been asked. If, after 2 redraws a question still hasn't been answered co0rrectly, then all of the Prize Pot money is carried over to the next week's quiz.

Amounts won for answering one of the Hard, Medium or Easy questions are as follows:

HARD - ALL of the Prize Pot
MEDIUM - HALF (50%) of the Prize Pot
EASY - QUARTER (25%) of the Prize Pot.

What's left in the Prize Pot (if anything) is carried over to the next week's quiz.

If the Prize Pot reaches £250 then the quizmaster will keep drawing tickets until somebody answers correctly, and their team wins £250 (with any excess over that being carried over). Obviously, the team which won the main quiz gets first shot at this.

Confused? Don't be.. it's all a bit of fun, and it'll make more sense when you're here!

* Excluding Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and New Year's Eve if they fall on a Sunday.

** In the event of a first-place tie, a tie-breaker question will be asked to determine which team gets a shot at the money.

Purveyor of finest king size blues, delivered live and direct. Percussive and dynamic in its nature, melodic and soulful in its heart, this boogie music shouts loud and kisses sweet.

Every Sunday* evening, from 8.30pm onwards.

£1 per person entry, teams up to a maximum of 6.

Cash Prizes!!! 

Come along and join in the fun!

How It Works:

Everybody pays £1 each to enter the quiz. Teams can be up to 6 people. This money goes into the Prize Pot.

There are five rounds of ten questions each. The first round is a quick-fire round where you get 10 general knowledge questions fired at you in a short space of time. The next four rounds each have a specific theme and are a little more relaxed. Each team gets a Joker to play on a round of their choice (excluding quick-fire) which will double their points for that round. Teams must declare their Joker before the start of their chosen round.

At the end of the five rounds, the team with the winning score** elects a single member to answer one further question from a choice of Hard, Medium or Easy. If they get that question right then the team wins all or part of the Prize pot (see below). Should they get the question wrong then a raffle ticket is drawn (each team is given one raffle ticket at the start), and the team holding the drawn number gets a chance at whichever of the Hard, Medium or Easy questions haven't yet been asked. If, after 2 redraws a question still hasn't been answered co0rrectly, then all of the Prize Pot money is carried over to the next week's quiz.

Amounts won for answering one of the Hard, Medium or Easy questions are as follows:

HARD - ALL of the Prize Pot
MEDIUM - HALF (50%) of the Prize Pot
EASY - QUARTER (25%) of the Prize Pot.

What's left in the Prize Pot (if anything) is carried over to the next week's quiz.

If the Prize Pot reaches £250 then the quizmaster will keep drawing tickets until somebody answers correctly, and their team wins £250 (with any excess over that being carried over). Obviously, the team which won the main quiz gets first shot at this.

Confused? Don't be.. it's all a bit of fun, and it'll make more sense when you're here!

* Excluding Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and New Year's Eve if they fall on a Sunday.

** In the event of a first-place tie, a tie-breaker question will be asked to determine which team gets a shot at the money.

Every Sunday* evening, from 8.30pm onwards.

£1 per person entry, teams up to a maximum of 6.

Cash Prizes!!! 

Come along and join in the fun!

How It Works:

Everybody pays £1 each to enter the quiz. Teams can be up to 6 people. This money goes into the Prize Pot.

There are five rounds of ten questions each. The first round is a quick-fire round where you get 10 general knowledge questions fired at you in a short space of time. The next four rounds each have a specific theme and are a little more relaxed. Each team gets a Joker to play on a round of their choice (excluding quick-fire) which will double their points for that round. Teams must declare their Joker before the start of their chosen round.

At the end of the five rounds, the team with the winning score** elects a single member to answer one further question from a choice of Hard, Medium or Easy. If they get that question right then the team wins all or part of the Prize pot (see below). Should they get the question wrong then a raffle ticket is drawn (each team is given one raffle ticket at the start), and the team holding the drawn number gets a chance at whichever of the Hard, Medium or Easy questions haven't yet been asked. If, after 2 redraws a question still hasn't been answered co0rrectly, then all of the Prize Pot money is carried over to the next week's quiz.

