Newsletter                30th June 2007

Contact details
Tel. 01342 716975
or email:
info_at_acousticsussex_dot_org_dot_uk

30 June – 1 July

This weekend sees a huge range of roots music in the Hawth theatre and grounds, plus real ale tents, crafts, clothing, food, free workshops etc.

Among the acts performing are the award-winning John Tams & Barry Coope; Sussex band Touchstone; BBC Young Folk Awards nominee, Wilber (hosting a late night session on Saturday); Fiddlesticks; The Haley Sisters; Thea Gilmore; Ruth Notman & Bryony Bainbridge; The Lonnigans; Last Night’s Fun; The Copper Family; Twelve Sullivans; Colvin Quarmby; Matthew Ord; All Jigged Out; Blackthorn; Thingumajig; Midnight Howlers; McDermott’s Two Hours; Julie Roberts & Gary Holder; The Hot Club Trio; Krissy Matthews Band; Duck Soup; Barron-Brady; Martha Swanson; Rabbi John; Rachel Newton & Lillias Kinsman-Blake; Mary Flower; and the Three Tenors (alias Chris Farlowe, Miller Anderson & Bob Brookes).

Entry to the grounds is free (including free music in the Foyer and Pavilion area, plus dance bands etc.). Ticket prices vary for Saturday/Sunday main events. Advance tickets on the Hawth website at www.hawth.co.uk.

Our next events

Ø     Saturday 7^th July – Sandi Thom + support Andy Walker at Chequer Mead, East Grinstead

Ø     Saturday 15^th September – Ric Sanders Group at Chequer Mead, East Grinstead

Ø     Monday 8^th October – Hans Theessink at The Ravenswood, Sharpthorne

To hear sound samples from artists appearing, visit our MySpace website. Now playing on the ‘jukebox’ are tracks by Sandi Thom and Andy Walker.

Saturday
7 July
SANDI THOM
at Chequer Mead
East Grinstead
www.chequermead.org.uk
£17.50 (£15  conc)     8pm
Box Office 01342 302000

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Part of the 'nu folk' scene, Sandi Thom has been compared to Janis Joplin and KT Tunstall and, according to the reams of press cuttings that accompanied her rise, was penniless and struggling until she secured a £1m deal with RCA by web-casting 21 gigs from her Tooting basement, leading to her hit single I Wish I Was a Punk Rocker (With Flowers in My Hair). Her debut album 'Smile… It Confuses People' climbed to No 1 in the album charts and very quickly reached platinum status.

Her initial success was very much down to launching herself through a virtual 'world' tour through performances over the internet, starting with an audience of 70, quickly reaching a peak of 70,000 viewers.

Now 25, Sandi grew up in a small fishing village called Banff on the North East coast of Scotland. A singing teacher in Aberdeen suggested she should apply for a place at the Liverpool Institute of the Performing Arts, where she assembled the group of musicians with whom she continues to perform to this day. Last year, Sandi successfully toured the UK, US and Australia, where she achieved a record number of weeks at the top of the Australian chart.

After a European tour earlier this year, Sandi is now back in the studio finishing her second album which is expected to be released later this year. She is doing a small number of UK dates this summer, including Guilfest and this show at East Grinstead's Chequer Mead Arts Centre.

“Every new young female songwriter from 1970 onwards has been compared to Joni, but most of them are not fit to scrub her plectrum. Thom, however, has the potential.”
Independent

Support for this show is from Brighton singer songwriter, Andy Walker – a name to watch!

Sandi Thom

Andy Walker

Saturday
15 September
RIC SANDERS GROUP
at Chequer Mead
East Grinstead
www.chequermead.org.uk
£12 (£11  conc)     8pm
Box Office 01342 302000

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This is the second appearance at Chequer Mead by Fairport Convention's violin maestro Ric Sanders and it promises to be an exhilarating evening of great music.

Featuring funky guitarist Vo Fletcher and ex-Albion Band percussionist Mike Gregory, The Ric Sanders Group plays a dazzling repertoire of jazz standards, rock classics and traditional folk tunes. Ric has worked with many of music's great names including Roy Harper, Jethro Tull, Strawbs, Pentangle, Gerry Rafferty, Louden Wainwright III, Rick Wakeman and Robert Plant among many others.

The band’s latest album, ‘Parable - Music for Anjali Dance Company’ is out now, a creative piece for the company’s new production 'WYSIWYG'. Expect to hear music from the album on this tour (click here for more)

The Ric Sanders Group's instrumental virtuosity and passion will make this a concert to remember.

Ric Sanders

Monday
8 October
HANS THEESINK
at The Ravenswood
Sharpthorne
www.theravenswood.co.uk
£10 (£12  door)     8pm
Box Office 01342 302000

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Hans Thessink is one of the top blues and roots musicians worldwide and one of the most sought-after artists of the international blues scene. He is more or less constantly "on tour" and plays an average of 200 concerts a year - a modern day troubadour and entertainer who keeps on spellbinding audiences all over the world with his rich and emotional sounds.

Like others of his generation, in the early 1960s a love of the Blues took hold of the man whom Bo Diddley described as "one helluva guitar player", and it has not let go since. Above all, the country blues with its earthy and heartfelt sound impressed Hans and played a major role in his development as a musician. His roots are unmistakenly in the blues, but he has also been influenced by countless other aspects of roots music. This musical variety has become a Hans trademark, who as a songwriter has succeeded in building bridges to the present in addressing issues which reflect the reality of the here and now.

"Hans Theessink is an international blues treasure. He is one of the world's pre-eminent country pickers and his warm baritone expresses the blues” Blues Revue

Hans Theessink

The Ravenswood

For your future diaries..

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Future dates in the 2007 Acoustic Sussex programme include:

Ø    15 November – The Dylan Project  (see website)

Ø    3 December – Dick Gaughan (tbc) (see website)

More information on all up-and-coming artists can be found on our website: www.acousticsussex.org.uk. You can also find us on MySpace (with samples from some of the artists appearing) at: www.myspace.com/acoustic_sussex. If you know anyone who you think may enjoy our events, please forward this email to them.

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