REAL GONE GOES OUT: KOLARS – Ramsgate Music Hall, Ramsgate, Kent 29/6/2019

There’s a feeling of high spirits at a packed out Ramsgate Music Hall this evening. Part of that is due to summer having finally kicked in – we’ve just sweated our way through two of the hottest days of the year – but more than that, there’s a genuine excitement surrounding the return of tonight’s headliners, KOLARS. Despite being based in the US, Rob Kolar (vox, gtr) and Lauren Brown (drums, tap dancing) almost feel like they’re seaside dwellers from Kent by now and the locals love them. They’ve played the venue twice during the previous fifteen months, but they’re the kind of band people would come out for even if the venue booked them even more often. KOLARS are pretty enamoured with the small venue too, having chosen it to record live material back in July 2018.

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Real Gone’s End of Year Round-Up, 2018

In 2018, Real Gone celebrated its ninth birthday. It’s been a long and hard road to this point, but we’re pleased to be celebrating our most successful year online to date. Hundreds of new albums have been heard and a record number of gigs have been attended. Not only has this year been our biggest success…it’s also been our favourite.

Nearing the close of 2018, it’s time to look back and celebrate our favourite events – including our top ten  album releases…

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Normally, each year has an album that’s a clear stand out. Making that distinction this time around has been somewhat trickier, so we’re awarding a joint “album of the year” to two very different albums. If that seems like a cop-out, we don’t care…there really was only a hair’s breadth between them.

Drum roll…

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KOLARS + Smoke Season: Jam In The Van 2017

In July 2017, Los Angeles retro rock duo KOLARS visited Ramsgate Music Hall for the second time.  Expected to be a good night, the sweaty and intimate atmosphere resulted in a night that the audience would never forget.  The night was made even better by the presence of Smoke Season in support.

Although Smoke Season don’t have much in common with KOLARS, their brand of electronic pop proved particularly enthralling.  Backed with the kind of sophisticated pop made by Alice & The Glass Lake with flourishes of electronica and dream pop, Gabby Bianco showed real star quality and – much like the KOLARS set, it was hard to imagine such a performance translating quite as well in a bigger venue.

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REAL GONE GOES OUT: KOLARS – Ramsgate Music Hall, Ramsgate, Kent 16/7/2018

In April 2018, Ramsgate Music Hall played host to Japanese indie/punk legends Shonen Knife. It was one of the greatest nights the venue had seen to date. Making what had already promised to be a fun night even better, the night’s support received a rapturous response. That band, KOLARS – a garage rock/retro duo from the US – impressed almost everyone with their display of sweat, sparkle and a tap dancing drummer. Within two weeks, the band had been confirmed to return for their own headline show and on July 16th, they took the stage at Music Hall once more.

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