GET OUT MORE……GIG LIST 22-02-2007 February 23rd Demon Barbers: mac 8pm The Demon Barbers are: Damien Barber - vocals/guitar/concertina Bryony Griffith - fiddle/vocals Will Hampson - melodeon/harmonica Lee Sykes - bass Ben Griffith - drums Over the last three years The Demon Barbers have gained major recognition for their original and imaginative approach to traditional music and song. “with The Demon Barbers' driven punchy tunes & songs, drum ‘n' bass grooves, the odd touch of ska and an ever present feel that this lot know how to party, the result is one of the most exciting acts around” fRoots ‘05" March 4th Isambarde + Times Squared: Music Room @ mac 7.30pm £4.50/ £3.25 For an acoustic folk three piece, Isambarde certainly make a big noise. Vocal harmonies and a touch of fiddle magic combine with driving rhythms - and an oboe! This young band is equally at home with traditional or original songs and tunes - all performed with humour, passion, insight and vigour! Coventry band Time Squared's unique blend of Neo-Soul, Latin, Jazz and Psychedelia has created a real buzz on the circuit having played to sell out crowds at the HSBC Coventry Jazz Festival, and special concerts for Friends of the Earth and Oxfam. They are currently recording their new EP, the follow up to September Changes, their debut single which was released on ITunes in September '06. 6th Oysterband -The Voices Tour an Acoustic special mac 8pm £12.50 (9) Oysterband steps out from behind the amplifiers to bare its acoustic soul! There's a whole world of music they love that underpins their songwriting but doesn't often get the spotlight when Oysters are in full electric flood. Songs from the English tradition, dance music, a cappella shanties and Sacred Harp anthems; plus a few stripped-down versions of classics and of new songs from their forthcoming CD of original material.So: no powerchords, no FX - just lots of singing, playing, energy and passion 8th Africa Acoustic with Kadialy meets Matimbah: Music Room @ mac 7.30pm £8 (5.50) Kadialy Kouyate was born in Kolda, Senegal, into a family of griot “diali's” - oral traditional storytellers from the Mandinka culture. The Mandinka kora is traditionally African, and is a unique harp-like instrument with 21 strings, but the style it is played in is more similar to a Flamenco guitar, while being beautifully hypnotic, and accompanied by voice.. Kadialy has broadcast on radio including BBC World Service (Lucy Duran show), BBC3 ‘World Roots', and live from WOMAD festival. Zimbabwe has produced many artists who have made a name for themselves, among these stars; the name Kudaushe Matimbah should be included. Marimba master, Kudaushe Matimbah's career includes stints with great Zimbabwean artists such as the Bhundu Boys, Ephat Mujuru (RIP) and Stella Chiweshe. 9th A Cowboy Junkies Acoustic Evening with + support Paul Burch: Wulfrun Hall 7.30pm £20 Cowboy Junkies have announced that they will be releasing a new studio album, At The End of Paths Taken, on the 9th April. Written and produced by guitarist Michael Timmins at the band's Toronto studio, the album features 11 new songs and is an intimate exploration of the complexities of personal family relationships in the volatile climate of our times. As a prelude to the release they play this gig as part of a series of small theatre dates billed as ‘A Cowboy Junkies Acoustic Evening with Margo Timmins, Michael Timmins and Jeff Bird'. www.cowboyjunkies.com 14th Bajaly Suso: WuW: Bulls Head 7.30pm £6 Bajaly Suso, from The Gambia, is a kora player and singer of the Griot caste, hereditary storytellers, musicians, artists and historians of the West African Mandinka empire. He is at one with his instrument, and he improvises without effort, both as an instrumentalist and as a singer. His skill is flawless, his fingers are a blur when he is playing, and with the accompaniment of his deep voice, delivering the song with charm and conviction, his performances are simultaneously meditational, through the beauty of the music, and exciting, through the sheer speed and attack with which he plays. Bajaly delivers is an enchanting, beautiful, memorable performance not to be missed in this intimate setting . 14th June Tabor mac 8pm £14 (11.50) A singer of songs where words matter as much as music, June Tabor is renowned as an explorer of a song's soul and a performer of gripping commitment. Her recorded work over the last twenty-five years shows a diversity of inspirations, whilst her plaudits include the ‘Singer of the Year' award at the 2004 BBC Folk Awards.. “... quite simply one of Britain's greatest interpreters of popular song… intensity, passion and drama with a chillingly lived in voice that makes every song sound like a personal experience” The Guardian 18th The Devil's Interval : Music Room @ mac 7.30pm £9.50/ £6.75 The Devil's Interval combines the individual vocal talents of Lauren McCormick, Jim Causley and Emily Portman who play an eclectic mix ranging traditional English song, Tom Waits to Phoebe Smith and Dolly Parton! They have appeared at many major festivals and garnered press attention from the likes of BBC Radio 3's Late Junction and fROOTS Magazine. "Lauren, Jim and Emily are three musicians utterly committed to singing the traditional songs of these islands and doing so while maintaining a great sense of adventure along with an obvious enjoyment of the music and a pride in their own abilities as musicians." Norma Waterson and Martin Carthy MBE www.thedevilsinterval.co.uk 24th Black Umfolosi 5: mac 8pm Members of the world famous a-cappella and dance group from Zimbabwe celebrate their 25th Birthday Tour.The group is renowned for it's a cappella songs sung in close harmony and mixed with intricate rhythms, clickings, clappings and shouting. The singing is complemented by breakaway dance moves that include leaping, stomping, a few shimmies and the odd high kick! Add to this their dynamic costumed dancing styles and rituals of South African regions and you have a truly exuberant and totally unmissable show. 25th Moya Brennan: Wulfrun Hall 7.30pm £16.50 Moya Brennan (The Voice of Clannad- returns with an album that continues to push the boundaries, that inspires and intrigues. ‘Signature' looks back over a life less ordinary and portrays her experiences through a collection of twelve superb tracks. 