Author Archives: Ben Howard

Colchester Lightbulb Festival of the arts 2013

Lightbulb Festival of the Arts 2013 brings together local groups and individuals to deliver quality [...]

Hugh Cornwell to headline festival at Wivenhoe House

Hugh Cornwell, original guitarist, singer and main songwriter of The Stranglers, heads an impressive list [...]

F.O.X to support Depeche Mode

Colchester band F.O.X have announced this evening that they will be supporting Depeche Mode on [...]

Remembering Nial Harrington – Colchester Creative

I was getting my things together at home for a DJ set at Twisters last [...]

Matthew Hopkins and The Wormhole by Kevin Pearce

Kevin Pearce returns with a new album, Matthew Hopkins and The Wormhole, the follow-up to [...]

Exhibition of the Colchester Music Scene

It all began at a club called Weavers in Braintree in 1978. That was the [...]

Mind-Funk presents Vandal

After the success of their Summer Beach Party, Mind-Funk returns to The Judge & Jury [...]

Ocean Colour Scene announce an intimate acoustic set at The Judge and Jury

The Judge and Jury have announced that tickets are now available for Ocean Colour Scene [...]

Drive Through Therapy to celebrate release of Infectious

Drive Through Therapy are hosting their local album launch party at The Bull on Wednesday [...]

Cav OK presents Club OK

Cav OK have announced a brand new club night at the Judge And Jury and [...]

Charity gig with New Town Kings to help Cambodia community

The Old Hall community in East Bergholt will be holding a benefit night on Friday, [...]

New Music Against The Grain at Slack Space

Contemporary classical music: dead and boring? Stuffy? Acoustic only? Elitist? Stuck in the past? Think [...]

Deadbeat presents The Virus Special with Ed Rush

Deadbeat are back at Silk Road on Friday, 4th November 2011, with another massive line-up. [...]

Colchester Black History Month 2011

Black History Month returns to Colchester this October with a wide-ranging programme of music, comedy, [...]

Colchester Round

Last night I had the pleasure of witnessing the first ever live performance of Colchester [...]

firstsite opens 10am Sunday 25th September 2011

I’ve been saying for a long while that Firstsite is our site. It’s something the [...]

The Colchester Circle September 2011 Issue

This editorial currently features in the September 2011 issue of The Colchester Circle, available throughout [...]

AcoustiCity Colchester – New Season

The Autumn-Winter season of AcoustiCity gigs in Colchester Headgate Theatre has been announced. 17 SeptemberExtraordinary [...]

Ben Wood and The Bad Ideas feature on Poly Styrene tribute record

Ben Wood and The Bad Ideas are set to feature on a compilation album being [...]

What’s on in Colchester – Free Festival 2011 Special

A huge Bank Holiday weekend of music across Colchester, centred around the annual celebration in [...]

About the author:
Ben Howard is a writer, DJ and founder of Keep Colchester Cool. Launched in 2009, the platform documents the city’s gigs, theatre, exhibitions and grassroots creativity through interviews, reviews and event listings.

Alongside running the site, Ben works through Ben Howard Communications, providing PR, content writing and marketing support for businesses, venues and cultural organisations.

He also DJs regularly, and continues to champion the people, venues and events that keep Colchester’s cultural scene thriving.