Dimbola is delighted to welcome back Barry ‘The Fish’ Melton along with French guitarist and banjo player Stephane Missri and Bruce Barthol and Natalie Martel.

Country Joe and the Fish were one of the most influential psychedelic groups to come from the San Francisco scene during the 1960s. The band was formed by Barry “The Fish” Melton and Country Joe McDonald, and in May 1967, the band released their debut album, “Electric Music For The Mind & Body” – one of the first San Francisco psychedelic albums. It was consistently featured by John Peel on his B.C.C radio show. The album was a chart success and has never been out of print. It unfailingly appears in lists of the top psychedelic albums ever made.

During 1967’s “Summer of Love” Country Joe and the Fish were rocketed onto the world stage at the Monterey Pop Festival together with The Jefferson Airplane, the Mamas and Papas, Otis Redding, Ravi Shankar, Simon and Garfunkel, The Who – and a relatively unknown guitarist named Jimi Hendrix, who three years later played one of his last gigs at The Isle Of Wight Festival. Country Joe and the Fish’s most famous appearance was 1969’s legendary Woodstock Festival, and immortalised in the film. The band effectively split up in 1971, but got together occasionally, and released two reunion albums in 1977 and 1994.

From 1970 onwards Barry released a number of solo albums, recorded two albums with Man in Rockfield Studios in Wales, and toured extensively in the U.K, France the Netherlands, Ireland and even Thailand.

In the 1980’s, Barry put together San Francisco’s historic supergroup, The Dinosaurs, which also featured members of Quicksilver Messenger Service, Jefferson Airplane, Big Brother And The Holding Company and The Grateful Dead’s lyricist Robert Hunter.

Barry now fronts his own Barry Melton Band in the U.S.A, and in France fronts Jamasutra, who recorded the acclaimed album “Revolution Down the Road”. The band also features virtuoso French guitarist and banjo player Stephane Missri.

Also appearing as special guests will be another former member of Country Joe and The Fish, Bruce Barthol, and Canadian singer/guitarist Natalie Martel, who like Barry & Bruce, now lives in northern California and has a long history of involvement in the San Francisco Bay area music scene.

The icing on the cake is the welcome return on keyboards of Rob Beckinsale, who caused a sensation at Dimbola in May when he appeared as vocalist for Steve Miller band ‘s Greg Douglass’ U.K. band, The Pompatus of Love.

Barry & Stephane – with Rob on keyboards https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z2i3GV4YHUU&ab_channel=NoddyGuevara

Doors open at 6pm if you have booked a pre gig chilli meal (see https://www.dimbola.co.uk/barry-the-fish-melton-bruce-barthol-stephan-missri-live-at-dimbola/) or 7pm if you haven’t Tickets are just £9 in advance, http://thesanitycompany.co.uk/bullfrogtickets/ Tickets will also be available on the door subject to availability. Cash Bar