Amounts won for answering one of the Hard, Medium or Easy questions are as follows:

HARD - ALL of the Prize Pot
MEDIUM - HALF (50%) of the Prize Pot
EASY - QUARTER (25%) of the Prize Pot.

What's left in the Prize Pot (if anything) is carried over to the next week's quiz.

If the Prize Pot reaches £250 then the quizmaster will keep drawing tickets until somebody answers correctly, and their team wins £250 (with any excess over that being carried over). Obviously, the team which won the main quiz gets first shot at this.

Confused? Don't be.. it's all a bit of fun, and it'll make more sense when you're here!

* Excluding Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and New Year's Eve if they fall on a Sunday.

** In the event of a first-place tie, a tie-breaker question will be asked to determine which team gets a shot at the money.

Fran McGillivray (vocals, bass guitar & flute), Mike Burke (acoustic, electric & resonator guitars, mandola, mandolin & vocals) and Roger Nunn (drums and djembe) are an exciting and compelling trio with a strong following on the blues and roots music scene. Former members of Urban blues outfit So Long Angel, Fran, Mike and Roger have spent many years honing their craft and have developed a unique take on roots music and an amazing empathy on stage. They have performed at many major festivals in Europe and the UK including Rotterdam, Cambridge and Shrewsbury and are regulars on the club and concert circuit, and on BBC and local music radio shows. Fran and Mike’s ownvibrant and original songs are complemented by soulful, dynamic and powerful interpretations of songs from a broad range of genres from Americana through to Country and Blues.

The Fran McGillivray band’s live shows and recordings reflect this diversity and have been widely acclaimed by reviewers across the roots spectrum:

"Splendid!" - Paul Jones, Radio 2

"Mighty good!" - Maverick

"A new twist on old music" - Rock 'n' Reel

"Beautifully delivered,a thoroughly enjoyable set" - Blues Matters

"Very impressive" - Robin Denselow, The Guardian

"Fran at times sounds like a mix of Rory Block and Bonnie Raitt" Blues in Britain

"Heartbreakingly poignant one minute, rousingly upbeat the next" - Colin Irwin, FRoots

Every Sunday* evening, from 8.30pm onwards.

£1 per person entry, teams up to a maximum of 6.

Cash Prizes!!! 

Come along and join in the fun!

How It Works:

Everybody pays £1 each to enter the quiz. Teams can be up to 6 people. This money goes into the Prize Pot.

There are five rounds of ten questions each. The first round is a quick-fire round where you get 10 general knowledge questions fired at you in a short space of time. The next four rounds each have a specific theme and are a little more relaxed. Each team gets a Joker to play on a round of their choice (excluding quick-fire) which will double their points for that round. Teams must declare their Joker before the start of their chosen round.

At the end of the five rounds, the team with the winning score** elects a single member to answer one further question from a choice of Hard, Medium or Easy. If they get that question right then the team wins all or part of the Prize pot (see below). Should they get the question wrong then a raffle ticket is drawn (each team is given one raffle ticket at the start), and the team holding the drawn number gets a chance at whichever of the Hard, Medium or Easy questions haven't yet been asked. If, after 2 redraws a question still hasn't been answered co0rrectly, then all of the Prize Pot money is carried over to the next week's quiz.

Amounts won for answering one of the Hard, Medium or Easy questions are as follows:

HARD - ALL of the Prize Pot
MEDIUM - HALF (50%) of the Prize Pot
EASY - QUARTER (25%) of the Prize Pot.

What's left in the Prize Pot (if anything) is carried over to the next week's quiz.

If the Prize Pot reaches £250 then the quizmaster will keep drawing tickets until somebody answers correctly, and their team wins £250 (with any excess over that being carried over). Obviously, the team which won the main quiz gets first shot at this.

Confused? Don't be.. it's all a bit of fun, and it'll make more sense when you're here!

* Excluding Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and New Year's Eve if they fall on a Sunday.

** In the event of a first-place tie, a tie-breaker question will be asked to determine which team gets a shot at the money.