Once again there's so much to mention, so little space. And that's without the weather, the cats, the asset sales or my favourite cocktail this week.

What we do have is a Tauranga band heading off for a tour in England, a special offer from the Jazz Festival, and exciting news for film buffs. We'll start with the music...

Brilleaux, purveyors of English rhythm ‘n' blues are off to the UK in October for their Selling Coal To Newcastle tour. Though they're not actually going to Newcastle.

The tour started with an invite to play at the Isle Of Wight blues festival, one of a series of events put on as part of the Boogaloo Festivals. These are blues shows that take place in the off-season at holiday camps around the country. The empty camps are the perfect venue, with accommodation, catering, bars and everything you need right there, and blues bands provide the entertainment.

From there, frontman Graham Clark, along with an English friend he met over there in 2010, has been putting together dates in Brighton, Portsmouth, Leicester, Bedford, eight or nine gigs over a two week period. Amazingly, tickets have already begun selling, along with the band's CDs.

And, even more exciting for the band, they have been offered a support gig while they're there with none other than Nine Below Zero. In case you're not versed in the intricacies of the UK R&B scene, here's what Graham has to say: 'If you're talking about British rhythm ‘n' blues bands, they're pretty much the kingpins – they're like R&B royalty for us, it's like a rock band supporting Hendrix...”

But, despite confirmed gigs, such trips don't come cheap, especially first time out. So Brilleaux are holding a couple of fund-raising gigs next weekend (March 23, 24) at Driver's Bar in the 11 Avenue Plaza. And they're taking a novel approach.

These will be concerts showcasing their last album, the all-acoustic set Brilleauxvator. They'll be seated and, during the night the bar will serve a light three-course meal. There's also a support act in the shape of a rather stunning acoustic blues guitarist, Ian Goodsman, recently returned from playing in the UK himself. Tickets, which are selling fast, are $40, available from Driver's Bar.

The organisers of Easter's National Jazz Festival have a special offer running at the moment and it would be remiss of me not to mention it, as it involves an aspect of the event I haven't so far written about.

For the past few years the festival has held a dance party, which they call the Hurricane Party. It's a fun bash, recognising that a lot of the most interesting outgrowths of jazz in the last couple of decades have come from its use – either via samples or live instruments – in the context of dancefloor rhythms. Modern grooves meeting the classic sounds of Blue Note is an obvious example but it's everywhere. It's the same sort of area that Nathan Haines has been working in until his recent return to more classical jazz territory.

Anyway, the Hurricane Party this year is taking place at 9.30pm (till late, natch) on the Saturday of Easter at Baycourt's Jazz Café. There are two very good bands and it promises to be a blast.

And here's the deal: if you answer one question correctly while booking tickets you'll get to pay only $20 for your ticket rather than the regular $39. That's a pretty good deal and makes for a very affordable night out. And the question? Name one of the two bands playing. So, in the interests of saving readers money and helping them have a good time, I can reveal – not even vaguely exclusively – that the bands playing are Spiral and Hipstamatics. Call that box office now!

And, lastly, The Tauranga Film Society kicks off this year's programme next week (Wednesday March 20) at the Rialto with Viva Maria! From French director Louis Malle.

Their full season's programme is on-line at www.nzfilmsociety.org.nz/tauranga.htm and is the usual eclectic mix of hard-to-find films, early silents, classics, documentaries and modern gems.

I'll come back to this in more depth after Easter as the society is well worth checking out.

To join, or for more information, contact Neale Blaymires at [email protected]