A taste of Italy comes to Leamington tonight

Tim Ellis, director of Old Town arts organisation Hybrid Arts, is leading the exchange project with his band Jackdaw With Crowbar, alongside other Warwickshire and Italian musicians and artists.

The venture began when Jackdaw With Crowbar started touring Europe during the 1980s and became friends with Italian band Father Murphy - and the two bands set up a programme of concerts together in their respective countries.

The latest exchange sees Grimoon, who come from near Treviso in northern Italy, perform with Jackdaw - whose other members are Fergus Durrant and Adam Sindall - at St Patrick’s Irish Club tonight.

The concert will also feature The Rosenberg Appeal and Tim’s joint project with Kyle Munro, General Theory of Dub, which uses analogue technology and reel to reel tapes in a performance of original dub music from the 1970s.

Meanwhile, Warwick-based visual artist Elena Cecchinato, who is exhibiting work in her home town, Padova in north eastern Italy, is keen to get involved in Tim’s cultural exchange so that English and Italian artists can work together in a similar way.

Tim said: “We are now hoping to develop this in a more formal way with support from other agencies and hopefully gain some funding.

“We will go to the British Emabassy to see if there is any European funding available and Elena will do the same with the Italian Embassy. We are also planning to approach the local authorities. It could be really exciting.”

Tonight’s gig starts at 8pm.