Mercury Act in 'little rural tour'

Fresh from playing the Royal Albert Hall, Mercury Award nominees Portico Quartet are set to undertake a 'nice little rural tour' in Somerset.

The band, whose sound fuses jazz and world music, is undertaking the mini tour of village halls as part of Take Art Live.

The event has a community feel, and the band will also be staying in organisers' homes.

Take Art Live aims to bring high quality performers to rural areas.

"Everyone deserves to see high quality stars and performances, and we do our best to bring high quality artists to the area," said organiser Beccie Davis who became a big fan of the band since she saw them at the Big Chill.

"[They have a ] unique sound, very melodic - it's beautiful. In an intimate setting it will be awe inspiring, draw dropping."

The scheme sees each village have a promoter who organises each event. It aims to bring local communities together.

Nick Mulvey, from the band, said: "We were just very happy to be invited. Tours we've done in rural Britain have always been really enjoyable, well-attended and have been well put together. It's quite a nice break from playing different cities, so we're very up for it."

Take Art has been running for over 20 years, where it has grown to see over 80 village promoters put on 120 shows a year, reaching 10,000 people.

• 23 September Wootton Courtenay Village Hall at 7:30pm. Box Office: 01643 841067
• 24 September Wookey Hole Club at 8:00pm. Box Office: 01761 241753
• 25 September Churchinford Village Hall at 8:00pm. Box Office: 01823 601422
• 26 September Williams Hall, Stoke St Gregory at 7:30pm. Box Office: 07770302370
• 01 October The Princess, Burnham on Sea at 8:00pm. Box Office: 01278 786725
• 02 October Lydford Parish Hall at 8:00pm. Box Office: 01963 240003
• 03 October Chilcompton Village Hall at 8:15pm. Box Office: 01761 233936
• 04 October East Quantoxhead Village Hall at 3:00pm. Box Office: 01278 741419