The Halesworth Vinyl Collective is a new community-rooted initiative designed to make high quality music listening accessible to everyone and to encourage collaborative vinyl record selection, presentation, listening and discussion. When the Beach Boys appeared, many wrote them off as little more than a novelty act, cashing in on Californias teenage surf and hot rod culture, but leader Brian Wilson had musical ambitions far beyond a bubblegum soundtrack to a life of waves, cars and girls. Wilson drew on his love of doo-wop and Phil Spectors legendary Wall of Sound to produce increasingly sophisticated records that charted his troubled emotional life through an era of seismic shifts in popular culture. He eventually withdrew from live performance to focus on perfecting his astonishing and ever more baroque studio mastery. By 1965, determined to outdo Lennon and McCartney in setting new standards for pop music, he began work on Pet Sounds, still considered one of the greatest albums ever made. At the height of his powers, Wilsons mooted follow-up, Smile, was to be his ultimate statement, but his demons were about to catch up with him and 40 years would pass before the world heard the recordings. Beach Boys afficionado Steve Garlick will take us on a deep dive into the soundtrack of the California myth and the darkness that lurks beneath it. Tickets at 5 in advance / 6 on the door