Monkton Arts on East Street in Ryde is one of the island's most coherent creative spaces: gallery, artist studios, and The Lounge Coffee House in the same Victorian building, two minutes from the seafront. Flats and Sharps play on 24 May, launching material from their new "Always There" EP in a setting that suits contemporary acoustic music better than most island venues.
Flats and Sharps are a band building a sound in the space between acoustic folk and layered contemporary pop, and the Monkton Arts setting gives them an audience that is specifically there for the music rather than using it as background. The venue capacity keeps the performance intimate, and intimate performances of new EP material tend to be the most revealing version of what a band is actually doing. Ryde on a Saturday in late May is quieter than it will be a month later.
Check Songkick for tickets and times. Monkton Arts gallery is worth arriving early to browse. More music events on the Isle of Wight across the spring season.