A new series of relaxed afternoon concerts raised the newly repaired roof at The Mowlem in Swanage, bringing swing and jazz concerts to daytime audiences in the heart of the Dorset town.
Swanage band Swing Easy Too held its first gig in The Mowlem’s Showbar on Monday 16th February 2026 and will hold five further concerts there through spring and summer.
There was a good turnout for the first of 2026’s free concerts at The Showbar
Timeless songs from big band era
The Showbar is one of four local venues, with free gigs by Swing Easy Too also taking place at the Grand Hotel in Swanage, the Village Inn at Ulwell, and the Orchard Cafe at Holme Nurseries near Wareham.
In all, more than two dozen concerts are scheduled before the end of August 2026.
A repertoire which focuses on songs from the Great American Songbook, featuring timeless material made famous by artists such as Nat King Cole, Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, Doris Day, Fats Waller and Dean Martin, is aimed at a mature audience who grew up with big band music.
The four piece band was founded by Swanage based pianist and vocalist Andrew Cannon, a director of Swanage Jazz Festival, who formed the original Swing Easy band in 2017 to play swing and easy listening music.
Because many of the musicians came from Bournemouth, Poole and Christchurch, Andrew later established Swing Easy Too for a Purbeck audience and is now creating accessible daytime gigs for audiences who would prefer not to attend evening events.
He is joined in Swing Easy Too by Amanda Jensen, who plays saxophone and clarinet, guitarist Dave Marchant, who has worked with leading figures in jazz over a 40 year music career, and Bruce Evans on bass, whose lifelong love of jazz and swing has led to four recording contracts.
Bruce Evans and Amanda Jensen, half of Swing Easy Too
“We made sure it was free entry”
Bruce Evans said:
“With a lot of hard work from Andrew, we now have four venues in Purbeck – the Grand Hotel, the Orchard Cafe at Holmes for Gardens near Wareham, the Village Inn at Ulwell and now The Showbar at The Mowlem.
“The style of music we play is mostly old songs which appeals to a mature audience – and we discovered they didn’t have any natural venues to go to where they felt comfortable, as most gigs are in pubs and clubs on a Friday night.
“We have made sure it’s free entry, you don’t have to drink alcohol if you would prefer a tea or a coffee and the music is what our audience recognises and loves – sometimes they even get up and have a little dance!
“Full swing bands are so expensive to get together, even if it’s just a 12 or 13 piece band, so we double up – Amanda plays the clarinet and the saxophone, Andrew and I both sing, and we refresh the repertoire as often as we need to.
“We actually have a huge songbook, so we can appear at a venue for at least four consecutive months without repeating any of the songs – unless we get requests, of course!”
Andrew Cannon, on piano, founded Swing Easy Too to play Purbeck gigs. Guitarist is Dave Marchant
“We’d love new people to come and listen”
Bruce added:
“We feel we have achieved this range of venues for mature audiences, especially single ladies who might just want to go out on their own, but don’t want to feel embarrassed or uncomfortable.
“They can just sit down with a cup of coffee or a glass of wine, listen to familiar, melodic music they like for a couple of hours, and still be home in plenty of time for EastEnders!
“The Showbar is a lovely, central location – with amazing views! – and the Ulwell Village Inn has the number 50 bus stop right outside, so it’s easy to get to.
“We do have regulars who will get on the bus from Poole and Bournemouth and come over here to see us, because Andrew is very popular with his old school jazz.
“We never have to turn people away, but we would love to get the word out about what we do and attract some new people to come and listen to us.”
Members of the audience are welcome to get up and dance if they want!
Leaky flat roof repaired
The concert at The Showbar on Monday 16th February 2026, coincided with the first day that the work to repair The Mowlem’s leaky flat roof was completed, paid for by public donation after rainwater started coming through into the building, with a very real threat that shows may have to be cancelled.
A Raise The Roof fundraiser launched on Crowdfunder in October 2025 pulled in more than £6,000 in just five days and has now topped £11,000. The community effort, described by executive director Kate McGregor as ‘phenomenal’, allowed a team of roofers to carry out work through January and early February.
The Mowlem’s flat roof now has a permanent weather proof layer and will be able to stand up to future storms without staff having to worry about leaks.
Operations manager at The Mowlem, Thomas Curtis, inspects work on the newly waterproofed roof
Dates of free springtime concerts
The next concerts at The Mowlem’s Showbar will be on Wednesday 1st April and Saturday 25th April 2026, both starting at 2 pm.
They are part of a series of more than two dozen gigs which will run at least until the end of August.
March 2026
- Friday 6th at 12.30 pm: Orchard Cafe, Holme for Gardens, near Wareham
- Sunday 22nd at 1.15 pm: Village Inn, Ulwell
- Tuesday 24th at 12.15 pm: Grand Hotel, Swanage
April 2026
- Wednesday 1st at 2pm: The Showbar, The Mowlem
- Friday 17th at 12.30 pm: Orchard Cafe, Holme for Gardens
- Sunday 19th at 1.15 pm: Village Inn, Ulwell
- Saturday 25th at 2 pm: The Showbar, The Mowlem
- Tuesday 28th at 12.15 pm: Grand Hotel, Swanage
May 2026
- Friday 8th at 12.30 pm: Orchard Cafe, Holme for Gardens
- Sunday 10th at 1.15 pm: Village Inn, Ulwell
- Tuesday 26th at 12.15 pm: Grand Hotel, Swanage
June 2026
- Sunday 10th at 12.30 pm: Orchard Cafe, Holme for Gardens
- Friday 12th at 12.30 pm: Orchard Cafe, Holme for Gardens
- Sunday 14th at 1.15 pm: Village Inn, Ulwell
- Saturday 27th at 2 pm: The Showbar, The Mowlem
- Tuesday 30th at 12.15 pm: Grand Hotel, Swanage
The 2026 lineup of Swing Easy Too (from left to right) Dave Marchant, Bruce Evans, Amanda Jensen and Andrew Cannon
How the band lines up
Andrew Cannon, a director of Swanage Jazz Festival, has played piano since discovering Elvis in the 1950s, and has made several albums of rock ‘n’ roll and country music showcasing his instrumental and vocal skills. More recently he moved to jazz and swing music, founding the band Swing Easy in 2017.
Amanda Jensen was born in Surrey and learnt to play the flute whilst at school there. Fast forward a few decades and she returned to music by learning to play saxophone and more latterly clarinet. When she’s not making stained glass windows, Amanda plays in a variety of bands and orchestras in and around Swanage and formed the Salamanda Swing Band in 2018.
Dave Marchant has been a professional musician for more than 40 years. He studied with Jim Hall and has played with Courtney Pine, John Etheridge, the Hot Club of Hackney, and was the founder member of Bournemouth School of Samba. He was head of jazz and pop studies at the University of Southampton for many years and has recently released the album It’s About Time with his long term music partner Rick Bolton.
Bruce Evans first played a gig on bass during the interval of “Doctor No” at the Chingford Odeon in October 1962. Sixty years, umpteen bands and four recording contracts later, his journey has led him towards jazz and Swing Easy. He also plays keyboards as well as writing, arranging, singing and playing his own songs and his biggest joy is accompanying his son who plays tenor sax.
Further information
- More from Swing Easy
