Riffs Bar is up for national award (From Swindon Advertiser)

Riffs Bar is up for national award

3:40pm Tuesday 9th March 2010 in

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A Swindon bar has again been shortlisted for a national award thanks to its dedication to music.

Riffs Bar, Greatfield, near Hook, has been shortlisted for Music Pub Of The Year 2010. The bar is run by Andy Petts and his partner Theresa – Tiggy York – both musicians themselves.

Andy and Tiggy are no strangers to the red carpet at The Publican Awards, as Riffs scooped the title in 2005 and 2006, was highly commended in 2007 and a finalist in 2003, 2004 and 2008.

Andy said: “We’re thrilled to be shortlisted. Music is integral to our business and something we’ve worked hard to make sure is first class, so it’s fantastic to get recognition for it.’’ Riffs has made a name for itself in the music community both of Swindon and nationally attracting such names as Bruce Dickinson from Iron Maiden, Deborah Bonham, sister of Led Zeppelin’s late drummer John, Jason Bonham, John’s son, and Rick Buckler from The Jam.

“We pride ourselves on providing a warm friendly atmosphere for both the audience and the performing artist,” said Andy.

Riffs has its own in-house PA system, lighting and a team of sound engineers.

Andy and Tiggy now have a daughter Ella. Their own band is Hot Rox, a glam rock outfit that is well known in the Swindon area.

This year the awards are sponsored by PRS For Music which is a leading copyright and royalty collection society. PRS provides businesses and community groups easy access to 10m songs through its music licences and aims to increase awareness among publicans about the benefits of using music.