Street Heat Samba Band

Street Heat is the second oldest established samba school in the South West.
Now based in Exeter, Devon, Street Heat was originally created in Exmouth in 1991 as a voluntary community group. Since then we have involved over 300 people of all ages and backgrounds, from absolute beginners to seasoned musicians!

All are given the opportunity to experience the energy of playing this music, and to learn to perform it for others to enjoy. Whilst based in Exeter we have members from many parts of Devon and beyond, and ages which range from players in their teens to their sixties. We usually have about 40 members at any one time, of which around 20-30 will typically perform at an event.

We have become a popular and successful band, playing many different venues. We have performed in carnivals such as Notting Hill, Nice, Berlin and Jersey Battle of Flowers. We are regularly asked to perform in carnivals all over the South West of England such as Bridgwater, Taunton, Teignmouth, Dawlish, Seaton and Lyme Regis.

We love a good festival and have performed at Glastonbury and Beautiful Days and, more recently, we have played at the Lynton and Lynmouth Arts and Music Festival in north Devon, Tolpuddle Martyrs Festival and Exeter Respect Festival.

We also play indoor gigs although large spaces are best because of our massive sound. We have supported Ska Cubano at the Exeter Phoenix have gigged at the World Beats Night at Timepiece in Exeter which is a fantastic indoor experience.

One of our favourite gigs of the year is busking in Sidmouth during the renowned Folk Week because of the great atmosphere. In the past, the band has also appeared on national and local TV on a number of occasions including ‘The Big Breakfast’, ‘The Generation Game’ and more recently, ‘BBC Breakfast’.

We have worked with schools and youth groups on many occasions where we provide workshops, for instance, with the Devon Youth Service and the Knight Club in Exeter. Unfortunately, we find it difficult to commit to weekday events as most of our members are in full-time employment or education.

Finally, the band regularly busk for different charities and play at fund raising or community events in order to support the work of fund-raising organisations. For a number of years the band has contributed part of their money to a nominated charity, agreed at the AGM.