31st Thea Gilmore + Erin McKeown: Little Civic 7.30pm £14 In August 2005 Thea ended an uncharacteristic three year break between albums with the release of "Harpo's Ghost" to unanimous rave reviews. The album includes her collaborations with Mike Scott of the Waterboys and moved the Daily Telegraph to confirm her as "one of the boldest and most poetic lyricists working in British music...". Thea Gilmore is a stunningly affecting live performer: her own woman and defiantly, unshakeably the real deal. April 1st Little Sisters + Elliot Jack Music Room 7.30pm £4.50/ £3.25 Little Sisters comprises of Hannah Marsden on accordion, viola, vocals and percussion, Samantha Ann Fox on harp and vocals, Laura Mattison on violin, flute and vocals and Katy Bennett on guitar, cello and vocals. Little Sister's style encompasses folk music from around the world, ranging from haunting Sephardic song and fiery jigs and reels to traditional Welsh melodies and rousing American mountain music (with the occasional television theme tune thrown in for good measure 3rd Jackie Leven: Little Civic 7.30pm £8 Jackie Leven's hard-earned status as a genuine maverick (not just slightly 11th Hummingbird- Amy Wadge Cathy Burton and Edwina Hayes: Bull's Head 7.30pm £8 Blend together - 3 unique & distinctive voices; 3 acoustic guitars; 3 accomplished musicians; 3 passionate songwriters and you get a dynamic range of contemporary roots music with tremendous harmony, verve and sheer class. A new name, but you might recognise the singer-songwriter trio behind it. Hummingbird are Amy Wadge Cathy Burton and Edwina Hayes. They all have their own solo careers and met on the festival circuit in the UK over the last five years. Hummingbird will be on tour during March/April and appear at several festivals during the summer inc Glastonbury imagine Dixie Chicks meets Indigo Girls with a dash of Crosby,Stills& Nash www.myspace.com/hummingbirdmusic 12th Hayseed Dixie: Wulfrun Hall 7.30pm £15 Appalachian hell-raisers Hayseed Dixie are set to release their new album, “Weapons Of Grass Destruction, on 2nd April. The album, which was recorded ‘live' in three days, features the bands own material, alongside their unique interpretations of songs by the likes of the Sex Pistols, Scissor Sisters, Judas Priest and Cliff Richard, amongst others. Says singer Barley Scotch; “As some of the critics out there have said our previous records didn't quite match the careening, drunken, reckless intensity of our live shows, we decided to make this record just like we play live; that is, to drink as much as we do on stage every night and record the thing live, standing in the studio just like we do on stage - monitors in front of us and all. ….” Tracks include: Holidays In the Sun, I Don't Feel Like Dancing , Devil Woman, Down Down, Strawberry Fields Forever / Cotton Eyed Joe 15th Hadar:Music Room 7.30pm Hadar came to London 5 years ago from a small village near Jerusalem, looking to make it on the London music scene. On that first day, she started busking in London's streets and tube tunnels. Since then, she has taken a major part in the T.V program “The South Bank Show” about four street musicians. She has collaborated with the critically acclaimed Radio 3 award winning band “Oi Va Voi” and in November last year Hadar recently worked with renowned dance producer - Sandy Rivera, and two of her tracks has been released as dance mixes on Renaissance. Hadar is now working on her first album and performing with her band around the UK and Europe. 20th 'Three Countries Of Folk featuring Julie Murphy, Lisa Knapp and Jenna Reid'.Limelight @ the Little Civic 7.30pm £10 Julie Murphy is perhaps best known as the singer with leading Welsh folk band Fernhill who have gained many fans for their musical innovations rooted in welsh language folk song.. In 1999 Julie released her first solo album Black Mountains Revisited which became a Mojo Album Of The Year. Lisa Knapp's re-workings of folk songs, with an added splash of original writing, are fresh and modern and sit happily in the nu-folk scene while being firmly rooted in English traditional music. The first track Lisa recorded was the traditional song ‘Blacksmith' The was remixed by producer Youth and the result was a powerful and unforgettably version of this song of unrequited love. Jenna is the current holder of the Best Newcomer Award (Scots Trad Awards 2005) Hailing from Shetland, Jenna grew up immersed in the islands rich fiddle tradition, she also plays with Shetland band Filska and is also part of the female band Dòchas. 26th Ben Okfor : Africa Acoustic @ mac 7.30pm The music of Ben Okafor moves effortlessly between the best of African Reggae with its rich lyrical heritage, classic folk protest songs in the vein of Bob Marley's Redemption Song and driving reggae beats betraying the early influence of Peter Tosh, the Wailers, and Marley himself. Ben's third deeply personal album, “Coffee with Lazarus”, sees reggae music moving beyond the boxes it's so often consigned to, with some African Folk, ska and a little jazz thrown into the equation. “Its appeal is limitless” The Voice Born in Nigeria, Ben's music and early life were shaped by his experiences as a boy soldier, shouldering a kalashnikov at 15 as his country was torn by civil war. Ben appears at Africa Acoustic in support of Amnesty International and Oxfam's campaign for an International Arms Trade Treaty coming soon Steve Knightley, Michael McGoldrick, King Creosote, Slim Francis & from June onwards the 16th series of Sounds In The Round Venue details email graham.radley@btinternet.com http://www.myspace.com/worldunlimited Want your gig list featured on The Stirrer? Contact editor@thestirrer.com |
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